Interesting (and depressing) the number of people who believe that while this year may not be the worst on field it is the one giving them the least hope for the future. I am 180 degrees the other way. As appalling as the on field performance has been this year, I have much more hope for the future than I had at any time in the Bailey years.

To me, Bailey's downhill skiier game plan was always going to give us wins against poor opposition but have us blasted out of the park by any team with a strong defensive style. Under that scenario, we may eventually have played finals, but never got any higher than perhaps about 6th.

Now I believe we're building a team that can challenge in the future. And I don't mean the very distant future. I don't expect finals in 2013, but 2014 will be a possibility.

And for what it's worth, I'm old enough to remember the late 60s and the 70s. I reckon we were much, much worse then. We may have won more games, but the distance between us and the top was much greater. We won more games, because there were other teams down there with us (Fitzroy, South Melbourne, Footscray and North Melbourne until the early 70s).

For all you without hope, please do not give up. The tide will turn.

Great post LDC. You are spot on.

Rr, I gave neeld a chance. I have no agenda but to win games of footy.

Ps, arnt you the bloke that thought jones was no good? Yes

Pps, also, arnt you the one that blindly followed Bailey? Yes

Ppps, and your the bloke who wanted neeld over malthouse? Yes

Rr, your opinions have zero merit. You are a mental pigmie, who obviously inherited money because you lack of clarity, insight and perspective would leave you almost unemployable. I have had enough of your personal attacks against players who give 100%, but are coached by b graders.

Your opinions are worse than useless, they are downright wrong.

To me, you are the only one on this site that disgusts me. An arrogant loser.

This is taking things a bit far mate. I enjoy a bit of heated debate but this is just plain rude. There's no need for personal attacks.

looking back i find it funny how attitudes have changed.

We dumped bailey and said

'a new coach with a sembilence of a game plan is all we need, our list is ready to take the next step, its talented, it just needs direction'

2012 Preseason and first few games

'Neeld is a hard case, he'll turn these spoilt brats into a good diciplined side, might take time but we have the footy department to turn this talented list into a decent AFL team'

and now

'Dont judge Neeld on 2012 because he's only had the team for 5 mins. The list is garbage and we need to make wholesale changes to the list in order for Neeld's master plan to take shape, we'll be good in another 2 years....'

I fear that a more experienced coach would have been able to implement a game style that allowed us to beat the teams we could beat under bailey, and get us to be more competative against the power clubs.

We have Neeld for 3 years and he has a plan which is something we havent seemed to have for a while, but theres plenty of ways to get from A - B. I think we could have gotten to B in a less drastic manner and saved us all alot of pain!

Getting back to the start of my post i hope that 2013 is the start of some on field success becasue i'm sick of revising my expectations on when we might be any good

And if you're going to call someone a mental "pigmie", at least learn how to spell the word before you do so.

Otherwise people might think "your a baffon".

Alright, I have high enough self esteem to say that I read the first post and your reply and with my the sheer volume of laughter I think I may have pee'd a little in my pants.

Footnote - if I got to the stage of "without hope" as some on this board have, if my belief got to the stage of no belief at all that we will improve as some on this board think - I'd pretty much stop going to the football to see my team play.

Its a mindset - Im not suggesting it's a glass half empty or glass half full scenario. Our cattle (and I do mean cattle) are playing poorly and a fair few are just not up to it. But alas - I do not see the glass as 99% empty - I savor this glass that is 1% full.

looking back i find it funny how attitudes have changed.

We dumped bailey and said

'a new coach with a sembilence of a game plan is all we need, our list is ready to take the next step, its talented, it just needs direction'

2012 Preseason and first few games

'Neeld is a hard case, he'll turn these spoilt brats into a good diciplined side, might take time but we have the footy department to turn this talented list into a decent AFL team'

and now

'Dont judge Neeld on 2012 because he's only had the team for 5 mins. The list is garbage and we need to make wholesale changes to the list in order for Neeld's master plan to take shape, we'll be good in another 2 years....'

I fear that a more experienced coach would have been able to implement a game style that allowed us to beat the teams we could beat under bailey, and get us to be more competative against the power clubs.

We have Neeld for 3 years and he has a plan which is something we havent seemed to have for a while, but theres plenty of ways to get from A - B. I think we could have gotten to B in a less drastic manner and saved us all alot of pain!

Getting back to the start of my post i hope that 2013 is the start of some on field success becasue i'm sick of revising my expectations on when we might be any good

You missed the attitude that has remained consistent throughout, we don't have a midfield, nor a star or two.And I don't recall what is bolded.

looking back i find it funny how attitudes have changed.

We dumped bailey and said

'a new coach with a sembilence of a game plan is all we need, our list is ready to take the next step, its talented, it just needs direction'

2012 Preseason and first few games

'Neeld is a hard case, he'll turn these spoilt brats into a good diciplined side, might take time but we have the footy department to turn this talented list into a decent AFL team'

and now

'Dont judge Neeld on 2012 because he's only had the team for 5 mins. The list is garbage and we need to make wholesale changes to the list in order for Neeld's master plan to take shape, we'll be good in another 2 years....'

I fear that a more experienced coach would have been able to implement a game style that allowed us to beat the teams we could beat under bailey, and get us to be more competative against the power clubs.

We have Neeld for 3 years and he has a plan which is something we havent seemed to have for a while, but theres plenty of ways to get from A - B. I think we could have gotten to B in a less drastic manner and saved us all alot of pain!

Getting back to the start of my post i hope that 2013 is the start of some on field success becasue i'm sick of revising my expectations on when we might be any good

You're mistaking optimism for false hope. I don't think they're the same thing.

You missed the attitude that has remained consistent throughout, we don't have a midfield, nor a star or two.And I don't recall what is bolded.

fair call, although in 2010 i would have told you that we'd have a midfield in 2012 that would be far more effective than the one we run out with currently