No Passion, no Hardness, no leadership

[Billy Baxter 0]

I cannot believe that after last weeks effort, the Melbourne Football Club would put in such an insipid, pathetic account of themselves.

At half time, we had 12 players who had not laid one tackle!!! After last week, that statistic is damming. We have no leadership, we have players like Jeff White going through the motions and playing with no bloody guts or passion, we are too slow in moving the ball and our forward line offered nothing.

The jury is out as far as I'm concerned as too whether Dean Baily is the man for the job, with the player list we have. The players have little faith in his game plan - That is bleeding obvious!!!

SHOW SOME BLOODY FIGHT AND SHOW SOMETHING MELBOURNE

[Hulett Packard III 166]

I cannot believe that after last weeks effort, the Melbourne Football Club would put in such an insipid, pathetic account of themselves.

At half time, we had 12 players who had not laid one tackle!!! After last week, that statistic is damming. We have no leadership, we have players like Jeff White going through the motions and playing with no bloody guts or passion, we are too slow in moving the ball and our forward line offered nothing.

The jury is out as far as I'm concerned as too whether Dean Baily is the man for the job, with the player list we have. The players have little faith in his game plan - That is bleeding obvious!!!

SHOW SOME BLOODY FIGHT AND SHOW SOMETHING MELBOURNE

The coach should come out and publicly say his team's soft!

[Neita3000 37]

The coach should come out and publicly say his team's soft!

whole heartidly agree. that was the worst performance i have seen this year and that is saying a hell of a lot.

[Jaded No More 59,762]

Today was insipid.

Our senior players, with the exception of poor old James McDonald should be ashamed of themselves. Week in week out they give us nothing.

White, Bruce, Yze (typically getting his goals from frees and refusing to man-up the whole match), even Green had a poor game today. They just do not put in consistently, and they cost us.

Once again McLean is left on his own to win the clearances, and we get smashed. Nobody was putting the pressure on the ball carrier, manning-up was a foreign concept, and we reverted back to the Neale Daniher days of just bombing it long to absolutely nobody! Once more we got out-tackled, and out-marked.

I know it's easy to blame Bailey when we're playing such poor football, but last week's match against Hawthorn (and our game against Geelong) proved that his game style is the way to go and that we are capable of playing well against the best teams in the league. The challenge is to get our players to have the same level of commitment week in, week out. Daniher couldn't do it, let's see whether Bailey can, or alternatively whether he weeds out the main offenders.

Paul Johnson & Colin Garland (again!) are the only two players who made the game worth watching. With apologies to Junior and Brock who continue to battle on their own.

[Yze_Magic 3]

What do you expect from a club that has Bruce as a joint skipper?

We are a laughing stock.

[sylvinator 96]

we seriously have sooo many holes in our team.

We need a number 1 ruck to replace white.

We need a key defender

We need a key forward

we need a tight checking defender

we need a running defender

we need 2 jet midfielders....

basically if we are going to get back to the top 8, we need all our draft picks to be good ones.

Hopefully Grimes, Maric, Cheney, Morton, Martin and the 4 draft picks next yr can start filling those holes

[Gorgoroth 12,431]

I also thought Warnopck was ok today, held kossi very well early on.

[Courtney_Fish 183]

No Passion, no Hardness, no leadership. No players.

[Pipefitter 2,082]

Calm down guys. NO FORWARD LINE has something to do with it.

[DEE32 65]

I had to laugh at a commentator who said that St Kilda looked slow, and are a slow team... they certainly made the Dees look like snails today!

[Pates 9,551]

I can't believe this was the same team that challenged Hawthorne last week, but i guess that goes to show getting up to that intensity isn't the challenge, it's mantaining it into the following week thats the difference. But don't think i'm accepting this, it's frustrating as hell to see the boys go out there and produce such a disgraceful performance.

Warnock and Garland battled today, but with our midfield being so insipid and pathetic there was nothing those guys could do. PJ showed a bit, but i don't think he has the class at the stoppages the mix it with the best.

White needs to be taken aside and aksed if he wants to be apart of this team because right now he's just wandering around getting cheap possesions and not having any positive influence on the team.

