McLinden

[raiders_boy]

Chief ... you can make all the excuses you want pal you aint convincing me.

A well run club doesnt have these problems. Thats the bottom line.

Elliott is not a coach that a player would find an attraction or an incentive to stay or come .... he is just a plain very ordinary coach. As far as Hawkins and Furner .... you know my views.

When a club loses a player like macca you know something is desparately wrong. If you cant see that Chief there's not a lot I can do to help you.

Bay...

I don't understand how you can blame management for this... THE CLUB DID NOT LOSE MACCA... He WANTED to go... If he didn't want to go, then he wouldn't have.

CLAUSE!!!! McLinden signed the contract on the grounds that he would have an excape clause should the opportunity arise to go overseas... what do u know! It has! Thus Management cannot stand in his way, as this is a legal document...

Pull your head out of your arse bay. Management is in no way responsible for this.

Have a look around, and stop being so one-eyed about EVERYTHING!!!

 

[Bay56]

Bay, I understand you being disappointed about losing Macca (and I know you're a whole lot more than that, let's not beat around the bush), but if Macca was only prepared to sign a contract that gave him an out clause, what more could management have done? At the end of the day, the are not able to force him to sign a contract that he didn't want to.

I agree with you about there being more that could be done with his personal development, but the fact remains, if he signed a contract that allowed him to leave the club to play overseas, they were dutybound to honor it.

And let's not forget also, we almost lost him to ESL a few seasons ago, we were very lucky to have kept him back then.

Jed ... the trend ... thats what I'm particularly concerned with ... I am almost pissed off to a rage about macca .... the buck stops at the top Jed.[/b]

 

[Raider_69]

Wiki - Couldn't compete with 400 grand a season. Awesome player but not worth that much. If they had offered him anymore then 300 I'd be pissed off.

Davico - Fair enough. Management f***ed up here.

M.Monas - No cap room in 03. We had to sign the players we knew were peformers. Didn't know that with Monnas thanks to O'donnel.

J.Monas - We offered him 250 grand. Way more thne the little turn coat piece of sh*t is worth. This is tha fault of an slimy little rat bastard not management.

Macca - Already explained that I think he was a waste of time.

Lolesi - Finchys Dad's fault. Paid him way over what he was worth when he was sh*te. When he got good we offered him what he was actually worth.

ill agre with that except for wiki, he was offered crap by us, not a great way to treat a club legend, we offered him about the same as Monaghan which is a slap in the face. more should have and could have been done for Muss

All in all i blame management for Davico, Muss and Monaghans departures, Lolesi went where the money was, macca wants to travel and at the time, Mick monnas didnt seem to be a good option

Raiders_69 .... forget about the reasons. I can give you a million reasons why this why that blah blah blah

Its the trend thats the problem ... this club seems to be making incorrect decision after incorrect decision .... I've used the analogy before "we are on a train thats heading to dumbsville via idiotsville. All the signs are pointing in the wrong direction and the sooner we get of thistrain the better.

My bad Bays56 ;-)

 

[Bay56]

Pull your head out of your arse bay. Management is in no way responsible for this.
Have a look around, and stop being so one-eyed about EVERYTHING!!!

Dont come the abuse with me raiders_boy ... up to now I have abused no one on this forum other than management and elliiot.

 

[Prodigiousman]

Ok my view...

Basically McLinden has wanted to go play in the UK for a while now, before he signed his last contract he indicated he was really looking towards the UK sooner rather than later. He's got his chance when Dennis Moran shifted clubs (London to Wigan) and quite simply he's going to be the main man at London for the next 3 years with little or no competition. To him - the money of course made a difference (whenever someone in any profession says that it doesn't... well you get the idea) - but it was more the opportunity at London and the fact he wanted to play in the UK full stop. So it's his decision and he's made the one that suits him.

