Neeld apologists ... state your case.

[Older demon 2,741]

Neeld 'is what he is' and nothing is going to change. He's not suddenly going to change his coaching philosophy's and let the team play in a far more enterprising way with an instinct to attack with flair and purpose. It ain't going to happen. If it were to happen we would have seen evidence of it in the last 3rd of last season.

Besides which, he's been drilling the players 24/7 into playing 'his way' so much, that they're most possibly incapable of change - at least under him anyway. No .... what you see is what you get and we can expect more of the same unfortunately. He's is so tunnel visioned with his beliefs that he's probably convinced himself that he can't be wrong.

Things could get so bad that it could easily become a lot harder to recover. We're already in an quite unstable position as a football club and if you think things are bad now, just wait until we put in another 7or 8 'performances' like yesterday. I put it into the '186' class. Perhaps even worse.

As pointed out by quite a few other posters - membership, crowd numbers, future sponsors, ability to attract free agents and so many other aspects of the club will be felt immediately. The truth is, the club lost a truckload of future dollars yesterday. This is a 'right now' issue and to ignore it would be football negligence.

I have nothing personal against Mark Neeld. He's probably a terrific bloke but he is a poor coach. His record speaks for itself. 1 win and 19 losses against legitimate opposition. And a stack of heavy losses amongst those 19 losses. The club is always bigger than any individual. The same rules apply to him as they do to everyone else.

Time for some hard decisions but I'm left wondering if we've got people at the club capable of making hard decisions. I've got zero faith in any of them.

Neeld has an unshakeable belief in himself and his coaching and that it is his way or the highway . That is why he didn't see it coming. He is hurting our brand BIG TIME and we cannot afford him 4 years to build his master plan . West Coast sacked ken Judge because he was hurting their multi million dollar brand so it isn't just about on field performance. Pity the President is in New Zealand this week and a long way from the heat. Winning changes culture and perception and gets the press of your back but I fear we don't have a game plan that can do that

[Pipefitter 2,162]

My gut feeling is that Neeld can't coach. He peed off a lot of players. A lot of players have gone backwards. Only jones and T-Mac have improved but i think that's more from being self driven than some magic words from Neeld. But with someone like Neil Craig overseeing his actions, if Neeld was completely not up to it surely he would have spoken up by now. Of maybe he already has and it's been swept under our evergrowing carpet. With this club who knows?

[rpfc 28,494]

My gut feeling is that Neeld can't coach. He peed off a lot of players. A lot of players have gone backwards. Only jones and T-Mac have improved but i think that's more from being self driven than some magic words from Neeld. But with someone like Neil Craig overseeing his actions, if Neeld was completely not up to it surely he would have spoken up by now. Of maybe he already has and it's been swept under our evergrowing carpet. With this club who knows?

We are going to find out over the course of a season that will define his coaching career.

We won't pay him out under half way through his term and there is no positives from it if we did.

There is a great deal of judgement being handed down on this site of late and while I applaud the passion and anger, the players, coaches, and admin will be given this year to save themsleves and show us movement in the right direction.

I am not an apologist - I am a realist.

I also know that the depths we have reached yesterday can only be exacerbated by the desire for blood by the supporters.

I want McLardy angry. I want the players angry. I want Neeld to realise that he has unwittingly sucked the life out of the group.

Here is a great opportunity for a playing group and a coach to show what they are made of.

We think they are weak, passionless, and incompetent. Completely unworthy of support and recognition as Demons.

The football world thinks they are irrelevant and worthless, a mockery of the competition.

Here is a chance to show that they are worth something, and that we, by extension, belong to something worth fighting for.

I hope they are ready for this. They have nothing to lose - they have already lost everything.

[iv'a worn smith 1,979]

I could post this on any of the threads, which have begun since last Sunday's debacle.

I certainly will not claim any high moral ground, I will not lay claim to knowing more than anyone else on here, I will not vent my spleen, which hurts as much as many other on here. I will not look for scapegoats and apportion blame in an effort to salve my wounds. Finding a plausible source to blame can make one feel better, even if it is just to say, "I told you so". Whatever anyone says on here, does not diminish the hurt any true Demons supporter would have felt after Sunday's travesty, which masqueraded as an AFL football team.

I am into my 43rd year as a paid up member. I cherish that. I am hoping I can make 50 years as a paid member, if my club lasts that long, or maybe, more importantly, I remain on this mortal coil long enough.

Since the demise of Daniher and on to Bailey, we have long debated, argued, berated and unfortunately, in some cases, abused fellow posters on here, for the theories proffered on the moribund nature of our footy club. It is and remains OUR footy club.

