binman

See, this is where I have a problem. Not with Morris' per se - he is paid to gin up angst and clicks. But is there really a huge story here? I mean it could all be boiled down to: 'Star player unhappy with how injury managed and concerned premiership wondow is shut wants to get to a more successful Victorian club.' A bog standard story written a million times. All the rest of it, for example the suggestion tracc not happy with how clarry was managed is old, stale news rolled into this one to create a club in crisis narrative. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I'm not going to dance to the tune of peanuts like Morris like some puppet. I posted a joke early in this thread asking for a gif with Morris as the organ grinder and demonland as the monkey. And to be frank, that is what this thread largely feels like. A bunch of adults dancing to the media's tune.

afl.com had an article in the lead up to our game tiltled: Don't dream it's over: what pies need to make finals the final paragraph: 'It technically isn't over yet, but surely not even McRae's miracle workers could pull this off.' McRae's miracle workers? How many times in VFL/AFL history has the premier failed to make the finals the following year? Some miracle workers.

It's more than likely he wanted out, noting he has not publicly said that. But I'm not convinced that even if they had the capital the pies or the blues would trade in petracca. At the least, not on the coin he's currently getting.

I was thinking something similar. If, and it's a big if, clarry gets super fit and tracc gets close to his optimal fitness we won't be talking about our midfield. Particularly with kolt looking a monty to play as a mid forward pretty soon (waxing with tracc?) and having pick 5 in a draft with good midfield depth. JVR, Turner, Mcvee, Kolt and Windsor will go up a level with another preseason. As you suggest, a huge preseason is critical - and if they can use this to get fired up all the good. Having a few extra weeks break wont hurt either.

Scare away potential recruits? Good lord. Sure, we might have had our share of drama, but every single football club has drama going on behind the scenes. And all our real drama was last season - clarry, Smith, Grundy. If the drama was so unbearable for tracc he could have got to another club that would have satisfied the dees with drafts and trades. It clearly wasn't so unbearable. And if the issues are so bad, explain to me why young guns Windsor and Kolt resigned in july when neither had to worry about doing so for another two years. Ditto for langers, who signed in August. Ditto Turner, Laurie, amw and Jefferson. But two weeks of tracc drama, which ends with him staying, and a potential recruit is going to say, no way, i ain't going to the dees. Right.

The good news, and I mean this sincerely, is that the the tracc drama is done well before the seasons end. Come the end of the finals it's yesterday's news. Just in time for wada to drop their findings.....

Now maybe the football media can start asking some questions about how the pies, the team every journ seemed to think was miles ahead of every other team last year, and set for a dynasty, missed the finals this year. Drinking their own bathwater? Culture issue? And perhaps ask why they allowed pednles to play with broken ribs foe two weeks Maybe an article about why noble has requested a trade? What about their list management - a third of their best 22 are 30 or over. Perhpas Whately's sanctimony bazooka can be turned on them.

Time for the redemption arc part of the movie.

Could be a post on demonland!

Not really. They looked unfit and disinterested.

What does former name of Tokyo have to with tracc? Is he branching out to Japanese food? I guess it's healthy, so a good fit with his brand.

The tragic thing about MFCSS is that there is no cure. It is like herpes - the symptoms can retreat but it's always lurking in tge system waiting to flare up. If you are currently dealing with it, I recommend not consuming any football media. And only read this thread on demonland - it's been years since I've read a thread with so many people agreeing with each other!

That's not a paragraph you would have read on demonland 10 years ago.

What do you want the club to say other than what they have already said?

Ironically, IIRC, the dees wete super keen to trade in Martin when the blues got him (as was i).

They well might be. But tracc is a 29 year old adult, not some naive draftee fresh out of high school. Let's not infantalise him. If he acts on bad advice that's on him, not the people giving him the advice.

The way we have managed this? C'mon, that's bollocks. I have been critical of various aspects of the club's management for a long time. But in particular i have been strident in my criticism of all our comms (in its totality, ie fan focused, social media, website, crisis management, engagement, injury updates etc). And I have little doubt poor comms is a factor in the tracc's evident anger. And I have a great deal of sympathy for tracc in terms of the trauma he has experienced from a near death, life changing experience. But what is happening right now is almost all on tracc. He is an adult who signed a muti million long term contract just three years ago. And now he wants out of that contract, yet is trying to achieve that aim in an incredibly immature, unprofessional way. I mean, did he even speak with another club to test the waters before running down the club to a peanut luke Morris? I had thought it was likely his manager that backgrounded Morris. I no longer think that because any such manager would never work in the business again if he leaked to the media his player wanted out without a landing place. I mean c'mon. So that means tracc is driving what could only charitably called a strategy (by the by, it's pathetic to blame anyone else in his orbit, tracc is an adult). Nuclear option? Breach of contract? Ridiculous. I'm not suggesting the dees don't have issue to work through, but when the dust settles it will be tracc whose reputation is damaged.

Players often struggle to get back to their best even with far less serious injuries than tracc copped. Ed Langdon is a good example. Langers played great footy this year, particularly the second half of the season. But he took ages to get back to his best footy after he had his ribs broken (wasn't that against the pies too?).

Are you serious? In what world would the MFC be paying a single cent of tracc's contract if he leaves? In fact, if anything the dees might even be prepared to take unders in terms of what another club offers us to get his exorbitant salary of the books. The reality is that even if tracc changes his tune and wants to stay: - he turns 29 in January - won't be able to put a full preseason together (he hasn't been able to do any running yet, or presumably strength work, so his fitness base must be completey eroded), which will impact his 2025 season - has said himself he is struggling with the trauma relating to the injury - if I was a betting man, I would offer no better than even money (ie 50 50) that tracc will ever get back to his best - seemingly has burned bridges with his teammates (and possibly coach, and almost certainly the footy dept and board). In short, even leaving aside the impact of him staying when he wants out, there is a very good chance we would not get value from our investment In that context, it might be prudent for the dees to take unders. We will then have plenty of cash, particularly with gus' salary iff rhe books, to invest in our young guns and money to attract stars from other clubs. However the media spin this, the MFC has the whip hand here.

Not a million yet. And he is 20, not a grown assed man, so you can forgive a bit.

The last sentence is such an obvious point. I mean how many clubs want to spend a million bucks a year on a player that prospective teammates thinks is a diva?

Insert gif of binman walking hand in hand with tracc, looking back at Anderson.

Alternative theory: Tracc is concerned about the increasing angst and division on Demonland. And decided to do something to bring us together.

Snap.

It's funny you should note that. The inference has been that other clubs would fall over themselves to get tracc. That's its a given But i wonder if tracc has actually been given any indication the pies or blues are actually keen. Leaving aside no draft capital, and salary cap pressures, the pies have a raft of plus 30s on their list - list wise, do they really want a player, one who would be their highest paid, who turns 29 next January. The blues have a better balanced list but he will be coming back from a serious injury, one he has openly said he struggled to deal with psychologically. Hell, he couldn't even pass a medical atm Not out a sense of schadenfreude, I genuinely wonder how tracc would feel and/or cope if neither the blues are keen.