On 31/03/2013 at 05:52, Brian Wilson said:

You want to sack the coach after one match. That is just ridiculous. Everyone needs to take a deep breath and think about what you are saying. You can't sack a coach after round one. Get a grip.

It wasn't his first match tho was it...

  On 31/03/2013 at 05:51, Norm Smith said:

Is he a star though? Clearly he cant be bothered and I wonder whether he just had a good year and got ahead of himself. Rumours from his management he has wanted out for two years.

He was an All Australian in a garbage team two years ago.

Neeld came in and took away his natural game and his natural instincts. It's not as if the ball was coming down the backline less under Bailey.

I wouldn't blame him for wanting out. He is a wasted talent and he could be winning flags with Hawthorn or Collingwood or Carlton.

If we lost Frawley, make no mistake about it, it would be up there in terms of disasters than it we lost Clark.

  On 31/03/2013 at 05:57, stuie said:

It wasn't his first match tho was it...

Round one.

  On 31/03/2013 at 05:52, Brian Wilson said:

You want to sack the coach after one match. That is just ridiculous. Everyone needs to take a deep breath and think about what you are saying. You can't sack a coach after round one. Get a grip.

In everyone's defense it has been to long we as supporters accept this !

  On 31/03/2013 at 06:00, Brian Wilson said:

Round one.

Of his SECOND year.

  On 31/03/2013 at 05:44, Benson said:

I didn't want to say anything, but my source tells me that we are tanking. (Same source where Caroline Wilson gets her crap from)

We are not good enough to tank.

  On 31/03/2013 at 06:02, stuie said:

Of his SECOND year.

Put simply, he will be our coach next week, so we all need to get over it. He's not getting sacked any time soon.

  On 31/03/2013 at 06:33, Brian Wilson said:

Put simply, he will be our coach next week, so we all need to get over it. He's not getting sacked any time soon.

Agree on the first half, not so sure on the second...

  On 31/03/2013 at 06:33, Brian Wilson said:

Put simply, he will be our coach next week, so we all need to get over it. He's not getting sacked any time soon.

Sorry Brian, but that's the weak acceptance attitude which has left us where we are now! How many more times will this attitude be put forward before the courageous decisions are made!

  On 31/03/2013 at 06:39, Hardnut said:

Sorry Brian, but that's the weak acceptance attitude which has left us where we are now! How many more times will this attitude be put forward before the courageous decisions are made!

There are many actions that require courage that are also detrimental. Jumping off a cliff without a parachute springs to mind. So does sacking your coach after round one. Let's just see how the first half of the season plays out before we talk about sacking a coach.

I firmly believe that a team's support at the ground makes a big difference to the team's performance. Let's not let our 'support' turn into something else.

Whilst I would never advocate the sacking of a coach after one round of football I do believe the heat should be placed fairly and squarely on Neeld. He needs to show something. To date he has given us a game plan that we cannot execute. He needs to start to develop an alternate strategy that is more achievable for this playing group. He has also shown very little in terms of game day strategy. today he was completely out coached. The reality is Mark Neeld is going anywhere, to sack the coach would make us the laughing stock of the comp , if we aren't already.

  On 31/03/2013 at 06:46, Outside fifty said:

Whilst I would never advocate the sacking of a coach after one round of football I do believe the heat should be placed fairly and squarely on Neeld. He needs to show something. To date he has given us a game plan that we cannot execute. He needs to start to develop an alternate strategy that is more achievable for this playing group. He has also shown very little in terms of game day strategy. today he was completely out coached. The reality is Mark Neeld is going anywhere, to sack the coach would make us the laughing stock of the comp , if we aren't already.

We are at nothing to lose stage. No-one respects the MFC outside the club. Even inside the numbers appear to be dwindling.

I am not advocating sacking him in Round 1, we need to retain some sanity. But I am not at all opposed to the idea of him being let go this year if there is no improvement.

  On 31/03/2013 at 06:43, Brian Wilson said:

There are many actions that require courage that are also detrimental. Jumping off a cliff without a parachute springs to mind. So does sacking your coach after round one. Let's just see how the first half of the season plays out before we talk about sacking a coach.

I firmly believe that a team's support at the ground makes a big difference to the team's performance. Let's not let our 'support' turn into something else.

As you well know Brian, it is much longer than 'round one'- today was a critical point in time.

Mark Neeld is now under the pump. Big time.

Sack him? Not yet but today is just testament that the ENTIRE club is a rabble.

That we do know. Ken Hinkley coached his first game today.

Enough said.

  On 31/03/2013 at 06:52, Hardnut said:

As you well know Brian, it is much longer than 'round one'- today was a critical point in time.

I'd say important, but not critical. How the team responds to today's disaster will tell us whether or not Neeld is the right man for the job (and I don't mean simply next week's game).

There are quite a few posters on here who have changed their tune on Neeld in the space of one afternoon.

  On 31/03/2013 at 06:00, Brian Wilson said:

Round one.

And? Your point is?

  On 31/03/2013 at 05:08, P_Man said:

He gets defended vehemently on here but surely even his biggest supporters must of had their belief shaken to the core today. I've never felt that way watching Melbourne play. Not even 186 felt like this. To call it an abysmal Round 1 performance is being kind.

Tell me why I should hold onto my belief in this bloke. There's been alot of hot air, great sounding hot air at that, but NOTHING to back it up. Not a sausage.

Can the club survive another 2012? Seriously?

