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You've got to be kidding Tragic, do you not remember this http://twf.com.au/showthread.php?t=20515? The glee and theories that abounded the moment there was even a very weak suggestion that there was trouble at mill was quite evident, so how much worse would it have been if he had told the Force he wasn't staying and they actually did go out looking - can you imagine what the media and the antis would have been saying then? Any subsequent suggestion that it was all according to plan would have done nothing whatsoever to quell it - there is never any shortage of folk prepared to believe the worst about folk in general (and more than a few with it in for the Force and Mitchell particularly).
Even with the way it has been handled instead, look at what a knob Clarke is being - he is immediately on message with the line that Mitchell is an arse because "the club had no-one immediately available to comment", yet was able to post this only half an hour later with quotes from Fordham, Mitchell and Reid. He must think himself well important, expecting he warrants an immediate answer whenever he deigns to call someone.
Still here is a thought: No-one can deny Mitchell's success at developing young players and he has been quoted as saying that it is that aspect of the job he enjoys most. Well, post-2011 Robbie may also be off and the short-odds favourite would be Nucifora. What job would that leave open?