James Magner

[DemonWA 3,941]

I think Magner has just learned a lesson about talking to the media when emotional

comes accross as a sook

[daisycutter 29,988]

and the media wonder why some players won't speak to them

[mauriesy 7,441]

Funny how the article on the AFL web site from two days ago says this:

Magner met with new coach Paul Roos the day after he was appointed and was given no guarantees. He said the chat was open and honest but it inevitably left his career at the Demons hanging by a thread.

On the last Friday of the free agency period when Melbourne secured midfielders Dom Tyson and Bernie Vince and held on to selection No. 9 the writing on the wall would have been becoming clear to Magner.

A day earlier the club had also gained Fremantle youngster Viv Michie, so positions for midfielders were becoming scarce.

Magner had only good things to say about the Demons but he thinks he still has plenty to offer.

"I have only been in the AFL for two years so I have still got upside," Magner said.

"I feel like I've seen some of the highs and lows."

[La Dee-vina Comedia 17,131]

Funny how the article on the AFL web site from two days ago says this:

Magner met with new coach Paul Roos the day after he was appointed and was given no guarantees. He said the chat was open and honest but it inevitably left his career at the Demons hanging by a thread.

On the last Friday of the free agency period when Melbourne secured midfielders Dom Tyson and Bernie Vince and held on to selection No. 9 the writing on the wall would have been becoming clear to Magner.

A day earlier the club had also gained Fremantle youngster Viv Michie, so positions for midfielders were becoming scarce.

Magner had only good things to say about the Demons but he thinks he still has plenty to offer.

"I have only been in the AFL for two years so I have still got upside," Magner said.

"I feel like I've seen some of the highs and lows."

On the upside, at least we're not accusing the Herald Sun of plagiarism.

[Carrot Top 947]

I would have been happy with an ordinary side in 2013 but the MFC had an VFL standard side

True. I probably should have added a 'very' or three.

[Sir Why You Little 37,407]

James is not teling us anything we did not already know.

The club WAS a complete mess.

I remember the feeling of despair at halftime Round 1 2012.

The MCC Reserve was booing the side off the ground.

I had not ever experienced that before. Only an hour before we had all farewelled Jim

[DeeSpencer 26,651]

Neeld and Royal a dysfunctional combination of coaching. Who would've thought it!

But gee this shows what an entitled bunch of players we'v'e had recently. A rookie who came in to the game at 24 with obvious deficiencies in his game and he's complaining in the first 6 months of his career about having to be played forward. Talking about his strengths like he's some amazing endurance athlete when that's his job. Brushing over his weaknesses.

Obviously Jon Ralph is leading him into these responses as on AFL.com.au and SEN he was much more reserved but I think it's another window it to what exactly has been happening at our club. The management and coaching has been so bad that the players don't trust the advise given. So when something goes wrong they have an out to just blame it on the club.

It's hard to demand standards of improvement when players always feel they have an excuse due to poor coaching etc.

[titan_uranus 25,230]

Pathetic article. Targets the standard basic AFL reader who doesn't know a thing about Melbourne, and less about Magner. They pull some stats from his first few games to try to paint a picture of a promising player ruined by the club, and whack a quote in about how upset he is at us to try make us sound 'dysfunctional'.

Of course, if you know either Melbourne or Magner, you know that he's a slow, limited footballer with poor disposal. You'd know that his good games aren't defined by the number of disposals he gets, meaning that referring to high-disposal games of his means nothing in context. You'd also know that he had the wrong attitude all year, irrespective of the awful coaching that was going on (I don't dispute that he was screwed over by Neeld, but who wasn't? Melbourne owes you nothing, James).

Just pure trash from the HUN, as per usual.

[dazzledavey36 56,203]

Connelly take on Magner and Gysberts.

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/cut-and-bruised-after-a-long-fall-from-grace-20131030-2whce.html

[McQueen 17,867]

The club is doing him a favour by letting him go, thereby giving him an opportunity to get picked up by another club. Alternatively, he would have stayed on the list and played another season at Casey.

Not disappointed at all with the clubs decision.

[old dee 24,072]

The club is doing him a favour by letting him go, thereby giving him an opportunity to get picked up by another club. Alternatively, he would have stayed on the list and played another season at Casey.

Not disappointed at all with the clubs decision.

Still cannot find any decent retreads McQueen?

[pitmaster 3,591]

I don't understand the hate for JM in this thread.

He was honest and gave us his best.

I was sorry Neeld did not persist with him but what is most interesting about this article is that it is ENTIRELY CONSISTENT (sorry for shouting but wanted your attention) WITH EVERYTHING Peter Jackson has said since coming on board.

Confused and confusing is how Neeld's tenure is portrayed. JM has given us a concrete example of that with mixed messages from the midfield staff and Neeld himself.

That last remark bagging the club is one he probably regrets, but this confirms that those of us who could not understand why he was not used to put some muscle and intent into our midfield were justified in wondering.

[Cards13 9,117]

Gesus how quickly people turn. I think it is fair enough he would be feeling the way he does. If he is not good enough so be it but the club has been a rabble, take off the red and blue glasses folks. People were screaming out why is Mags not playing? He comes out and states the same thing and he is a sook.

[DemonWA 3,941]

I dont know Cards, some of his comments reek of sour grapes. No need to take a swipe at the club, paints him a bitter sook IMO;

Having had such a disappointing year, I am sad to probably be leaving the AFL environment, but I am not so disappointed to leave the Melbourne footy club

[beelzebub 23,392]

Jimmy wants an answer. Logic suggest it stares him in the face..

