Yes but you still have to stump up the cash for the other half. We are $7m dollars in debt!!!!!!!! And this sort of stupidity is why we never seem to make any progress in paying it off!!

Our club is like a girlfriend who needs her credit card cut up for her own sake.

I'm not saying we don't need Kouta or that we shouldn't have re-signed him. But if we've paid him a cent more than the $200K we offered him to start with then our board is a bunch of idiots.

Why is every so upset about only half of what he pays goes on the salary cap. Doesnt matter what our debt is there is a minimum we need to spend on the salary

Who at the club deservs more money our kids have played well but are all on good money Lance is on what his worth fev probaby wants more in his next contract Wait fisher can't ask for that much because they havent performed for two years. Simpson might ask for more.

Its only for one year the board is making a decision on whole club our list isnt flash no one is asking for huge money. The board need to spend a certain amount on the players kouta will just fit in the pie chart. His Salary isnt affecting other players and us getting players in the preseason draft like it has in the past.

What a bulllshit decision.

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NOW YOU'RE JUST SOME CLUB THAT I USED TO KNOW.

You think this is poor ... wait until late next year when the club decide he should play another year in 2008 to bring up the magic 300 games!!!!

We better play him correctly, we need to abandon players that become passengers in games, or erradicate the behaviour out of them.

Given that you lot are due to axe some players yet still are required to pay the 92.5% minimum, it makes sense to sign Kouta on a 1 year deal.

In a year when the draft talent is labelled as "super" and going deep into the 3rd round, like most clubs, Carlton will load up on kids. This means that plenty on your list will be starting a 2 year fixed rookie contract, in the middle of one, or in their first contract off one.

Without signing the likes of Kouta, you may not be anywhere close to the 92.5% mark. Unfortunately the competition we're in makes all clubs pay for players that at some point, they don't really need or necessarily want.

The best post in this thread so far.

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Oompa loompa doompety dee
If you are wise you'll listen to me

I don't know what the big deal is with Kouta, it's not like he's a Voss, Hird or Buckley. Take out the year he had in 2000 and I doubt everyone would be ooooooh'ing and aaaaah'ing over him.

1993 - poor
1994 - ok
1995 - excellent
1996 - good
1997 - reasonable
1998 - poor
1999 - good
2000 - outstanding
2001 - good
2002 - didnt play
2003 - reasonable
2004 - reasonable
2005 - reasonable
2006 - ok at best

Now compare this to Buckley or Voss who are basically excellent every year. Kouta is the most overrated player in the history of the CFC for mine.

Hopefully he can bounce back...good to hear someone else will be captain. Kouta never came across as a great gameday leader.

Just as an aside did you see how many games he played in under 19s (35) and reserves (50)- 85 in total!!
Maybe we should give our kids who don't automatically kickass in the seniors a bit of latitude (Walker is one who comes to mind. He will be even better next year. I'm sure that Russell will be a better player next season too).

Terrible decision.

For a club who says they are going forward, this is a huge step backwards.

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Writer for SuperCoach Paige www.scpaige.com.au
Twitter - @johnfeeney24

20 ish games in 2007 brings him well within reach of 300... Shit, he did it for Mick.

It's not the money, it's the 2,000 minutes of game time lost to Russell, Smith, Blackwell etc.

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Patrick Smith - Just another reason to HATE Essendon*!

Maybe Kouta is being retained for one for year to assist Tex move into a midfield role, if that's where the MC want Tex to play.

With regard to the salary cap, we have lost Campo, a chunk of Big Red, and now a bucketload of Kouta. Who's taken up the slack? Fev and Tex have had pay increases. Any others? Puts us in a great position for the PSD (read Polak).

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“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”
- Martin Luther King Jr.

If we wanted to eliminate passengers he wouldn't be on the list.

This is not about what Kouta can offer the club. This is about a shit scared administration not having a @#$%&! clue.

I didn't rate his form last year when he won a B&F terribly highly but the drop off from that lowly plateau to where he is today is significant. He contributes bugger all to the team and the only role modelling going on at the club under his leadership has been about how to screw a football club administration for more money by dragging it through the press.

This is the deal breaker as far as I'm concerned.

I've given tacit approval to this board in the past in the belief that they should be given a chance. Whilst they weren't inspiring me in any way it was essentially about them not doing things rather than what they were doing.

Well now they've made a decision and it's a stupid, myopic and mind-numbingly brainless piece of work.

I gave up my membership during the Elliott years because I was sick of watching him piss it up against a wall. This administration whilst not having much of an idea about how to increase revenue at least can't be blamed for excessive stupid expenditure.

Until now.

I'll continue to pay up for next year because the club is so close to broke but it's a close run thing. The one thing getting me through this year was the prospect of not having to see Koutoufides' greedy little head running around in navy next year. This board just lost what little support I was willing to give them.

Stupidest decision ever.

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“When a clown moves into a palace, he doesn't become a king. The palace turns into a circus.”
Turkish Proverb

$315,000 of which half is included in the salary cap
I'm willing to give him a chance next year...

Salary reported to be around $250K on 3AW.

Will he be dropped if his form isn't up to standard?

He should be dropped for this week.
He was horribly last Sunday against the Hawks.
Opposition sides exploit his lack of run and accountability. Another silly decision by the club.

They're wrong.



Of course not - that would result in a "loss of membership" and create a place in the side for a kid who might have a future at the club.

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“When a clown moves into a palace, he doesn't become a king. The palace turns into a circus.”
Turkish Proverb