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On the TV News on "Maguire Channel" they have re-played the tapes from November 2007 (yes, nearly 12 months ago) alleging Cousins (a 29 year old male) was on cocaine whilst in the USA - then followed up by reporting that Collingwood have decided against recruiting him!
Disgusting, and time we told Maguire and his fellow spivs in their expensive pin striped suits that they are not wanted in society.
This is starting to smell like a Demitriou/Maguire conspiracy that says if Collingwood "do not want him", no one is going to get him.
No doubt Demitriou and Maguire are slurping on their Chivas at this very moment, self congratulating each other for the way they have "handled" this matter.
Cousins is a person who has had a problem - and he is unfortunately no orphan in that regard in today's society - is working at the cure and, hopefully, will continue to work at the cure because such illnesses are addictive.
He deserves recognition for his efforts and full support.
He does not deserve what Demitriou and Maguire are currently throwing at him from behind the media curtain of anominity.
Demitriou and Maguire are cowards of the first order.
Cousins has the guts because he is confronting his demons, and all good luck to him.
Demitriou, Maguire, Pratt, Elliott and the like can rot in hell.
They do not come within a bull's roar of Cousins.
yet we would be laughing along with everyone else if we didnt want to sign cousins
cousins has the guts to confront his demons because football was taken away from him...if it wasn't taken away from him he wouldnt be confronting anything....
For what it's worth, I think Ben would be a great aquision to our club. He's a quality footballer and if he'd been out for 12 months with a knee injury and was out of contract,, there'd be 15 clubs lining up for him. I say lets take a chance. we've always been controversial, so why stop now. Might be recruit of the year next year.
I would somehow doubt that there are 15 clubs lining up for him, if that was the case we'd have no chance...
I am sure the the WCE don't wont him back and now Collingwood has mentioned they are no longer interested...
The only other club that has mentioned an interest is Brisbane, so hardly 15 clubs lining up for his services IMO
Don't wait for the light at the end of the tunnel to appear, run down there and light the bloody thing yourself!
Saints Premiers 2008 wrote:
yet we would be laughing along with everyone else if we didnt want to sign cousins
cousins has the guts to confront his demons because football was taken away from him...if it wasn't taken away from him he wouldnt be confronting anything....
guts? or is he trying to get one last cash grab before disappearing into the night.
who knows?
i certainly have no respect for the liar he has proven to be over the years.
even getting his father to lie for him.
Bewaire krime, da krimson bolt is comeing to yure nayborhood to smach krime
Saints Premiers 2008 wrote:
yet we would be laughing along with everyone else if we didnt want to sign cousins
cousins has the guts to confront his demons because football was taken away from him...if it wasn't taken away from him he wouldnt be confronting anything....
guts? or is he trying to get one last cash grab before disappearing into the night.
who knows?
i certainly have no respect for the liar he has proven to be over the years.
even getting his father to lie for him.
what im saying is that he only has 'guts' as football as been taken away from him...who knows if its the real deal...maybe he likes football more than snorting the charlie?????
in the end...blow it...he's a gun so who cares what he does after we are done with him i just want him drug free for his stay here
You don't win a premiership with 22 clean-nosed charity workers.
Cousins is reflective of a significant swathe of society who have had substance abuse problems and need support from those around them to rehabilitate.
Part of that process involves him playing football again at some stage.
dan warna, you said he was guilty of lying.
There are many blokes who have pulled on a St Kilda gurnesy who have done the same.
I am guilty of the same.
Let's be the one club in the AFL strong enough and with the leadership and understanding to help this guy get his life back on track and play footy.
I say give him a chance. This is how i would approach recruiting him:
-Sign him for 1 year to see how he goes
-If he gets involved with drugs tell him he's gone
-If he does well in his first year and behaves well sign him for maybe 2 years (depending on his age)
He could be a real game winner or he could be a dud
I'd say he'll be a game winner or at least have some sort of impact
He should be our top priority in the drafts because he could really take over from Harvs.
If recruiting was better would there be such a Saints frenzy for someone like BC?
There are not too many other clubs clamouring for his services.
Smarter or dumber than everybody else?
Is it decisions like these that have made ultimate glory rare?
Could it be construed as reckless rather than planned?
Pinning hopes one BC out of desperation perhaps?
Maybe the clubs planning and develpment must take precedence instead of the continuous reckless abandon, in putting out list management spotfires
St Igmata wrote:If recruiting was better would there be such a Saints frenzy for someone like BC?
There are not too many other clubs clamouring for his services.
Smarter or dumber than everybody else?
Is it decisions like these that have made ultimate glory rare?
Could it be construed as reckless rather than planned?
Pinning hopes one BC out of desperation perhaps?
