Picked up Inside Footy today, I didn't get there for Port's reserves flag ceremony before the reserves match last Sunday, but it seems Scott Howard turned his back and looked the other way while both teams lined up on the ground. Anyone there to see that?
I dare say the little melee that started after quarter time was over the Scott Howard issue as well. According to Inside Footy, Port had to explain their side of the story by 5pm last Monday.
I'm hoping Football Victoria take some fairly severe action. I think the issue has has been treated lightly on this website, however the same can't be said for Channel 9's Footy Show and other print publications. Hardly good to be getting such poor publicity for the competition.
Phil Cleary wrote an excellent article in Inside Footy, maybe some of you read it and it is difficult to argue with two points he made:
- Firstly he argues that Port let go two coaches in the past two years. He describes Fitzgerald as "a man of solid values and a very good coach". He questions how the same administration can not show the "same ruthlessness" when it comes to the player responsible for the practical joke.
- Secondly he questions how it impacts on "club culture".
The player involved won't be getting a cheap ride at Sandringham's ground this week, the supporters ripped right into him there last year and he was giving plenty back. It will be a very interesting day on Saturday.
I understand that the culprit/depositor has been identified.
My understanding is that the player has a fairly checkered history when it comes to discipline.
I anly have it second hand, but anybody want to name him.
Ill take a wild guess and say that its probably the Port player that the werribee supporters were calling "WINNIE THE POOH" during the game. No need to write his name but those at the game probably know.
I also saw the whole reserves game including Scott Howard with his back to the unfurling of the burra ressies flag. Was quite bizzare and there is still some definate bad blood between him and the Port boys judging by the aggression shown everytime Howard went near the ball and also the quarter time dustup!
I know we aren't supposed to like feuds on the footy field these days, but it adds that extra dimension of interest.. thats for sure.
Love it
Just to keep it clear, the following is as published by Phil Cleary on http://www.philcleary.com.au/vfl_2005_IF_round%20one.htm
[color=darkred]What is it with blokes and football clubs? Last year the Aussie Rules and Rugby League seasons opened to a series of rape allegations north and south of the border. While Sam Newman was happy to trot out the same old myth, that women tell lies, the police in NSW and the director of the Office of Public Prosecutions in Victoria had a different view. In the end, a lack of evidence was cited as the reason no charges were laid.
Now, as Paul Amy reported in Inside Football last week the VFL season has opened to revelations that a Port player deposited human 'poo' in the bag of another player, Scott Howard, during a pre-season camp. Are some men so Neanderthal that they think this is funny? Does anyone seriously think this is akin to blokey bonding of the kind that produces premierships? Amidst the saga was the rumour that someone at Port had described Howard as using the incident as an excuse to transfer to Werribee. Suddenly the victim had become the villain. What the Port player did was nothing short of bullying. It was little different from the bastardisation rituals that have been outlawed from the armed forces and the work place.
Scott Howard has given an account of the event and his feelings in a statutory declaration. On Monday the VFL was assessing Port's response. Will it end there? Not apparently for Howard. Last Sunday, when the Port Melbourne reserves side unveiled the 2004 Reserves Flag, Howard, who was selected with Werribee reserves, turned his back on the proceedings. Port president Peter Saltry lives and breathes Port. Last year he 'sacked' grand final coach Gerard Fitzgerald. Highly regarded as a man of solid values and a very good coach, Fitzgerald's departure was met with widespread scepticism in the VFL. The same concerns accompanied Port's decision to 'sack' David Dunbar a year earlier.
So why wasn't the same ruthlessness that befell Dunbar and Fitzgerald applied to the player responsible for 'poo in the bag' episode? It's no secret that the player was selected for the match against Werribee, which Port lost by 46 points? Port says the club engaged outside counselling to deal with the offending player. Did the counsellor explain how fragile club culture can be and how hard it is to build the camaraderie that brings premierships?
For new coach Saade Ghazi this is a bigger challenge than he might think. Ghazi won a Liston at a club whose traditions and success are second to none in the VFA/VFL. Great players, great captains and a dynamic president Tony Hannebery, who I'm sure couldn't countenance what has happened at Port; that was the Williamstown that Ghazi knew in the late 80s and the 90s. During an ABC preview of the 2005 season Ghazi said people could expect more discipline at Port Melbourne. The football handbook says the buck stops with Ghazi. Good luck! [/color]
He makes some very sound and solid points.
we let Stephen Lawrence know all about the incident...and then he has the gall to approach one of our spectators and tell him to come up the Port end after the game....I would suggest that.... to term that well worn expression...that he has a long hard look at himself...he is a very good player but lacks disci;pline off the field....why he was made captain of the club is certainly an odd decision
Yes ...he was targetted......and with his record he will always be a target....like Filandia was a couple of years ago...
Any player in any code of football who does something stupid will be the target of abuse from opposition supporters....I've been to soccer matches in England where opposition players are abused even if they've done nothing wrong...so you can imagine the reception that Lee Bowuyer is going to get from opposition fans from now on.....and he'll have 30-40 thousand people heckling him.....still if you're on 50,000 POUNDS per week I'm sure that will ease the pain of the abuse
I effectively agree with what you said mate, but isn't Chris Obst the skipper? Correct me if I'm wrong.
good point.....I stand corrected...
Not the first time thats happened. Not the second or third time either.
It is becoming a frequent situation. And sadly he doesn't seem to be able to ignore the fans comments. Because he reacts the situation is magnified.