All about Mitch Clark

[P-man 13,224]

I really feel for the guy. Must be absolutely gut wrenching and the pressure would weigh on him heavily.

I'm almost of the mindset that as long as he loves the club and wants to stay in Melbourne after the 8 week break, to rest him for the whole year in the hope he can ease himself properly into season 2015 and play every game. But who knows.

If he is to return, I don't see why it couldn't be this year. Reassess in 8 weeks. He may well be in a different headspace by then. Here's hoping.

[Ted Lasso 16,865]

If he is to return, I don't see why it couldn't be this year. Reassess in 8 weeks. He may well be in a different headspace by then. Here's hoping.

I agree, I don't know the details of what's going on but I know that people in a really bad situation can view it as never ending, maybe he comes back refreshed in 8 weeks and has a few games in the second half of the year

[jazza 1,323]

ok,been trying to stay away from this ,but here goes.

ive been suffering the blues for a while now and unfortunately am not controlling it as much as IT is controlling me.

i dont medicate and dont want to,im fighting this on my own and sometimes winning and sometimes losing.

there doesnt seem to be a order to this problem,IT comes and goes as it pleases and how people in the community put up with for years is beyond my comprehension.

ive learnt a few things of late,sometimes i post on here and feel great,also go about my daily business"normally".

other times i get the dreaded blues and cant even turn on my computer or understand where and what im doing.

im learning that i can beat this with time and only time.

poor old mitchy boy needs time and patience,and a little bit of love and care.

his family and freinds will do that.

all we can do is welcome him back when he wants to pop in and say gurday at the club.

there you go,ive laid myself bare and it dont feel good,now you know why i dont post for days at a time.

now lets just get on with the game and enjoy OUR season.

btw, i am good and only worry and mitch and others with this affliction.

i will beat IT.old enough and ugly enough to handle a little problem.

lets forget i wrote this and get on with footy yes.

Edited March 18, 2014 by jazza

[GrandOld 367]

ok,been trying to stay away from this ,but here goes.

ive been suffering the blues for a while now and unfortunately am not controlling it as much as IT is controlling me.

i dont medicate and dont want to,im fighting this on my own and sometimes winning and sometimes losing.

there doesnt seem to be a order to this problem,IT comes and goes as it pleases and how people in the community put up with for years is beyond my comprehension.

ive learnt a few things of late,sometimes i post on here and feel great,also go about my daily business"normally".

other times i get the dreaded blues and cant even turn on my computer or understand where and what im doing.

im learning that i can beat this with time and only time.

poor old mitchy boy needs time and patience,and a little bit of love and care.

his family and freinds will do that.

all we can do is welcome him back when he wants to pop in and say gurday at the club.

there you go,ive laid myself bare and it dont feel good,now you know why i dont post for days at a time.

now lets just get on with the game and enjoy OUR season.

I feel ya, am a long time sufferer. I use meds during the realy rough times but a lot of it comes down to having people around who understand and talk to. It's gonna take time. I went through a stage where I had to get up at 4am, get ready , then sit at the front door for 2 hours preparing myself to walk out and go to work. The mind is a powerful enemy.

[Grapeviney 8,844]

Hang in there Jazza, you'll come good.

[stuie 7,374]

Good on ya Jazza and Grand Old for bringing the human element back to this thread. Genuine best wishes for you guys.

[rpfc 27,531]

you deny his history..gee

He had OP as an 18 year old and then did his quad a couple times and then was in the preliminary AA Squad of 40 before his 22nd birthday. He missed 8 games in the three years before he came to the MFC.

Again, you can allude to whatever you like, but don't delude yourself into thinking that Clark brought this freak injury on himself or that he was already an injury plagued player when he arrived - he wasn't.

[Cards13 9,117]

Hang in there gents and look after yourselves, and hang in there Mitchy boy we would love you back throwing yourself in to the contest for us as soon as possible.

