Soft Underbelly MUST become extinct.

[Dante 2,739]

We will never be a chance to win a flag as long as our skills (lack of) remain the same. We were outplayed and outrun yesterday but it was our own lack of skill that cost us any chance of winning this game, even when we got close we still managed to turn the ball over when under no pressure.

We simply have too many players that lack the basic skills to play the game at the highest level and not enough on field leaders to lead the way, its like you go through a deskilling process when you join Melbourne.

After yesterday I can't see how we can play Tommy in the backline any more, he just turns it over too much and is too poor below the knees, he also lacks core strength and is often pushed aside by much smaller players. If he plays forward he is a much better chance to mark than to spoil and would be of greater value, he is just too unreliable as a defender.

I like the way Hunt goes about it but his disposal is killing us, Oscar does an ok job spoiling but I have to turn away when he's got the ball, Nev and Hibberd are trying to cover up for the others and its taking a toll. Lever in, Tom up forward should help. God knows where the ball will go when Bern is kicking in.

Our midfield is lacking in pace and we need some outside speed, Kelly anyone, to offset this we can get the ball but it just goes round in a circle when we do until there is another stoppage. Our midfield clearances are always messy and we have to fight to clear the ball and then mostly hack it forward or to a player in por position.

There was all this talk early in the year about it being impossible to force you way in to the midfield because of the number of in and under we have, well anyone that shows a bit of class should be able to walk in. Our delivery to the forward line is atrocious and it's no wonder that Jesse spends so much up the field rather that sit back and wait for the ball to be bombed on his head.

We won games because of our unrelenting style of pressure football but that doesn't last, you need to have skill as well, we simply don't have it and until we do games like yesterday will continue to happen. 

Lesser clubs know how to play us and they do it so well, they exploit our weaknesses, which are plentiful and in some cases beat us at our own game, Norf are a classic at that, they play hard at the ball football and seem to be harder at it that we are and exploit our defence to score enough to pip us.

Collingwood and the Lions out ran us but the Lions feel a little bit short. Freo beat us because the had Sandi and we didn't have Max, Hawthorn beat us because they always do, same with Sydney.

We need players that can hit targets, preferably our own, not players that turn it over due to simple skill errors, then we might develop some consistency, and we need players with a bit of outside pace, until then we will still be Melbourne.

[DSP 1,488]

After that hour long train ride home from the G, sitting with the other regular demon faithful who once again can not believe what they saw, I promised myself I would get angry over this team anymore this season. Too many times I have paid good money and given up time from my family to go in and see this team serve up the SAME old crap and I am very seriously thinking about not renewing my membership next year.

We looked tired and dis-interested from the GET GO. So many players not running hard and laying limp wristed tackles. These are not things that are available to the Dangers and Dustys of the AFL. These should non negotiables for EVERY player. I know your tired, but so is the hundreds of others in the league. Run till you cant run anymore. Put your body on the line. Do whatever it takes. Nope. Not Melbourne.

The Pies spread and ran hard in that first half. They took it on and marked strongly. They had very little to play for. We got caught up in congestion and played the same old "handball to team mate who is in worse position that you" that we have been doing for years.With EVERYTHING on the line we served up a weak, tired, disinterested brand of footy.

I could see it. The guy next to me could see it. But it seems none of the players wanted to see it - or chose not to do anything about it.

 

Im over it.

 

[Sir Why You Little 37,197]

2 hours ago, DaveyDee said:

You are one seriously sick little puppy. You have this bizarre narrative you post on nearly every thread. Nobody ever said there would not be bumps in the road - in fact your hero PJ says it all the time.

Very frustrating game, the players and coaches were gutted. But until its over Goody has to stay positive, he has no choice.

We are all gutted but its time to start learning from our mistakes and I'm 100% positive that will be driven home to the players. 

Bumps in the road. 

This club hasn't learnt from its mistakes (on the field) for decades

where were the players in the first Quarter, preperation?

I just want value for my money. If you think i am a sick puppy for wanting that, i pity you

[The heart beats true 18,148]

If I have to read another [censored] post about how the club takes people away from time with their family I'll vomit.

