Good post. Yes even using that scale we are a ways off, but not as far as he seems to be suggesting if they get the development right i would have thought.

As for supporters not understanding a nuanced analysis of the list, experience age etc why not just stop saying anything about it? Perhaps he could simply say we are teaching the boys to win. And as a starting point we will try to win as many contests and quarters as possible

Bailey used to talk about that. It used to infuriate many on here.

Neeld can talk about what he likes, it's what we do on the field that will determine his fate.

If he thinks that mentioning our inexperience will somehow get the players to spark some form then good for him. It's his job and his decision.

Gee you are easily pleased

Gee you're a sad arse.

Bailey used to talk about that. It used to infuriate many on here.

Neeld can talk about what he likes, it's what we do on the field that will determine his fate.

If he thinks that mentioning our inexperience will somehow get the players to spark some form then good for him. It's his job and his decision.

Yes i recall that. I think those who wanted Bailey gone might be reassessing a little now - perhaps talk of winning quarters is better than no talk of winning whatsoever.

But yes his call, though i struggle to believe constantly reinforcing the lack of experience could actually help the players, but there you go.

Yes i recall that. I think those who wanted Bailey gone might be reassessing a little now - perhaps talk of winning quarters is better than no talk of winning whatsoever.

But yes his call, though i struggle to believe constantly reinforcing the lack of experience could actually help the players, but there you go.

I'm sorry, what?

How did we get there?

I really hope many are not fooled by what they see in the rearview mirror.

thought most posters on here thought stats were useless

Can't be;believe this topic is still going, can't believe some of the posters really think it is going to take 5 years, and think Neeld doesn't want it to change this week, although that being said it is the normal whingers and whiners putting their two bob's worth in with the occasional rejoinder from the likes of myself

You are right 'sat' they are not always a good indication. The scoreboard is the stat that counts...17th

Midfield:

Kane Cornes: 253 games

Dominic Cassisi : 207 games

Travis Boak: 116 games

Matthew Broadbent: 63 games

Matt Thomas: 83 games

Brad Ebert: 106 games

Hamish Hartlett: 54 games

add the first or second season players on top of that list and Angus Monfries, well that is a pretty good set up

compare that to what we are working with?

am i saying ken hinkley is not a good coach? no! the point is primus started the rebuild, primus built the list, he recruited the midfield stocks to be competitive and yes, now they have oliver wines who is playing well, but it is because of who he has around him that he can play.

the point was he stated that port adelaide rebuilt in a year, but that is completely wrong, it takes a few years and this is what will happen.

Melbournes midfield is 3-5 seasons, which is 3-5 preseasons, which is 60-100 games away from being a top line midfield. do i think if we had mick malthouse or paul roos coaching us right now we would be in the same position? absolutely, how anyone can say that a coach will make a 30 game midfielder play like a 120 game midfielder, get serious.

in your opinion who is being played out of position? because i think everyone is playing where they should be played, we just need games experience and that takes time

What you are saying about getting games into players is correct, however it does not matter how much sense you make because Neeld has lost the confidence of almost everyone. Getting smashed in those early games and later by Gold Coast is not acceptable in AFL football. Neeld will not recover from those hidings no matter what makes sense.

What you are saying about getting games into players is correct, however it does not matter how much sense you make because Neeld has lost the confidence of almost everyone. Getting smashed in those early games and later by Gold Coast is not acceptable in AFL football. Neeld will not recover from those hidings no matter what makes sense.

Please let us know how you know this. This has become a theme with many posters but I'm yet to hear any proof that this is the case. Where is the evidence? And don't just say it's obvious.

Please let us know how you know this. This has become a theme with many posters but I'm yet to hear any proof that this is the case. Where is the evidence? And don't just say it's obvious.

Where is the evidence? Sorry, but just look at the scoreboard and the stats.

Please let us know how you know this. This has become a theme with many posters but I'm yet to hear any proof that this is the case. Where is the evidence? And don't just say it's obvious.