[chookrat 3,777]

Thanks Gezza and GrandOld for bringing perspective. Ultimately our players, supporters and fellow demonlanders are all people and many of us gave either suffered mental health issues or know someone who has. As supporters our role is just that, to support the players, coaches and club. As members we should have a say in how the club is ran but too often get caught up in individual events and decisions.

I supported Mark Neeld not because I thought he was going to bring us success but because he was our coach at the time and I believed the club would make the right decision on whether he remained or not. Similarly with Mitch I believe our club will make good decisions that will provide Mitch with the support he needs and give him every chance of playing this season. Further, guys like Chip will see the way our club supports our players and want to stay.

In closing, I think that next year we will look back on decisions made this year re our key forwards and think, [censored], the club handled that really well and as a result we are well placed going into 2015.

[tarzan16 40]

Screw it, I'm gonna buck the trend and say Clark will be back in a demons jumper this year.

Furthermore will win the B&F in 2015!

At least in the far off chance that I am actually right I'll be one of the few on here that wasn't a [censored]

at last, a bit of positivity, i'm with u ghost!!!

[biggestred 4,320]

jazza your posts are the best on here

[Sir Why You Little 34,611]

I feel ya, am a long time sufferer. I use meds during the realy rough times but a lot of it comes down to having people around who understand and talk to. It's gonna take time. I went through a stage where I had to get up at 4am, get ready , then sit at the front door for 2 hours preparing myself to walk out and go to work. The mind is a powerful enemy.

Baby Steps GNF.

Just try and keep them forwards.

You too Jazza.

[Craig Drinker 179]

ok,been trying to stay away from this ,but here goes.

ive been suffering the blues for a while now and unfortunately am not controlling it as much as IT is controlling me.

i dont medicate and dont want to,im fighting this on my own and sometimes winning and sometimes losing.

there doesnt seem to be a order to this problem,IT comes and goes as it pleases and how people in the community put up with for years is beyond my comprehension.

ive learnt a few things of late,sometimes i post on here and feel great,also go about my daily business"normally".

other times i get the dreaded blues and cant even turn on my computer or understand where and what im doing.

im learning that i can beat this with time and only time.

poor old mitchy boy needs time and patience,and a little bit of love and care.

his family and freinds will do that.

all we can do is welcome him back when he wants to pop in and say gurday at the club.

there you go,ive laid myself bare and it dont feel good,now you know why i dont post for days at a time.

now lets just get on with the game and enjoy OUR season.

btw, i am good and only worry and mitch and others with this affliction.

i will beat IT.old enough and ugly enough to handle a little problem.

lets forget i wrote this and get on with footy yes.

Great effort coming forward with personal information Jazza! I'm sure this wasn't easy for you. Your post is wonderfully encouraging for any other sufferers in that they know that they are not alone when dealing with this health issue. Your attitude as I read it is great "Take it one day at a time and judge each day on it's merits".

I think this attitude will carry you well and you will find that the good days will start to blanket the down days!!

Best wishes to you and to quote the motto from my favourite EPL team "You'll Never Walk Alone!"

[mjt 640]

Your allusions betray your delusions.

Clark came to this club and looked worth every cent of his wage and more than the Pick 12 we gave up.

His lisfranc dislocating was a freak occurrence that happened because God Hates Melbourne.

Roos knows how to build a club and a culture and it, in no way, involves being as heartless as you seem to want this club to be.

We are his employers and he has had a rough trot with injuries, if he is suffering from a rough personal life then more power to the club for trying to help him through his issues.

How having a desire for a cohesive and inclusive club culture can descend to 'accepting mediocrity' is an argument of the lazy and snide.

You can't build a culture in 2 years , Roos knows that and so do you as for Clark the sooner he's delisted the better he's been a waste of 3,2 million .

[nutbean 8,837]

You can't build a culture in 2 years , Roos knows that and so do you as for Clark the sooner he's delisted the better he's been a waste of 3,2 million .

You can't build a culture at all if thats the way you want to treat players.