'Not even 186', you're getting a little over the top there.

It was a profoundly flat effort and shameful at a team level, and there's not a lot to take from it.

My position is - he has a contract, nothing is to be gained from hacking it now or any time before end of season at the least, we have a whole host of new players to get organised.

Also, nothing is to be gained from the weak sniping or speculation that just gives the media a cue on the angle to take their own weak sniping from.

If there's one thing I could ask of people, it'd be play the ball.

I'm a Neeld supporter - not an apologist.

And, in this regard, I don't feel the need to apologise for a coach who inherited a soft, unprofessional list and who, in a short period of time, has not been afraid to make strong decisions in an attempt to introduce a hard edged, professional culture to the club.

That we had a bad loss today doesn't change that.

I'd love to know which allegiances some of you guys would've maintained in Vichy France.

Show some heart.

  On 31/03/2013 at 07:03, Little Goffy said:

'Not even 186', you're getting a little over the top there.

It was a profoundly flat effort and shameful at a team level, and there's not a lot to take from it.

My position is - he has a contract, nothing is to be gained from hacking it now or any time before end of season at the least, we have a whole host of new players to get organised.

Also, nothing is to be gained from the weak sniping or speculation that just gives the media a cue on the angle to take their own weak sniping from.

If there's one thing I could ask of people, it'd be play the ball.

But the way we are coached, we can't get the ball, so how are we going to play it...

Let's be clear with a few things.

Neeld inherited the worst list in the AFL. He still has the worst list in the AFL; there's only so much you can do in 18 months. What Dean Bailey did to this club will be felt for years to come.

Having said that, Neeld has to take responsibility for coaching a side that continually fails to be competitive. All summer we heard about how we were aiming to be more competitive, about how we were aiming to win more quarters and lift our intensity and be harder and tougher. He's failed on all those counts. To come out in Round 1 of your second year after a year of complete crap and to show no visible sign of improvement, and to look exactly like you did the year before, is the fault (in part, at the least) of the coach.

If we 2013 goes like 2012 (not many wins, but worse, continually lacking in effort), there have to be serious questions over his position. But that shouldn't happen right now. We gain nothing by changing coaches right now. It may end up being the case that we gain a lot come the end of the year.

  On 31/03/2013 at 07:07, Ron Burgundy said:

I'm a Neeld supporter - not an apologist.

And, in this regard, I don't feel the need to apologise for a coach who inherited a soft, unprofessional list and who, in a short period of time, has not been afraid to make strong decisions in an attempt to introduce a hard edged, professional culture to the club.

That we had a bad loss today doesn't change that.

I'd love to know which allegiances some of you guys would've maintained in Vichy France.

Show some heart.

Ron, on today's effort (or lack of effort) it is the players who need to show some heart. Supporteres have been showing it for years but the well is fast running dry.

If Neeld was to go the core list of our players will be responsible for two coach sackings. What does that tell you? It tells me that our list is shithouse. Does anyone believe that our list with their fantastic chase and tackles,second efforts,kicking skills and fitness can challenge any team out there? I believe in Neeld because I don't believe in this list of players. I truely hope Neeld comes out with some honesty during the week. I hope he tells us the fans how hard it is to coach this team and how frustrated he is with these players. Yeah it may hurt the players but to the players I say welcome to our world. A coach usually gets one crack at the big time and for Neeld it is starting to look like the playing group at Melbourne will make it a horrid one.

  On 31/03/2013 at 07:31, titan_uranus said:

Let's be clear with a few things.

Neeld inherited the worst list in the AFL. He still has the worst list in the AFL; there's only so much you can do in 18 months. What Dean Bailey did to this club will be felt for years to come.

Rubbish. Bailey had the same list but got more wins from it. Simple as that. Neeld has proved NOTHING thus far.

  On 31/03/2013 at 07:07, Ron Burgundy said:

I'm a Neeld supporter - not an apologist.

And, in this regard, I don't feel the need to apologise for a coach who inherited a soft, unprofessional list and who, in a short period of time, has not been afraid to make strong decisions in an attempt to introduce a hard edged, professional culture to the club.

That we had a bad loss today doesn't change that.

I'd love to know which allegiances some of you guys would've maintained in Vichy France.

Show some heart.

Appreciate the response.

Attempted yes, but how much success has there been? Any? What evidence is there that the club is headed in the right direction other than the smoke being blown?

Players saying they are fitter than they'eve ever been. Great. Under match conditions they were at a crawl by the time the final siren went.

Defensive structures? WHAT defsnsive structures? The amount of space that Port's KIDS had, not senior players, was almost remarkable for an AFL match.

Which of these senior inspiring types that he has brought in - Byrnes, Rodan and co - showed ANY form of fight when the muck hit the fan?

Why on earth is Jack Viney, a first game player, head and shoulders above the entire team, and addressing them post-match in the rooms?

Showing heart is precisely what I am doing. I am now questioning if this guy actually knows what he is doing, and after today, I feel it's a question that needs to be asked for the good of this club.

  On 31/03/2013 at 07:31, titan_uranus said:

Let's be clear with a few things.

Neeld inherited the worst list in the AFL. He still has the worst list in the AFL; there's only so much you can do in 18 months. What Dean Bailey did to this club will be felt for years to come.

I heard that exact sentence wheeled out so many times before, just replace the name 'Dean Bailey' with 'Neale Daniher', and then replace 'Mark Neeld' with ' Dean Bailey'.