Farewell Jack Watts

[Sir Why You Little 36,971]

Just now, beelzebub said:

Might well be something in that, or

Jack might take his bat and ball too.

We'll know soo enough.

Of course he might walk, but he might also want to win a flag with his mates. He has to want to get better

Moving to Sydney is a big commitment. 

At Melbourne he knows exactly what is a non negotiable requirement. 

At no stage yet has Goodwin said “Jack Watts is on the table”

he has said that Jack is welcome to come back if.....

[daisycutter 29,604]

32 minutes ago, SFebey said:

....... and referring us to "they." ........

seriously? did you expect him to say  "we don't want me" ?.........reading far too much into the use of "they"

[jackaub 1,402]

Watts has zero credibility in this conversation

He has been told what is expected on numerous occasions

So  far he has failed to respond to direct criticisms

So I guess he will go and check out the greener grass

I am not sure any coach would put up with lack of intensity

Last chance Jack I hope you get it!

 

[SFebes 4,884]

Just now, daisycutter said:

seriously? did you expect him to say  "we don't want me" ?.........reading far too much into the use of "they"

Had nothing to do with him saying that, it was more along the lines of "they've been doing OK the Demons."

Now you're just trying to put wrong words into context with me. See the video interview.

[Sir Why You Little 36,971]

4 minutes ago, SFebey said:

I am going to believe Watts than the nothing dribble Goodwin has dished up all year. Horse --> Mouth

I will back the Coach as he is a dual Back to Back Premiership Coach, who knows first hand what is required to win. 

He would also know how skillfull Jack can be. 

The “old” Jack Watts is gone. 

The new one is deciding his future...

[SFebes 4,884]

1 minute ago, Sir Why You Little said:

I will back the Coach as he is a dual Back to Back Premiership Coach, who knows first hand what is required to win. 

He would also know how skillfull Jack can be. 

The “old” Jack Watts is gone. 

The new one is deciding his future...

Lol

[demon25 34]

 

Before today I have never taken pen to paper to discuss a potential trade but the thought of Melbourne trading Jack Watts has me both livid and incredulous. I'll briefly outline my reasons why:

 

1. There is no one in the team you would rather have shooting for goal after the siren under pressure (a la Pies game this year). His foot skills are equisite
2. He is simply our most naturally gifted disposer/distributor of the ball
3. He and Hogan have an uncanny ability to find each other in the forward line
4. He can pinch hit in the ruck
5. He has handled enormous expectations and pressure over 10 years with a rare courage and dignity
6. He,along with Jones, has been through a dark period in Melbourne's history and deserves to participate in the resurgence
7. I understand he is much loved character within the team
8. We have a dearth of quality players in the 25-30 year old bracket

Obviously he has his weaknesses, and is not an in and under mongrel like Viney/Jones/Oliver. But not everyone has to be cut from that cloth. You also need finishers. 

 

There are reports his attitude is not at the required level. Well isn't that Goodwin's and the army of assistant coaches job to instill it? Or are they walking away from that responsibility?

 

Loyalty is perhaps a jaded concept in AFL these days, but if anyone has bled red and blue over the past decade it has been Watts (and Jones). 

 

I implore MFC to keep him at the club.

[Akum 2,660]

What's RSN?

[Dee Zephyr 19,267]

2 minutes ago, Akum said:

What's RSN?

The horse racing station with sport segments in the morning.

[binman 42,659]

2 minutes ago, Akum said:

What's RSN?

Radio Sports Netwok.

927 on the am dial. The racing station. But a good sports show in tge morning

[Redleg 40,834]

1 hour ago, fndee said:

I wrote to the Club re Jack and received this response

"Thank you for taking the time to contact the Melbourne Football Club.

As you can imagine, list management is one of the most critical and important aspects of all AFL Clubs and in such a competitive industry, decisions must be made with the Club's success as the main focus. 

At the end of the season, both Jack and the Club met to have a mature discussion about the future. Both parties agreed that after 9 years at the Club, the timing was right for Jack to explore potential opportunities for 2018. 

