Jimmy Toumpas 2014

[DEELIRIOUS 156]

Joel Selwood, Scott Selwood, Paul Puopolo, Luke Shuey...... there are some more if you want me to go on? players who 'Duck their head'... It's smart football because of the rules.. you just inadvertently proved he is a smart football player.

All right then I will clarify. Ducking of his head when marking the football. He must have good hearing because he can pick footsteps from a mile away

[Je Roos Salem 661]

Severely underachieved?

A lot of kids don't even play any games in their first season.

He's hardly a man-child.

What an idiotic appraisal.

Based on hype, reputation,(the sort of stuff that stems from this site), body language, form (lengthy sequences without going near the ball), then yes. A lot of supporters have a paternal instinct towards such high draft picks, but as a footy observer I was disappointed

[ThreeOneSix 954]

Based on hype, reputation,(the sort of stuff that stems from this site), body language, form (lengthy sequences without going near the ball), then yes. A lot of supporters have a paternal instinct towards such high draft picks, but as a footy observer I was disappointed

I was disappointed at first..

But.. If the AFL was easy to play in and go well, then many more kids would be making it.

He was a first year player, coming off a below average pre-season (his first), coming off hip surgery, no gym foundations, no core, most likely bugger all speed work..

Then he was thrown into the AFL system with the expectation from us blokes that he steps in and dominates - like Viney.

Let's give the kid at least a full pre-season before we start writing him off.

[jabberwocky 2,301]

Not exceptionally quick, hard or strong. Nice skills but doesn't appear to have the tools to be the star mid that we desperately need.

[The Chazz 4,077]

Posted a photo of himself on Twitter yesterday stating that he has just kicked off his preseason. Good on him for showing the drive to ensure he is ready for day 1 of the real preseason. Time will tell if we see the benefits or not.

One thing I like about Jimmy is his excitement about playing for the MFC. A majority on here had that "go home" concerrn when we picked him up, yet to my limited exposure, he seems to be loving his time at the club and is really focused on getting the best out of himself. Again, time will tell how accurate they are, but the negaitve views on this thread about Toumpas I feel are just plain ridiculous, especially for a kid tha thas just come off his first season in the big league, has played a dozen or so games in a shite side, and has been expected (by some supporters) to be an instant success.

For the record, let's take a look at the amount of Brownlow votes other first year players received last night. O'Meara-4, Wines-1, Viney-2, Crouch-6, Vlaustin-1.

At this stage, I'm more than happy with our selection of Toumpas. He showed enough in some games to suggest that, under the right development regime over the next 3 years, will become a valuable player with 50-70 games under his belt. Will he be an "elite" mid by then? Too hard to tell (I'm probably too gunshy to commit given our track record). I do believe it's too early to be writing him off, and picking on certain areas of his game to prove a point (ie ducking his head in a marking contest).

[demonchris 162]

Based on hype, reputation,(the sort of stuff that stems from this site), body language, form (lengthy sequences without going near the ball), then yes. A lot of supporters have a paternal instinct towards such high draft picks, but as a footy observer I was disappointed

read his profile...http://www.melbournefc.com.au/player-profile/jimmy-toumpas

It goes a little something like this... "The midfielder is a good decision-maker and an elite kick, and has worked hard to come into AFL contention. Surgery on both hips in August ended his season early but the Demons see him as a long-term prospect complementing the inside work of Jack Viney."

[Ted Lasso 19,549]

Jimmy Toumpas could very well be our best mid in three years time, the kid was rated as pick 2 by most recruiters and some even had him pick 1 at various stages,

the pace will return when he gets over his hip troubles, if you watch footage of him in the SANFL he has a good yard of pace, and is very damaging against Men

[Machsy 2,858]

Based on hype, reputation,(the sort of stuff that stems from this site), body language, form (lengthy sequences without going near the ball), then yes. A lot of supporters have a paternal instinct towards such high draft picks, but as a footy observer I was disappointed

Based on hype?

Body language?

I've heard some bloody stupid things in my time, but this is up there...

Heaven forbid a young player in his first season goes long stretches without finding the footy!

I suggest you recalibrate your unrealistic expectations, before you look like a complete idjut.

Edited September 24, 2013 by Machiavelli

[Ted Lasso 19,549]

Based on hype, reputation,(the sort of stuff that stems from this site), body language, form (lengthy sequences without going near the ball), then yes. A lot of supporters have a paternal instinct towards such high draft picks, but as a footy observer I was disappointed

Bahaha mate, our team went for lengthy sequences without the ball, can't really blame Jimmy for that!!!

[dazzledavey36 55,315]

Posted a photo of himself on Twitter yesterday stating that he has just kicked off his preseason. Good on him for showing the drive to ensure he is ready for day 1 of the real preseason. Time will tell if we see the benefits or not.

One thing I like about Jimmy is his excitement about playing for the MFC. A majority on here had that "go home" concerrn when we picked him up, yet to my limited exposure, he seems to be loving his time at the club and is really focused on getting the best out of himself. Again, time will tell how accurate they are, but the negaitve views on this thread about Toumpas I feel are just plain ridiculous, especially for a kid tha thas just come off his first season in the big league, has played a dozen or so games in a shite side, and has been expected (by some supporters) to be an instant success.

For the record, let's take a look at the amount of Brownlow votes other first year players received last night. O'Meara-4, Wines-1, Viney-2, Crouch-6, Vlaustin-1.

