Travis Cloke

[Hiss]

Time for a Hiss to be banned for a months. Mods I want action!

You carry on like some simple little schoolgirl sook. Lets ban low IQ types like you that contribute nothing to the excitement of this sight and its diversity. Better still, ban yourself when he does sign. Wanker!

[Neil Appleby]

We really should concentrate our efforts on signing Beamsy, Chopper and Wellers and get back to Cloke with whatever is left.

Yep.

It was a very disappointing effort from Cloke. I've thought all along that he would be staying, but after tonight I reckon the club would be mighty unimpressed and less inclined to budge.

I was pretty amazed that Cloke didn't seem to think protracted negotiations would negatively impact on the club or the contracts of other players.

If I were Beamsy, Wellers or Harry I'd be getting pretty pissed at the Clokes.

Very unimpressive effort from Travis; in fact he is sounding more and more like Gary Ablett Jnr every minute.

I just hope the club doesn't allow another ongoing distraction kill off another flag.

[Neil Appleby]

Double post.

[Collingwood 4 eternity]

What are you, Eddie's retarded cousin or something?

'Questions were asked at the club'

Bullshit

Why are you lying ?

No refund was ever given to you.

So why are you continuing to lie about it NPM ???

i find it strange that they might,

but in less you work there, how would you know?

they would not tell you about someone elses membership deal

No I dont work at the club.

I dont look at anyones membership.

This rubbish that NPM talks of is 3 week old BS

NPM did not get a refund.

[Hiss]

Why are you lying ?

No refund was ever given to you.

So why are you continuing to lie about it NPM ???

i find it strange that they might,

but in less you work there, how would you know?

they would not tell you about someone elses membership deal

No I dont work at the club.

I dont look at anyones membership.

This rubbish that NPM talks of is 3 week old BS

NPM did not get a refund.

I have know idea whether NPM got a refund or not. You seem absolute that he did not get a refund. Can you assure everyone on Nicks BB how you know this to be fact? How do you know NPM did not get a refund? Answer that !

[AN_Inkling]

Because he's putting the Club through the ringer every time his contract comes up for renewal and doesn't seem too fussed someone else might get squeezed out due to his demands.

Many were saying the same about Dale Thomas last year. Cloke's a high profile player, and our most valuable. The media will talk about his contract, he can't help that. This will be his last long-term deal and the only one where he has the kind of drawing power he has now. It's important to get it right. There are reasons on both sides for the final signing to be delayed (the club needs to know how much money it has to know the most it can offer, for one - with other unsigned players, that's impossible), there's no reason to think it's all Cloke's doing.

Say Cloke would ideally prefer a 5 year deal. What is wrong with taking the time to see if the club will come around, rather than accepting the first deal put to him? A 5 year deal does not place extra pressure on our salary cap (it actually eases the pressure on the crucial next few years). If in the end he doesn't get the 5 years, he may accept a lesser offer.

I don't see any sense in hating on a player for negotiating a contract. The details of which we simply don't know. Booing that player would be Richmond level pathetic.

[HAL]

This belief is justified.

[Beast]

Because he's putting the Club through the ringer every time his contract comes up for renewal and doesn't seem too fussed someone else might get squeezed out due to his demands.

Many were saying the same about Dale Thomas last year. Cloke's a high profile player, and our most valuable. The media will talk about his contract, he can't help that. This will be his last long-term deal and the only one where he has the kind of drawing power he has now. It's important to get it right. There are reasons on both sides for the final signing to be delayed (the club needs to know how much money it has to know the most it can offer, for one - with other unsigned players, that's impossible), there's no reason to think it's all Cloke's doing.

Say Cloke would ideally prefer a 5 year deal. What is wrong with taking the time to see if the club will come around, rather than accepting the first deal put to him? A 5 year deal does not place extra pressure on our salary cap (it actually eases the pressure on the crucial next few years). If in the end he doesn't get the 5 years, he may accept a lesser offer.

I don't see any sense in hating on a player for negotiating a contract. The details of which we simply don't know. Booing that player would be Richmond level pathetic.

Daisy said once he's looking at offers and than we haven't heard a word from him until he signed while Trav is creating a circus, completely different circumstances.
Who said anything about hating on him for negotiations?
Its the way its being played out in public every time when it comes to him is a worry. Him dragging his arse like this surely isn't helping our playing group's harmony and as history shows you need a lot of things to go right to win the flag and this definitely isn't helping. He knows quite well our salary cap is stretched to the limit so trying to milk the Club for every penny without intention of leaving is worse than selling yourself to the highest bidder IMO.
The bottom line is the only people that have benefited from his appearance on TFS tonight are Clokes.

[Collingwood 4 eternity]

No I dont work at the club.

I dont look at anyones membership.

This rubbish that NPM talks of is 3 week old BS

NPM did not get a refund.

I have know idea whether NPM got a refund or not. You seem absolute that he did not get a refund. Can you assure everyone on Nicks BB how you know this to be fact? How do you know NPM did not get a refund? Answer that !

Hiss lets just say that NPM wont be rushing to the phone or down to the club first thing in the morning , demanding to know how someone knows that he didnt get a $300.00 refund.

[Monco Matt]

The longer this drags on, the longer the Clokes involve the media, the longer they smooch up to the camera & microphone with a smug care-free attitude, the longer they show a lack of care for the impact on other parties (club & players & fans), the longer all of that keeps going the less I give a shit if he goes and if he did go I would be almost completely desensitised to it.

