Actually a biscuit.

Oh. My mistake. Mmm . . . steak.

Oh. My mistake. Mmm . . . steak.

My nickname is thrilled he is back!

My rumblings (Being a Gippslander you know people who know people) at that Royal had had enough with Ross Lyon and had a pretty big fallout. Sounds familiar to others that the Saints coach has worked with.

It has been said that Lyon does burnout his assistants. I wonder if this is to his own peril or to prolong his own jeopardy.

I'm glad that he's back. I actually met Choko whilst he was Assistant in his first stint and he seems pretty down to earth and very motivated.

Good pickup IMHO.

Gippy

Cheap shot robbie, thats not what he's saying at all. And Jimmy & Schwabby wouldn't want us to have blind faith, but rather a sharp interest in the goings ons. This reflects the passion & interest of the faithfull & would ensure the club stays the straight & narrow course forwards.

I agree with Robbie F.

This poster has one of the worst cases of MFCSS that I have seen.

For any situation or happenstance - he/she inherently goes to the negative.

Excellent appointment!

I'm with you .... have heard him speak on many occasions when he was at Richmond, fantastic speaker has an outstanding understanding of the game and is clearly a top quality thinker who is not scared to have a go and say his piece. I'm sure his time with Wallace is massively underrated by many ... in fact I always thought more of him in the Pre-match build up & functions than I did of Wallace.

Not a cheap shot at all, this guy has history and this is just one of many times he has criticised the club and any decisions made by the new board.

I have just had a very interesting conversation with a respected past player of the club. He is not 100% happy about the Brian Royal appoinment as well. However for different reasons. He has no worries with Royal as a coach. What he said was that Chris Connolly stuffed up the situation. He said he was told half way through the season that Knights would be sacked and Hird appointed the new coach of Essendon. Connolly should have known that and that Wellman and Hird are good friends. So therefore as he said Connolly should have nailed Wellman down with a water tight contract with very short time to sign to see if he wanted to stay at Melbourne towards the end of the season. The other reason is that the timing was bad for the football department. He thought the appointment of Royal was OK in the situation. But he is worried with the coaching at both ends of the ground. As he said we are well covered in the midfield with the having Todd Viney at the club. He thought Todd would be vital in improving play around the ball-up and boundary situations with stoppages of play.

The other comment was that he thought 2011 will be the real test for Bailey. He saw signs in 2010 that Dean Bailey could be a very good coach.

He also said that he expects all Melbourne people to yes support the club but make sure that the right decisions are made. As he said we have had the head in the sand period that could have sunk the club. The past players he speaks to are now more concerned with what is happening at the club. He said we have a very healthy situation at the club and we all should make sure it stays that way.

He also said that he expects all Melbourne people to yes support the club but make sure that the right decisions are made. As he said we have had the head in the sand period that could have sunk the club. The past players he speaks to are now more concerned with what is happening at the club. He said we have a very healthy situation at the club and we all should make sure it stays that way.

Is that "concerned" as in worried (I'm concerned about young Jimmy's marks in school) or as in interested (as far as I'm concerned, Jimmy's marks are none of your business)?

Oh no! Unnamed past-player is concerned about an assistant coaching appointment for reasons which have nothing to do with his coaching ability...

Can I ask a question; if Connolly knew Hird was going to get the gig at Essendon so early, and Wellman and Hird are such great mates, is there no way that Wellman would also have had this information?

Wow, hang on, more revelations.

2011 (Bailey's FOURTH year as coach) will be a real test? Better call the Herald Sun or Sandra Sully and let them know.

Is that "concerned" as in worried (I'm concerned about young Jimmy's marks in school) or as in interested (as far as I'm concerned, Jimmy's marks are none of your business)?

Concerned as in more interested in what is happening with the club. He said more past players are getting involved than in the Gardner era.

Concerned as in more interested in what is happening with the club. He said more past players are getting involved than in the Gardner era.

Well that's much better than the alternative.

Oh no! Unnamed past-player is concerned about an assistant coaching appointment for reasons which have nothing to do with his coaching ability...