Now the reason he didn't want to stay in Canberra is pretty clear. The club signed Jason Smith to play five-eighth and be the chief playmaker for 2005, and has Todd Carney to play half and be the chief organiser. (with some very talented players in the wings). Now I don't know about you but as a Raiders fan I like the idea of Smith-Carney being the halves combination in those roles. So I ask the question - where does McLinde fit into that equation? I don't believe he does. Sure he'd be nice off the bench but at the end of the day in my football team I want a clear cut half and five eighth who have their role for the whole game, not just in stages. McLinden would have cut into Carney's development and the chances of that duo really clicking. Sure he would have been an asset but sometimes you can have all the assets available and still not have the best chemistry. For the sake of the Raiders continuity in the key playmaking positions (which we DID NOT have last year) this decision works in our best interests.

McLinden wasn't prepared to be a bench/part time starter when he could fulfill his starting desire and UK sojourn on more money in London.

As for the management/coaching issue, I can't honestly hold them responsible here. McLinden has had two seasons to really be our go-to guy and even in 2003 when he seemed to finally come of age in the main playmaking role, he then regressed the next season. It's sad that he is leaving, as he's been a freakish ball runner since arriving in 1998. But the poor kid started outside Daley and Stuart, where his skills could truly thrive as an individual player, he hasn't been able to adjust to the extra responsibility that came when those greats stopped playing - and in all honesty its rare that individually talented players like McLinden actually do. Brett Finch faces a massive test next year without Fittler, esp since he started with Daley - personally i think he's capable of adjusting. Sadly McLinden has proven unable to do this - granted it's been on a poorer squad that what Finch will have - but I can't see how he would've taken us to another level on his own. We've gotta put our faith in Smith and Carney (something i'm very prepared to do) and face the fact that if you want to look at the negatives then you only hurt yourself. The positive here is McLinden's absence allows our next star to develop without a distraction like Mclinden wanting minutes festering.

I'd love to have Macca still in Canberra, but the fact is he won't be here and I believe we'll be a more cohesive attacking team without him.

 

[greeneyed]

Jason Smith in our halves is a disaster in my view.

 

[DrewBeliever]

Plus don't forget that Fielden 'apparently' had a farewell lap after the ESL grand final, hinting that he might've played his last game for Bradford.

[-o&lt, post: [/quote"]

There was no lap of honour, any way..... as much as I'd like to see Fielden as a Raider, It dissapoints me to say he'll be going no where until his contract has expired with the Bulls.

 

[raiders_boy]

Plus don't forget that Fielden 'apparently' had a farewell lap after the ESL grand final, hinting that he might've played his last game for Bradford.

[-o&lt, post: [/quote"]

There was no lap of honour, any way..... as much as I'd like to see Fielden as a Raider, It dissapoints me to say he'll be going no where until his contract has expired with the Bulls.

Don't say silly things like that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[DJ Raida]

yeah, fielden is packing his bags as we speak

 

[Stelios Giannakopoulos]

Any chance of Bradford getting done for a cap rort? That way it woudl clear the path for Fielden

 

[DrewBeliever]

Who gave you the idea Stu did a lap of honour at the Grand Final, we the Bulls fans didn't even get a Thankyou for our support the boys were that gutted they walked off the field.

:lol: Lap of honour - Bull!


Not likely champ, we've let Swann go who will be replaced by Brad Meyers, then where also letting Smith, Myler, Moore and Anderson go, no problem with the cap champ.

 

[DJ Raida]

I dont know if this has been poste yet, but ill post it anyways

McLinden runs from Raiders
By Sharon Mathieson
November 8, 2004

CANBERRA Raiders were dealt a severe blow today with the news key playmaker Mark McLinden was quitting the National Rugby League club and defecting to London.

McLinden's move to London Broncos opens the door for St George-Illawarra recruit Lincoln Withers or former Queensland State of Origin lock Jason Smith to fill the halfback role at Canberra.

The 25-year-old McLinden said turning his back on the Raiders was the toughest decision of his career but he didn't want to pass up the opportunity to experience life and work in another country.

"The Raiders have looked after me really well but there's something no club in Australia could offer me and that's the opportunity to travel overseas and experience a different culture," he said.

"I always wanted to go to England.

"I don't see the attraction of going over there towards the end of my career with a family.

"This decision is harder than you can imagine.

