Trade Hypothetical.

[mjp]

So - we all LOVE Bailey Smith right. I know I do. He is 100% awesome. So...given that, here's one for you:

Brisbane have called. Hugh McCluggage has told them he is moving back to Melbourne...and the Bulldogs are his nominated club. "Apparently" we have been talking to his management and made him an offer he cannot refuse! The Lions are unhappy and unhappy with our conduct, but say they will trade him to us - but ONLY for Bailey Smith. They will not consider ANY other offers.

In the background, we have been trying to sign Smith to a lucrative new contract...only it doesn't seem quite lucrative enough for his manager who is making noises that unless the offer is improved, he is happy to stand out of footy for "as long as it takes" to get the deal he wants. He has heard rumours about the offer to McCluggage and wants 'more' for his client.

What do you do?

- Take the deal. Bye-bye-Bailey, Hello-Hugh.
- Tell Smith he takes the current offer or enjoy living life in Brisvegas.
- Smith is bluffing, tell Brisbane to come up with plan 'B'.
- Something else??

[comrade]

Definitely not option A or B.

I’m inclined to go hard on option C and if it doesn’t pan out, then leave McLuggage in Brisbane. We’d have to be offering overs to get McLuggage and then overs to keep Smith, and we still have Bont, Naughton & English to lock up down the track so it’d do some damage somewhere along the line.

You don’t piss off talent like Bazlenka and risk disrupting the playing group.

[The Pie Man]

Option C - he won't want to go interstate, and there's no way he stands out of footy for any period.

Start talking to Baz about mullet marketing opportunities - he's already got a cult following in the US!

Gee, McCluggage though....but no, Smith's already in our top 5 players.

[1eyedog]

The Clug is awesome he provides everything Smith does but hits the scoreboard hard. Ranks 2nd in the AFL for score involvements and 3rd for goal assists. I'd definitely be looking to package up our first selection and a good player but if push came to shove I'd do the swap. You know you are going to get a special player for a long time with the Clug.

[comrade]

You know you are going to get a special player for a long time with the Clug.

You don't think the same of Bazlenka?

[1eyedog]

You don't think the same of Bazlenka?

Absolutely and I love Baz but I REALLY like what Clug does forward of centre. He's played 50 more games granted but he's top 3 in the league on score involvement and goal assists. I mean that's mad.

[comrade]

Absolutely and I love Baz but I REALLY like what Clug does forward of centre. He's played 50 more games granted but he's top 3 in the league on score involvement and goal assists. I mean that's mad.

I wouldn't be surprised if Baz reaches or exceeds Clug in another 50 games.

Clug also has the benefit of a team that has feasted on some easy kills in the first 4 weeks, Baz hasn't had that luxury.

[1eyedog]

I wouldn't be surprised if Baz reaches or exceeds Clug in another 50 games.

Clug also has the benefit of a team that has feasted on some easy kills in the first 4 weeks, Baz hasn't had that luxury.

All good points. Also Clug has a fair bit of work put into him as well regardless of the opposition.

[Mofra]

A token increase to Smith's offer. He'd be one of three "untouchables" on the list right now - Bont, Naughts, Smith.
A genuine burst mid who can win his own ball, and kick the thing.

I'll stick with a known quantity who flourishes under our system.

[1eyedog]

A token increase to Smith's offer. He'd be one of three "untouchables" on the list right now - Bont, Naughts, Smith.
A genuine burst mid who can win his own ball, and kick the thing.

I'll stick with a known quantity who flourishes under our system.

I think Clug is known quantity, or quality as the case may be. There's no guarantee we keep Smith and clubs will come hard. If Clug really wants to be with us you'd be mad not to look at the swap very hard.

[GVGjr]

I need to consider this a lot more but if we were to land McCluggage then I'd be getting into contact with Antler Luggage and seeing if they would leave Essendon and come over to us. Easy marketing opportunities linking the player and the company.

Keeping Smith is the priority but I would call his bluff. He doesn't stand out of footy

I'm going to purely look at this from the view of what is best for the club.

McCluggage is an excellent footballer and one that we would be silly not to explore his interest in us.
If he is willing to commit to us we should be willing to do what it takes....within reason

Smith is an excellent footballer but if he is putting too high of a price on his services as per the hypothetical and is willing to stand out of footy then that is an issue.

We can't or should never try and force a player too another club unless he is open for consideration and it probably can't work like that anyway

Option C appeals the most to me but it all depends how confident I am that I can turn Smith and his manager around

I went to an Al Clarkson presentation years ago and his philosophy works in this hypothetical
Put your best financial offer forward, sell the vision that the club is finals bound but if money is the primary interest for the player then facilitate the best trade you can for the club. Having disgruntled players is bad for the culture.
I'd put a great offer forward to Brisbane but hold firm that Smith isn't leaving us. If they say no then so be it

[FrediKanoute]

I went to an Al Clarkson presentation years ago and his philosophy works in this hypothetical
Put your best financial offer forward, sell the vision that the club is finals bound but if money is the primary interest for the player then facilitate the best trade you can for the club. Having disgruntled players is bad for the culture.
I'd put a great offer forward to Brisbane but hold firm that Smith isn't leaving us. If they say no then so be it

Funny, this philosophy works in the business world as well. We've just done a round of pay restructures because of C-19 and this is basically the approach we have taken with some of our contracted employees.

[bulldogsthru&thru]

Can we shut this thread down before the "journos" get onto it and think its real??

Although i guess it depends which side of the fence you sit....

We have to keep Baz. He's a cult figure. And he's going to be that elite, burst mid fielder all clubs dream to have. Sure McCluggage would be a massive get, but we already have an elite talent in Baz so lets do what we need to keep him. I don't even want to consider the possibility he wants out.

[Ozza]

I really like McLuggage - and I hope my bias isn't clouding my judgement - but I think Baz' ceiling is higher. I'm not sure exactly what that means for the hypothetical, but I'm happy to prioritise Smith over McLuggage in that situation.

[Hotdog60]

Is there word out there that Bailey wants out?
I know this is hypothetical but talk about keeping him has come up in other threads.