Like others on here, I have seen some pretty lean times for this footy club, beginning - for me - in the late 60's, throughout the entire 70's and into the early 80's. Barassi came and was trumpeted as the "Messiah", We were in safe, tried, true and tested hands. A stalwart of the club, who had returned home with an impressive coaching CV. We were presented with a much vaunted 5 year plan, which, for much of its tenure seemed not to amount to much, but it is with the benefit of hindsight that we only saw the fruits of RDB's labour, after Swooper Northey took the helm. As good a motivator as Northey was, he inherited a bunch of kids, mixed in with some experience, that had a true passion for the game, their club and most importantly each other.

Fast Forward to today. Footy is far different today, to what it was in Northey's time. It is increasingly more professional. competitive -both on and off the field - and the media glare is blindingly acute these days. But the old tenet of a belief and a passion for what you do remains as valid today, as it did then. Most of us on here - although our reasons and rationale may be different - have had to stomach ineptitude, lack of aggression at the footy, an absence of cohesion and what appears to be, a lack of belief (maybe trust) in each other. A clear recipe for football disaster.

Frankly, I have grown tired of the constant debate about what or who is to blame for our current and now chronic malaise, so I will not even attempt to sheet home the blame to any past or present operative of the MFC. All I know is that there is something seriously wrong with my footy club.

Watching Footy Classified last night, two things struck me. Garry Lyon, as a player, was a great servant of the Footy club. He was fiercely competitive and as a captain, would not tolerate anyone shirking the issue. He tried to help his great friend Jimmy Stynes, when big Jimma needed him, but steadfastly drew the line in the sand, when it came to a more formal and long term engagement with the footy club. Garry, I know you make a fair quid in the media and you are entitled to support your family to the best of your ability, but I sometimes I feel, for the sake of your media profile, headlines and ratings, you feign your "disgust" with Melbourne's current situation. Maybe - and I do not make any allegation here - you feel that through your various short term roles at the footy club, you might have actually been part of the problem. All I know is, if your passion is genuine, then we need someone like you, with your undeniable profile, to pitch in with a full commitment.

The second thing that struck me last night and while she tread carefully on the "tanking" allegations, Caroline Wilson asked Garry the question as to whether he thought the apparent priority of forsaking all else to secure first round draft picks, over almost a decade, had actually worked in reverse and negatively impacted the culture of the footy club. The graphic which was shown on the show, of Melbourne's first round draft picks since 2003, beginning with Sylvia and McLean was nothing short of an indictment on this footy club. I found myself nodding in agreement to what Wilson had put to Garry. Paul Roos has a similar train of thought, which he has spoken about several times. The other thing raised on AFL 360 by Gerard Whately is the lack of presence in the media of Cameron Schwab. This is particularly so since the "tanking" investigation debacle.

All I know is, my footy club appears to withering on the vine. I want survival and beyond and I will continue to aspire to meet 50 years of paid up membership, but the MFC has to realise sooner or later, that you can't keep dipping into the members well and asking for more. When you do so, there is an implicit contract that the Club enters into with its members. As tried, true and committed members, of course we will remain loyal to the "Team We Love", but as with any committed relationship, it should be a two way street.

Memo to Don McLardy: Don, you took on the mantle left by Jimmy and did it manfully. However, Members can no longer be expected to accept platitudes and "pollie" speak. We need action and we need it now. Please Don, speak to us.

[rjay 24,940]

I could post this on any of the threads, which have begun since last Sunday's debacle.

I certainly will not claim any high moral ground, I will not lay claim to knowing more than anyone else on here, I will not vent my spleen, which hurts as much as many other on here. I will not look for scapegoats and apportion blame in an effort to salve my wounds. Finding a plausible source to blame can make one feel better, even if it is just to say, "I told you so". Whatever anyone says on here, does not diminish the hurt any true Demons supporter would have felt after Sunday's travesty, which masqueraded as an AFL football team.

I am into my 43rd year as a paid up member. I cherish that. I am hoping I can make 50 years as a paid member, if my club lasts that long, or maybe, more importantly, I remain on this mortal coil long enough.

Since the demise of Daniher and on to Bailey, we have long debated, argued, berated and unfortunately, in some cases, abused fellow posters on here, for the theories proffered on the moribund nature of our footy club. It is and remains OUR footy club.