"It's a total unknown, its scary, but the Raiders have been great."

McLinden, who signed a three-year deal with the London Super League club, said money had nothing to do with his decision and hoped to one day return to Canberra.

"The club has looked after me ever since I started and that makes it even harder to leave," he said.

"I'll miss it and the fans.

"I'll always feel like I'm a Canberra Raider boy and at the end of my (London) deal there's every possibility I'll be back."

McLinden joins fellow Raiders stalwarts Luke Davico (Wigan) and Brad Drew (Huddersfield) in heading to England while the club also lost Ruben Wiki (New Zealand Warriors) and Joel Monaghan (Sydney Roosters) after the 2004 season.

Raiders chief executive Simon Hawkins said despite having another two years left on his contract McLinden was granted an immediate release because he had a clause in his deal allowing him to discuss other international offers.

He said the halfback would be welcomed back to the club in the future.

"We're disappointed to lose someone that's been with us for so long, but we certainly wouldn't hold him back from exploring opportunities," Hawkins said.

"We'd be keen to have him back if he chooses to come back to the NRL down the track."

Raiders coach Matt Elliott said he was satisfied with his off-season signings and said the club was not in the market for a player to replace McLinden.

He said along with Withers and 32-year-old Smith, who will return to the NRL after a stint with Hull in the UK, juniors Todd Carney, Terry Campese and two-time Australian Schoolboy Michael Dobson were also in the running to wear the No.7 jumper.

"It's not going to be easy to replace Mark, but we're secure, we won't have to buy another player, Elliott said.

"We've got lots of halfback cover.

"Mark's been a tremendous asset to us on and off the field and were sad to see him go.

"But he's always expressed a desire to experience other cultures and he feels like he wants to go abroad. It would be ridiculous for us to stand in his way."

 

[greeneyed]

I do hope we get Fielden now. Our forwards look weak following the departure of both Wiki and Davico..... However, I feel we would be being overoptimistic to expect he will leave ESL to come here. I hope I am wrong, it would take some (only some) of the sick feeling I have in my gut about Macca leaving.

 

[legend]

Let's wait and see. I just can't see management being that dumb. My feeling is they needed Macca's money for Fielden and even then, Macca, whilst being a loyal club man never rose to the heights we expected of him and his place in the side was under threat IMO.

I think we all need to accept that this sort of thing is part and parcel of professional sport these days.

 

[SOULS 04]

yeh we had alot of players linked to us that we didnt get

geez i hope fielden signs

 

[raiders_boy]

Let's wait and see. I just can't see management being that dumb. My feeling is they needed Macca's money for Fielden and even then, Macca, whilst being a loyal club man never rose to the heights we expected of him and his place in the side was under threat IMO.

I think we all need to accept that this sort of thing is part and parcel of professional sport these days.

Just remember, there are two sides to this. Either we are definitely not getting Fielden and Mclinden went because management could not do anything about it, or

We are a real chance of getting Fielden, and Mclinden was helped out the door to make room for Fielden under the cap...

It has nothing to do with management becuase if Macca wanted to go, then there was no way they could stop him.

 

[DrewBeliever]

But where does the rumour come in where getting Fielden?

Didn't it just start by somebody saying, Fielden would be a good signing, or Elliott was the founder of Fielden therefor we have a good chance of signing him.

He's under contract he has no intentions of leaving his contract till it expires then he will consider a move to the NRL.

I'll give us a helping hand by showing Stu these messages, then we'll get the message, though I'm sure I already know and have said over and over again.....

 

[edabomb]

McLinden was never going to lead us to a premiership. I don't think we'll have Fielden for next season. We go through halves like they're going out of fashion.

 

[greeneyed]

If management really wanted to keep McLinden, some clause in his contract would not have stopped them from keeping him. The club just let him go..... they didn't want to keep him.

 

[edabomb]

If management really wanted to keep McLinden, some clause in his contract would not have stopped them from keeping him. The club just let him go..... they didn't want to keep him.

He proved this year he can't direct a side round the park. He's never been a great impact player from the bench either so I think this works out well for both parties.