1 hour ago, Garbo said:

So everything is fine, anyone that isn’t onboard this train is just holding us back. We should just put the blinkers on and not question our reality or talk about the PR spin that comes from the club

Nah, I was talking from my personal perspective.  I never put the blinkers on.  (Though I might not look too hard).  I would hope that some alarm bells had rung within the club and that a review might be warranted.

There would be very, very few posters on here that are not passionate Dee’s supporters. Surely that’s unification.
However all of us have different opinions at times, and certainly different ways of expressing ourselves, which is to be expected, and it is what I enjoy about this site. This does not reflect disunity.                                      
As long as the banter is respectful (which at times it isn’t) then go for it I say.
 

42 minutes ago, demon3165 said:

Whilst I have been critical of our game plan regarding forward entries the last 2 years, I will be waiting to see how it goes when McAdam, Fullarton, Petty and Fritsch are playing together, but it will take a little time to either work or not.

I have always set aside the first 5-7 or so rounds of the season and will do so again to see how it goes and while the dancing with your sister in our sim game was disappointing in parts I will look forward to our next game.

I dont think its the forwards themselves although they probably are somewhat part of the problem with their leading patterns. To me its either game-plan / instructions from coaching staff and delivery into the forward line i..e the hold kick it long to the scoring zone. 

37 minutes ago, Roost it far said:

Surely even your confidence is a little dented watching this unfold?

Not at all.

The MFC is the oldest football club in the world.

We have been around for over 160 years.

That doesn't happen by accident.

We are made of teak, not balsa.

The history of sport is littered with examples of sports teams that channel being unfairly attacked and maligned and having their backs against the wall into the ultimate success.

Hell, in 2021 we won a flag after failing to make the finals in 2020 and getting smashed from pillar to post - including by many on here (there are receipts).

We were written off, given no chance of winning a flag at the start of 2021. Again, even by many on here. 

Even after winning 10 games straight, a mid season loading related slump saw the haters casting shade and writing us off. Including many on here.

Backs against the wall, we proved the doubters and haters dead wrong.

Overcame the odds, travelling to Adelaide for our first final and quarantine in Perth. 

And won the bloody flag. 

Beware the angry Dee with a point to prove.

Bring it.

7 minutes ago, binman said:

Not at all.

The MFC is the oldest football club in the world.

We have been around for over 160 years.

That doesn't happen by accident.

We are made of teak, not balsa.

The history of sport is littered with examples of sports teams that channel being unfairly attacked and maligned and having their backs against the wall into the ultimate success.

Hell, in 2021 we won a flag after failing to make the finals in 2020 and getting smashed from pillar to post - including by many on here (there are receipts).

We were written off, given no chance of winning a flag at the start of 2021. Again, even by many on here. 

Even after winning 10 games straight, a mid season loading related slump saw the haters casting shade and writing us off. Including many on here.

Backs against the wall, we proved the doubters and haters dead wrong.

Overcame the odds, travelling to Adelaide for our first final and quarantine in Perth. 

And won the bloody flag. 

Beware the angry Dee with a point to prove.

Bring it.

Sadly we haven’t evolved from ‘21

That’s the point, in such a competitive competition, you must evolve. 
We still play the same style, that is why people are concerned 

Goodwin gets outcoached in BIG GAMES far too often, because he is reactive during a match,and those who don’t think it’s a problem, or ridicule posters for bringing it up, are not looking closely enough 

Remaining hopeful is all you can do when you have little to zero control over a turbulent situation. 
 

Watching the boys over the last couple of seasons, it doesn’t feel like there was the joy of playing like there was in the Premiership year? I could be totally wrong but there was also a tension there. I can’t explain it, just a feeling I have.
 

 I have a singular hope and that’s the coaching staff reminding the players to have fun on game day. Take a bit of the pressure out of everything and first and foremost go out there and enjoy it. Any task is harder if it’s sucked of all joy. Especially playing sport. Everything else will flow from that. 
 

Hopefully. 
Go dees.

