Port say NO to Leon

[skinnyjim]

I know its a cricket analogy but this reminds me a bit of the Brad Hodge scenario. Amazing talent and gets the score on the board but can't get a run on the big stage because of the 'direction' the team is taking, despite the team getting constantly belted. I would have thought that the Port kids need players around who have had success to help them develop, even if it's just for a while.

 

[Sloth]

He was homesick, he can probably get a job that pays out over $60k/year outside of football in Perth.

What's he qualified in?

 

[Rummy]

can we please stop with the "he left for money" crap. It has nothing to do with why he left.

Well if he didn’t want to leave for the money, then why didn’t he tell Collingwood he definitely wanted out of Victoria before the end of the trade period…? Or why didn’t he inform Collingwood before or during the trade period that he would consider a move to either of the South Australian clubs?

Given that Collingwood’s offer was shown to him before the trade period, he would have known there and then if he wanted to stay on and accept the offer, or alternatively decide that no matter what Collingwood’s offer was, that he was going to move interstate.

Instead he then comes back and said no its alright, I’m happy at Collingwood here in Victoria and we’re so very close to signing. Yet it appears they were miles apart...
So in thinking both parties were happy, Collingwood during trade week didn’t try all that hard to trade him to the only two possible suitors (West Coast & Freo) as dictated by Leon. Because if he had of decided to leave Collingwood for personal reasons, and that money was not the factor, then knowing this Collingwood would have traded him for at least something/anything during the trade period.

Instead he waits and hopes Collingwood is forced to offload delist Toovey, Macaffer or McCarthy, which would then free up more salary cap space for Collingwood to then re-offer him more money. What sort of person does that??

If that wasn’t his plan, then the only thing is that by waiting until after the trade period was over to say the offer wasn’t good enough, he tried to hardball them by now either risk losing him with no draft pick compensation or to accept paying him his own highly deemed worth/salary.

Throughout his time at Collingwood he’s been paid far more than he’s deserved, but considering his selfishness around the goals I’m not surprised he’d try to pull something like this and am just glad the club wasn’t soft enough to bow to perceived public pressure and risk the clubs list future by resigning him now for more than he was worth, all for the sake of not wanting to risk their own jobs from any possible supporter backlash.


My own guess is that Freo tried for the third year in a row to steal a player in the pre-season draft for free like they did with McPhee & John Anthony. It seems both players umm’d and ah’d their intentions to their clubs only hinting at possible intention to move to Freo who offered absolutely nothing for the players during trade week. Then as soon it was over, said that they didn’t accept their clubs offer and will be picked up by Freo in the pre-season draft for no compensation to their current club, and both have no doubt been given generous contracts as a reward for their sneaky actions in allowing Freo to retain vital draft picks. However I’d say that Freo were playing a double game and was doing this with both Davis and Zac Dawson, however both seemed to have agreed to do the sneaky and Freo have chosen to go with Dawson leaving Davis in the cold. What also makes me think this is how he didn't mention that he would mind being traded to either of the South Australian clubs until after trade week had ended and Freo then committed to picking up Zac Dawson.

 

[Ed D]

What's he qualified in?

Players these days are trained for life after football. If he has nothing to fall back on I'd be surprised, but it'd be his choice. Even with no training he could work in the mines for $150k+. It's not going to be hard for him to find work that pays out at least $60k, and I highly doubt he's going to be desperate enough to live in Melbourne for that sort of money either. The chances of him returning to Collingwood as a rookie would be about 0.01%.

 

[Primetime Pricey]

Well if he didn’t want to leave for the money, then why didn’t he tell Collingwood he definitely wanted out of Victoria before the end of the trade period…? Or why didn’t he inform Collingwood before or during the trade period that he would consider a move to either of the South Australian clubs?

He did ask to be traded

 

[Rummy]

He did ask to be traded

True, but if he had said, nope sorry Pies that offer just isnt good enough, please definately trade me, than there's no doubt they would have either been able to trade him for a decent/fair draft pick, or basically given him away for nothing, like a round 6 draft pick (that goes unused) to the club of his choice as an act of goodwill (ala Brisbane with Corrie).

Instead he said in the middle of trade week, no you know what dont worry about it, Im pretty happy and we're close to signing...

I just dont see the logic if he's trying to do the right thing by the club which has given more chances than he could have possibly hoped for throughout his career. The other thing is that why was only after the trade period ended did he not mind going to a South Australian club?

