Negativity On The Club. A good thing?

[LostDoggy]

From what I've been reading, seeing in polls and peoples comments at work. It seems there is the majority of people see this as stuffing up our chances for the rest of the year. But I'm starting to see it as a positive.

It has been said on here before, I'm sick of being everyones 'second' team. I'm sick of every year people saying they hope we can make the Grand Final or think we have a chance to.

Now with Aker gone people are saying we have no chance in September. We have a somewhat negative image now and let's use it to break the drought and prove all these nay Sayers wrong!

P.s. Sorry if any spelling errors or grammer errors as I'm posting this from my iPhone which has been shitting me lately with the new o/s4 making my phone slower then ever.

[Ghost Dog]

Steve Jobs! if bulldogs don't make the finals YOU will be responsible!
:)

[The Coon Dog]

I guess how we react will viewed with interest outside the football club.

St.Kilda have had to deal with a fair bit on & on the field this season, but their campaign is still on track.

[LostDoggy]

I guess how we react will viewed with interest outside the football club.

St.Kilda have had to deal with a fair bit on & on the field this season, but their campaign is still on track.

Frankly I'd rather my club sacked a rapist and gone off track then defend him and be on track. Lyon has zero credibility as a human being if he thinks playing Milne is kosher, and who cares if he wins a premiership.

Football lost its perspective a long time ago.

[The Underdog]

Football lost its perspective a long time ago.

I think the media are hiding it.

[Ghost Dog]

Frankly I'd rather my club sacked a rapist and gone off track then defend him and be on track. Lyon has zero credibility as a human being if he thinks playing Milne is kosher, and who cares if he wins a premiership.

Football lost its perspective a long time ago.

This is a very good point.

[AndrewP6]

I can see this whole sorry business coming back to bite us...

[chef]

I can see this whole sorry business coming back to bite us...

It may well, but we were left no other option and it needed to be done.

[AndrewP6]

It may well, but we were left no other option and it needed to be done.

Maybe so, but I think they botched it....

[LostDoggy]

On the radio today I heard an irate opposition supporter claiming that the Dogs 'used to be everybody's second team, but not anymore!!!'

Seriously, like we care. I'm kind of sick of us being people's second team.

I think we play some of our best footy with our backs against the wall, underdogs and all of that. All we can do is hope that the team on Sunday comes out as a united front and wins the game.

[comrade]

I can see this whole sorry business coming back to bite us...

Well, you're a 50% chance of being correct...

[LostDoggy]

I dont think this is going to go away for the rest of the season. This potentialy could really hurt the doggies!!:( I hope not!!

[LostDoggy]

I think and hope that it will make us better and go all the way.

[dogman]

I finally found a media outlet that praised us, rather then put their boots in.

On foxtel's Afl teams, Brian Taylor, Tony Shaw, David Parkins and Rohan Smith all bagged Aker and were united in saying the dogs didn't have another choice. They also believed it will unite the group.

[LostDoggy]

On foxtel's Afl teams, Brian Taylor, Tony Shaw, David Parkins and Rohan Smith all bagged Aker and were united in saying the dogs didn't have another choice. They also believed it will unite the group.

I'll say it before and I'll say it again -- I'm neither here nor there about the decision itself, but if it takes something external/extraordinary like this to 'unite' a group that is supposedly in with its best shot at a premiership then we might as well pack it in now. If last year's prelim final wasn't a big enough kick up the butt then this won't make any difference whatsoever. People are pointing to our supposed improved form in the last 6 weeks, well, we still fell over the two times we were seriously challenged. It's all very well and good to beat up on teams that are no good, but September isn't made up of bottom 8 teams.

[ledge]

I dont know if you have played a team sport Lantern but If you get rid of the final or only bad apple its amazing what difference it can make...a bit like sacking a coach who isnt liked and bringing in a new one.
For example his statements tonite about Johnno and the club not having a team?
If thats what the bloke dishes up outside imagine the stuff he was dishing up inside.

