The lack of fight has been there for a while (wasn't there an incident last round where someone was decked after the whistle on the boundary?). The only players I've seen in the past two years to stand up consistently have been Davey, Dawes and Viney.

I remember seeing the big Spencil try to rip off Billie Smedts' head during the preseason this year when he collected Jimmy Toumpas' high.

Where did that spunk go? Too many blokes on our list are pretenders who are just there to collect a paycheque. A lot of them don't give a crap about their teammates.

We have a majority of supporters on this site who voted in a poll saying they don't care full stop if we win the spoon.

27.74% of people who took the poll, just over 1% of supporters on this site.

Neither being a majority.

27.74% of people who took the poll, just over 1% of supporters on this site.

Neither being a majority.

Slight mistake.

73 people who took the poll who voted from 1-4 compared to 70 who voted in the range from 6-10. In two party terms, that's not a huge win to the 'don't cares' but the fact it's even a race shows how low our supporter self esteem has sunk.

Fixing this club and this culture may be a bridge too far for PJ and PR to cross.

I remember seeing the big Spencil try to rip off Billie Smedts' head during the preseason this year when he collected Jimmy Toumpas' high.

Where did that spunk go? Too many blokes on our list are pretenders who are just there to collect a paycheque. A lot of them don't give a crap about their teammates.

Spencil would've been in that dog Merrett's face today, no question. He is sadly in the minority though.

Spencil would've been in that dog Merrett's face today, no question. He is sadly in the minority though.

We can look at people with rose colored glasses sometimes and Spencil has a lot of defects but one thing I will give him is he is a competitor and won't take crap from the opposition. Someone should have cannoned right into that [censored] Merrett and sat him on his arse.

I remember Bob Walls once summed us up all the way back in 2005 as 'nice men who play nice football'. Now we are just timid men who play pizz poor football.

It wasn't always this way. I fell in love with and grew up with the teams of Swooper Northey. We had Rod Grinter, Strawbs O'Dwyer and Todd Viney there flying the flag. How we could use some like them!

Edited August 3, 201410 yr by Colin B. Flaubert

Geez today really emphasised a problem we knew we've had for years.. We've just got players that have poor game sense and footy skills. We don't have many players today that have very penetrating kicks or damaging disposal. All our players have to take a N. Jones as an example... even though he's not the best kick he's definitely improved on it's penetration and decision making. I remember when he used to have pretty average disposal efficiency, but now he has improved significantly.

I'm hoping that players that we have recruited for that reason can break into our team, players like toumpas, salem are two great examples, others who have been on our list for a while and hopefully can have a big preseason would be players like strauss.

From our current list the only players that are probably up to AFL standard in terms of ball use would include: N. Jones, J. Howe, B. Vince, L. Dunn, J. Watts. Thats compared to players that have average ball use that get a game week in and week out: D. Terlich, M. Jones, T. Mac, J. Frawley, J. Grimes, R. Bail, J. Mckenzie.

SEN was talking about teams defence and mentioned how the talls usually need other players that HAVE to give the ball to when coming out of defence: birchall, suckling, B. Smith, M. Jaensch, Malceski, Hibberd, Dempsy etc... all the good teams have these players. What I don't understand is why Melbourne persists with giving the ball to T. Mac to run and kick out of defence. It should be cemented into his head and the players around him to get a good kick to run behind him to recieve the handball or short kick.

Either we need a big preseason on development of skills or we need to recruit these players from outside.

Why can't ENYAW turn up during this thread? I need a laugh in the worst possible way...

That was a bad game. Could see it coming tho. We have far too many passengers compared to other sides. Reading all these posts have cheered me up however, even given me a good laugh. Keep up the good work; go dees

Truly poor game today. I know it's been said before (and often!) but I cannot believe that we (the MFC) continue to pay players that are unable to consistently kick or handball. Quite shocking today. Pressure or no pressure, doesn't seem to make much difference. Apart from Neville Jetta & Jack Watts, there are really very few that seem to possess the basic skills. I am a little worried about next week when we come up against a good team.

You won't win many games when: Howe gets 20 odd possessions and barely hits a target, two of your three best kicks (Vince and Dunn) butcher it, Kent manages to miss 3 AFL standard shots (one laughably ordinary and worryingly similar to a simple miss against Port Adelaide), Jordie McKenzie barely makes the distance again from 15 metres out directly in front, Tapscott misses a regulation 35 metre kick directly in front, usual suspects Bail and Terlich consistently turn the ball over and every time we go near the goals, we manage to inexplicably [censored] it up.

I suspect this will be another of those Etihad games that we supporters block from our memory banks. At least, I hope it is.

It was a disgusting display. You can't play footy like that and then let that happen in the fourth term.

