Dwayne Russell on SEN said he'd spoken to Paul Connors who denied that facilities were the reason Judd decided not to choose the Dees. So either Connors is telling the truth or Harris. If it's Connors then the club is actively trying to spoil any deal of Judd going to Collingwood. Personally I can't see the point, but it is footy...

For reasons i cant quite fathom.. ( its stopping me going to bed as its doing my little sconce in!! lol ) this is something that is really a lot lot more than meets the eye.

The more I think about it the more I think this is a very cleverly disguised backhander directed towards Judd and Connors.

On one hand it strikes me that MFc are playin gclever buggers with very ( to me ) tongue in cheek sarcasm , supposedly self effacing but it really reads to me like... WHO THE F**K DO YOU THINK YOU GUYS ARE !!.. poor poor lil us..we're so glad you even talked to us etc !! smacks a lil of Get effed with a smile !!

Motive.. for supposed declinig Deeland.. facilities !! ffs.. and drivng around to training...wtf !! .. If this was mentioned to CAC ..and I see no reason for Harris to lie..in fact I see every reason for him to quote verbatim, then Harris is exposing the Juddernaut express for exactly what it is..without saying a nasty word !!

I notice neither Connors nor Guddless denying it . As pointed out elsewhere.. Either Harris is lying..and by stating what he has on the website he opens himself and club up for legal challenges as well as ridicule, but only if he's lying !!

This is not people a very straight forward game. For the moment I wont dismiss Harris's stance or comments as derogatory towards us, in fact if anything Its like a clever angler.. just letting the line out a bit.

I could be wrong.. ( we all know that!! lol ) but this little side episode isnt over yet!!

This game is being played down the boundary in the pockets.....not through the corridor !!

more smoke and mirrors to follow I'm sure

The club through out 2007 has been trying to point out the unlevel playing field that the AFL is. Paul Gardner started this agenda after the first couple of games and Steve Harris continues this with the Judd Press release.

A poster on Demonology reckons the real reason Judd didn't nominate Melbourne was salary cap issues (his requested salary wouldn't fit). How on earth do Melbourne have salary cap issues with its current list? I understand why Carlton are still in the running if this IS the reason, but how are Collingwood still alive?

Anyway, I found this article to be an interesting summary of yesterdays events:

http://realfooty.com.au/news/news/two-left...ge#contentSwap1

A poster on Demonology reckons the real reason Judd didn't nominate Melbourne was salary cap issues (his requested salary wouldn't fit). How on earth do Melbourne have salary cap issues with its current list? I understand why Carlton are still in the running if this IS the reason, but how are Collingwood still alive?

Anyway, I found this article to be an interesting summary of yesterdays events:

http://realfooty.com.au/news/news/two-left...ge#contentSwap1

[censored] Judd, I hope his groin injury stays chronic and rebecca leaves him for wayne carey.

......, but how are Collingwood still alive?

they are alive for it would seem they were always the intended !! they can easily use all of their salary cap. Paying Juddas wouldnt stretch them much

and rebecca leaves him for wayne carey.

Satisfied?

Jesus christ...

Harris must go. I emailed the club already regarding this digracecful press release.

If the MFC are 'satisfied' with this outcome, then we will never see another flag in our lifetimes

I e-mailed Steve Harris to voice the opinions of a few people I know.

He seemed somewhat offended. However he did copy Dean Bailey, Craig Cameron and Chris Connolly on the e-mail thread. I expressed my opinions, he expressed his, in the end he made the valid point that trade week is still on and we need to make sure we don't tread on anyones shoes in this delicate time, further hindering other negotiations.

Made sense. However...... I DO THINK IT WAS A [censored] WEAK REPLY. Give a [censored] about treading on shoes........ ITS ABOUT TIME WE STOOD UP FOR OURSELVES.

I e-mailed Steve Harris to voice the opinions of a few people I know.

He seemed somewhat offended. However he did copy Dean Bailey, Craig Cameron and Chris Connolly on the e-mail thread. I expressed my opinions, he expressed his, in the end he made the valid point that trade week is still on and we need to make sure we don't tread on anyones shoes in this delicate time, further hindering other negotiations.

Made sense. However...... I DO THINK IT WAS A [censored] WEAK REPLY. Give a [censored] about treading on shoes........ ITS ABOUT TIME WE STOOD UP FOR OURSELVES.

Can you post the email thread?

