Why didn't we take Freo's offeR?

[BenDoolan]

Ahh, clearly one of Melbourne's great minds operating at the height of its powers. Brilliant argument. I take my hat off to you.

The fact you are an idiot has never been on better display than throughout this entire "Kepler saga" and the way you've chosen to interpret it.

You spent the entire year telling us how crap Kepler is at almost every conceivable opportunity. Trade week rolls around and the best we can muster for him, after hanging him out for the whole week, is pick #56 in a weak draft. This fact should've allowed you to feel almost totally vindicated in your views that he's complete "junk", as you so often described him. A reasonable person holding the views you do about Kepler would've taken it this way.

However, rather than behaving like a reasonable person having recently been vindicated, you twist the entire scenario and use it as an opportunity to sink the boots into the club. In the process, you somewhat contradict what you've been telling us all year regarding Kepler, and try to have your cake and eat it too.

For that reason alone, and besides your scant regard to facts, you're an absolute idiot.

Hmmm. That's a lot of writing. I will deal with your ramblings in order:

1. If I did refer to Kepler as junk, it was in error. I should have said "junkety junk".

2. EFC's recent inability to trade Kepler would suggest that "junkety junk" is a fair assessment of Kepler's worth to an AFL team.

3. Regardless of points 1 and 2, EFC knew, or should have known, that Kepler would not be at the club next year. Accordingly, EFC's first port of call was to determine what we could trade Kepler for.

4. Consistent with its mission statement of attaining the worst trades possible, Fremantle appear to have shown an early interest in Kepler.

5. Rather than move quickly to make this trade, EFC stated it wanted a first round pick for Kepler, and, initially stuck to its guns.

6.As a result, EFC missed out on trading Kepler to Fremantle for pick 56.

7. Having trades 55 and 56 would have strengthened EFC's position during trade week – refer to my post of 12.28pm.

8. As it is, Kepler has been delisted without EFC receiving any consideration. This is completely unsatisfactory and makes EFC look reactionary and unprofessional.

On the contrary, it makes the current football department look competent in finally cutting the crap from the list. What it paints is the previous football department failures in recruiting such a hack with an early pick, and persisting with such a hack for so long that opposition clubs recognise his true "ability" hence the laughable offers for his trade. We got nothing for him because that's what was offered and that's what he's worth. Count your losses, because the loss was made when we selected him.

[Twits]

I reckon we got a bargain here with Kepler. Look forward to seeing him hold down CHB next year at Freo. I thought pick 56 was a steal, but to get him for nothing is too good to be true.
Very happy to have Harvs and R Shaw over here running the show. I think deep down a lot of you Essendon rats wish you had them as well, instead of M Knights.

[dodgey]

By use it during trade week I mean we could have packaged up the draft pick we could have got for Kepler with another one of our draft picks for a higher pick in the draft. This could concievably have been done with a club looking for an additional pick in the draft.

We tried pick 55 + Bradley for pick 40, but Freo would take it.

They simply offered pick 56, and we said f*** it, whats the point? We wont use it if we wont a pick in the PSD (which we will use on someone)

What I was suggesting was that we trade Kepler to Freo for pick 56, and then package up picks 56 and 55 and offer both picks to another club for a higher pick who are looking for an additional pick in the draft.

took us all week to NOT get the Bradley deal done so how the hell were we going to organize other deals

[gringo]

By use it during trade week I mean we could have packaged up the draft pick we could have got for Kepler with another one of our draft picks for a higher pick in the draft. This could concievably have been done with a club looking for an additional pick in the draft.

We tried pick 55 + Bradley for pick 40, but Freo would take it.

They simply offered pick 56, and we said f*** it, whats the point? We wont use it if we wont a pick in the PSD (which we will use on someone)

What I was suggesting was that we trade Kepler to Freo for pick 56, and then package up picks 56 and 55 and offer both picks to another club for a higher pick who are looking for an additional pick in the draft.

took us all week to NOT get the Bradley deal done so how the hell were we going to organize other deals

Refer to point 5 of my 2.19pm post.

[Rotten Ronnie]

Bradley's gone. Why aren't people happy?

[keri]

Because some people never will be, that's why!

[jimmyc1985]

Hmmm. That's a lot of writing. I will deal with your ramblings in order:

1. If I did refer to Kepler as junk, it was in error. I should have said "junkety junk". Irrelevant, and unfunny.

2. EFC's recent inability to trade Kepler would suggest that "junkety junk" is a fair assessment of Kepler's worth to an AFL team. Irrelevant, and unfunny.

3. Regardless of points 1 and 2, EFC knew, or should have known, that Kepler would not be at the club next year. Accordingly, EFC's first port of call was to determine what we could trade Kepler for. They did know he wasn't going to be at EFC next year, and accordingly spent most of the week determining what his value could be.

4. Consistent with its mission statement of attaining the worst trades possible, Fremantle appear to have shown an early interest in Kepler. Yes.

5. Rather than move quickly to make this trade, EFC stated it wanted a first round pick for Kepler, and, initially stuck to its guns. Yes, that's called negotiation. Judging by media reports, we abandoned our unrealistic hopes of a first round pick by either Wednesday or early Thursday at the latest.

6.As a result, EFC missed out on trading Kepler to Fremantle for pick 56. Wrong. Our inability to trade Kepler for pick #56 did not result directly from our initially inflated view of his worth you describe in (5). Fremantle and us appeared to have come to an understanding early Friday that he would be traded for pick #40, only for them to change their mind to pick #56 right at the death knell, near 2PM Friday. Fremantle's actions in changing their mind at the last minute are what i consider to be the main cause of the result, namely, the trade falling over. Knights said Fremantle changed their position in the dying minutes, and to my knowledge, Fremantle did not attempt to contradict that version of events in their statements to the media, therefore i'm inclined to believe Knights' version.

