GOODBYE MITCH CLARK

[monoccular 15,989]

'

WGAF?? We all want to play finals footy.

He made his bed,....

He doesn't get to pick and choose. Th e AFL system doesn't work like that.

unless maybe he wanted to move to Sydney, or another "power club". :-( Edited September 8, 2014 by monoccular

[pitchfork 181]

I feel that MC would probably sign with us if we agreed to a contract that matched whatever the offer is from some other club. But it appears that we would want him on a rookie contract. This is completely reasonable for a player that needs to demonstrate he wants to and can play a full season, and still needs to get into footy shape.

(I get the feeling that Mitch knows that the MFC have gone to great lengths for him and that there is a sense he owes us if he returns)

Deal should be 1 year at a reasonable price (~150-200k?). This would allow Mitch 1 year to play. After 1 season he can walk as a u/FA or re-sign on a deal commensurate with what he shows in 2015. Would be fair for all.

[Neitz the Great 520]

I personally feel that if Mitch left us it would be the biggest kick in the ***** anyone could give us. The amount of support we have shown Mitch has been incredible and he owes it to us to come back and make a difference to this footy club that has done so much for him. Really, this is a chance for him to show some loyalty and faith.

[John Crow Batty 8,217]

Why the hell did he retain his manager anyway if he retired? Certainly not for flogging off his photographs.

[pitchfork 181]

Why the hell did he retain his manager anyway if he retired? Certainly not for flogging off his photographs.

manager takes a percentage of the contract, so he'd already paid for his services.

[bluey 877]

I suspect like most 27 year olds the realisation has come, Mitch needs an income to maintain his hipster lifestyle.

Should the club chance it's arm again with an aging, injury prone, unfit Mitch suffering/recovering from depression?.................., nah, nope, not a chance in hell, but if Mitch does decide to play, on we should of course seek any form of compensation that is available.

[PaulRB 5,897]

What staggers me is the huge sense of entitlement some players have to take, take and then take.

Mitch Clark received approx $700k per season for 3 years, played 15 games for the club.

Thats $140,000 PER GAME of footy!

He then makes noises about owing the club while acting to disadvantage and leave the same club.

Blows my mind how obscene this all is.

[nutbean 8,837]

Good call by those saying the issue might be we had planned on putting mc on the rookie list (and perhaps Mc had agreed to this) but then his manager got in his ear and said 'Mitch you're a star not a rookie, I can get you on any list you want and on top coin. Heck I'll get you on the hawk's list and you'll. Be winning a flag next year'

So stupid. Again what is up with this manager. The play was to go on the dees rookie list and fly under the radar a bit. Less pressure. Has a feel good vibe. He doesn't come of as a mercenary who has rejected the club who supported him, probably maximises likliehood of making it back, dees fans embrace him, everyone looks and feels great. A win win.

Except of course his manager who gets much less coin than flogging him off to the highest bidder. Which ironically probably now no sure thing given the circus and the inevitable heat that would come with him. So stupid

What's with his manager ? Understand where the managers loyalty lies - he would be advising his client that he can play and get paid well. Managers will always do whats in the best interest of the both the player AND the manager.

[timmy 29]

There will be quite a few posters coming back here to edit and remove their posts if MC ends up playing in the Red and Blue again and even more if he does it successfully.

Not saying it will happen, but seems many here should be using the hashtag #jumpingtoconclusions

[beelzebub 22,225]

Funny how different we can all see this. Personally I consider MC to have enormously under-delivered. I would have thought there was scope on his behalf to repay the club in kind sts by accepting our offer. Iwould imagine said offer to be tempered and realistic. .

I await outcomes.

[SergeantScooch 23]

Why the hell did he retain his manager anyway if he retired? Certainly not for flogging off his photographs.

Football managers usually follow the same contract periods as the players themselves ie. contracted to October 31st. So Mitch's [censored] manager was still contracted for another couple of months.

Did it annoy anyone else the way and the tone that he kept on calling him "Mitchell", sounded like a dirty politician / used car salesmen...

[Fat Tony 4,349]

I don’t think we will know the full story on this until after the priority pick and Frawley compensation decisions, which, fortunate for us, is prior to the trade period.

[InVINCEable 358]

I'm back, computer got fixed.

Also, if Clark comes back, it better be to us or I'll not only lose all respect for him but think he faked his depression.

[praha 10,267]

Why the hell did he retain his manager anyway if he retired? Certainly not for flogging off his photographs.

Like playing contracts, you sign a manager for a period of time. I imagine that his managed was signed up until at least the end of his first contract with Melbourne.

[Demonland 64,361]

disappointed in demonland not making 100 pages by midnight yesterday

oh well we are melbourne after all.....sigh

If it makes you feel any better we technically did reach the 100 page mark prior to midnight but I've had to delete about 3 pages of material.

[Demon Stalwart 255]

Young revealed up to six AFL clubs had already made contact once Clark confirmed he was mulling over a return.