To bag your own CAPTAIN in public tells you a lot.
Gives new meaning to the smiling assasin though.
It seems anyone who didnt support his thoughts were in the gun.

[comrade]

I'll say it before and I'll say it again -- I'm neither here nor there about the decision itself, but if it takes something external/extraordinary like this to 'unite' a group that is supposedly in with its best shot at a premiership then we might as well pack it in now. If last year's prelim final wasn't a big enough kick up the butt then this won't make any difference whatsoever. People are pointing to our supposed improved form in the last 6 weeks, well, we still fell over the two times we were seriously challenged. It's all very well and good to beat up on teams that are no good, but September isn't made up of bottom 8 teams.

I don't think anyone has suggested the group wasn't united already and that getting rid of Aker was required to pull them together, just that an extraordinary event such as we've experienced this week can assist in galvanising them even more so.

Pro football is such a mental game; who knows how the week's events will effect the group. It may not not even cause a ripple, as we're constantly told the players live in a bubble of oblivion.

[SonofScray]

On the radio today I heard an irate opposition supporter claiming that the Dogs 'used to be everybody's second team, but not anymore!!!'

Seriously, like we care. I'm kind of sick of us being people's second team.

I think we play some of our best footy with our backs against the wall, underdogs and all of that. All we can do is hope that the team on Sunday comes out as a united front and wins the game.

To me that suggests we are doing something right. If you aren't upsetting competition, you're not doing something right because they aren't threatened by you. I want us to be hated, alone against all etc. Footscray is for Footscray fans, our pain is our own and our joy will be ours alone as well. :)

[LostDoggy]

To me that suggests we are doing something right. If you aren't upsetting competition, you're not doing something right because they aren't threatened by you. I want us to be hated, alone against all etc. Footscray is for Footscray fans, our pain is our own and our joy will be ours alone as well. :)

Look, this is a valid point if teams are threatened by you because you are beating them, or dominating the competition (which we're patently not).

It's not valid when the reason for people hating you is that you are seen as unprofessional, small-town, and a little bit pathetic, like when everyone hated North for their niggling of Barry Hall. No one suggested then that North were going down the right path simply because no one liked them.

There is a distinct difference, and to suggest simply because if (a) no one likes you, you must therefore (b) be doing something right, is a non sequitor.

--

I guess this is as good a place as any to say this (even though I've said I wouldn't say any more on the Aker matter, but here goes):

Big clubs, in all sporting codes, handle big personalities all the time. You think Maradona, Kobe, Eric Cantona, Roy Keane etc. were tame personalities? If we think Aker is a loudmouth we don't watch American sports (anyone watch a NFL interview recently?). We think Aker 'leaking' thoughts about opponents and teammates is damaging? They do that during half-time interviews in the NBA. Roy Keane's foul mouth publicly bagging out his own teammates and supporters was a weekly occurence, but Sir Alex knew that it was a sign of an on-field perfectionist, and made him captain to get the best out of him. Players in the EPL routinely publish crappy 'biographies' while they're still playing potting some of their teammates but no one bats an eyelid.

Only small-town clubs struggle with larger-than-life personalities. Sheffield Wednesday, my beloved soccer team, didn't pick Eric Cantona after he came over for a trial because we thought he would be too disruptive, and we all know how he turned out at Man Utd (and his kung-fu kick is far worse than anything Aker ever did). We stubbornly did the 'club is bigger than the individual' crap when we got rid of Paolo di Canio (an Aker-type look-at-me loudmouth), and he went on to star at West Ham as we got relegated twice.

Mavericks say shit all the time. That's what makes them mavericks.. you take that spark away from them, you might as well cut their legs off, because you'll be getting an inferior product. People have been potting Aker's form this year, but the few times he played (injured, mind you), he was still the cleanest, smartest player on the ground, and his 5 or 6 touches would lead directly or indirectly to 3 or 4 goals. He was also coming back from a relatively good stint in the VFL.