I'm not trying to argue against you (text cant convey tones ) but I just dont think he tried to do the right thing by the club

 

[Primetime Pricey]

True, but if he had said, nope sorry Pies that offer just isnt good enough, please definately trade me, than there's no doubt they would have either been able to trade him for a decent/fair draft pick, or basically given him away for nothing, like a round 6 draft pick (that goes unused) to the club of his choice as an act of goodwill (ala Brisbane with Corrie).

Instead he said in the middle of trade week, no you know what dont worry about it, Im pretty happy and we're close to signing...

I just dont see the logic if he's trying to do the right thing by the club which has given more chances than he could have possibly hoped for throughout his career

All i can go on is what his best mates tell me and they tell me it was purely he wanted to come to SA or WA and he wants to get the best deal he can and if not he will play local footy. Anyways i wont repeat myself anymore, done it enough.

 

[Ed D]

Money was only a factor in Davis staying at Collingwood, it wasn't the reason he left (otherwise he would have had a deal sorted out with another club or he would have been willing to play at say GWS). He didn't make his mind up until he went back home to WA for a week and met up with his family.

And he never attempted to do the right thing for the club, it was always about himself and his family. Another way you can look at it is if anyone is selfish it's the fans who are upset he left.

 

[ipswichpies]

Well if he didn’t want to leave for the money, then why didn’t he tell Collingwood he definitely wanted out of Victoria before the end of the trade period…? Or why didn’t he inform Collingwood before or during the trade period that he would consider a move to either of the South Australian clubs?

Given that Collingwood’s offer was shown to him before the trade period, he would have known there and then if he wanted to stay on and accept the offer, or alternatively decide that no matter what Collingwood’s offer was, that he was going to move interstate.

Instead he then comes back and said no its alright, I’m happy at Collingwood here in Victoria and we’re so very close to signing. Yet it appears they were miles apart...
So in thinking both parties were happy, Collingwood during trade week didn’t try all that hard to trade him to the only two possible suitors (West Coast & Freo) as dictated by Leon. Because if he had of decided to leave Collingwood for personal reasons, and that money was not the factor, then knowing this Collingwood would have traded him for at least something/anything during the trade period.

Instead he waits and hopes Collingwood is forced to offload delist Toovey, Macaffer or McCarthy, which would then free up more salary cap space for Collingwood to then re-offer him more money. What sort of person does that??

If that wasn’t his plan, then the only thing is that by waiting until after the trade period was over to say the offer wasn’t good enough, he tried to hardball them by now either risk losing him with no draft pick compensation or to accept paying him his own highly deemed worth/salary.

Throughout his time at Collingwood he’s been paid far more than he’s deserved, but considering his selfishness around the goals I’m not surprised he’d try to pull something like this and am just glad the club wasn’t soft enough to bow to perceived public pressure and risk the clubs list future by resigning him now for more than he was worth, all for the sake of not wanting to risk their own jobs from any possible supporter backlash.


My own guess is that Freo tried for the third year in a row to steal a player in the pre-season draft for free like they did with McPhee & John Anthony. It seems both players umm’d and ah’d their intentions to their clubs only hinting at possible intention to move to Freo who offered absolutely nothing for the players during trade week. Then as soon it was over, said that they didn’t accept their clubs offer and will be picked up by Freo in the pre-season draft for no compensation to their current club, and both have no doubt been given generous contracts as a reward for their sneaky actions in allowing Freo to retain vital draft picks. However I’d say that Freo were playing a double game and was doing this with both Davis and Zac Dawson, however both seemed to have agreed to do the sneaky and Freo have chosen to go with Dawson leaving Davis in the cold. What also makes me think this is how he didn't mention that he would mind being traded to either of the South Australian clubs until after trade week had ended and Freo then committed to picking up Zac Dawson.

This post tells it like it is especially the last paragraph,Freo are looking to stuff us after Tarrant returned home you only needed to read some of their posts when they thought Davis would come to them nothing,what I really found annoying about the whole saga was the way we and I think the club as well were led to believe that everything was alright and that he was on the verge of signing a new contract.

The next thing we hear is he or his manager are on BT,s radio show saying he might leave the PIes and then proceeded to ignore every attemp to speak to him,he and his manager have no one to blame but themselves.

To put it crudely he wanted to F----- the club and in the process has only ended F------ himself but it cannot be denied him and his manager are to blame.

 

[noideaatall]

Money was only a factor in Davis staying at Collingwood, it wasn't the reason he left (otherwise he would have had a deal sorted out with another club or he would have been willing to play at say GWS). He didn't make his mind up until he went back home to WA for a week and met up with his family.

