Let me have my head bitten off.
I totally sympathise with the overall situation at Emirates, I can't understand why anybody would choose to go there with the current scheduling and overtime regime.
On the other hand I totally disagree with the whinging F/O's over direct entry command. Firstly in my opinion you should not leave your own home country to become expat in the first place without a command because it is your comrades who speak the same accent of the same country and who have been to the same schools as you who should be making you a Captain because they know you best. If they will not make you a Captain then nobody else should.
Secondly why shouldn't a 50 year old Captain who has been in the left seat for 20 years expect to be able to change company without having to start all over again.
In my view in the case of a company like Emirates there needs to be a fair balance between upgrades and DEC's unfortunately there are insufficient numbers of DEC opportunities.
Why anybody would currently go to Emirates in the first place though, I don't understand.