Are we struggling under the weight of scrutiny?

[praha 11,217]

This is the first time in the modern era with social media and fast information that we are so prevalent in the news cycle. We are consistently playing in front of big crowds, during prime time, against big clubs in big games. We are in the news almost daily.

Our supporter base seems tired. Our players lack composure. Even after a flag we still lack respect from the football community. 

The way teams like Collingwood deal with adversity is to ride the wave and hold on. We seem to struggle. I feel like we are still dealing with the challenge of expectation, of wanting to be a big club, being let into the big boys club, but not actually being a big club. We almost seem out of place here.

It's just an observation -- maybe I'll be proven wrong on Friday but it's never been harder for me to imagine us winning a final or even a flag in front of 100k at the MCG. Let alone against a powerhouse club. There's a sense of being "spooked" and it was evident on Thursday night for mine. And now with what's happened with Maynard... I almost feel like Melbourne people are spitting the dummy more than I've ever seen a fanbase do before. 

We struggle to let go of both the good and the bad and it's to our detriment as a club and fanbase. I struggle with it myself. But I wonder when we'll genuinely put to bed the spooks and silent our critics once and for all. 2021 wasn't enough, we felt like it was, the pressure gauge was tightened and now here we are.

[drysdale demon 4,737]

More likely a fair percentage of supporters do as you can tell from this site, but I doubt the club itself does.

[Jaded No More 68,600]

Nothing we as supporters say or do has any impact on how the players play. 
Sure, a big turnout and loud crowd support is influential and helps teams, especially with favourable umpiring, but nobody at the club gives a [censored] how [censored] off or otherwise our supporters are.

They play for one another and they are very good at blocking the outside noise.
I worry far more about how defeated they are when one of our players goes down with an injury. The care they have for one another is wonderful, but it’s also been detrimental to outcomes of games. 
 

[The heart beats true 17,904]

8 minutes ago, praha said:

We struggle to let go of both the good and the bad and it's to our detriment as a club and fanbase.

I disagree with this.

Marchbank’s ‘touch’ being disallowed means we finish top 2.

Every single AFL ready key forward we have on our list has been injured for massive chunks of the season. Every time we find a solution it got taken away.

We’ve had back to back finals against the only 2 teams still in the race that could drown us out at the G.

One of our favourite sons gets knocked out in a thug move and everyone pretends it’s not, purely for their job security and ratings.

Yet still Friday night, undermanned and exhausted by all of this we will be there in droves to support our team.

Our supporters are so much more resilient than we get credit for, and the crowd numbers this year prove it.

Go Dees. Make some [censored] noise. The whole worlds against us, but that can’t stop us.

[dl4e 5,851]

2 minutes ago, Jaded No More said:

Nothing we as supporters say or do has any impact on how the players play. 
Sure, a big turnout and loud crowd support is influential and helps teams, especially with favourable umpiring, but nobody at the club gives a [censored] how [censored] off or otherwise our supporters are.

They play for one another and they are very good at blocking the outside noise.
I worry far more about how defeated they are when one of our players goes down with an injury. The care they have for one another is wonderful, but it’s also been detrimental to outcomes of games. 
 

This is very true. Look what happened when Max went down a few minutes into the first quarter against the bears. We were a rabble for the rest of the quarter. Same thing happened against the filth last thursday.

[Smokey 4,381]

17 minutes ago, The heart beats true said:

I disagree with this.

Marchbank’s ‘touch’ being disallowed means we finish top 2.

Every single AFL ready key forward we have on our list has been injured for massive chunks of the season. Every time we find a solution it got taken away.

We’ve had back to back finals against the only 2 teams still in the race that could drown us out at the G.

One of our favourite sons gets knocked out in a thug move and everyone pretends it’s not, purely for their job security and ratings.

Yet still Friday night, undermanned and exhausted by all of this we will be there in droves to support our team.

Our supporters are so much more resilient than we get credit for, and the crowd numbers this year prove it.

Go Dees. Make some [censored] noise. The whole worlds against us, but that can’t stop us.

Nailed it, great post. Reading it has me ready to run through walls. I bet the playing group are feeling the same right now. 

[rjay 24,677]

21 minutes ago, The heart beats true said:

Marchbank’s ‘touch’ being disallowed means we finish top 2.

Every single AFL ready key forward we have on our list has been injured for massive chunks of the season. Every time we find a solution it got taken away.

I think it's been a brilliant coaching & playing exhibition against the odds this season.

A lot has gone against us yet we still finished top 4.

