Dear Magpies, we need to talk…

Dearest Magpie fans,

I know I’m a little late, forgive me but I feel like we have to have little chat.

I know how you feel. You’re in shock and you just don’t know what to do with yourself. As I write this its 2am.

Only weeks ago we were in the top six, at one stage we were in the top four, those were the days when we had a fit team. Even I admit I didn’t think we could play that well, I was crazy surprised. Then our luck turned.

Losing Nathan Brown was the first big OUCH.

In the early stages of the year we beat Sydney, Richmond, Essendon and Carlton but that loss to the Bulldogs in round 13 hurt us badly.

Losing to Gold Coast in round 16 was embarrassing and pretty much was the sign that we would most likely not be playing finals. The loss that followed against Essendon though was the confirmation and losing Maxwell only made it worse.

Macaffer was the next target of the injury curse joined by Dwyer after losing to the Eagles but it was in round 21 that I witnessed something that I’d never seen before.

It all started when Pendles was a late withdraw 10mins before the match. Okay- maybe they’re resting him. When Elliott went down my stomach twisted. NO! He can’t miss out on playing finals when he was so crucial in getting us this far! When Reid went down suddenly my head started to throb, two defenders short- this is not good. When Beams went down I was trying to laugh to stop myself from crying! Was this some sort of sick joke? Was I being Punk’d? Just when id given up hope and knew it couldn’t get any worse we lost Cloke. Yeah- because we have so many other tall build forwards. And just like that we went from top 6 to finishing 11th on the ladder and missing finals for the first time in what? Ten years? Great. Never in my life had I seen us lose so many players in one game, it was like an injury plague had hit and it was targeting Black and white stripes. I don’t know how you guys reacted to this game but I know I’ll never forget it, all for the bad reasons.

What I don’t understand though is how people managed to pin the injury problems on Buckley. I swear it was like one of those Salem Witch hunts the way they burned him at the stake. If people were looking for someone to blame, blame the fitness staff not the coach.

An AFL photographer captured a Collingwood man having a few emotionally charged words to Eddie after the Brisbane loss. The look on his face made me want to cry. It reminded me of Richmond and Melbourne supporters who are trying to get through their struggles, were we struggling? We were becoming one of those clubs that everyone turns their back on when we lose week after week? Were we becoming one of those teams who supporters couldn’t deal with being patient in understanding that our future still needs a lot of work? That’s what I saw in the face of the man and Eddie’s face looked just as worried, just as emotional as he hugged the man, it looked like everything was about to fall apart and it did.

 

the prez and a Magpie fan exchanging words. credit to official AFL photography Twitter.

the prez and a Magpie fan exchanging words. credit to official AFL photography Twitter.

 

The club went into crisis mode and invited members to an open forum where they would voice their concerns. I thought it was a good idea, we all deserved some answers and hey it was better than Carlton’s apology BBQs. All the Buckley haters, and I’m sure many of them were present were apparently surprise, surprise, dead silent at the forum. I can’t stand people like that, if you have a problem with the coach and abuse him on social media then tell him but don’t sit there and pretend you’re fine with everything then call for the man’s head like it’s the French Revolution every time we lose.

Considering all the sh*t we went through this year, yes im disappointed we didn’t get to play finals BUT I’m actually happy with the job Buckley did, considering all the injuries and remembering that when we were at our best we were in the top 6. Nobody had anything to say about Bucks then.

Right now let’s look at the positives:

  1. Pendles is a great leader
  2. Our young boys have potential (Elliott, Grundy, Witts, Broomhead, Frost, Freeman, Kennedy, Thomas)
  3. Premierships aren’t coached overnight (Malthouse took 10? Years to win Collingwood a flag) so stop calling for Bucks to get the sack and learn some freakin patience!
  4. With the retirements and de-listings we have a little cash to splash so we could be getting an exciting big name! (hopefully please god let it be a tall, built like a brick house forward)
  5. We finished higher on the ladder than Carlton AND we beat them twice this year

So while you watch your 2010 GF replay dvd on repeat from now until the start of the 2015 season have a good think about what it means to be a Collingwood supporter. What it means to be side by side because it’s not just about the good times, a loyal supporter will be there no matter what. No matter how angry you get, how much you curse, how much you cry or whatever items you may throw at the television and break, we are all in this together.

From winning flags to the low wooden spoons real loyalty never fades.

So as we watch the remaining teams battle for the 2014 flag and await 2015 I have one question to ask; are you with me?

Danni Eid

 

About Danielle Eid

Im 23, cute and most importantly im the Collingwood Football Club's very own PRINCESS!! :) A Latrobe Uni graduate from Bachelor of Journalism. Admirer of Samantha Lane and Jon Ralph. Not your typical 'Robot Journalist' Loves Alex Fasolo

Comments

  1. Luke Reynolds says

    Dani, I’m with you!
    Very happy with the young players on our list. Given a good run with injuries I’m confident our turnaround will be quick.
    Go pies in 2015!

  2. Malcolm Ashwood says

    Dani good read as a non pies man what I admire is you have drafted aiming for the holy grail not just recycling players aiming for the bottom of the 8 . Scharenburg is a huge interesting risk he can play like crazy but his body has always been his only question mark . I remain convinced , Grundy will end up making a lot of clubs look stupid ignoring him in the draft , love your passion thanks , Dani

  3. That’s the spirit Luke! Injuries screwed us over big time. Bring on 2015.

    Thanks Malcolm. Scharenburg is going to be cray! Hopefully that works out bc im so excited to watch him. BRODENCE (GRUNDY) has fast become one of my favs n I absolutely rate him over Witts.

  4. Good call. I think people have an instinctive reaction to Buckley because of his prominent brow, but having seen him interviewed a couple of times this year I was really impressed. He is thoughtful, considered, introspective and, above all, interesting. Doesn’t mean he’ll coach a premership, mind you, but he deserves to be given a fair crack which he did not have this year.

  5. Thanks Dave.
    i agree 100% Bucks can’t reach his full potential if we get rid of him before he even has a fair chance at coaching. Nobody complained about him while we were winning or praised him either, idiots.

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