The club doesn't take me away from my family. It's a welcome distraction. Hell, I might get an NRL side, an EPL team and a WNBA side.

The club isn't 'taking' you away from anything. You are choosing. I can assure you that no sporting teams 'guarantees' a high win ratio. No one was promised anything.

Stop acting betrayed, and dragging your family into it. It's insulting to them, and to the realities of being a sports fan.

[Wiseblood 24,637]

4 hours ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

 

Who gives a shiiit about other clubs!  I only care about Melbourne. 

So do I, but I'd rather not have tunnel vision.  We make out like we are the only ones who drop games we should win, and while we do it better than most, there are plenty of clubs in the same basket.  

Quote

And please, don't give me the 'how much we have improved this season' stuff.  Yesterday showed we have not improved what really counts: playing four quarters of committed football and we have not done it once all year

We have improved this year.  That's simple fact.  12 wins is an improvement on last year's 10, and to me there is no reason why we can't improve on that in further seasons.  You can let a game like yesterday cloud your judgement, and I would understand that too, but don't be blind to the improvements we have made.

There is still plenty of improvement to be made in terms of how we mentally prepare for games, tweaks to be made to our gameplan and the addition of some further class and talent to the list, but there will be 17 other clubs who will be wanting to do the same by season's end.  

Quote

Sometimes it is wise to park your glass half full, mfc can do no wrong, pollyannaism, at least for a day or two after such a shattering performance.  It wasn't just the loss that hurt it was how we lost!

Is it?  I'm not allowed to handle performances differently to you?  You can throw your hands around wildly as much as you like.  Go right ahead.  I'll give that style a miss.

Quote

Maybe you are insulated from the pain because you didn't see the game - well if you didn't see it, stop the patronising.

Give me a break, LH.  Your 'holier than thou' style of posting is grating at best.  I've seen more than enough losses in my time to know exactly how we played.

What gets me is that we want our players to learn from mistakes, move on from the past and become the team we all want them to be - the problem is, is that as supporters we can't even do it ourselves.  We are stuck in the past - this thread being a case in point.  Roos was right a few years back when he alluded to the negative culture amongst our fans.  It doesn't help the situation in the slightest and I couldn't have agreed with him more.

If we want to the players to move on, then we need to do it as well.  Let's look to the future and how we can improve, which we have done SO well since 2013 when we looked dead and buried.  PJ and Roos didn't dwell on the past, they looked at what they had and worked their backsides off to improve it so we could go some way to erasing a time when we were a laughing stock.  We should do the same.  

[Wiseblood 24,637]

2 hours ago, DaveyDee said:

You are one seriously sick little puppy. You have this bizarre narrative you post on nearly every thread. Nobody ever said there would not be bumps in the road - in fact your hero PJ says it all the time.

Very frustrating game, the players and coaches were gutted. But until its over Goody has to stay positive, he has no choice.

We are all gutted but its time to start learning from our mistakes and I'm 100% positive that will be driven home to the players. 

It's why I enjoy our wins even more, as he literally has nothing to post about.  We take a loss and he is crowing about it in every thread.  It's useless arguing with him though as he'll never change.  

[jnrmac 20,189]

12 hours ago, spirit of norm smith said:

Watched Sydney and Geelong win.  They have a true attitude that 2nd and 3rd efforts are the norm.  

They DO NOT  OVERHANDBALL!! They create run and hit targets 

dees. 210 kicks 200 handballs 

swans. 220 kicks 150 handballs 

cats. 210 kicks 170 handballs 

It helps if you can kick it AND hit a target. There is no team as mentally weak as Melbourne.

I was hopeful that we had solved some of our leadership problems but its clear we have no leaders other than Viney that can will this side over the line with sheer force of determination.

We are consistently outmarked.

I was staggered at the number of times a bioundary throw in would go boundary side and not a single Melbourne player to be seen.

There are a bunch of players that don't deserve to be there and they should be traded. You can't teach some of these idiots how to do the basics. Get rid of em.