Will need a rabbit out of the hat from Goody and the FD to push much further but it's not beyond this team.

[Grapeviney 9,575]

I'm quite comfortable with how we carry ourselves on the big stage - and the respect we've earned from the football world in return.

Yes we went out in straight sets last year, but you don't finish top 4 three years in a row without 'stepping up' multiple times.  

I saw the OP made a similar post in another thread, implying that the flag was diminished because it was played at a neutral venue away from a hostile crowd; if you want to put an asterisk next to one of our greatest premiership wins, that's your call. 

Not me. We were on the precipice of one of football's biggest ever chokes in 2021. 

We were easily the best team of the H&A season, and the finals, and we'd let a dominant four-goal GF lead turn into a 19-point deficit midway through the third term. Our decades-long reputation as a soft club that couldn't deliver when the heat is on was about to be signed and sealed forever in front of the entire nation. 

But we didn't fold. We produced 45 minutes of the most devastating football in finals history - close to perfection. When it counted most. With a heavy 57-year old monkey on our back. 

To pretend there wasn't scrutiny or pressure is just plain wrong - there will never be more pressure than there was in 2021 when we were trying to break the curse. 

Edited September 13, 2023 by Grapeviney

[praha 11,217]

14 minutes ago, Grapeviney said:

I'm quite comfortable with how we carry ourselves on the big stage - and the respect we've earned from the football world in return.

Yes we went out in straight sets last year, but you don't finish top 4 three years in a row without 'stepping up' multiple times.  

I saw the OP made a similar post in another thread, implying that the flag was diminished because it was played at a neutral venue away from a hostile crowd; if you want to put an asterisk next to one of our greatest premiership wins, that's your call. 

Not me. We were on the precipice of one of football's biggest ever chokes in 2021. 

We were comfortably the best team of the H&A season, and the finals, and we'd let a dominant four-goal GF lead turn into a 19-point deficit midway through the third term. Our decades-long reputation as a soft club that couldn't deliver when the heat is on was about to be signed and sealed forever in front of the entire nation. 

But we didn't fold. We produced 45 minutes of the most devastating football in finals history - close to perfection. When it counted most. With a heavy 57-year old monkey on our back. 

To pretend there wasn't scrutiny or pressure is just plain wrong - there will never be more pressure than there was in 2021 when we were trying to break the curse. 

My reference to 2021 keeps coming up -- I'm not diminishing it. We were far and away the best team. But let's also not pretend that playing in neutral stadiums in front of neutral crowds didn't make it slightly easier. 

[BDA 22,402]

We don't fold. We have plenty of grit and resilience. I've no worries on that front at all.

Injuries to key forward have cruelled our season. Its just bad luck. To win a flag you need to play well AND have the rub of the green along the way. We're still in this though and wouldn't be surprised if we beat Carlton and then ransack the Gabba.

[Engorged Onion 10,183]

Context of each year doesn’t matter…Unless we get a threepeat, we’ve failed? And the team has let ME down.

Am I doing it right?

*sorry for the condescending tone.

Edited September 13, 2023 by Engorged Onion

[leave it to deever 17,498]

1 hour ago, praha said:

This is the first time in the modern era with social media and fast information that we are so prevalent in the news cycle. We are consistently playing in front of big crowds, during prime time, against big clubs in big games. We are in the news almost daily.

Our supporter base seems tired. Our players lack composure. Even after a flag we still lack respect from the football community. 

The way teams like Collingwood deal with adversity is to ride the wave and hold on. We seem to struggle. I feel like we are still dealing with the challenge of expectation, of wanting to be a big club, being let into the big boys club, but not actually being a big club. We almost seem out of place here.

It's just an observation -- maybe I'll be proven wrong on Friday but it's never been harder for me to imagine us winning a final or even a flag in front of 100k at the MCG. Let alone against a powerhouse club. There's a sense of being "spooked" and it was evident on Thursday night for mine. And now with what's happened with Maynard... I almost feel like Melbourne people are spitting the dummy more than I've ever seen a fanbase do before. 

We struggle to let go of both the good and the bad and it's to our detriment as a club and fanbase. I struggle with it myself. But I wonder when we'll genuinely put to bed the spooks and silent our critics once and for all. 2021 wasn't enough, we felt like it was, the pressure gauge was tightened and now here we are.

As an aside, it's probably worth remembering  we have performed well in some big games ie KB and Anzac this year. Both were reasonably large crowds.

Having said that, our slow start against the Pies must be attributed to something.  We clearly took a long time to get out of first gear.

