GOODBYE MITCH CLARK

[ILLDieADemon 804]

He doesn't have to play AFL. It's not like he can't pursue his love of photography, and play footy with his mates anywhere, and be happy.

He is using this need for 'change' of environment to get to his footy club of choice. It is BS.

This is his job and he has good management because his the second time he has used a BS reason to leave a club and get more money.

We got played.

Thanks CS

[Dee Fan 3,247]

Offer him up to the Hawks with pick 3 for Roughy and offer Roughy $1m per year for 6 years.

[Surfer Dee 210]

You have to wonder if there's a curse sometimes. Gun player. Injury. Then retires with depression. That alone could only happen to Melbourne.

This latest turn of events is almost taking the [censored]. Sometimes you have to just shake your head and look at your feet the way only a Melbourne supporter can.

[Pirlo 813]

From the perspective of someone with anxiety and depression issues I feel absolutely sick to the core.

Sick about Clark's actions, sick about the fact that this has been allowed to happen under Roos and co's noses thanks to that bastion of morality Eddie and sick about the fact that Buckley has been allowed to comment on the ambitions and health of a player who IS CONTRACTED TO ANOTHER FOOTBALL CLUB.

Very few things give me greater satisfaction than Nathan Buckley walking out on a side to go to one who would lose twice on GF day under his pathetic leadership to that very team. The fact that his footy club has gone down the shitter thanks to his behemoth ego makes it all the better.

[Dr. Gonzo 23,723]

Fox tonight Eddie very contrite when asked about Buckley's comment. Aware of discussion but nothing has come to the board. What a hypocrite! if it was a Pies player being poached he would be making all sorts of idle threats. Every year at trade there are 2 teams that give nothing but expect the world, they are Essendon and Collingwood. They are both miserable at the trade table. They will give precious little for Clark and probably are already patting themselves on the back for a recruiting coup. If HL is on offer then take it cos we won't get anything else.

Which is why we should refuse to deal with them, tell him to try his luck in the draft and take him at PSD#2 then let him sit at Casey for the year if he wants to sook about it.

[Dr. Gonzo 23,723]

I'll say again this whole focus on depression is a side issue, far too many people use depression or mental health issues as a crutch or an excuse to absolve themselves of responsibility. It can be a debilitating illness at times as I know first hand however it can at times also be used to portray a victim mentality which is often reinforced by treaters.

At the end of the day we don't know what the clinical diagnosis was for Clark, it could be something as minor as a mild adjustment disorder or something as serious as bipolar or a personality disorder. Whatever it is though it doesn't absolve him of having to act with integrity and meet his commitments.

As furious as I am with the disdain with which he has treated the club and supporters I am just as furious with the club (namely Mahoney it would seem) who didn't put any clauses in the separation agreement to mitigate against these kinds of circumstances. It is an amateur action of an amateur organisation and leaves me unconvinced that this club will find its backbone under this admin.

Edited September 20, 2014 by Dr. Gonzo

[Pennant St Dee 12,704]

I'll say again this whole focus on depression is a side issue, far too many people use depression or mental health issues as a crutch or an excuse to absolve themselves of responsibility. It can be a debilitating illness at times as I know first hand however it can at times also be used to portray a victim mentality which is often reinforced by treaters.

At the end of the day we don't know what the clinical diagnosis was for Clark, it could be something as minor as a mild adjustment disorder or something as serious as bipolar or a personality disorder. Whatever it is though it doesn't absolve him of having to act with integrity and meet his commitments.

As furious as I am with the disdain with which he has treated the club and supporters I am just as furious with the club (namely Mahoney it would seem) who didn't put any clauses in the separation agreement to mitigate against these kinds of circumstances. It is an amateur action of an amateur organisation and leaves me unconvinced that this club will find its backbone under this admin.

I agree with your previous post about refusing to give in to what he or the Pies want. Unless of course they give us a good trade. That will show we have a backbone

[bing181 9,004]

I am just as furious with the club (namely Mahoney it would seem) who didn't put any clauses in the separation agreement to mitigate against these kinds of circumstances. It is an amateur action of an amateur organisation and leaves me unconvinced that this club will find its backbone under this admin.

That's just ridiculous. What, prey tell, could Mahoney have put into the separation agreement that would have avoided the current situation? At the end of the day, you can't make players stay, contract or not - look at Paddy Ryder.

Not forgetting either, Mitch is contracted with us till the end of this year. If he feels up to playing, and isn't turning up at AAMI Park each day to get started on his preparation, that says a lot about Mitch, but not much about Mahoney or the club.