1. Our disposal was garbage, but usually cries of "KICK IT" when we over handpassed often resulted in a direct, embarrassing turnover (such as Garland)

2. Players didn't work for each other, miscommunication, failure to run and lead. Terrible offensive cohesion (Riley being too slow, turning it over resulting in a direct goal instead of going over the top to Kent, Howe handballing when he should've had a shot, NATHAN JONES handballing sideways when he could've had a shot in the last quarter, Pedersen doing similar when he could've gone over the top.

3. JACK WATTS is NOT an on-baller

4. Because it's his number, I repeat, Jack Watts is NOT an on-baller.

5. We are a team of players afraid to kick goals.

6. Few highlights included our defensive spoiling and Kent's enthusiasm, although good displays from McDonald, Jetta and Howe ended up being marred a bit by poor disposal.

7. Blease- WTF?

8. I wonder if Paul Roos was worried about the scoreboard.

9. Why do we always have to kick over the mark?

10. As far as I can see, we have an attitude problem. It's really not just a few players. That includes Jones, who is winning the hard footy, but constantly looking backwards to facilitate others and not backing himself. We need more from him. But that sort of mindset is an epidemic in the whole team.

3. JACK WATTS is NOT an on-baller

Or a footballer

Live in the UK, woke up, eventually worked up the courage to look up the scores on AFL.com.au

Another loss, not a surprise, shut down computer, had some brekky, went outside, a glorious day, managed to stop thinking about the team for a few hours....... Great

Also...... I am fu%~^%~+^%~+^%~ing sick of losing...........

Wasted my time coming from Geelong to watch garbage - agree with Je Roos Salem's assessment. Won't be wasting my time going or watching again this year

Bernie Vince needs a firm boot in the arse. He is developing some really bad habits and causing far too many turnovers. He was brought in to the side to help our ball usage not add to the problems.

Bernie Vince needs a firm boot in the arse. He is developing some really bad habits and causing far too many turnovers. He was brought in to the side to help our ball usage not add to the problems.

The big kicks out of the back 50 and landing in opposition hands in the middle are happening to often. Thai didn't seem to happen earlier on in the season. What's happened for this change? Fitness perhaps, no hard running to get the ball or create an option?

Why can't ENYAW turn up during this thread? I need a laugh in the worst possible way... [/quoteI was on level 3 at etihad amongst a group of dees supporters (while much of levels 1&2 were empty). Most of us were laughing at the 3 stooges (22 stooges) comedy on the ground. It was almost like our players all had hangovers or were on performance decreasing drugs.

During bye week we had pages and pages of posters on here bemoaning the state of our playing list, and now 10 pages of angst, why are the posters surprised/dismayed/horrified that the performance yesterday was produced by the same list they have been whingeing about?

May be it comes as a shock when professional footballers miss goals from 10 metres out and can't execute the most basic skills properly. The team seems to find a way to take incompetence to a new level.

we kicked out of defense dozens of times directly to lions players, because all of our players were in their forward line blocking up holes and chasing the ball. The rebound from not having forwards or enough forwards is killing us as in most instances the opposition has players running free that they pass to and take the ball the length of the ground before melbourne players ever get near the ball or have a chance to contest.

first option for melbourne players appears to be look backwards, look sideways, dont look forward unless you have to. we are far to slow at moving the ball. While kent did some good things his selfishness in shooting for goal instead of passing it off to other players in better positions like dawes in the goal square, and jones running clear inside him on one other instance is not playing team or percentage football.

McKenzies shot from 10 meters out almost directly in front, shows he cannot take the pressure as there was not alot riding on that shot, I would hate to give him the ball in a real pressure situation and have to rely on his kicking. It also means team mates are probably going to be thinking twice about giving the ball to him in such situations.

During bye week we had pages and pages of posters on here bemoaning the state of our playing list, and now 10 pages of angst, why are the posters surprised/dismayed/horrified that the performance yesterday was produced by the same list they have been whingeing about?

Well, at least the second best thing to ENYAW has turned up.

If that's the case McKenzie shouldn't be there. Roos looked as bewildered as the fans and said that he hadn't seen anything like it in his time in footy. Damning words.

Bernie Vince needs a firm boot in the arse. He is developing some really bad habits and causing far too many turnovers. He was brought in to the side to help our ball usage not add to the problems.

I hate to say it but he's starting to remind me of the bloke we essentially traded for him. He's looking lazy, and undisciplined. He wasn't alone but jeez he torched some golden chances for us to score. His second half of the year has been mostly average.

Slight mistake.

73 people who took the poll who voted from 1-4 compared to 70 who voted in the range from 6-10. In two party terms, that's not a huge win to the 'don't cares' but the fact it's even a race shows how low our supporter self esteem has sunk.

Discussed in the Poll thread, so no point going on with it here. In any case, you're both a) distorting the figures - only about 1% of Demonlanders even bothered with that poll - and b) misrepresenting their meaning. Though given so very few people even bothered with it, that probably sums up its (in)significance.