[jnrmac 20,189]

54 minutes ago, dl4e said:

The mental problems at Melbourne are the hardest thing to fix. As a club we are soft and it showed yesterday. I believe Goodwin wants to fix it but it will take more than the coach to fix. Maybe we should be doing what the filth are doing and putting the best possible changes in the reserve coaching area and some other areas of administration.

I am disgusted by yesterday but it was typical.

Leadership.

[faultydet 7,623]

10 hours ago, Watts Jurrah Dunn? said:

Very easy to look dejected and shattered in the rooms. 

Drop the charades and just start showing up for 2 hours each weekend you p155 weak individuals. 

Just wanted to bump this post.

[bing181 9,332]

5 hours ago, The heart beats true said:

Wow. Maybe just a touch melodramatic?

This place is more emotional than a 13 year old girl who didn't get invited to a birthday party.

Agree with the sentiment, but can we stop using girls (of any age) as metaphors for melodramatic, emotional etc.

Though something's seriously wrong when showing that you're upset at missing out on an important event is a sign of weakness. And we wonder why more men than women have mental health issues.

[The heart beats true 18,148]

Just now, bing181 said:

Agree with the sentiment, but can we stop using girls (of any age) as metaphors for melodramatic, emotional etc.

Though something's seriously wrong when showing that you're upset at missing out on an important event is a sign of weakness. And we wonder why more men than women have mental health issues.

You're totally right about the gender comment and I apologise.

There's nothing wrong with being upset BUT there is something seriously wrong with acting like a child and manufacturing narratives around misinformation (which my original comment was in refernece too). One could genuinely argue that it's mentally unhealthy. 

[Pates 9,661]

5 hours ago, jnrmac said:

Leadership.

Was this not why we brought in Lewis? Have Melbourne-ified him into accepting mediocrity? I will say this, Lewis was one that really fought hard. In fact I think he tried to bring others into it, but it almost looked like the players had accepy they were losing. 

Things that need to be addressed for next are:

- beating teams that we should be beating 

- putting teams to the sword when the opportunity is there (Brisbane last week)

- learning to stop the bleeding when teams get a run on

Those three things we have witnessed going in the wrong direction this year. We fix one of them and we're cemented in the finals. Two of them and we're up in contention. All of them and your a real contender. 

[jnrmac 20,189]

48 minutes ago, Pates said:

Was this not why we brought in Lewis? Have Melbourne-ified him into accepting mediocrity? I will say this, Lewis was one that really fought hard. In fact I think he tried to bring others into it, but it almost looked like the players had accepy they were losing. 

Things that need to be addressed for next are:

- beating teams that we should be beating 

- putting teams to the sword when the opportunity is there (Brisbane last week)

- learning to stop the bleeding when teams get a run on

Those three things we have witnessed going in the wrong direction this year. We fix one of them and we're cemented in the finals. Two of them and we're up in contention. All of them and your a real contender. 

Lewis played OK. Changed his game from getting the outside ball to the inside ball and we looked a lot better.

Without Viney our leadership sucks though. Gawn, Vince, TMac are pathetic leaders. Jones tries really hard but can't swing games like Viney can.

[Sir Why You Little 37,197]

Lewis cannot do it all by himself. We need to Trade for more Leadership and be ruthless with who is just not up to it

[64" 97]

The melbourne supporters were killed yesterday.Today l see the West Coast fighting with everything to make the 8.Heads need to roll at the Melbourne Football Club.That includes players and coaches.How anyone can justify that effort is beyond me.

[Straight Sets Simon 23,113]

This hurts more than any other moment of  Melbourne rubbish we have served up in the past 11 years.

[brendan 3,437]

Makes me want to walk away it's going to take a while to forgive the club over this 1, and it's going to be a [censored] long summer, hope the players enjoy mad Monday tommorow the useless pricks 

[Straight Sets Simon 23,113]

2 minutes ago, brendan said:

Makes me want to walk away it's going to take a while to forgive the club over this 1, and it's going to be a [censored] long summer, hope the players enjoy mad Monday tommorow the useless pricks 

Complacency has killed us all year.

We celebrate each goal and each win like we won a Grand Final, we failed to bury teams who were cellar dwellers or while we were on top.

Even when Matt Burgan was interviewing Petracca after the win last weekend he was sounding like beating Collingwood would be a formality.