 

Embrace "us vs the world" as the theme this year I reckon. I'd get behind that. 

Manure can help flowers grow, we are still very capable of blooming.

If anything can lift me up (boy how much I need it for the upcoming season) it'll be the return of King Clarry 👑

Here's hoping we get the best version of the superstar he is.

2 hours ago, Gawndy the Great said:

I dont think its the forwards themselves although they probably are somewhat part of the problem with their leading patterns. To me its either game-plan / instructions from coaching staff and delivery into the forward line i..e the hold kick it long to the scoring zone. 

It's a combination of all that and it comes down to game plan pure and simple.

Thirty reactions to the OP so far and only one of them is not positive.  Unity rules on Demonland.

To be honest, I thought I would never see a premiership. But a club can fall after success as west coast did. Players get above themselves.  We have a bad apple that has undermined the foundation. 

3 hours ago, binman said:

Not at all.

The MFC is the oldest football club in the world.

We have been around for over 160 years.

That doesn't happen by accident.

We are made of teak, not balsa.

The history of sport is littered with examples of sports teams that channel being unfairly attacked and maligned and having their backs against the wall into the ultimate success.

Hell, in 2021 we won a flag after failing to make the finals in 2020 and getting smashed from pillar to post - including by many on here (there are receipts).

We were written off, given no chance of winning a flag at the start of 2021. Again, even by many on here. 

Even after winning 10 games straight, a mid season loading related slump saw the haters casting shade and writing us off. Including many on here.

Backs against the wall, we proved the doubters and haters dead wrong.

Overcame the odds, travelling to Adelaide for our first final and quarantine in Perth. 

And won the bloody flag. 

Beware the angry Dee with a point to prove.

Bring it.

That’s just waffle

I'm pretty disappointed and disheartened. I can't really support certain individuals given this happened on their watch.

I think someone needs to take accountability here because it's a trend, and individual players are continually scapegoats.

It's symbolic of a cultural trend and the longer the supporters put up with it the longer it'll fester.

If the club falls away this year then the CEO, Board, and Coach should all resign. Seems pretty harsh but the implications and accusationa are following this club around and so long as they are still at the club, every single little that happens at the club will be blown up.

I'll be there day one (not day 0 because flights were too expensive), but I go in pretty [censored] off overall with the club. I feel like the premiership window has slammed shut now for at least a few years. We need to fail quickly and get beyond this bump. Pretending it doesn't exist is just making it worse.

Edited February 21, 20241 yr by praha

I'm totally with @Sir Why You Little here. 2021 was a very long time ago. Yes, the premership was amazing and I absolutely loved it but we haven't progressed since then. The fact is that we have been so painfully stale and predictable over the past two years that it's no surprise that we've underperformed in September.

Some people on this site seem way too defensive to realise that it is possible to support the club while pointing out its deficiencies. If we don't make any changes to our gameplan in 2024, we'll be making up the numbers.

Edited February 21, 20241 yr by Hopeful Demon

1 minute ago, Hopeful Demon said:

I'm totally with @Sir Why You Little here. 2021 was a very long time ago. Yes, the premership was amazing and I absolutely loved it but we haven't progressed since then. The fact is that we have been so painfully stale and predictable over the past two years that it's no surprise that we've underperformed in September.

Some people on this site seem way too defensive to realise that it is possible to support the club while pointing out its deficiencies. If we don't make any changes to our gameplan in 2024, we'll be making up the numbers.

Gameplan won't matter if the club's leaders persist with their delusion and naivety. 

We will be ok, all good, looking forward to the season

9 minutes ago, Roost it far said:

That’s just waffle

That's disappointing .

I was aiming for Churchillian.

29 minutes ago, Hopeful Demon said:

I'm totally with @Sir Why You Little here. 2021 was a very long time ago. Yes, the premership was amazing and I absolutely loved it but we haven't progressed since then. The fact is that we have been so painfully stale and predictable over the past two years that it's no surprise that we've underperformed in September.

