Mark Neeld - On The Couch

[Guest melbman]

There's this 2.20 piece about the Grant slur http://www.foxsports...8-1226316949059

edit: if anyone has a link to more of the interview 'twould be appreciated :-)

Edited April 3, 2012 by melbman

[Fitz Fitzpatrick 886]

Excellent post. I was at the game and I felt Neeld was speaking to ME and telling ME what I wanted to know and hear. Everyone else in the press can please themselves. The kerfuffle about the conference is just a sign that for once we get some honest emotion and thinking , not cliche-driven garbage the likes of Malthouse, Ratten and Co produced.

As another poster said yesterday, don't look for Watts, Clark and Co as the answer.

Neeld , Missen, Craig are the answer for us. The cattle will come and be developed. Some are already on board - MAGNER!

The most sense Ive read since the game. Very good post. Lets stop wringing our hands. This is a multi year process with many setbacks along the way. Too many people , including Demonland regulars and the media have over rated this list. I believe MFC will taste success and see an era of success in the medium to long term but this list wont do it. This is Neelds blank canvas. Some will stay and I feel in hindsight we may all be a bit suprised as to who forms that core. The current "kids" will be the team middle to older players with plenty of top recruits picked up in the fortcoming not so successful couple of years. Now all you posters that crave instant success wont like to hear that but we are kidding ourselves about this 2014 premiership window. The trade and draft picks in the next 2 to 3 years are going to be where we find the guns.

[Guest gidon]

TBH I'm sick of all the talk from the club, but Mark has had a baptism of fire start to his coaching career and I feel for him. I can't help but think the media are surrounding the wounded club and Mark is standing up well under very difficult circumstances. Particulary as he is a pup in his role.

Having said this he may have dug a hole for himself with his tough man talk without a run on the board. I support our coach but I want actions not words. All Marks words may come back to haunt him further, I fear.

[Guest Jackie]

One of Neelds most bristling moments came when he wondered aloud as to was the source of the racist allegations. I got the impression he may have known who it was. As this is to do with in house information could it have been an inside job?

[Bonkers 994]

One of Neelds most bristling moments came when he wondered aloud as to was the source of the racist allegations. I got the impression he may have known who it was. As this is to do with in house information could it have been an inside job?

Of course it is an inside job, the only reason anyone outside the club would go with the information is if it was from an inside source. Many aspects of 186 still haven't been answered & it makes you wonder which of the senior players is responsible for airing the dirty laundry to Caroline Wilson etc continuously over the last year or whether it is someone in the FD that wasn't moved on last year.

[Dr. Gonzo 24,199]

Aren't Mahoney, Viney & Royal the only ones left?

[rpfc 28,280]

Of course it is an inside job, the only reason anyone outside the club would go with the information is if it was from an inside source. Many aspects of 186 still haven't been answered & it makes you wonder which of the senior players is responsible for airing the dirty laundry to Caroline Wilson etc continuously over the last year or whether it is someone in the FD that wasn't moved on last year.

Aren't Mahoney, Viney & Royal the only ones left?

Don't do this...

Many thought that Henry Kissenger was Deep Throat.

It ended up bieng an Associate Director of the FBI...

[dee-luded 2,959]

If you heard the interview last night then I will ask you this

How do you actually know what the game plan is ? Neeld stated clearly that the plan wasnt successfully executed and it has a long way to go before the players play as he would like.

We bemoaned last year that we played uncontested footy but we have the reverse this year - we went at 52% of our possessions being contested - unheard of. ( geelong averaged last year 39% and Swans who are the benchmark for contested footy go at 44%).

It seems the players have to an extent taken on his message of getting the contested footy but Neeld said he was worried about the overall possession count. What we are missing is the uncontested footy - this comes from not running and spreading hard enough.

Criticising the game plan at this stage is like saying " I really hated the film the godfather - I walked out during the opening credits"

Too many drawn in too close to the contest. But expect this, until all our Players trust one another to all go in, head down after the Pill. an over reaction Yes, bit I'd rather that than Not going after the Pill. The trust....

The trust will come, when players get used to seeing all others go in & win a majority of contests....

When this happens the players will start intuitively to know when to go, & when to peel off.

That is when we'll see the fruits of the new broom.

[dee-luded 2,959]

just watched it for the first time, not sure what some people are talking about, i thought he was honest, firm and refreshing. Something we have ALL wanted and said we NEED at the MFC for years, and now we have it we still complain!