I guess my point is that we are all standing around proud as punch because we've shown that 'the club is bigger than the individual', but in the big scheme of professional sports, I think all we've really shown is that this club can't deal with truly big-ego, star players -- we've taken Granty's parting words and elevated them into gospel, and like any form of fundamentalism, painted ourselves into a unnecessary corner. Can we say 'deluded' -- anyone who's watched Masterchef recently will know what I mean when I say we're like Jimmy who thinks his rice mountain was a 3-hat dish when really, it was just a rice mountain. I mean, God help us if the Gary Ablett saga was happening here rather than over at Shell Stadium. Would we kick him out too because he wasn't being forthcoming, because his insecure teammates couldn't handle him being 'bigger than the club', or because he was telling too much to the media? (and we think Gablett Jnr is a big star, how would the AFL ever handle a David Beckham, or Ronaldinho, whose annual salary would dwarf the entire AFL budget? I'm just trying to give some perspective to the discussion here, where the club thinks it's made some sort of statement, but really just succeeded in showing how small potatoes all this is.)

We haven't proven anything. The fact that we couldn't deal with something as pathetic as this behind closed doors is partially the fault of the footy media here (no real news in such an insular environment so let's blow everything out of proportion), but also testament to a lack of leadership in the playing group (which is often displayed on-field). If Coons was really as thin-skinned to be embarassed by a basic Sam Newman interview (which, really, was nothing in the big scheme of things -- watch a soccer interview on Italian TV sometime if you want to see shit hitting the fan) then he is right when he doesn't think he's captain material. And when Johnno -- favourite son or not -- single-handedly leads a team past a Prelim I'll be happy to concede that he wasn't being precious in jumping at shadows with a not-even-published-yet biography. And since it was the club's choice to go after Aker in the first place, it was a failed recruiting strategy and a lot of the responsibility must lie with Rocket and the executive.

And finally, if this was supposed to be some kind of statement from the club about our 'hard stance', frankly, it's all just a little bit embarassing.

---

The only way we can put this behind us is if we win the flag. Anything else, and we're on a hiding to nothing, both internally and externally, from an identity and historical perspective, as much as anything. We took Aker wanting to come over as a sign that we were one of the big boys now; well, now he's gone, if we just go back to underperformance, would it would be a sign that our flirtation with the big time is over? I sincerely hope not, but you can't claim the former, without accepting the latter.

[comrade]

Comparing Kobe's on field influence to Aker's? One is the best player in the game who lead his team to a World Championship, the other is a 33-year with bad hammies who performed terribly in last year's final series and has only gotten worse in 2010.

Is it a coincidence that Aker ramps up the controversy when his form has plummeted? It happened at Brisbane and it happened here. He's a glutton for the spotlight, which completely differs from the players that you referred to.

And we are dealing with a GAJr scenario with Harbrow, but I think it's obvious that Jarrod is committed to the Club and it's goals this year. Aker was committed to Aker (and giving us nothing on field).

[LostDoggy]

Comparing Kobe's on field influence to Aker's? One is the best player in the game who lead his team to a World Championship, the other is a 33-year with bad hammies who performed terribly in last year's final series and has only gotten worse in 2010.

Is it a coincidence that Aker ramps up the controversy when his form has plummeted? It happened at Brisbane and it happened here. He's a glutton for the spotlight, which completely differs from the players that you referred to.

And we are dealing with a GAJr scenario with Harbrow, but I think it's obvious that Jarrod is committed to the Club and it's goals this year. Aker was committed to Aker (and giving us nothing on field).

So you are buying into the fact that it was form related, and all the talk of trust and crap is just inconsistent hypocrisy after all ie. Aker would be allowed to say whatever he likes as long as he was kicking 20 goals a week? I'm not against that, but it does make one gag when the club then tries to take a self-righteous, sanctimonious line about trust.

