sue

Whatever the outcome, regardless of any outrage, jabberw has hit the nail on the head. (I guess those super-optimists who always were sure he was coming back to us will think differently).

But it is consistent with the 'clean break in new surroundings is required' argument. Depends which rumour you believe. Assumptions to the right, assumptions to the left. Into the valley...

Then it sounds like PJ's 'special assistance' is required. Given the AFL's justification for no PP last year (#11), you'd think PJ would have them in a corner. But then this is the AFL...

My optimistic soul thought this too, but I wasn't sure if it was possible with respect to the timing of steps in the process. Anyone know?

Or hand out a large bucket of special assistance.

Now that their season is over it is likely that the excrement will start impacting the ventilator.

shush! or they will get a PP ahead of us.

Reading the forum of course you see a lot of posters putting the boot into players and the club. Often out of frustration and sometimes wrongly. But if they didn't care they wouldn't post. That is part of the 'relationship'. If footy just becomes a spectator business, the relationship changes. I like watching movies, but I wouldn't give a damn if Paramount/Universal/whatever failed. I do when the MFC does. Will I in 10 years time if players change jumpers every season or two? I haven't stuck the boot into any FA player. I understand why they want to maximise their earnings etc. Yes, the world works differently than it used to. I regret that. I assume you are not saying it is somehow immoral for anyone to regret the change?

What Redleg says is true, but surely you know why many people 'cannot come to grips with FA'. Many of us bemoan the way it changes the relationship between supporters and players and the club. Some unfairly react against the individual players in frustration. As I posted elsewhere, once the relationship with the club becomes a purely business one and the value of membership becomes largely a financial decision about the best way to attend matches, supporters like me who can't get to matches often will drop their membership. The AFL doesn't care because it is full of empire builders who eye the dollars/pounds and glamour of the EPL.

I doubt we'd learn much about the operation of free agency since Essendon FA's would be under a cloud which would distort things.

Well for everyone's sake, I hope they get knocked out this weekend then. (I hope so anyway.)

Very true. That is where FA will completely change the attitude of supporters. Living in the middle of NSW, I and a several of my family who also live interstate, pay our membership year after year even though I've been able to get to only 1 match in the past few years. Why should I keep doing that when footy becomes just a business? Membership then will come down purely to value for money versus paying at the gate. Frankly if it wasn't for the dire straights the MFC has been in in recent years, I would have stopped paying several years ago.

If that happens you watch the AFL hand out PP's and all sorts of 'Special Assistance" to Essendon to make them competitive again. This will be at the expense of the teams like us struggling for all the reasons thrashed on this forum including our own incompetence. Cheating will be treated differently I'll bet.

I consider myself very politically correct but am not convinced this is a case for much concern (though I can understand why Roos has to take the position he has). While PC is used as a term to mock what conservatives perceive as leftist cant, to me it simply means treating all people with respect. Not a very difficult concept and I'm always suspicious of people who label things they don't like as PC to put them down. In the current case I don't really feel it is at all serious since it was Harris being mocked, not his victims. However I can see that some victims may have felt annoyed/hurt and the media loves to mount a high horse. (On the other hand I can readily imagine some victims would have enjoyed someone mocking Harris this way - perhaps more than would be offended.) On a scale of 1 to 100 this rates about 5 to me. However in the current climate, Roos is right to say a moment's thought would lead any sensible person to avoid the topic.

Agree. Do those who are outraged think the players should have made fun of a saint instead?

What a farce. Complaining about parodying Harris is a sure sign we are in the middle of moral panic.

The headline is a bit confusing, but: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-09-01/legal-win-for-essendon-ex-coach-dean-robinson-against-pr-company/5710478

very good. The former is a much longer with OD at the head of the list.

yeah if we drafted all of those blokes we'd have a great team. Pity we only get a couple of picks.

Anyone able to post the dates of all the draft events please.

agree - too many kicks to oppo's advantage and handballs that didn't quite hit the target - there must be other reasons why Petracca is rated so highly. I'm always suspicious of these clips but you'd expect them to make a player look better than he really is usually.

As much as I think Essendon have acted disgracefully, the bad-mouthing was just a submission to the court which presumably they are entitled to make. Sounds a bit like the final address to the jury in a criminal trial. I guess they can draw attention to 'long pauses' and read things into that, but it is up to the judge to decide how significant that is.

Essendon management can't go with the 'players were duped' argument because the question then is 'who did the duping'.

yeah, and we know how well that turned out.

There is a future for you in advertising copy BB, but splitting supporters is not be the same as splitting the club. Never heard that any of the players have it in for him. Thank goodness you didn't find a photo of Watts smiling after 186.