Sliding Doors

[SaintWal]

Sliding Doors, free agency and the big unknown.

I am concerned.

We are being dismissed as almost the side that was. Yet decisions that were made and are being made can be seen to have two distinct paths. Depending, of course, which side you look at.

Ross Lyon. The fans were divided, the gate receipts were divided (we should have pushed 50k membership for the years of success) The AFL were disappointed in the end result for the move of Lyon to Freo but why? IMO it has become evident that it was the handling of Mark Harvey rather than Ross leaving us. Dog eat dog. Nettlefold left the gate open and the wolves descended.

Our list. Free agency has changed the game forever. Lock your players in and play for the here and now because tomorrow your gun player may be gone. Sentiment has no follower other than mediocrity from this point onwards. If Dal and Joey would like a chance at getting a premiership then the club should make it happen and bear the fruits of the trade.

Grant Thomas. Maybe he was close to being right. Maybe the coach needs to be more an English style manager who has control of the group as an entity without the interference of the board unless things get dire.

Scott Watters. Unknown entity. Maybe, and here is the optimist part, maybe he is so driven that he and Pelchen have a vision for the team going forward and given the new playing fields, that are free agency and the corresponding degradation of club loyalties, that can see an evolving team emerge.

To me, free agency will be about jigsaw puzzles. No more evident than Hawthorn this year and Sydney over the years. See a missing piece get a missing piece. See a piece that does not quite fit, trade that piece for one that does.

The clubs that can get hold of this quickly will benefit. Lock your good players away even at a risks that were not seen five years ago. A Jack Stevens should be on a five year contract now, front loaded but with options that give the club the upper hand to extend contracts not the players.

Just Thoughts!

[satchmo]

Free agency means smart clubs will move on their best players while they have currency. More turnover.

[degruch]

I just hope we're not the club that discovers if you trade all your 'currency' away, you have nothing to hold the team together.

[Teflon]

I do think free agency will come at some cost to the game I'm just not sure that's evident yet

It's sad in a way when a player (like Dal who clearly wants to stay) has to convince the club not to treat him like cattle... I know its dog eat dog blah blah blah but you do fear the days of legends and 1 club heroes is drawing to a close, again , but at what cost?

I think winning a flag with a Rob Harvey type in the side (who has sacrificed for the club and rejected large offers) would mean so much more than winning one with a drop in mercenary whose gone a year later.... perhaps for many that wont matter?

[Devilhead]

I just hope we're not the club that discovers if you trade all your 'currency' away, you have nothing to hold the team together.

When the glue starts to breakdown thats when you replace it with new adhesive - the downside is you will just have to wait a little for it to set.

[dragit]

I do think free agency will come at some cost to the game I'm just not sure that's evident yet

It's sad in a way when a player (like Dal who clearly wants to stay) has to convince the club not to treat him like cattle... I know its dog eat dog blah blah blah but you do fear the days of legends and 1 club heroes is drawing to a close, again , but at what cost?

I think winning a flag with a Rob Harvey type in the side (who has sacrificed for the club and rejected large offers) would mean so much more than winning one with a drop in mercenary whose gone a year later.... perhaps for many that wont matter?

Agree, I found Brian Lake standing on the stage with his norm smith a tad distasteful…

This is a guy who was paid very well by the dogs and when they started to drop out of premiership contention, he just CBF'ed… even on 500K PA. Pretty shallow to jump ship for the best team in the comp to get a flag… no glory there IMO.

I have more empathy for players leaving for money than chasing glory.

[degruch]

I just hope we're not the club that discovers if you trade all your 'currency' away, you have nothing to hold the team together.

When the glue starts to breakdown thats when you replace it with new adhesive - the downside is you will just have to wait a little for it to set.

Yes, but I think it's a 50/50 proposition. Move free agency back a few years, when would we have dumped Harvs, when he was 28 and still had a season or 2 left in him? Hayes too? I worry that trading away experience and great clubmen could be fast tracking our path to becoming Melbourne.

[Scollop]

When the glue starts to breakdown thats when you replace it with new adhesive - the downside is you will just have to wait a little for it to set.

Like

[Con Gorozidis]

There is no doubt the game has reached a new level of professionalism and we have no choice but to step up to the plate.
GT stepped us up a notch in and off field and them once we has sustained on field success I think we slackened off off field and took the foot off the accelerator .
Then when the music stopped onfield in 2010.
We deteriorated rapidly because our off field structures were horrible . We'd dropped the ball but no one noticed because we were winning games and it kind of was shrugged off.

There has been a lot of people whinging about coaching hoping if we can somehow magically heal our onfield success we can continue to ignore the off field.
But right now I think our biggest issue is for our off field to step to the new level of professionalism .
All starts with the CEO appointment .
Nothing is more important .
If we get that right and also this years draft and trade period right we can be back in 3 years.
If not the club is in existential and mortal danger.

[SaintWal]

I just hope we're not the club that discovers if you trade all your 'currency' away, you have nothing to hold the team together.

Interesting.

If I was a NDS or a Joey I would see it as an opportunity to get the Saints something and them something at the end of their careers. I love the adage that you need players like NDS and Joey to learn from but I also see them as natural footballers and athletes. To me you learn more about footy in watching a lenny or a Joel Selwood than you will from NDS and Joey. Don't get me wrong I have loved watching both play over the years but the reality is that our side is now a young side, our leaders need to be 25-27 not 30-32.

You keep a number 12 because his game and work ethic is something that you want to pass on to others like Lee. Build for the future, respect the past but always look forward. Was seeing joey get 47 touches or so just as exciting as Stevens get 47?

[bobmurray]

I do think free agency will come at some cost to the game I'm just not sure that's evident yet

It's sad in a way when a player (like Dal who clearly wants to stay) has to convince the club not to treat him like cattle... I know its dog eat dog blah blah blah but you do fear the days of legends and 1 club heroes is drawing to a close, again , but at what cost?

I think winning a flag with a Rob Harvey type in the side (who has sacrificed for the club and rejected large offers) would mean so much more than winning one with a drop in mercenary whose gone a year later.... perhaps for many that wont matter?

Agree, I found Brian Lake standing on the stage with his norm smith a tad distasteful…

This is a guy who was paid very well by the dogs and when they started to drop out of premiership contention, he just CBF'ed… even on 500K PA. Pretty shallow to jump ship for the best team in the comp to get a flag… no glory there IMO.

I have more empathy for players leaving for money than chasing glory.

I wonder if Stan Alves would agree with that