Just come out and say -- the guy is finished as a player, he was more trouble than he was worth, we're making a business decision, we made a bad call. I would have far more respect for the administration then, but pigs would fly before the club would admit to any mistakes. Thing is, people aren't stupid. Worse, players aren't stupid -- Ev and Harbs better take the best deal they can when they have some form because we would have no problem cutting anyone off when form drops off (and so be it, and the sooner the club can stop pretending to be some sort of love-in and get on with the business of winning premierships the better for everyone).

[comrade]

So you are buying into the fact that it was form related, and all the talk of trust and crap is just inconsistent hypocrisy after all.

Perhaps. But it's cause and effect.

Aker can't do the things he used to do on field. To compensate for the lack of plaudits, he ramps up the controversy (which we gave him the means to do by allowing him to sign up for so much media work - a big mistake).

Death by a million cuts, his numerous indiscretions have been discussed on here previously.

His refusal to tone it down and get on with the job at hand (playing good football as part of a team heading for September) is just further proof that Aker's priority is Aker, not the Western Bulldogs and the players got sick of it.



Just come out and say -- the guy is finished as a player, he was more trouble than he was worth, we're making a business decision, we made a bad call. I would have far more respect for the administration then, but pigs would fly before the club would admit to any mistakes. Thing is, people aren't stupid. Worse, players aren't stupid -- Ev and Harbs better take the best deal they can when they have some form because we would have no problem cutting anyone off when form drops off (and so be it, and the sooner the club can stop pretending to be some sort of love-in and get on with the business of winning premierships the better for everyone).

This I agree with.

[LostDoggy]

Comparing Kobe's on field influence to Aker's? One is the best player in the game who lead his team to a World Championship, the other is a 33-year with bad hammies who performed terribly in last year's final series and has only gotten worse in 2010.

Is it a coincidence that Aker ramps up the controversy when his form has plummeted? It happened at Brisbane and it happened here. He's a glutton for the spotlight, which completely differs from the players that you referred to.

And we are dealing with a GAJr scenario with Harbrow, but I think it's obvious that Jarrod is committed to the Club and it's goals this year. Aker was committed to Aker (and giving us nothing on field).

You think Aker is more a glutton for the spotlight than Cashley Cole, Paolo di Canio, Le Bron and other dickheads of that magnitude? I'm not too sure that the Footy Show and MTR really count as media heavyweights compared to Harpers Publishing, Fox International et al. Aker is a loudmouth in a small-town (probably doesn't even make the news in Sydney). Nothing more, nothing less. The fact that we can't even deal with that is just unhappy evidence of a small-town mentality.


And we are dealing with a GAJr scenario with Harbrow, but I think it's obvious that Jarrod is committed to the Club and it's goals this year. Aker was committed to Aker (and giving us nothing on field).

Not even close. Gaz was THE news story for the first 8 weeks of the season, his teammates and coaches still get asked the question at every single non-matchday press conference, he has his own column, and will be the best paid player of all time if he takes the offer. Harbs is at best in the second tier of players GC Suns are going after, is discussed on forums like this one, and his team is rarely asked about him (Coons wasn't even asked about him on the Footy Show).

[LostDoggy]

His refusal to tone it down and get on with the job at hand (playing good football as part of a team heading for September) is just further proof that Aker's priority is Aker, not the Western Bulldogs and the players got sick of it.
.

This is the point -- why are the players sick of it? It's not that big a deal. Is Aker really a bigger distraction than, say, Dennis Rodman was when he was with the Bulls? Of course not. Did Scottie/MJ et al find it distracting? Not one bit -- they were professionals after the ultimate prize, and the off-field stuff was an amusing side-show that they just ignored.

I just don't get why our playing group is so thin-skinned, is all. Everything in the AFL is always so uber-sensitive and precious and everything gets blown up, and stuff that wouldn't even register on the radar of bigger sports becomes news for weeks in the AFL. I just don't get it.

