Strawbs

I admire the support that both of you are providing Tom and the club in this situation. I too hope that he remains a Demon for life. However right now the elite leadership qualities that made him standout as a draft pick are not obvious to me. It's been left to others to convey his character strengths - Tom isn't doing it himself. Whether it's fact or fiction, the perception that has been created at this point in time is of a kid holding out for as much dough as he can get and not as a someone committed to our long-term cause. Silence can be deafening. If he won't provide comment about his intentions, the media, right or wrong, are filling the vacuum and doing it for him.

Hangon007, with respect, I'd be interested to know if you were in Tom Scully's shoes, how would you justify to your team mates that they have to deal with constant questioning about your contract situation when fronting the media week in, week out? Particularly when you're not volunteering to manage the situation publically yourself? Would you think it's fair to let others take the heat for you? Is that how you establish a reputation as a team-man early in your career? Which ever way it goes, Tom is positioning himself for a massive pay rise. With big money comes a big responsibility and that includes fronting up and being accountable for your actions... not letting everyone else do it for you.

I fully agree with your sentiments Tweed Pig. If the reports of our significant offer are true (and whether the figures reported in the media are accurate or not, the offer will be significant), then to procastinate on making a call is unfair, particularly if he already knows where he's headed. It's one thing to leave a club that has invested in you, but it's another not to give them time to cover the loss. I genuinely feel as if he has little respect for our club - that he is basically giving us the bird, and because we are deparate to keep him, we're letting him give us that bird. What makes it worse is that he is also putting his teammates under pressure. Every time they front the media, they have to field questions about what he is going to do and how the club is coping with all of the attention. That is completely unfair and certainly not the actions of a team-oriented man. It's not up to Jack Trengove or Brent Moloney to take the heat. It's not up to Dean Bailey to answer questions about it ahead of each game or Jimmy Stynes at his President's Lunch. If you want to take the dough, you have to accept the responsibility that comes with it. You can't on the one hand play the naive,media-shy kid, then on the other take the fat cheque that is the normal reward for deserved recipients.

And here lies the issue. What an awful situation his management have created here. If they plan on him being a long-term Melbourne player, they are painting him in a terrible light to those that should be supporting him. What management would allow a situation like that to play out? My only answer to that is a management that couldn't care less what Melbourne supporters think of their player, because he won't be a Melbourne player for much longer. I can't think of many uglier or disapointing situations playing out in the years that I have followed our great club.

Jack is incredibly impressive, but it's unfair that he's having to take the heat for Scully in front of the media.

Hartack, again with respect. Since the introduction of the draft in the 80s, there's been a long list of players to have demonstrated incredible loyalty. I disagree that it went out the window at that time - it's really only now that it's being challenged in a way that we haven't seen before, and for some people with old fashiioned values like me, it's quite confronting.

I understand that, but there are plenty of young players in the competition that have displayed loyalty in the face of this situation. Dustin Martin, Matthew Kruezer, Jimmy Bartel, Scott Pendlebury and Dane Swan just to name a few. Lance Franklin, Kurt Tippett knocked the Gold Coast back. Although this is a new 'business-like' era, it doesn't mean some of the values and qualities that were prominent in days gone by such as loyalty and integrity, should be disregarded or cast aside as some form of weakness.

Not really. Just that they have changed their position on numerous occassions and it seems to have got lost in the wash.

There's a very simple way for Tom to end this saga, and that is to signal his intent. To say that he just wants to concentrate on football is rubbish - there is no way in the world that this isn't causing him distraction. Cameron Schwab even said Scully had asked him "why won't people just take my word?". It's quite simple really. No one at Melbourne's end is forcing him to delay his decision.

