TRAINING: Friday 26th July 2024

[Neil Crompton 5,267]

Hey @WalkingCivilWar, you said the following:

“Had awesome chats with Clarrie. And with a few others and it was the best session I’ve ever been to as a result of what I was told.”

Then you left us high and dry. What were you told that was so good? (Haha Typical you - focusing on the negative and not the positive!)

[WalkingCivilWar 39,244]

2 minutes ago, Jaded No More said:

Big difference between getting stuck into a player based on their form, or something they did badly in a game.

Totally different story to call players useless, weak, gutless, a cultural cancer etc etc 

We all are guilty of getting emotional about the club, myself included, and I am no saint, but some of the utter [censored] that gets written about our players not just here but everywhere online, is downright embarrassing. 

Just look at the post Melbourne made about Petty's re-signing. Some of the comments made about him were awful.

I always try to think to myself if this player was my child, or my husband, would I be ok to read what I write about them?

You left out my personal favourite…spud. 🙄 

[Ollie fan 2,894]

16 minutes ago, Cranky Franky said:

Welcome to the world of elite sports. These kids are making what - $200,000  a year+

Footy forums are full of frustrated supporters some of whom vent and/or overstep the mark on criticism at times. 

It can be tough on players but that’s just how it is so they need to learn to deal with it or find something else to do.

You really are cranky, aren't you? - and that is putting it as kindly as I can.

 

You say $200k as if it is a fortune. It isn't. They have to live their entire lives around football, in their diet, activities, social life, everything. There is often charitable work involved. They go on to the football field and literally risk their lives - ask Trac. They get baked from pillar to post and it is a rare player who doesn't have a"niggle" ie constant minor pain. Which in turn becomes a wrecked knee/shoulder/whatever in later life. Their sporting life is limited to usually no more than a decade. $200k is reasonable pay but not generous.

And no, it is NOT right that there should be such vitriol.

[Beetle 4,503]

46 minutes ago, WalkingCivilWar said:

Vids to come.

Had awesome chats with Clarrie. And with a few others and it was the best session I’ve ever been to as a result of what I was told.

But the last interaction I had has left me rattled tbh. It was a conversation with one of our seconds players. Not gonna mention his name because it really doesn’t matter since what he said goes for ‘a few of the boys’ to use his words. The convo:

Me: Hey _______!

Him: Hey WCW!

(hugs)  

Me: You’re goin’ great guns!

Him: Says you. You’re my biggest fan (laughs)

Me: Nah, not just me.

Him: OK, besides you, who else? Certainly not Melbourne fans.

Me: Of course Melbourne fans…everyone in the Demon Army for starters

Him: (scowls) Ugh, the Demon Army, what would they know?

Me: (shocked) Why do you say that?

Him: Wait, did you say “the Demon Army”?

Me: (sad) Yes

Him: Oh nah, I love you guys, you guys are effing awesome, we all love the Demon Army….

Him: I thought you said Demonland.

😳

Me: You read Demonland?

Him: Yeah a few of us boys do. I shouldn’t though, they talk a lot of sch!t about me. Some of the stuff we’ve read (shakes his head)

Anyways, the conversation continued mainly with me telling him not to pay any mind to the people who bag him since they’re likely the minority and he’s got the love and support of the majority of Dees fans, etc.

So yeah, now we know for sure that some of our boys read our posts. Not oppo boys, OUR BOYS.

 

Did he mention Twister?

[Jaded No More 66,965]

13 minutes ago, Ollie fan said:

You really are cranky, aren't you? - and that is putting it as kindly as I can.

 

You say $200k as if it is a fortune. It isn't. They have to live their entire lives around football, in their diet, activities, social life, everything. There is often charitable work involved. They go on to the football field and literally risk their lives - ask Trac. They get baked from pillar to post and it is a rare player who doesn't have a"niggle" ie constant minor pain. Which in turn becomes a wrecked knee/shoulder/whatever in later life. Their sporting life is limited to usually no more than a decade. $200k is reasonable pay but not generous.

And no, it is NOT right that there should be such vitriol.

It also doesn't matter how much you earn, nobody deserves to be personally attacked for doing their job.

