Lost Dog

[dog town]

Very brave from Westy to come out like this. It's not just from an employment/time filling perspective that this is a problem for footballers. Anyone who plays football at any level is generally a very competitive person. You get used to working your whole week around your next game and its basically all you talk about with your mates. It is also a massive shot of adrenaline going out into such a competitive environment every week. Not having that outlet every week where you are testing yourself is something that terrifies even local footballers.

[Go_Dogs]

Great article, very honest.

Westy is a champ, would love to see him back at the club in a coaching role in a few years time.

[The Coon Dog]

I've expressed my views on this a few times and I'm reluctant to go over this again but here goes.

We shouldn't put a career ending ultimatum to a player of Wests standing and expect him to just accept it straight away. People need time to make big decisions like that and players like West also deserve some more respect than that.

We shouldn't then sack a multi time B&F winner and 300+ game player if the best explanation we can come up with is that the media 'might' find out. I mean really so what if they did find out that we were still in discussions with the player? It's hardly a genuine reason.
Do we actually think we got better press that West was sacked rather than still being in discussions with the club?

Regarding the comments that the texts messages and calls to his family by West forced the clubs hand.
Did the club really think he wouldn't want to discuss career ending news with his family? If not, that's naive and no wonder it went wrong. If so, then our contingency plan was to sack him? That sounds like we didn't do sufficient preparation.

I can sympathize with Eade and Fantasia because emotionally it's a very hard thing to do but I can also understand why West was so bitterly disappointed and I still think it could have been handled better.

I don't disagree that West needed to retire but he just needed some time to accept it.


I actually think Eade learned a big lesson out of this and that's why he eased Johnson's name into the Akermanis discussions earlier in the week. He is being pro-active and getting the subject out in the public in case Johnson's form doesn't warrant another year. Those types of discussions won't come to any surprise to Johnson at the end of the season because it's been flagged with him already.

Thanks GVGjr, as you said you have gone over that & I knew your response almost verbatim.

My question was to BulldogBelle who made some disparaging comments about the club & I was/still am keen to know what she meant.

[LostDoggy]

Damn it Westy you deserved a brownlow mate, good luck champ.

[BulldogBelle]

My question was to BulldogBelle who made some disparaging comments about the club & I was/still am keen to know what she meant.

Disparaging comments? The club handled this poorly - no matter what spin you and try and put on it. The club rushed the process of his demise and it left some eggs on a few faces. A little more understanding and thought on how best to deal with the situation would have gone a long way in helping Westy deal with the outcome a little better.

[The Coon Dog]

Disparaging comments? The club handled this poorly

Yes, disparaging comments.

Yes, he did deserve better - the way he was dismissed wasn't very professional by our club no if's or buts about it.

It was badly handled and there were conflicting opinions amongst a few in the inner circle on how it was carried out. Westy had every right to be dissapointed in the club on how it all unfolded.

[bornadog]

Yes, disparaging comments.

I think BB means the club is divided on the way it was handled. Maybe the coach had his way and reason, but others in the club thought it should have ben handled differently.

As GvGjr said, I am sure Rocket also learnt something out of the whole process and maybe he would approach it differently, as he also felt very sad and mentioned it was one of the hardest things he has ever had to do.

[Mantis]

I think BB means the club is divided on the way it was handled. Maybe the coach had his way and reason, but others in the club thought it should have ben handled differently.

As GvGjr said, I am sure Rocket also learnt something out of the whole process and maybe he would approach it differently, as he also felt very sad and mentioned it was one of the hardest things he has ever had to do.

Like who?

[bold-dogg]

We should be disappointed about how Westy felt when he dropped by to watch training.
Shouldn't past players be able to relax and catch up with former team mates in a Legends Room, or something, and feel valued by the club. Former players have a lot to offer and we should celebrate the club's history. Westy would have to defer while working for Melbourne FC,
but he should feel part of the furniture down at Whitten Oval for the rest of his life.

