Fair to assume we wont be in the final eight this year. This will be ten years without a final but a chance of ten years in the bottom five. Would like to know how many clubs have experienced this. Is this the biggest drought ever? Even new kids on the block dont have such misery. Aside from better draft picks is the afl really helping struggling clubs? it cant be all our own doing? Would like to know some stats from the brianacs out there. 

And in a hundred years we will be still unable to crack a finals spot in the final 16

This is 70's , 80's revisited. It will click & turn suddenly. It's then all about taking our chance once the window opens....Don't write this season off too early... Long way to go still.

16 minutes ago, leave it to deever said:

Fair to assume we wont be in the final eight this year. This will be ten years without a final but a chance of ten years in the bottom five. Would like to know how many clubs have experienced this. Is this the biggest drought ever? Even new kids on the block dont have such misery. Aside from better draft picks is the afl really helping struggling clubs? it cant be all our own doing? Would like to know some stats from the brianacs out there. 

Wouldn't have thought so, by a long, long stretch. Sth Melbourne, when they played finals in 77 hadn't played in many years. Then you have StKilda and Hawthorn of years gone by. 

What you fail to understand is that, for the last decade, we have been lulling the competition into a false sense of security. It's devilish in its simplicity and complete and utter cunning. . 

Self inflicted for all the reasons which have been posted on demonland during the last decade!

On that looking at the competition the AfL have failed to provide an even competition with their equalisation policies... 

Since 05 = Hawks 4 flags & 5 gf Cats 3 flags & 4 gf Swans 2flags & 3 gf wc 1 flag 3 gf filth 1 flag saints 2 gf freo gf 

 

 

 

17 minutes ago, Return to Glory said:

Wouldn't have thought so, by a long, long stretch. Sth Melbourne, when they played finals in 77 hadn't played in many years. Then you have StKilda and Hawthorn of years gone by. 

South finished in the top four in 1970.

As for St kilda and Hawthorn...im not sure which periods you refer too.

I think if someone pointed out to us ten years ago we would not make the finals, I for one would never have believed it. God willing it wont happen for the next ten. 

Also I think before our finals appearance in 2000 the year before we didn.t make the eight. So yeah change can occur quickly and maybe ext year we will make them. Im pretty sure not many think we will do it this year. Ill be happy with more than seven wins/ Nine is a pass for me given last weeks game.

2 hours ago, leave it to deever said:

South finished in the top four in 1970.

As for St kilda and Hawthorn...im not sure which periods you refer too.

I think if someone pointed out to us ten years ago we would not make the finals, I for one would never have believed it. God willing it wont happen for the next ten. 

Also I think before our finals appearance in 2000 the year before we didn.t make the eight. So yeah change can occur quickly and maybe ext year we will make them. Im pretty sure not many think we will do it this year. Ill be happy with more than seven wins/ Nine is a pass for me given last weeks game.

Hawthorn were ordinary in the 50s. A long time ago.

12 hours ago, leave it to deever said:

Fair to assume we wont be in the final eight this year. This will be ten years without a final but a chance of ten years in the bottom five. Would like to know how many clubs have experienced this. Is this the biggest drought ever? Even new kids on the block dont have such misery. Aside from better draft picks is the afl really helping struggling clubs? it cant be all our own doing? Would like to know some stats from the brianacs out there. 

Hawthorn after joining the competition in 1925 (I think) didn't play finals until the late 50's.

Richmond runners up in 82' didn't make finals again until 95'.

Then there's us 64' - 87' of course. So yeah there have been worse. Doesn't make it much easier though.

I wasn't alive during the 70s and for most of the 80s but for those that were that I know, they all say that the past 10 years, particularly 2012, 2013, 2014, were worse, if not far more frustrating. Consider that in the 70s the club had come off arguably the greatest era of all time. 

 

If you look at all clubs over the past 10 years, Melbourne has the worst record over that period.

 

I believe that if you look over the past 20 years, we're in the bottom 3.

 

That says a lot of how bad our last 10 years have been considering we played in 6 finals series and a grand final in the decade of 1996-2006. 

