Our tale of woe - 2007 to 2015

[Bitter but optimistic 22,242]

Then why do it? It's misery porn. What possible benefit is there in raking over this ancient and unappealing history?

Closed book. Look forward, not back.

"Misery porn", I'm not familiar with that particular genre. I'll need to consult our resident expert Biffen.

[Biffen 12,944]

I can answer that question.

Anything made in England.

Some of the most miserable stuff I've seen.

[praha 11,240]

Refuse to get excited about "improvement" this year until I see it on a consistent basis. The bigger picture about last year is that we weren't much better than we were in 2012 (2013 was by far much worse): beat Essendon, good win away against Adelaide but then wins against Richmond and Carlton don't really paint me excited.

71% is still horrid. If we lose this week by 5+ goals it'll drop to under 70 and we'll be behind where we were last year, because our percentage was quite solid at the half-way point (I think it hit 80% at one point).

[Moonshadow 17,676]

Most depressing thread ever. And just before the Queens birthday game. Thanks for nothing.

[old dee 23,801]

They will use the MFC over this period to write a manual Called

"Everything you should not do at a sporting Club"

It gives us a unique place in history.

[leucopogon 1,519]

They will use the MFC over this period to write a manual Called

"Everything you should not do at a sporting Club"

It gives us a unique place in history.

Chapter 5: Blazers.

[old dee 23,801]

Chapter 5: Blazers.

Now that just ruined my morning leucopogan!

I had managed to put those out of mind.

The up side is that proves we have improved considerably

[Chris 2,892]

I started to compile our season scores from 2007 to the present day. Hoping to see some scoreboard improvement, or something to end the misery. At the end of the day, its all about scoring. I am over all the fluff and puff being feed to us long suffering supporters, Its all to no avail if we can't hit the scoreboard. Yet everyone at the club (players etc) promised a better effort in 2015.

Well, the scoreboard doesn't lie. If you are feeling depressed do not read on. I got even more peeved off compling this.