You never ever know what anyone is going through in their personal lives, or how what is said about them by faceless individuals online may impact them.

I have been around this forum for 2 decades. I still remember fans calling Trac fat, lazy, useless, and wanting him traded as a waste of pick 2. A lot of morons around with an over inflated sense of entitlement and intelligence online. 

[Gawndy the Great 9,008]

52 minutes ago, WalkingCivilWar said:

Goody wasn’t there. He’s quite unwell but improving.

Sheesh - is it known (publically) what has happened to him?

[Jaded No More 66,965]

8 minutes ago, Gawndy the Great said:

Sheesh - is it known (publically) what has happened to him?

McQualter mentioned infection, so I presume some type of RSV. Just a wild guess tho.

It can linger on for ages.

[Cranky Franky 1,779]

31 minutes ago, Ollie fan said:

 They get baked from pillar to post and it is a rare player who doesn't have a"niggle" ie constant minor pain. Which in turn becomes a wrecked knee/shoulder/whatever in later life. Their sporting life is limited to usually no more than a decade. $200k is reasonable pay but not generous.

And no, it is NOT right that there should be such vitriol.

I'm not suggesting it is right I am simply being practical & realistic.

On line comments are a fact of life & are not going away so you either learn to deal with it or let it destroy you.

[Demonsterative 3,006]

1 hour ago, Cranky Franky said:

Welcome to the world of elite sports. These kids are making what - $200,000  a year+

Footy forums are full of frustrated supporters some of whom vent and/or overstep the mark on criticism at times. 

It can be tough on players but that’s just how it is so they need to learn to deal with it or find something else to do.

Or, those who are behaving with disrespect can start being more respectful. 

 

No need to victim blame here...

[biggestred 4,740]

1 hour ago, WalkingCivilWar said:

 

Had awesome chats with Clarrie. And with a few others and it was the best session I’ve ever been to as a result of what I was told.

 

 

so what was the good news? 
thanks for your reports by the way. i really appreciate them. 

hopefully the knowledge that the players read demonland and presumably comments on socials means people will think before they post in future...

[WalkingCivilWar 39,244]

18 minutes ago, Neil Crompton said:

Hey @WalkingCivilWar, you said the following:

“Had awesome chats with Clarrie. And with a few others and it was the best session I’ve ever been to as a result of what I was told.”

Then you left us high and dry. What were you told that was so good? (Haha Typical you - focusing on the negative and not the positive!)

So, there’s simply NO TRUTH WHATSOEVER to the rumours about Clarrie. I talked to Chocco then Selwyn (they were there a while before the players came out) starting each convo with, “I understand if you can’t talk about this…” but they each said they had no problem talking about it because there’s no substance to any of it. And you reckon we go to town on these so-called journos? Chocco in particular had some choice words for them. 😁

Then I saw Clarrie coming over from AAMI. I met him halfway and we walked arm in arm to the tent coz ranga mum n son type dealio. 😄

I said “Claz I’m not gonna ask you where you’ll be next year, I just wanna tell you how very much we all love you, regardless. Honestly, us fans just want you to be happy, and healthy, mentally as well as physically.” He simply said, “I’m not going anywhere.” Just like that. I said, “I didn’t ask you that but now that you’ve said it unprompted I’m thinking it must be true.” He said, “It is true. I’m staying with Melbourne… if they’ll have me.” I said.”That’s good because all that cr@p I said before about us loving you regardless… I was lying. If you leave Melbourne, you’re dead to us.” 🤪

Anyways then I talked to Perty and he was even more emphatic about it than the others. He said there’s not much for “these people” to write about currently so they’re running with a “non-story.” Long convo but  that’s it in a nutshell.

After the session when most everyone had gone Clarrie was sitting in the tent changing shoes. I told him I had asked Perty if Melbourne still want him and he laughed and wanted to know what Perty said. I told him “Perty said ‘That lazy [censored]-er? We’re trying to get rid of him’.” 😂 Good times

[Little Goffy 13,903]

1 hour ago, Cranky Franky said:

Welcome to the world of elite sports. These kids are making what - $200,000  a year+

Footy forums are full of frustrated supporters some of whom vent and/or overstep the mark on criticism at times. 