I understand your view Thomo. We often drove miles to go to Robbie's shop just to talk to him and ask for an autograph. So I'm well aware of the work he had to do outside of football to set himself up for life later on. But humour me for a minute as I transcribe a section from page 110 of his autobiography titled Robbie, published in November 1987. It shows just what he turned down at the time which would have been huge. He said: "A rival club once offered to pay off the mortgage on the new house I had just bought - all I had to do of course was sign to play with them. The deal would have been worth $60,000 there and then - and it did not include a playing contract. That would have been extra. This happened eight years ago, when I had not been married long. It was an enormous amount of money then and very tempting. But I said no. For one thing it would have meant selling my loyalty, and I was never able to bring myself to do that, even though there were plenty of chances over the years to cash in on my ability." That says it all really. In later years G.Lyon, J.Stynes and T.Viney did the same thing.

Yes, he left. After giving his blood, sweat and tears for the club and captaining it to two flags. Not after a season and a bit.

I disagree. I mentioned on this post last night that Velocity Sports' positioning throughout this affair has more holes in it than a piece of swiss cheese. This is a business run by Alistair Lynch and formerly Michael Voss. They employed another former Lions employee in Peter Blucher who was a sports journalist in a previous life and later the club's media manager. They have close relationships with Graeme Allen. Their change of tack throughout this entire scenario hasn't been put under scruting so far.

Hardtack, with the utmost respect: when I hear our player say that he hasn't had an approach from GWS, but when presented with a lucrative Melbourne contract his management says it's only fair to invite GWS to submit a counter offer, I consider that "mucking the club around". When as a direct result of this saga, I see supporters lower themselves to holding up banners pleading with a 20-year old kid in his second season not to leave, I consider that "mucking the club around". When the media coverage surrounding our club has nothing to do with our on-field performance, but how much money he is going to earn, I consider that "mucking the club around." We may be different in our views, but these are things that will always stay with me.

Dear Tom, let me introduce you to Robbie Flower. You may have heard of him. He played 272 games and kicked 315 goals for the Melbourne Football Club, yes the same club that you have represented for a season and a half. Robbie is perhaps the finest Melbourne player of the modern era. He dominated opposition clubs for 15 seasons and did so when our club was at its lowest ebb with basically no chance of on-field success until his fifteenth and final year. If you don't know much about him, ask your Dad. He would have watched Robbie dominate games against Richmond, the side you barracked for as a kid. Despite repeated attempts by rival clubs to poach him for much greater money and all but guarantee him a premiership medal, he turned them down again and again and again. If you can be half the player that he was, you will have had a truly outstanding career and likely be regarded as a club great. But it is worth taking note of some of the things that made Robbie special, apart from his natural on-field ability. He didn't hold the club to ransom and he didn't hold out to see who was coaching the team - particularly in his second year. He treated those that supported him week in and week out with utmost respect and we loved him for it. He put the club first. And today, some 24 years after his final match, he is a true hero of our club and the game he represented. My wish for you Tom is that you exhibit these same qualities and have a career that makes you a Demon great. Unlike Robbie who had to carry our hopes and dreams on his skinny shoulders, you are surrounded by some of the finest young talent in the land. They will make you an even greater player, push you harder to improve and hopefully take you to premiership success... and yes, financial reward. If only Robbie had been that fortunate. Good luck with your decision.

Well said Ron. I agree. I've said this before but Tom and his management team may well be preparing to cash in, but they're doing nothing for his reputation the way this is playing out. Should he stay, I for one will be pleased, but will always remember the way he mucked the club around after just one season of footy - it would take me a long time to forget this episode. Should he go, we will never forgive him for his charade and lack of loyalty. Whoever is advising him - whether it be his family, the infamous Velocity Sports or a combination of the two, they have done him no favours. Now is the time for building a reputation, not destroying it.

Thanks a lot Sylvia Saint. Yes, Tom changed managers, but not management companies. Kleiman was a Velocity employee when he represented Tom. I seriously think now is the time to turn up the heat on these guys.

