7 minutes ago, praha said:

Good point re. Goodwin. His confidence and trust in the team is comforting.

And that is where the turn around will come. Most players know they have the Coaches support. You can't have 20 odd more inside 50's and be a bad team. Just need to nail a couple of goals from better inside 50 delivery early Friday night and we will be up and running. If Goody has the trust and confidence in the team then I have but, and a big but, some players really need to deliver very soon or that trust will go.,

Panicking 

I fear it's not panic that stirs...just a possibility of increasing disinterest.

This club burns people.

Just now, beelzebub said:

I fear it's not panic that stirs...just a possibility of increasing disinterest.

This club burns people.

Disinterest from who?  The players or the record number of members that signed up?

2 minutes ago, Wiseblood said:

Disinterest from who?  The players or the record number of members that signed up?

From me

Just now, beelzebub said:

From me

That's a minor problem, so no worries from me.

I'll always be interested and go along no matter whether we are good or bad, after so many years I know no other way....what that says about the rest of my life is for others to judge!

 

However the way Melbourne suck you in is the one match you decide to skip will be the greatest win they've ever had...

We have the memory of the excitement of those two finals match and the belief that we were seeing the future. An exciting team with a brave coach going places. We forgot the Perth game, thinking it was an aberration that would be erased. We had a coach that said as much by admitting that they had not talked about THAT game.

The warmth of summer and the comfort zone of the track and the reports of good things are now behind us and we entered the Ides of March  with the hope that we would see the continuing emergence of our once great footy club as a power in the land. That we had a coach and a bunch of players who would rewrite our history, who could take us on a magical journey to finals and flags. We took pride in reading media reports and walked into the G for the first match with a spring in our step and a wonderful feeling of excitement and anticipation. 

Unfortunately,  we forgot that there were 17 other clubs all with the opportunity, talent and commitment to create their own history. After 2 matches and the vision of many more via TV, we see the talent of other clubs and the competitive nature of their game. Christ almighty,  there are at least 10 to 12 clubs that have improved or are still competitive and are capable of beating us. We see midfields as good as ours, defensive and forward zones that are better than ours, outside runners that are quicker than ours, teams that have less injuries and are fitter than ours, teams that are taller than ours, and game plans that seem more effective than ours.   

Suddenly, the draw and finals footy looks like a mountain. Even playing Essendon with zero wins and media ridicule, we look shaky.  Every game looks ominous.  We no longer look like we will dominate and all we have seen to-date are two teams that dominated us.  We look second rate and at times simply embarrassing. 

At the start of the season we thought we had a good chance to be 2-0 or at least 1-1.  We thought our strength of character and team spirit would be on display at Geelong. Well we did have more inside 50s than the Cats, but we were still beaten by a whopping 80 points.  I am sorry but I cannot see any positives from the Geelong match. 

We roll our eyes with the comments of captain and coach. We have heard the words all before. How can a team that loses by 80 points turn it around in 6 days, with injuries and players underdone. 

We have the realization that individuals are not the answer. Petracca, May, KK, Preuss etc.  Even Maxy for all his super powers can be nullified. 

The thought of losing to the Bombers is unthinkable but a real prospect. 

I don't know what the answer is. 

There is no doubt that our preseason injuries and fitness levels have affected us. Many players are underdone. 

But the competitive nature of the competition means that we need to rediscover our mojo very quickly. If we go 0-5 down, it will almost be season over. Players confidence will be rock bottom.

However, sudden turnarounds are possible. But the players will need to believe in themselves, believe in the team, believe in the coach and believe in the game plan.  And believe that we can and will win.  

 

 

I don’t think many are panicking just yet. But by god we have some work to do fix up both ends of the ground. Was an absolute shamozzle on the weekend. ”Connecting” in the forward half seems to be the latest buzz word. We need to improving our “connections”.

If it doesn’t improve soon my remote will be “connecting” with my tv screen,

Edited April 1, 20196 yr by P-man

Lets see what happens vs the injectors.

Then make a call.

you really need to finish top 4 to win a flag. Theres exceptions but as a general rule you need to finish top 4. And we've kissed that goodbye. cya next year

 

1 hour ago, Wiseblood said:

Disinterest from who?  The players or the record number of members that signed up?

For many Melbourne supporters.

The MCC are predicting 58,000 on friday night.

That's your disinterest and disengagement right there pal. 

 

Edited April 1, 20196 yr by stevethemanjordan

Just now, stevethemanjordan said:

For many Melbourne supporters.

The MCC are predicting 58,000 on friday night.

That's your disinterest and disengagement right there pal. 

 

Cheers, pal.

2 hours ago, bobby1554 said:

That’s me to a tee!

 

Yes I related to  all he said  too well as well. 