And he never attempted to do the right thing for the club, it was always about himself and his family. Another way you can look at it is if anyone is selfish it's the fans who are upset he left.

I enjoyed watching Leon, never more than last year. He brought a skill level to defense I've rarely seen at the pies or elsewhere. Money, family, home-sick or whatever, his choices and personally I think its out of touch to think he should have acted differently 'for the club'.

I love the pies but certainly can't identify with supporters who can't come to grips with the reality its a business and that players are actually real people, not just pawns in a game. Give the guy a break, or alternatively put the money where your mouth is and donate half your wage to the pies this year. Oh, and don't bother telling anyone about it, nor expect kudos

 

[76woodenspooners]

Leon played in a Grand Final this year, and you'd expect his mind was focused on his football right up until then.

And there really wasn't much time between the Grand Final and the end of trade week for him to go home and reflect and make a decision about whether to play on for another year. And who knows, maybe he did put his hand up in trade week and say "Try and get me to Perth" (as he has reportedly requested in previous years). If WC and Freo don't want to play ball, what can Collingwood or Pickering do?

The player manager's responsiblity is solely for the interests of the player - he is not employed to represent the best interests (or any interests) of the club. Notwithstanding, it is always in the best interests of the player to negotiate with the club in good faith.

And there is nothing anywhere to suggest the Leon (through Pickering) wasn't negotiating in good faith. OK, things haven't ended up ideally for Collingwood or for Leon. But there is no evidence anywhere to suggest that Leon is to blame and CFC are not.

 

[Ed D]

It's interesting as well, some people seem to think it's OK for players to switch clubs for more money because it's their career, but then others think it's bad Leon left for less cash because he wants to be with his family network. You can't win, there's always going to be someone upset. I'm sure if he signed with the club someone would be upset he was on the list and Toovey/Macaffer left because of it.

 

[ipswichpies]

I don,t see a problem with Leon leaving for more money or less money or for his family at all,these are all perfectly good reasons for leaving,the thing that annoys me is manner in which it all ended.

People were led to believe he was signing and was going to finish at the Pies and every thing seemed "Hunky Dory" and the next moment Taylor tells everyone he is not happy with the money the club is offering on his new contract and then he proceeds to ignore every attempt to contact him.

I must admit Leon lost me there,I like all other Pies fans defended him through thick and thin and we were the only ones to do so and then to have him and his management turn around and ignore every attempt to speak to him,it does not sit well with me.

On his current form he could have played 2 season,s easily in fact he might well have pushed on towards 300 games a fantastic achievement and he just spurned it as though 12 years at Collingwood was nothing.

Good luck to Leon in the future I would have loved to see him play 300 at the Pies but the whole manner of his leaving has left a bitter taste in my mouth.

 

[Matz]

I don,t see a problem with Leon leaving for more money or less money or for his family at all,these are all perfectly good reasons for leaving,the thing that annoys me is manner in which it all ended.

People were led to believe he was signing and was going to finish at the Pies and every thing seemed "Hunky Dory" and the next moment Taylor tells everyone he is not happy with the money the club is offering on his new contract and then he proceeds to ignore every attempt to contact him.

I must admit Leon lost me there,I like all other Pies fans defended him through thick and thin and we were the only ones to do so and then to have him and his management turn around and ignore every attempt to speak to him,it does not sit well with me.

On his current form he could have played 2 season,s easily in fact he might well have pushed on towards 300 games a fantastic achievement and he just spurned it as though 12 years at Collingwood was nothing.

Good luck to Leon in the future I would have loved to see him play 300 at the Pies but the whole manner of his leaving has left a bitter taste in my mouth.

Could not have said it better...

 

[noideaatall]

So, we have a he said/she said situation that unless you were present in the negoitiations and the minds of the people involved its hard to know for sure exactly what went down.

Leaving that aside, isn't this a product of introducing the suns and GWS? Inflated A-list players wages means others, like Davis get offered less proportionately than they believe they contribute. I see Leon more as a victim of change than a self-inflicted professional suicide.

I suspect things will only get worse in the changes coming. People talk about 'loyalty to the club': what is the club? Surely in part its supporters. What sort of loyalty is encouraged when players know their supporters will turn on them like a rabid dog pack the moment they transgress.

 

[ipswichpies]

So, we have a he said/she said situation that unless you were present in the negoitiations and the minds of the people involved its hard to know for sure exactly what went down.

