I am, and I'm serious. I'm bullish.

We'll see.

If you're gonna be bullish, now's the time to do it.

My view is we are going from the worst coach in AFL history (not VFL) to one of the best. Bailey got 8.5 wins in his last year. We have an easy draw. We have some good experience (Vince, Cross, Dawes, Clark, Frawley, Garland, Jones) and some good youngsters since Bailey left.

Roos biggest challenge will be to get the players to believe in themselves again, that will increase our competitiveness significantly. History suggests he is an exceptional man manager so we've every chance of seeing quantum improvement before game plan or natural player improvement is considered.

As well as the teams you mention I see no reason why you can't add West Coast, Adelaide, Richmond, Carlton and perhaps NM to that list. IMO we have a better forward and backline than most of those teams and with a viable game plan, confidence and a reconstituted midfield improvement can come quickly.

Roos and Jackson are smart enough not to generate any expectations but privately they will believe significant improvement is possible immediately.

If we're in the running to beat Carlton, Richmond and/or North Melbourne next year, then we'll be showing enormous signs of improvement and this board will be a much happier place.

I don't think we can go from where we are now to that level in one year, but I do think that it's reasonable to suggest, with what we've got, that we can be challenging sides more around the WC, Adelaide, GC, Brisbane mark.

The protocol you're referring to is the reverse of that, it's live high, train low. By living at altitude but training at sea level, you get the benefits that come with adaption to having less oxygen (e.g., increased re blood cells), without the constraints that having less oxygen puts on performance. One of the reason a number of cycling teams train in Tenerife is that they can live up the mountain, but then train at sea level.

The main use - in fact the only use - for hyperbaric tents is to sleep in them.

This Wiki entry perhaps best sums it up:

"Sleeping in a simulated altitude environment allows the body to achieve some of the positive adaptations to altitude while still permitting the athlete to perform workouts at an oxygen-rich lower altitude where muscles can perform at their normal work level."

Sorry my bad. You are right. They do some work in the altitude rooms, sleep in dorms there (at altitude) but can also train at sea level.

Paul Roos will have this club firing in a couple of years. I'm really looking forward to what Roos and the coaching team can do with the likes of Grimes, Frawley, Garland, McDonald, Toumpas, Viney, Watts, Trengove, Dawes, Cark, Howe, N.Jones. I, like all, know melbournes blunders with draft picks and its inability to recruit, however I truly believe these players will become A-B grade players in the medium term (2-3 yrs). Add verdicts like Michie, Tyson, Vince, Blease, Kent, Terlich, Clizby, M.Jones Fitzpatrick, Hogan, Gawn, Spencer whom are yet to prove themselves and this makes for a promising prospect. Roos will be keen to build a spine and what better way to look to the lives of the more experienced areas on the field. KPP Backman in the likes of Frawley, Garland (ability to go forward), McDonald, FPP Forwards in the likes of Dawes and Clark (can play ruck - if uninjured), with good potential in Howe (can play midfield) and Hogan (perhaps can play both forward and back). This is why in the most recent interview by Roos he expects a competitive team in 2-3 years. The pillers at either end are basically complete. Granted, another FPP Back and forward would be handy, these players can afford to be somewhat inexperienced and have these mature players guiding them into the game, taking the oppositions key opponent.

That's what I think bought Roos to Melbourne. Like a kid in a candyland, so much choice.

If I can use the Orchestral analogy, I am hoping our improvement next year will be because P Roos is the AFL equivalent of a virtuoso conductor of an orchestra. He is able to get everyone working in unison, working off the same song sheet, knowing their role and when to put it into use at his cue. Importantly the songsheet must be relevant and it must work, the players have been trained and their instruments are tuned. The members of the orchrester have to be good, well trained professionals but not extraordinary talents, but must be willing to follow the conductors lead for it all to work.

After the worst season by any club by an AFL side where we were abominable, non competitive and what other descriptive words could describe the efforts at times? I would equate Neelds team as what you hear when the orchrester is warming up where there is no cohesive tune just orchestral noise as members play as individuals playing their own tunes to best prepare for the show and ignoring the music sheet.

I am hoping Roos turns this on its head. We have a few new players that may help and hopefully we have a big forward back, fit and playing like he did in 2012. But the big improvement may come from us working as a team, willing to take risks, to attack the ball in the knowledge that team mates will Shepard, make space and present up forward as the conductor demands.