My goodness, how the mighty have fallen. The once-great Collingwood reduced to rubble off the field and a rabble on it.
Plenty of clubs have shot themselves in the foot over the years, but since the start of trade period last season, the Pies have fired bullets into their own torso and heart as well.
First came the fire sale that saw the jettisoning of Adam Treloar (All Australian form at the Dogs), Jaidyn Stephenson (career-best form for North), Tom Phillips (solid contributor at Hawthorn) and Atu Bosenavulagi (has looked stylish since debuting for the Roos two weeks ago).
It wasn’t just that the players were basically man-handled out the door, it was the morally bankrupt media spin to accompanying it that really stung.
List management is a complex and tricky affair, but rarely do we see the type of bloodletting that happened last spring. Not every club is going to nail it year after year, but when you miss it should be within the margin for error.
Since then, Eddie McGuire has made a full-throated defence of Collingwood’s actions, both as president and media commentator, using his same old tired schtick of the best form of defence being attack. He should remain embarrassed on all fronts for the club’s handling of the affair.
Eddie McGuire (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
Note to the club executive: it’s okay to treat your members, the football public and the media as if they have a brain. Well, maybe not the media.
Then, of course, came the “historic and proud day” when Collingwood released an independent report that found the club was guilty of egregious systemic racism. Not many were flabbergasted at the finding, or the response given the questionable history of the club and individuals involved.
McGuire, the King Kong of media titans in Victoria and ever the rambunctious salesman, finally made a misstep from which he couldn’t recover, and was forced to resign in disgrace.
Every mistake that has come to light in recent times has had the fingerprints of McGuire all over it, and that’s okay. So did much success, let’s not forget that.
But hubris comes at a price eventually. Whether it was orchestrating the coaching handover that saw the club go from premiership and grand finalist in two consecutive years when Mick Malthouse finished, to decline in each of Nathan Buckley’s first six years, or paying big individual money to land Treloar or extend Brodie Grundy’s contract, many actions had the ring of ‘we’ll do what we feel like and bluff our way through it, we are Collingwood after all’.
Spin first, reality second.
And now a 1-5 start to the 2021 season, with only a win over Carlton to their credit. And the Blues aren’t exactly seen as a scalp, having been savaged by the media over the first six weeks for soft and meek displays.
Whether they wanted it or not, the rebuild is on. That much is clear to everyone.
Everyone except new President Mark Korda, who seems to have adopted ‘winningly smug’ as his philosophy for the many photo ops presented to him in the last week.
“I think we’ll do finals,” he said in The Age on Sunday. Do finals. Not “play” finals, or “make” finals, like every person in the history of the game has said. It brought to mind Bill Shorten trying to eat a hot dog from the middle or Tony Abbot eating a raw onion like an apple. Not exactly man-of-the-people stuff.
While Treloar, Stephenson, Phillips, Bosenavulagi (combined average age of 23) strut their stuff elsewhere, the Pies are stacking their team with dead wood like Levi Greenwood (32), Chris Mayne (32), Josh Thomas, Will Hoskin-Elliott, and Jack Madgen.
Levi Greenwood and Jeremy Howe. (Photo: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
Then there’s Mason Cox, a 30-year-old who the jury is still out on. As the Mean Girls might say – stop trying to make Cox happen; it’s not going to happen.
And the black cloud hanging over everything else is Nathan Buckley coming out of contract at the end of 2021. It’s a big deal no matter who the coach or club is, but this particularly relationship is never going to be far away from front-page news all season.
With talk of backroom ructions and powerbrokers lining up to challenge Korda, which was natural after decades of McGuire leadership, Buckley’s position an ongoing conversation and the team going nowhere on the field, Collingwood are as unstable as they have been at any point this century.
Whatever happens from here, it’s going to be a big story and fun to watch.
Flagpies
Roar Rookie
I see you're still ignoring the fact the club has NOT set up a solid foundation for opportunity. Every dog and its leash knows the club has totally set itself up for failure ever since the failed succession plan through utter incompetence all along. Yeah there's luck involved (things going right) but you know the club was never going to succeed when they do stupid things like the Wells and Mayne deals for example. That is the club NOT operating at optimum when the opportunity was there to do so. There's no sugar coating the turd that is currently the Collingwood football club. Deflect and dissect all you want but the club is a rabble but shouldn't be and has had numerous opportunities to avoid that, but hey Collingwood. Stop making excuses.
Tazzie
Guest
When is Eddie going to stop acting like the Pies President, he is divisive and undermining the new club President, the club needs clean air before it can move forward and regroup. the ego of this guy is totally out of control. He is not bigger than the club, he had his days in the sun for over 20 years, shut up and bugger off Eddie and give the club a chance to get itself together again and be a force.
