I want Clarry here long term but I must say it's really clever how people are getting the over-emotional attacking of other people's opinions out of their systems on this thread.

Some people need to grow up.

 

  On 25/06/2024 at 10:22, Fat Tony said:

I’m not convinced he will ever get back to what he was. The speed of the game has increased and I fear this year might be a glimpse into what we’ll get over the next six years. 

I see Oliver as an inside midfielder only due to his average kicking. And without elite speed, he is an average midfielder on big money. I can’t see us winning a flag without elite mids. 

Instead of these emotional uninformed posts maybe listen to our captain who describes the type of role Clarry has been playing for the club ..a very unselfish role that will change because of Trac’s unavailability…before you post such rubbish…

It does not constitute disrespect to point out simple facts that he's overweight, lost his touch, badly out of form, unfit and generally being a liability with his lack of discipline.

Yes, he's a champion of our club but he isn't that player right now and like any other professional footballer, he is going to receive criticism.

He needs a full pre-season and hopefully his 2025 will be infinitely better than he has been this year.

  On 26/06/2024 at 00:08, FearTheBeard said:

It does not constitute disrespect to point out simple facts that he's overweight, lost his touch, badly out of form, unfit and generally being a liability with his lack of discipline.

Yes, he's a champion of our club but he isn't that player right now and like any other professional footballer, he is going to receive criticism.

He needs a full pre-season and hopefully his 2025 will be infinitely better than he has been this year.

Yeah but we all know the situation he was in, and the lack of preseason he had, and the finger issue he's had.

So it isn't a surprise that he is lacking condition and touch. 

It was a horrid period and tbh it's a wonder he's out there. Maybe he shouldn't be out there, but he is still one of our best performers this year. If the option is him or Laurie, I know which one I'm selecting this week.

FFS, I'm sick and tired of the discourse around poor Clarry.  Back at the start of the year there was doubt he would even be playing.  Given he'd had such an interrupted preseason, and the months of [censored] he went through both personally and in the public eye, I give full credit to him that he's been not only able to play every game so far, but for a few weeks with a broken hand.  And for the most part his statistics are still above average.  Yes, there is pressure on him, and yes, there's an extra load on him now that Trac is out, but I wish people would just get of his back.  He's had a remarkable turnaround, but seriously what did they expect, humongous change overnight?  Mental health struggles don't work like that.

  On 26/06/2024 at 00:13, deanox said:

  On 26/06/2024 at 00:13, deanox said:

  On 26/06/2024 at 00:08, FearTheBeard said:

It does not constitute disrespect to point out simple facts that he's overweight, lost his touch, badly out of form, unfit and generally being a liability with his lack of discipline.

 

 

 

He was not so much 'overweight' when he returned as 'lacking tone'. There is a difference. The 'tone' is returning as he gets games under his belt. Ollie doesn't have the physique of Petracca, never did. The lack of discipline has surfaced at times... but not to the extent that you suggest. The slow return of the football was only a milli-second from being let go... Ollie was already swinging his arm back to throw the ball when the umpire whistled the penalty. Ollie took no longer than countless other instances that were not penalised throughout the round. The 60-70 metres that was delivered by the umpires says more about their lack of discipline than Ollie's. Someone else suggested that Ollie is 'slow'... Rubbish! Have a closer look before you pile-on with the Media Narrative. 

  On 26/06/2024 at 00:32, waynewussell said:

He was not so much 'overweight' when he returned as 'lacking tone'. There is a difference. The 'tone' is returning as he gets games under his belt. Ollie doesn't have the physique of Petracca, never did. The lack of discipline has surfaced at times... but not to the extent that you suggest. The slow return of the football was only a milli-second from being let go... Ollie was already swinging his arm back to throw the ball when the umpire whistled the penalty. Ollie took no longer than countless other instances that were not penalised throughout the round. The 60-70 metres that was delivered by the umpires says more about their lack of discipline than Ollie's. Someone else suggested that Ollie is 'slow'... Rubbish! Have a closer look before you pile-on with the Media Narrative. 

