THIS GLOOM & DOOM IS RIDICULOUS

[Cranky Franky 1,489]

Buck up guys the slashing of wrists since the Hawthorn debacle is getting silly.

Lets be realistic. We won 4 games last year & hopefully can get 6-8 wins this year. We started the season well & showed great improvement. Then injuries - Jetta, Kent, JKH, Viney, Salem, Hogan. Then a number of players badly out of form - Watts, Jamar, Howe, Dunn, Gawn, Dawes. On top of this our better mids N Jones & Tyson both look a bit proppy.

You take effectively 8+ players out of our best 22 & of course we are going to struggle.

Look at poor Stretch - once in the better players at Casey & straight into the Firsts. At the Swans he would need to do this 5 or 6 times before getting promoted.

While last week was disappointing we will continue to struggle until we get a decent, in form group of 22 players out there. I still reckon we can take a step forward & win 6-8 games.

[jackaub 1,402]

So F all has changed since last year. I also fail to see which games we will win going forward

I would like to be betting on Carlton Brisbane and the Saints to beat us

[daisycutter 28,590]

So F all has changed since last year. I also fail to see which games we will win going forward

I would like to be betting on Carlton Brisbane and the Saints to beat us

ebay is your friend, jack http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2060353.m570.l1313.TR12.TRC2.A0.H0.XKnives.TRS0&_nkw=Knives&_sacat=0

[The Reverend 1,704]

Buck up guys the slashing of wrists since the Hawthorn debacle is getting silly.

Lets be realistic. We won 4 games last year & hopefully can get 6-8 wins this year. We started the season well & showed great improvement. Then injuries - Jetta, Kent, JKH, Viney, Salem, Hogan. Then a number of players badly out of form - Watts, Jamar, Howe, Dunn, Gawn, Dawes. On top of this our better mids N Jones & Tyson both look a bit proppy.

You take effectively 8+ players out of our best 22 & of course we are going to struggle.

Look at poor Stretch - once in the better players at Casey & straight into the Firsts. At the Swans he would need to do this 5 or 6 times before getting promoted.

While last week was disappointing we will continue to struggle until we get a decent, in form group of 22 players out there. I still reckon we can take a step forward & win 6-8 games.

Nice to see someone on the reality bus. As a former coach, who shall remain nameless, once said, "It is what it is." We simply don't have the depth yet to cover key players being out. Think back to the Richmond game when we were close to full strength. We looked remarkably better than last year. Next year we will clear out some strugglers and bring in some more capable footballers. We're not in a position to be bagging big names just yet but in another couple of years we will do okay out of free agency. We need to be patient. I believe we are on the right track. Roos and Jackson are laying the foundations. Remember when we were worried about sponsors. Now new ones come on board and little is even said. It just happens. The recruiting has been better. We're starting to build the basis of a team. I don't think we're far from giving a few sides a bit of a shock. We just need to get all our ducks in a line and it will start to happen.

[dpositive 1,547]

Buck up guys the slashing of wrists since the Hawthorn debacle is getting silly.

Lets be realistic. We won 4 games last year & hopefully can get 6-8 wins this year. We started the season well & showed great improvement. Then injuries - Jetta, Kent, JKH, Viney, Salem, Hogan. Then a number of players badly out of form - Watts, Jamar, Howe, Dunn, Gawn, Dawes. On top of this our better mids N Jones & Tyson both look a bit proppy.

You take effectively 8+ players out of our best 22 & of course we are going to struggle.

Look at poor Stretch - once in the better players at Casey & straight into the Firsts. At the Swans he would need to do this 5 or 6 times before getting promoted.

While last week was disappointing we will continue to struggle until we get a decent, in form group of 22 players out there. I still reckon we can take a step forward & win 6-8 games.

Good stuff not so cranky franky

[The Stigga 879]

Same old [censored].

Whats changed between round 1 2007 and round 7 2015? We lost to Hawthorn by 100 points.

[jnrmac 19,059]

Team bonding at Casey Fields

[Elusive Tunbridge 795]

I understand the argument you're putting, franky, but what I saw from the Ponsford on Saturday made feelings of gloom and doom almost irresistible.

[jackaub 1,402]

ebay is your friend, jack http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2060353.m570.l1313.TR12.TRC2.A0.H0.XKnives.TRS0&_nkw=Knives&_sacat=0

thanks Dc already have a fine selection at home in the kitchen

[jackaub 1,402]

Same old [censored].

Whats changed between round 1 2007 and round 7 2015? We lost to Hawthorn by 100 points.

ExZachery!

[Straight Sets Simon 23,113]

Team bonding at Casey Fields

Finally learning how to tackle?

[The Stigga 879]

What concerns me most is the divide between the top and bottom sides.

We are at least 5/6 years off finals with the current state of the list.

[daisycutter 28,590]

What concerns me most is the divide between the top and bottom sides.

We are at least 5/6 years off finals with the current state of the list.

hmmm.....we said that 7 years ago......

[Straight Sets Simon 23,113]

Same old [censored].

Whats changed between round 1 2007 and round 7 2015? We lost to Hawthorn by 100 points.

That's scary.

