Virgin Blue wrote:
As I said earlier, here is one player I have not heard one bad word about (until today). People who know him love the guy. I reckon he might have been a bit naive and is freaking out over all this.
There is no shortage of people who don't hold Koutoufides in high regard on TC, because they look not only at his playing record, but at his time with Carlton in totality. Those who do question him are not naive, but have had legitimate concerns about his motives and actions.
It's true that Koutoufides is entitled to write his memoirs and profit from them if possible. It's also true that he was a very talented player, and that he was better compensated than any other player in the competition for his promise of skills.
But Australian Rules football clubs are different entities than other commercial organisations. There are emotions and attitudes that revolve around a sense of 'team'. In the last decade, much of the team spirit was lost at Carlton, and Koutoufides was representative of that as much as Pagan, Collins and other individuals around the club at the time. Players developed a culture of greed, and combined with the weak and corrupt Elliott administration that caved into excessive demands, disaster ensued.
In reality, Koutoufides' revelations are neither important nor much of a shock. Player discontent was well known, so it's hardly surprising representations were made to the administration. I'd be more astonished if there was only one approach.
Some people have described Koutoufides as being brave for disclosing the meeting taking place. There is nothing courageous about his writings; they're more a case of being indiscreet and opportunistic for money.
What a surprise.
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