[comrade]

You think Aker is more a glutton for the spotlight than Cashley Cole, Paolo di Canio, Le Bron and other dickheads of that magnitude? I'm not too sure that the Footy Show and MTR really count as media heavyweights compared to Harpers Publishing, Fox International et al. Aker is a loudmouth in a small-town (probably doesn't even make the news in Sydney). Nothing more, nothing less. The fact that we can't even deal with that is just unhappy evidence of a small-town mentality.

How many trophies has Le Bron won?


Not even close. Gaz was THE news story for the first 8 weeks of the season, his teammates and coaches still get asked the question at every single non-matchday press conference, he has his own column, and will be the best paid player of all time if he takes the offer. Harbs is at best in the second tier of players GC Suns are going after, is discussed on forums like this one, and his team is rarely asked about him (Coons wasn't even asked about him on the Footy Show).

It's not on the same magnitude as Gaz but we still have a situation where speculation is rife that he has chosen to play at another club.

[LostDoggy]

How many trophies has Le Bron won?



It's not on the same magnitude as Gaz but we still have a situation where speculation is rife that he has chosen to play at another club.

Rife where? On WOOF? I rarely read an article about it, and when it is mentioned, it is usually in the context of five or six other names. Not quite enough to dent the egos of Cooney or Gia.

How many trophies has Dennis Rodman won? Roy Keane? Maradona? Di Canio? Cantona? Cashley Cole? All media hogs of the highest order. All multiple winners at the highest level.

For that matter, how many premierships has Aker won?

[Doc26]

Has just been such an awful saga with no winners other than for the media hounds and junkies.
I'm disappointed with the handling from both sides. I'm disappointed that the Club could'nt have found a way to manage the situation better and disappointed that Aker couldn't find a way to tow the line for a few weeks.

Aker is Aker. He struggles to fit in a Team environment with the extremes that his personality offers up and becomes perilous for all when his on field performance can't carry him through. He polarises people for good and bad and when let out of control you get the internal and external division that we've seen. In the end the Club were probably forced to end the relationship for the harmony of the Club and Team, it just shouldn't have got to the point it did.

Just really disappointing primarily for the Club but also for Jason that it is ending this way.

[comrade]

Rife where? On WOOF? I rarely read an article about it, and when it is mentioned, it is usually in the context of five or six other names. Not quite enough to dent the egos of Cooney or Gia.

His name is constantly referred to in articles about GC and the Sun published an article entitled something like 'The Harbrow Rule' in regards to compensation for players leaving for the GC :confused:

Referring to Gaz doesn't really strengthen your argument though. His body language recently has been terrible, and his form has dropped off slightly. Thompson has also potted him in the press. Ideal situation? If they don't win this year, did they make a mistake by not addressing the issue sooner?


How many trophies has Dennis Rodman won? Roy Keane? Maradona? Di Canio? Cantona? Cashley Cole? All media hogs of the highest order. All multiple winners at the highest level.

For that matter, how many premierships has Aker won?

Cause and effect. When Aker was playing well and contributing to Premierships we barely heard peep at Brisbane. It wasn't until the glory days passed that he became a media dickwad.

I think we both agree that if Aker was playing like a star, he'd be tolerated more by the playing group.

[ledge]

If he was playing like a star the media would be loving him as much as he does and he wouldnt have started whingeing and blaming everyone else because all was fine he was the spotlight.

[comrade]

If he was playing like a star the media would be loving him as much as he does and he wouldnt have started whingeing and blaming everyone else because all was fine he was the spotlight.

Pretty much. That's where he differs from a Cantona, Keane or Kobe who drew the spotlight due to their on field prowess.

Aker seeked it out to compensate for his lack of on field influence.

