10 minutes ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

Don't listen to the coodabeens video then od.  And don't listen to any coach or player interviews.

I'll just say that the 'L' word grates on me too.

Let's be honest. It's not actually a word.

It's the verbal equivalent of the mathematically impossible giving effort of 110%.

My concern about tonight is that we're now rotating guys that wouldn't be automatic selections through the side at a time when we can't afford to drop points anymore. It would have been nice to have a little buffer before landing ourselves in this position but I guess that's just not the Melbourne way. 

If nothing else I'm sure the media team will be able to put together a great documentary on how season 2020 unfolded. To Hell in a Handbasket ? 

3 minutes ago, NeveroddoreveN said:

This lays squarely on on our coaches.  We had no game plan at all.  We believed our list was better than Sydneys and just expected to win with talent on paper.  Could count on one hand the times this year we had a game plan.  We don't seem to respect opposition, always just play our way.   The players are following a gameplan, or lack there of and we reap the rewards.  All clubs prepare and have opposition analysis, i actually wonder whether we do!?

We don’t need to our plan is terrific and our players so good at delivery we just steam roll the other side.

Oh but hang on how come we aren’t on top of the ladder. 

1 minute ago, La Dee-vina Comedia said:

Let's be honest. It's not actually a word.

It's the verbal equivalent of the mathematically impossible giving effort of 110%.

That’s what annoys me the most LDC. It’s not a bloody word!

Very curious to see us tonight given the amount of pace that has been injected into the team.

Wondering if the called up players will be better cogs in the system than "superior" players who've been played out of position etc. You'd have to hope so.

 

We'll win tonight. We'll also beat GWS and then miss finals by losing to an Essendon team that has already given up and will have more than half its team out injured or being prepared for 2021. It's the Melbourne way.

I'll watch with zero expectation tonight.

Don't let Freos ladder position fool you, took it right up to Richmond til late in the game and they have played some pretty good footy the last 5-6 weeks. I rate them higher than The Swans.

Based on efforts last week we are so far off being a serious finals contender that it may be a blessing missing out. 

Beggars belief we are in this position once again. 

6 minutes ago, old dee said:

That’s what annoys me the most LDC. It’s not a bloody word!

It is now od !!

And, its meaning will always be a sad joke among MFC supporters.

Really think the upside is minimal with a win tonight. More just living to fight another day and meaning nothing if we don't deliver the goods later on. No more learnings or positives from a crappy result just do what you're there for.

So I very quickly done a ladder predictor, if we win all 3 games we make the 8 on percentage and/or one game clear. If we win 2 of the last 3 then we still don't make it? Anyone else with more time had a go at a predictor? Not that I really care, we will bail straight out anyway I feel. Also, Melksham is a mate of Goodys.....thats why he is still playing. Says it all. We should win tonight you'd think....surely? Lots of changes though, 13 changes in 4 days? Lost count.

1 minute ago, SFebes said:

So I very quickly done a ladder predictor, if we win all 3 games we make the 8 on percentage and/or one game clear. If we win 2 of the last 3 then we still don't make it? Anyone else with more time had a go at a predictor? Not that I really care, we will bail straight out anyway I feel. Also, Melksham is a mate of Goodys.....thats why he is still playing. Says it all. We should win tonight you'd think....surely? Lots of changes though, 13 changes in 4 days? Lost count.

Surely !!!!!! 

2 hours ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

Anyone else get the impression from Goodwin yesterday that the club doesn't think it will play finals?  Three things I noticed:

1. He started talking of the condensed fixture, travel, Alice, late arrival at Gazaly and conditions.  It was like excuses are in the pipeline.

2. When asked about focusing at this intense time he talked about the opportunity for the club to grow, to develop, to continue to evolve, to be consistent and that is our aim.  Lots of teams vying for finals and we want to use it as an opportunity to get better.  No sense of expectation to play in finals.  Hardly filled me with confidence. 

3. When asked about the list he talked 'this year is about building ourselves up' and play in some games that will define us 'whether we play finals or not'

4. Selections.

Have very little confidence in a win tonight.

Just as meaningless as his usual rhetoric and comments. Goodwin stands for a good-winning-wicket, nothing else. He does not have the players firing, he does not have a clue how to get the players working together across the field. Bye, bye, Goodwin; bye, bye, half our list and for those on the list who have been around for a while now, as a longstanding Member, I apologise for this Club association you have endured. The Board of the MFC won't.

10 minutes ago, SFebes said:

So I very quickly done a ladder predictor, if we win all 3 games we make the 8 on percentage and/or one game clear. If we win 2 of the last 3 then we still don't make it? Anyone else with more time had a go at a predictor? Not that I really care, we will bail straight out anyway I feel. Also, Melksham is a mate of Goodys.....thats why he is still playing. Says it all. We should win tonight you'd think....surely? Lots of changes though, 13 changes in 4 days? Lost count.