Some people on this site seem way too defensive to realise that it is possible to support the club while pointing out its deficiencies. If we don't make any changes to our gameplan in 2024, we'll be making up the numbers.

If you have a Motor that is underperforming, you strip it down and find the problem, then rebuild it. 
That is what we need to do now. We still have a good list, so it can be done carefully whilst we still play the season at a competitive level. 
But if the Club takes a defensive position when the Media are in full attack mode, it won’t end well. 
I don’t like the way previous administrations went about it, but he obviously saw things he didn’t like. 
We are standing at the Crossroad….

8 hours ago, Garbo said:

Hard to unite behind the team when the more that is exposed the worse it gets. Without breaking any rules of this forum the club and most supporters collectively have their heads in the sand.

So, Andy asks for sentiments similar to the OP and three posts later there’s this ⬆️ 

What’s the point of starting what should be a positive, upbeat thread when it’s eventually gonna be sullied?!

9 hours ago, sam6172 said:

Haven't spent much time on Demonland over the offseason, or at all in the big scheme of things. I came back here the other day to see what others thought of a few things I noticed watching the scratch match against Richmond. Good Lord people, what's happened to us? 

By "Us" I mean Demon supporters as a whole, on every platform. I truly believe it's never been this bad. The infighting, gossip, completely unfounded rumours and trash talk is completely ruining what used to be a few different places to dribble a bit of [censored] about the footy no matter the result. Yes we whinged, moaned and lamented but it was fairly good natured (for the most part) and the team still had our full backing.

Offseason was rough, agreed? It's been a pile on of monumental proportions. Coming at the club from every angle. It's been hard to listen to. From the 24/7 media cycle blaring it into our skulls to opposition supporters gleefully rubbing it in our faces. Well, I'm sorry but it's not going away soon, get used to it. The more we react the louder they become. Why do you think the club doesn't say much? Anything they say is twisted and turned and dissected on radio shows endlessly. It's easier to just say nothing. 

We are already arguing about how [censored] the 2024 season is going to be! WTF!? WE HAVEN'T PLAYED A GAME YET! Guess what? We are going to lose games. Unfortunately that is just the reality. We will lose games. Some honourable losses but also some horrible losses to teams that have no right to play as good as they do against us. But, we will win some as well. The boys will dig deep and get us across the line in spectacular fashion and make us leap out of our chairs and scream with joy. There will be horrible wins as well, just scraping across the line against someone that we were all confident we could relax for. That's footy. Highs and lows, the agony and ecstasy of sport in general.

We achieve nothing by fighting amongst ourselves. By all means, let's have constructive debate over how we can make the team better, who belongs where on the field, who's played well or not. Let's not get too carried away with the off field stuff. That's for the club and players to worry about. We are supporters, our job is to support. We cannot do that when we are spending our time endlessly and viciously arguing over things we cannot control. 

Let's unite, support our boys (and girls), let them know that we are still here, despite all the outside noise. 

Anyway, that's my 2 cents. Had an hour up my sleeve before the boss came in. Probably just screaming into the void.  

I love you all. I love this team. C'mon Dee's.

 

 

 

Great post and beautifully written.

Go the Dees.

8 hours ago, Garbo said:

Hard to unite behind the team when the more that is exposed the worse it gets. Without breaking any rules of this forum the club and most supporters collectively have their heads in the sand.

Actually you're the supporter we don't want you believe every single thing the media tells you you're a sheep and a gullible fool.

Look on the bright side folks - we have the chance to have 4 point in the bank before round 1 for the first time ever!

9 hours ago, Demonland said:

I wholeheartedly agree with this messaging of unity between fans and getting behind the club.

Please use this thread to offer similar sentiments.

Please do not use this thread to bring up any off-field issues relating to the board or our players.

Thank you.

Unfortunately this request is futile.

Thank you @sam6172 for creating what had the potential to be a wonderful and very welcome thread right now. Sadly, it’s become unreadable, for me anyways.

Same goes for DL in general, tbh. Way too many drainers. I need to do a Luci, and take a break.

WCW out, for now 👋