Peter the Scribe
Roar Guru
It illustrates my point. All a club can do is set up a foundation or base for opportunity. They then need a combination of things to go right to seize that opportunity including a little luck with injury and close results. Example in point. Hawthorn in 2013 beat the Cats by 5 points in the prelim en route to a flag. Hawthorn beat Port by 3 points in the 2014 prelim en route to a flag. Look at the Saints GF's in 2009, 2010. Look at the Tigers last years prelim. In 2011 Pies beat Hawks by under a kick in the prelim. Clubs set the foundation for success and more often than not it is a kick here or there that makes the difference.
Flagpies
Roar Rookie
Fantasy? Nah I don't think so, north a very very good chance.
Flagpies
Roar Rookie
Won't be defeating the blose.
Flagpies
Roar Rookie
And deservedly so, criticism is warranted. Club won't listen though, like always, will be stuck in their own fantasy land that 'we're the biggest and the best'. Meanwhile in reality, the Pies slowly but surely will slip into irrelevance over time. Has already started.
Flagpies
Roar Rookie
And? How is that relevant to the clubs monumental f ups? And how is that relevant to being out of contention now with nothing to show for it.
Peter the Scribe
Roar Guru
Flagpies in the period 2010-2020 Pies have played in 3 GF’s, 2 preliminaries, 2 other final series.
Peter the Scribe
Roar Guru
He certainly is tough as nails which we need
But he looked quick when playing Gaelic football over the summer. I think he just needs a few games to acclimatise. I liked the look of him.
Thom Roker
Roar Guru
We aren't too far apart in this opinion. What you are describing is the process of the VFL becoming the AFL, with the SA and WA each submitting a pair of teams to the national competition rather than continuing to try to hold the best players back. Couldn't beat them, so they joined them. It has been a triumph for the code because the other 3 football codes have failed to expand nationally with sustained success. Soccer shut down its comp because the best teams were ethnic and fans tried to kill each other, so they switched to Summer. Rugby has shelved plans for a national comp in favour of an International season, which has vastly lessened the importance of clubs in Brisbane and Sydney that have produced all the players for over 100 years. Rugby League had an internecine war that ended in the Perth and Adelaide franchises being disbanded, 6 Sydney clubs merged, several clubs deregistered and billion$ wasted all so Rupert Murdoch could control the TV rights. In all those codes, however, there has been a very definite shift away from the past suburban leagues to a modern model of professionalism. The old VFL pushed South Melbourne to Sydney, then had a shotgun wedding for Fitzroy and would have forced more clubs into mergers but Channel 9 got into a bidding war with Channel 7 and the AFL was suddenly wealthy enough to sustain a 16 team comp. The VFL will always be important to the formation of the AFL, but counting premiership from 100 years ago when the newest teams are just 10 years old is just asinine. What relevance is the 1901 Grand Final result on the AFL of 2021? None.
sven
Roar Rookie
not saying there werent strong comps in sa or wa, and yes there were great players who didnt come across to vic, but there were plenty who did, cause the vfl was the strongest & best paying comp
Flagpies
Roar Rookie
'but all I’m saying is club administrations can only set the best foundation they can to contend' Oh absolutely but unfortunately due to utter and inexcusable incompetence the club have NOT set the best foundation to contend, universes away from that in fact. Now you're getting it. You're welcome.
Thom Roker
Roar Guru
By the end it was, but even in the 80s there were very strong competitions in SA and WA where players refused to go to Victoria even if they were drafted. Of course VFL flags are important to the history of Victorian clubs and their fans. They just don’t belong in the list of AFL premiership winners.
Maxy
Roar Rookie
Seen him next to Charlie Dixon,think he is bigger than what people may think,so I will throw 50 bucks on Kochy
Peter the Scribe
Roar Guru
I’m backing my man from Broady. A Collingwood 6 footer with a bit of weight behind a big roundhouse should take out that morning show fella. I once camped next to Kochy in the Flinders Ranges. Lovely Bloke.
Old Ben
Roar Rookie
Lay one on Eddie and he'd squeal to his legal adviser.
Maxy
Roar Rookie
Kochy is old school Port adelaide,not sure what suburb,would be around the Port Adelaide area would have thought
Peter the Scribe
Roar Guru
They only have to swap a pick or two or go into points deficit okapiman. They messed up the cap but pulled of an excellent draft. Nick Daicos is secured along with the 5 picks under 31 in the last draft. Next target is a free agent.
Peter the Scribe
Roar Guru
Where was Kochy from Hub? Eddie grew up in Broadmeadows where you come out of the womb swinging punches at the Doc.