Jimmy...why are most players cut ?

[Sir Why You Little 37,407]

Connelly take on Magner and Gysberts.

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/cut-and-bruised-after-a-long-fall-from-grace-20131030-2whce.html

A far better article than the emotive crap written by Herald Hack Jon Ralph.

Jon puts too much of his own slant on story.

A sad trend in todays media

[Cards13 9,117]

I dont know Cards, some of his comments reek of sour grapes. No need to take a swipe at the club, paints him a bitter sook IMO;

Having had such a disappointing year, I am sad to probably be leaving the AFL environment, but I am not so disappointed to leave the Melbourne footy club

? And if I was a player I would have been happy to leave as well, all we as supporters have talked about is how bad it must be to be there yet one bloke comes out and states it and he is ungrateful.

[dazzledavey36 56,203]

? And if I was a player I would have been happy to leave as well, all we as supporters have talked about is how bad it must be to be there yet one bloke comes out and states it and he is ungrateful.

Shows your true character..

Didn't stop Jack watts who absolutey gets crucified from us supporters..

[Bang Bang Bang 5,875]

I think Magner has a point - all good and well to disown him now he's not employed by the club - but he firstly got played horribly out of position and then not at all. All the while he's dominating the VFL and the senior side are getting flogged by 15 goals each week. How would YOU feel if you were him?

Neeld was a train-wreck of a coach.

Going to the media to whinge is never a good idea though.

[Guest]

? And if I was a player I would have been happy to leave as well, all we as supporters have talked about is how bad it must be to be there yet one bloke comes out and states it and he is ungrateful.

I think he was right to call out what had happened before and I agree with you.It's the same when people spit it after someone leaves for greener pastures or they are sick of eating s**t sandwiches served up by the MFC.

However, I think this stuff about 'give me an explanation' is silly. It's clear why he was delisted. There isn't enough room for him after we bought in Tyson, Vince and Michie. Two of those blokes will be playing senior footy in the middle for sure next year.

[P-man 13,367]

A fair bit of kicking the bloke in this thread.

Sure, he's bitter. He should be. There were weeks where his non-selection defied every logical explanation. Talks of him being a "limited" footballer need to be placed Into the context of what an ABYSMAL midfield we had at a time when he was left to rot in the seconds. He was performing, he was needed, and he was overlooked. Consistently.

I can understand his frustration. The Hun have grabbed him when the emotions are raw, and I'm sure once that settles he'll regret a couple of the statements he's made with regard to the club as a whole. But I don't begrudge him the right to feel short changed when that is exactly what happened under the previous muppet regime who plonked a midfield workhorse into the forward line for a few games where none of his best attributes could be used, and then onto the scrap heap. Although I'm sure the positional change was part of his "development", right Mark?

I hope he gets another chance. This article doesn't change that.

[Guest]

I hope this is the final reflection on a horrible, horrible past.

FFS, the blokes who kept Magner rotting in the seconds are all gone. He has every right to be pizzed off with them because he could have made his case for 2014 in 2013. Unfortunately timing has been his downfall as he doesn't have a body of work to fall back on so when Roos bought in the new midfielders, he was going to be squeezed out.
I'm hoping we are talking about two different MFC's. The one who kept him in the magoos despite all the evidence suggesting he should be in the firsts and the one who made the decision on Jimmy as honestly and professionally as possible (I HOPE!).

[Curry & Beer 5,444]

James is not teling us anything we did not already know.

The club WAS a complete mess.

I remember the feeling of despair at halftime Round 1 2012.

The MCC Reserve was booing the side off the ground.

I had not ever experienced that before. Only an hour before we had all farewelled Jim

I think your memory is letting you down a bit there.. we trailed by 4 points at half time

[Jaded No More 68,976]

Look he's a human being chasing a dream and so I feel for him.

However we gave him a go as a mature aged recruit when nobody else would and he just wasn't good enough. Did he deserve to get a game after collecting 51 possessions, of course, would that have changed his long term future? No.

I don't appreciate players who knock a club that gave them an opportunity, no matter how limited, when nobody else would.

Good luck to him, but publicy burning his old club would do nothing for his future chances in this industry.

[Good Times Grimes 2,396]

A fair bit of kicking the bloke in this thread.

Sure, he's bitter. He should be. There were weeks where his non-selection defied every logical explanation. Talks of him being a "limited" footballer need to be placed Into the context of what an ABYSMAL midfield we had at a time when he was left to rot in the seconds. He was performing, he was needed, and he was overlooked. Consistently.

I can understand his frustration. The Hun have grabbed him when the emotions are raw, and I'm sure once that settles he'll regret a couple of the statements he's made with regard to the club as a whole. But I don't begrudge him the right to feel short changed when that is exactly what happened under the previous muppet regime who plonked a midfield workhorse into the forward line for a few games where none of his best attributes could be used, and then onto the scrap heap. Although I'm sure the positional change was part of his "development", right Mark?

I hope he gets another chance. This article doesn't change that.

I agree. He was consistently in the best in the VFL, yet we gave spuds like Rodan chance after chance ahead of him. Magner deserved to play much more often than he did in 2013. I'm not saying that he didn't deserve to be delisted; I was never his biggest fan and I don't think he has what it takes to make it in the AFL, but he was unfairly treated by Neeld/Craig in 2013 and for that I feel sorry for him.

52 disposals should get you a game in the worst midfield of all time...that is an inexcusable non-selection in my opinion.