Dire Straits

[Mono 455]

IMO, the club is broken, and I doubt it can be fixed.

The result of today is that membership will collapse, and no players will want to come to the club, so give up the idea of trading some quality in.

Last year with Roos taking over, there was plenty of hope. There is none now.

[picket fence 17,054]

It's preferable to be rich!

I wonder ?? This might sound a bit simplistic but, Would I get more satisfaction out of life if I was poorer but my footy team was successful?? I mean really successful, Premierships ! ?

[Bitter but optimistic 22,218]

How are the family Bitty?

What on earth has that got to do with anything? One cannot choose family. Social class however, has to do manipulation, deceit and backstabbing.

[rjay 24,883]

The other clubs will riot if we are given a priority pick, and rightly so.

When do you say enough? WHEN? Just beg forever?

That's why a commission was brought in, to stand over and above self interest of the clubs.

In other words who give a f.... about them and what they think, it's time the commission did it's job.

[Bitter but optimistic 22,218]

I wonder ?? This might sound a bit simplistic but, Would I get more satisfaction out of life if I was poorer but my footy team was successful?? I mean really successful, Premierships ! ?

Yes, but imagine if you were filthy rich Pickett and your footy team was successful.

[Moonshadow 17,675]

Yes, but imagine if you were filthy rich Pickett and your footy team was successful.

aka Kennett.

[picket fence 17,054]

Yes, but imagine if you were filthy rich Pickett and your footy team was successful.

Yeeeess I do like the sound of that!

Like the bloke who was asked why he kept hitting himself on the head with a Hammer! His answer "Because it feels so good when I stop"

Hnmm a bit of thought in that?!

[rjay 24,883]

No, not the band, but the postion we are in.

It would be trite to say we are devoid of talent/skill, pace, mental toughness and belief.

Many of us have discussed Priority Picks and some IMO have misguidedly said that is a loser's mindset. Well guess what, we are losers.

I was at 186, this was 187.

IMO we need far more than a PP, we need several.

Anyone who thinks we can get ahead of clubs like GWS and GC, who have been handed great lists by the AFL is dreaming.

Have a good look at the expression on Roos face after the game. He is stunned and shattered. He is a Premiership Coach. He is clearly feeling helpless.

We need to approach the AFL, with Roos and PJ explaining that we have had 8 years of this crap. That our donors, sponsors and members are at risk and therefore our financial viability is also at risk. This can't go on. What will it do to the broadcast negotiations? There is too much at stake.

We should be demanding several picks to try and right the situation. Even if some are given on the basis they must be traded, that would help as we could use our early picks in the draft and trade for better players than we have currently, with the PP's.

I am not suggesting this as a quick fix, but rather a method to make us competitive. I can't see any other working. For every player we draft so does every other club and generally we stuff it up.

IMO without immediate improvement the future of this club is at real risk.

I am not saying the AFL will give us anything, but we will have been totally negligent and derelict in our duty to the club's future, if we don't at least try.

Spot on 'Redleg', if they want a competition then it must happen.

What those whinging about charity don't seem to get is that the 2 new clubs have sucked the talent pool dry which has artificially allowed clubs like Geelong to remain at the top longer without bottoming out and has meant the middle rung clubs will never be a real flag threat in this player cycle.

It has meant that a club like ours, poised to make a run have been crippled by poor administration when it was critical to not make one wrong decision. Yes we screwed ourselves but got a big help from the AFL expansion. All priority picks would do is help restore the balance.

[Deetective Sgt. Taggert 389]

Melbourne has not made the finals since 2006 and has won just 10 games in three seasons. It kicked three goals against the second worst points against team for 2014, managing to kick five goals or fewer for the sixth time this season. If ever a team had a case for a priority pick it is the Demons. If they don't receive one, which they probably won't given the problems seem bigger than one extra pick could solve, then the priority pick is effectively dead.

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2014-08-17/five-talking-points-melbourne-v-gws

[Bitter but optimistic 22,218]

aka Kennett.

