6 hours ago, ShaneJ said:

Well, what if we lose to Collingwood but Adelaide beat West Coast and we make the eight. Are we undeniably a failure because we didn't beat Collingwood in Round 23, or are we a success because Adelaide won and we made finals? I'm not basing our entire year on who wins out of  West Coast vs Adelaide.

I was firmly in the "fail to make finals and we've failed" camp, but this Vulcan-like display of logic has changed my opinion.

7 hours ago, beelzebub said:

website ?? ...Parallel dimension !! 

Take me to that dimension @Clint Bizkit.

How much drugs will it take though?

Edited August 22, 20178 yr by Rodney (Balls) Grinter

4 hours ago, Sir Why You Little said:

We sit in different chairs

you are soft

 

I'm not soft. I judge whether the year's a success on the year and not whether we make the eight.

2007 was a failure. Dean Bailey era was a failure. Mark Neeld era was a failure.

Every year from 2014 onwards we've gotten better on field and therefore it has been a success. Not to mention off field. Saying this year is a failure is like saying Simon Goodwin didn't have a good first year as coach. I mean, are you kidding me??? The guy's been fantastic for us. We've had a HORRIBLE run with injuries - seriously this has been the season from hell on that front. Meanwhile our young bloods keep developing and AGAIN in 2018 I guarantee we will be better again. If we aren't, then it's a failure for sure.

Of course I will be screaming and disappointed if we fail to beat Collingwood on Saturday, but in terms of the bigger picture I'm happy with Melbourne's year and where we're going regardless of the weekend's outcome. 

1 minute ago, ShaneJ said:

I'm not soft. I judge whether the year's a success on the year and not whether we make the eight.

2007 was a failure. Dean Bailey era was a failure. Mark Neeld era was a failure.

Every year from 2014 onwards we've gotten better on field and therefore it has been a success. Not to mention off field. Saying this year is a failure is like saying Simon Goodwin didn't have a good first year as coach. I mean, are you kidding me??? The guy's been fantastic for us. We've had a HORRIBLE run with injuries - seriously this has been the season from hell on that front. Meanwhile our young bloods keep developing and AGAIN in 2018 I guarantee we will be better again. If we aren't, then it's a failure for sure.

Of course I will be screaming and disappointed if we fail to beat Collingwood on Saturday, but in terms of the bigger picture I'm happy with Melbourne's year and where we're going regardless of the weekend's outcome. 

Next year same question, different answer, right?????

8 hours ago, Lord Travis said:

25% of you need to harden up and demand more of the club. Missing finals would be a failure. Stop making up excuses and demand more or we will never get anywhere. Successful teams are never satisfied.

I for one don't believe for a second it really matters WHAT we demand. All that truly matters to the players and coaching staff is the standards they set for themselves and eachother. I too like to think I have a genuine influence on the behaviours and mentality of the people who can execute my grand and illustrious plans but then reality kicks in and I just sit back, watch and enjoy the ride 

10 minutes ago, willmoy said:

Next year same question, different answer, right?????

What are you insinuating sir?

3 hours ago, ShaneJ said:

I'm not soft. I judge whether the year's a success on the year and not whether we make the eight.

2007 was a failure. Dean Bailey era was a failure. Mark Neeld era was a failure.

Every year from 2014 onwards we've gotten better on field and therefore it has been a success. Not to mention off field. Saying this year is a failure is like saying Simon Goodwin didn't have a good first year as coach. I mean, are you kidding me??? The guy's been fantastic for us. We've had a HORRIBLE run with injuries - seriously this has been the season from hell on that front. Meanwhile our young bloods keep developing and AGAIN in 2018 I guarantee we will be better again. If we aren't, then it's a failure for sure.

Of course I will be screaming and disappointed if we fail to beat Collingwood on Saturday, but in terms of the bigger picture I'm happy with Melbourne's year and where we're going regardless of the weekend's outcome. 

No. You must take your chances when they arrive. If we don't, then it is a fail

we have a perfect opportunity to play finals NOW

Not dream of next year, but actually do something in the now...

I don't understand the logic to the bar for failure somehow changing throughout the year. You set a pass mark at the start of the year. It doesn't change because the team performs better or worse than expected. The answer to the question of whether missing finals this season is a failure should be exactly the same answer as given in Round 1.

The pass mark I had for this season was more wins, better percentage, and improvement in game style, ball movement, scoring etc. it wasn't finals or bust. In my mind that was next year. I did think we'd be in the frame for finals this year but I didn't have it as a hard pass mark.

There are a few key individual performances that have gotten us to this point a little ahead of time (imo). 

I didn't anticipate Oliver setting, dare I say it, unprecedented standards for a second year midfielder to become arguably our best inside mid and a shoe in for the AA squad.

I knew Hibberd was once and would again be a gun. I didn't expect him to be a red hot favourite for a back flank in the AA side in his first year returning to football.

I didn't expect Pedo to be statistically the number one ruck in the competition during his 8 week stint of filling in for Gawn.

I didn't expect Melkshake to be much use at all, let alone continue to grow as a senior player on the ground and kick some vitally important goals in a specially crafted forward role.

And finally, I thought Goody might need a year in the senior chair before taking this group to September. But he's on the verge of doing just that. A testament to both him and the talent, belief and fight within the group.

Keep in mind this squad is the third youngest in the league. The two squads younger than ours are battling it out for the wooden spoon. Meanwhile we're playing to be in September.

The future isn't just bright. It's blinding.

The unexpected is a large part of what makes footy fun. To have expectations exceeded. My expectations for season 2017 have been exceeded. And I'm loving it.

I believe the % gap is about 42 points. So if we lost by 10 points, the eagles would have to win by 33 points to overtake us. 

The last time this poll was run I was undecided if the season would be a failure if we missed the finals. Now I'm firmly in the "Yes" camp.

At the start of the season I predicted we would have ended up with 12-13 wins. But given some of the huge wins we've had including Adelaide and Eagles away, the season has exceeded my expectations (given the injury situation). In hindsight, I believe we are at least a couple of wins behind where we should be.

Anything less than finals is a failure, particularly when reflecting on losses against Freo and North (12 points squandered). You just can't afford to drop that many points against inferior opposition.