Hmmmmm? Do you listen, watch and read? I am no soothsayer but I've been around the block enough to see the writing on the wall.

Happy to be proven wrong while waiting for Neeld to get us competitive by 2017.

Hmmmmm? Do you listen, watch and read? I am no soothsayer but I've been around the block enough to see the writing on the wall.

Happy to be proven wrong while waiting for Neeld to get us competitive by 2017.

That's the sort of response I was expecting. All you guys do is speculate and offer it up as "fact". It's time for some objectivity. I'm not arguing that Neeld is the saviour but he needs to be given time to do the job he was employed to do. Simple.

And yes, I've been to every home game and watched all of the others on TV. I've gotta say I don't pay a lot of attention to the written stuff. My faith in sports journalism has been shaken a little of late. You only have to look at how the press has now turned on the Bulldogs. It's all just sensationalist claptrap.

In the end I prefer to observe and make judgement based on what can be substantiated. I agree, our results would indicate that Neeld needs to lift his game. The way the team is playing would suggest there is a lack of self-confidence and trust in team mates. If you want to argue that the players are not playing for the coach that's fine but how do you know it's because Neeld has lost their confidence? I think it says more about them than it does Neeld. If professional sportsmen lack the integrity to do what they're paid for I don't think there's too many coaches who could do much with them - apart from culling the recalcitrants and I suspect this process is playing out as we speak. A good number of the current crop will not be with us next year.

Just accept it's going to take some time and stop demanding overnight success. It's not going to happen. No matter how much you scream for Neeld's blood, there is no real alternative at the moment.

Neeld wants consistency of effort from the players. Might help if he had a consistent message. Hes drowning. Don't stress, he is gone. There is no use replacing him now. The club knows that. We will have a new coach next year.

No hard feelings Neeld. You're trying your best. You just don't have what it takes.

Feel free to prove me wrong Neeld.

To answer this question:
I can't cop another 5 years if this is ground zero. Is it five years then we are competing for the premiership? Or five years just to win 10 or so games? If it is the former, get rid of him now because if he doesn't have faith in the blokes he is coaching, why should they have faith in him?

Where is the evidence? Sorry, but just look at the scoreboard and the stats.

I may have missed something, but I don't think the scoreboard ever said "we have no confidence in Neeld." For that matter, unless the players are genius cryptologists I don't think the stats say that either. They say the team isn't playing very well. Does that count? I do seem to recall a number of players saying that they have full confidence in the coach and the problem is in their ability to execute rather than what he is doing. Is that code as well?

To answer this question:

I can't cop another 5 years if this is ground zero. Is it five years then we are competing for the premiership? Or five years just to win 10 or so games? If it is the former, get rid of him now because if he doesn't have faith in the blokes he is coaching, why should they have faith in him?

Why does anyone think that the five years mentioned starts now? We're already a year and a half into it. Again, Neeld's timeline has not changed from the moment he took over. He told us all that it would take time to get the players up to standard and weed out the dead wood in the list.

I too had hoped to see more improvement from the team by now, but let's face facts. Port Adelaide surprised everyone. We didn't get beaten by a crap side, but by a side that looks like playing finals this year. Do any of you actually think the other results were hard to predict? Yes, we were poor against Gold Coast, but any objective look at the match would have told us it was a 50/50 shot given their list and the talent they have through the middle. Which of the other games were we going to win? Brisbane at the Gabba? Optimists could have had that as a 50/50, but realists know how badly we travel. Thrashed by Carlton? Again, it's nothing we don't know will happen.

The simple fact is that this season has gone pretty much exactly as most people expected. We have lost to teams who should beat us, we have shown improvement in the areas that Neeld has focused on, and we have a very clear notion of what it is we need to do to improve and start winning games. On top of that we have seen a couple of the new recruits secure spots in the starting line-up and we're getting games into some of the guys who have been missing in action for the last few years. Yes, we all hoped to see quicker progress. In all probability Neeld hoped for that too, but to blame him because our results have been exactly as they should have been and demand that he be sacked when the team is tracking exactly how he told us it would? Idiocy. People need to stop blaming him for their own inflated expectations.