Leaving that aside, isn't this a product of introducing the suns and GWS? Inflated A-list players wages means others, like Davis get offered less proportionately than they believe they contribute. I see Leon more as a victim of change than a self-inflicted professional suicide.

I suspect things will only get worse in the changes coming. People talk about 'loyalty to the club': what is the club? Surely in part its supporters. What sort of loyalty is encouraged when players know their supporters will turn on them like a rabid dog pack the moment they transgress.

Listen I think he was the one who turned on the club and it,s fan,s if truth be told this may be unpalatable to you but it is closer to the truth than what you would have us believe.

I am not going to get into a debate with you over Leon because he has shown he is not worthy of it.

 

[TheGreatGrundy]

Maybe Leon thought the club would show loyalty to him and not cut his pay by $100000 or thereabouts. He was AA afterall and probably figured he deserved the pay rise. Club loyalty is a two-way street. Time have changed, the players depth of feeling for their clubs has diminished. Free agency is just around the corner, so loyalty in AFL may well go the way of international soccer and basketball, with players changing clubs far more regularly. I don't blame Leon.

 

[Krueger]

Money was only a factor in Davis staying at Collingwood, it wasn't the reason he left (otherwise he would have had a deal sorted out with another club or he would have been willing to play at say GWS). He didn't make his mind up until he went back home to WA for a week and met up with his family.

And he never attempted to do the right thing for the club, it was always about himself and his family. Another way you can look at it is if anyone is selfish it's the fans who are upset he left.

Wanting to go 'home' to W.A is understandable but 'home' to S.A is just garbage and an excuse to leave the Pies and not wanting to sound like a cry baby for wanting more money.

Good riddance anyway. Our backline was fine in 2010.

 

[soreplums]

Wanting to go 'home' to W.A is understandable but 'home' to S.A is just garbage and an excuse to leave the Pies and not wanting to sound like a cry baby for wanting more money.

Good riddance anyway. Our backline was fine in 2010.

Every year when it was discussed that he was leaving, it was either to Port or WA. He has family in both. It was always about his kids growing up with family around them- whether it was his or his wife's.

 

[Bay Pie]

Maybe Leon thought the club would show loyalty to him and not cut his pay by $100000 or thereabouts. He was AA afterall and probably figured he deserved the pay rise. Club loyalty is a two-way street. Time have changed, the players depth of feeling for their clubs has diminished. Free agency is just around the corner, so loyalty in AFL may well go the way of international soccer and basketball, with players changing clubs far more regularly. I don't blame Leon.

You're kidding right. Have a look over Leons performance over his career and you think we didn't show him loyalty?

It has been widely reported he had regularly requested a trade throughout his career if WCE or Freo were interested, but they didn't bite, so we retained him.
AA in 2009. Get a nice fat contract. Played very ordinarily in 2010 on that same fat contract and then earned that fat contract in 2011.

If he wanted to leave for money no dramas. It appears we have offered him more then any other club is willing to offer him, so Leons' market value is not what he thinks and it appears we may have, in fact, offered him more then the market value.

Ipswich Pies has it spot on. Just 'man up' and return the clubs call and tell them you're not happy with the offer and you're leaving, or tell them you want to return to WA or go to SA. End of story. Why leave the club hanging? I just don't understand that bit.

A disappointing way to end his career with Collingwood, which Leon could have corrected by one simple phone call.

 

[Old Spice]

It's not about Leon searching out market value etc. He was iffy about staying at Collingwood, as he has been for a long time, and his last trip back to WA confirmed it in his mind. He was entirely up-front with the club about it and we sought a deal with WA based clubs during trade week. If he was chasing dollars, he would have been shopped around the nation.

I really value his service to the club. Leon has helped transform the club into a place hospitable to indigenous players. We had big problems with how we were percieved, especially post big Al. He's been homesick basically unendingly but stuck with the club.

You can say whatever you like about his form etc - which incidentally I think has bent to a crude caricature - but from Leon's perspective, he has been incredibly homesick for a decade and toughed it out, giving his best. Just read Buckley's bio to see how much effort Maj put in on the track.

Time to get off his back and thank him for his service.

 

[Ed D]

I don,t see a problem with Leon leaving for more money or less money or for his family at all,these are all perfectly good reasons for leaving,the thing that annoys me is manner in which it all ended.

People were led to believe he was signing and was going to finish at the Pies and every thing seemed "Hunky Dory" and the next moment Taylor tells everyone he is not happy with the money the club is offering on his new contract and then he proceeds to ignore every attempt to contact him.