Well, I seriously believe that we as Demonlanders should start to make some noise about Blucher, Alistair Lynch and their changing story. It might not change the outcome of the Scully situation, but it will put them under some scrutiny and further question the integrity of this entire situation. Our club is clearly talking to Velocity behind closed doors, but we as supporters can be more vocal. It might sound extreme but why not raise this on talkback radio, write to journos, blog, tweet, hit some other forums etc? They're treating Melbourne supporters with complete contempt, so we should attempt to have a shot back. Now is the time.

I would like for a serious journalist with genuine news sense (maybe Caroline Wilson, maybe it's even a general news reporter) to really put Blucher and Velocity under some heat with a close look at their changing story. They've slid under the radar so far, but it's clear this would make for a very good yarn. Range Rover makes some very good points about Blucher's ability to plant stories and generate rumours. How he said contracts wouldn't be discussed until the end of the year, yet having received an offer from Melbourne, said he was obliged to ask GWS to put in a counter offer and that it now warrants serious consideration. This was despite the fact that we were told Tom, his management or his family hadn't had any contact from GWS. If that had been true, how then would Blucher know to contact GWS for a counter offer if there had been no contact in the first place? Gut feel perhaps? Rubbish! There's more holes in the Velocity story than a piece of swiss cheese, yet somehow it hasn't been reported. It's time to turn up the heat on these sharks. If there's one thing I can't cop, it's being lied to. Our club deserves better than this.

Without doubt it is the Scully issue. The 'will-he-stay, will-he-go' saga has clouded our season. Incredibly disappointing.

To be quite honest, I've just about had enough of the entire episode. It's the ugly side of footy. I certainly hope that Tom stays with the MFC, but the way that this is playing out, which ever way he jumps his reputation will have taken a hit. From that side of things, I think he has been poorly advised. By choosing to enter into this mexican standoff he is now damned if he leaves, and to many MFC supporters probably slightly damned if he stays. Should he leave, MFC supporters will never forgive him and the football public will remember him as a kid who sold out for the big bucks, and if he stays Melbourne supporters will probably always remember the way he treated the club and supporters in just his second season of league football. I will be very disappointed if Cameron Schwab and Dean Bailey's defence of his character has been for nothing. And as for waiting to see who is coaching, I'd tell Tom to suck it up. Since when does a kid entering his third year get a say about coaching appointments?

Thought Jordie McKenzie deserved higher praise in the 'three word analysis' for his job on Boak. Kept him to 15 possessions including just three in the second half. A great effort considering Boak polled three Brownlow votes in the same match last year.

Another memory of Sean that I'd like to recall for all Demonlanders was from the 1989 Foster's Cup night grand final against Geelong at VFL Park. I'm sure many of you will remember it, but on the outer wing he tore his hamstring. Determined not to beaten, he pushed himself despite the injury to knock the ball to our advantage and what resulted in a goal. It was sheer desparation and just one of the thousands of sacrifical acts he made during his career. Don Scott was Channel Seven's special comments man in those days and raved about Sean's courage. There's also another classic piece of Sean Wight vision from that same season - some of you may still have it on tape. It happened in a home-and-away match against West Coast in Perth. Swooper Northey pushed Sean forward where he took a mark outside the 50 metre line near the boundary. As Sean was deciding whether to pass it off or have a shot, you could see an Eagles doctor or physio sitting on the boundary scream, "have a shot you whimp". Sean gladly accepted the challenge and without fuss went back and slotted it through for a goal. It was classic. And finally, who can ever forget his soccer goalie-like spoils that highlighted our famous 1987 finals series? Tim Lane on ABC TV that season described him as "spectacular". And he was. I for one will never forget him. He stands tall as one our club greats. We will miss him. A demon through and through.

Couldn't agree more. Graeme Allan's performance on The Footy Show was one of the most smug performances I've ever seen. "We'll win a premiership in 2015 or 2016..." Keep dreaming pal. I can't wait to [censored] this mob.