THE JIGSAW PUZZLE

[Rhino Richards 1,467]

A fair consideration.

Alot will depend upon his OP situation now and over the coming nine months. At the end of the 2006 season, his recovery was indeterminable and uncertain.

While I would like to see him back fit and firing, I am cautious to expect too much from him especially given other players who have had restricted activities due to OP lingering problems.

[Dappa Dan 2,188]

So that's last season and the bulk of 2007 that he'll be taking up space on our list. If he were a lesser player there would be those ready to put a red line through his name.

Should he miss most or all of this season, will his spot be safe? I'm going with an emphatic yes, but playing devil's advocate at the same time. He's a super player and 2 years out hurts you no matter who you are. Will he be the same player in 2008?

[Nasher 33,617]

On the assumption that Moloney out of contract and he has another poor year, I imagine he'd be given a one year contract at the end of 2007. He's a good enough player and has enough runs on the board to be allowed some leeway when it comes to injury and poor form.

[Elwood 3184 1,338]

Freak, your problem is that your glass is half empty. There were plenty of things in the article that were cautiously optimistic and I'd rather read honest opinions than rose coloured ones anyway.

It was interesting reading Freak's comments about the optimism or lack thereof in WJ's report. On the other hand there are people like this fellow on Demonology who says "I don't post on Demonland because i think there is a lot of posters who overuse words like champion and superstar and are ridiculously optimistic."

It seems that you're damned if you do and damned if you don't.

[Chelly 827]

It was interesting reading Freak's comments about the optimism or lack thereof in WJ's report. On the other hand there are people like this fellow on Demonology who says "I don't post on Demonland because i think there is a lot of posters who overuse words like champion and superstar and are ridiculously optimistic."

It seems that you're damned if you do and damned if you don't.

Whoever suggested that certainly doesn't have a clue because there are all sorts who post here from the raging optimists to the eternal pessimists. That's what this message board's about.

In all likelihood the real reason why the person doesn't post here is something else altogether. If you think someone on a message board is being unrealistic then why not put forward your reasons why you think that's the case?

Most probably, the person's frightened of debating here.

[Dappa Dan 2,188]

I reckon you've got a point there Chelly. Furthermore, you'll find most posters, indeed among the top 6 you'll hardly find an optimistic word in ANY of their posts. Rhino, Hannabal, Jaded.... posters like these guys (and girl), who's posts number in the thousands, make up the fabric of this site. They take their debates fairly seriously and "educate" some of the younger, perhaps less learned posters just by passing informed comment. In certain cases they've even been known to fight the good fight over at the sespool that is "Bigfooty." You don't have to look too hard to find a post on demonland that is both informative AND realistic. If you think people are overusing the words "champion" and "star," you must have read only a couple of posts.

I reckon the unfortunate thing with both sites is that the majority of the major posters "get it." They know not to overindulge, clutter up the message board, or insult/degrade posters or players. It's just not on. Sadly though, in both cases the flavour of the sites is coloured by themes that some people find reflects their views less accurately. One man's over-moderation (demonland) may be considered productive, while another man's under-moderation ('ology) may be considered freedom.

I don't post on, or even visit demonology all that much because it seems to me that there are a few (certainly not all) posters who whinge and moan about one thing or another to a)make themselves feel better, b ) make themselves SEEM more intelligent and c)cause an arguement. It wouldn't kill them to be a BIT more positive. They can still have the same opinions too, just expand on the positive points as much as the negative ones. On the flipside of course, if you want to learn about footy, and see some real 20-30 year supporters (poor bastards, no wonder they're cranky), then 'ology is the place to be. Whatever I might be able to say about them, they sure as hell know their footy. For the most part.

Likewise at demonland, which is I believe, a younger site, we have our problems. For the most part it has a wealth of interesting discussions, coupled with a few posters who will, at the drop of a hat, get into a heated debate with you while respecting the "code". Unfortunately we still have to put up with some very sugarcoated points of view. What's worse than that though, are the teenagers who get on here and make wildly ridiculous statements that make little sense, and are backed up with absolutely no hard facts. Just an example is a certain dill who got on here the other day ONLY to say that Neita is his most hated player. With clowns like him, it's little wonder many of the 'ology regulars don't make the trip to demonland... errr.... land...

I've said it before and I'll say it again. If there's criticism and infighting between the sites, then I'm outta here. Sadly, what Elwood has pointed out, is that I've never read of anyone on 'land poking fun at 'ologists. It always seems to be the other way around. That's a shame. Maybe I'll start another thread if anyone wishes to expand.

[Jaded No More 68,973]

Sadly, what Elwood has pointed out, is that I've never read of anyone on 'land poking fun at 'ologists. It always seems to be the other way around. That's a shame. Maybe I'll start another thread if anyone wishes to expand.

That's because we've made it an unofficial rule that any negative discussion about our fellow site will be deleted.

We support Tim and all of his efforts over at Demonology. It's great that we can have not one, but two sites where Melbourne supporters can go.

There is absolutely no way that we're going to let supporters rubbish this site or the other. There is a simple solution for people who don't enjoy reading the posts on either site... don't come and visit anymore. We promise we'll get over it

[Whispering_Jack 30,640]

... at demonland, which is I believe, a younger site, we have our problems. For the most part it has a wealth of interesting discussions, coupled with a few posters who will, at the drop of a hat, get into a heated debate with you while respecting the "code". Unfortunately we still have to put up with some very sugarcoated points of view. What's worse than that though, are the teenagers who get on here and make wildly ridiculous statements that make little sense, and are backed up with absolutely no hard facts. Just an example is a certain dill who got on here the other day ONLY to say that Neita is his most hated player. With clowns like him, it's little wonder many of the 'ology regulars don't make the trip to demonland... errr.... land...

Agreed that there are some clowns around on all sites but there's nothing wrong with encouraging young people to come here. On the other hand, there's everything wrong with discouraging them simply because we don't agree with the views or the way they express themselves.

Yes, young people do make mistakes but hopefully they'll learn from them and get better and this site is all about encouraging Demon supporters to be more passionate about their club.

As it happens, I've just returned from Melbourne's skills training session today at Trinity and I continue to be optimistic about Melbourne's prospects for 2007. I'm not going to suggest that any particular individual has become a champion or a superstar overnight but I will say I liked what I saw and will write about it in a positive vein because that's how I saw it!