But once we did , we really dominated. I think we will come out hard and strong against the Blues and win quite well.

The whole Maynard hit will be a big motivation.  The Lions however are a tough gig. Up there tge crowd factor really comes into play and tge lions are in pretty good form. The sad thing is if we met them in a gf at the G , we would most likely win.

Oh footy , you break so many hearts. This year with injuries has been an absolute shocker. Not just tge number but the timing. We hardly ever had true cohesion all year. 

As hard as you train, try and as much as a club does, there's a fair bit of luck involved. 

Not to mention thuggery. I truly believe in a game determined by about a goal if we haven't of lost Gus , we would have won.

Let's just wait three more days and see what happens

 

Hang in there.

[Delusional demon 82 1,197]

I think if you go back 10 years and ask yourself having this sort of relevance on the big stage is everything we would have dreamed of as supporters , but with it comes the attention and scrutiny. But as mentioned above we did pass the ultimate test in 2021 , the football world now at least respect us and fear what our team can be capable of , but a lot (especially in the media) still hold on to long standing stereotypical grudges and dislike us as a club and our supporter base 

We’ve come a long way from those dour Sunday afternoon 1.10 games with smug [censored] like Dwaynne commenting on how irrelevant we were 

[Chook 15,001]

I think supporters are tired. We want to win so bad and it hasn't gone to plan so far. It didn't go to plan last year either. It went to plan the year before that but I for one sort of feel like the AFL world doesn't care because it was a COVID year.

In times like these we look to the club itself to see how to act and feel as supporters, because the club drives the culture of the supporter base and the onfield results are the impetus for everything else that happens.

Let me bring up what Simon Goodwin has said just yesterday in his press conference. It's the best answer we can get prior to Friday night:

"Now there's a vibrancy that's really permeating through our building about what's in front of us and the opportunity that sits there.
So I know there's a lot of noise on the outside about incidents and performance and anxiety and you know the what ifs. We're not in that space we're in the space of positivity, opportunity and looking about what's possible and that's exciting for us internally."

It remains to be seen what happens on Friday night but excitement and positivity is something that has been missing from Melbourne hearts for a long time. We captured that feeling briefly and are losing it now after some challenges. It happens and we're very used to it. So let's recapture it. The players will help. They're really the only ones who matter here. Imagine 20 points up in the 3rd quarter on Friday. I'll be excited as I'm sure you will too. 

Only the players can bring us that feeling, and we'll need to ride the wave again when it comes.

Edited September 13, 2023 by Chook

[Dee Viney Intervention 1,833]

This Friday will be a real banana skin game. Carton have a fair bit of momentum going into the game while we have had a few hurdles to overcome. However, if we get over Carlton then the pressure dial goes onto the Lions to win at The Gabba. It  could be good for the group to get away together  having got the monkey off our back of winning a final at the MCG. We have the talent to do it, the big if is sorting out connection and forward half efficiency. There is still a pulse.

[Jaded No More 68,600]

The reality is that winning flags is bloody hard. Winning multiple flags in a short period of time is even harder, it's why so few teams have done it. 

You need absolutely everything to go right to win a flag, and unfortunately after a great run in 2021, a lot has gone wrong since. 

I think @Chook rightly pointed out that as a fan base we are tired. We have been through more than most other supporters, and we are finally a competitive club, so for things to work so badly against us at every turn is a really bitter pill to swallow. It's also human nature. It's the hope that kills you!

But as @Grapeviney so perfectly summed up, we are a resilient bunch. We have broken membership records every year for just about the last decade. Our attendance numbers are strong. We are passionate as they come. It doesn't mean that we don't hurt, that we don't feel angry when there are injustices happening to our club and players.

I look at clubs like Geelong and Swans. They get the best armchair rides in the competition, and even they have only managed one flag in the last decade. To be here now, top 4 three years running, still in the hunt, and with a flag only 2 season ago, is a privileged position, but it's also one we fought harder to achieve than most. 

To say we struggle under the weight is simply not true. We've played plenty of big games and delivered. We've equally played big games and lost. Which club hasn't? Just look at Brisbane and Port. So many top 4 finishes, so little to show for it in the trophy cabinet. Likewise Geelong until last year. It's a tough competition.

[At the break of Gawn 4,449]

I agree that as supporters we are resilient bunch and we've been at the real depths of the AFL competition.