The effect it is having on me personally (don't lambast me for sharing) is that when I go to the footy and watch him play I always have this contract crap on my mind. I would never boo him but I find myself not quite cheering as hard for him as I normally would and I hate that.

[pietillidie]

Because he's putting the Club through the ringer every time his contract comes up for renewal and doesn't seem too fussed someone else might get squeezed out due to his demands.

Many were saying the same about Dale Thomas last year. Cloke's a high profile player, and our most valuable. The media will talk about his contract, he can't help that. This will be his last long-term deal and the only one where he has the kind of drawing power he has now. It's important to get it right. There are reasons on both sides for the final signing to be delayed (the club needs to know how much money it has to know the most it can offer, for one - with other unsigned players, that's impossible), there's no reason to think it's all Cloke's doing.

Say Cloke would ideally prefer a 5 year deal. What is wrong with taking the time to see if the club will come around, rather than accepting the first deal put to him? A 5 year deal does not place extra pressure on our salary cap (it actually eases the pressure on the crucial next few years). If in the end he doesn't get the 5 years, he may accept a lesser offer.

I don't see any sense in hating on a player for negotiating a contract. The details of which we simply don't know. Booing that player would be Richmond level pathetic.

Good post. It's tiring to keep repeating this, but let's not buy into the media fishing for a story and assume anything out of the ordinary is happening in reality where the actual parties are talking to each other and know what's going on. I'm sure anyone here involved in business has witnessed the prolonged negotiation of many a tough contract where there was no hard feelings in the end because it was considered par for the course. And this is definitely par for the course for both the club and high profile high-demand footballers.

Things can go wrong, sure, but most of the time it's media mischief because they know full bloody well parties in negotiation don't usually comment so they use that fact to provoke the parties with speculative scenarios hoping someone will bite and help write them a story. This is the filthy low end of "journalism" which should not be rewarded by people entertaining their efforts.

[AN_Inkling]

Because he's putting the Club through the ringer every time his contract comes up for renewal and doesn't seem too fussed someone else might get squeezed out due to his demands.

Many were saying the same about Dale Thomas last year. Cloke's a high profile player, and our most valuable. The media will talk about his contract, he can't help that. This will be his last long-term deal and the only one where he has the kind of drawing power he has now. It's important to get it right. There are reasons on both sides for the final signing to be delayed (the club needs to know how much money it has to know the most it can offer, for one - with other unsigned players, that's impossible), there's no reason to think it's all Cloke's doing.

Say Cloke would ideally prefer a 5 year deal. What is wrong with taking the time to see if the club will come around, rather than accepting the first deal put to him? A 5 year deal does not place extra pressure on our salary cap (it actually eases the pressure on the crucial next few years). If in the end he doesn't get the 5 years, he may accept a lesser offer.

I don't see any sense in hating on a player for negotiating a contract. The details of which we simply don't know. Booing that player would be Richmond level pathetic.

Daisy said once he's looking at offers and than we haven't heard a word from him until he signed while Trav is creating a circus, completely different circumstances.
Who said anything about hating on him for negotiations?
Its the way its being played out in public every time when it comes to him is a worry. Him dragging his arse like this surely isn't helping our playing group's harmony and as history shows you need a lot of things to go right to win the flag and this definitely isn't helping. He knows quite well our salary cap is stretched to the limit so trying to milk the Club for every penny without intention of leaving is worse than selling yourself to the highest bidder IMO.
The bottom line is the only people that have benefited from his appearance on TFS tonight are Clokes.

You're making too many assumptions. Who's dragging it out? Is it even being dragged out? Or is this just what it takes? Cloke has not yet accepted the club's offer, just as they have not yet accepted his desired deal. Beams, Harry, Reid, Sidebottom etc have not signed either (nor have numerous players at other clubs), are they dragging out their negotiations?

If we are squeezed, our biggest contract was always going to take time. Difficult to sign a player when you don't know how much money you have to sign him with.

So really, the only issue you have is that Cloke's talked about his contract more than others. The interest from the media has had a big part in this. What he has said is he wants to stay at Collingwood, but would prefer a 5 year deal, which has not yet been offered him. I see no issue with any of that.

[woftam]

If he has been given our best & last offer then we should insist on a deadline to sign or decline the offer. We have others still to be signed who are just as important. I'm over it to be honest. If he goes then so be it. But I don't like leaving Reid, Beams, wellingham etc unsigned if it's the Cloke deal holding things up. Time the club brought this to a head.

[pietillidie]

If he has been given our best & last offer then we should insist on a deadline to sign or decline the offer. We have others still to be signed who are just as important. I'm over it to be honest. If he goes then so be it. But I don't like leaving Reid, Beams, wellingham etc unsigned if it's the Cloke deal holding things up. Time the club brought this to a head.

"Err, Travis. Umm. Travis, take a seat. We're sorry to inform you that we have decided to close negotiations because Woftam over on Nick's is, quote, 'over it'."

[eddiesmith]

If he has been given our best & last offer then we should insist on a deadline to sign or decline the offer. We have others still to be signed who are just as important. I'm over it to be honest. If he goes then so be it. But I don't like leaving Reid, Beams, wellingham etc unsigned if it's the Cloke deal holding things up. Time the club brought this to a head.

Why is his deal holding up them and not the other way around?