2006 we played finals, and its no news we have gone backwards ever since,

Season 2007

Failed to Kick more than 2 Goals in a half

R12 Richmond 2.4 1st Half

2007 Lowest Score

R3 H Geelong 2.1 4.4 5.9 8.9 57

5 scores +100

R7 A Western Bulldogs 6.1 7.6 10.9 16.10 106

R13 A Essendon 2.2 9.4 16.9 18.15 123

R14 A Carlton 4.1 9.4 14.6 19.10 124

R19 H Western Bulldogs 5.2 10.7 16.11 19.15 129

R22 H Carlton 7.3 12.6 16.11 21.13 139

==================================

Season 2008

Failed to Kick more than one Goal in a half

R1 Hawthorn 1.5 1st Half

R20 Geelong 1.3 1st Half

Failed to Kick more than 2 Goals in a half

R21 Port 2.4 2nd half

2008 Lowest Scores

R19 H Geelong 0.0 1.3 2.6 5.11 41

R22 H Richmond 2.1 3.1 4.4 6.5 41

2 scores +100

Rnd 7 H Fremantle 1.3 3.8 8.15 17.17 119

Rnd 18 A Essendon 2.2 7.3 11.5 17.6 108

==================================

Season 2009

Failed to Kick more than one Goal in a half

R5 Adelaide 0.3 1st Half

R10 St.Kilda 0.4 2nd Half

Failed to Kick more than 2 Goals in a half

R13 Brisbane 2.2 1st Half

R17 Sydney 2.6 1st Half

2009 Lowest Scores

R5 H Adelaide 0.1 0.3 1.6 4.10 34

R10 A St Kilda 4.5 6.6 6.6 6.10 46

R17 H Sydney 1.2 2.6 4.11 6.14 50

4 scores +100

R4 A Richmond 2.6 10.7 13.11 14.16 100

R14 H West Coast 6.1 11.2 16.6 17.10 112

R15 H Port Adelaide 4.2 9.6 13.9 15.11 101

R20 H Fremantle 4.0 9.4 13.5 20.7 127

==================================

Season 2010

Failed to Kick more than one Goal in a half

R1 Hawthorn 1.6 1st Half

R3 Adelaide 1.8 1st Half

R8 WC 1.5 2nd Half

==================================

Season 2011

Failed to Kick more than one Goal in a half

Rnd 19 Geelong 1.4 1st Half

9 scores +100

R4 A Gold Coast 6.2 11.9 15.14 23.21 159

R7 H Adelaide 2.7 6.11 14.16 22.17 149

R11 A Essendon 3.0 5.4 11.6 15.11 101

R13 H Fremantle 6.5 10.7 14.12 22.17 149

R14 A Richmond 7.1 12.4 14.14 17.16 118

R17 H Port Adelaide 6.2 9.6 16.8 17.11 113

R22 H Richmond 4.0 7.1 14.2 17.8 110

R23 H Gold Coast 4.3 7.5 13.7 17.10 112

R24 A Port Adelaide 3.6 7.11 10.12 15.14 104

==================================

Season 2012

Failed to Kick more than one Goal in a half

R8 Sydney 1.5 1st Half

R9 Carlton 1.6 2nd Half

Failed to Kick more than 2 Goals in a half

R5 St.Kilda 2.5 2nd Half

R20 St.Kilda 2.7 1st Half

2012 Lowest Scores

R8 A Sydney 0.3 1.5 2.7 5.7 37

R23 A Fremantle 1.3 2.5 4.8 5.10 40

2 scores +100 pts

R13 H Greater Western Sydney 6.1 11.4 18.8 20.15 135

R19 H Gold Coast 6.6 10.7 13.8 16.12 108

==================================

Season 2013

Failed to Kick more than one Goal in a half

Rnd 1 Port 1.4 1st Half

Rnd 2 Ess 1.1 1st Half

Rnd 11 Coll 1.7 1st Half

Rnd 18 Nth 1.2 2nd Half

Rnd 21 Freo 1.3 2nd Half

Failed to Kick more than 2 Goals in a half

R9 Freo 2.2

R16 Gee 2.4 1st Half + 2.2 2nd Half Game Total = 4.6.30

2013 Lowest Scores

R2 A Essendon 2.1 4.5 5.5 5.6 36

R9 A Fremantle 1.1 2.2 5.3 6.4 40

R11 H Collingwood 1.5 1.7 3.9 5.9 39

R16 A Geelong 1.2 2.4 3.5 4.6 30

R18 H North Melbourne 1.0 3.2 4.4 4.4 28

R21 H Fremantle 0.2 4.5 5.7 5.8 38

2 scores +100 pts

R4 H Greater Western Sydney 4.5 7.7 10.10 22.12 144

R14 H Western Bulldogs 3.5 8.8 12.12 15.13 103

=================================

Season 2014

Failed to Kick more than one Goal in a half

Rnd 2 West Coast 1.3 1st Half

Rnd 3 GWS 1.5 1st Half

Rnd 12 Coll 1.6 1st Half

Rnd 16 Fre 1.5 1st Half

Rnd 21 GWS 1.7 1st Half

Failed to Kick more than 2 Goals in a half

Rnd 1 Stk 2.10 1st Half

Rnd 12 Coll 2.4 1st Half

Rnd 17 Gee 2.5 1st Half

Rnd 21 GWS 2.9 1st Half

2014 Lowest scores

R2 H West Coast 0.1 1.3 2.4 4.6 30

R6 H Sydney 1.2 2.3 4.4 5.8 38

R12 H Collingwood 1.3 2.4 3.6 3.10 28

R16 H Fremantle 0.2 1.5 3.7 4.10 34

R17 H Geelong 0.2 2.5 4.6 5.6 36

R21 H GWS 2.4 2.9 2.11 3.16 34

** Failed to register a 100 pt game for the year

==================================================

Season 2015

Failed to Kick more than one Goal in a half

Rnd 2 GWS 1.5 2nd Half

Rnd 5 Freo 1.10 2nd Half

Rnd 6 Syd 1.3 1st Half

Failed to Kick more than 2 Goals in a half

Rnd 9 Port 2.4 1st Half

2015 Lowest scores

Rnd 5 H Fremantle 2.2 5.4 6.8 6.14 50

Rnd 6 H Sydney 1.1 1.3 4.5 7.8 50

Rnd 7 A Hawthorn 2.0 3.3 4.6 7.8 50

2 scores +100 pts

R1 H Gold Coast 2.5 7.7 12.9 17.13 115

R8 H Western Bulldogs 3.3 7.5 10.10 15.13 103

=================================================

This actually shows what has happened to the club very clearly. Pre 2008 we were coached by the Rev, his mantra was all about out scoring the opposition, we scored highly, made finals most years, but the list got old and footy moved on and needed a more defensive mindset to win. The Rev got the sack (bad decision).

2008-2011 we were coached by Bailey. Bailey worked with the assets we had, which was high scoring ability, and tried to bring in the defensive structures with some effect. We still got beaten up a bit but as the tally for 2011 shows, we were scoring well and getting there with the defensive stuff. We lose one game by a massive margin to possibly one of the best sides ever and Bailey got sacked (another mistake)

2012 is where the whole thing crashes, Neeld was employed as coach (another mistake). Neeld appears to completely ignore any strengths the team has in attack and throws it out the window. We adopt a purely defensive game which the players don't adhere to, and it doesn't work anyway as it is based on Collingwoods game plan from the previous few years, which everyone now knows how to beat. We go throught two years far worse than the others. Neeld is thankfully sacked in 2013 (the right decision)

2014, We have Roos as coach who also lives by the defence first mantra, the difference between Roos and Neeld is that Roos hasn't lost the players and the players buy in. The team throughout 2014 is one of the harder teams to score against, we just have no attack, Neeld and injuries have thrown all attacking forces the club has/had off the ground.

