What really happened with Colbert?

[Fall Out Boy]

Originally posted by sross

What is it that he continues to do wrong by Geelong, excluding playing well against them?

He continues to lie to the Geelong faithful, the people that adored him, and effectively paid him for all those years (of course, not nearly as much as he demanded from North).

 

[Fall Out Boy]

Originally posted by Tas
That is not fair at all, even if you do not accept or agree with the reasons why he decided to leave the club. Give him credit for not wanting to drag other people through the mud for the reasons that forced him to leave the club.

The above is another reason why the dislike of Leigh continues.

His supporters (mainly those from Arden St) paint his as some kind of saint who did absolutely nothing wrong.

I don't know if that is pure naivety, or simply supporting him because he now wears your jumper, but either way, it's tosh.

Leigh dumped a club at their lowest ebb, regardless of the reasoning, that isn't something which should be applauded (i know if Adam Simpson did that to North, you lot would want his head, ala Pagan).

 

[Z_K]

Originally posted by phatandphreaky


Leigh dumped a club at their lowest ebb, regardless of the reasoning, that isn't something which should be applauded (i know if Adam Simpson did that to North, you lot would want his head, ala Pagan).

Sick and tired of this last bit Phat.

Pagan left us, depsite a year of "I am not going anywhere" etc etc. He left for money we could not provide.

We were livid. Now, we couldn't care less. 5 years since Colbert left Geelong, he gets booed and has threads started on BF. I think the difference is pretty obvious.

Peter Bell was a footballing nobody when we took a punt on him. We made him a footballer. We gave him two flags. The night he won the B+F a few days after announcing he was leaving to go to Freo, he recieved a standing ovation at the function.

We hear how happy Geelong as a club and a supporter group are with the deal they got for Colbert, but we still hear the sh1t and we will continue to see the hatred on Sunday.

No-one knows why he left, but just that he did. That is not near enough ti stil hate the bloke 5 years on.

 

[LongBomb]

Where did anyone say in this thread that they hated Leigh?

He was the clubs captain and he left. Of course he is going to get booed at games.

- Cameron Ling still gets booed by Collingwood supporters because buckley wiped blood on him. Crowds will boo anything.

 

[Lidge]

Perhaps the 'truth' regading his departure is something Cat's fans don't want to hear or won't like.

Perhaps he's shown restraint from telling it how it was to do the right thing by mates he left behind and is happy to ride with the bumps as a consequence.

Maybe, maybe not.

1 thing for sure is that we don't know the full or true story - and we're just going to have to wait for the tell all book/interview once he's retired from the game.

If North supporters can get over Carey, surely Cat's fans can move on after 5 years.

By all means get stuck into him from across the fence on match days and vent your spleens - but time for the obsession to end for many I would have thought.

 

[benny's buddy]

Originally posted by NorthBhoy
The night he won the B+F a few days after announcing he was leaving to go to Freo, he recieved a standing ovation at the function.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Colby also get the same at the Geelong B&F after he left?

 

[JUBJUB]

Originally posted by benny's buddy
Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Colby also get the same at the Geelong B&F after he left?

ssssh !!!!
Don't let facts get in the way.

 

[Fall Out Boy]

Originally posted by NorthBhoy
He left for money we could not provide.

Correct me if i'm wrong, but didn't Leigh get a signficant boost in salary when crossing to North?

Originally posted by NorthBhoy

We were livid. Now, we couldn't care less. 5 years since Colbert left Geelong, he gets booed and has threads started on BF. I think the difference is pretty obvious.

That'd be why i still see him referred to as Deni$, eh?

Originally posted by NorthBhoy

We hear how happy Geelong as a club and a supporter group are with the deal they got for Colbert, but we still hear the sh1t and we will continue to see the hatred on Sunday.

Leigh Colbert dumped the club, lied to us and has continued to lie, if you were willing to look beyond the jumper he wears, you would understand why people still harbour resentment.

BTW One minute we are told that you (i'll generalise, as you did) want the booing to continue as it helps Leigh play better, the next you are sooking about him still being booed.

 

[Z_K]

I don't ever remember money having anything to do with Colbert moving to North. I know he has taken two pay cuts since his move, and I know you would be amazed at the money he is on now. If you think he left a footy club as it's captain to the premiership winners and was on more cash, fair enough.

Cannot remember the last time Pagan was reffered to as Deni$ on the North baord, but bear in mind, those STILL doing that are not those I wish to discuss footy with. Mental Pygmies. The anger towards Denis was fear of what lay ahead IMO. We got a coach, we won games and moved on. Again, Pagan was given a rousing reception at Arch's testimonial.

I am not saying for a second that I don't understand why people would be disapointing in the bloke, dislike him and even hate him. But surely it has it's time limits..? It has been a very long time.

Oh, and don't for a second think that I am "sooking" because he gets booed. I am finding it hard to explain how little it effects me. It is a source of humour now, and will make me cry with laughter on Sunday. I was simply using it as way to descibe the way people still feel about the bloke.

I sound like I care now!!!!!!!!

 

[Mr X]

Originally posted by benny's buddy
Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Colby also get the same at the Geelong B&F after he left?

Nope, Colby had sat the year out with a bung knee, no chance of winning the old Carji Greeves.

If you are refering to a standing ovation, I highly doubt he got that either.

 

[Mr X]

Originally posted by NorthBhoy

Cannot remember the last time Pagan was reffered to as Deni$ on the North baord,

Don't have to look back too far, in fact only 3 days ago.

