I'm a walking sporting curse!

I'll see your curse and raise you one...

When I first moved to Sydney and took an interest in NRL, I followed the Newtown Jets... club folded.

Next, I moved my alliegance to the North Sydney Bears... club was merged with Manly Sea Eagles and moved to the Central Coast... not too long after, central coast initiative abandoned, manly Sea Eagles reinstated as the Manly Sea Eagles, North Sydney Bears?...club folded.

Still reeling from that, I switched to South Sydney Rabbitohs... a few seasons later...club folded. (the happy ending there was that after much lobbying by luminaries such as Russel Crowe and Andrew Denton, they were reinstated a few seasons later and last year won the premiership).

And through all of this, I have supported the MFC since the late '50's.

Edited February 6, 201510 yr by hardtack

I agree, the tanking issue, so called, is dead and we should move on with heads held high, into a brighter future.

But for the record, in the AFL book of 'legislated' rules, there is no 'tanking' rule. Connolly and Dean Bailey were done for bringing the game into disrepute. The CEO walked away with his teflon coat still intact, only to get his just desserts a little later. in DB's case, he was made the fall guy and it was a blight on the entire AFL industry, that he was. RIP Dean. The MFC were fined simply because the people who were suspended were on our payroll.

For those who practise Law - and I do - it is patently evident that it is impossible to construct a "tanking' rule, so as to be codified into the AFL rules and therefore such a 'rule' would be prosecutable. But if for a moment it were at all possible to construct a prosecutable instrument, in relation to 'tanking', half the AFL teams would have been also done, as all were beholden to a draft system which rewarded mediocrity and to a large extent still does.

Perhaps a 'stupidity' rule would be more apt, but then if such a rule existed, many AFL clubs would have 'dockets' as long as your arm.

However, to paraphrase PJ at the AGM, the MFC is a significantly different club to what it was 3 years ago.

Edited February 6, 201510 yr by iv'a worn smith

I'll see your curse and raise you one...

Ive followed the Dees since beginning of 1965....... !! just saying...lol

Ive followed the Dees since beginning of 1965....... !! just saying...lol

Sooooo, it was YOU!!

Does any one know why the club has not put up the Roos speech and the vision of recruits on the club site, from the AGM, as they have done in the past?

Does any one know why the club has not put up the Roos speech and the vision of recruits on the club site, from the AGM, as they have done in the past?

Lost the vision?

Does any one know why the club has not put up the Roos speech and the vision of recruits on the club site, from the AGM, as they have done in the past?

ran out of space on their telstra video server?

Does any one know why the club has not put up the Roos speech and the vision of recruits on the club site, from the AGM, as they have done in the past?

I'd say it was probably poor vision on the video, so they've elected not to use it.

It was focused on the 1 person speaking at the lectern, and wouldn't have picked up the multiple people speaking during Roos' talk.

His speech was brief and nothing earth-shattering.

It was interesting to hear H say that MFC had a higher standard of professionalism than Collingwood in some ways, specifically the way different departments communicated and worked as one cohesive unit.

So why didn't McLean say the same sort of thing about the club he joined? Carlton. They were the kings of tanking - they tanked for Walker, Gibbs, Murphy, Kennedy, Kreuzer & Judd. And, they got away with it.

It was common knowledge about what they were doing - even the bookmakers wouldn't take bets on the Kreuzer cup match. I was at that game and they threw the match. It had less intensity than a soccer friendly. Way less. Ratten was their coach and Kernahan was their vice-president at the time.

I see the whole McLean interview issue as "durian - king of the fruits".

Smells like hell but tastes like heaven.

I absolute hate what McLean did - unnecessary and should have kept his mouth shut - contrast his statements to James McDonald who had every reason to have sour grapes over the handling of retirement but would not unload on the club.

I absolute love the outcome. I know it cost us money and humiliation but I question if we would have Jackson and Roos in place if this did not happen.

( I would have liked to take what was behind curtain three though - no tanking investigation, no fine, no humiliation and getting a good clean out with Roos and Jackson riding in on white horses )

Cannot believe an AGM thread has been derailed into a dig up the old crap about tanking thread.

Sorry to talk about the AGM on the AGM thread but I just watched the footage of PJ's speech. He certainly fills you with a lot of confidence.He's done such a good job of cleaning out deadwood. They are obviously doing a lot better financially with less but better people than they were before. Much prefer the strategic plan of going back to the old heartland areas to build the supporter and membership base instead of heading out of town to Casey as the sole source of future development. What a legend he'll be if we make finals in '16, hit 50,000 members and get a solid profit.

Edited February 6, 201510 yr by It's Time

are you effing kidding me? He cost us a lot of money and instability in the club, and compromised the reputation of the club, and you're backing him for some reason. What is with some people here? The McLean, Scully and Clark defenders who the F do you barrack for? just shut up

LMAO what reputation?

If it wasn't for what he did we wouldn't have had Paul Roos and Peter Jackson.

Fool.

LMAO what reputation?

If it wasn't for what he did we wouldn't have had Paul Roos and Peter Jackson.

Fool.

the reputation of NOT being known as a club that deliberately loses

maybe you are correct in that the sh1tstorm he corrected ultimately ended up being a good thing for the club in some ways, but that doesn't change the fact that what he did was a complete dog act

it's not like he was thinking 'i'm going to help melbourne out by forcing them to reassign their staff and admin positions'

all he did was knife his teammates, coaches, the club itself and all of us

the reputation of NOT being known as a club that deliberately loses

maybe you are correct in that the sh1tstorm he corrected ultimately ended up being a good thing for the club in some ways, but that doesn't change the fact that what he did was a complete dog act

it's not like he was thinking 'i'm going to help melbourne out by forcing them to reassign their staff and admin positions'

all he did was knife his teammates, coaches, the club itself and all of us

Did the club 2 Big Favours actually

1. He Left

2. Dobbed in the toxic culture that Brad Green wanted to but couldn't days before 186

Fact.