I must admit Leon lost me there,I like all other Pies fans defended him through thick and thin and we were the only ones to do so and then to have him and his management turn around and ignore every attempt to speak to him,it does not sit well with me.

On his current form he could have played 2 season,s easily in fact he might well have pushed on towards 300 games a fantastic achievement and he just spurned it as though 12 years at Collingwood was nothing.

Good luck to Leon in the future I would have loved to see him play 300 at the Pies but the whole manner of his leaving has left a bitter taste in my mouth.

I don't recall Leon ever coming out and saying he was staying. There were some media reports and that was it. IIRC Buckley was always saying they were hopeful and waiting for Leon to get back to them. The only thing unfortunate about it was the timing, but epople talking about how he could have been traded if he made his mind up earlier, doesn't this show that nobody would have traded for him anyway?

 

[Old Spice]

I don't recall Leon ever coming out and saying he was staying. There were some media reports and that was it. IIRC Buckley was always saying they were hopeful and waiting for Leon to get back to them. The only thing unfortunate about it was the timing, but epople talking about how he could have been traded if he made his mind up earlier, doesn't this show that nobody would have traded for him anyway?

That is absolutely correct. And in fact I remember having a discussion with someone about it and saying to them that Leon was far from giving any guarantee about playing again for the Pies. My feeling was that he was a good chance not to return.

On the timing, it was unfortunate, but not because Leon made some enormous volte face. The club knew exactly where things stood, which is why they shopped him around in trade week for a deal.

If Leon did feel torn between his loyalty to the Pies and returning to his family, in WA or SA it's possible that a reduced offer made that decision easier. But let's not pretend that Leon made the decision flippantly and is some kind of mercernary.

He was a great player for the club on the field and off the field in terms of mentoring younger indigenous players. For someone shy, homesick and part of a club with percieved problems on the indigenous front, he was a great warrior who gave us enormous service and value.

 

[ipswichpies]

That is absolutely correct. And in fact I remember having a discussion with someone about it and saying to them that Leon was far from giving any guarantee about playing again for the Pies. My feeling was that he was a good chance not to return.

On the timing, it was unfortunate, but not because Leon made some enormous volte face. The club knew exactly where things stood, which is why they shopped him around in trade week for a deal.

If Leon did feel torn between his loyalty to the Pies and returning to his family, in WA or SA it's possible that a reduced offer made that decision easier. But let's not pretend that Leon made the decision flippantly and is some kind of mercernary.

He was a great player for the club on the field and off the field in terms of mentoring younger indigenous players. For someone shy, homesick and part of a club with percieved problems on the indigenous front, he was a great warrior who gave us enormous service and value.

First of all I know Leon developed into a great player for this club and I would been far happier if he finished his career with us I think we all agree on that.

Some people are wondering where we got this notion Leon was staying at Collingwood and him telling Buckley that he was happy at Collingwood and that he would be signing a new contract.I read about it from a thread on bigfooty here which was still there until yesterday I know this because I checked this particular thread yesterday.

The gist of this thread was that Leon had spoken with Bucks and assured him he was happy at Collingwood and that he would be staying I like everyone else was very happy about that and did not think no more about it until I read the thread "bombshell at Magpies" and then learned what was
really going on and has since proven to correct that he indeed has left the Pies.

As I explained big footy is where I have gathered my information about this
story could 1 of the mods put the thread back up so we can see it again and see if people draw the conclusions about it that I did.

Getting back to Leon himself I would have much prefered he finished his playing days with us,my only annoyance at the whole thing is how it has ended and that BT dropped the bombshell on his radio show and from that moment on Leon was uncontactable.

this thread was there yesterday because I checked it and I must say I still draw the same conclusions about this whole affair.There was an article in the thread which confirms what I have said about it all along that we were led to believe he was staying.

I have posted this long thread on here to assure you and others I am not in the habit of making things up and that I thought Leon was staying because I read it in a thread on here.

 

[jonbe54]

Leon is a prime example of the joys and disappointments of playing young players from interstate.

Put aside his finals performances for the moment and concentrate on the man.

A young indigenous boy from way out west comes to the biggest club in the land which is suffering under the stigma of racist appearances. The press and the club shone the spotlight on him as a shining example of the clubs "tolerance" and he was projected out of obscurity. He has never been comfortable with this, in every media appearance I have seen he has always been painfully shy and eager to finish.

Goodbye Maj, thanks for a decade of scintillating bursts of magic and good luck with settling back into the family you obviously crave.