Damien Barrett's scathing assessment of the MFC

[Lucifers Hero 37,123]

2 minutes ago, AshleyH30 said:

One thing I would like to ask everyone is; If the club is in such turmoil as some are saying, why would a player like Langdon want to come to Melbourne at all when he could get the same coin at other clubs?

Several guesses: maybe he doesn't know, we are in less turmoil than Freo or are offering him more $ than other Vic clubs.

Seriously, using Langdon who is no AA star as a barometer to measure our standing is not a great benchmark.

[AshleyH30 566]

Just now, Lucifer's Hero said:

Several guesses: maybe he doesn't know, we are in less turmoil than Freo or are offering him more $ than other Vic clubs.

Seriously, using Langdon who is no AA star as a barometer to measure our standing is not a great benchmark.

He's still a 23 year old with a bright future. I never said he was the caliber of an AA, don't put words in my mouth. Other clubs like Carlton and St Kilda would be going after him as well, so are we saying that we're so much worse off than Carlton, but the player would still like to come to us instead?

[chookrat 3,776]

9 minutes ago, AshleyH30 said:

One thing I would like to ask everyone is; If the club is in such turmoil as some are saying, why would a player like Langdon want to come to Melbourne at all when he could get the same coin at other clubs?

When you think about it, his Manager would have more inside information on the club than most here would. If anything that is being said was true, I would be telling my client to stay as far away as possible.

In fairness even the most disfunctional organisational would be an improvement on Freo, who lost their coach, CEO and have to train in Cockburn. This aside, I agree with your point. 

[Mach5 4,482]

3 hours ago, Supermercado said:

I have no doubt we're in trouble financially but I'll wait to hear it from a non-germ source.

 

I think it won't be a case of "how much trouble we're in" but rather a case of "how much money we're asking for."

We'd have been asking for a few truckloads of cash to build a new training facility, and our presentation would have surrounded how sorely that is needed.
Every single other club in the league has managed to over time acquire a training facility that they have full control over, and we're the only one who is a tenant in a shared facility, with offices spread across another venue 5 mins away. It's a diabolical situation, and I think a large cause for it is our supporters' stubborn insistence that we should remain based at or near the G and basic snobbishness.

Anyway, to compete and thrive, we need to have our own.
And it's going to cost the AFL dearly for having ignored the need for so long.
Us too, but we're expecting it.

[Lucifers Hero 37,123]

2 minutes ago, hemingway said:

And the grass is always better on the other side of the fence.

Welcome back Ernie.  Have missed you and your considered thoughts.

That reminded me of a line my hairdresser brought out:  The grass is greener on the other side until you get there and find it is astro turf!!

Guess most of us have experienced that at some stage in life!  Players are young they are yet to experience the realities of life.  One can only hope they have good family advising them along the way.

[iv'a worn smith 1,979]

Unaware as I was at the time, that so many had gone in for surgery in 2018/2019 pre-season, for the first 15 minutes of the first game against Port this year I thought, yep, we’re a bit rusty, but moving the ball in to the forward line as I would expect, after our 2018 season.  From that point on, we went missing and of course lost comprehensively in the end.

 Our worst losses were against Geelong, Sydney and Collingwood. We managed, too often, to find ways to lose the close ones, but our average losing margin was just over 26 points. In today’s modern game, that is not exactly a savaging.

A combination of bad preparation pre-season, injuries during the year to key players and demoralising close losses, in my view, gradually took their toll on the playing group in terms of confidence and morale.

 I am not all doom and gloom with the current list, although I admit, there are some deficiencies, in terms of outside run and crumbing forwards.

My greater concern is that I have a sense that not all is well off the field.

Edited August 30, 2019 by iv'a worn smith

[AshleyH30 566]

1 minute ago, chookrat said:

In fairness even the most disfunctional organisational would be an improvement on Freo, who lost their coach, CEO and have to train in Cockburn. This aside, I agree with your point. 