[praha 10,286]

Not doom and gloom. Simply realism

And on top of that, another 10 goal loss coming up this week.

[The Stigga 879]

Not doom and gloom. Simply realism

And on top of that, another 10 goal loss coming up this week.

Telling game this one on the weekend.

Do we have a soft underbelly?

I think we do.

Picken will eat us for breakfast.

[Little Goffy 12,635]

Viney and Jetta were crucial losses for us, given that they offer a tougher edge that so many of our players lack.

Remember that after the Richmond win the talk was about everyone's surprise at Melbourne 'out-muscling and out-working' an opponent. People joking about how they had to read that twice.

Somewhere in this team, the toughness does exist and the effort can be made. But we also all know that too many players just don't see the point once they feel like a loss is inevitable anyway.

We need to beat a few comparable teams to ourselves, and at some point sneak an unexpected win or two, if we are going to restore enough confidence to the players to get them out of the celler-dweller state of mind.

[P-man 13,224]

I wouldn't be so flippant in saying that "...a number of players badly out of form - Watts, Jamar, Howe, Dunn, Gawn, Dawes. On top of this our better mids N Jones & Tyson both look a bit proppy". You can add Lumumba and (to a certain degree) Vince to that list. Yes, they are playing poorly, and when you have that many players out of sorts, it might explain the poor performances, but it doesn't make it any less of a problem.

Once again, we can properly assess where the team is at after the next three games against more mid-tier opponents, but if the senior players are still turning in bog ordinary performances against the Bulldogs and the like, it might be time for some home truthes about certain players, their actual capabilities, and their future at the club.

Getting Viney and Jetta back will help a great deal, and Tyson badly needs to find some form.

[Dr John Dee 1,057]

Finally learning how to tackle?

Nah, new strategy: the eighteen man midfield (borrowed from that most enlightening rugby union technique, the rolling maul).

[Gorgoroth 12,331]

You know what, it's not doom and gloom,

It's the norm...

That is what's depressing! For so freaking long we have been kicked, then get positive only to get kicked again.

It's not doom or gloom, I expect to be flogged every time these numnuts run out onto the ground.

They have finally ground me down, this club and the players have finally killed my desire to go to games and to watch the team.

I'm past trying to take positives, I'm past watching the young kids so I see a shining light.

I just wish I could get past caring.

[jabberwocky 2,301]

I understand the argument you're putting, franky, but what I saw from the Ponsford on Saturday made feelings of gloom and doom almost irresistible.

The reality is that 100 point thrashings aren't going to make us all bright and cheery.

I think there are too many outs putting too much pressure on too few. That is with a list that is till trying to transition from terrible to average.

[TeamPlayedFine39 8,177]

Buck up guys the slashing of wrists since the Hawthorn debacle is getting silly.

Lets be realistic. We won 4 games last year & hopefully can get 6-8 wins this year. We started the season well & showed great improvement. Then injuries - Jetta, Kent, JKH, Viney, Salem, Hogan. Then a number of players badly out of form - Watts, Jamar, Howe, Dunn, Gawn, Dawes. On top of this our better mids N Jones & Tyson both look a bit proppy.

You take effectively 8+ players out of our best 22 & of course we are going to struggle.

Look at poor Stretch - once in the better players at Casey & straight into the Firsts. At the Swans he would need to do this 5 or 6 times before getting promoted.

While last week was disappointing we will continue to struggle until we get a decent, in form group of 22 players out there. I still reckon we can take a step forward & win 6-8 games.

Very true. There has been huge improvements in the last 18 months but it's hard to see that with the injuries and draw we've had for the last month.

We've played two teams outside of the top 8 this year- and beaten them both.

[drdrake 3,038]

You know what, it's not doom and gloom,

It's the norm...

That is what's depressing! For so freaking long we have been kicked, then get positive only to get kicked again.

It's not doom or gloom, I expect to be flogged every time these numnuts run out onto the ground.

They have finally ground me down, this club and the players have finally killed my desire to go to games and to watch the team.

I'm past trying to take positives, I'm past watching the young kids so I see a shining light.

I just wish I could get past caring.

This is it, it's just the norm.

We talk about Viney, Jetta and co out but we have one bloke who has played 5 games that really is our watch winner. We have no one with experience that takes charge and effects the game when things aren't going our way. We look good when we get to play on our terms, as soon as the game isn't we have no one that's stands up we just capitulate. This is still our main issue the White flag goes up to easy and once it goes up we all go back to our bad habits.

[jnrmac 19,059]

You are all missing the point. Its the basics. tackling running, effort, pressure etc etc.

We fail miserably. That is not talent. Its intent effort and desire. We see it in glimpses but mostly we lack on field leadership.

We also lack players who can get the pill 30 times a match. Haven't had one this year. Last one to do it consistently was Junior. That's the thing with players like Barlow - they know how toget he pill.

[sue 8,448]

The OP gives a number of reasons why things may not be that gloomy but most of those who then indulged in more gloom did not rebut those reasons. We have a thin list, suffered some crucial injuries and played 3 top teams in a row. There is no guarantee that that is the only reason we are crap, but it just might be. Try to be at least a glass 1/4 full guys.