Maybe the clubs planning and develpment must take precedence instead of the continuous reckless abandon, in putting out list management spotfires
What reckless abandon?
Please elaborate instead of motherhood statements.
How in gods name would you know if it is unplanned or not?
What risk is there? If Cousins falls over it will be he not mthe club that is in for it.
And who is pinning hopes on Cousins FFS???
I bet you would have been the first to welcome Harvs back for next season if he went arond again. He would have been 38.
Some specifics or stop talking s.hite
Lance or James??
There comes a point in every man's life when he has to say, "Enough is enough." For me, that time is now. I have been dealing with claims that I cheated and had an unfair advantage in <redacted>. Over the past three years, I have been subjected to a <redacted>investigation followed by <redacted> witch hunt. The toll this has taken on my family, and my work for <redacted>and on me leads me to where I am today – finished with this nonsense. (Oops just got a spontaneous errection <unredacted>)
In response to the many emails and letters I’ve received from members and supporters regarding whether the Collingwood Football Club plans to recruit Ben Cousins, I would like to clarify the club’s position.
As you would be aware Collingwood has a very clear recruiting strategy to invest in the development of young talent which has been in place for a number of years. While the club will always explore specific opportunities to bring in experienced players to bolster the team, our overriding preference is to recruit youthful talent that will be with the club for the next 10 years.
As highlighted during the recent trade period we evaluated all the potential trade options but refused to compromise our early draft picks, and as a result we will have four picks inside the top 50 (11, 29, 45, 46) in the upcoming AFL draft.
We believe these players along with our existing crop of young stars will form the basis of our next premiership team. For this reason, Ben Cousins is not part of our considerations and draft plans in preparation for the 2009 season and beyond.
Gary Pert
Collingwood Football Club CEO
collingwoodfc.com.au
What a joke... they're trying to throw the whole stinking mess in reverse and claim he's simply too old now... like they only just realized his age.
In response to the many emails and letters I’ve received from members and supporters regarding whether the Collingwood Football Club plans to recruit Ben Cousins, I would like to clarify the club’s position.
As you would be aware Collingwood has a very clear recruiting strategy to invest in the development of young talent which has been in place for a number of years. While the club will always explore specific opportunities to bring in experienced players to bolster the team, our overriding preference is to recruit youthful talent that will be with the club for the next 10 years.
As highlighted during the recent trade period we evaluated all the potential trade options but refused to compromise our early draft picks, and as a result we will have four picks inside the top 50 (11, 29, 45, 46) in the upcoming AFL draft.
We believe these players along with our existing crop of young stars will form the basis of our next premiership team. For this reason, Ben Cousins is not part of our considerations and draft plans in preparation for the 2009 season and beyond.
Gary Pert
Collingwood Football Club CEO
collingwoodfc.com.au
What a joke... they're trying to throw the whole stinking mess in reverse and claim he's simply too old now... like they only just realized his age.
Oh dear... what's going on down there?
Well, they ONLY have to stooge Collingwood fans !!
On the TV News on "Maguire Channel" they have re-played the tapes from November 2007 (yes, nearly 12 months ago) alleging Cousins (a 29 year old male) was on cocaine whilst in the USA - then followed up by reporting that Collingwood have decided against recruiting him!
Disgusting, and time we told Maguire and his fellow spivs in their expensive pin striped suits that they are not wanted in society.
This is starting to smell like a Demitriou/Maguire conspiracy that says if Collingwood "do not want him", no one is going to get him.
No doubt Demitriou and Maguire are slurping on their Chivas at this very moment, self congratulating each other for the way they have "handled" this matter.
Cousins is a person who has had a problem - and he is unfortunately no orphan in that regard in today's society - is working at the cure and, hopefully, will continue to work at the cure because such illnesses are addictive.
He deserves recognition for his efforts and full support.
He does not deserve what Demitriou and Maguire are currently throwing at him from behind the media curtain of anominity.
Demitriou and Maguire are cowards of the first order.
Cousins has the guts because he is confronting his demons, and all good luck to him.
Demitriou, Maguire, Pratt, Elliott and the like can rot in hell.
They do not come within a bull's roar of Cousins.
yet we would be laughing along with everyone else if we didnt want to sign cousins
cousins has the guts to confront his demons because football was taken away from him...if it wasn't taken away from him he wouldnt be confronting anything....
don't agree.........the laughing bit........but i do agree with to the top.......this is a downright stitch up in a f****** kangaree court presided over by men who have done far worse things than benny ffs.......fat"ead is a slimy used car salesman...and his mate dimwit... a fat f*** slime ball dental technician made good...at our expense
image how any of you would feel if ben was your son, brother....friend .... .....
all the poor bastard is guilty of at the moment is having enough footy smarts that the saints want to redraft him.......poor bastard hasn't even opened his mouth......
disgraceful......absolutely disgraceful....