Can I ask a question; if Connolly knew Hird was going to get the gig at Essendon so early, and Wellman and Hird are such great mates, is there no way that Wellman would also have had this information?

Wow, hang on, more revelations.

2011 (Bailey's FOURTH year as coach) will be a real test? Better call the Herald Sun or Sandra Sully and let them know.

It is pathetic I think some of you people that post on this site are really sick and evil people. You obviuosly do not care abould the Melbourne Football Club. I have supported the MFC for over 50 years and been a member now for 42 years. I want the club to be the best on and off the field. With some of you that carry on it sounds like you would like living under a dictatorship and never question what is happening.

I am sorry but I have been brought to think in Australia we are all able to reasonably give our opinions. The big point about this past player is the fact he is very confident that we can win a premiership in the near future. In the past he has not been like he is now.

He thought the appointment of Royal was OK in the situation. But he is worried with the coaching at both ends of the ground. As he said we are well covered in the midfield with the having Todd Viney at the club. He thought Todd would be vital in improving play around the ball-up and boundary situations with stoppages of play.

The other comment was that he thought 2011 will be the real test for Bailey. He saw signs in 2010 that Dean Bailey could be a very good coach.

I don't know who you are talking to and I don't really care. Past players can be insightful, they can an nuisance, and they can be ill informed - ie. they are just like the rest of us.

But this one sentence is at odds with everything I have seen so far under Bailey and his lieutenants. Our forward line is functioning better than most on conversions per I50 entry and we have multiple avenues to goal despite having kids surrounding a forward-cum-winger-cum-forward.

Our backline has been superb for two years now. Consistently dealing with more I50 entries than their repsective defenders down the other end of the ground.

It remains the midfield where we fall down. We are still being beaten in the clearances, and we still have problems running defensively.

Frankly, there are those jump on Mahoney very easily but find it difficult to criticise West.

His line is the only one underperforming in my opinion.

If we are to be as good as I think we can be in 2011 - two things will have to happen - our midfield will catch up with the rest of the team and we will have few injuries.

It is pathetic I think some of you people that post on this site are really sick and evil people. You obviuosly do not care abould the Melbourne Football Club. I have supported the MFC for over 50 years and been a member now for 42 years. I want the club to be the best on and off the field. With some of you that carry on it sounds like you would like living under a dictatorship and never question what is happening.

I am sorry but I have been brought to think in Australia we are all able to reasonably give our opinions. The big point about this past player is the fact he is very confident that we can win a premiership in the near future. In the past he has not been like he is now.

Apparently you would have me live in a dictatorship where I am not allowed to challenge your opinion.

I just don't get why some on this site are happy to challenge others' opinions, but when someone challenges their opinion they are "evil and sick" and "don't care about the club."

I won't even go into defending myself on the last point, I'll leave that up to what I know and others can make their own minds up if they wish.

So its just a past players opinion, so what? If you ask a 100 past players their opinions on Royal you will get every kind of divergent opinion possible.

So its just a past players opinion, so what? If you ask a 100 past players their opinions on Royal you will get every kind of divergent opinion possible.

Well said, let's just trust the Footy Dept and enjoy next season, my opinion on his past record, another highly experienced mountaineer joins at the base camp ready for the climb

I am really pleased that we are getting some hard core experience back into the coaching ranks. Viney and Royal are both seasoned campaigners with know how and both have the discomfort of unfinished business twisting their guts but for different reasons. These are the guys we want.

Couldn't agree more. Royal brings a great depth of experience to our coaching group - including recent experience at a club with such a strong defensive mindset that it has played in the last 2 (3!) Grand Finals.

At Melbourne he has the opportunity to take charge of an emerging group on the way up .... which makes it a good career move for him. He has commanded respect across the competition for a number of years. St.Kilda's loss and our gain

Apparently you would have me live in a dictatorship where I am not allowed to challenge your opinion.

I just don't get why some on this site are happy to challenge others' opinions, but when someone challenges their opinion they are "evil and sick" and "don't care about the club."

I won't even go into defending myself on the last point, I'll leave that up to what I know and others can make their own minds up if they wish.

I hope you get better 45hg!!