After the 2nd tanking investigation, I told myself that if I ever bumped into Brock, I'd give him an earful.

I then saw him outside the Portsea Polo as I was entering, perfect opportunity, hanging about in his own like he was waiting for someone.

I looked at him for a bit while I waited for a mate to come out with my ticket, and maybe it had something to do with me being gutless, but I just couldn't do it.

He just looked so... pathetic and awkward. I felt sorry for the guy.

I don't think he had a flying fig of a clue what he was doing at the time, the bloke is lost.

Good on him to standing up and exposing the likes of Schwab and Connelly. Our culture was toxic and these two were the main integrators.

Yeah he is a dog act for standing up and not taking the easy option out like Libba..

What an unbelievable post...

Yes, it's a dog act to throw your former club and everybody still actively involved with it under a bus. Just to try to get more attention/ratings for a stupid interview.

What's unbelievable is somebody trying to commend McLean's actions and go as far as to praise him for the Jackson appointment.

Yes, it's a dog act to throw your former club and everybody still actively involved with it under a bus. Just to try to get more attention/ratings for a stupid interview.

What's unbelievable is somebody trying to commend McLean's actions and go as far as to praise him for the Jackson appointment.

crazy isn't it

Did the club 2 Big Favours actually

1. He Left

2. Dobbed in the toxic culture that Brad Green wanted to but couldn't days before 186

Fact.

You say that like he intended the outcome to be as positive as it played out.

He hated all the heat he got for being the highest paid player in the VFL (which he managed to turn around in the final year of his belated contract, which unsurprisingly is when his big interview occurred) and I remember seeing somewhere he attributed it all to being Melbourne supporters. Like he couldn't accept the whole AFL community outside of Carlton finding it funny that a player getting paid that much couldn't get games in the seniors, it had to be all bitter MFC supporters.

It makes sense that his hatred of Melbourne over that period was the biggest motivator for said comments when finally given a platform.

You say that like he intended the outcome to be as positive as it played out.

He hated all the heat he got for being the highest paid player in the VFL (which he managed to turn around in the final year of his belated contract, which unsurprisingly is when his big interview occurred) and I remember seeing somewhere he attributed it all to being Melbourne supporters. Like he couldn't accept the whole AFL community outside of Carlton finding it funny that a player getting paid that much couldn't get games in the seniors, it had to be all bitter MFC supporters.

It makes sense that his hatred of Melbourne over that period was the biggest motivator for said comments when finally given a platform.

After the shite died down it was a positive for us..............

Whether he meant it or not He said what Brad Green wanted to say....but couldn't

That interview he did with Sheehan days before 186 was very interesting...Full of Nervous energy...I knew there was trouble that night

After the shite died down it was a positive for us..............

Whether he meant it or not He said what Brad Green wanted to say....but couldn't

That interview he did with Sheehan days before 186 was very interesting...Full of Nervous energy...I knew there was trouble that night

Just out of interest for those of us who are completely ignorant, what specifically did Brad want to tell us?

Just out of interest for those of us who are completely ignorant, what specifically did Brad want to tell us?

well i think he wanted to spill the beans but as Captain of the MFC couldn't.

And Sheehan knew it...

That's how i viewed it.

The following saturday proved it to me...

well i think he wanted to spill the beans but as Captain of the MFC couldn't.

And Sheehan knew it...

That's how i viewed it.

The following saturday proved it to me...

keep it simple.

He wasn't a dog

keep it simple.

He wasn't a dog

Not at all. Greeny is a good man

But he knew the damage that was about to blow...

I see the whole McLean interview issue as "durian - king of the fruits".

Smells like hell but tastes like heaven.

I absolute hate what McLean did - unnecessary and should have kept his mouth shut - contrast his statements to James McDonald who had every reason to have sour grapes over the handling of retirement but would not unload on the club.

I absolute love the outcome. I know it cost us money and humiliation but I question if we would have Jackson and Roos in place if this did not happen.

( I would have liked to take what was behind curtain three though - no tanking investigation, no fine, no humiliation and getting a good clean out with Roos and Jackson riding in on white horses )

He did the wrong thing ... forget about the outcome. That's irrelevant in my eyes.

We may well have gone on the road to recovery in any number of ways. We had a poor list regardless of his words. Change was always going to happen to the list, coaching, board and administration ... it was just a matter of when.

Anyway, I'm a firm believer in what goes around, comes around.

Back on topic ...

Unlike a number of others, I believe that all our boards and administrations have contributed in some ways to how we're set up now. Because some people are remembered for the wrong reasons, it's easy to forget their contributions that have left a legacy ...

Many people have had a hand in the ongoing revenue earning capacities of the Bentleigh club, Leigh Oak, Foundation heroes, Increased membership, Corporate sponsorship etc etc. Plus, our training set-up at AAMI and a whole host of other things that have been set up at the club.

He did the wrong thing ... forget about the outcome. That's irrelevant in my eyes.

We may well have gone on the road to recovery in any number of ways. We had a poor list regardless of his words. Change was always going to happen to the list, coaching, board and administration ... it was just a matter of when.

Anyway, I'm a firm believer in what goes around, comes around.

I don't believe that Mcleans outburst was for altruistic purposes. I also think you are right. Something had to give. I am just not so sure that the AFL would have gotten involved and installed Jackson into his position. I'm not sure we would be where we are so quickly without the tanking debacle. I'm not thanking McLean for it as I did not like what he did. But I also won't back away from my view that the tanking debacle was the catalyst for where we are now.