You're onto it Moon.

Yeeeess I do like the sound of that!

Like the bloke who was asked why he kept hitting himself on the head with a Hammer! His answer "Because it feels so good when I stop"

Hnmm a bit of thought in that?!

Now you are getting far too philosophical Pickett.

Time to stop or Gnasher will be banning me for derailing threads.

Although, judging by his comments on another thread, it is possible he has slashed his wrists.

[Chook 15,012]

No priority picks. No extra financial assistance. Simply sink or swim on your love for the club. If we sink, then so be it.

[picket fence 17,054]

Spot on 'Redleg', if they want a competition then it must happen.

What those whinging about charity don't seem to get is that the 2 new clubs have sucked the talent pool dry which has artificially allowed clubs like Geelong to remain at the top longer without bottoming out and has meant the middle rung clubs will never be a real flag threat in this player cycle.

It has meant that a club like ours, poised to make a run have been crippled by poor administration when it was critical to not make one wrong decision. Yes we screwed ourselves but got a big help from the AFL expansion. All priority picks would do is help restore the balance.

Only if you recruit and develop well!! something er we have er failed to do in the last 10 years!! In fact other clubs have laughed there heads of at our expense. I don't buy the sort of Comments like" Oh yeah "........................" we would have picked him up but he went early to Melbourne yeah [censored] woulda, coulda, shoulda, our recruiting has been in the last 10 years the worst of any footy club EVER! we deserve to be where we are!

Under Roos at least this year, there has been some reasonable pickups!

[titan_uranus 24,974]

We will continue to be unable to make use of high-end draft picks unless and until the culture at the club fundamentally changes.

I thought we'd done a lot of work this year to push beyond the kinds of efforts we saw today. Clearly that is not the case. Turning over the list might continue to assist, but as it stands, a priority pick won't do us any good if we're not able to rid the mental problems plaguing the side.

For that reason I'm not fussed about a PP at all. If we get one, fine. If we don't, fine. Either way the focus of the club has to be on fixing the current group of players, the majority of whom will be here next year.

[Dr. Gonzo 24,186]

Spot on 'Redleg', if they want a competition then it must happen.

What those whinging about charity don't seem to get is that the 2 new clubs have sucked the talent pool dry which has artificially allowed clubs like Geelong to remain at the top longer without bottoming out and has meant the middle rung clubs will never be a real flag threat in this player cycle.

It has meant that a club like ours, poised to make a run have been crippled by poor administration when it was critical to not make one wrong decision. Yes we screwed ourselves but got a big help from the AFL expansion. All priority picks would do is help restore the balance.

Every club has been in the same situation, what makes us any different? If it wasn't for the expansion clubs we would have two different players on our list from the 2011 and 2012 drafts we would also probably still have Scully and would have missed out on Hogan. The MFC needs to stop playing the victim and looking for people to blame or we will not get anywhere.

[jackaub 1,402]

We will not be given a PP.

The AFL do not care about the MFC.

We'll be lucky to get pick 3 compo for Frawley, once sides have a whinge - that will probably be relegated to pick 19 or 20.

Next year, we'll hear Gill say that it is up to the Demons to improve.

When you run a comp reactive to public opinion and backlash, it makes it hard to make simple - and logical - decisions.

We should've had a priority pick last year, we were absolute garbage.

Picks are wasted commodity at the dees pathetic when you look at the results

[rjay 24,883]

Every club has been in the same situation, what makes us any different? If it wasn't for the expansion clubs we would have two different players on our list from the 2011 and 2012 drafts we would also probably still have Scully and would have missed out on Hogan. The MFC needs to stop playing the victim and looking for people to blame or we will not get anywhere.

It's why there is now a big divide in the competition if you haven't noticed. Every club has been effected, it's just they were at different stages of development. The effect on the top clubs has meant they have been able to hold on longer, the middle clubs like Richmond, Carlton and North will never bridge the gap...and we had the double whammy with an absolutely atrocious mob ruining the club.

