Collingwood president Eddie McGuire has conceded the club failed to communicate with its fans in rectifying their controversial trade period that saw four players depart the Holden Centre last Thursday.
McGuire admitted Collingwood representatives mishandled the build-up and aftermath of the trade window backlash, stating is listening to it's infuriated fan base.
Within less than 24 hours of the trade period's closure, over 400 Magpies fans had signed a petition demanding answers from Collingwood board members, with their outcries resonating with many of their fellow followers.
Speaking on 3AW, McGuire said he understands how the club's faithful fans are feeling following a tough week.
“People forget I’m just the elected leader of the fans. I’m one of them. I’m not ‘them’, I’m ‘us’. If I’m not the president of the football club I’m sitting in the outer yelling my lungs out like I am now, just not in a suit,” he said.
“We have people who trust us, we’ve been there for a fair while and I think we’ve done some pretty good things over the journey and positioned our club in a good way. The hardest decisions you make in life are the tough but right ones, not the popular ones.”
The Magpies received backlash for their lack of media identity during and after the trade period, with McGuire admitting the club could have done better,
“Our executive, which I’ve got full faith in, decided this was the strategy. Could it have done better as far as the PR? Probably, possibly. Would it have been the same result? I don’t know but it is where it landed,” he said.
“What we have to do is wish the players who have left us the best of luck, get in and recruit good young players and get stuck into 2021 when the time comes.”
McGuire added that the club have been taking in the criticism from their members.
“Hopefully supporters understand where we are and if they don’t they can vent their anger and we’ll accept that and listen to it. You have to listen to everything that’s been said. Very rarely are people 100 per cent right or wrong ... we’ve certainly listened to all those supporters, gone into detail on what they’ve had to say and taken that on board, no doubt about that,” he said.
“No one’s pushing it to the side saying ‘don’t worry about it’ - we went through all that pain beforehand and then we did it again when the supporters felt they needed to vent their spleen. We listened to it, we understand it and now we’re going to move forward together.”
