rpfc is right, some posters are oblivious to where our club is and fail to see the big picture. They vent their frustrations after every game and fail to realise the significance of two very early picks and what they mean. No doubt they will be 'beside themselves' in 2010 and Rd 19 2009 forgotten.

In 2 years time Richmond & North will be right out in the cold.

We should be starting our challenge. I got real faith in Bails he is one Smart Cookie.

Scott West Coaching Scully next year, i can wait 3 more weeks.

Missing a vital point here,Watts,Bennell,Jurrah,Strauss,Blease,Wona etc havnt exactly set the world on fire & probably wouldnt get a game in any other club at this stage.Could be stars but might not either.We are a long way off & if i was a young kid i would hate to be drafted to Melb & that hurts me to say that

A bit harsh DM. Yes, it's true they've not done anything, but if you look at the model for tanking/recruiting, usually players recruited during a bottoming out period take 2,3 sometimes 5 years to become the players they will one day be. It's only really players like Rich and Palmer... you know the type... nuggety midfielders that slot straight into a side and find form instantly. Looking at that list, none fit that bill. Watts' contemporaries (Brown, Reiwoldt, Franklin) took at LEAST 3 years to show anything at all, let alone give cause for great optimism. Bennell has shown plenty for a guy his age. Jurrah, I think you'll find, HAS set the world on fire. Strauss and Blease are hurt. Wona showed plenty last year, and is injured...

Scratch the surface and you'll see that there's no reason to believe this club is in a bad place. I'd be as thrilled coming to MFC with the next 5-10 years' outlook as I would be going to GC17.

Ironic that you have called someone else dramatic whilst putting together a 'War and Peace' length novel of diatribe lambasting anyone who disagrees with you. No matter what you think, you cannot seriously tell me that what the boys presented out there on the park today was anything less than a disgrace!

For what it's worth, just because someone thinks differently to you, doesn't mean they love the club less.

That is all.

You obviously haven't been here long. I have a problem when it comes to minimising posts.

I will seriously tell you right now that what the boys presented was nothing more and nothing less than exactly what we needed to do. If ANYTHING, we were perhaps beaten by a bit too much, but better that than to hope that McMahon will pop into the Roos side and save our asses again. As far as 120 minutes of footy goes, yes, it was hard to watch and was nothing like a serious game. But if you understand that that's what we needed to do, you realise we were never going to come close. Not with the side we were fielding.

You make a good point about other people loving the club differently, though. And for that I apologise. In my own defence, discussion of positives and negatives on this site is the whole point of its existence. It'd be pretty boring if I didn't stick up for MFC and try to support its direction.

Kudos to Matty Bate, you`ve silenced a few knockers in the past month or 2!

This is the frustrating thing though. I think since he's been a regular part of the side (2006ish I think) he has given us tantalising glimpses of his ability to be a presence and monster sides. For weeks at a time too. And then for a month or two he'll suck it up so badly people will call for him to be dropped. Unlike the usual inconsistent players who are week-on, week-off types, Bater is month-on month-off. Maybe a bit more maturity will make him a season-on season-off player.

Some epic hand-wringing going on here.

Again.

It's like every 4 weeks on here people forget that we are crap and come on here and vent their frustration.

We lost to NM. With 15 players 22 or younger. With two debutants.

It's also pleasing to see some posters on here coming out of the woodwork for the special occasion of a bad loss in a vain attempt to convince the rest of us of the regression they think they see.

2008 was ground zero.

2009 is an easier pill to swallow with glimpses of what is coming.

Looking forward to 2010.

The majority of people understand where we are at but to see the skill level continue to be so shoddy is an extreme frustration for me. We have a future but it still seems a long way off.

I have really hated to watch us the last few weeks. Putrid position to be in and a position i hope to never ever ever be in again!

I have come to the conclusion you cant take anything from the games what so ever apart from getting the PP.

Stef Martin to me is one of the more intriguing prospects. Out of all the positions he has been whored around for this year, i think he is a forward more than anything. Sure, not the best kick at the moment, not sure who is teaching him to not take his eyes of the goals in his run up to goal, surely you are supposed to keep your head down for the majority of the time? He leads in the right spaces though, is a pretty solid boy and seems to have good hands, good possibly become the power forward we are hoping for. Make him grow a mean beard to get rid of his smart/good boy image he would look fierce

Dunny, another guy who i think should be retained even if its for depth. He is more solid of a player than people give him credit for around here. VERY versatile and a good player to have on your list. Been mighty impressive the last few weeks even if our teams performance has been nothing great.

Jetta- Was not sold on him early on, but continues to show glimpses of some good things around the ground. Not afraid of contact and has a nice kick on him.