But further to all that ... you're presuming that this is playing out in a way that is against the club's wishes and thus out of their control (or as you put it, down to their incompetence). I for one would suggest that that isn't the case, and that at end of the day, we don't want someone like Mitch Clark around the club. After all, here's a guy that's only in his mid-20's, and has already burnt 3 clubs (that includes Freemantle ... Lyon's comments say a lot as to what happened there). Collingwood think they can handle him. Arrogance or ignorance, but they can have him.

[hardtack 10,423]

At the end of the day we don't know what the clinical diagnosis was for Clark, it could be something as minor as a mild adjustment disorder or something as serious as bipolar or a personality disorder. Whatever it is though it doesn't absolve him of having to act with integrity and meet his commitments.

The club would know.

[SaberFang 7,151]

[censored] off you parasitic worm. I empathize with the other posters here who have given their two cents. Without getting into details, I know what depression entails and what it does to people. Put simply, it's a [censored] of a condition.

For Mitch to pull this over us though... gives an absolutely deplorable impression to the cause of mental illness and giving society a better understanding of how debilitating it can be. To retire under the guise of a clinical depression illness then miraculously "recover" from said depression (that's insulting alone), but refuse to return to the club that supported you above and beyond their duty of care... it just stinks. Absolutely appalling behavior and I have no qualms whatsoever in speaking my mind about this.

Especially when others, genuinely suffering from clinical illnesses, find themselves in financially poor and insufferable positions. Mitch is a millionaire for crying out loud, and he's disgruntled with us because our salary offer was insignificant for his manager's commission threshold.

[DemonOX 8,710]

Depression or no depression, the fact he met with Collingwood before speaking with anyone at the club makes him a grub. I have not doubt Frawley fielded unofficial offers from clubs during the year as most players coming out of contract do but this case was differant in a big way. The Saints or Bulldogs could be a fresh start why does it have to be with a power club....

And hopefully that power club will not make the finals next season and the coach will be sacked right after there is a spill of the current board with fat head Eddie gone.

From what Voss said on SEN his issues which he is apparently not dealing with are going to be following him where ever he goes. Good luck with that.

MC the grass ain't always greener and why the hell would u want to work under Bucks when u can work and learn under a real coach in ROOS.

Doesn't make sense.

[Whispering_Jack 29,246]

There's a lot of emotion floating around this thread and clearly, many are hurt by the fact that Clark is seeking to play the rest of his career elsewhere. I must admit that when I first heard the news, I wasn't particularly impressed but I really believe we should follow the dictum of our coach on this and not look back. If the club acted with emotion on this particular issue, then it would be taking its eyes off the ball, earn a poor reputation on the important issue of player welfare which should always be paramount at a club and possibly miss out on future opportunities. I'm sure that if Clark is definitely and finally out of the equation, then Roosy is already looking at what we as a club will get in to replace him.

You only have to look at what ego and emotions are doing to the Essendon Football Club at the moment. Little and Hird continue to ramble on about the players but their actions are all about themselves. They've shafted their players and in doing so are bringing down the entire club.

Always act with your head, not your heart.

[CityDee 738]

See ya Mitch break a leg .

[Bombay Airconditioning 6,217]

Do we really know that? We are told he met C'wood before he met Roos and yes, you'd think he'd talk to the coach (though not having played he may not have had much to do with the coach). He may have met someone else at the MFC first, eg someone telling him we would only offer him something he found unacceptable. Or his manager may have been told, or may be telling him porkies.

I'm not being an apologist for him. I just don't think we know enough at this stage.

Take the "who met who and when out of it" a fresh start could be at the Saints of the Bulldogs The fact he has chosen a power club makes the whole thing reek.

[bing181 9,004]

Take the "who met who and when out of it" a fresh start could be at the Saints of the Bulldogs The fact he has chosen a power club makes the whole thing reek.

But it's fairly true to form for Collingwood: Jolly, Q Lynch, Ben Hudson ... they like picking up mature-age talls.

Also, both Saints and Dogs have a lot of younger players, and possibly don't want Mitch around.

[Whispering_Jack 29,246]

See ya Mitch break a leg .

Thanks for that ringing endorsement of the immediately preceeding post

[chook fowler 19,266]

There's a lot of emotion floating around this thread and clearly, many are hurt by the fact that Clark is seeking to play the rest of his career elsewhere. I must admit that when I first heard the news, I wasn't particularly impressed but I really believe we should follow the dictum of our coach on this and not look back. If the club acted with emotion on this particular issue, then it would be taking its eyes off the ball, earn a poor reputation on the important issue of player welfare which should always be paramount at a club and possibly miss out on future opportunities. I'm sure that if Clark is definitely and finally out of the equation, then Roosy is already looking at what we as a club will get in to replace him.

You only have to look at what ego and emotions are doing to the Essendon Football Club at the moment. Little and Hird continue to ramble on about the players but their actions are all about themselves. They've shafted their players and in doing so are bringing down the entire club.

