Down at Gekkoland another pie in the sjy white shoe brigade deal has collapsed in a heap:-

Blues' $500m pokie deal collapses

"The failed acquisition also raises questions about Carlton's ability to finalise one of the biggest on-field deals in AFL history — the recruitment of star player Chris Judd.

The former West Coast champion is believed to have been impressed by Carlton's off-field revival and is expected to command a salary of more than $1 million a season, if the club can successfully negotiate with the Eagles next week.

But Judd is believed to have been unaware the multimillion-dollar deal had soured when he chose the Blues as his preferred club this week."

And a question -

How does a club that made a $3m profit this year qualify for handouts from the AFL?

How does a club that made a $3m profit this year qualify for handouts from the AFL?

If you ask those tosspoles down at Carlton they'll all tell you; "It's not a handout, we have to pay it back. It's a loan". Yeah, right. An interest-free loan. I'm sure they'll pay it back when they're good and ready.

I loved this bit :

Mr Swann said in June that the deal represented Carlton's official recovery from its financial woes. The former Collingwood chief executive also took the opportunity to fire a salvo at his former club and was quoted as saying, "Collingwood has got four pubs and we have got nine."

But last night, Mr Swann confirmed the purchase was off.

"We were always on the edge of the deal and it will have no impact on our day-to-day operations," he said. "Carlton footy club was never directly involved in the deal and we were very much a third party."

HELLO!

Anyway expect a press release from Swann soon: "Nothing to see here folks move on."