THE TRADING CHRONICLES 2008: DAY TWO

THE TRADING CHRONICLES – DAY TWO

A BRAND NEW WORLD OUT THERE by the Oracle

In an ideal world, one would like to think that the Melbourne Football Club will show a fair amount of improvement on the field in 2009. Possibly, the team might even have a crack at winning a finals berth or do something even better than that. But let's be realistic; the world is not ideal and the Demons, under new coach Dean Bailey, have their work cut out for them over the coming seasons. The club has hit rock bottom and it's a long way to the top.

Yesterday, Geoff McLure's Sporting Life column in the Melbourne Age produced a stunning statistic that demonstrated clearly the depths to which the club's fortunes have plumbed in just two seasons since it last made the finals back in 2006. During the recently completed 2008 season, Geelong won 72 and drew 4 quarters out of 100 played (74%). At the other end of the scale Melbourne won just 23 out of 88 (26.14%) – the biggest gap between top (after the home and away season) and bottom in 58 years. The Demons seem to be the masters at this because their ratio of quarters won was 23.53% in 1906 and an even worse 19.53% way back in 1919. This year's figure was matched by the club in 1997 (which I suppose is good news because Melbourne bounced back and made a preliminary final in 1998).

Of course, the dominant Cats didn't win the flag. Those honours went to Hawthorn and that's also a sobering thought because it was only two years ago when the Hawks were struggling that the Demons thrashed them by plenty in a night fixture at the MCG. Still, they have their work cut out for them.

From a trading and drafting perspective, the club is confronted with a major task to assemble a list that will one day be capable of competing with the best in the competition and that's why the slow start to the trade period is probably a source of more frustration for Melbourne supporters than it is for most others. We want to see some action - something concrete and visible to raise the spirits after the dreadful season from hell that we've just experienced.

Melbourne coach Dean Bailey is unfussed and remains level headed when it comes to this time of year. He's fully aware that Rome wasn't built in a day. It took four years for the Hawks to find their way into the upper echelon and that was a year or two ahead of what was anticipated. So you won't see a rash scorched earth programme applied to the club's recruiting. The list is getting younger but it requires a patient approach to ensure that ultimate success will come our way. As Bailey puts it -

It'd be fair to say that where we can improve our picks or where we can get extra picks, we'll be certainly going down that path. But we're certainly not going to be throwing names left, right and centre. We have a responsibility to our players as well and we need to show some respect, and we also need to ensure that it is done in a professional manner as well. Where we can and where we see opportunities, we'll look at it, but we see drafting and recruiting players as the number one reason to improve next year and in years to come.

– TRADE WEEK PRIMER: MELBOURNE

This all brings us to where the Demons are going at this stage of the exchange period. As those who are following the trade proceedings would be painfully aware, there is precious little of any substance happening despite an enormous amount of speculation (most of it misguided guesswork and plain wrong).

There have been some names mentioned but no deals have been done yet after two days of trading. Most of the interest from a Melbourne point of view is the club's out-of-contract man for all seasons Brad Green who has yet to sign a new deal with the club and is being closely eyed by Collingwood. Hawthorn, Sydney and Port Adelaide have also sounded expressed an interest while the club is saying that it is hopeful of re-signing him.

Most supporters have nothing but admiration for the 27 year old Green and would hate to see him go. A member of the club's leadership (although surprisingly left out at the start of the year), he is its most versatile player. He can play in the midfield or up forward where is accurate left foot is deadly or he can go down back where he is normally a reliable stopper and also capable of setting up attacking moves from deep in defence. The hallmark of his play in recent years has been the courage he has shown when backing into packs to mark the ball. In the absence of this current contractual dispute, I would have thought him to be clear favourite to hold the Melbourne captaincy for at least the next two years.

But it’s 2008 and times are changing. The perception is that the team is not within the premiership window. The Magpies are considered to be within that range so Green might well find himself a new home in the next couple of days. From my perspective, it would be a shame and the draft pick (or player) received in compensation would be of little consolation (well … at least not until November when we see what the club gets in return).

Sadly, that is the way of football in the early part of the 21st Century. Last year it was Travis Johnstone and we got used to it. The player obtained with the replacement drat pick # 14, Jack Grimes, has only graced the field at senior level on one occassion but promises to be a 200 game player of quality for the club. The same thing could well happen if Green decides to leave the fold.

It's a brand, new world out there!