3 hours ago, Wiseblood said:

I'll panic if we're 0-5.  Far too much football to play to hit the panic button just yet.

 

I think if we were 0-22 you wouldn't be panicking, mate, but that's how you roll and it's an admirable trait.

2 hours ago, ProDee said:

Part of me hopes we lose on Friday night.  If we do I'll return to that familiar place of despair to wit I've become so accustomed.  The MFC institutionalized me long ago and last year became almost uncomfortable as expectations rose.  A loss on Friday night returns me to a comfort zone I've come to rely on.  Like an old friend, I find a warmness in the familiarity of abject misery.

Either way, I'm a winner this Friday.

 

Ah yes, the "Veil of Negativity."
Know it well.

 

19 minutes ago, A F said:

I think if we were 0-22 you wouldn't be panicking, mate, but that's how you roll and it's an admirable trait.

It is my friend.  Don't mistake that trait for the fact that I don't care, or that losing doesn't hurt.  Saturday night was tough to watch and I fully acknowledge the hard work we have ahead of us to turn things around.

But I don't have time to panic.  I'll let others do that.

3 hours ago, ProDee said:

Part of me hopes we lose on Friday night.  If we do I'll return to that familiar place of despair to wit I've become so accustomed.  The MFC institutionalized me long ago and last year became almost uncomfortable as expectations rose.  A loss on Friday night returns me to a comfort zone I've come to rely on.  Like an old friend, I find a warmness in the familiarity of abject misery.

Either way, I'm a winner this Friday.

 

Yep, unfortunately where I'm at now. It worries me that a reasonably level-headed and reasonably positive football fan like yourself is at that stage, but how can we not be, after years of pathetic performances. And until we are consistent for more than one year (and I wouldn't even say 2018 was a consistent year), I don't think the club and its stakeholders could possibly/reasonably expect the supporter base to act or feel any differently.

33 minutes ago, Wiseblood said:

It is my friend.  Don't mistake that trait for the fact that I don't care, or that losing doesn't hurt.  Saturday night was tough to watch and I fully acknowledge the hard work we have ahead of us to turn things around.

But I don't have time to panic.  I'll let others do that.

No, I don't mistake it. We all process things differently. As I said in another thread, my tendency in the moment is to get incredibly frustrated and to blow off steam. But it then doesn't take me long to want to analyse where it all went wrong and how we can change things next week. That's how I deal with it and I'm not going to begrudge you for how you deal with it.

I'm not a religious person, but there is certainly a parallel between religion and my love of my football club. I go every week and I am so fully invested on a complete faith basis. I have to have faith that my football club will come through in the end and that the journey to get there would never be as fulfilling without all the [censored]. It's why in the past I have despised bandwagoners. As I've got older, I've understood some people have better things to do with themselves, but I love footy. And I love my club.

Being a Melbourne supporter is truly resilience-building and it's funnily enough something I'm very proud of. That my family and I have stuck thick through all this [censored]. Without being overly dramatic, it's why Demonland offers my religion so much. It offers a place of community and mutual understanding of the football trauma we've suffered.

I hope we can all one day experience what almost every other club has in recent memory and it will be so sweet, to stick it up all those doubters and all those smarmy opposition supporters and clubs, who over the years have had so little respect (and rightly so) for Melbourne. These thoughts continue my faith in the Melbourne Football Club and that's how I deal with defeat.

I'll get this published by Penguin. Another bloody book from me. Apologies everyone.

 

13 minutes ago, A F said:

Yep, unfortunately where I'm at now. It worries me that a reasonably level-headed and reasonably positive football fan like yourself is at that stage, but how can we not be, after years of pathetic performances. And until we are consistent for more than one year (and I wouldn't even say 2018 was a consistent year), I don't think the club and its stakeholders could possibly/reasonably expect the supporter base to act or feel any differently.

I hasten to add that I'm not ''panicking'' and think we'll come good.

However, my present feelings are like putting on an old comfy pair of slippers.

39 minutes ago, A F said:

I think if we were 0-22 you wouldn't be panicking, mate, but that's how you roll and it's an admirable trait.

Can we make the finals from there Adam?

32 minutes ago, ProDee said:

I hasten to add that I'm not ''panicking'' and think we'll come good.

However, my present feelings are like putting on an old comfy pair of slippers.

Look, I agree with this too.

I think a side that wins the clearances and inside 50s as we do, certainly doesn't represented a bottom 8-6 side. We just need to tidy up our structures and ball use, and we'll beat a lot more sides. (Yes, over simplification, but you get my drift).

Yay David 'Do some damage' King. 

34 minutes ago, In Harmes Way said:

Can we make the finals from there Adam?

Maybe in 2020 mate.