2017 Post Mortem

[Jibroni 4,016]

4 minutes ago, layzie said:

Honestly, has anyone got any suggestions for alternative things to do than sit through the 2017 AFL Finals series? I'm willing to take up anything. Dancing, Arthouse movie groups, badger baiting, anything other than watching this Finals series!

I have local football to be thankful for.

If you dont have that I would suggest pistol shooting, its a great stress reliever!

[dees189227 10,700]

So did everyone wake up this morning thinking it was a nightmare?  Anyone else just feel blah and numb or still angry. 

[peasant 62]

 If there is one thing I hope the club takes away from this season is that every moment matters. That wasteful shot at goal. That errant short pass. That missed tackle. That moment your opponent was more desparate for the footy.

This is one season where we can clearly point out that all these seemingly small moments add up and can have big ramifications such as missing finals. I just hope the players realise that too.

Edited August 27, 2017 by peasant

[layzie 28,473]

1 minute ago, dees189227 said:

So did everyone wake up this morning thinking it was a nightmare?  Anyone else just feel blah and numb or still angry. 

I do know that I had the worst sleep ever last night that's for sure.

[Earl Hood 5,787]

1 hour ago, 3Dee said:

Yep, the dogs missed out by 0.6% in 1955.

This sure is depressing but the last 1-2 months felt like we were limping to the finish line. All injuries and suspensions really hampered any continuity in the side. 

The club and players got way ahead of themselves, the sun may be out and trying desperately not to reach for the veil.. broken.

Statistically we dropped away after round 15 for some reason. Well down on tackles, clearances, scoring efficiency after round 15 whereas prior to that we were top 5. And we were getting experienced players back in the last 6 rounds, Gawn, Jones, Watts etc yet we played worse than when we had up to 5 of our best 10 or 12 players out thru injury or suspension mid season. 

It may be that it took to round 15 for sides to work out our game plan and how to negate it. And we had no plan B 

Edited August 27, 2017 by Earl Hood

[JV7 2,339]

9 minutes ago, layzie said:

Honestly, has anyone got any suggestions for alternative things to do than sit through the 2017 AFL Finals series? I'm willing to take up anything. Dancing, Arthouse movie groups, badger baiting, anything other than watching this Finals series!

I was going to tell you to jump on the NFL thread but your already there... But wouldn't recommend anyone else to start following the NFL for some success... After my team blew the greatest lead in Superbowl history last year, I would stay away.. It's one crushing blow after the other, sport after sport

[Uncle Fester 2,833]

Oh please! We lost our mojo after the WCE win. Part of it was injuries, and part of it the travel and short breaks, but lets face it - how many 4 q  games did we play all year? Footscray is one... other than that we relied on bursts to overcome flat spots. By and large it worked,  but then again it cost us a lot of winnable games and a lot of gettable %.

We aren't a side that was ever really out of games in 2017, but we were also a side that was always a quick burst away from losing them either. 

Too many cameo players in the later half of the year, and not enough discipline or maturity to apply the brakes when things went against us.

It hurts... but only a little. After the North game I could see that we weren't half the team that beat Adelaide, and that at least half our list needed to play solid 20 touch games each week, rather than 30 one week and ten another, to be any sort of threat in September.

Done properly it can be built on over summer, so I hand it to the coaches to now make that happen.

[layzie 28,473]

2 minutes ago, JV7 said:

I was going to tell you to jump on the NFL thread but your already there... But wouldn't recommend anyone else to start following the NFL for some success... After my team blew the greatest lead in Superbowl history last year, I would stay away.. It's one crushing blow after the other, sport after sport

Haha yeah plus I'm a Niners fan so there won't be much success there! At least it will be a distraction when it starts.

Gee, you've certainly had a garbage year of sick guts heartbreak feeling. I feel for ya

[Mazer Rackham 14,968]

11 minutes ago, Jibroni said:

I have local football to be thankful for.

If you dont have that I would suggest pistol shooting, its a great stress reliever!

Maybe not THE best stress reliever at this delicate time. Be very very careful about which direction you point the gun!

[danielE288 576]

I follow the English Premier League but my team Arsenal are also perennial failures. 4 0 loss to Liverpool overnight god must really hate me  

[drdrake 3,035]

9 minutes ago, Earl Hood said:

 And we were getting experienced players back in the last 6 rounds, Gawn, Jones, Watts etc yet we played worse than when we had up to 5 of our best 10 or 12 players out thru injury or suspension mid season. 