I think some people on here are just never going to be happy...

Nervous Nellies, because they don't Understand whats happening, taking place at our club. Most people can't trust in what they just don't get, & why should they? It's a natural Human trait.

[Arsene Wenger 72]

Of course it is an inside job, the only reason anyone outside the club would go with the information is if it was from an inside source. Many aspects of 186 still haven't been answered & it makes you wonder which of the senior players is responsible for airing the dirty laundry to Caroline Wilson etc continuously over the last year or whether it is someone in the FD that wasn't moved on last year.

Who says it's coming from inside the club?

If it's blatantly untrue it could be coming from anywhere.

If I were to guess, I'd have thought it was coming from Collingwood.

Angry Eddie has been making threats, and was completely abusive in his behaviour towards the club in the Jurrah situation.

Spreading rumours is not beyond him, to destabilise us in retaliation for "poaching" their assistant, retiring player and physio.

Not to mention gunning for their deputy head of recruiting - this could be a tactic to make us look less enticing to him.

[Bonkers 994]

Don't do this...

Many thought that Henry Kissenger was Deep Throat.

It ended up bieng an Associate Director of the FBI...

My point was that journalists don't just make things up, if they did they would be without a job pretty quickly. The first example that comes to mind are the allegations regarding Matt Rendell. The smoke initially came from a source & the source was later found. I'm glad Neeld has asked the AFL to do their own enquiry, whether or not we will ever find out the results of it is another story.

[Bonkers 994]

Who says it's coming from inside the club?

If it's blatantly untrue it could be coming from anywhere.

If I were to guess, I'd have thought it was coming from Collingwood.

Angry Eddie has been making threats, and was completely abusive in his behaviour towards the club in the Jurrah situation.

Spreading rumours is not beyond him, to destabilise us in retaliation for "poaching" their assistant, retiring player and physio.

Not to mention gunning for their deputy head of recruiting - this could be a tactic to make us look less enticing to him.

How do you explain all the murmurings regarding Cam Schwab from Caroline Wilson repeatedly last year, do you think Eddie made up those rumours as well? Give me a break, something stinks at the club & the sooner the club deals with it the better off we will all be.

[Arsene Wenger 72]

How do you explain all the murmurings regarding Cam Schwab from Caroline Wilson repeatedly last year, do you think Eddie made up those rumours as well? Give me a break, something stinks at the club & the sooner the club deals with it the better off we will all be.

I don't know where they came from, but they weren't proven to be true either.

If it makes you feel better to believe everything is coming out of the club, then good on you.

Journalists these days show a blatant disregard for ethics.

And I don't see what Neeld would think he was achieving by involving the AFL in a witch hunt, if it's an internal issue.

Anyway, along your line of thinking, it sounds like you'd be settling on Royal.

[Demon Disciple 12,072]

Well I have some doubt.

I actually joined in, because I was particularly unhappy with the umpiring at the time, and figured the booing was for exactly that (since only an idiot would boo the players in the circumstances).

How many others could have done the same?

Are you kidding me? Those boos, particularly at 3/4 time were definitely for the woeful performance put on by the players. Sure the umpiring wasn't great, but they did not cost us the game, we did that all on our own.

The players were booed and rightfully so. Do these guys realise that their earning average is roughly 4 times that of the average Australians? They have it so good, and seem intent on putting in half-arsed efforts. If they were in an everyday normal job, many would have been given the arse. Too many have had it too good, for too long. I don't care if Neeld does get half the list off-side, at least he is trying to worm out those who don't deserve to be there.

Edited April 3, 2012 by Demon Disciple

[demoniac 1,330]

Great post.

At the moment Mark Neeld is like a cheapskate hypnotist in his dealings with the media. He is just a populist and the Demonland mob applauds him for it.

It appears that Neeld has put the fear of god into the players and, when combined with a defensive boundary orientated game plan, this has resulted in a kick it long down the line style. His rantings will only decrease the players’ confidence to take the game on.

The modern AFL game is so quick to change that it is difficult to predict where it will head. IMO implementing a game plan that will take years to learn and adjust to is nonsensical. We need a game plan that makes the most of our strengths and conceals our weaknesses so we can compete here and now.