Yeah, I'm intrigued to know what Harris has to say, and what his tone is. I understand why he said the things he said in yesterdays release, and if anything Judd is the one who is coming out looking like the tool. I would have prefered that Harris not downplay the club to the extent that he did, but perhaps he was having a back handed go at Judd and it should be read in a mocking tone. I certainly found Bailey's comments re: our facilities to be amusing backhander at Juddas!

Steve Harris should realise the only reason he chose to look at Melbourne was his support of them as a youngster, it certainly hasn't been from anything he or Gardener have done to the club. They both are as useless as Szonby. This just shows you that the club has not advanced in the slightest. Near enough is good enough, we are a crap club, that no one respects and you can see why.

This post is ridiculous. In my humble opinion there has never been anyone at this club that has performed worse than Szondy and I include even players who never played a game. I have this written down but I have lost the copy in a draw with my tax documents and can't find it.

PS. It is a bit silly to call us a crap club that no one respects. If that is your true feeling maybe you should find another club to support that is respected and is not crap.

On reflection, it seems that Hannabal's version of events is closest to the truth.

Judd had no initial interest in the Dees and his preferred club is Collingwood

Connors suggested talking to the Dees based on his association with CAC

Judd was impressed with us and the gap was closed to some extent but not enough

I didn't want to believe it because, through my rose-coloured glasses, I simply couldn't understand why he wouldn't want to be at the Dees.

People asking as to why did Judd ever talk to us when he had no intention are crying sour grapes. Its in his best interests to have a look at other clubs to ensure he's making the best decision for himself.

I have no issue with Harris' statement. Being "quietly satisfied" is really just saying that they believe the club is on the right track. If you're angry at the club, you're just looking for a scapegoat for something that was never going to eventuate.

Having said all that, I now hate Chris Judd and hope Collingwood have to sell the farm to the detriment of the club.

I'll never be able to watch him play again without a twinge of pain.

i agree with fatty to some extent as i think that there is not a lot of truth to the whole facilities thing said by his manager. but i wish he didnt drag us along. from now on i will think of judd as a soft c***

Can you post the email thread?

Unfortunately deleted it as soon as I got it.

However I will share the finer points in my memory.

He first explained his reasoning to copy Bailey, Cameron and Connolly which was just so they can be in on what im saying.

He then went into how it is not smart to bag out anybody with trade week coming.

Sounded like he didn't want to [censored] off any other clubs, or Paul Connors, manager of some of the Demons boys.

Then he seemed to get a bit defensive saying that how people feel about us is not how we conduct ourselves now, it was a precise and sensible answer that I respected quite strongly. We are hopeful supporters will not clutch to failures of the past and get behind the team 100%. Because yes, the Melbourne Football Club is one that needs everyone giving 100%. As much the staff, players and coaches can, we also need our fans being 100% behind the club and getting to the games.

I tried to remember, there was more but thats all that really stood out, he seemed to get a bit defensive with me but it was more so he could show his point of view. His tone suggested the club had received a few complaints about it. Overall it was a good response that gave me confidence about the Melbourne football club going forward.

I thought of this immediately after I saw that press release. I thought "How can you be satisfied with something you didn't achieve?". IMO, if you don't finish first, you finish last, and we as well have never been in the hunt. If he really wanted Judd, something along the lines of:

"We are disappointed Chris hasn't chosen us as his destination club for 2008 and beyond. While we went beyond his expectations in our presentation, we fully explained our situation regarding our training facilities. Clearly, Chris didn't want to be a part of the MFC. However, we must move on and focus on more important things. We wish Chris the best of luck in 2008 and beyond."

That's more professional than:

"We, at the Melbourne football, must say (in line with our acceptance of mediocrity) that we happy that we were eliminated before a shambles of a club in Carlton and by the most hated team in the AFL. Collingwood. Hopefully we can learn from this and base our future on the presentation we gave to Chris."

Obviously, your presentation wasn't good enough you putz!

I think we should ask ourselves "who was this message intended for?"

It was not intended for me, or the other members. It was not intended for Joe Public. It was not intendeed for Judd and his management.

The message has always been "uneven playing field" - We are not treated fairly with the draw and in lots of other ways.

It may be that the message was intended for the AFL to ensure ongoing 'support'. Maybe also a bit for our sponsors or potential sponsors- everyone loves to be associated with the underdog-made-good.

Every planned press statement has a message and a target audience. Don't worry what SH said, as it wasn't aimed at you.