 

Do you know why, because when they are out the players know we need to play as a team to win.  We start to get players back and we expect individuals to win the game and the fact is we have no individual that can win a game.

Is Tom McDonald the biggest dummy sitter in the AFL.  He has some good games up forward and then we put him back and he has been disinterested and woeful since.

We all bag Jack Watts, unfortunately we need another one of him with a bit more competitive nature but with his skill set.  I'm still baffled why he was pushed back in the second half.  The reason was we needed someone who could kick in our back 6 to set things up.  I have never seen a side miss so many targets and make so many bad decisions.

2017 massive failure, we had 5 losses that we should have won.  No excuses, but we didn't show North, Freo, Hawthorn and Collingwood the respect, we expected wins and thought it would just happen.  This big headed, mentally soft attitude is an underlying issues in 2017, and that is bad, I can cop not being good enough, I can't cop being good enough but not respecting the game, your opponent and your supporters.

Our Players showed the Supporters no respect on the weekend, none what so ever and for that they should be completely embarrassed but I bet you all 65% couldn't give a stuff about us as long as they get the fat pay checks.  These are the players good or bad the club need to continue to weed out.  I tell you one bloke that gave a stuff and he played Full Back for Collingwood, he loved knocking us out after the way he was exited last year.

[layzie 28,473]

7 minutes ago, danielE288 said:

I follow the English Premier League but my team Arsenal are also perennial failures. 4 0 loss to Liverpool overnight god must really hate me  

Ah, I'm an EPL fan too but don't have Optus! Life sucks

[Ethan Tremblay 28,281]

[censored] you.......Adelaide. You've made the list. 

[danielE288 576]

6 minutes ago, layzie said:

Ah, I'm an EPL fan too but don't have Optus! Life sucks

Yeah the broadcasting is a joke, I forked out for the setup. Wishing I didn't now. Also will watch the NFL. Like the Giants.

[Hellaintabadplacetobe 4,089]

14 minutes ago, danielE288 said:

I follow the English Premier League but my team Arsenal are also perennial failures. 4 0 loss to Liverpool overnight god must really hate me  

Yep, woke up to that and it just seemed perfectly appropriate....@SWYL will be filthy too! Long season ahead for us Gooners

[Straight Sets Simon 23,113]

1 hour ago, Mac7 said:

Not sure if mentioned already, Max Gawn during the week on SEN was saying most of the guys had played finals in under 18s or VFL. "so it wasnt really new to them" . 

1. No clue on what it means to play AFL.

2. Huge lack in desperation to make it, that was clear on Saturday.

3. unbelievable lack of respect for the supporters. 

Oh cool, you played finals in junior footy. Get a grip mate this is AFL!!! How about you (as a team) start to give something back to thr club and supporters that provide you with such a privileged life.

I was shocked when I heard this.

[layzie 28,473]

2 minutes ago, Hell Bent said:

Yep, woke up to that and it just seemed perfectly appropriate....@SWYL will be filthy too! Long season ahead for us Gooners

It won't please you guys but I'm actually a die hard Liverpool fan. But not the glory 70s and 80s. Only the last 25 or so years. Much like Melbourne I missed the glory and invested emotion in the battler periods of the two clubs

[Forest Demon 4,681]

6 minutes ago, layzie said:

It won't please you guys but I'm actually a die hard Liverpool fan. But not the glory 70s and 80s. Only the last 25 or so years. Much like Melbourne I missed the glory and invested emotion in the battler periods of the two clubs

Liverpool are still never far from the top of the league, have won the Champions League and domestic cups in more recent years. So you'll have to excuse me for not feeling too sorry for you.

I support Nottingham Forest, and like you, missed the glory days of the 70s and 80s when they won 2 European Cups, but my time has been spent watching the Championship, and even a stint in League One for a few years.

But at the end of the day, I'm not emotionally invested following sport on the other side of the world. I would trade Forest's very existence for a single Melbourne flag.

[Hellaintabadplacetobe 4,089]

David King, we know you read this site. You told us to chill and enjoy the ride as we will play finals......Maybe now you understand why our psyche is so damaged. 