With Robbo out we need someone to stand up to take the FF position, we've got good crummers, a decent lead up CHF in Miller, and Bate who can pinch hit in the HFF, but we lack someone to take the no. 1 defender. Holland may have to step into this role but it's only going to last us for this year.

To put it simply, when is Newton going to say, "i'm here and i want to take this chance".

[Jaded No More 59,762]

To put it simply, when is Newton going to say, "i'm here and i want to take this chance".

Yeah, good luck with that!

Here's a radical idea, since Garland, Warnock and Frawley are showing a bit and starting to really settle down and work together, why not try Rivers up forward?

He can mark, he can kick and he can read the play better than anyone else at the club. At the very least he can lead to the right area and create some space for the other forwards.

Newton is not someone we can rely on IMO.

[Pates 9,551]

why not try Rivers up forward?

I have thought about that, he showed a bit when we chucked him in the forward line last year a few times. But IMO Rivers is worth so much more as a defender, having said that, when we needed a forward in the late 90s we changed Neitz to FF and he ended up being the greatest forward of our club.

Mind you let's get him fit first!

[Old Man Rivers 326]

Yeah, good luck with that!

Here's a radical idea, since Garland, Warnock and Frawley are showing a bit and starting to really settle down and work together, why not try Rivers up forward?

He can mark, he can kick and he can read the play better than anyone else at the club. At the very least he can lead to the right area and create some space for the other forwards.

Newton is not someone we can rely on IMO.

Last time I dared to suggest RIVERS to the forward line I was attacked from all angles.

I agree totally he is the man to go forward & create. He reads the game so well & kicks very well.

RIVERS to go forward V The Filth.

Warnock, Garland & Frawley to stay back & continue to learn there craft.

There is light @ the end of the tunnel starting on Queens B'day.

Lets belt these B&W animals for a 5th straight Queens B'day celebration.

[DaveyJones'sLocker 625]

Today was insipid.

Our senior players, with the exception of poor old James McDonald should be ashamed of themselves. Week in week out they give us nothing.

White, Bruce, Yze (typically getting his goals from frees and refusing to man-up the whole match), even Green had a poor game today. They just do not put in consistently, and they cost us.

Once again McLean is left on his own to win the clearances, and we get smashed.

White bruce and yze all chipped in today.... i think ur assesment of yze in unfair 3 goals is 3 goals and if he gets em from frees good on him...

once again u protect ur fav mclean who showed alot less than last week

[Jerry Lundergard 401]

White bruce and yze all chipped in today.... i think ur assesment of yze in unfair 3 goals is 3 goals and if he gets em from frees good on him...

once again u protect ur fav mclean who showed alot less than last week

With immense focus in recent weeks about tackling and pressure, here is the stat of the day.

White, Yze and Bruce. 3 tackles between the lot of them.

Brock 6 tackles.

[DaveyJones'sLocker 625]

show me the stat for centre clearences if apparently mclean was left all alone

[Guest unstable punt]

we seriously have sooo many holes in our team.

We need a number 1 ruck to replace white.

We need a key defender

We need a key forward

we need a tight checking defender

we need a running defender

we need 2 jet midfielders....

basically if we are going to get back to the top 8, we need all our draft picks to be good ones.

Hopefully Grimes, Maric, Cheney, Morton, Martin and the 4 draft picks next yr can start filling those holes

there is just NO forward line, its pathetic and they need to start playing ALL those young blokes

[grazman 6,729]

It's unfair to blame Bailey for this situation. A lot of very experienced footy watchers on this forum have long lamented our lack of genuine "hardness" and the failings of the core group of players. I'm sorry, but if people were expecting (but not necessarily hoping) anything different from today - then obviously they haven't been watching the same Melbourne side I have over the years.

We didn't get enough from our senior players... the record's been stuck on this track for a long time.

Bailey knows what has to be done, but to expect him to turn around a problem that's been years, decades even, in the making is naive.

Footy's a passionate game and the easiest thing in the world is for supporters to do is to blame the players for not being passionate enough or the coach for not being hard enough. The reality is that they're throw away answers for complex problems.