The club even sent emails out about finals!  All these little things add up, it's purely and simply attitude and between the ears.

I know it's cliched but we really need to learn how to be a team of winners again.

[Buffalo 203]

I think Ben Dixon on League Teams this week showed the most damning footage (from the Lions game) of the Demons general laziness when the opposition has the ball. It's not our skill level that's killing us, just our lack of work ethic - he correctly picked the Pies to win, whereas Roos, Dermie and Johnno picked Melbourne...

Edited August 27, 2017 by Buffalo

[brendan 3,437]

9 minutes ago, Buffalo said:

I think Ben Dixon on League Teams this week showed the most damning footage (from the Lions game) of the Demons general laziness when the opposition has the ball. It's not our skill level that's killing us, just our lack of work ethic - he correctly picked the Pies to win, whereas Roos, Dermie and Johnno picked Melbourne...

Yep I seen that and knew from then we wouldn't win

[jackaub 1,402]

7 hours ago, Wiseblood said:

So do I, but I'd rather not have tunnel vision.  We make out like we are the only ones who drop games we should win, and while we do it better than most, there are plenty of clubs in the same basket.  

We have improved this year.  That's simple fact.  12 wins is an improvement on last year's 10, and to me there is no reason why we can't improve on that in further seasons.  You can let a game like yesterday cloud your judgement, and I would understand that too, but don't be blind to the improvements we have made.

There is still plenty of improvement to be made in terms of how we mentally prepare for games, tweaks to be made to our gameplan and the addition of some further class and talent to the list, but there will be 17 other clubs who will be wanting to do the same by season's end.  

Is it?  I'm not allowed to handle performances differently to you?  You can throw your hands around wildly as much as you like.  Go right ahead.  I'll give that style a miss.

Give me a break, LH.  Your 'holier than thou' style of posting is grating at best.  I've seen more than enough losses in my time to know exactly how we played.

What gets me is that we want our players to learn from mistakes, move on from the past and become the team we all want them to be - the problem is, is that as supporters we can't even do it ourselves.  We are stuck in the past - this thread being a case in point.  Roos was right a few years back when he alluded to the negative culture amongst our fans.  It doesn't help the situation in the slightest and I couldn't have agreed with him more.

If we want to the players to move on, then we need to do it as well.  Let's look to the future and how we can improve, which we have done SO well since 2013 when we looked dead and buried.  PJ and Roos didn't dwell on the past, they looked at what they had and worked their backsides off to improve it so we could go some way to erasing a time when we were a laughing stock.  We should do the same.  

"Improved" are you joking?The are still making the same mistakes coaching and playing that they made last year

Give us all a break with you apologist attitude mate

[Sir Why You Little 37,197]

21 minutes ago, Clint Bizkit said:

Complacency has killed us all year.

We celebrate each goal and each win like we won a Grand Final, we failed to bury teams who were cellar dwellers or while we were on top.

Even when Matt Burgan was interviewing Petracca after the win last weekend he was sounding like beating Collingwood would be a formality.

The club even sent emails out about finals!  All these little things add up, it's purely and simply attitude and between the ears.

I know it's cliched but we really need to learn how to be a team of winners again.

Yep. In some ways the club hasn't learnt since celebrating Tanking Draft Picks

 

 

[Sir Why You Little 37,197]

1 minute ago, jackaub said:

"Improved" are you joking?The are still making the same mistakes coaching and playing that they made last year

Give us all a break with you apologist attitude mate

Wasting your time mate. 

WiseBlood will never harden up, but he loves to dish it out

[Wiseblood 24,637]

16 minutes ago, Sir Why You Little said:

Wasting your time mate. 

WiseBlood will never harden up, but he loves to dish it out

So, so cutting.  Going the man now, WYL?  Nice one.

[Sir Why You Little 37,197]

6 minutes ago, Wiseblood said:

So, so cutting.  Going the man now, WYL?  Nice one.

No not at all

I consider the year to be a failure, you will trot out excuses all summer

The last 53 years are all connected because certain attitudes still prevail. 

Last week the Club sent me Finals details, says it all.