Hey Ralphius

Dunno that my expectations were inflated, but, given the level we were at when Neeld took over (8 wins) I sure as he'll expected something better than the pathetic drivel we've had dished up to us this year.

It ain't just the losses - it's the margins, the lack of initiative, the lack of a discernible game plan other than stultifying defensiveness, the way the players just seem to stand around in some kind weird zone while play flows around them and Neelds uninspiring leadership that have lead many to conclude that we made a hell of a mistake when we appointed him. Main reason I want him out sooner rather than later is that the longer he stays, the greater the danger of our better players walking, a la Moloney and Rivers

Having seen all the games Bailey coached, I do not think he was a good coach. I wanted him gone and replaced by Leigh Matthews.

Having seen all the games Neeld has coached, I think he is worse. I want him gone and replaced by an experienced and successful coach.

He seems happy with a 5+ loss (thanks to Tyrone V and Jack R not kicking straight) - and that is accepting mediocrity. As a lot of Demonlanders do!

I don't know if the players are playing for him or not. There's a lot of rhetoric.

Just my perception.

He seems happy with a 5+ loss

Does he? Where does he indicate that he "seems happy"?

As Craig said in his report: "We lost by over 5 goals, and we can never be pleased with that".

Does he? Where does he indicate that he "seems happy"?

As Craig said in his report: "We lost by over 5 goals, and we can never be pleased with that".

In comparison to Daws at the press conference, Neeld was content with the performance and therefore accepted a 5 goal loss. Give the semantics a miss bing.

In comparison to Daws at the press conference, Neeld was content with the performance and therefore accepted a 5 goal loss. Give the semantics a miss bing.

i think there is a difference with being happy with the effort and being happy with the result.

at the end of the day there were positivies through the clearances and defensive contests, which really did show (in my opinion) that the future is bright, the midfield faded as the game proceeded but that is mainly due to the number of preseasons in each of the teams i think.

we were also able to stop the run on for the first time in a long time, and if we took full advantage of our oppourtunities could have been a completely different result (i guess the same could be said if they kicked straighter) but i was more thinking how they went coast to coast off 3-4 of our attempts which should have been goals

I may have missed something, but I don't think the scoreboard ever said "we have no confidence in Neeld." For that matter, unless the players are genius cryptologists I don't think the stats say that either. They say the team isn't playing very well. Does that count? I do seem to recall a number of players saying that they have full confidence in the coach and the problem is in their ability to execute rather than what he is doing. Is that code as well?

Why does anyone think that the five years mentioned starts now? We're already a year and a half into it. Again, Neeld's timeline has not changed from the moment he took over. He told us all that it would take time to get the players up to standard and weed out the dead wood in the list.

I too had hoped to see more improvement from the team by now, but let's face facts. Port Adelaide surprised everyone. We didn't get beaten by a crap side, but by a side that looks like playing finals this year. Do any of you actually think the other results were hard to predict? Yes, we were poor against Gold Coast, but any objective look at the match would have told us it was a 50/50 shot given their list and the talent they have through the middle. Which of the other games were we going to win? Brisbane at the Gabba? Optimists could have had that as a 50/50, but realists know how badly we travel. Thrashed by Carlton? Again, it's nothing we don't know will happen.

The simple fact is that this season has gone pretty much exactly as most people expected. We have lost to teams who should beat us, we have shown improvement in the areas that Neeld has focused on, and we have a very clear notion of what it is we need to do to improve and start winning games. On top of that we have seen a couple of the new recruits secure spots in the starting line-up and we're getting games into some of the guys who have been missing in action for the last few years. Yes, we all hoped to see quicker progress. In all probability Neeld hoped for that too, but to blame him because our results have been exactly as they should have been and demand that he be sacked when the team is tracking exactly how he told us it would? Idiocy. People need to stop blaming him for their own inflated expectations.