[LostDoggy]

Aker is Aker. He struggles to fit in a Team environment with the extremes that his personality offers up and becomes perilous for all when his on field performance can't carry him through. He polarises people for good and bad and when let out of control you get the internal and external division that we've seen. In the end the Club were probably forced to end the relationship for the harmony of the Club and Team, it just shouldn't have got to the point it did.


But we knew what we were getting into. It's almost like we didn't know what it really meant to have a larger-than-life psycho motormouth mega-ego superstar because we've never had one before. I tell you what, Premiership teams (other than maybe Geelong) are full of these idiots, because they can play.

Okay, Aker is gone, and at the end there he wasn't the same player, no worries, no regrets, but does this mean that our experiment with genuine, bona-fide, crazy-ass superstars is over? I ask again: we took Aker coming over as a sign that we were now a genuine contender. Does the fact that we patently and miserably failed to get the best out of him and let it end this way mean then that we were actually not a genuine contender at all, and that we were playing out of our league? Are damaged superstars (both Aker and Bazza) all we can hope for in the future, and even then, no guarantees?

There are no winners out of this sorry saga.

[LostDoggy]

Pretty much. That's where he differs from a Cantona, Keane or Kobe who drew the spotlight due to their on field prowess.

Aker seeked it out to compensate for his lack of on field influence.

Er, you mustn't have been watching Roy Keane's career. He was noisiest when he was under the pump form-wise. It was his way to motivate himself and his team (I would say very similar to Aker) -- love-hate relationship with his teammates and fans, I think sums it up best.

We seem to only want vanilla flavoured players. Vanilla won't win you the Grand Final (or even a prelim, for that matter), that much I can assure you.

[comrade]

Er, you mustn't have been watching Roy Keane's career. He was noisiest when he was under the pump. It was his way to motivate himself and his team -- love-hate relationship with his teammates and fans, I think sums it up best.

So Aker was just trying to motivate the team? He said it himself - he does his football thing for two hours a week. The rest is all for Aker.

[LostDoggy]

Shit, I've said far more than I ever wanted to about this. I'm going mjp's route from now on. Zip it.

[comrade]

We seem to only want vanilla flavoured players. Vanilla won't win you the Grand Final (or even a prelim, for that matter), that much I can assure you.

No, fit and firing players will.

[LostDoggy]

So Aker was just trying to motivate the team? He said it himself - he does his football thing for two hours a week. The rest is all for Aker.

Well, he was definitely trying to motivate himself, and from his on-field actions, he was a pretty good motivator out there for the younger guys.

But que sera sera. I'm signing off. Cheers comrade. :)

[comrade]

Well, he was definitely trying to motivate himself, and from his on-field actions, he was a pretty good motivator out there for the younger guys.

But que sera sera. I'm signing off. Cheers comrade. :)

Cheers.

Onwards to a premiership (God, I hope).

[BulldogBelle]

Lantern, you are spot on the money with your summation.
The so called 'hard' decision has shown up that we aren't a 'big-time' club capable of managing large personalities and we are arguably deficient in our mental/pshychological strength. (Evidenced by how few times we have been able to get over the saints/cats and pies in close ones).

Despite the fact that AFL is a different sport, your examples across NFL/ NBA/ Soccer are all valid because your arguments are based on the humans involved and 'group' psychology. This situations are repeated in all sports at all levels and in workplaces also.

[Doc26]

Lantern, you are spot on the money with your summation.
The so called 'hard' decision has shown up that we aren't a 'big-time' club capable of managing large personalities and we are arguably deficient in our mental/pshychological strength. (Evidenced by how few times we have been able to get over the saints/cats and pies in close ones).

Despite the fact that AFL is a different sport, your examples across NFL/ NBA/ Soccer are all valid because your arguments are based on the humans involved and 'group' psychology. This situations are repeated in all sports at all levels and in workplaces also.

