Elliot tals about McGuire's "conflict"

[Joel]

www.afl.com.au

quote:

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'Look out Eddie'

Saturday, April 28, 2001

CARLTON president John Elliott, one of Eddie McGuire's strongest allies, believes his friend is under unsustainable pressure in his dual role as president of Collingwood and host of Channel Nine's Footy Show.

Last Thursday night McGuire claimed Melbourne were close to ''civil war'' over the leadership of president Joseph Gutnick.

The Collingwood president also said high-profile Melbourne businessman Ron Walker was poised to challenge Gutnick's presidency -- claims which were strongly denied by both Melbourne and Walker.

McGuire is stoutly defending himself.

''I have brought the Melbourne Football Club board together with that story -- it has brought things into the open,'' he said.

''Some on the Melbourne Football Club board are wimps and hide behind things.

''If they're going to roll Joe, have a crack.

''Some of them support him, but the others wimp around the outside. They don't have any guts.''

But Elliott warned McGuire that he would have to be more careful in future.

''I don't think he has a conflict of interest yet, but I don't think he should have been promoting that sort of talk (about Melbourne),'' Elliott said.

Elliott, who is so close to McGuire that AFL chief executive Wayne Jackson last year referred to them as ''The Bib and Bub Show'', said conflict of interest allegations would only increase against McGuire next year, when Channel Nine takes over the AFT broadcast rights.

''I think when Channel Nine gets the footy next year, if he is going to be involved in it as I expect he would be, that's when his real conflict will come,'' Elliott said.

''He will be doing the television in a big way, and he will be the anchor man for Nine, I presume. If that's the case, it will be very difficult for him to do both jobs.''

Elliott also gave Gutnick a vote of support as Melbourne president, saying the mining magnate had grown into the job after starting out as a virtual football novice when he took over in 1996 following the failed merger attempt with Hawthorn.

Asked whether he would have been upset if McGuire had used similar comments on the Footy Show about Carlton, Elliott said: ''I would be annoyed, but I have been attacked 20,000 times in football.''

Although Walker, the former Victorian Major Events chairman, has denied interest in the Demons job, Gutnick believed he was ''testing the water'' before deciding whether to mount a challenge.

McGuire said he had done a favour for the Melbourne club in highlighting conflict on the Demons board.

''I'm happy to take them on, if they want to come out of the shadows,'' he said. ''I'll take them on. I'll hold a forum on the MCG if they want to come.''

'Some on the Melbourne Football Club board are wimps and hide behind things . . . I'm happy to take them on, if they want to come out of the shadows'

- EDDIE McGUIRE

'I think when Channel Nine get the footy next year, if he (McGuire) is going to be involved in it, as I expect he would be, that's when his real conflict will come'

- JOHN ELLIOTT

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Who does Elliot think he is? Some of the things he has done is business and then he talks liek this...HAHA!!!

[magpie joffa]

Poor old jack....he is just a president of a poor decaying old pitiful insignificant derelict carlton football club
who will get there arses kicked from one goal post to the other this sunday.BRING IT ON........ITS ON...ITS ON......

There is nothing in life greater, than to be a supporter of our beloved collingwood football club,we must remain united,we must stand tall,we must be prepared to fight for our glorious black and white for we are the ENVY OF ALL NATIONS.'YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE'
http://www.mp3.com/joffa

[Sly]

The "attack" (if you really want to call it that) is just a way to establish some hype between McGuire-Elliott before the Collingwood-Carlton clash on Sunday.

I imagine Eddie will refute it on The Eddie Show on Thursday night, Elliott will come out and there'll be banter and so forth - all for the promotion of Sunday's match to get a bit of feeling behind it.



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Sly.
The Last Remaining Bad Guy.

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[Joel]

Sly - I can't believe I didn't pick that up!