 

[danielE288 576]

22 minutes ago, layzie said:

Yep, woke up to that and it just seemed perfectly appropriate....@SWYL will be filthy too! Long season ahead for us Gooners

I stayed up to watch it. Shambolic. Wenger needs to go but another 2 years of mediocrity is ahead.

[layzie 28,473]

6 minutes ago, Forest Demon said:

Liverpool are still never far from the top of the league, have won the Champions League and domestic cups in more recent years. So you'll have to excuse me for not feeling too sorry for you.

I support Nottingham Forest, and like you, missed the glory days of the 70s and 80s when they won 2 European Cups, but my time has been spent watching the Championship, and even a stint in League One for a few years.

But at the end of the day, I'm not emotionally invested following sport on the other side of the world. I would trade Forest's very existence for a single Melbourne flag.

That is very much the truth and no I don't expect you to feel sorry for me. Liverpool still win the odd trophy here and there. A club like Forest really did slide from grace a bit and have had a massive baron spell. Full credit for sticking with them though, I always had a massive soft spot for Forest even in the 90s they had some great players.

Nothing tops MFC.

[rolling fog 1,146]

13 hours ago, Ethan Tremblay said:

If I see our players participating in 'Mad Monday' celebrations I will no longer support the club. 

This comes to mind for me right now:

 

[Ouch! 2,034]

Can't bring myself to respond to other posts in this thread, although I've skimmed them.

I am gutted like everyone on this board and all MFC supporters. I can only imagine (and hope) that all people at the club are equally if not more despondent as a result of what has happened this year. Its now up to the leaders of the club at all levels to review the year, and pick up the pieces and make sure that our failure to make finals burns within the club.

With that said, we need list changes to occur, but pointing fingers at any of the players is pointless, there seems to be a consensus of trust in Jason Taylor and Todd Vineys efforts so far in recruiting and trading, I suspect they have an even better understanding of our deficiencies and will act accordingly.

Looking at the clubs who made the 8..., seeing Essendon, Port and West Coast playing finals ahead of us, and knowing that on our day we could also take it up to Adelaide, Geelong and Richmond, it bloody hurts!!! Now just knowing how games such as the one against Freo, both Nth games and the Hawks game cost us not just a spot in the eight, but lets be honest a top 4 spot.

Stupid suspensions hurt, Hogans injuries affected us, but allowed us to uncover TMac as a forward, and then just seeing how players like Hunt, Petracca and Salem faded in the second half of the year. Even Watts after the injury wasn't the same, but was a solid contributor prior to that game....

I still have optimism about 2018, and I think we still improved over last year, but 2017 was a failed season, and even if we had managed to sneak into the 8 yesterday, we are not in form and Port would have done a number on us I suspect.

[JV7 2,339]

I actually can't stay of Demonland... It gives me some form of comfort to read other people's thoughts & problems and realise your not the only one... 

[hemingway 7,583]

11 hours ago, DemonAndrew said:

the whole weekend was utterly shattering

i honestly thought 12 wins was the best we could hope for at the start of the year, and the lower reaches of the 8 - we achieved the former but managed to miss out on the latter

it's just shattering

Agree, completely shattered. You can provide reasons and analysis. At the end of the season, we missed what we needed so badly as a footy club. Even if we had gone out after the first round, we would have gained some respect. It would have been symbolic of an improved season and provided hope and passion for next season.  It would have sold memberships and created a picture of a club going places. As it is we finished the season with barely a whimper.  The football world saying "poor old Melbourne." 

I felt completely numb on Saturday watching a group of players with so much to play for be completely out classed by a young Collingwood side. So many Melbourne fans turned up to support and celebrate their season and instead watched a funeral march. No intensity, no tackles, no run, poor hand and foot skills, slow, uncertain and a game plan that the players seem oblivious to.  So many experienced players still skill deficient and doing dumb things. 

I am not sure about Goodwin. I'm really not. I'm not sure about his game plan. I want to see some evidence that there is a coherent game plan that the players can execute. I have seen bursts of great football at times but for most part, a team going in circles with over use and dumb handball and turnover after turnover. It appears at times they simply don't know what to do. 

I want to see a coach with passion. 

I am disappointed, sad and angry.  So much to gain and now lost.       And no guarantees for next season. Half a dozen sides that are clearly better and another half a dozen sides that are on a par with Melbourne.  Even Brisbane gave more promise at times than Melbourne. 

Just shattered.