7. Having trades 55 and 56 would have strengthened EFC's position during trade week – refer to my post of 12.28pm. Again, you're assuming the trade was in a position to proceed early enough during the trade period for us to then use whatever pick we attained from Fremantle to do a package deal. It wasn't. It wasn't in a position to proceed early enough for us to do a package deal, i believe, because, in addition to what i've described in (6), Freo had the upper hand in negotiations by dint of two things:
1) Kepler had already indicated to them and probably to us that he wanted to leave; and
2) He could be picked up for nothing by them in the PSD.

8. As it is, Kepler has been delisted without EFC receiving any consideration. This is completely unsatisfactory and makes EFC look reactionary and unprofessional. I'd posit that it would've been equally as unprofessional if we had've traded him for pick #56 right at the death, then not used that pick, and seeing as we weren't in a position to do a package deal with whatever pick we could've acquired from Freo for the reasons described in (6) and (7), that was the only use to which we would've ever been putting that pick. I'm happy that we took a stand against Freo's bullshit tactics, particularly when doing so will result in no substantive loss for us (which is the case in this instance), and i hope Kepler gets picked up by a club ahead of Freo in the PSD.

[BenDoolan]

To use your own quote from your other thread gringo;

Kepler's confidence was clearly shot to bits by the end of the season. This was a result of him being thrown into every position under the sun, as well has his own poor form. A key ingredient to him succeeding in 2008 was always going to be getting his confidence back.

Now that he has been bandied about in the draft like a supermarket flogging Easter eggs post-Easter, how is he supposed to come back to the club in a confident frame of mind, ready to get his teeth stuck into a preseason? Can his career be revived at Essendon? Or do we say unfortunately it's time for you to hit the showers, old mate?

I guess the club told him to "hit the showers".

Still can't fathom why you're getting on your high horse while you have indicated you wanted him gone - and that has in fact happened.

[Essendon4eva]

Bradley's gone. Why aren't people happy?

Because we should have tired harder to make sure he adn MJ found new homes to continue there career's. Now it is up to chance. If it was good enough for Geelong to do it with King, we as supporters should expect the same thing.

Sorry that is not the proper formuls.

Essendon were right in what they did. They cannot do any wrong. Go Essendon!

[gringo]

Because some people never will be, that's why!

I love this site. You guys are brilliant.

[Rotten Ronnie]

Bradley's gone. Why aren't people happy?

Because we should have tired harder to make sure he adn MJ found new homes to continue there career's. Now it is up to chance. If it was good enough for Geelong to do it with King, we as supporters should expect the same thing.

Sorry that is not the proper formuls.

Essendon were right in what they did. They cannot do any wrong. Go Essendon!

What do you mean by "tired"? I would have thought we exhausted all possible negotiations for a trade but none were realistic or suitable. The club has to look at its own interests in these matters, not look at what is best for the player being traded. Any other expectation is rather naive and dumb.

[bombercol]

Bradley's gone. Why aren't people happy?

Because we should have tired harder to make sure he adn MJ found new homes to continue there career's. Now it is up to chance. If it was good enough for Geelong to do it with King, we as supporters should expect the same thing.

Sorry that is not the proper formuls.

Essendon were right in what they did. They cannot do any wrong. Go Essendon!

Geelong and Collingwood were happy to receive low draft picks so they could use them to snare their father son picks. (They only have to use their lowest available selction of the draft).

It was worth their while.

[Twits]

You were outsmarted by the Mighty Freo. FREO WAAAYYY TO GO, HIT "EM REAL HARD SEND EM DOWN REAL LOW, OHHHH FREO, GOT THE OLD HEAVO, WE ARE FREO DOCKERS!!!

[bombercol]

There's a rat in the house! And over the moon about getting Kepler Bradley!

No wonder this person called twits!

[keri]

Sadly, it still makes more sense than some of the stuff that gets posted in here.

[Stocksy]

You were outsmarted by the Mighty Freo. FREO WAAAYYY TO GO, HIT "EM REAL HARD SEND EM DOWN REAL LOW, OHHHH FREO, GOT THE OLD HEAVO, WE ARE FREO DOCKERS!!!

Here it is,The Freo president Rick Hart has finally found our forum, Welcome Rick.

So Rick how does it feel to be the ONLY AFL Club to have no silverware in the cupboard?

[Twits]

He wasnt pick 6 in the draft for nothing people. With a decent coach and back home he will thrive for us.
IF only you had HArvs back at Windy Hill, he could be doing this for you!!! At least you can take some solace from the fact there will be an Essendon connection to the 2008 Docker premiership.
Need I repeat:

FREO FREO, FREO FREO.
WE'RE THE ROLLERS, WE'RE THE ROCKERS, WE'RE THE MIGHTY FREO DOCKERS, WE'RE GOING ROLL RIGHT OUT AND SHOCK YA, SEND YA TO THE BOTTOM...AND IF YOU GET UP, WE'LL DO IT AGAIN, DOCKERS SHOCK YA, SHOCK YA....FREEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOOO WAY TO GO!!!!!

[keri]

Dude, come back in a year and tell us Bradley is the shit.

[Twits]

would not say we have not won any silverware Stocksy. Surely you remember the multiple Fat Rats Clackers cups we have won against Port Adelaide. Surely you remember these?

[BenDoolan]

Sadly, it still makes more sense than some of the stuff that gets posted in here.