Seriously you are spot. And if a poster cant be rightly for challenged for verbatim parroting an ex-player (who ever that might be) who is only giving his opinion then it is indeed a dictatorship. And I cant work why the poster thinks that barracking for the Club for 50 years and been a member for 42 years put them ob any higher scale than their own confused sense of self importance.

Like I said before people can always get a blog.....

I have just had a very interesting conversation with a respected past player of the club. He is not 100% happy about the Brian Royal appoinment as well. However for different reasons. He has no worries with Royal as a coach. What he said was that Chris Connolly stuffed up the situation. He said he was told half way through the season that Knights would be sacked and Hird appointed the new coach of Essendon. Connolly should have known that and that Wellman and Hird are good friends. So therefore as he said Connolly should have nailed Wellman down with a water tight contract with very short time to sign to see if he wanted to stay at Melbourne towards the end of the season. The other reason is that the timing was bad for the football department. He thought the appointment of Royal was OK in the situation. But he is worried with the coaching at both ends of the ground. As he said we are well covered in the midfield with the having Todd Viney at the club. He thought Todd would be vital in improving play around the ball-up and boundary situations with stoppages of play.

The other comment was that he thought 2011 will be the real test for Bailey. He saw signs in 2010 that Dean Bailey could be a very good coach.

He also said that he expects all Melbourne people to yes support the club but make sure that the right decisions are made. As he said we have had the head in the sand period that could have sunk the club. The past players he speaks to are now more concerned with what is happening at the club. He said we have a very healthy situation at the club and we all should make sure it stays that way.

You are always quoting some unnamed player, or unnamed former board member, or an unnamed source at the club, it seems to me as if all you do with your life is collect dirt from people that have a grudge against the club but are not prepared to come out and declare it publicly. I have never seen you come out and say an unnamed former player was happy with the appointment of anyone at the club be it a coach, player or even a rookie so why don't you just wander off back to Demonology and continue to give them the benefit of your seemingly countless unnamed sources.

Others have already covered most of he rest of your post so I won't waste my time going over it again.

Just quickly 45 - as of last night Sandra Sully no longer does the late news...

But this one sentence is at odds with everything I have seen so far under Bailey and his lieutenants. Our forward line is functioning better than most on conversions per I50 entry and we have multiple avenues to goal despite having kids surrounding a forward-cum-winger-cum-forward.

This was true in 2009, but in 2010 we were only ranked 10th for goals per i50, and 12th for total scores per i50.

Our backline has been superb for two years now. Consistently dealing with more I50 entries than their repsective defenders down the other end of the ground.

This is where we are really falling down. Ranked 16th for 2010 (below Essendon, who were criticised for no defensive pressure, FFS!)

IMO, the real thing that needs looking into is defensive pressure in the midfield/HBF. The amount of times a game we'd get the ball to the centre of the ground only to see it coming straight back was incredibly frustrating.

What he said was that Chris Connolly stuffed up the situation. He said he was told half way through the season that Knights would be sacked and Hird appointed the new coach of Essendon. Connolly should have known that and that Wellman and Hird are good friends. So therefore as he said Connolly should have nailed Wellman down with a water tight contract with very short time to sign to see if he wanted to stay at Melbourne towards the end of the season.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't he sign a contract extension with the club before welching and going to Essendon? Seems to me that the FD did what they could to keep him....

It is pathetic I think some of you people that post on this site are really sick and evil people. You obviuosly do not care abould the Melbourne Football Club. I have supported the MFC for over 50 years and been a member now for 42 years. I want the club to be the best on and off the field. With some of you that carry on it sounds like you would like living under a dictatorship and never question what is happening.

I am sorry but I have been brought to think in Australia we are all able to reasonably give our opinions. The big point about this past player is the fact he is very confident that we can win a premiership in the near future. In the past he has not been like he is now.

That is it.

You lose credibility entirely with a post like this.

I'm evil because I think you are overtly and unnecessarily negative?!

From now on, until you show some sanity - I will not take the opinion of Sdemon53 seriously.

Change your name, or your attitude.