I understand why he's leaving Freo, my point was more towards that he could get the same coin at Carlton or even North or St Kilda. Some on here are parading around like we're worse off than them.

[Mach5 4,482]

3 hours ago, reynolds46 said:

Barrett has achieved what he wanted by his comment. Basically said nothing but planted the seed of panic which is growing very quickly. He has to provide some trivial/semi-relevant comment  on each club every week in his ludicrously named "Sliding Doors" column. I'm sure everyone in the football world knows that the club has a quite a few issues to deal with right now and has nearly always had financial challenges.

 

Barrett knows exactly what he's doing.
He & Hutchy have a podcast called The Sounding Board where they discuss the media in-depth.
It can be quite insightful at times.

He's obviously teasing out a story where there isn't one beyond the basic "poor season" narrative, and it'll evolve into something that he can use later on. Now he just sits back and eat popcorn.

[Lucifers Hero 37,123]

3 minutes ago, AshleyH30 said:

He's still a 23 year old with a bright future. I never said he was the caliber of an AA, don't put words in my mouth. Other clubs like Carlton and St Kilda would be going after him as well, so are we saying that we're so much worse off than Carlton, but the player would still like to come to us instead?

You spoke of him as if he coming to the club suggests we can't be really bad.  We may or may not be.  Neither of us knows.

tbh, Saints and Carlton chasing him doesn't raise his standing in my eyes.  I don't know if Saints, Blues are better/worse than us but it isn't a great bunch for Langford to choose from...

[Demon Dynasty 15,554]

5 hours ago, Bring-Back-Powell said:

 

If	the AFL was worried before the Demons' presentation to the commission on Tuesday ...
then	it is even more worried now. And unlike the Suns, it won't be offering priority national draft assistance.

 

Anyone care to take a guess what he's talking about. Why are we back to being a basket case in the space of 12 months?

[AshleyH30 566]

1 minute ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

You spoke of him as if he coming to the club suggests we can't be really bad.  We may or may not be.  Neither of us knows.

tbh, Saints and Carlton chasing him doesn't raise his standing in my eyes.  I don't know if Saints, Blues are better/worse than us but it isn't a great bunch for Langford to choose from...

My point was more towards those that are saying (painting a picture/setting a narrative) that the situation is so bad that we're worse off than teams like Carlton. If they think that, why would Langdon chose us over them? That was my question. Don't get me wrong, I think this year has been deplorable, but I still think if everything is done right in the offseason, we'll bounce back.

[praha 10,283]

6 minutes ago, AshleyH30 said:

If they think that, why would Langdon chose us over them?

money money money moneyyyyyyy

[AshleyH30 566]

1 minute ago, praha said:

money money money moneyyyyyyy

That's an easy answer. I suspect he would be getting similar coin if he went to Carlton. We're not paying him $900,000, more towards $450,000-$600,000 which is quickly becoming the standard. I don't have exact figures, but that's the range I've heard.

[YesitwasaWin4theAges 5,818]

5 hours ago, DemonLad5 said:

This doesn't bode well, I'm anticipating a big name such as a Petracca or a Brayshaw to be requesting a trade 

Already have a bad sense about Hunt as well

This is the 2nd year in a row Jayden's name has come up for a possible trade so his name must be put there.

[YesitwasaWin4theAges 5,818]

Maybe all our sponsors aren't going to renew and we are french connectioned.

Blind freddy could tell you were going to make a big financial loss after the year we have had.

[praha 10,283]

5 hours ago, DemonLad5 said:

This doesn't bode well, I'm anticipating a big name such as a Petracca or a Brayshaw to be requesting a trade 

Already have a bad sense about Hunt as well

why not both?

[hemingway 7,597]

14 minutes ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

Welcome back Ernie.  Have missed you and your considered thoughts.

That reminded me of a line my hairdresser brought out:  The grass is greener on the other side until you get there and find it is astro turf!!