At the risk of sounding defeatist, such losses are to be expected (and come draft time perhaps even welcomed), the way forward is not to blame the coach or slam the players, it's to recognise the problem exists, tough decisions will need to be taken, but it's only by being resolute and determined in the face of adversity that the problems can be fixed. I don't see what is achieved by ranting. I've supported this club all my life, I hate losing, but I won't give in to emotion and attack the thing I love.

[Damo 3,033]

White bruce and yze all chipped in today.... i think ur assesment of yze in unfair 3 goals is 3 goals and if he gets em from frees good on him...

once again u protect ur fav mclean who showed alot less than last week

I note Bell still seems to be going through a bit of a slump...

No midfield, No forwards, I have no faith in garland and Warnock(I hope Im wrong).

With really average up and coming ruckstocks , Jeff White just doesnt seem interested.

I also have to contend with a 6 year old who only gets to go when we fail miserably.

Like the Fat Lady, He sang before quarter time that we should just give up and go home. Not even a "giant Hand" would do the trick. Unfortunately there was nothing to wave it at...

I am now firmly in the Rich not Natanui camp.

It is cold comfort.

[Damo 3,033]

At the risk of sounding defeatist, such losses are to be expected (and come draft time perhaps even welcomed), the way forward is not to blame the coach or slam the players, it's to recognise the problem exists, tough decisions will need to be taken, but it's only by being resolute and determined in the face of adversity that the problems can be fixed. I don't see what is achieved by ranting. I've supported this club all my life, I hate losing, but I won't give in to emotion and attack the thing I love.

Well said.

[Jerry Lundergard 401]

I note Bell still seems to be going through a bit of a slump...

No midfield, No forwards, I have no faith in garland and Warnock(I hope Im wrong).

With really average up and coming ruckstocks , Jeff White just doesnt seem interested.

I also have to contend with a 6 year old who only gets to go when we fail miserably.

Like the Fat Lady, He sang before quarter time that we should just give up and go home. Not even a "giant Hand" would do the trick. Unfortunately there was nothing to wave it at...

I am now firmly in the Rich not Natanui camp.

It is cold comfort.

A bit harsh on Warnock and Garland considering how bad we were getting smashed in the clearances and the ball was being peppered into the F50.

I thought Garland actually won more of his 1 on 1 contests with Reiwoldt than he lost.

[grazman 6,729]

White bruce and yze all chipped in today.... i think ur assesment of yze in unfair 3 goals is 3 goals and if he gets em from frees good on him...

Yes, but were they leaders today or bit players? I disagree with your assessment about Ooze's goals. You want you senior players to stand up under pressure and do the right things. No one likes an actor. If we're relying on staging for free kicks, it's no wonder we only kicked seven today.

[Rhino Richards 1,467]

Yes, but were they leaders today or bit players? I disagree with your assessment about Ooze's goals. You want you senior players to stand up under pressure and do the right things. No one likes an actor. If we're relying on staging for free kicks, it's no wonder we only kicked seven today.

Two good posts in a row Graz.

Our senior players, White, Bruce and Yze were lamentable today and were at best bit players. Too many shortcuts and easy options. White took a big step towards retirement today.

[mauriesy 6,907]

Once again McLean is left on his own to win the clearances, and we get smashed.

I don't see how you can absolve McLean from responsibility today. Apart from a lack of marking forwards, a lack of experience in defence and pathetic, ineffective tackling, our biggest deficit today was in the clearances. We are getting walloped in that area every week.

McLean, Jones and McDonald are our starting three, but they got thrashed today. As well, they are collectively as slow as treacle. McLean totally lacks the awareness that would allow him to overcome a lack of pace. The number of times he gets caught holding the ball is frightful. All teams have to do to beat Melbourne is tag McLean and Jones with pacey taggers and we don't generate any run whatsoever.

That was the most embarrassing game I've been to this year. At least the Hawks and Bulldogs in Rounds 1 and 2 played like class teams. St Kilda played mediocre, scrappy football and still made us look like dunces.