It can be tough on players but that’s just how it is so they need to learn to deal with it or find something else to do.

'Frustrated supporters' need to grow the f' up and get a grip on their emotions if they want to be taken seriously by their community. Finding emotional stability can be tough but that's just how it is so they need to learn to deal with it or find something else to do.

One of my pet hates is when people act like jerks and then insist that it is normal so everyone else isn't allowed to complain.

It sits right next to 'If I didn't do it, someone else would' in my list of people to drop in the ocean.

Also Guillermo del Toro for describing the early Avengers movies as 'cultural genocide' just because Pacific Rim flopped when competing against them.

Yeah, it's a long list, but also a big ocean.

[Ollie fan 2,894]

1 hour ago, Cranky Franky said:

I'm not suggesting it is right I am simply being practical & realistic.

On line comments are a fact of life & are not going away so you either learn to deal with it or let it destroy you.

That's as may be. The excuse "it happens anyway... it is a fact of life" is no reason for anyone to actually do it. It is a bulldust line.

[WalkingCivilWar 39,244]

Huge apologies, these are pretty substandard. At times I was filming when I thought I wasn’t and wasn’t when I thought I was. The sun was in my eyes the entire time and I had a couple of my teenage girls, aka my “footy daughters” talking all the while. Hashtag Kev, come back asap!!!
 

https://streamable.com/ny6hod

https://streamable.com/4sxzhb

https://streamable.com/0j3knk

https://streamable.com/szfawg

https://streamable.com/gc3t90

https://streamable.com/76ap7j

https://streamable.com/c02yyb

https://streamable.com/grilvg

https://streamable.com/enph42

 

LOL Max calls George Jorge 😂…

https://streamable.com/gfpv7h

 

And Tmac is really turning back the hands of time…

😂
 

edit: probs not a lot of Maxy footage so please take my word for it: he trained exactly as he always does… no problems whatsoever. 

Edited July 26 by WalkingCivilWar

[DeeZone 8,865]

First off a big thanks for your Attendance WCW and great feedback it is very informative, reassuring and a bit concerning as well. I love that you have excellent interaction with players and FD, etc, it is nice to get that type of information in your reports. We all want our team and FD to do well and be happy in their environment some just can’t hide their anger or hurt when things go pear shaped. Love that Clayton stories are fabricated nonsense. Looking forward to the videos.👍💕

[Neil Crompton 5,267]

59 minutes ago, WalkingCivilWar said:

Huge apologies, these are pretty substandard. At times I was filming when I thought I wasn’t and wasn’t when I thought I was. The sun was in my eyes the entire time and I had a couple of my teenage girls, aka my “footy daughters” talking all the while. Hashtag Kev, come back asap!!!
 

https://streamable.com/ny6hod

https://streamable.com/4sxzhb

https://streamable.com/0j3knk

https://streamable.com/szfawg

https://streamable.com/gc3t90

https://streamable.com/76ap7j

https://streamable.com/c02yyb

https://streamable.com/grilvg

https://streamable.com/enph42

 

LOL Max calls George Jorge 😂…

https://streamable.com/gfpv7h

 

And Tmac is really turning back the hands of time…

😂
 

edit: probs not a lot of Maxy footage so please take my word for it: he trained exactly as he always does… no problems whatsoever. 

I see you finally found the zoom button WCW. Well done.

(Haha we were all hoping you’d have found it weeks ago).

[DiscoStu17 658]

13 minutes ago, Neil Crompton said:

I see you finally found the zoom button WCW. Well done.

(Haha we were all hoping you’d have found it weeks ago).

We all have our technological challenges 😀

[Longsufferingnomore 1,597]

4 hours ago, Dee Zephyr said:

You got this Melbourne, let's go boys!!!

Hey Riv, you probably get this a lot, but my daughter thinks you're hot.

He is 🧡💙

[manny100 1,338]

4 hours ago, WalkingCivilWar said:

Vids to come.

Had awesome chats with Clarrie. And with a few others and it was the best session I’ve ever been to as a result of what I was told.