We do business in an 18 team market. 2 of them are so-called "expansion" teams with concessions given to them by the AFL, which you could drown in. The big 4 Victorian teams are cashed up and ready to pounce on free agents or for that matter, buy out a targeted player's contract - see Frawley. That is not to mention the cashed up WA teams.

With this stark reality, we have to be seen to be moving in a positive direction. The "market" certainly does not see us that way. Effort and commitment is what we need to see and we just aren't. As I have said before, we cannot afford the luxury of persisting with re-build after re-build. We and the football world need to see discernible improvement. We are realistic enough to understand that with the current list, we will not threaten finals for sometime, but commitment, accountability and demonstrated effort is the very least you would expect from any AFL team.

As for expectations!!!!!!!!!!! Just read the litany of comments from MN's own mouth since he has been at the MFC. He built the expectation. As paying members and supporters, it is not unreasonable for us to believe we would see tangible improvement. We are in fact in reverse at present.

Any of the heroes on here this morning, listen to Tim Watson on SEN, a naysayer rang in assuming Neeld is already gone and asked Timbo who he thought would be an ideal replacement, Roos or Bomber Thompson, he said Bomber but also said neither would take the job. He also said that if Neeld leaves whoever took over would need 5 years to get the side to where everybody wants it to be, ie in finals, strange that

Any of the heroes on here this morning, listen to Tim Watson on SEN, a naysayer rang in assuming Neeld is already gone and asked Timbo who he thought would be an ideal replacement, Roos or Bomber Thompson, he said Bomber but also said neither would take the job. He also said that if Neeld leaves whoever took over would need 5 years to get the side to where everybody wants it to be, ie in finals, strange that

Yeah, I heard that. He said that Roos has ruled himself out, and Bomber quit because he was burnt out doing the no 1 job. He said that in his opinion no reputable coach thinking of getting back into coaching would want to coach Melbourne and they'd not only be coaching the team, but the whole club.

He said that in his opinion no reputable coach thinking of getting back into coaching would want to coach Melbourne

I reckon that's bollocks. If you want to be a senior AFL coach there are very few chances to become one. Only 18 clubs and perhaps on average perhaps 2 vacancies a year. Someone like Roods has the luxury of picking and choosing so but an Ayres, Eade, Williams or Ratten (or any talented assistant coaches) doesn't.

I have a gut feeling we'll get Ratten.

I reckon that's bollocks. If you want to be a senior AFL coach there are very few chances to become one. Only 18 clubs and perhaps on average perhaps 2 vacancies a year. Someone like Roods has the luxury of picking and choosing so but an Ayres, Eade, Williams or Ratten (or any talented assistant coaches) doesn't.

I have a gut feeling we'll get Ratten.

i have a gut feeling we will get paul williams or ratten as midfield coach, and then after the 3 years of neeld if people are still sooking then possibly they will take over

Any of the heroes on here this morning, listen to Tim Watson on SEN, a naysayer rang in assuming Neeld is already gone and asked Timbo who he thought would be an ideal replacement, Roos or Bomber Thompson, he said Bomber but also said neither would take the job. He also said that if Neeld leaves whoever took over would need 5 years to get the side to where everybody wants it to be, ie in finals, strange that

Precisely why things have to change and quickly. We are marginalising ourselves in the market place. The MFC needs to be seen as an attractive place to be. Clearly, we aren't at the moment.

I reckon that's bollocks. If you want to be a senior AFL coach there are very few chances to become one. Only 18 clubs and perhaps on average perhaps 2 vacancies a year. Someone like Roods has the luxury of picking and choosing so but an Ayres, Eade, Williams or Ratten (or any talented assistant coaches) doesn't.

I have a gut feeling we'll get Ratten.

So you want to get a guy that 'failed' at Carlton, with a team full of no 1 draft picks, that'll fix it, the point I was trying to make, as this topic is about five years, is that Watson said it would take any coach 5 years, there is no magic bullet, so maybe we all need to just suck it up and see what evenuates