.everybody still loves lenny....and we always will
"Freedom of expression is the cornerstone of a free society,"
However, freedom of expression is not encouraged in certain forums.
St Igmata wrote:If recruiting was better would there be such a Saints frenzy for someone like BC?
There are not too many other clubs clamouring for his services.
Smarter or dumber than everybody else?
Is it decisions like these that have made ultimate glory rare?
Could it be construed as reckless rather than planned?
Pinning hopes one BC out of desperation perhaps?
Maybe the clubs planning and develpment must take precedence instead of the continuous reckless abandon, in putting out list management spotfires
What reckless abandon?
Please elaborate instead of motherhood statements.
How in gods name would you know if it is unplanned or not?
What risk is there? If Cousins falls over it will be he not mthe club that is in for it.
And who is pinning hopes on Cousins FFS???
I bet you would have been the first to welcome Harvs back for next season if he went arond again. He would have been 38.
Some specifics or stop talking s.hite
First and foremost you obviously dont understand the gravity of "drug addiction"
Second, Cousins in the draft with only one club after him points towards the times.
How people can possibly bring up footbalers from 40 years ago as examples is beyond me.
Football has moved a long way away from past amateurism.
The club is interested in King, Gardiner.Cousins all of who have played their best footy because the list management has been poor.
If the list contained young ruckmen drafted and a depthof midfield talent we wouldnt be having this discussion at the moment.
It amazes me on this forum how things change about a player if he may be coming to the Saints. So they showed old footage of Cousins on Channel 9 news and we say Maguire organised that. I didnt know he also organised channel 10 news. I hope everyone who thinks the old footage of Cousins is disgusting feels the same way next time we see Wayne Carey in the news and they show old footage or when they talk about Barry Hall and they show him hitting Brent Staker.
I was hoping we wouldnt recruit Cousins because of his age, not drug habits, but now I hope we dont recruit him because all we will hear is whinging about showing old footage of one of our players.
plugger66 wrote:It amazes me on this forum how things change about a player if he may be coming to the Saints. So they showed old footage of Cousins on Channel 9 news and we say Maguire organised that. I didnt know he also organised channel 10 news. I hope everyone who thinks the old footage of Cousins is disgusting feels the same way next time we see Wayne Carey in the news and they show old footage or when they talk about Barry Hall and they show him hitting Brent Staker.
I was hoping we wouldnt recruit Cousins because of his age, not drug habits, but now I hope we dont recruit him because all we will hear is whinging about showing old footage of one of our players.
St Igmata wrote:If recruiting was better would there be such a Saints frenzy for someone like BC?
There are not too many other clubs clamouring for his services.
Smarter or dumber than everybody else?
Is it decisions like these that have made ultimate glory rare?
Could it be construed as reckless rather than planned?
Pinning hopes one BC out of desperation perhaps?
Maybe the clubs planning and develpment must take precedence instead of the continuous reckless abandon, in putting out list management spotfires
What reckless abandon?
Please elaborate instead of motherhood statements.
How in gods name would you know if it is unplanned or not?
What risk is there? If Cousins falls over it will be he not mthe club that is in for it.
And who is pinning hopes on Cousins FFS???
I bet you would have been the first to welcome Harvs back for next season if he went arond again. He would have been 38.
Some specifics or stop talking s.hite
How people can possibly bring up footbalers from 40 years ago as examples is beyond me.
Football has moved a long way away from past amateurism.
The club is interested in King, Gardiner.Cousins all of who have played their best footy because the list management has been poor.
If the list contained young ruckmen drafted and a depthof midfield talent we wouldnt be having this discussion at the moment.
Its becoming a half way house for discards.
You have your opinion, i have mine!
Huh, have read this thread this morning (London time) and don't see references to players of 40 years ago?
I personally think the recruitment for King, Gardi and (praying we get) Cousins, is about breaching the gap between our younger players which are taking more time than expected to fire. This is called balance and depth. I think Ross is doing a great job in balancing our list, given the lack of attention that was given to the list after our few top 10 picks 5 or so years back.
Good work St Kilda, love ya and proud of ya!
PS recruiting of Cousins should also generate more members next year, as well as hype. Media attention isn't always bad.
plugger66 wrote:It amazes me on this forum how things change about a player if he may be coming to the Saints. So they showed old footage of Cousins on Channel 9 news and we say Maguire organised that. I didnt know he also organised channel 10 news. I hope everyone who thinks the old footage of Cousins is disgusting feels the same way next time we see Wayne Carey in the news and they show old footage or when they talk about Barry Hall and they show him hitting Brent Staker.