But the last interaction I had has left me rattled tbh. It was a conversation with one of our seconds players. Not gonna mention his name because it really doesn’t matter since what he said goes for ‘a few of the boys’ to use his words. The convo:

Me: Hey _______!

Him: Hey WCW!

(hugs)  

Me: You’re goin’ great guns!

Him: Says you. You’re my biggest fan (laughs)

Me: Nah, not just me.

Him: OK, besides you, who else? Certainly not Melbourne fans.

Me: Of course Melbourne fans…everyone in the Demon Army for starters

Him: (scowls) Ugh, the Demon Army, what would they know?

Me: (shocked) Why do you say that?

Him: Wait, did you say “the Demon Army”?

Me: (sad) Yes

Him: Oh nah, I love you guys, you guys are effing awesome, we all love the Demon Army….

Him: I thought you said Demonland.

😳

Me: You read Demonland?

Him: Yeah a few of us boys do. I shouldn’t though, they talk a lot of sch!t about me. Some of the stuff we’ve read (shakes his head)

Anyways, the conversation continued mainly with me telling him not to pay any mind to the people who bag him since they’re likely the minority and he’s got the love and support of the majority of Dees fans, etc.

So yeah, now we know for sure that some of our boys read our posts. Not oppo boys, OUR BOYS.

 

Good post, posters need to be mindfull that some unthoughtful repetitive scathing comments can have unwanted harmful effects on players. Choice of words is a precious commodity.

[Webber 10,407]

4 hours ago, Gorgoroth said:

but they also have to accept

Do they? As WCW said, they’re kids. Maybe the ‘adults’ on here, most of whom are decades older than these boys, with years of apparent experience and wisdom, could ease up on the ridiculous critical bagging they hand out to these very young men, who are ALL trying to survive in a massively taxing, ultra-competitive sport. 

[Cranky Franky 1,779]

2 hours ago, Ollie fan said:

That's as may be. The excuse "it happens anyway... it is a fact of life" is no reason for anyone to actually do it. It is a bulldust line.

It's called resilience. You can either learn to cope with the difficulties life throws at you or maybe complain about whoever is being mean to you & how unfair the world is. I know what I've found to be more useful.

[DeeZone 8,865]

7 minutes ago, Cranky Franky said:

It's called resilience. You can either learn to cope with the difficulties life throws at you or maybe complain about whoever is being mean to you & how unfair the world is. I know what I've found to be more useful.

Resilience is important CF they expect the barbs, taunts and belittling from their opponents opposition supporters, etc not so much from their supposed supporters.

[Satyriconhome 10,329]

5 hours ago, Cranky Franky said:

Welcome to the world of elite sports. These kids are making what - $200,000  a year+

Footy forums are full of frustrated supporters some of whom vent and/or overstep the mark on criticism at times. 

It can be tough on players but that’s just how it is so they need to learn to deal with it or find something else to do.

Can you let me know where you work, wouldn't mind sitting next to you for a couple of hours, just for observation purposes of course and I am sure you wouldn't mind a bit of constructive criticism if you don't perform your given tasks to a very high standard.

Of course one has to keep in mind that a poor performance from a young player may result in a posters, not necessarily the one I am replying to, multi failing, this can lead to a bit of vitriol aimed at the player rather than themselves for their poor decision to actually gamble.

Edited July 26 by Satyriconhome

[Jaded No More 66,965]

8 minutes ago, Cranky Franky said:

It's called resilience. You can either learn to cope with the difficulties life throws at you or maybe complain about whoever is being mean to you & how unfair the world is. I know what I've found to be more useful.

The world throws enough challenges at us all, without us also having to develop resilience to deal with personal mindless attacks by faceless strangers on the internet. 

I am happy to post about what a terrible employee you are and what a letdown you are to your company. Do I know you? No. Do I have a right to say that? Also no. Enjoy your resilience. 

[Cranky Franky 1,779]

5 minutes ago, DeeZone said:

Resilience is important CF they expect the barbs, taunts and belittling from their opponents opposition supporters, etc not so much from their supposed supporters.

Imagine what the Collingwood players cop when they lose.