That old chestnut. Save that juvenile "you criticised a player I like, you're obviously not a real supporter" crap for the bottom feeders and mental midgets of Big Footy. I support Richmond Football Club, not "Insert my favourite player's names here" Football Club. I certainly don't feel obligated to praise players or coaches I feel were/are detrimental to the club.
Well seeing as you started off with a personal insult and the followed up with a pathetic "people who played AFL know better" inference, I won't heed your request not to go "down that road."
Bowden was a selfish , lazy footballer , who wasted his talent. His negative effect on the club was far greater than Tambling's who many here -rightly or wrongly- have levelled the exact same accusations of laziness and wasted talent (those who at least admit he had talent anyway) against.The fact that supposedly "astute" judges (who f.e.? Gerard Healy? :rofl) deemed him worthy of AA status on the basis of accumulating a stack of uncontested possessions that rarely hurt the opposition game after game really means sweet f.a. to me in the final wash-up. Other things like the fact that an almost equally talented player like Newman is only now just having that crap shaken out of him after years of Bowden's negative influence mean more. I stand by my comments.
FWIW, I think Tambling's comments , not too mention he's seemingly tacit agreement with that inbred idiot Cornes' comment about the club in that interview, are a disgrace and smack of appalling lack of graditute.
Either way, you can all discuss whatever the hell you like until the c(r)ows come home, just saying I don't understand why we need to keep going over it. He was one player who's on-field impact was fairly minimal for the most part. Played a few good ones, played a few shockers, played a lot of games that were neither here nor there. Looked good as a junior in the minor football of the NT and the second tier of the U'18's champs. Was taken too high , before a bloke who was regarded as unstable but has since won a Coleman and Premiership medal, because Wallace &co. thought a rebuild of our midfield was more urgent at the time. In the wonderful clarity hindsight, they were wrong. Still got Deledio and have picked Cothin, Martin and a Coleman Medalist of our own since. Helped get the club a couple of million dollars off-field. Now he plays for Adelaide. The End.