Bate- He is going to be a very handy player for us for many years. Works his backside off and will be a very capable half forward when the other pieces start to fall in place.

Edited August 9, 200916 yr by mousey

I have really hated to watch us the last few weeks. Putrid position to be in and a position i hope to never ever ever be in again!

I have come to the conclusion you cant take anything from the games what so ever apart from getting the PP.

Stef Martin to me is one of the more intriguing prospects. Out of all the positions he has been whored around for this year, i think he is a forward more than anything. Sure, not the best kick at the moment, not sure who is teaching him to not take his eyes of the goals in his run up to goal, surely you are supposed to keep your head down for the majority of the time? He leads in the right spaces though, is a pretty solid boy and seems to have good hands, good possibly become the power forward we are hoping for. Make him grow a mean beard to get rid of his smart/good boy image he would look fierce

Dunny, another guy who i think should be retained even if its for depth. He is more solid of a player than people give him credit for around here. VERY versatile and a good player to have on your list. Been mighty impressive the last few weeks even if our teams performance has been nothing great.

Jetta- Was not sold on him early on, but continues to show glimpses of some good things around the ground. Not afraid of contact and has a nice kick on him.

Bate- He is going to be a very handy player for us for many years. Works his backside off and will be a very capable half forward when the other pieces start to fall in place.

well Mousey you may have actually created the argument to your own conclusion As your highlighted players ( and accompaniments ) suggest there IS actually something to take from "those" games. Good players.or rather possibly better than good players will make something out of nothing. Im positive in my belief that despite the obvious motives for the 'experimetnations" Bailey will have genuinely been watching for glimpses of anything that players might be able to show under such dire and convoluted circumstances...

a bit like ..when the going gets rough , those with stuff get going

well Mousey you may have actually created the argument to your own conclusion As your highlighted players ( and accompaniments ) suggest there IS actually something to take from "those" games. Good players.or rather possibly better than good players will make something out of nothing. Im positive in my belief that despite the obvious motives for the 'experimetnations" Bailey will have genuinely been watching for glimpses of anything that players might be able to show under such dire and convoluted circumstances...

a bit like ..when the going gets rough , those with stuff get going

haha your right.

i just hate footy at the moment. Its the worse feeling in the world watching your team you love and not only not wanting to win, but not caring at all about whats going on. It sucks and i cant wait for these three games to be over with.

Probably the wrong thread, but is it just me or does EVERY F***ING TIME bartram take a mark he waves his arms like an imbecile to try to slow the game down??

Bartram you spud, the game of football is fast paced and high intensity - stop trying to slow the game down to your innately abhorrent skill level.

He must go.

I have come to the conclusion you cant take anything from the games what so ever apart from getting the PP.

Bate- He is going to be a very handy player for us for many years. Works his backside off and will be a very capable half forward when the other pieces start to fall in place.

I agree mousey, the last few weeks haven't been the best weeks to follow footy. With Richmond & North out of the way, will the experimentation be scaled back, and may we see the return of some senior players including the likes of Jurrah, Grimes, Rivers, McLean, etc?

Agree on Bate too.

Probably the wrong thread, but is it just me or does EVERY F***ING TIME bartram take a mark he waves his arms like an imbecile to try to slow the game down??

Bartram you spud, the game of football is fast paced and high intensity - stop trying to slow the game down to your innately abhorrent skill level.

Good observation BtJ.

I am just exhausted from losing. I do think we have good youngsters but I am weary that other clubs do to. I see clubs at the foot of the ladder, West Coast, North, Freo having good wins and then there's us. Admittedly these wins accomplish nothing for them other than to establish that they have good youngsters to.

I hope you are all right but finish down the bottom before, get the draft picks and end up back on the bottom without anything to show

Re: the waving of hands.

I t was just part of the experimentation. When we got the ball at various stages throughout the game the signal was given to run the clock down. It happened quite often and it happened at stages in the game where it wasn't necessary. However it would have been an order to practice their ability to shut the game down and wind down the clock. It happened late in the quarter most times, but there was one time where the signal was given at about the 12 minute mark.

It's all part of the experimenting that Bailey said he'd be doing. He's effectively treating these matches like training and practice matches and getting the players to work on executing various plays under full opposition pressure.

And, as he said, if we happen to win while we're experimenting then so be it.

The majority of people understand where we are at but to see the skill level continue to be so shoddy is an extreme frustration for me. We have a future but it still seems a long way off.