Please name a current 'big time' AFL Club who has shown a capacity to handle a similar situation without some collateral damage ? The Saints / Cats and Pies have all had their fair share of off field discretions over the journey with questions raised along the way with how they've gone about it. This bagging out of our Club is bloody tiresome and not warranted particularly given where we've come from, our limited resources and the uniqueness of an Akermanis type in the AFL system. Our Club will learn from this and move on and up from this fall out. The biggest group of whingers in this sorry saga appear to be coming from our own 'supporter' base, which we have a not so proud history of.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

I think the mainstream media almost exclusively has been very understanding and supportive of the decision.

The only organisations that have been negative would be the Footy Show and Aker's own radio show.

I must admit I thought we were on a hiding to nothing with Campbell Rose appearing on the footy show.
I really hope that from here on in, the club refuses to speak about this any more.

[mighty_west]

I actually believe this is a good thing for the club, it shows it as a strong decision made by the club, and one that had to be made.

This will make our club stronger, and it shows that we won't take any crap from anybody whoever they are, no matter how many games played, Brownlows or Premierships won by that player.

Did Aker runaway from cops?, did he get drunk and punch someone? did he take drugs? no, but he did go against team & club rules by lying and leaking info, yes, telling Steve Price & Sam Newman, two shock jocks, Price for MTR radio & Newman, Footy Show personality is like putting inside information on a silver platter to be spread over the airwaves, that is definate leakage.

Funny thing is, i like Aker, and still do, and can understand what he has done & said given the circumstances of his termination of the club [yes i know it was his own doing], i liked him before even though he did similar things at Brisbane, so why should i all of a suddern not like him, because he did the same at our club...i almost expected it to end this way, especually when pretty much given a free range for his media work this year.

Part of his personality of speaking his mind, is being totally into himself, we all knew Aker was like that before we recruited him, and he hasn't changed, and why should he?..you are who you are, he is who he is.

Am i disappointed that it ended this way, off course, we all are, i have enjoyed having him at our great club, am i going to hate him for a few parting shots? no way known, we are all big enough as supporters, members, players, admin etc..you cop it, you deal with it, and you move on..big whoop.

As a member & fan of Aker, i wish him all the best, and i look forward to hearing him in the media, speaking his mind etc, was a pleasure watching him run around in the Tri Colours.

[LostDoggy]

So who else went into work today with people firing pot shots about our club left right and centre?

It seems Akers sympathy card has worked alot better than i first anticipated.

I spent most of the day defending the club, which i must admit i haven't had to do much of. I also must admit.. i quite enjoyed it!

I feel like a collingwood supporter :o

[G-Mo77]

So who else went into work today with people firing pot shots about our club left right and centre?

It seems Akers sympathy card has worked alot better than i first anticipated.

I spent most of the day defending the club, which i must admit i haven't had to do much of. I also must admit.. i quite enjoyed it!

I feel like a collingwood supporter :o

I got asked a lot of questions at training last night and copped a few little remarks. All I really answered was along the lines of "It's no loss"

It's funny that most of the people who are standing up for him are probably the ones who booed him every week and asked for him to be sacked after that article. Unfortunately dimwitted morons with a bee in their bonnet are a lot more vocal than people who are more supportive. We get a win on the board Sunday this story will pretty much be dead by mid way next week.

Aker will continue with it though and try and keep the fading spotlight on his pathetic diminishing career ove rthe next few weeks so we'll have to rise above that and just not get involved with him anymore. Once that spotlight is gone he'll be back under the bridge with all the other trolls.

[Doc26]

So who else went into work today with people firing pot shots about our club left right and centre?

It seems Akers sympathy card has worked alot better than i first anticipated.

I spent most of the day defending the club, which i must admit i haven't had to do much of. I also must admit.. i quite enjoyed it!

I feel like a collingwood supporter :o

Can relate Jaytee although most at my work have been completely understanding / supportive of the Club's stance with the Ex with most along a similar theme to the following eMail extract "He IS a massive douche though Ro. I am sad if you're sad, but still, he's a douche! ;)". That from a rampant Dees supporter.