It's not about victim, it's about common sense or we might as well hand in the licence.

[Dr. Gonzo 24,186]

It's why there is now a big divide in the competition if you haven't noticed. Every club has been effected, it's just they were at different stages of development. The effect on the top clubs has meant they have been able to hold on longer, the middle clubs like Richmond, Carlton and North will never bridge the gap...and we had the double whammy with an absolutely atrocious mob ruining the club.

It's not about victim, it's about common sense or we might as well hand in the licence.

Your argument doesn't make any sense - every club has been affected but we above all others deserve extra assistance? Port and Freo were in similar situations to us but have turned it around. Why shouldn't Richmond or North get a PP they missed out on top 5 picks as well.

On SEN they were going through the criteria for a PP and we would definitely get onegoing by that but would it fix things? It probably wouldn't hurt but we have to get to the fundamentals of why we are in the position we're in. I should add though that even if we get a PP there's nothing to say it would be pick 1, it could be pick 19/20.

[monoccular 17,413]

Dire Straits

Through these fields of destruction

Baptism of fire

I've witnessed your suffering

As the battle raged higher

And though they did hurt me so bad
in the fear and alarm

You did not desert me

My brothers in arms............except they did :-(

They have deserted the supporter base big time.

I suspect we may struggle to get 20K members next year, and get 20K to any match with this [censored] being served up.

It is a dire emergency, and I can't see a way out.

As one poster said, this was 187!!! :-(((

[s-t-i-n-g-a 439]

The big clubs have the fixture and free agency. Why shouldn't we have a priority pick?

[rjay 24,883]

Your argument doesn't make any sense - every club has been affected but we above all others deserve extra assistance? Port and Freo were in similar situations to us but have turned it around. Why shouldn't Richmond or North get a PP they missed out on top 5 picks as well.

On SEN they were going through the criteria for a PP and we would definitely get onegoing by that but would it fix things? It probably wouldn't hurt but we have to get to the fundamentals of why we are in the position we're in. I should add though that even if we get a PP there's nothing to say it would be pick 1, it could be pick 19/20.

Of course it does, you just don't want to see it.

You and I both know we were C.S..ed at a time we could ill afford it. All clubs have been effected in different ways as I said. For some clubs the new teams meant they were able to hold their positions at the top end of the ladder longer than they would have if the teams below had access to top end talent. Free agency and player movement has been an absolute godsend for them as well. For others around the middle it meant they could be competitive but move no further. For the new clubs it means a dynasty in the next few years.

St Kilda will need help in the next year or so, we need it now unless of course the AFL are happy for us to pack up and just become a memory. The other clubs don't have this issue. It is very real for us now, unless we win a premiership in the not to distant future our supporter base will not grow. We can't just be competitive we have to start winning or shrink and go away.

I'm sick of the Melbourne supporter, it's not fair attitude in fact I couldn't give a f....about the other clubs and what they think. We need to push every avenue we can to get this club off it's knees. They can please themselves..

[Dr. Gonzo 24,186]

Of course it does, you just don't want to see it.

You and I both know we were C.S..ed at a time we could ill afford it. All clubs have been effected in different ways as I said. For some clubs the new teams meant they were able to hold their positions at the top end of the ladder longer than they would have if the teams below had access to top end talent. Free agency and player movement has been an absolute godsend for them as well. For others around the middle it meant they could be competitive but move no further. For the new clubs it means a dynasty in the next few years.

St Kilda will need help in the next year or so, we need it now unless of course the AFL are happy for us to pack up and just become a memory. The other clubs don't have this issue. It is very real for us now, unless we win a premiership in the not to distant future our supporter base will not grow. We can't just be competitive we have to start winning or shrink and go away.

I'm sick of the Melbourne supporter, it's not fair attitude in fact I couldn't give a f....about the other clubs and what they think. We need to push every avenue we can to get this club off it's knees. They can please themselves..