Haven't missed a game home or away this year, don't tell me to have a closer look.

He is overweight, he was never the most athletic build but he's clearly overweight. Refer to picture, he is miles away from being fit.

 

Edited June 26, 2024Jun 26 by FearTheBeard

Clarry is an absolute champion of the club. Unfortunately we haven't had as many as most other clubs over the last 40 years. 

He is not the first champion player to have a form slump following injury, personal challenges or other matters. Plenty of them have and from my recollection those that were 27/28 all or at least most got back to their best form. 

Clarry is will be back, it might not be this year but does that really matter. The goal from here should be to get the team fit, confident in a game plan and aligned/unified ready for preseason 2025. 

Love Clarry. He has lots going for him but lacks footy "smarts". 

He rarely gets a good run from umps. They ignore the scraggings he gets & they love pinging him for illegal disposal even when it is kosher.

He needs to use a bit of psychology & get on their good side.

  On 25/06/2024 at 12:55, layzie said:

Some people need to grow up.

Indeed. 

  On 26/06/2024 at 00:27, Katrina Dee Fan said:

FFS, I'm sick and tired of the discourse around poor Clarry.  Back at the start of the year there was doubt he would even be playing.  Given he'd had such an interrupted preseason, and the months of [censored] he went through both personally and in the public eye, I give full credit to him that he's been not only able to play every game so far, but for a few weeks with a broken hand.  And for the most part his statistics are still above average.  Yes, there is pressure on him, and yes, there's an extra load on him now that Trac is out, but I wish people would just get of his back.  He's had a remarkable turnaround, but seriously what did they expect, humongous change overnight?  Mental health struggles don't work like that.

With Gus’ season Eve retirement, and now CP5 season gone, we would be in deep 💩 had Clarry not been here, even below his incredible best.  

  On 25/06/2024 at 10:39, whatwhat say what said:

he was our best midfielder against the filth by some margin

he's not playing as badly as some of the hyperbole would have you believe

One of our best v Geelong too

All this Clarry angst, speculation and derision is so shortsighted and negative, putting aside the disrespect aspect…

One week after we lose Trac from our midfield, with Oliver dealing with a hard tag, we win the midfield contest and win the game of footy. Wtf is the problem? Why the vitriol toward Clarry? 

What does he need to do vs Lion for those “supporters” potting him, trading him and slagging him off to pull their righteous horns in? 

What does he need to do if he gets another hard tag..?

… and if we win, and our midfield does ok, does Clarry get some credit as a pivotal player in the middle despite his stats? 

It feel like is just an ugly toxic part of the Melbourne supporter culture that we turn so quickly, and  savagely on one of our absolute gems.

Edited June 26, 2024Jun 26 by PaulRB

Well said @PaulRB.

So many posters spit venom at the players, coach and officials of the team they purport to support.

No doubt we are all disappointed at how this year has panned out, but not all of us feel the need to spew vitriol.

  On 26/06/2024 at 02:33, MrFreeze said:

One of our best v Geelong too

Most football stats are a waste of time and are misleading they are like work surveys they can viewed on what you want the outcome to be.

  On 26/06/2024 at 00:47, FearTheBeard said:

Haven't missed a game home or away this year, don't tell me to have a closer look.

 

 

I was referring to the person who called Clayton “slow”

you and I obviously have a different view on what constitutes “fat”

 

  On 26/06/2024 at 02:52, PaulRB said:

 What does he need to do vs Lion for those “supporters” potting him, trading him and slagging him off to pull their righteous horns in? 

What does he need to do if he gets another hard tag..?

It's clear what he needs to do, keep working hard at it and do his thing. What we need to do as a team is give him the support he needs, if he does have someone sit on him, I'd like to see teammates aware of this and make life a bit tough for the tagger.