[The Coon Dog]

So who else went into work today with people firing pot shots about our club left right and centre?

That didn't bother me so much, it was more the 25 year old woman with a Hawks cap on who waited until I was almost off the train yesterday before she let fly with, 'I hope you ****en lose after sacking Aker, you ****en low pack of losers'!

Funny how in the space of a milisecond so many nasty retorts come into your mind.

[mighty_west]

That didn't bother me so much, it was more the 25 year old woman with a Hawks cap on who waited until I was almost off the train yesterday before she let fly with, 'I hope you ****en lose after sacking Aker, you ****en low pack of losers'!

Funny how in the space of a milisecond so many nasty retorts come into your mind.

I would have blown her a kiss, give her a wink and walked off.

[LostDoggy]

It's funny that most of the people who are standing up for him are probably the ones who booed him every week and asked for him to be sacked after that article.

Couldn't agree more.

The one thing that staggered me was the amount of criticism i heard towards Campbell Rose today. I'm not really sure what people expected him to do/say? Did they expect him to start teeing off at Aker?

As you say a win this weekend will just about put this to bed.

[AndrewP6]

I guess this is as good a place as any to say this (even though I've said I wouldn't say any more on the Aker matter, but here goes):



I didn't quote the whole thing (space-saving legend that I am!:) ) but I agree Lantern. Agree indeed!

[AndrewP6]

So who else went into work today with people firing pot shots about our club left right and centre?

It seems Akers sympathy card has worked alot better than i first anticipated.


Everyone I spoke to sided with me (and Aker). Every single one.

[Before I Die]

Big clubs, in all sporting codes, handle big personalities all the time. You think Maradona, Kobe, Eric Cantona, Roy Keane etc. were tame personalities? If we think Aker is a loudmouth we don't watch American sports (anyone watch a NFL interview recently?). We think Aker 'leaking' thoughts about opponents and teammates is damaging? They do that during half-time interviews in the NBA. Roy Keane's foul mouth publicly bagging out his own teammates and supporters was a weekly occurence, but Sir Alex knew that it was a sign of an on-field perfectionist, and made him captain to get the best out of him. Players in the EPL routinely publish crappy 'biographies' while they're still playing potting some of their teammates but no one bats an eyelid.

Only small-town clubs struggle with larger-than-life personalities. Sheffield Wednesday, my beloved soccer team, didn't pick Eric Cantona after he came over for a trial because we thought he would be too disruptive, and we all know how he turned out at Man Utd (and his kung-fu kick is far worse than anything Aker ever did). We stubbornly did the 'club is bigger than the individual' crap when we got rid of Paolo di Canio (an Aker-type look-at-me loudmouth), and he went on to star at West Ham as we got relegated twice.


I don't think comparisons with NFL, NBA and EPL heavyweights are valid. As you rightly point out these teams are full of characters who make Aker look like Bruce Doull. It is a different culture, player salaries are on a different scale, in some codes players have short term transfers between clubs and one or two game contracts, in other codes players pick who they will play for etc, etc, etc. Our culture is closer to the amateur Gaelic clubs in Ireland than the Dallas Cowboys, or Man United. Dennis Rodman played for the Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs, Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks. He would have never stayed in the same hotel as the rest of the team or travelled on the team bus with any of these teams. Is this the "Big Club" mentality you want the Dogs to aspire to? These same "Big Clubs" offer contracts to convicted drug traffickers, rapists and murderers. The TV dollar may eventually drive our competiton to the same place, I for one hope that never happens.

[Mantis]

Everyone I spoke to sided with me (and Aker). Every single one.

Everyone I spoke to sided with me (and the club).... Except my mum, she likes Aker.

[comrade]

I don't think comparisons with NFL, NBA and EPL heavyweights are valid.

Great post, BID.