Deni$ reference

 

[Fall Out Boy]

Originally posted by Mr X
Don't have to look back too far, in fact only 3 days ago.

Deni$ reference

Bingo.

Meanwhile, there have been 295 references to the term 'Deni$' on the North Board alone, and he's not been gone all that long.

I doubt Leigh would have received that many derogatory mentions on this board, in the entire time it's been around.

 

[Z_K]

Originally posted by phatandphreaky
Bingo.

Meanwhile, there have been 295 references to the term 'Deni$' on the North Board alone, and he's not been gone all that long.

I doubt Leigh would have received that many derogatory mentions on this board, in the entire time it's been around.

Come on mate.

Even despite the fact that there have been 104, 000 more posts on the North board, this is getting a bit tedious.

We have got over Pagan quicker than you Colbert.

You know this.

 

[LongBomb]

Who really cares who got over who quicker?

Read the thread title.
We know what happened to Pagan. We know what happened to Carey.
- What happened with Leigh is still a bit of a mystery.

 

[jim boy]

I don't think there's any real comparison with Colbert and Denis. There was nothing mysterious about Denis's motives. I think that most people accept that football is a professional game and that ultimately, you can't really blame a person for looking after their best interests. Also coaches do move on, there had been the odd commentary before the Denis move that it might be in both North's and Denis's best interests for them to part company, and that was proved to be correct. The worst thing about the Denis move was the unneccessary prolongation of rumours when Denis could have just come out at the start and said, that's it, I'm going.

Colbert on the other hand, if he'd quit for money, great, but that obviously wasn't the reason. At the time he quit, Geelong was going through a major crisis both on and off the field, we were a rabble on the field, our coach had jumped ship and we were in very serious debt. This should have been a time to band together and see the crisis through, but instead Colbert, whose imminent return from injury was one of our few hopes, just added to our woes for no (apparent) good reason. And that hurt, and still hurts a bit, simply becuase there exists no adequate public reason for the move.

Plenty of players have left Geelong to chase dollars or for other reasons, but in the whole, they are good reasons and animosity can't be held against them. For example, when Greg Williams left to go to Sydney for more money, that hurt, but little animosity was harboured as you couldn't really blame the bloke for maximising his career potential earnings. Actually I still have some animosity for that incident, but it is wholly directed at the GFC admin of the time.

 

[Kimbo]

Originally posted by Jim Boy
I don't think there's any real comparison with Colbert and Denis. There was nothing mysterious about Denis's motives. I think that most people accept that football is a professional game and that ultimately, you can't really blame a person for looking after their best interests. Also coaches do move on, there had been the odd commentary before the Denis move that it might be in both North's and Denis's best interests for them to part company, and that was proved to be correct. The worst thing about the Denis move was the unneccessary prolongation of rumours when Denis could have just come out at the start and said, that's it, I'm going.

Colbert on the other hand, if he'd quit for money, great, but that obviously wasn't the reason. At the time he quit, Geelong was going through a major crisis both on and off the field, we were a rabble on the field, our coach had jumped ship and we were in very serious debt. This should have been a time to band together and see the crisis through, but instead Colbert, whose imminent return from injury was one of our few hopes, just added to our woes for no (apparent) good reason. And that hurt, and still hurts a bit, simply becuase there exists no adequate public reason for the move.

Plenty of players have left Geelong to chase dollars or for other reasons, but in the whole, they are good reasons and animosity can't be held against them. For example, when Greg Williams left to go to Sydney for more money, that hurt, but little animosity was harboured as you couldn't really blame the bloke for maximising his career potential earnings. Actually I still have some animosity for that incident, but it is wholly directed at the GFC admin of the time.

I wasn't aware it was that much of a mystery? I thought, at the time, he said he wanted to play in a team he felt there was a chance of winning a premiership with (which would have felt more likely at the time).

His recent comments were more, I thought, refuting the Geelong administration's public handling of things, despite an agreement to handle things differently. (And the sense that they were concerned he'd bad mouth them, so they got in first.)

I can understand the pain of losing a captain upon whom a lot of hope had been placed. Nothing like unfulfilled rising expectations to disappoint you.

I'd like to add I don't think he's the great guy he's made out to be, and that I am not motivated to defend his honour. My limited impression was that he was quite arrogant/disinterested, however, I enjoy the fact that he appears to make the most of him abilities.

 

[Fall Out Boy]

Quality post, Kimbo.

 

[Pres]

Interesting as a North supporter going to the game on Sunday there appeared to be relatively little vitriol directed towards Leigh on Sunday. I was in the Hickey Stand and despite a little early booing people seemed reasonably quiet in relation to him.

Unsure whether this means that the rank and file have generally gotten over it all. I have quite a few Cat friends who I know have.

At the end of the day Mooney/Enright/Spriggs is a great return for you guys. And despite the few remaining deluded individuals who reckon Leigh has been no good for us we have picked up a quality player and a quality clubman.

 

[Sammy D]

Originally posted by Pres
At the end of the day Mooney/Enright/Spriggs is a great return for you guys. And despite the few remaining deluded individuals who reckon Leigh has been no good for us we have picked up a quality player and a quality clubman.

I wouldnt say great. Firstly Spriggs is a second rate player who belongs in the VFL. Enright has be servicable and is tradeable. Lastly Mooney has been fantastic this year thus far while the previous 4 years he was wretched.