I thought our kicking yesterday, particularly in the first half (and minus a few here and there) was the best it's been since 2006, hands down. Sylvia, Morton, Dunn, even Macca and Jones were kicking it beautifully yesterday. Jetta is also a very good kick. Okay, so Johno kicked a couple of floaters and Spencer's kicking could be improved, but if you've watched the majority of games over the last two to three seasons, you'll realise, we've actually come quite a way with our field kicking. That said, there's still a lot of room for improvement and consistency.

Edited August 10, 200916 yr by AdamFarr

I am just exhausted from losing. I do think we have good youngsters but I am weary that other clubs do to. I see clubs at the foot of the ladder, West Coast, North, Freo having good wins and then there's us. Admittedly these wins accomplish nothing for them other than to establish that they have good youngsters to.

I hope you are all right but finish down the bottom before, get the draft picks and end up back on the bottom without anything to show

Hang in there Mate. This club is going through a complete....Rebuild. Front & Back, inside & out. It takes time, that includes the on field side.

Sadly not enough tough recruitment was done during the ND Days & we are paying that price now.

But I do think we are heading in the right direction, look at those kids playing at casey, lotta potential talent there.

They need to gain experience. That cannot always be rushed.

Hang in there.

I am just exhausted from losing. I do think we have good youngsters but I am weary that other clubs do to. I see clubs at the foot of the ladder, West Coast, North, Freo having good wins and then there's us. Admittedly these wins accomplish nothing for them other than to establish that they have good youngsters to.

I hope you are all right but finish down the bottom before, get the draft picks and end up back on the bottom without anything to show

Hang in there Mate.

......

They need to gain experience. That cannot always be rushed.

......

Hang in there.

Anders, WYL is right and is re-iterating what Stynes & Bailey have said all along. That we were expecting a little more pain this year as a follow on from 2008 (the year from hell); the list has been turned over and over. A list is looking younger and younger. The foundations are coming together......hang in there and expect an exciting 2010.

We're in good hands I believe. Hang in there, mate. The wins will come, and may do sooner than you think.

was sylvia playin down back?

i thought he was really impressive, some nice spoils... and good attack on the ball

was sylvia playin down back?

i thought he was really impressive, some nice spoils... and good attack on the ball

Anders, WYL is right and is re-iterating what Stynes & Bailey have said all along. That we were expecting a little more pain this year as a follow on from 2008 (the year from hell); the list has been turned over and over. A list is looking younger and younger. The foundations are coming together......hang in there and expect an exciting 2010.

We're in good hands I believe. Hang in there, mate. The wins will come, and may do sooner than you think.

As HT alludes... al lis not lost..far from it. Like some older folks here who have followed the Mighty Dees for over 40 years I have seen lists come and lists go. Some had potential ..some were mutton dressed up as lamb ( sorry Chris..lol ) But I have to say I think Deelanders have reason to get a bit excited as to what is about to unfold over the next say 5 years. The list is/has been purged and reborn. Some more quality players to come into it still.. Some better performances are rightly expected as some players mature and find their place. This and I think the coaching assemble is getting better at what they do. Apparently West might take on a full time role next year which can only benefit us. many of the cornerstones that setout the foundations are in place as are many of the foundations themsleves.

To those that are frustrated currently by poor results and underwhelming strides forward, take stock, stiffen your resolve as some of us have been witness to some seriously crappy Melbourne teams over the years with absolutely no hope asociated with them. This is not what we are seeing now.

Carlton might think they are coming... but were cleverer than they..we arent going to tell anyone till its too late . The Demon stirs

was sylvia playin down back?

i thought he was really impressive, some nice spoils... and good attack on the ball

Yep, another very solid game for Colin. Some of his link up play when he moved into the middle was extremely impressive as well. He proved yesterday that he can play anywhere, which would please Dean Bailey to no end. He's developing a lot of these types (Morton and Davey are another two that spring to mind). The beauty of Sylvia is that he could just about play on a key position back, which his body strength and strong hands. As I mentioned somewhere else, we basically played our midfield in defense, for large parts of the game.

Yep, another very solid game for Colin. Some of his link up play when he moved into the middle was extremely impressive as well. He proved yesterday that he can play anywhere, which would please Dean Bailey to no end. He's developing a lot of these types (Morton and Davey are another two that spring to mind). The beauty of Sylvia is that he could just about play on a key position back, which his body strength and strong hands. As I mentioned somewhere else, we basically played our midfield in defense, for large parts of the game.

I think another one to add in the future will be Grimes. He will eventually be worked in the midfield, and I heard Chris Connolly say Grimes can play forward as well. Would be good to see them give him a go down there before the end of this year. Ohh and Petterd....geezez there's a few.

Edited August 10, 200916 yr by Mr Morton