I was hoping we wouldnt recruit Cousins because of his age, not drug habits, but now I hope we dont recruit him because all we will hear is whinging about showing old footage of one of our players.
Speaking of whinging.....
Nothing like someone who whinges endlessly about the endless whinging...
It will be interesting to see how much support Ben gets in here if he ends up at another club.
For the record i dont believe any other club would draft him.Which highlights why we would be looking to draft him.
What i meant by planned is this.
A well run club would have a few spokes in the fire so to speak. It would be drafting and developing raw talent all the time.By drafting and developing raw talent you wouldnt have to be chasing players who have been discarded from their clubs for one reason or another.
Theyre either too injury prone(Gardiner.King), too lazy(Schneider), too unskilled(I can run off a whole list), can't kick(again), can't run(McGough), pea hearts(Ackland) bring the game into disrepute( Cousins)
So a team full of discards is going to take the competition by storm is it?
A well planned assault on a flag is drafting well, developing well and managing a list well.
St Igmata wrote:It will be interesting to see how much support Ben gets in here if he ends up at another club.
For the record i dont believe any other club would draft him.Which highlights why we would be looking to draft him.
What i meant by planned is this.
A well run club would have a few spokes in the fire so to speak. It would be drafting and developing raw talent all the time.By drafting and developing raw talent you wouldnt have to be chasing players who have been discarded from their clubs for one reason or another.
Theyre either too injury prone(Gardiner.King), too lazy(Schneider), too unskilled(I can run off a whole list), can't kick(again), can't run(McGough), pea hearts(Ackland) bring the game into disrepute( Cousins)
So a team full of discards is going to take the competition by storm is it?
A well planned assault on a flag is drafting well, developing well and managing a list well.
Given the AFL has a "3 Strike" or "2 Strike" or whatever policy the simple fact is that if you are found to have drugs of dependence in your system you get another chance and no-body knows.
Why?
Maybe 1 or maybe 2 chances because I forget apart from knowing it was "3 Strikes" and some pressure was put on in regards Grants.
So the question is "How many players are on their second or third chance, has the Chief Commissioner been spoken to about these players seeking information and are Private Investigators following these players around?"
And exactly who are they, because we all know Cousins "fessed up" even though the "world's best practice" did not catch him.
So exactly why is Cousins treated so differently by the AFL?
Because by "fessing up" he made them look the fools they are - which is no surprise.
Didn't we have a couple of people in Court recently for selling Medical Records to the media - and wasn't the Reporter involved in the purchase of those Records sent to Coventry?
Wasn't Hawthorn the club involved? Didn't it involve the records of mutiple players? And wasn't the "treatment" associated with drugs of dependance?
Why the inconsistencies?
If Demitriou and his fellow travellers want to show us they have any sense at all they should announce the abandonment of the plan to expand the AFL forthwith - because it is going to be a financial disaster at exactly the wrong time as the excesses get called in and obtaining revenue to run footy clubs becomes much more difficult- as will the negotiating of TV Rights by Media Companies already under pressure as Channel 10's recent statements, and Share Price dive, show.
Concentration should be on the basket clubs here in Melbourne- the clubs reliant on AFL hand outs year after year to survive - because that will not be sustainable into the future either.
The days of excesses are gone - and the AFL prosper on excesses.
St Igmata wrote:It will be interesting to see how much support Ben gets in here if he ends up at another club.
For the record i dont believe any other club would draft him.Which highlights why we would be looking to draft him.
What i meant by planned is this.
A well run club would have a few spokes in the fire so to speak. It would be drafting and developing raw talent all the time.By drafting and developing raw talent you wouldnt have to be chasing players who have been discarded from their clubs for one reason or another.
Theyre either too injury prone(Gardiner.King), too lazy(Schneider), too unskilled(I can run off a whole list), can't kick(again), can't run(McGough), pea hearts(Ackland) bring the game into disrepute( Cousins)
So a team full of discards is going to take the competition by storm is it?
A well planned assault on a flag is drafting well, developing well and managing a list well.
Yup, we are sh1t... did you just work that out?
Should we bottom out now?
Give up?
WTF..........
Getting back to "planning" .
You do realise the club will be drafting 17 and 18 year olds again this year don't you?
Some will be drafted from the country, others from interstate.
They have families and parents.
I'm not sure if you if you have kids of your own?
Secondly we are bolting sponsors names to anything and anyone that enters the club.
Again, desperately seeking bandaid approaches because the hard decisions have not been made only serves to lengthen the process.
The more King and Gardiner are sought the longer there is no young ruckman coming through.
The more BC is sought and played the longer midfield development and recruiting shortfalls are wallpapered.
Lack of planning for the future has massive shortcomings.
