McGuire declares war, again
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“If we lose Cloke I will have a war chest and will declare war on the world. And first port of call will be Fremantle, don’t worry about that. You think I’m joking don’t you? I’m not joking, I promise you.”
These were the words of Eddie McGuire at Saturday’s presidents lunch before Collingwood versus Fremantle. It was not dissimilar to how he threatened GWS if they made an attempt at Scott Pendlebury a little under a year ago.
In both these circumstances, McGuire has ‘declared war’, as well as threatened to steal each clubs’ young talent. At least in this declaration of war against Fremantle he stopped short of saying he would ‘go feral’ and ‘make it my life’s ambition to run them into the ground’.
Eddie, don’t forget your role. You are the president of a football club, not a list manager, not a recruiting manager. You are not the coach, you are the president. This essentially means you control finances and have a minor say in what players should be maintained/recruited to the club, in which you only really say what salary they should receive.
Maybe consider your premiership ambitions before you decide to go after young players specifically because of revenge, but if you want to recruit Matt De Boer, Michael Barlow and Ryan Crowley to a midfield already consisting of Dane Swan, Scott Pendlebury, Luke Ball, Steele Sidebottom and Dayne Beams, good luck to you.
The fact is whatever shred of likability that McGuire creates while hosting Hot Seat is lost when he makes ridiculous statements like this. It reeks of arrogance and being a sore loser. He is acting like to the kid in the sandbox who screams and stomps if his toy is taken away from him.
All in all that’s what McGuire is sometimes, a big kid who makes a obnoxious fuss whenever something doesn’t go his way. Let’s not forget the ongoing complaints he made about Collingwoods 2012 fixture when they have probably had the easiest run of any team for the past 4-5 years.
It’s having people like McGuire at the forefront of your football club which makes opposition supporters hate them, a stance embraced by Collingwood in their most recent membership campaign slogan It’s us against them.
Let’s hope Fremantle’s senior figures come out and make a statement against McGuire. With any sort of luck Fremantle might declare war back on Collingwood for there poaching of Chris Tarrant after they dumped him there in the first place.
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- AFL, Collingwood Magpies, Eddie McGuire
July 2nd 2012 @ 4:06am
Jack said | July 2nd 2012 @ 4:06am | Report comment
What’s your problem? A president speaking to the faithful who don’t want to lose a key player?
Wouldn’t every club love to have a president with influence in the media, which translates to influence with sponsors, who is high profile and articulate?
You are green with envy.
In fact I hope Cloke goes to Freo and shanks hundreds of kicks as he has done for Collingwood and we pick up a couple of young guns. Cloke’s best is 5 goals, hardly a million dollar return. You are welcome to him.
July 2nd 2012 @ 8:52pm
Jsteel said | July 2nd 2012 @ 8:52pm | Report comment
I have no problem with presidents speaking with passion about there own club. James Brayshaw does it well and even Frank Costa back in his time at Geelong. The thing I take issue with his when a president is arrogant and appears to try and bully other clubs into not touching there players. Did you see Geelong doing that in the Gary Ablett saga, Melbourne during the Tom Scully saga, Adelaide with Patrick Dangerfield or even West Coast with Chris Judd? (Even though in each circumstance, and this one, it is the players choice.)
July 3rd 2012 @ 1:59pm
Syd Marty said | July 3rd 2012 @ 1:59pm | Report comment
I’m a paid up Collingwood Member, and have been so for a number of years, but Eddie is fast becoming embarrassing. Don’t get me wrong, he has done a lot of great things for the club, but increasingly he treats the club like his own private play thing. Collingwood is fast becoming an extension of Eddie and he has lost all perspective of where he and the club start and finish.
I think its time he take some of his own advice and we as a club start to look at succession planning at the Presidential level. After all if it was good enough for Mick…..
July 2nd 2012 @ 4:07am
Patrick Angel said | July 2nd 2012 @ 4:07am | Report comment
Reminds me of this:
July 2nd 2012 @ 8:21am
Christo the Daddyo said | July 2nd 2012 @ 8:21am | Report comment
“All in all that’s what McGuire is sometimes, a big kid who makes a obnoxious fuss whenever something doesn’t go his way”.
