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Mitch Clark Return..

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Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Gumbleton snub us in his last contract and resigned with the Bombers for a year? Ok, not as high profile, but we didn't take it personally then and signed him on..

He did, and the reason was that he wanted to repay the club for sticking by him for so long after so many injuries he said.

I am sure Mora will do the same.
 
Indeed.

What really gets to me with some of our supporters is that they are all seemingly happy with the current position of the club, yet conveniently forget that to gain our new found recognition and respect we had to cut some throats to get there.

Harris and Rosich may not be admired by all, however they are hard nosed businessmen who have steam-rolled some changes across the supporter base, (to some consternation), and pulled off the most ruthless coaching coup in living memory.

We are now a professional, hard-edged and admired club across the board that takes no prisoners and expects no favours.

Yet some here wish to take us back to the bad old days where we become the laughing stock of the competition by taking a dog mercenary who royally and publicly screwed us in the freckle, because of some misguided, panic driven notion that "we'll all be rooned if we don't get a proven KPF and he is the only one available on the cheap".

I mean, F*** me dead, some of you need a good hard look at yourselves.

Yes but the "professional, hard-edged" thing goes both ways. If you are going to be truly mercenary about it (and I don't for a moment think its the best approach) then club loyalty and honouring your word (things I believe in) are just in the way.
This is where the AFL and in particular the AFLPA want it to go. The argument being that players should be allowed to go wherever they want for as much as they get and all the fans have to like it. I'm with you that it's at best distasteful and at worst wrong, but...

And the "but" is, if that is the system that is coming in, then don't be left with your finger up your nose. Play the recruitment game better than the others. Get the most for the least and stuff all those bastards in AFL house who want melbourne teams to win at any price. So pick the person best suited to the role no matter where you find them provided you can get them for the price that makes the most sense.

Just saying that's the thinking behind plenty of what's going on with recruitment. It's a crying shame but IMHO its also why less indigenous boys are being picked. Some seem to think that they are high cost in support and no guaranteed return. It's a crying shame because many a good player is going to miss out because of this morally bankrupt attitude.

But to finish with your last point. I personally think we were the laughing stock not because of who we picked up (and some of them were genuinely carp) but because we always payed overs. In some cases we got shafted on what we gave up and sometimes on what we paid financially. Part of this attitude is, and this I can agree with for the most part, don't pay too much. Set your limit and don't do over it. That's why we didn't get him in the first place. And we need to stick to that.
 
Few rumours going around that Mitch Clark will be suiting up for East Fremantle this weekend. If he gets back to playing some good football and feels like he is getting on top of his illness I think there is every possibility that he could be on the Freo list next year. As much as some of you guys dislike him I think you have to realise that we are in a hurry to win a flag and him at his best would be probably the last bit of the jigsaw puzzle for us.
 

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Before this post starts up an I hate Clark rant.

Can I just say stayed out of the Simpson debate because as an white middle class Aussie I have little understanding of what he would be going through.

Clark has a treatable illness that just ended my 20 year old marriage.

If managed he will have a great life, lets hope people on this site understand he has an illness that in the past could have made making sound decisions very hard.

I hope some respect is given to someone trying to get his life back.

Should we pick him up I don't know, but maybe we should let his footy do the talking - if he does get back on the field.
 
I hope some respect is given to someone trying to get his life back.

That has never been in doubt. As a sufferer in the past of the Black Dog, I can certainly empathise. However, he was not alone in his previous decisions as he had a manager to guide and advise him.

Sorry to hear about your marriage btw.
 
That has never been in doubt. As a sufferer in the past of the Black Dog, I can certainly empathise. However, he was not alone in his previous decisions as he had a manager to guide and advise him.

Sorry to hear about your marriage btw.
I dare say that managers are always just going to chase the dollar. I think that his decision to back flip on a deal with us and take up the deal with Melbourne has probably turned out to be the wrong one for him. I would say that he would have coped a lot better with his personal issues if he had his family beside him at the time. If he had have come across to us who know what would have happened???
 
That has never been in doubt. As a sufferer in the past of the Black Dog, I can certainly empathise. However, he was not alone in his previous decisions as he had a manager to guide and advise him.

Sorry to hear about your marriage btw.
People don't always hear what what they are being told, also mr 10% may have thought he was doing the right thing.

I'm not saying his decision making was clouded but we will never know.

Let's just judge him if he gets back on the park.
 
Wouldn't be against giving him a rookie spot. At this stage though, he's too much of a risk for anything else, despite the fact he is clearly worth more at his full potential.
 
Wouldn't be against giving him a rookie spot. At this stage though, he's too much of a risk for anything else, despite the fact he is clearly worth more at his full potential.

Big questions over his foot injuries too.

I doubt if we are even monitoring him. Sure if he made an injury/issue free comeback and showed some terrific form, then nominated for the draft he could be considered.
 
If he's even back playing competitive footy this year - all the best to him. As long as he's doing something he enjoys.

He'll enjoy himself a lot more if he's not perpetually trying to impress scouters at the next level. If he gets back to enjoying good footy that's probably all that matters.

I expect that if he is playing this week, he'll be the one carrying the michelin around all game, and good on him for doing so. :thumbsu:
 

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Wouldn't be against giving him a rookie spot. At this stage though, he's too much of a risk for anything else, despite the fact he is clearly worth more at his full potential.

Agree with this. I'm surprised at the hate for him simply being on the list by some in this thread. I wouldn't risk a main list spot, but a late rookie listing doesn't give us a lot to lose.
 
I really don't get the fascination with the bloke.. Yeah sure he played some pretty impressive games for Melbourne but he only managed to get on the park 15 times in 2 years. He was also injured heaps at Brisbane. Now he also has serious mental fitness issues to go with the physical ones. He's not going to be some easy and cheap fix for any tall forward issues at Freo just let it go..
 
We've already got Gumby - how many injury prone forwards do we want that have undoubted potential but may not ever deliver. We can stack our list with heaps of them but then that just denies the Mollers, Vandeleurs, Ballards and Woods who are young and promising (and uninjured) themselves
 
Clark told Brisbane it was not about the money, he wanted to go home, so asked to be traded despite there reluctance to lose him.
So he basically flat out lied to 2 clubs there. He was poorly advised to go to a club that was always going to struggle for a few years.
He may get back on to a list but I do not want him. Too much of a risk at his age and with his history.

Everyone thought he was a knob at the time, and by the sounds of it, even he shares that opinion. He did not look as stupid as Melbourne though. That move made some of the worst Dockers trade moves look decent.

He will not play in purple.
 
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A mate of mine knows Mitch through work and whilst he had nothing to go off he said he had a strong hunch that Clark would make a comeback.

Have been a few rumours around saying similar lately.
 
A mate of mine knows Mitch through work and whilst he had nothing to go off he said he had a strong hunch that Clark would make a comeback.
url
 
I think that my point is highly relevant.

How is this a Freo board thread in any way, shape or form.

Cry a bit more.

For those who just joined in to attack me...please explain how this a Freo board thread?

SHOULDA GOT FEVOLA WHEN HE WANTED ONE MORE SHOT!
 

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