Always act with your head, not your heart.

I'm glad that wiser heads than mine are in charge of this situation at the club. You are right that the administration take a non- emotional practical stance and negotiate the best outcome for us, perhaps seeing it as an advantage to push our case for a priority pick.

However as a supporter I reserve the right to be outraged at the duplicity, manipulation and cynical disloyalty of a former favourite son.

[monoccular 17,337]

Mitch has ruled out Essendon as a destination suggesting the drugs saga is something he didn't want anything to do with.

But....they did no wrong :-)

[sue 9,018]

I am amazed at how some posters vent against he club about all this. Do we KNOW that we wrote a poor contract and that we didn't tell MC we didn't want him, or that if we did it was on condition of him playing a year at Casey for peanuts or whatever?

I'll wait till I know more before I'll condemn MC. When it is clear that he has acted like a pr!ck I'll join in the booing.

[Jarka 767]

I'm convinced that our coach isn't that interested in having him on our list. The last thing we need is a fragile ego with a suspect body in our forward line, we're better off getting whatever we can for him and developing a strong and robust team

[jackaub 1,402]

I am amazed at how some posters vent against he club about all this. Do we KNOW that we wrote a poor contract and that we didn't tell MC we didn't want him, or that if we did it was on condition of him playing a year at Casey for peanuts or whatever?

I'll wait till I know more before I'll condemn MC. When it is clear that he has acted like a pr!ck I'll join in the booing.

The trouble s usual Sue it will never be clear to the suporters.There are obviously some unmentionable issues floating around so we will never know the truth nor all the facts involved

Edited September 20, 2014 by jackaub

[Lucifers Hero 38,985]

I came accross this in the AFL Rules

18.1 Application for Relisting

1. A Player and Club may apply to the AFL for a special ruling that the Player who has been or is to be delisted from the Club may be relisted by the Club.
2. …………….

18.2 Grounds for Relisting

1. …………….
2. It is a pre-condition to the granting of approval that the Player spent no more than one Season removed from the Club’s List and that the Player did not receive a Football Payment by the Club during this time.
3. It is a further pre -condition that if the Player was on the Primary List, he must be relisted on the Primary List.

I would guess the 'retirement' was handled with this rule in mind. It means that an offer to Mitch would be on the primary list NOT as a rookie.

I believe that there was some legitimacy to his depression as I recall there was real concern for 'his personal safety' and that would have been quite a claim if there wasn't some basis to it. Who knows how his mind works or his perception of his circumstances. As Voss hinted at, maybe he is just the type who can't face his issues and does a 'runner' when the going gets rough, which is not uncommon for people with depression/anxiety. My experience has been that in the end you can't run away from yourself so best to face the demons (no pun intended).

However, his circumsatances/perception do not excuse his/his manger's lack of integrity/respect in their handling of this. By all accounts his manager shopped him around before meeting with Roos. If Mitch had faced up to Roos and said thanks for everything but he wanted to go elsewhere (for whatever reason) Roos would not have been happy but probably would have helped him out. MC would become a beaming role model for people with depression making a comeback to professional sport and be hailed somewhat of a hero.

To blindside Roos and the Club was downright stupid and he gave up the opportunity to leave a great legacy to the sport and to people with depression. He could have been to depression what the Ox is to people with gambling problems. His behaviour will haunt him for a long time to come. He can hide in denial but in the end he can't run from himself. As we all know there is a karma bus so let him go and what will be will be.

Edited September 20, 2014 by Lucifer's Hero

[jackaub 1,402]

It is really interesting to hear what Voss Lyon and Leigh Matthews have said about MC Says a lot about the man!

Edited September 20, 2014 by jackaub

[Bombay Airconditioning 6,217]

But it's fairly true to form for Collingwood: Jolly, Q Lynch, Ben Hudson ... they like picking up mature-age talls.

Also, both Saints and Dogs have a lot of younger players, and possibly don't want Mitch around.

Cant imagine the Saints or Dogs saying no to fully fit Mitch. So let's say Mitch goes to the pies, but Beams requests a trade and leaves to the Lions(could be anywhere), Swan can't get over his injury's, Cloke keeps missing set shots, their young back line struggles again late in the season, Sidebottom suffers a season ending ACL. The pies miss the 8 again. What then.....the AFL will have to pave the way for him to go to either Sydney, Port or Hawthorn because being in a losing side is doing his supposed mental health issues harm. This is a case of taking the proverbial.

[chook fowler 19,266]

It is really interesting to hear what Voss Lyon and Leigh Matthews have said about MC Says a lot about the man!

This combined with a history of burning 3 clubs provides good circumstantial evidence of his prickedness.