What point was On the Couch trying to make?

[The Third Eye 269]

A team that has 14 players on the injured list, that's young and that's coming to terms with a new style of play. A team that's supposedly irrelevant. A team that supposedly developed a bad culture by allegedly tanking.

So what example do Gerard Healy and Paul Roos come up with to demonstrate the point they were apparently making?

A 203 centimetre Melbourne ruckman running down one of North's small men. I thought he was fantastic. Whatever people might think of Jake Spencer this was the antithesis of what these blokes set out to do on their show i.e. kick one of the AFL's clubs while they're down.

Pathetic.

[Ron Burgundy 8,584]

Couldn't agree more.

I was watching last night thinking 'geez these guys are a pack of bozos'.

It's bordering on un-Australian to continually put the slipper into the MFC like they do. And it's pathetic.

[McQueen 17,867]

One thing is for sure; there's an agenda behind all of this by someone who seriously has an axe to grind with the MFC.

[cowboy_from_hell 2,390]

If Sheehan gave a toss about the MFC at all he would shut his gob. I couldn't believe that straight up with Brock the questions were about Melbourne. You would think with all that Carltank have gone through there would be a lot to ask him.

[Whispering_Jack 30,672]

Good points. These people are so lazy they didn't even bother to find a passage of play that proved the point they were making.

In addition to that, the step from attributing the losing of games in 2009 to the creation of a culture that allegedly persists in 2012 without examining other factors that might have had an impact on the club's current situation is terribly sloppy journalism in my book. These blokes have been all over the place when it's come to their coverage of Melbourne this season. I'm not suggesting that things haven't gone wrong with the club this year but I think their analysis is poor and smacks of pushing an agenda.

[McQueen 17,867]

Couldn't agree more.

I was watching last night thinking 'geez these guys are a pack of bozos'.

It's bordering on un-Australian to continually put the slipper into the MFC like they do. And it's pathetic.

They've definitely lost me as a viewer.

[Johnny Karate 559]

I have no issue with the media giving us a whack - we deserve it. But I wouldn't watch On The Couch if you paid me - Iron Mike Sheahan just screams "punch me" from every orifice. "Tanking's bad mmmmmkay!".

I can just see Gerard cruising around Manly in an open top convertible, white sweater casually tied around his neck as he winks and flashes his false choppers at every bit of hot totty he sees at each set of red lights. A vacuous ninny with a silver platter complex.

Then there's Roosy who actually knows football but his blatant Swans bias makes him unlistenable. You know what Paul? Your bathwater may well be the nectar of the gods but just because every other club can't go out & get a "Hally" or a "Mummy" with an AFL sanctioned salary cap discount doesn't mean they all deserve to have a collective bucket of [censored] poured all over them.

Three tossers of the highest order.

[deestar 159]

Sheehan is a clown ... Never thought much of him and I dispise him as a Melb supporter. Bugger off we don't want you you pea hearted [censored]!

[cowboy_from_hell 2,390]

One problem is that in footy we all know winning hides a lot of issues. Maybe we should try that out next year. I would love to have Nathan Jones get on the couch and give all those agenda drivers an absolute spray. Release the hounds!

[jumbo returns 6,741]

I have no issue with the media giving us a whack - we deserve it. But I wouldn't watch On The Couch if you paid me - Iron Mike Sheahan just screams "punch me" from every orifice. "Tanking's bad mmmmmkay!".

I can just see Gerard cruising around Manly in an open top convertible, white sweater casually tied around his neck as he winks and flashes his false choppers at every bit of hot totty he sees at each set of red lights. A vacuous ninny with a silver platter complex.

Then there's Roosy who actually knows football but his blatant Swans bias makes him unlistenable. You know what Paul? Your bathwater may well be the nectar of the gods but just because every other club can't go out & get a "Hally" or a "Mummy" with an AFL sanctioned salary cap discount doesn't mean they all deserve to have a collective bucket of [censored] poured all over them.

Three tossers of the highest order.

I love this post.

Earlier this year I was lambasted for calling Roos a [censored] of the highest order and was roared down. So sick of his 'Swannies this' and 'Swannies that' - he, too, has had it in for this club all year. He's such a p*ick.

[Flemo56 409]

It's really [censored] me off that none of the journalistic bozo's that iv'e read or heard on this Brock crap has asked about his so called move to carlTANK, wasn't it common knowledge they EXPERIMENTED as well, FMD, Brereton did say that there was more to his move than the EXPERIMENT, slow, not needed………insider 2nite.