Guess most of us have experienced that at some stage in life!  Players are young they are yet to experience the realities of life.  One can only hope they have good family advising them along the way.

Hi there Lucifer, thanks for your comments, I decided on a self imposed exile due to my depressed state and the veil of negativity from all and sundry. I literally had to stop absorbing all the negativity to maintain balance. I don't think I have ever felt so depressed over footy. 

But a stint in foreign parts helped restore my mood state until I returned home for the end of the season and logged into Demonland. The benefits of travel evaporated immediately!

I guess players these days live in the AFL footy bubble and it is hard to maintain humility and a centred approach to life. Family and friends outside work are important. Those who are there to support and not be critical or provide gratuitous advice. And hope that the family are not mad keen Collingwood supporters or supporters of any of the other other big clubs. 

[Axis of Bob 10,247]

This is hilarious (and sad).

It’s like reading a horoscope .... it doesn’t say anything but people will use it to justify the opinions/fears that they already have.

Edited August 30, 2019 by Axis of Bob

[binman 38,441]

3 minutes ago, Win4theAges said:

Maybe all our sponsors aren't going to renew and we are french connectioned.

Blind freddy could tell you were going to make a big financial loss after the year we have had.

I suspect the first line is partly correct (and the second one %100 spot on). You'd think our major sponsor Jaguar might be out the door given they only signed on for one year. Its going to be a pretty hard sell to them or other major companies to sign up for next year and beyond.

 

[Sir Why You Little 34,579]

51 minutes ago, chookrat said:

Barrett is just salty because of the time Bernie Vince took his glasses at the urinal while at the Brownlow. 

Haha ? that may well be so. 

The sooner we know the outcome of the meeting the better, the inside of AFL House is not to be trusted. 

[TRIGON 4,719]

11 minutes ago, Axis of Bob said:

This is hilarious (and sad).

It’s like reading a horoscope .... it doesn’t say anything but people will use it to justify the opinions/fears that they already have.

I've tried reading tea-leaves instead. However, whichever way I swirl the cup, all I can see is naked ladies dancing around a camp fire whilst rain is falling.

A vision that 'purple' just doesn't get to enjoy; his glasses fog up.

Edited August 30, 2019 by TRIGON

[dl4e 5,593]

This is an example of Barrett. Just read his statement carefully and you can come out with is nothing at all. It is just a dog chasing its tail.

[george_on_the_outer 6,992]

Perhaps people should read the second line, which is more insightful if true.....

"And unlike the Suns, it won't be offering priority national draft assistance."

i.e. The AFL HAS offered the SUNS priority draft assistance.....goodbye pick 2 to QLD!

[Demon Dynasty 15,554]

5 hours ago, SFebes said:

facts are facts, open your eyes. You should probably put some time into your spelling and grammar also.

SF i'm not a big fan of Barrett either but a little more respect would be nice when responding to him please.  He does wear specs after all.

Edited August 30, 2019 by Rusty Nails

[Ted Lasso 16,821]

1 hour ago, Mach5 said:

 

I think it won't be a case of "how much trouble we're in" but rather a case of "how much money we're asking for."

We'd have been asking for a few truckloads of cash to build a new training facility, and our presentation would have surrounded how sorely that is needed.
Every single other club in the league has managed to over time acquire a training facility that they have full control over, and we're the only one who is a tenant in a shared facility, with offices spread across another venue 5 mins away. It's a diabolical situation, and I think a large cause for it is our supporters' stubborn insistence that we should remain based at or near the G and basic snobbishness.

Anyway, to compete and thrive, we need to have our own.
And it's going to cost the AFL dearly for having ignored the need for so long.
Us too, but we're expecting it.

This, combined with us staring down the barrel of a fairly significant financial loss this year, as well as the high likelyhood of staff member turn over as a result of the review. 

I suspect we'll be asking for funding to help keep the facility plan in motion, as well as exemption from any financial penalty for breaching the soft cap on staff if we turn over a good number of them.