I have just had a very interesting conversation with a respected past player of the club. He is not 100% happy about the Brian Royal appoinment as well. However for different reasons. He has no worries with Royal as a coach. What he said was that Chris Connolly stuffed up the situation. He said he was told half way through the season that Knights would be sacked and Hird appointed the new coach of Essendon. Connolly should have known that and that Wellman and Hird are good friends. So therefore as he said Connolly should have nailed Wellman down with a water tight contract with very short time to sign to see if he wanted to stay at Melbourne towards the end of the season. The other reason is that the timing was bad for the football department. He thought the appointment of Royal was OK in the situation. But he is worried with the coaching at both ends of the ground. As he said we are well covered in the midfield with the having Todd Viney at the club. He thought Todd would be vital in improving play around the ball-up and boundary situations with stoppages of play.

The other comment was that he thought 2011 will be the real test for Bailey. He saw signs in 2010 that Dean Bailey could be a very good coach.

He also said that he expects all Melbourne people to yes support the club but make sure that the right decisions are made. As he said we have had the head in the sand period that could have sunk the club. The past players he speaks to are now more concerned with what is happening at the club. He said we have a very healthy situation at the club and we all should make sure it stays that way.

I try pretty hard not get too personal on this site, but i've got a funny feeling you are completely full of 'manure' to word it nicely. This smacks of a lame attempt to fictionalize some support for your theories. To be honest, I hope I am wrong.

......................... What he said was that Chris Connolly stuffed up the situation. He said he was told half way through the season that Knights would be sacked and Hird appointed the new coach of Essendon. Connolly should have known that and that Wellman and Hird are good friends. So therefore as he said Connolly should have nailed Wellman down with a water tight contract with very short time to sign to see if he wanted to stay at Melbourne towards the end of the season. ......................

I don't accept that CC "stuffed up the situation". There's no way I would want Wellman at Melbourne, if he had even the slightest preference to be at Essendon with his mate Hird. We need 100% commitment, not 99.9%.

And how do you / we know that CC didn't try to nail Wellman down with a watertight contract? There's every chance that Wellman would have been holding both options open until all the boxes fell into place at Essendon. It takes both parties to agree to a watertight contract.

I have just had a very interesting conversation with a respected past player of the club. He is not 100% happy about the Brian Royal appoinment as well. However for different reasons. He has no worries with Royal as a coach. What he said was that Chris Connolly stuffed up the situation. He said he was told half way through the season that Knights would be sacked and Hird appointed the new coach of Essendon. Connolly should have known that and that Wellman and Hird are good friends. So therefore as he said Connolly should have nailed Wellman down with a water tight contract with very short time to sign to see if he wanted to stay at Melbourne towards the end of the season.

I may have respected your mate as a player ..... but I certainly don't respect his knowledge of today's AFL coaching relationships ......

For a Melbourne man , your mate must be closer to Essendon than David Evans is - if he knew half way through the season that Hird would be coach in 2011. Have you asked him why he didn't tell pass on this information to Chris Connolly at the time? While you are at it I suggest you explain to him that no contract has ever been sufficiently watertight to keep people away from their mates.

This bloke might be a good friend of yours - but if I were you I'd take his opinions on the Melbourne Footy Club with a large grain of salt in the future.

[Just a thought : Did your mate play in the 80's? Was he a midfielder -cum- back pocket player? You might just like to make sure that Chris Connolly didn't take his place in the team!]

This was true in 2009, but in 2010 we were only ranked 10th for goals per i50, and 12th for total scores per i50.

This is where we are really falling down. Ranked 16th for 2010 (below Essendon, who were criticised for no defensive pressure, FFS!)

IMO, the real thing that needs looking into is defensive pressure in the midfield/HBF. The amount of times a game we'd get the ball to the centre of the ground only to see it coming straight back was incredibly frustrating.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't he sign a contract extension with the club before welching and going to Essendon? Seems to me that the FD did what they could to keep him....

I was told he only agreed to stay on at the club and that he signed no contract. Like the rest of us I can only go on reports and what we are told. I think the message I got was that we may have missed getting a specialist defensive coach because of the situation.