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4 hours ago, Return to Glory said:

El Diablo 14. There's a name. I get that you can't afford to go...... but you spend the better part of three hours bagging the Melbourne Football Club., post after post after post. Almost without exception, every post take pot shots at players, coach and club. I don't think you should pay for a membership 'next and the next after' as the Dees don't appear to bring you any joy.

I wish it was only three hours, for that might be tolerable. But it’s every day, every single day. It’s many times a day. It’s in different threads and during different topics of discussion, but there’s always the one constant… disparagement of the club and in particular, Goody. Thank you for pointing it out, RtG; especially in such a respectful manner. I’m not sure I could be as courteous. You’re a better man than I am, Gunga Din. 🙂

 

I noticed that after TMac kicked that ripper goal on the run, he sprinted off in celebration, and from what I could see on the Teev, didn’t acknowledge the pass from Tholstrup. Sure, I might be over-interpreting it, but I didn’t like it.

6 hours ago, Return to Glory said:

El Diablo 14. There's a name. I get that you can't afford to go...... but you spend the better part of three hours bagging the Melbourne Football Club., post after post after post. Almost without exception, every post take pot shots at players, coach and club. I don't think you should pay for a membership 'next and the next after' as the Dees don't appear to bring you any joy.

I will pay membership, you can see my posts from previous years.

I am not, at least not in my personal opinion, a guy with only negative opinions.

You are correct the way things are going this year are not bringing me much joy, that doesn't mean I will just jump ship and abandon the club. I only provide my comments on what I think is wrong with the club and what can be done to fix it, it hurts to see a premiership list being wasted, again that's my opinion many may or may not agree.

 

 
2 hours ago, WalkingCivilWar said:

I wish it was only three hours, for that might be tolerable. But it’s every day, every single day. It’s many times a day. It’s in different threads and during different topics of discussion, but there’s always the one constant… disparagement of the club and in particular, Goody. Thank you for pointing it out, RtG; especially in such a respectful manner. I’m not sure I could be as courteous. You’re a better man than I am, Gunga Din. 🙂

Please be honest with me WCW, I can take any criticism.

I have said before that I consider myself a bit cynical and negative, and I can be perceived as "bagging" the club.

If anything I bag the coach because, in all honesty, I lost any faith in him and I am far from the only one here on DL or in the social media.

I applaud your fortitude to maintain a positive spin on things even during the dark days, but I think everyone lives and feels the sport in different ways.

I care for this club to maximise what it has in terms of talent and potential, feels very frustrating the way they have performed in the last 5 weeks.

I only ask to not be disingenuous as I don't keep talking about the coach every day and in every topic, I only do it when the topic is being discussed. I just spent two weeks overseas and pretty much I did not engage at all in DL.

I only try to voice my preference for the club to be brave and make some real changes for next season, I know I am being silly because guarantee you no-one from the club reads DL and if they do, they won't listen to ED14 and his uneducated takes.

I will be back to the G next year, despite some people asking me to abandon the club. I believe this club deserves best, as I have come to know the history and the significance for the sport that this ancient club has. The only thing I can do as an individual is to go to the G and pay my membership to provide some economic and passionate support, small as it can be.

🔴🔵 Always, ElDiablo.

7 hours ago, Flowergirl said:

I used to really enjoy lurking on these pages but the negativity is a real drag. I know that it's frustrating watching your team lose or not play their best, but being a supporter is also about celebrating wins. 

There were so many positives to take out of tonight. Yeah, we may not be playing our best footy, but we were so much better than previous week's. We led for the entire game for a start and barely kicked any behinds. 

The youth at our club stood up tonight. Kolt was amazing. That Kynan Brown tackle 🔥. Trent Rivers. Judd McVee. 

Jack Viney, Max Gawn and Steven May played really well. Petty had some impact! 

Our first and third quarters were really good. North Melbourne are not playing like a bottom side - they were really lifted in the last quarter and were hard to stop. 

We may not win the premiership this year, but there is a lot to hope for in the future. Every top 8 side has had a [censored] time recently - Sydney nearly didn't make the finals last year, Geelong missed them entirely. Collingwood were woeful in 2021. 

A win is a win, is a win, is a win. 

I'll just ask the following:

If we find ourselves 2026 with no finals wins, so no more premierships from this current core, would you find yourself disappointed? Specially looking back at October 2021 and what you thought about our future?


31 minutes ago, ElDiablo14 said:

I'll just ask the following:

If we find ourselves 2026 with no finals wins, so no more premierships from this current core, would you find yourself disappointed? Specially looking back at October 2021 and what you thought about our future?

She’ll be disappointed like the rest of us.

But that’s the life of a sports fan. Disappointment most of the time.

All we can demand is effort and commitment from the team. And we got that consistently for the last 3 years. Something has gone awry this year. No idea what but its not a happy camp based on the performances delivered. The rest is the vagaries of sport. Battered and bruised coming into 22 finals. Couldn’t kick straight last year against the pies or Carlton. As a fan you just go with the flow. Constant sh*tting on the team just marks you out as an abusive fan.

