Joe Gutnick....

[Eagle_Fan]

....ought to but out of all footy issues at Melbourne.
Whether or not these most recent allegations are true, he is a prime example of why football clubs should not be 'owned'.

 

[Pessimistic]

What crime has Joe committed ?

He's dared to address the real issues in the AFL than the trivia that they usually use in the pursuit of publicity

He questioned the impartiality of the commission and their 'remoteness' from ordinary fans (which, in my opinion will take more than a few freebies and 'pie nights' to adress properly). I remember a former commissioner (the one from essendon, forget his name) who questioned the conflicts of interest which were there and are still there. Like Joe Gutnick he had a mainly exemplary record but they managed to dig up some 'dirt' on him too (the salary cap fiasco at essendon)

I think that and the Gutnick affair is a case of "Blather on all you want about peripheral issues but dont question us directly. Dirt can be found on anyone and will be if you speak out of turn on fundamental issues"

Remember Don Scott saved Hawthorn but didn't last long after at channel 7

I suspect that Gutnick isn't the Average 'Joe' and has the integrity and drive (not to mention the cash) to take them on and win

You may not agree with Joe on everything but if he can give that commission a bloody good shake it will be 'Good for Football'

 

[Shinboners]

Eagle_Fan

Were you referring to Gutnick's instructions to the Melbourne football department that they were not to recruit Ezra Poyas?

For those of you who don't know, the story goes like this (or you can read it in the Herald-Sun). Gutnick gave instructions to the recruiters that they were not to select Poyas. The thing is that Poyas is Jewish and Gutnick felt that if Poyas was to play a game on the Sabbath, Gutnick would lose face within the Jewish community.

My view is that Gutnick was wrong. There are two issues here. While Gutnick is the president of Melbourne, it is up to him to act in the best possible interests of the Melbourne football club. If it is in the best interests to recruit Poyas, then the club should do so. If Gutnick, due to his religious beliefs, is unable to act in the best interests of the club, then he should resign, or at the very least, absent himself from decisions where he has a personal interest. The second issue is that it is up to Poyas to determine whether he plays on the Sabbath or not. It is not up to Gutnick, nor anyone else, to determine that.

 

[Bloodstained Angel]

What we have to remember here is that Gutnick is an Orthodox Jew and, as such, takes the Saturday Sabbath very seriously.

Thats fine for Joe - good on him - but what he has to accept is the great majority of Jewish people (wherever they live in the world) have a secular and liberal outlook on life and prefer not to let the dogmas of their religion intefere too much in their day to day lives.

I don't know where young Poyas stands on this issue but it is clear that he has no problems about playing on a Saturday and Gutnick ought to accept that with a typically good-natured Australian 'live and let live' attitude.

 

[dees_01]

I believe that this is a big media beat up. For Eddie to say last night that this is the biggest footy story of the year is just crap. Anyway, I am very happy that the Dees recruited Green and Wheatly. They look quite impressive and stars of the future.

 

[kevin sooky]

Eddie didnt say it was the biggest footy story b/c of what Joe said, but rather b/c of the fact that someone has leaked an old story to try to set Joe up with a conflict of interest situation when he has criticised Ron Evans of major conflict of interest. It was either the AFL that has leaked the story or else someone from within the club. That is whsy it is a big story.