Well, yes. But we all knew that already. I’d actually like to see someone call his bluff though. Can we organise a whip round to help fund Cloke going to the Dockers? Let’s see what Eddie ‘tantrum a day’ McGuire will actually do…
July 2nd 2012 @ 8:53am
Balthazar said | July 2nd 2012 @ 8:53am | Report comment
I think you could have made your point without dissing Fremantle’s young players. Matt de Boer – coach thinks he’s going to be a Brad Sewell type. He’s only been playing midfield consistently for about 3 weeks and Lyon (never one to praise extravagantly) thinks his future is pretty bright. Barlow? He admitted on the wekeend that it has taken him 2 years to recover from his broken leg. 37 possessions against Collingwood ain’t bad. Fyfe and Hill are pretty good too.
Having said that, they’re all young, contracted and it will be many years before they’re anywhwere near free agency. I don’t think Freo, which is in a pretty healthy financial position as well, will be losing sleep over Eddy’s theatrics
July 11th 2012 @ 4:59pm
Jsteel said | July 11th 2012 @ 4:59pm | Report comment
Didnt mean to diss the freo players at all, I was mentioning players that Collingwood could get in return that they don’t need
July 2nd 2012 @ 9:03am
Redb said | July 2nd 2012 @ 9:03am | Report comment
Grain…. .Salt….. McGuire.
July 2nd 2012 @ 9:12am
Luke said | July 2nd 2012 @ 9:12am | Report comment
Hmm an internet football writer who hates Collingwood and lets it affect his judgement – I wonder if that has happened before. You should look up cliche Jsteel. Just to correct your ignorance a little, in 2010 it was generally considered that Collingwood had one of the toughest draws. Maybe when accusing someone of ranting you should avoid doing it yourself. A bit of reflexivity is valuable when you are writing in a public space.
July 2nd 2012 @ 10:26am
Kasey said | July 2nd 2012 @ 10:26am | Report comment
Collingwood with a tough draw?? Did they have to leave Melbourne twice or even quelle horreur thrice?
McGuire is a blow hard and should be ignored for the safety of his own health. The more he goes into pop-a-vein in the forehead territory, the higher the likelihood of him having a stroke I reckon. Then we’d all have to suffer the crocodile tears of the football community eulogising the childish git.
July 2nd 2012 @ 1:01pm
Luke said | July 2nd 2012 @ 1:01pm | Report comment
4 times Kasey – on par with most Melbourne based clubs (save for those who sell home games interstate) and one more than some clubs. They also played three of the top 4 teams from the previous season twice (Collingwood were the 4th top 4 team). That did not include hawthorn, who they also played twice. They also played the Bulldogs twice at the Bulldogs’ home ground. As I said, the author just didn’t fact check. Your opinions about Eddie may well be right on the money though
July 2nd 2012 @ 1:18pm
Kasey said | July 2nd 2012 @ 1:18pm | Report comment
Don’t forget it’s also ‘when’ these trips interstate occur. This season alone the pies were in Melbourne for all of rounds 1 through 6, giving them plenty of time to build up a head of steam before undertaking the arduous trip north to the gabba. A potential banana skin is much easier to avoid when oone has ones tail up after a 4-2 start with fully 4 of your first 4 games at the MCG(aka home) No other team gets that boon. Sh*t some teams don’t even get to play on the MCG once per season. The AFL draw is a FIX-ture, not a draw and is hopelessly compromised of its integrity in the chase for bigger crowds and TV money. The year before IIRC Collingwood didn’t leave Melbourne for the first time until about June/July!
July 2nd 2012 @ 8:45pm
Jsteel said | July 2nd 2012 @ 8:45pm | Report comment
I don’t hate Collingwood mate, far from it. If you want me to post Collingwoods recent fixtures I will, even though for years there was complaints from opposition club’s and there supporters about the ease of there draw. The reason for this was because most Victorian clubs want to play them as there home game in Melbourne, leaving more games for Collingwood at home against interstate clubs. While from Collingwoods standpoint its not there fault, but it did lead to them having relatively easy draws there for a while.
July 3rd 2012 @ 1:30pm
Luke said | July 3rd 2012 @ 1:30pm | Report comment
But what I am saying is that it is simply not true. If you don’t believe me, go and do the math. Most years (every year as far as I know) Richmond and Melbourne play more games at home and fewer away games interstate. I am excluding teams that sell a game interstate. Surely that should not be counted (ie: that is not the draw’s fault).
What I am saying is the belief that Collingwood get more advantages than anyone in the draw is a myth that people uncritically choose to believe.
Before last season a major paper published an article saying C’wood once again had the easiest draw and cited how when we do play away we always get the easy interstate matches – except we got the two hardest interstate draws that year (Freo and Syd – all the other interstate teams were shite except WC went from wooden spoon to top 4).
