"Loyalty Should Be The Name of the Game!"

The recent controversy between Kevin Sheedy and Tim Watson highlights a problem in the football media. Okay, so maybe Tim didn't say that Essendon was soft, but even if he only related what he had heard on the grapevine, he still undermined the club that made him a champion, and where he remains an icon. "Soft" was a word bound to incite a barrage of damaging publicity. Champion ex-players can be constructive critics in the media, but they should be loyal to their former team-mates and fans. What do you think?

David from Malvern had this to say:

Once a footballer becomes a media personality their duty is to the football public at large. They should be able to criticise or praise each team equally on its merits. If they have information or an opinion about any club then it is their role to disclose it. This is what they are paid for and their past loyalties should not influence their conduct. It is situations in which commentators show an obvious bias (as is the case of some interstate commentators) that detracts from the enjoyment of watching good competition. But did Tim undermine the Essendon football club. A few "come from behind " wins have followed his remarks and no-one is willing to contemplate that Essendon are "soft" anymore. Tim and Kevin have remained fairly close since Tim left Essendon and maybe this was just one more Sheedy ploy to get his team up and running in the last few weeks before the finals.