Like others on here, I have seen some pretty lean times for this footy club, beginning - for me - in the late 60's, throughout the entire 70's and into the early 80's. Barassi came and was trumpeted as the "Messiah", We were in safe, tried, true and tested hands. A stalwart of the club, who had returned home with an impressive coaching CV. We were presented with a much vaunted 5 year plan, which, for much of its tenure seemed not to amount to much, but it is with the benefit of hindsight that we only saw the fruits of RDB's labour, after Swooper Northey took the helm. As good a motivator as Northey was, he inherited a bunch of kids, mixed in with some experience, that had a true passion for the game, their club and most importantly each other.

Fast Forward to today. Footy is far different today, to what it was in Northey's time. It is increasingly more professional. competitive -both on and off the field - and the media glare is blindingly acute these days. But the old tenet of a belief and a passion for what you do remains as valid today, as it did then. Most of us on here - although our reasons and rationale may be different - have had to stomach ineptitude, lack of aggression at the footy, an absence of cohesion and what appears to be, a lack of belief (maybe trust) in each other. A clear recipe for football disaster.

Frankly, I have grown tired of the constant debate about what or who is to blame for our current and now chronic malaise, so I will not even attempt to sheet home the blame to any past or present operative of the MFC. All I know is that there is something seriously wrong with my footy club.

Watching Footy Classified last night, two things struck me. Garry Lyon, as a player, was a great servant of the Footy club. He was fiercely competitive and as a captain, would not tolerate anyone shirking the issue. He tried to help his great friend Jimmy Stynes, when big Jimma needed him, but steadfastly drew the line in the sand, when it came to a more formal and long term engagement with the footy club. Garry, I know you make a fair quid in the media and you are entitled to support your family to the best of your ability, but I sometimes I feel, for the sake of your media profile, headlines and ratings, you feign your "disgust" with Melbourne's current situation. Maybe - and I do not make any allegation here - you feel that through your various short term roles at the footy club, you might have actually been part of the problem. All I know is, if your passion is genuine, then we need someone like you, with your undeniable profile, to pitch in with a full commitment.

The second thing that struck me last night and while she tread carefully on the "tanking" allegations, Caroline Wilson asked Garry the question as to whether he thought the apparent priority of forsaking all else to secure first round draft picks, over almost a decade, had actually worked in reverse and negatively impacted the culture of the footy club. The graphic which was shown on the show, of Melbourne's first round draft picks since 2003, beginning with Sylvia and McLean was nothing short of an indictment on this footy club. I found myself nodding in agreement to what Wilson had put to Garry. Paul Roos has a similar train of thought, which he has spoken about several times. The other thing raised on AFL 360 by Gerard Whately is the lack of presence in the media of Cameron Schwab. This is particularly so since the "tanking" investigation debacle.

All I know is, my footy club appears to withering on the vine. I want survival and beyond and I will continue to aspire to meet 50 years of paid up membership, but the MFC has to realise sooner or later, that you can't keep dipping into the members well and asking for more. When you do so, there is an implicit contract that the Club enters into with its members. As tried, true and committed members, of course we will remain loyal to the "Team We Love", but as with any committed relationship, it should be a two way street.

Memo to Don McLardy: Don, you took on the mantle left by Jimmy and did it manfully. However, Members can no longer be expected to accept platitudes and "pollie" speak. We need action and we need it now. Please Don, speak to us.

I feel your pain 'Iva', for me I feel like the chances of me ever being able to celebrate a Melbourne flag are slipping away.

Unfortunately we don't get anything from Don until he has crafted a nice politically correct message with all the real soul taken out of it. A little like the on ground performances, to much thinking, no soul and very little doing when it needs to be done.

[old dee 23,792]

We are going to find out over the course of a season that will define his coaching career.

We won't pay him out under half way through his term and there is no positives from it if we did.

There is a great deal of judgement being handed down on this site of late and while I applaud the passion and anger, the players, coaches, and admin will be given this year to save themsleves and show us movement in the right direction.

I am not an apologist - I am a realist.

I also know that the depths we have reached yesterday can only be exacerbated by the desire for blood by the supporters.

I want McLardy angry. I want the players angry. I want Neeld to realise that he has unwittingly sucked the life out of the group.

Here is a great opportunity for a playing group and a coach to show what they are made of.

We think they are weak, passionless, and incompetent. Completely unworthy of support and recognition as Demons.

The football world thinks they are irrelevant and worthless, a mockery of the competition.

Here is a chance to show that they are worth something, and that we, by extension, belong to something worth fighting for.

I hope they are ready for this. They have nothing to lose - they have already lost everything.

A very reasoned approach and really the only way forward.

The problem is our ability to endure it rpfc.

I know I have started to shut down.

Re above I think that right now.