We also need everyone in the side doing their part from back to front. He may have had a down game on Sat but this doesn't mean we suddenly became a one man team overnight. 

The criticisms have been made and though some were fair it's time to get on with it and get ready for Fri night. We're all with you Claz.

  On 26/06/2024 at 04:08, waynewussell said:

I was referring to the person who called Clayton “slow”

you and I obviously have a different view on what constitutes “fat”

 

I said overweight, not fat. He doesnt have a belly like me.

If it was me, he would have been dropped after KB but obviously Petracca going down means we don't have enough options.

A mate sent me this about the state of footy journalism these days.  Not sure where to post it, but this was a good clip I thought. If you have 17 mins to spare it’s worth a watch. 

 

  On 26/06/2024 at 04:20, Dee Zephyr said:

A mate sent me this about the state of footy journalism these days.  Not sure where to post it, but this was a good clip I thought. If you have 17 mins to spare it’s worth a watch. 

 

Here will do, ta.

  On 26/06/2024 at 04:15, FearTheBeard said:

I said overweight, not fat. He doesnt have a belly like me.

If it was me, he would have been dropped after KB but obviously Petracca going down means we don't have enough options.

you would have dropped oliver after the filth game?

when he was our ONLY midfielder - other than first year wing caleb windsor and the skipper - to get more than 20 possessions? when he was 3rd for clearances behind gawn and anb? when he was 7th for metres gained? when he was equal 2nd for goal assists?

really??

  On 26/06/2024 at 04:22, whatwhat say what said:

you would have dropped oliver after the filth game?

when he was our ONLY midfielder - other than first year wing caleb windsor and the skipper - to get more than 20 possessions? when he was 3rd for clearances behind gawn and anb? when he was 7th for metres gained? when he was equal 2nd for goal assists?

really??

Any good midfielder is going to get 20 tocuhes if they play there all day. He has lost his touch, was missing handballs all day and just looked a mile off.

Numbers don't tell the story.

  On 26/06/2024 at 04:16, poggers said:

so you think he has a BMI over 25? You literally think he is over weight..... I mean comments like this make me wonder the IQ level of some people. Maybe demonland need to introduce a basic test prior to admission just to avoid people like you. The reality is he is one of our best players on a long term contract. You believe that your entitled to this opinion because "Haven't missed a game home or away this year". The sadness in that comments is palpable. 

Having a go at the IQ of some people and yet you can't spell "you're" correctly.

He is overweight for a footballer because he had no pre-season and was practically off the rails for 3 months. 

I was told to have a look at the game and retorted with I haven't missed one all year, nothing about being entitled to my opinions, just that I go to and watch all our games and then go home and watch the replay.

Go and take your pot shots at people to Bigfooty if you want to make an account just to have a go at people. 

 

Edited June 26, 2024Jun 26 by FearTheBeard

I did myself a Molly Meldrum and decided not to read this thread. Here's what I recon has occurred.

Discussions have lead to a cascade of vitriol, where uninformed comments quickly spark heated debates. Anger seeps through the threads, with posters lashing out at each other over misunderstandings or differing opinions. The conversation devolves into a battlefield of words, each side entrenched in their viewpoint. Frustration mounts as the back-and-forth continues, with little room for constructive dialogue. Ultimately, the thread becomes a testament to the chaos of online interactions, where resolution is rare and tempers flare easily.

He's struggling and the bar has been set high by him over 7 years.  He's missed a pre season and it shows, he's not fat but he's not in ripping shape as he has been over previous seasons and that is understandable after what he's gone through.

He has credits in the bank, but the honest conversation will be had between him and the FD regarding next season and lets hope he just needs to take a break to freshen up in the off season and hit the ground running for a solid pre season.  That will make a huge difference in getting him back to his standards.

I wouldn't mind him going to Neale on Friday night, he will take Oliver to the footy and it will mean Berry has to run with someone else likely Viney, but that will still throw a spanner into the Lions game plan