Well lets talk about the 'strengths' of the team. Neeld and Misson have made it clear that our players level of fitness was well below the level of the players at the 2 clubs they came from who have won or played in Grand Finals in recent years. So fitness levels are not a strength we can play to. Do you understand what that means? Are you angry that under Bailey our players were not prepared to the elite fitness levels of players at the Saints and Pies. How can we compete with the best if don't match their fitness levels?

Paul Roos, Michael Malthouse and others have similarly commented on our complete lack of a hard defensive ethos and the fact that under Bailey we consistently defended from out defensive 50 when other teams were trying to force turnovers in their backine or midfield utilising the press. So defence was not a strength under Bailey.

In short it is not Neeld driving the cultural change at Melbourne its the game itself. Our players have been living in Dreamland coasting through pre seasons and playing unaccountable footy in season. I don't want another rebuild I want a Coach who will demand elite standards of fitness and who will implement a durable game plan that will stand up under pressure and who will demand the players adhere to it.

Edited April 3, 2012 by demoniac

[Bonkers 994]

I don't know where they came from, but they weren't proven to be true either.

If it makes you feel better to believe everything is coming out of the club, then good on you.

Journalists these days show a blatant disregard for ethics.

And I don't see what Neeld would think he was achieving by involving the AFL in a witch hunt, if it's an internal issue.

Anyway, along your line of thinking, it sounds like you'd be settling on Royal.

I'm not settling for a name, that would be ridiculous. Why would a journalist risk their own reputation & continuously put forward unsubstantiated damning articles based on fiction? There has to be a source.

In this case if I was Mark Neeld I would be considering having my own private investigation as well as the AFL's. He would have grounds to sue on defamation of character charges I would think. There is no way he should have to deal with that type of false allegation & whoever was Grant Thomas's source needs to be dealt with whether they are inside or outside the club.

[daisycutter 29,605]

My point was that journalists don't just make things up, if they did they would be without a job pretty quickly. The first example that comes to mind are the allegations regarding Matt Rendell. The smoke initially came from a source & the source was later found. I'm glad Neeld has asked the AFL to do their own enquiry, whether or not we will ever find out the results of it is another story.

LOL. Ever heard of or read the Truth?

[Bonkers 994]

LOL. Ever heard of or read the Truth?

Ok, fair enough the wording of that statement could have been better thought out, however when you break something as serious as this as a journo you are risking your career without having a source of information.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/afl/hurt-mark-neeld-demands-afl-find-race-claim-source/story-fnctrk3q-1226316946582

[Bossdog 2,002]

LOL. Ever heard of or read the Truth?

I reckon Thomas must be responsible for the comments he made who ever his sourse is. He is the one who put it in print,and still no apology

[daisycutter 29,605]

Ok, fair enough the wording of that statement could have been better thought out, however when you break something as serious as this as a journo you are risking your career without having a source of information.

http://www.heraldsun...q-1226316946582

I reckon Thomas must be responsible for the comments he made who ever his sourse is. He is the one who put it in print,and still no apology

agreed, its his responsibility....was only joshing. The image of journos not making things up made me LOL

[Demon17 5,187]

We bemoaned last year that we played uncontested footy but we have the reverse this year - we went at 52% of our possessions being contested - unheard of. ( geelong averaged last year 39% and Swans who are the benchmark for contested footy go at 44%).

At the 20 minute mark of Q1 the tackle count was 15 to 5 our way and there was no way the Lions could get out of thier defensive 50. And we were 11 points up at the break. Small steps I know - but I saw this as a start and something I hadn't seen for a long time. They did this to the Pies in the NAB cup also.

[Arsene Wenger 72]

Robbo interview with Neeld uploaded yesterday:

edit: I only just saw it, but it's obviously from before the Lions match.

Edited April 3, 2012 by Arsene Wenger

[nutbean 8,838]

My point was that journalists don't just make things up, if they did they would be without a job pretty quickly.

You mean like Grant Thomas and his blog ?

[Bonkers 994]

You mean like Grant Thomas and his blog ?

Pretty much! If the AFL investigate & he can't provide a source wouldn't surprise me if it came to that.

[Chook 15,012]

I can't quite get used to the raised right eyebrow and lip Neeld gets when he's answering some questions. It's like the whole right side of his face contracts and lifts up.

I've noticed that it's usually when he's uncomfortable or excited by the question.

Am I imagining this?

You're definitely not imagining it. He's got an involuntary twitch on the right side of his face, and it seems he had brain surgery to correct some "wandering nerves" around his left ear in 2010.

Source: http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/article/2010/11/23/228081_gfc.html