Sir Alex

[dee-luded 2,959]

Start thinking about TODAY Deeluded and not some fictional club 7 coterie group in the stands.

You are merely giving the club & coach more time to be sub standard whilst other clubs accelerate by.

The turnaround in Port Adelaide so quickly is what we should have seen last year if G Lyon's appointment was the correct call.

so were the crows last year. & the eagles as well... now we hear Worsfold may be out..... & at the lions? how could it all go so wrong? culture.....

success is its Own biggest danger.

.

[Grapeviney 9,712]

... thought this was going to be a thread about how AFL is trying to lure Sir Alex to replace Neeld

[Sir Why You Little 36,963]

the culture around the club influencing young players is about being smarter, & not getting your hands dirty.... to start from the top,,, instead of starting at base level & fighting your way up.. the leg ups are to easy.

this IS Why we haven't fired a 'Grand final shot' in over 45 Years....

& all the Power clubs who aren't in the shadows of the 'G',,,, Have dominated the competition. they are 'intouch' with the grassroots supporters.

..... its like we all Love to give to the Royal Chldrens Hospital appeal... we'll fight for the underdog everytime, we'll go to war for the good fight.... but who wants to risk head & skin, to fatten up someones already Fat wallet?

You'd risk your head & skin,,, to save someone in a burning building on Values of principle.... But certainly not, for a fist full of paper money.

.

What??

DL may have come across some very good coke this afternoon me thinks.

He doesn't seem to realize that this sunday we could lose to the $un$ at the MCG but is telling me to be patient..everything is ok.

Maybe DL is lunching with Satyriconhome...

[Whispering_Jack 29,772]

I think the "anti-neeld" group is the only honest "group" on 'land.

Really?

George Orwell would be very proud of this.

[Pennant St Dee 13,113]

The best thing he did was establish the best scouting and youth academy in Europe.

Absolutley, whilst United are up there with Meth Coast in my world of hated sides, I have to take my hat off to Fergie he did a great job. Atkinson, Docherty and many before him tried to buy sides, he spent some schilachos but the youth system he had brought through Giggs, Sharpe, Neville x2, Scholes, Beckham, Butt and the main one who is forgotten by everyone Mark ROBINS.

In 1990 Fergie was gone as soon as United went out of the FA Cup, they were struggling in the league and the fans were calling for his head (imagine that). Mark Robins went on a hot streak of scoring goals which got United over the line in that cup run against sides outside the top division and saved Fergies job. Both Oldham & Palace had them in the Semi-Final and First Final but somehow United came out on top and the rest is history.

Wonder how things may have turned out had things happened differently all those years ago, similar to the Red Fox getting the sack in 1965

http://www.sportsmole.co.uk/football/man-utd/news/edwards-1990-fa-cup-success-saved-ferguson_83398.html

[Ron Burgundy 8,584]

Bailey was also keen on building culture and issues of performance an and off the track - or he said he was. So is every AFL coach.

The only religious zealot here is you, Ron. You are the one prepared to take things on faith alone. I think the "anti-neeld" group is the only honest "group" on 'land. They, by-and-large, base their views on observable reality rather than on hope, prayer or good intentions.

Nope - to the contrary, I'm just trying to get people to think clearly. Seems to be hard for the prayer group who view everything through the anti Neeld lens - conveniently ignoring things which don't accord with their view, and over emphasising the importance of things that tend to support their view (ie, confirmation bias).

As for me - I don't know Mark Neeld from the next bloke. He may not ultimately be the guy to lead us to the silverware - I'll reserve judgement on that for now. I'm just assessing things at the moment. Calmly. I wholly accept that there are a lot of things that he has NOT nailed to date.

That said, he seems to be focussed on nailing the correct things (fitness, discipline, competitiveness, culture, leadership). He's had good pedigree coming into the role (2.I.C to Mick Malthouse at the Pies), so he knows what success looks like. And he strikes me as having an almost pyschopathic competitiveness about him.

Will he succeed? Don't know yet. Have we given him time to succeed? Not nearly. He, and Craig and others, have always said it will take time - and I suspect they're on the money there. It will take time - there are no quick fixes from where we were coming post 186.

Notwithstanding this, the anti Neeld prayer group were calling for his head about 6 months into his first season - and the prayer group has only got more fanatical ever since. Tedious stuff IMO, particularly as not much of their criticism seems to address the underlying issues confronting the list. It's simply a dogged focus on attacking the player, not the ball.

In response to this, I try to be an advocate for calm and rational thinking about things - that doesn't mean I will blindly follow Neeld wherever he wishes to go. I can see what he's trying to achieve, and I'm willing to give him some reasonable time in which to attempt to achieve it.

His focus seems correct. Some of his execution to date seems to lack finesse and judgement, but I think he's improved quite a bit in those areas in recent months.

In short, I think he's making the decisions that need to be made. Whether or not some other coach takes over in 18 months or so, I don't know - but, if they do, they will definitely get the benefit of what Neeld has done during his period at the helm in terms of building a fitness base and introducing a focus on maintaining elite standards, professionalism and discipline.

And for what it's worth - Roos, Clarkson and Malthouse don't want to coach Melbourne. They never have. But the prayer group doesn't seem to get this either.

[Ron Burgundy 8,584]

Absolutley, whilst United are up there with Meth Coast in my world of hated sides, I have to take my hat off to Fergie he did a great job. Atkinson, Docherty and many before him tried to buy sides, he spent some schilachos but the youth system he had brought through Giggs, Sharpe, Neville x2, Scholes, Beckham, Butt and the main one who is forgotten by everyone Mark ROBINS.

In 1990 Fergie was gone as soon as United went out of the FA Cup, they were struggling in the league and the fans were calling for his head (imagine that). Mark Robins went on a hot streak of scoring goals which got United over the line in that cup run against sides outside the top division and saved Fergies job. Both Oldham & Palace had them in the Semi-Final and First Final but somehow United came out on top and the rest is history.

Wonder how things may have turned out had things happened differently all those years ago, similar to the Red Fox getting the sack in 1965

http://www.sportsmole.co.uk/football/man-utd/news/edwards-1990-fa-cup-success-saved-ferguson_83398.html

The irony.

[Earl Hood 6,082]

Is Hogan to be our Cantana? Minus any flying Karate kicks of course.

[michael collins 49]

I want to see the club culture change - I thought Sheedy was who we needed to build the club, not just the team. But we've got Mark Neeld, and I'd like to see him finish his contract - we can't afford to start again. I haven't given up, but it is so hard to be positive.

We need to see some overall improvement. For each player that moves ahead, several seem to fall back. We're told the players are "meeting their targets". What are their targets? Do they involve on-field performance? What are the milestones the club is using to measure the improvement? When you look at the positives and negatives, we're really standing still. If there is a plan, maybe the members could be let in on it - not the detail, just the big picture. What does the club see as a "pass" for this year, and then for next year"?

At the current rate of improvement, this team will peak in about 2023, at about 12th. Then we'll be told to be patient while we rebuild. If the club wants to keep its supporters it has to offer them some hope.