Your calculations are pretty accurate. We need to win all 3 remaining matches to make it. If we lose one, it means we've dropped a game to a direct competitor and we miss out.

2020 is done. Even if we miraculously make finals, we won't be challenging and will likely be straight out. Time to start planning for 2021. Midfield needs to be overhauled. Coach needs to change. Game style need to change. Selection committee needs to change. We're a ways off being a legitimate contender.

1 minute ago, Lord Travis said:

Your calculations are pretty accurate. We need to win all 3 remaining matches to make it. If we lose one, it means we've dropped a game to a direct competitor and we miss out.

2020 is done. Even if we miraculously make finals, we won't be challenging and will likely be straight out. Time to start planning for 2021. Midfield needs to be overhauled. Coach needs to change. Game style need to change. Selection committee needs to change. We're a ways off being a legitimate contender.

Actually, who are the people on the selection committee? Seems to be a very big issue in recent years

Anyone that truly believes that MFC will win the next 3 games are kidding themselves. Two things will happen tonight:

1. We either do not turn up or are not up for it from the start.

2. We give it a crack and are met with equal opposition and desire at which we are most likely to have a 'missing quarter' and lose the game. 

If by some miracle we win, then the other scenario's that have already been mentioned by others will play out i.e. somehow find a way to beat GWS (unlikely) and then capitulate against a 2nd rate Essendon team or we choke and lose to GWS (likely) at which point we will lament the losses against Geelong, Lions, Doggies, Swans ala 2017.

On the upside, at least it will most likely mean the demise of Goodwin, so there is that to look forward to.

Edited September 7, 20205 yr by CYB

9 hours ago, Whispering_Jack said:

It's been put to me that tonight's game is all about whether Melbourne’s players can positively put into effect the learnings that have been pumped into them since they bowed out of season 2018.

 

Did you have use that word turned me right off this thread

The fact that we're still fiddling around with our forward line in the 3rd last game of the year tells me we're not a finals side.

And playing Gawn and Preuss in the same side in a tropical city makes little sense.

Should go well today. Boys are well rested since the saints game.

When we are bad we are bloody unwatchable....hopefully at least we see something resembling league football tonight...

I'm torn about tonight's game folks. In my original plan for today, at game time I'd pencilled in 30 minutes of whacking myself about the head with a teapot. Can I still do that and watch the game as well ?? 

Will watching the dees improve my mental state or tip me over the edge ??  I'm at the crossroads. One path leads to utter disappointment the other to total annihilation. Which one do I choose ?? 

I'd appreciate some suggestions from demonlanders with psychiatric experience please ( as a doctor, not as a patient)

 

Drinking beer on a monday night.

6 minutes ago, pineapple dee said:

I'm torn about tonight's game folks. In my original plan for today, at game time I'd pencilled in 30 minutes of whacking myself about the head with a teapot. Can I still do that and watch the game as well ?? 

Will watching the dees improve my mental state or tip me over the edge ??  I'm at the crossroads. One path leads to utter disappointment the other to total annihilation. Which one do I choose ?? 

I'd appreciate some suggestions from demonlanders with psychiatric experience please ( as a doctor, not as a patient)

 

stay away from anything sharper than a rubber(eraser that is)

54 minutes ago, binman said:

The dogs will win their last two games as unlike us they can be trusted to to so. That means that that if we lose tonight we are out of finals contention.

So tonight is an elimination final.

And if we win this game the GWS game will also bean elimination final.

And if we happen to win the next two the Bombers game will bean elimination final . 

And if we win that game we will be playing in an elimination final.

Possibly against West Coast. In Perth.

I trust us to win 4 elimination finals in a row....

Predicted “learnings” that will need to be learnt following today’s game:

- if we kick straight, we can win, even if we are playing poorly - think the Saints game, and what could have been if we’d kicked straight against the Swans.

- we need to be switched on for the first bounce, not just after halftime- and we need to remain switched on for 4 quarters.

- we have no idea what our “brand” of football looks like, let alone how to play it yet.

- we need to make up our minds, before this season ends, as to whether we want 2 key forwards or one key forward; one ruckman or two - we cannot keep chopping and changing as this might affect how we play the game - see the learning above.

- football IQ might be a good criteria to look at when selecting recruits; 

- a club psychologist might be a good investment for next year

- Hogan is still an AFL force - after he kicks 5 against us.

- I’ll have a huge bag of learnings that I can draw upon at my next coaching job.

 

one thing about being a dees support is people feel sorry for you.Usual conversation "so who do barrack for"Dees " Oh sorry"followed by a snigger of pity