We’re not winning a flag this year. A spot from 6-8 is what we’re playing for I reckon. Hopefully win a final and at least get that monkey off our backs.

Adjust your expectations and you’ll enjoy it more. Focus on the development of the promising youngsters we have. Let the club do their review at the end of the year and change up the coaching team as needed. In the meantime, get along to the games if you can and just support the team.

39 minutes ago, ElDiablo14 said:

If we find ourselves 2026 with no finals wins, so no more premierships from this current core, would you find yourself disappointed?

No. Because I understand that things happen beyond your control. We were completely cooked by the 22 finals, and in 23 were cut down by injury after injury leading into and across the finals. You need everything to go right to win a flag.

 
9 minutes ago, BDA said:

She’ll be disappointed like the rest of us.

But that’s the life of a sports fan. Disappointment most of the time.

All we can demand is effort and commitment from the team. And we got that consistently for the last 3 years. Something has gone awry this year. No idea what but its not a happy camp based on the performances delivered. The rest is the vagaries of sport. Battered and bruised coming into 22 finals. Couldn’t kick straight last year against the pies or Carlton. As a fan you just go with the flow. Constant sh*tting on the team just marks you out as an abusive fan.

We’re not winning a flag this year. A spot from 6-8 is what we’re playing for I reckon. Hopefully win a final and at least get that monkey off our backs.

Adjust your expectations and you’ll enjoy it more. Focus on the development of the promising youngsters we have. Let the club do their review at the end of the year and change up the coaching team as needed. In the meantime, get along to the games if you can and just support the team.

Thanks for your thorough analysis and understanding of the different supporters that live anonymously here in DL.

I appreciate you have provided some perspective on how to enjoy the ride and to focus on the positive. I think many have said play the kids, and I would be happy if that actually happened.

I would like to see Taj, Kynan, Tholstrup, Jefferson, Sestan more on a regular basis. Really give them a chance, play 3 or 4 weeks in a row and see what we have.

Add to that, Turner to the backline. 

3 minutes ago, bing181 said:

No. Because I understand that things happen beyond your control. We were completely cooked by the 22 finals, and in 23 were cut down by injury after injury leading into and across the finals. You need everything to go right to win a flag.

I still think we should've at least reached a PF, specially in 2023. But now it's all a moot point.


Scrolling past a post you don't like or don't agree with must be one of the easiest things anyone can do. I'm surprised it hasn't proved more popular. 

9 hours ago, ElDiablo14 said:

Any reason why there was more Kangaroo's supporters tonight? It's our home game right?

Yes they have afooty team that goes hard

8 hours ago, SPC said:

I love how our forwards, huddle together, then we kick the ball on their heads.. and only the defenders have ability to run and jump at the ball.

I also love how opponents can have 1m space and manage to mark the ball, yet we can have 2-3m and still get closed down. And when we do, they will the ground ball. Staggering 

Exactly, I made a comment in the game day thread about isolating Fritsch like the Pies do with Hill but we’ll never do it.

Just watched KB's jumper presentation video. How good was the emotional speech from his dad! Really fitting that he ended it with the words " I really hope you get to sing the song with these boys tonight" and thanks to his game saving run down tackle he did. Just!


5 hours ago, WalkingCivilWar said:

So, losing this match would’ve been fine because it would mean we’re one step closer to “getting rid of” our coach? Wowww. That’s a new low. 

Not my view, just my interpretation of the post.

8 hours ago, DeeZee said:

Wish I knew what was wrong with Clarry, I think this is the crux of lot of our problems .

I know he had a limited pre season , but I really thought he might have stepped up in Tracs absence.

He seems to have no go in him anymore.

No preseason and mentally shot

If Trac and Lever played last night what would have been different? Obviously you could start with potentially the score line and argue that our backline would have been more organised with Lever there or with Trac in the middle we would have stretched Norths match ups. But would it have changed Oliver’s game? Would it have changed the way we move the ball or our entry inside fwd 50 which is clearly affecting Fritsch’s game? Would it have changed some of our woeful set shots on goal, basic skill errors or our inability to not score in the last qtr? What about when we kick in after a behind and we nearly always go long to Gawn? 

We have too much talent to be playing like this, my biggest concern is we’ll start to have talented players want out come seasons end. Goodwin clearly doesn’t see a problem with the current gameplan or doesn’t have the skill set to do anything about it. We’ve done the whole swap some assistants around and that hasn’t worked. Look at Hinkley, I laughed when Port extended his contract. Difference here is Goody has a flag so what he says goes.

 

1 minute ago, Bombay Airconditioning said:

If Trac and Lever played last night what would have been different? Obviously you could start with potentially the score line and argue that our backline would have been more organised with Lever there or with Trac in the middle we would have stretched Norths match ups. But would it have changed Oliver’s game? Would it have changed the way we move the ball or our entry inside fwd 50 which is clearly affecting Fritsch’s game? Would it have changed some of our woeful set shots on goal, basic skill errors or our inability to not score in the last qtr? What about when we kick in after a behind and we nearly always go long to Gawn? 