This does not mean Jack is leaving the Club. He is a contracted player and if we believe that after looking at all the options, the best thing is for Jack to remain at the footy club, then that will happen. Similarly, if a deal presents itself that satisfies both the Club and Jack, then we will explore that as an option during the trade period. 

The Club's number one priority is to improve our playing list and that will be the driving force behind any decision made in this area. 

As soon as any decision during the upcoming trade period is finalised, we will ensure that this is communicated to our supporters and members.

Thank you again for your support and we look forward to having you on board in 2018!"

Kind regards, 

Stephanie Breheny MFC

Pretty good response.

I wonder how many clubs would respond on the issue of list management.

[rpfc 28,262]

11 minutes ago, Redleg said:

Pretty good response.

I wonder how many clubs would respond on the issue of list management.

All would have a 'canned' answer like that ready to be copied and pasted into Comms. Change management 101.

[At the break of Gawn 4,460]

1 hour ago, binman said:

Sorry, i'm not what you men with this post. Both sentences confuse me. 

Please explain.

Really? Simon was bad mouthing him at a corporate function that he was invited to as a guest speaker. The bad mouthing happened during a group conversation after the official proceedings (i.e. not said publicly)

[DSP 1,488]

40 minutes ago, demon25 said:

 

Before today I have never taken pen to paper to discuss a potential trade but the thought of Melbourne trading Jack Watts has me both livid and incredulous. I'll briefly outline my reasons why:

 

1. There is no one in the team you would rather have shooting for goal after the siren under pressure (a la Pies game this year). His foot skills are equisite
2. He is simply our most naturally gifted disposer/distributor of the ball
3. He and Hogan have an uncanny ability to find each other in the forward line
4. He can pinch hit in the ruck
5. He has handled enormous expectations and pressure over 10 years with a rare courage and dignity
6. He,along with Jones, has been through a dark period in Melbourne's history and deserves to participate in the resurgence
7. I understand he is much loved character within the team
8. We have a dearth of quality players in the 25-30 year old bracket

Obviously he has his weaknesses, and is not an in and under mongrel like Viney/Jones/Oliver. But not everyone has to be cut from that cloth. You also need finishers. 

 

There are reports his attitude is not at the required level. Well isn't that Goodwin's and the army of assistant coaches job to instill it? Or are they walking away from that responsibility?

 

Loyalty is perhaps a jaded concept in AFL these days, but if anyone has bled red and blue over the past decade it has been Watts (and Jones). 

 

I implore MFC to keep him at the club.

Send this to the club or have you already?

[hemingway 7,615]

11 minutes ago, At the break of Gawn said:

Really? Simon was bad mouthing him at a corporate function that he was invited to as a guest speaker. The bad mouthing happened during a group conversation after the official proceedings (i.e. not said publicly)

If this is true, it would be disappointing and reflect very poorly on Goodwins judgement and values in regard to people management and decency.  I hope it is not true. If it is true, I would lose any respect that I have for him. 

[praha 11,236]

15 minutes ago, rpfc said:

All would have a 'canned' answer like that ready to be copied and pasted into Comms. Change management 101.

Still, it's a fairly grounded and honest response. It's reasonable to assume Melbourne won't accept a second round pick just to get rid of him. If we're getting a good young player in return then it would happen.

[Dr. Gonzo 24,175]

I'd also like to say that although I have come across as very "anti-Watts" to some on here, if things turned out that no suitable trade could be agreed on and he ended up staying on the list next year I wouldn't be upset.

Seems an extremely unlikely occurrence given whats in the public domain however stranger things have happened.

[Lucifers Hero 39,595]

1 hour ago, Sir Why You Little said:

I will back the Coach as he is a dual Back to Back Premiership Coach, who knows first hand what is required to win. 

He would also know how skillfull Jack can be. 

The “old” Jack Watts is gone. 

The new one is deciding his future...