At this stage, I'm more than happy with our selection of Toumpas. He showed enough in some games to suggest that, under the right development regime over the next 3 years, will become a valuable player with 50-70 games under his belt. Will he be an "elite" mid by then? Too hard to tell (I'm probably too gunshy to commit given our track record). I do believe it's too early to be writing him off, and picking on certain areas of his game to prove a point (ie ducking his head in a marking contest).

Well said.

He was absolutely pumped when he found out he was going to be coached by Roos. I mean who wouldn't!?

[Je Roos Salem 661]

read his profile...http://www.melbournefc.com.au/player-profile/jimmy-toumpas

It goes a little something like this... "The midfielder is a good decision-maker and an elite kick, and has worked hard to come into AFL contention. Surgery on both hips in August ended his season early but the Demons see him as a long-term prospect complementing the inside work of Jack Viney."

Of course that's what the club "sees him as" But that sort of stuff doesn't cut it, it's cliched and scrutiny is certainly warranted for this sort of thing especially due to our recent draft history. I can't see a long-term prospect propagated by this club and not cringe. The basics of his game (the stuff Viney does) simply weren't up to scratch for perhaps 12 out of his 14 first year games. In the final couple of rounds I started to warm to him and saw more exciting skill, I just hope the experience was good and will help him learn, but I can't lie that I expected a bit more basic footy nous from him (especially due to having SANFL experience)

[titan_uranus 25,042]

http://www.melbournefc.com.au/melbourne/news/2013-10-31/toumpas-wants-to-be-a-longterm-dee

A few honest words from Toumpas in this clip, plus some more in the text.

What he says here was quite visible during the year, I think. Wasn't near it at the start of the year, went back to Casey and used his time in the seniors to learn where he needed to get to. Improved during the year and now has a sense of where he's at and what he can achieve.

[dazzledavey36 55,315]

Showed much better form 2nd half of the year.

Will be fully fit by the time come for Pre season so I cant wait to see him in full flight next year.

[GawnWithTheWind 604]

Needs to harden up.

Looks soft, and someone name me a player of the Roos era at Sydney who was just as soft?

Schneider? But he hid in a pocket for his career.

[Josh 1,420]

What do male pigs squeal like BH? Did I miss something in AgSci 101?

I work at a pig farm for a living and I can tell you that baby pigs are loud as hell. Male or female. But once fully grown female pigs scream at the top of there lungs but males make little noise.

[The Song Formerly Known As 6,479]

I work at a pig farm for a living and I can tell you that baby pigs are loud as hell. Male or female. But once fully grown female pigs scream at the top of there lungs but males make little noise.

ahh yes, much like this:

[hardtack 10,612]

Needs to harden up and stop being a weak squib

** WARNING - MANY VERY NAUGHTY WORDS **

Edited October 31, 2013 by hardtack

[Moonshadow 17,676]

I work at a pig farm for a living and I can tell you that baby pigs are loud as hell. Male or female. But once fully grown female pigs scream at the top of there lungs but males make little noise.

Stop it Josh. You'll be turning BBO on. He will probably send you a PM to get more detail.

[Yossarian 1,820]

Toumpas said he was eager to help turn the club around with fellow young guns Jack Viney and Jesse Hogan.

“It’s a massive challenge that I know the other two boys and I are going to embrace,” he said.

“We all see ourselves being very good players in the future.

“It’d be an honour to lead this club into the future, because we have numerous other players like Dean Kent, Mitch Clisby, [Dean] Terlich and Matt Jones … that are going to lead this club in the future.”

Can't help but love this kid.

[Dees2014 2,377]

Nice quote WJ, and so pertinent to the constant revisionism that goes on here. When I first saw Toumpas preseason my first thought was that his hand and foot skills were an exception to all others on our list, truly elite. Then seeing patches of his best play this year, I realised that apart from the fact that being low on confidence in a tragic team can make you look lost, what we have is a faster, taller, potential Sam Mitchell. His decision making and disposal off a step is unique. With time, confidence, and more on field support, that's Jimmy Toumpas

I saw him play a couple of outstanding games at Casey as an attacking HBF. His link running through the middle was outstanding as was his disposal by hand and foot.

My only queries about him is that he was not overly quick (no doubt a legacy of his two hip operations) nor did he seem to be an accumulator of possessions. I'm prepared though to give him the benefit of the doubt as he clearly has silky skills and an outstanding will to succeed. You can't say that about many of our early picks over the last 5 years.

I have no doubt he will be in our best half dozen players in our next premiership team.

[InVINCEable 358]

He'll be like Chad Wingard, not living up to the hype in his first season and then kill it in his second season.

[dazzledavey36 55,315]

He'll be like Chad Wingard, not living up to the hype in his first season and then kill it in his second season.

So we expect a All Australian and best and fairest as well from Toumpas?

Chill out dude..

[Deestroy All 14,266]

So we expect a All Australian and best and fairest as well from Toumpas?

Chill out dude..

Did anyone expect it from Wingard?

[dee-tox 4,835]

Straight running half-back flanker. I think he could learn plenty off Daniel Cross.

[DemonWA 3,936]

** WARNING - MANY VERY NAUGHTY WORDS **

HA! classic! The mindset reminds me of Satryconhome when he starts ranting about whether people would say things to players faces at Goshs!