Kasey criticises the “when” component of our interstate draws. Well this year they play WC in round 22 in Perth and Sydney and GWS a handful of weeks earlier, right before finals. What I am saying is that it is fun to say Collingwood have the easiest draws, but when you analyse the draws it is just not true.
July 3rd 2012 @ 1:51pm
Luke said | July 3rd 2012 @ 1:51pm | Report comment
Quick research – I had my wires crossed a little with Richmond. But here is a breakdown of the terribly unfair, completely bias, Collingwood-rule-the-earth, draw of the last 3 years:
Richmond –
2010 MCG Games: 12 interstate away games: 5
2011 MCG Games: 12 interstate away games: 5
2012 MCG Games: 13 interstate away games: 6
Melbourne -
2010 MCG Games: 14 interstate away games: 4
2011 MCG Games: 13 interstate away games: 3
2012 MCG Games: 13 interstate away games: 4
Collingwood –
2010 MCG Games: 14 interstate away games: 4
2011 MCG Games: 14 interstate away games: 4
2012 MCG Games: 14 interstate away games: 5
Essendon: interstate away games:
2010: 3
2011: 5
2012: 5
And this whole MCG is their home ground crap – they don’t train there, don’t have offices there. Yet people think it is a conspiracy when the biggest club plays a lot at the biggest venue.
July 3rd 2012 @ 5:52pm
Jsteel said | July 3rd 2012 @ 5:52pm | Report comment
Counting 2012 is irrelevant as Collingwoods fixture is generally thought of as being difficult this year
Lets compare the other Victorian clubs in 2011 to Collingwoods 4 interstate games (which there first was in round 15)
Interstate ‘away’ games
Geelong – 6
St. Kilda – 6
North Melbourne – 6
Carlton – 4
Melbourne – 3 + 1 ‘home’ interstate game
Essendon – 5
Richmond – 5 + 1 ‘home’ interstate game
Hawthorn – 5 + 4 ‘home’ interstate games
Western Bulldogs – 5 + 1 ‘home’ interstate game
The reason why I count the ‘home’ interstate games is because the clubs usually do this in a deal with the AFL that the amount of ‘away’ interstate games will be limited (aside from Hawthorn, who count Launceston as a 2nd home).
For the record I wasn’t meaning recent times as in only 2010/2011, here is there away games in 2009 and 2008
2009 – 4
2008 – 4
July 2nd 2012 @ 9:13am
JD said | July 2nd 2012 @ 9:13am | Report comment
McGuire is simply playing up to his own supporters. He is doing a simply marketing trip. the supporters want to hear this, the opposition is up in arms about this, thus it creates more interest in Collingwood, thus collingowood games. Look at the numbers that Collingwood have got through the gate the last 2 weeks. Nearly 65k against WC, nearly 45k against Fremantle.
If something happens, and say Cloke goes to Fremantle – Eddie’s words, plus the move of Cloke to fremantle amps up the rivalry, before each of those games in coming years – what happens – Eddie would get on his high horse again – thus there will be greater interest in the game – larger TV audience, more through the gate – may lead to an enduring rivalry – in all collingowood creates more out of it.
McGuire has come to a point where he can make these outlandish statements and it helps Collingwood. Also his words do not seem contrived either – perfect marketing by he and Collingwood.
July 2nd 2012 @ 8:36pm
Jsteel said | July 2nd 2012 @ 8:36pm | Report comment
Interesting idea, if there’s one thing Eddie has its a good head for business. Wouldn’t surprise me if this was his angle, if it is his done his job in outrage opposition supporters
July 2nd 2012 @ 9:16am
Wayno said | July 2nd 2012 @ 9:16am | Report comment
Passion in footy, isnt it great!!!!!
July 2nd 2012 @ 9:29am
langou said | July 2nd 2012 @ 9:29am | Report comment
It’s been a few years since I studied business law and legal issues within a not for profit organisation but I am pretty sure that what he is doing (making threats against a rival organization for simply trying to recruit a staff member) is illegal
Anyways he can poach back Jack Anthony if he wants
July 2nd 2012 @ 1:02pm
Luke said | July 2nd 2012 @ 1:02pm | Report comment
illegal?? C’mon dude that is just silly.
July 2nd 2012 @ 10:15am
Westy said | July 2nd 2012 @ 10:15am | Report comment
Take him Freo before Lyon lets one of your valuable players cross to the other side with no compensation. McGuire = bloated selfish greedy little man.