2015, Roos states he will bring a more attacking flair to the club to compliment the stronger defensive side, this has been clearly evident in some of the games, we have however lost some of the defence as the players are still working out how to do both.

Are we a better side than 2007? Defensively yes, offensively no, overall, probably not.

Are we a better side than the Neeld years, Yes, Yes, and Yes.

We are on the up, you just need to know where to look to see it.

[Jesse Christ 2,884]

Why you do dis?

[praha 11,240]

This actually shows what has happened to the club very clearly. Pre 2008 we were coached by the Rev, his mantra was all about out scoring the opposition, we scored highly, made finals most years, but the list got old and footy moved on and needed a more defensive mindset to win. The Rev got the sack (bad decision).

2008-2011 we were coached by Bailey. Bailey worked with the assets we had, which was high scoring ability, and tried to bring in the defensive structures with some effect. We still got beaten up a bit but as the tally for 2011 shows, we were scoring well and getting there with the defensive stuff. We lose one game by a massive margin to possibly one of the best sides ever and Bailey got sacked (another mistake)

2012 is where the whole thing crashes, Neeld was employed as coach (another mistake). Neeld appears to completely ignore any strengths the team has in attack and throws it out the window. We adopt a purely defensive game which the players don't adhere to, and it doesn't work anyway as it is based on Collingwoods game plan from the previous few years, which everyone now knows how to beat. We go throught two years far worse than the others. Neeld is thankfully sacked in 2013 (the right decision)

2014, We have Roos as coach who also lives by the defence first mantra, the difference between Roos and Neeld is that Roos hasn't lost the players and the players buy in. The team throughout 2014 is one of the harder teams to score against, we just have no attack, Neeld and injuries have thrown all attacking forces the club has/had off the ground.

2015, Roos states he will bring a more attacking flair to the club to compliment the stronger defensive side, this has been clearly evident in some of the games, we have however lost some of the defence as the players are still working out how to do both.

Are we a better side than 2007? Defensively yes, offensively no, overall, probably not.

Are we a better side than the Neeld years, Yes, Yes, and Yes.

We are on the up, you just need to know where to look to see it.

Well firstly, if you watch the Geelong game, it had nothing to do with them being "one of the best teams ever". It was clearly a protest game by the players. They didn't play. It was a protest. I occasionally go back to watch it and am gobsmacked at how they played. It wasn't that they were "bad": they just didn't care. They were outplayed only because they *literally* let themselves be outplayed. We say they get outplayed often, but to actually *let* the team do it to you, it was on purpose. Bailey was a scapegoat but ultimately the players wanted change. They got a man sacked.

I think it's to be expected that we'd be a better team now than we were under Neeld. It's normalisation. There's no way we could still be that bad. But Neeld didn't really do anything different to what Roos is doing. In fact there are a lot of similarities in the rhetoric about "effort", list changes, defensive structures etc. We've replaced one guy with another who has essentially the same mantra, albeit one with more experience in executing it.

Last year imo was worse than 2012. Our second half of the year completely undid everything achieved in the first half. In 2012 we were smashed often but there was still optimism. 2013 broke down and we went back a step. Roos took us forward a step and we were back to 2012 quality. This year we're playing worse footy when we lose than we ever did in the first or second half of 2014. Maybe we're back to 2010 and 2011 levels: great wins, horrible losses.

I just pray to God that the next generation of Melbourne players is different to the one introduced between 2008 and 2011, players that can perform more consistently and with a higher urgency to win. Brayshaw, Hogan look great, but so did Trengove, Jurrah, Watts, Wonna in their early years. In three-four years time, I want some consistent AA's, and more than one player in the league's top 100, as opposed to one guy who can barely crack it (N. Jones).

[DeeVoted 583]

This actually shows what has happened to the club very clearly. Pre 2008 we were coached by the Rev, his mantra was all about out scoring the opposition, we scored highly, made finals most years, but the list got old and footy moved on and needed a more defensive mindset to win. The Rev got the sack (bad decision).

Well done Chris. You summed it all up perfectly. I couldnt have said it better myself. This is the reason why I was tracking our scoring from the time it started to go down hill. Perhaps the 2nd half of this year the 'worm' will turn upwards. The fact still remains, we neeed to put an end to going through 1/2 a game of only scoring 1 goal. That's when we might be able to say we have turned the corner.