If Clark did move to another club it would likely be through this year's trade period, although Young said Clark has made it clear he does not want to let Melbourne down.

"Mitchell would not walk away from the Melbourne footy club without them getting compensated," Young said.

"Mitchell also did them a massive favour by walking away from a very lucrative contract and also free up a space on their list.

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2014-09-08/clark-return-not-definite?utm_medium=RSS

My Interpretation Mitch is leaving 6 other clubs have approached Mitch Clark and he will be going into this years trade period , Melbourne will be compensated .

Mitch is not all that bad he realises what a waste of space he is and the only way he can pay back the Melbourne Football Club is by getting them a good trade deal

After that he will screw which ever club he goes too as within the preseason he will have another breakdown either physically or otherwise and that will be the end of his carreer

Game over

[Curry & Beer 5,444]

If it makes you feel any better we technically did reach the 100 page mark prior to midnight but I've had to delete about 3 pages of material.

That's a lot of censorship

I wonder what was said

[Gorgoroth 12,305]

That's a lot of censorship

I wonder what was said

A lot of shite.

[Demonland 64,361]

That's a lot of censorship

I wonder what was said

I prefer to call it legally covering my and your (all posters) arses.

[praha 10,267]

That's a lot of censorship

I wonder what was said

Censorship is the wrong term. Only a government can by definition "censor". Demonland was simply choosing not to fund its antagonists, as per this comment:

I prefer to call it legally covering my and your (all posters) arses.

[Pates 9,536]

What his manager said about Mitch walking away was a massive favour to the club is the biggest load I've ever heard. Very typical manager speak to make himself and his client look better.

Now all that said, hearing what Mitch said himself was heartening. Without knowing the facts, I believe the issues is what many have said, that the MFC and MC's manager are at odds on how he should return and on what coin. I am certainly in the mould that Mitch owes us for how we have handled him situation and that a one year contract on a relatively low salary is fair from our point of view. Ideally I'd like to see him rookie listed as it would mean he isn't burdened with the full load and expectation of an AFL player, and if he fails to meet requirements it's less damaging to him and the club, but I feel that his manager will never accept that.

Seeing some of the footage with him in Red and Blue made me remember how much joy and passion he brought on the field, I just hope he can remember that as well.

Gut feeling is that he is likely going to another club, but hopefully Roos and PJ can find a way to convince him he's a demon. I really wonder how much his manager has been in his ear about being able to maximise his potential contract, rather than considering that just returning to football is another stage of recovery.

And FWIW I know there have been a lot on hear questioning the validity of his depression, fact is we are in no position to know his mental health. Roos and the club are taking the matter very seriously and I trust that they'll do what they can to get the best result for us.

[3183 Dee 2,602]

My two penn'orth as I see it:

- MC was legitimately depressed and needed to get away from footy.

- MFC did the right thing in assisting him in whatever way they could with his recovery.

- MC says to MFC, "I'm feeling good, there's a chance I may want to come back and play."

- MFC says to MC, "Great, we'd love to have you back at the club if everything's good - let's put you on a plan to get back to fitness."

- MC, according to his social media and whispers around MFC going well.

- MFC keen to look at getting MC back, but need to do due diligence for both MC and MFC (possibly suggesting rookie spot to start with?) as we are now a Roos/Jackson-led "buy in or get knotted" organisation.

- MC manager sees his golden goose getting duck eggs for a while and puts the word out, leading to interest from 6 clubs (note interest and not clamouring for services).

- This puts MFC on the back foot as they had assumed that there was an agreement that they'd get first refusal after doing due diligence.

- Roos now having to decide about talking MC up for possible PP or talking him down to stop other clubs sniffing.

Will be interesting to see how it plays out. I'd assume Roos feels pretty let down and that may be enough to assume MC will be traded.

[ManDee 7,073]

Roos would make a great poker player. Sometimes you think you know what he is thinking, sometimes you don't, the reality is we never really know what he is thinking. He is juggling several scenarios at a time and playing everyone.

I think he and PJ have orchestrated this Mitch Clark episode and have a desired outcome in mind. The fitness staff have been working with Mitch, they would be providing updates to the club, this may just be a way for Mitch to help the club get compensation from the AFL and Mitch is helping us. Or perhaps the club are helping move him on provided we get a compensation pick.

This is far from over and I doubt we will be the losers.

[Curry & Beer 5,444]

What GNF said, that was later reported by the Ox, was essentially that Mitch had screwed us over and told us he's going elsewhere

After that, popular opinion seems to have morphed into a story about us not wanting Mitch

The second story is easier to deal with emotionally but I don't think it's the truth

If the second story is a fabrication from the club it doesn't help us cos it drops his trade/compo value

[leucopogon 1,468]

While completely disagreeing with Mitch on his choice to shop himself around, it is completely understandable for someone that has displayed clear 'mercenary' tendencies in the past. I think deep down he does know that it's probably a long shot that he'll have a long and successful career from this point forward, therefore it makes sense that he goes for the most lucrative contract on the table rather than accept a sensible mature rookie deal for one year.