Just a small correction Sir...Goodwin was a back to back premiership player in his first two years as a player.  He became captain 10 years later for for three years and it finished 5th, 5th and 11th at which time he retired as a player.

I'm delighted he won 2 premierships, has lots of AA's and B&F's so clearly he is driven and a terrific player but was he or is he a good leader?  The jury is still out on that. 

Edited October 2, 2017 by Lucifer's Hero

[mauriesy 7,261]

18 hours ago, Earl Hood said:

The only sense I can make of this situation is that Goodwin has decided he needs to make a very plain statement to the rest of the list that anything less than 100% commitment will not be tolerated. 

I love the modern workplace whether it is AFL or medium to large corporate workplaces. We have never had so many managers, so many management resources, but we have never so quick to restructure out of the place, people who don't adhere completely to the code of conduct, the corporate blueprint or whatever. Technically talented people who question the status quo, call a spade a spade are often sacrificed to maintain the corporate culture. I don't always buy it, people can be mentored and performance managed to make it clear that if you meet our agreed targets your in, if you don't, we may need to move you on. But also the corporation needs to be able to handle some diversity itself if it wants to prosper. Of course with so much management these days, the tolerance for diverse opinion or behavaviour has never been lower.

Has MFC been through this with Jack this season and Made plain to him the consequences of failure I don't know.

So on the one hand Goodwin is a some sort of autocrat who is "making it plain to the rest of the list" what won't be tolerated, and on the other hand it's "so many managers" who are complicating the process with codes of conduct and corporate blueprints?

How do we know it's not the "rest of the list" that has decided Watts doesn't put in enough and will not help them get to a flag?

Leading Teams and the ethos it tries to deliver is all about players taking control, not being treated like schoolboys.

Edited October 2, 2017 by mauriesy

[picket fence 17,048]

Mate from Sydney reckons Rohan is on the outer ( not surprising given he chokes in Finals) He reckons Watts for Rohan?! 

I said No Bloody way known we would entertain that deal!!

Hang on a minute this is Melbourne!!

[Ron Burgundy 8,584]

16 hours ago, Number of the Beast said:

Sorry to tell you but Jack is not the sole reason we don't come close to what the last two premiers have dished up in their respective finals campaigns. His departure does not put us closer either. This thread's got momentum because a section of the MFC supporter base do give a damn about the ousting of a clubman. But , as I said in another post; agree to disagree.

Great post.

 

[Bobby McKenzie 2,383]

3 hours ago, SFebey said:

Goodwin isn't dangling any carrot, he doesn't want him there, he's lost complete patience as per commentary. Even Watts himself has said personally he has been booted out and referring us to "they." Here no Carrot, no carrot here. Only rockets. The more to the story bit is Watts has done something more than what we see and here. It'll all come out eventually but he's goneski full stop.

Do you honestly believe we would give Jack up for any old pick in the draft? If so Goodwin and company have rocks in their head.

[SFebes 4,884]

8 minutes ago, Bobby McKenzie said:

Do you honestly believe we would give Jack up for any old pick in the draft? If so Goodwin and company have rocks in their head.

No I don't believe that, he's worth a second round pick IMO and we will get it, somewhere. As for Goodwin, I'm starting to see a few little red flags, I don't want this to go back to Neeld like days but from all reports I've had the players love Goody and perhaps not so much Roos.

Funny game footy and ruthless, look at Hawks, a year out of the 8 and theres turmoil, pressure off us for a bit unless Lever doesn't rock up.

[DSP 1,488]

Wallet on SEN:

Watts out to his choice of club.

Lever down back

TMac to take Watts position up forward along with Weeds and Hogan next year

Edited October 2, 2017 by DSP

[rjay 24,877]

7 minutes ago, SFebey said:

Funny game footy and ruthless, look at Hawks, a year out of the 8 and theres turmoil,

No turmoil.

They recognised early they had the wrong person in the CEO role and moved her on.

We kept the wrong person in that role for years and nearly destroyed the club doing it.

Now that's turmoil...

Edited October 2, 2017 by rjay