Who did we miss out on due to the expansion drafts? Maybe say a kid like Prestia in one. We used our first pick in another to trade away for Clark. We also would not have got the compo for Scully leaving which netted us Hogan. I think you're putting far too much weight on blaming those drafts for us being so [censored]. We should have already been working our way up the ladder following the 2006-2009 drafts anyway and not have to worry about getting pick 11/12 instead of 5 in a couple of drafts.

[Earl Hood 6,082]

We will continue to be unable to make use of high-end draft picks unless and until the culture at the club fundamentally changes.

I thought we'd done a lot of work this year to push beyond the kinds of efforts we saw today. Clearly that is not the case. Turning over the list might continue to assist, but as it stands, a priority pick won't do us any good if we're not able to rid the mental problems plaguing the side.

For that reason I'm not fussed about a PP at all. If we get one, fine. If we don't, fine. Either way the focus of the club has to be on fixing the current group of players, the majority of whom will be here next year.

So what is wrong with the majority of the current group? If we knew that we could maybe fix it. I will go with all the help we can get, an extra pick may help. In the end if we can get two or three more competitive beasts who have some talent onto the list we may begin to turn this ship wreck around. The lack of leadership in this group at the moment is just appalling!

[rjay 24,883]

Who did we miss out on due to the expansion drafts? Maybe say a kid like Prestia in one. We used our first pick in another to trade away for Clark. We also would not have got the compo for Scully leaving which netted us Hogan. I think you're putting far too much weight on blaming those drafts for us being so [censored]. We should have already been working our way up the ladder following the 2006-2009 drafts anyway and not have to worry about getting pick 11/12 instead of 5 in a couple of drafts.

Absolutely agree with this and it really p....me off to the max. Like I said we were C.S..ed. I am still so angry about what happened but it did and now we need to fix it. Believe me I don't blame those drafts for our predicament it rests fairly and squarely on the people who were running the club. I hope the current mob can fix it but would like to see all remnants of the last mob gone...are you out there Russell???

Remember it wasn't just the top end picks, it filtered down through the entire draft a lot of good players were taken out of the system, it has had an effect. We need to bring some class into the club and draft assistance will help, it's not the be all and end all I know but it will help.

[Redleg 40,837]

Your argument doesn't make any sense - every club has been affected but we above all others deserve extra assistance? Port and Freo were in similar situations to us but have turned it around. Why shouldn't Richmond or North get a PP they missed out on top 5 picks as well.

On SEN they were going through the criteria for a PP and we would definitely get onegoing by that but would it fix things? It probably wouldn't hurt but we have to get to the fundamentals of why we are in the position we're in. I should add though that even if we get a PP there's nothing to say it would be pick 1, it could be pick 19/20.

Can't you see that we live in a rigged football competition. Rigged by draws ensuring some get rich and others stay poor and need handouts. Chip will be our 5th player lost to a new rule, FA. All have gone to better clubs than us and most to the strong ones. Is that fair. You obviously think it is. I don't.

We need help to become competitive. Those that think we don't, can enjoy another 8 crap years. I hope there is a club left at the end of the next 8.

Of course there is no guarantee that PP's will make us competitive, but they won't hurt.

We need every bit of help we can get. The competition needs us to be better than 3 goals in a game, against the crippled 2nd worst team in the competition, as it was on the ladder this morning.

[ijbfossil 77]

I want to go back to the "Will you care if we finish last vote".

1 - clearly all those who didn't were not there today - not good enough (but lucky).

2 - it was Member appreciation day - maybe 17,000 odd members - no appreciation after the game started - but still so many of the 22 just not good enough.

3 - I saw the all time VFL/AFL record loss at Waverley in 1979 v Fitzroy - 190 points - but was young enough to get distracted by other things afterwards - not so now - absolutely gutted.

4 - how many members won't renew in 2015 after today (I already have) - how many young Demons will give up on the the Club for ever after today - the damage done massive.