[The Coon Dog]

We should be disappointed about how Westy felt when he dropped by to watch training.
Shouldn't past players be able to relax and catch up with former team mates in a Legends Room, or something, and feel valued by the club. Former players have a lot to offer and we should celebrate the club's history. Westy would have to defer while working for Melbourne FC,
but he should feel part of the furniture down at Whitten Oval for the rest of his life.

Good call.

[AndrewP6]

We should be disappointed about how Westy felt when he dropped by to watch training.
Shouldn't past players be able to relax and catch up with former team mates in a Legends Room, or something, and feel valued by the club. Former players have a lot to offer and we should celebrate the club's history. Westy would have to defer while working for Melbourne FC,
but he should feel part of the furniture down at Whitten Oval for the rest of his life.

Kind of agree... we should value the contribution of past players, especially stalwarts like Westy. But while he's in "enemy colours", so to speak, they're not gonna roll out the welcome mat. That's competitive sport. Cruel, but that's how it is.

[Scraggers]

I've expressed my views on this a few times and I'm reluctant to go over this again but here goes.

We shouldn't put a career ending ultimatum to a player of Wests standing and expect him to just accept it straight away. People need time to make big decisions like that and players like West also deserve some more respect than that.

We shouldn't then sack a multi time B&F winner and 300+ game player if the best explanation we can come up with is that the media 'might' find out. I mean really so what if they did find out that we were still in discussions with the player? It's hardly a genuine reason.
Do we actually think we got better press that West was sacked rather than still being in discussions with the club?

Regarding the comments that the texts messages and calls to his family by West forced the clubs hand.
Did the club really think he wouldn't want to discuss career ending news with his family? If not, that's naive and no wonder it went wrong. If so, then our contingency plan was to sack him? That sounds like we didn't do sufficient preparation.

I can sympathize with Eade and Fantasia because emotionally it's a very hard thing to do but I can also understand why West was so bitterly disappointed and I still think it could have been handled better.

I don't disagree that West needed to retire but he just needed some time to accept it.


I actually think Eade learned a big lesson out of this and that's why he eased Johnson's name into the Akermanis discussions earlier in the week. He is being pro-active and getting the subject out in the public in case Johnson's form doesn't warrant another year. Those types of discussions won't come to any surprise to Johnson at the end of the season because it's been flagged with him already.

I agree with all of this Gary, but the retirement of Westy was flagged by both club and the media when he failed to come good by round 12 ... it was always on the cards that 2008 could be Westy's last year.

[BulldogBelle]

I think BB means the club is divided on the way it was handled. Maybe the coach had his way and reason, but others in the club thought it should have ben handled differently.

Correct the club was divided and it was quite a moot point on how it was handled. Much as I love the club it didn't sit well with me either, but life goes on. Westy's time may have been up but the procedure could have been executed a little better.

[GVGjr]

I agree with all of this Gary, but the retirement of Westy was flagged by both club and the media when he failed to come good by round 12 ... it was always on the cards that 2008 could be Westy's last year.

So ask yourself the question about why Harvey received a tremendous send off at the Brownlow night and West didn't rate a mention and yet he was sacked the day after that night and just a few days after our finals campaign finished?
West and the club also announced about 3 weeks before the finals that he would be taking no part in that campaign so we had plenty of time to organise an appropriate Brownlow night send off with the AFL if everyone knew he was as good as gone.

[Scraggers]

So ask yourself the question about why Harvey received a tremendous send off at the Brownlow night and West didn't rate a mention and yet he was sacked the day after that night and just a few days after our finals campaign finished?
West and the club also announced about 3 weeks before the finals that he would be taking no part in that campaign so we had plenty of time to organise an appropriate Brownlow night send off with the AFL if everyone knew he was as good as gone.

West was a magnificent player ... one of the best our club had seen, and therefore deserved a much bigger hullabaloo and the end of his career. What he received was a travesty ... BUT I knew it was coming, you knew it was coming, the club knew it was coming, Westy knew it was coming. It shouldn't have come as such a shock !!

Why he didn't get the send off he so richly deserved ... I'm still waiting for an appropriate explanation