2007-2016 has been so bad that it has all but completely wiped the decade prior off the map, and dragged us down. 

 

Richmond has been prolific in their inability to make finals and *win* finals but let's not forget that we bag them for finish 9th. Melbourne can't even win two games in row. Richmond had a handful of 10-12 win seasons between 1995 and 2012. There was hope, even if it was so often shot down.

 

We have also gone bad at the worst possible moment. 

 

Melbourne is going to great lengths to get itself back on track both on and off the field, but I remain skeptical: I think that the league has changed the past 3-4 years, and it's harder to come back from years at the bottom than it was, say, in 2010. I think the league's changed a LOT, especially with free agency. The club has to make inroads on-field in 2016 and if it doesn't, I remain skeptical that it can in the near future.

I always wondered how a team that essentially dominated the league in the 50s and 60s, created the game, and was so firmly embedded in the inner-city 'burbs and eastern area, could continuously struggle with support, members, money and interest.

Now, the obvious answer is of course that, well, they're not a very good football club: no one wants to watch or buy a crappy brand. I get that. Trust me, I watch them every week and I know how hard it can be to support a bad club.

But let's look at Melbourne's two worst eras: the period between 1965 and 1986, and the period between 2007 and 2015. 

These eras are important, because they represent important cultural shifts in the ways in which we engage with, share and embrace information: the rise of television, and the rise of social media.

1965-1986
In this period, Melbourne never made the finals.
Melbourne won 4 wooden spoons
My dad and his brothers often tell me that this period was far worse than anything we've seen from the club during any other "down" time
100-point beltings were frequent

2007-2015
Embarrassing number of records against us
No wins against Hawthorn, North, St Kilda
No wins in Perth
No finals appearances
2 wooden spoons
Five seasons with only 4 or fewer wins (2008: 3, 2009: 4, 2012: 4, 2013: 2, 2014: 4)

Can't win two in a row

In 1965, we were starting to see a rise of the television, and by the 70s, it was expanding and networks were moving out into regional areas. Football's reach was expanding but Melbourne was always at the bottom of the ladder and interest rankings.

In 2007, we started to see the growth in social media, Youtube, Facebook and Twitter: since then, during a time when people share stories and videos, the good stories are shared and spread at an intense pace...but so are the bad stories.

Is it viable to consider that Melbourne could very well be the unluckiest club in the land, to have not just bottomed out, but bottomed out during two of the most important eras of technology and media?

 

5 minutes ago, praha said:

1965-1986
In this period, Melbourne never made the finals.
Melbourne won 4 wooden spoons
My dad and his brothers often tell me that this period was far worse than anything we've seen from the club during any other "down" time
100-point beltings were frequent

Im not sure if this is an even comaprison given that in 1976 we finished sixth out of twelve which today translates to eighth and a finals birth. Some very interesting points about the media. I think this would have stunted our supporter base.

 

On second thoughts you are correct. I did say plays finals in the original post.

1 minute ago, leave it to deever said:

Im not sure if this is an even comaprison given that in 1976 we finished sixth out of twelve which today translates to eighth and a finals birth. Some very interesting points about the media. I think this would have stunted our supporter base.

 

Well overall a period bad period, though. 2010 was a fun year for Melbourne fans after two years finishing last. I don't think that negates the fact the past decades has been the pits.

14 hours ago, leave it to deever said:

South finished in the top four in 1970.

As for St kilda and Hawthorn...im not sure which periods you refer too.

I think if someone pointed out to us ten years ago we would not make the finals, I for one would never have believed it. God willing it wont happen for the next ten. 

Also I think before our finals appearance in 2000 the year before we didn.t make the eight. So yeah change can occur quickly and maybe ext year we will make them. Im pretty sure not many think we will do it this year. Ill be happy with more than seven wins/ Nine is a pass for me given last weeks game.

Sorry re South. Prior to 1970? Re Hawthorn see other posts. St Kilda - 1940 to 1960

And cheer up about the Essendon match.

In 1954 we lost to St Kila who were god awful and won the spoon, yet we still played in the Grand Final that year in our first of 11 years of dominance!