The great man has passed, now they want our IRRELEVANT club to die, is this what it's come too……….well F..KOFF vultures, DEMONS DONT DIE.

[Redleg 41,443]

They've definitely lost me as a viewer.

And me.

[Wells 11 5,422]

The great man has passed, now they want our IRRELEVANT club to die, is this what it's come too……….well F..KOFF vultures, DEMONS DONT DIE.

It really IS an us against them culture out there isnt it. Everyone wants to kick us..as a club and as supporters. It could be more great motivation for the players to hang tight and shove it up everyone. If the Dees, as the oldest club in the AFL, are irrelevant then so is the game itself.

[rumpole 522]

What about the hypocrite Roos who, as coach of the Swans tanked all the way through every NAB Cup series while he was coach and openly flaunted the spirit of the competition?

It was good enough for him to pick inferior sides and experiment with players for the long term good of his club, wasn't it?

[dee-luded 2,959]

One thing is for sure; there's an agenda behind all of this by someone who seriously has an axe to grind with the MFC.

McChinn?

[McQueen 17,867]

McChinn?

Possibly. Conveniently in London, there could be more to our push for Cloke, dirty on several other factors such as Neelds departure and Malthouses behind the scenes mentoring and of course there's the obvious Foxtel stink about the whole thing.

Who knows. We've had other fools like Kennett having a go to on and off.

[Longsufferingnomore 1,646]

I can feel a Caro scoop coming.

[Longsufferingnomore 1,646]

This is just getting worse with Paul Johnson, John Meesen, Nathan Brown (Rich) all being quoted. I wonder if they (media) will go to James McDonald who was Captain. Robbo has written an article in the Sun baying for our blood. This is not good.

[The heart beats true 18,145]

It's a slow news week is all. The talk before this came up was that the season is too long and that it's getting boring. This is a manufactured story being pushed by a group of people who rely on there being something to write about. If Scott Thompson had to face the tribunal then this would have been much less of an issue.

Hopefully the AFL's investigation will take 5-6 weeks. This will take us to mid September when there is much bigger footy stories. Hopefully between now and then a couple of players hit there 3rd drug strike and Wayne Carey and Ricky Nixon stay busy and this will all be forgotten about.

[beelzebub 23,383]

This is called a Can of Worms. The AFL will be well aware of it. It wil lbe investigated and there will be a finding of no evidence to unequivocally accuse any club for inapprropriate or untoward behaviours. The AFL is more than likely to find that clubs still have the right to self dertmination where it comes to team development.

If it doesnt it would get very messy for more than a few clubs. The AFL would be under seige. It cant let that happen. It will perform its own Royal Commision-like whitewash.

[The heart beats true 18,145]

This is just getting worse with Paul Johnson, John Meesen, Nathan Brown (Rich) all being quoted. I wonder if they (media) will go to James McDonald who was Captain. Robbo has written an article in the Sun baying for our blood. This is not good.

Johnson certainly doesn't call it tanking. His story is very similar to what we are doing now.

Nathan Brown is a paid media commentator. His account of this can't be seen as being very relevant in light of that. He has nothing to lose and everything to gain by placing himself in the centre of this (when really it has nothing to do with him and he can offer no insight that anyone that watches that game on TV can't see).

[beelzebub 23,383]

Hes just pissy cause we broke the little squirts leg and finished him off !!

[s-t-i-n-g-a 439]

I thought Johnsons comments were fairly measured and a reflection of the time.

[beelzebub 23,383]

I thought Johnsons comments were fairly measured and a reflection of the time.

The problem, if it such , is that these media hyhenas are going to look for any way of re intepreting anything said in order to justify their claims. They'll recut the cloth to suit their design !!

[MadAsHell 4,215]

I've got two theories on the agenda. One I've mentioned in another thread already.

That being that it's a hand grenade thrown by Carlton to throw some negative publicity our way in the hope that it puts Cloke off coming here and goes to carlton instead. Cartank may know that we have more money to offer and maybe Cloke's seriously thinking of the move?

Second is it's the AFL that's behind the story. Far fetched I know, but with the Olympics having just started, and with the AFL at risk of having secondary media coverage for the next 2 weeks they\re after some big news to stay top of the sports news for a bit? Then in two weeks time they can say there's no hard evidence to suggest that Melbourne tanked around the same time the Olympics finishes up.

While some people would say why would the AFL want a story like this out, making them look foolish? Remember the old saying. Any publicity is good publicity.