People on here suggest getting this player and that player to the club. No player will want to come if that is the way we treat our players.

[KingDingAling 3,613]

You can't build a culture in 2 years , Roos knows that and so do you as for Clark the sooner he's delisted the better he's been a waste of 3,2 million .

Do you think players want to come to MFC knowing that if they get injured/ill - we will chew them up and spit them out?

The reality of it is, we NEED players to come to our club, more now than ever.

It is important we support Clark, just as we supported Jurrah.

[Ted Lasso 16,865]

You can't build a culture in 2 years , Roos knows that and so do you as for Clark the sooner he's delisted the better he's been a waste of 3,2 million .

You're a clown, sends a pretty good message, hey wanna join the MFC, if you get injured, we will throw you to the wolves.

if we are too build a culture it should involve supporting a mfc player through tough times, not just because it's the right thing to do but because that's how we want to be seen as a club.

[Cards13 9,117]

Get injured whilst in the employ of the MFC throwing yourself around recklessly, suffer in your rehab and we'll disgaurd you. Sounds like a plan.

[Moonshadow 16,271]

Thanks for sharing Jazza and Grand. I agree with the sentiments that your never walk alone. Hopefully the dees give you something to smile about in 2014.

[old dee 22,930]

Do you think players want to come to MFC knowing that if they get injured/ill - we will chew them up and spit them out?

The reality of it is, we NEED players to come to our club, more now than ever.

It is important we support Clark, just as we supported Jurrah.

I am hoping for a way better result KDA as the second one was an absolute disaster.

[hardtack 10,127]

You can't build a culture at all if thats the way you want to treat players.

People on here suggest getting this player and that player to the club. No player will want to come if that is the way we treat our players.

I think the issue there is that mjt considers himself as a shareholder (if he is a member, that is) as opposed to being a supporter.

[jane02 3,366]

Thanks for sharing Jazza and Grand. I have been down this road with a close friend who is the smartest, kindest, most switched on person you will ever meet. After stints in hospital, she is now off all her meds and feels great after being lost in a fog for the last decade. I hope you guys are getting lots of love, hugs and support from those around you.

[hardtack 10,127]

I feel ya, am a long time sufferer. I use meds during the realy rough times but a lot of it comes down to having people around who understand and talk to. It's gonna take time. I went through a stage where I had to get up at 4am, get ready , then sit at the front door for 2 hours preparing myself to walk out and go to work. The mind is a powerful enemy.

Or as Elvis Costello so eloquently put it: "imagination is a powerful deceiver".

Hang tough GrandOld and Jazza.

[La Dee-vina Comedia 16,463]

You can't build a culture in 2 years , Roos knows that and so do you as for Clark the sooner he's delisted the better he's been a waste of 3,2 million .

Apart from the issues others have raised about how such a strategy would stop others from wanting to play with the MFC, your logic is also flawed and simplistic. We have to pay a certain amount of dollars to the players as part of the players' Collective Bargaining Agreement. We wouldn't just 'save' $3.2 million by not 'spending' it on Clark. It would have to spent on player payments anyway. In addition, Clark has offered value beyond the games that he's played - why else would he have been voted into the leadership group?

[Guest]

You can't build a culture in 2 years , Roos knows that and so do you as for Clark the sooner he's delisted the better he's been a waste of 3,2 million .

PJ summed it up best. We need to create an environment where people want to play football and want to forge a career. Delisting a clearly struggling Mitch Clark would not only send a horrible message to the rest of the list but to the AFL at large: you are a piece of meat to be used and abused at our leisure. Once you have outlived your usefulness, you are on your own. It was the same kind of thinking that drove the delisting of James McDonald. I remember not so long ago we ran a thread about what song should be played when the team enters the field of play. Some were suggesting 'You''l Never Walk Alone' by Gerry and the Pacemakers. If some of the opinions on here were indicative of the club as a whole, no more sicker a joke could there be played.

Edited March 18, 2014 by Colin B. Flaubert