We have too much talent to be playing like this, my biggest concern is we’ll start to have talented players want out come seasons end. Goodwin clearly doesn’t see a problem with the current gameplan or doesn’t have the skill set to do anything about it. We’ve done the whole swap some assistants around and that hasn’t worked. Look at Hinkley, I laughed when Port extended his contract. Difference here is Goody has a flag so what he says goes.

 

We had Trac play against West Coast and Fremantle and that made no difference.

The overall game plan is cooked.

Those who are deriding posters for being overly negative, I get it. We won, and winning is always better than losing.

But looking long-term at our recent performance and moving forward, the win against the Kangas did nothing to allay the concerns many have about our form and the trajectory of this team. It's the same as the win against the Saints - yeah great to get the win but the proof will be in the following games and in the following games we got spanked by Freo and dominated by Collingwood.

If we lose by 10 goals plus to the Lions what does the win against North mean? So yeah, great to get the win and my kids certainly appreciated it but I'll temper my joy until I see a more prolonged period of good form.


Well how are we all fellow Dees ? Did we crack open the Bollie, dive into the cellar for a Grange ?? Maybe savoured that 10yo Jack ?? No ....  hmmm

Firstly congratulations to Simon and his fellow gurus for fabricating that masterclass of quality footy. T'was scintillating. Hollywood shooting a train wreck couldn't have done better. Kudos Goody . You're the man.

Am heartened to think Fritta is obviously saving himself for finals...   clever boy !! That's genius right there. Not nearly as inventive though as Clarry impersonating a clapped out 180b at a Shine'n'show. No danger of the wheels falling off there....he's totally rusted !!

Ol' Harrison waxed and waned between wanting to play decent football, and just being himself. True colours shone through in the end and we all knew it was just good ol' Petty. .( bought that place in Cherry Hills yet ?? ) 

It was Saturday night and the kids were partying. At least they knew what it was about. Hope to see more.....carry on ;)

The officials joined in the festive mood and channeling Oprah decided to hand out frees like cars to all the good folk in Blue and White.... one for you...for you...another..oh heck....you can all have one.

Well I don't know about all of you but i'm heading down the road and finding myself one of those Lordy Lordy places and give thanks that the great one has seen fit that we again can revel in that wondrous place called "the eight" ..   I know we won't be there long and it will be a long time before revisiting but in true humility I'm thankful for the little things.

It's a great day to be a Dee 

 

6 hours ago, masterzak said:

Not looking forward to the Lions

Why? Gonna be fun. The Game day thread on Friday will be a hoot from early morning. 
The boys won’t be scared, if they’re not good enough to beat the Lions so be it. 
Been a very long time since we went into a game as massive outsiders. We should look forward to the challenge.

5 minutes ago, beelzebub said:

Well how are we all fellow Dees ? Did we crack open the Bollie, dive into the cellar for a Grange ?? Maybe savoured that 10yo Jack ?? No ....  hmmm

Firstly congratulations to Simon and his fellow gurus for fabricating that masterclass of quality footy. T'was scintillating. Hollywood shooting a train wreck couldn't have done better. Kudos Goody . You're the man.

Am heartened to think Fritta is obviously saving himself for finals...   clever boy !! That's genius right there. Not nearly as inventive though as Clarry impersonating a clapped out 180b at a Shine'n'show. No danger of the wheels falling off there....he's totally rusted !!

Ol' Harrison waxed and waned between wanting to play decent football, and just being himself. True colours shone through in the end and we all knew it was just good ol' Petty. .( bought that place in Cherry Hills yet ?? ) 

It was Saturday night and the kids were partying. At least they knew what it was about. Hope to see more.....carry on ;)

The officials joined in the festive mood and channeling Oprah decided to hand out frees like cars to all the good folk in Blue and White.... one for you...for you...another..oh heck....you can all have one.

Well I don't know about all of you but i'm heading down the road and finding myself one of those Lordy Lordy places and give thanks that the great one has seen fit that we again can revel in that wondrous place called "the eight" ..   I know we won't be there long and it will be a long time before revisiting but in true humility I'm thankful for the little things.

It's a great day to be a Dee 

 

Stuff me Bub, I’m getting over a bout of influenza and it hurts to laugh…..

Edited by Bombay Airconditioning

 
51 minutes ago, Bombay Airconditioning said:

Exactly, I made a comment in the game day thread about isolating Fritsch like the Pies do with Hill but we’ll never do it.

And repeatedly we have no crumbers at the fall of the ball allowing the oppo to sweep the ball or if defence

 

If that's the game plan it's cooked. It seems to be because we do it every week

Coming off his best game of the year, kicking 3.1 on Darcy Moore, JVR had 68% game time last night and 19 ruck contests. That’s ridiculous. Are we trying to turn this guy into our best forward or not? Hardly giving him a chance to succeed as a forward with those numbers. In the ruck far too much 


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