Lowest scores during the year mean nothing, as long as we hold the other team to a low score. But we fail to do that most times. A goal scoring shootout might be exciting, but that also doesn't mean we are better. The worrying part it highlights is that we are still playing a 1/2 of footy at times when we struggle to kick more than a goal.

Most of us know who needs to go,and what we need to improve the list,there are numerous threads about those. My data just highlights the ebb and flow over the last 8 yrs. Its not pretty, but it tells a tale. You picked up on it.

[DeeVoted 583]

I just pray to God that the next generation of Melbourne players is different to the one introduced between 2008 and 2011, players that can perform more consistently and with a higher urgency to win. Brayshaw, Hogan look great, but so did Trengove, Jurrah, Watts, Wonna in their early years. In three-four years time, I want some consistent AA's, and more than one player in the league's top 100, as opposed to one guy who can barely crack it (N. Jones).

If I can add to this as it has it merits. Whether it's a competely new group in the coming years, or most of the group we have.

One problem that compounds our woes, is that only a handful stick around and play more that 150 games. We need good players to stick around and stabilise the group. As soon as we get some that show some decent footy, they are gone from the club, Wonna, Jurra, to name a few,they left for unusal reasons. Then we start over.

Howe,Watts, Grimes,Gawn have been around long enough to expect them all to go to another level.When players as these fail to stand up, its back on the merry go round again. But its more to it than just those named. We play dumb footy at times (most times). We fail to block,sheppard, make space to run to.

Just little things to ease the pressure off the receiver. We need to apply that to the opposition. Mostly we give it off without backing up, or any assistance to help out a teammate. 1% ers are underrated.

[jnrmac 20,109]

Most depressing thread ever. And just before the Queens birthday game. Thanks for nothing.

Disagree. Go and read the Adam Goodes thread if you want to get depressed. Oh hang on, you wrote most of it......

[Emerald 1,744]

The MFC in Bizarro World must be awesome.

[praha 11,240]

If I can add to this as it has it merits. Whether it's a competely new group in the coming years, or most of the group we have.

One problem that compounds our woes, is that only a handful stick around and play more that 150 games. We need good players to stick around and stabilise the group. As soon as we get some that show some decent footy, they are gone from the club, Wonna, Jurra, to name a few,they left for unusal reasons. Then we start over.

Howe,Watts, Grimes,Gawn have been around long enough to expect them all to go to another level.When players as these fail to stand up, its back on the merry go round again. But its more to it than just those named. We play dumb footy at times (most times). We fail to block,sheppard, make space to run to.

Just little things to ease the pressure off the receiver. We need to apply that to the opposition. Mostly we give it off without backing up, or any assistance to help out a teammate. 1% ers are underrated.

Yep, we play dumb, dumb football at times.

The MFC in Bizarro World must be awesome.

Well if our wins are good and our loses are horrible, I imagine our wins would be boring, horrible wins that are tough to watch, and our losses are good, acceptable contests

[Wiseblood 24,637]

Disagree. Go and read the Adam Goodes thread if you want to get depressed. Oh hang on, you wrote most of it......

God bless a poster that feels the need to drag stuff from one thread to another, regardless of relevance. Thought you were better than that jnr.

[Moonshadow 17,676]

Disagree. Go and read the Adam Goodes thread if you want to get depressed. Oh hang on, you wrote most of it......

No not most of it, pity maths isn't your thing. For depressing content try reading Andrew Bolt's blog. Oh hang on, you already do.......

[spirit of norm smith 16,481]

Resilience. Faith. Hope.

[Gator 17,386]

For depressing content try reading Andrew Bolt's blog. Oh hang on, you already do.......

Clearly you must too.

[Moonshadow 17,676]

Clearly you must too.

Fortunately not pro. Good try.

[Mazer Rackham 14,971]

Now that just ruined my morning leucopogan!

Oh, stop your bragging, od!

I bet it was ruined already.

[old dee 23,801]

Oh, stop your bragging, od!

I bet it was ruined already.

No TF I am quite happy six days a week it is Dees game day that shatters things.

[Jesse Christ 2,884]

The dees are your dark passenger OD, they're mine too

[Bitter but optimistic 22,242]

The dees are your dark passenger OD, they're mine too

I employ 3 psychologists just to count my "dark passengers" sour! The haven't even got to the dees yet.

[Biffen 12,944]

I employ 3 psychologists just to count my "dark passengers" sour! The haven't even got to the dees yet.

Some Ford pills and a shot of castor oil does the trick for me.

No need to carry baggage.