However, I still have reservations around this playing group defeating a big 4 club at the MCG in a final in front of 90k+ crowds until we actually do it. It's something intangible I know, but it appeared that some of the players got a bit intimidated from the raucous Collingwood crowd. The jeers, the boos, the roar of an opposition goal has an effect.

I know we're favourites, and by many, expected to win, but beating Carlton and getting the monkey off our back will be huge for this playing group. The 2021 premiership is a cherished memory and a landmark moment in this club's history, but the fact is, it was "off broadway". Winning a big final at the MCG is what this team needs. 

Edited September 13, 2023 by At the break of Gawn

[IRW 1,383]

8 minutes ago, At the break of Gawn said:

I agree that as supporters we are resilient bunch and we've been at the real depths of the AFL competition.

However, I still have reservations around this playing group defeating a big 4 club at the MCG in a final in front of 90k+ crowds until we actually do it. It's something intangible I know, but it appeared that some of the players got a bit intimidated from the raucous Collingwood crowd. The jeers, the boos, the roar of an opposition goal has an effect.

I know we're favourites, and by many, expected to win, but beating Carlton and getting the monkey off our back will be huge for this playing group. The 2021 premiership is a cherished memory and a landmark moment in this club's history, but the fact is, it was "off broadway". Winning a big final at the MCG is what this team needs. 

Favourites? 

Really?

 

[At the break of Gawn 4,449]

1 minute ago, IRW said:

Favourites? 

Really?

 

According to Sportsbet... 

[Webber 10,442]

3 hours ago, praha said:

This is the first time in the modern era with social media and fast information that we are so prevalent in the news cycle. We are consistently playing in front of big crowds, during prime time, against big clubs in big games. We are in the news almost daily.

Our supporter base seems tired. Our players lack composure. Even after a flag we still lack respect from the football community. 

The way teams like Collingwood deal with adversity is to ride the wave and hold on. We seem to struggle. I feel like we are still dealing with the challenge of expectation, of wanting to be a big club, being let into the big boys club, but not actually being a big club. We almost seem out of place here.

It's just an observation -- maybe I'll be proven wrong on Friday but it's never been harder for me to imagine us winning a final or even a flag in front of 100k at the MCG. Let alone against a powerhouse club. There's a sense of being "spooked" and it was evident on Thursday night for mine. And now with what's happened with Maynard... I almost feel like Melbourne people are spitting the dummy more than I've ever seen a fanbase do before. 

We struggle to let go of both the good and the bad and it's to our detriment as a club and fanbase. I struggle with it myself. But I wonder when we'll genuinely put to bed the spooks and silent our critics once and for all. 2021 wasn't enough, we felt like it was, the pressure gauge was tightened and now here we are.

I read this and my immediate thought was “this isn’t about the MFC, or the team, it’s about you”. And I get it, those of us who are truly invested are guilty of projecting our emotional state onto the club, team, players and other supporters. 

[praha 11,217]

2 hours ago, Webber said:

I read this and my immediate thought was “this isn’t about the MFC, or the team, it’s about you”. And I get it, those of us who are truly invested are guilty of projecting our emotional state onto the club, team, players and other supporters. 

It's definitely about me. Do you read my other posts lol

[drysdale demon 4,737]

3 hours ago, At the break of Gawn said:

It's something intangible I know, but it appeared that some of the players got a bit intimidated from the raucous Collingwood crowd. The jeers, the boos, the roar of an opposition goal has an effect.

Intimidated, Really. LOL

[Buzzy 992]

I think we're purely struggling under the weight of a having a hugely competitive ball winning midfield who unfortunately are just not great kicks.

Under pressure they just aren't lowering their eyes, as we all can see.  Not sure why it won't sink in, but it's going to keep costing us year after year with this midfield group.  

I know it's compounded by our lack of forward 50 ball winners but in reality this group are hamstrung by their skill limitations.

It's a real shame.  Imagine the Brownlows and GF's that we'd win if any of Trac, Viney & Clarry could kick like Hodge, Mitchell & Lewis...or Voss, Black & Lappin.  Ugh.

[At the break of Gawn 4,449]

4 hours ago, drysdale demon said:

Intimidated, Really. LOL

Jury still out until we beat a big 4 team in a final at the G.

Edited September 13, 2023 by At the break of Gawn

[Kozzie4PM 765]

This "haven't won one at the G" is classic boofhead footy fan nonsense. Like having to play your home finals in Adelaide and Perth is somehow an advantage. Deary me 😂

Oh and apart from the those finals we won at the G in 2018 that half these blokes were playing in. The state of some of you lot 😂