i have been sooo impressed by this bald eagle!! comes into the club and gets rid of the daniher favourites ala godfrey and ward.. riley goes to carlton, curran sacked and fages gone. all to do with the daniher era and now by the looks of all reports chris judd was blown away by this unkown blokes meetiing!! how the hell can he do it!? and now john meesan wants to come and play for us?! surely he had something to do with him being in adelaide. if he can land judd and promising ruckman in meesan he wud just about be a fan favourite more then ND ( as much as i loved him)

GO BAILS!!!!

Tell me about it.... if this guy lands judd i will love him forever

Let's see how he goes on game day before getting too carried away.

Having said that, he seems to have made a good start.

Coach of the year. I love this guy already, and he hasn't coached a single game for us yet.

Bring on 2008.

Coach of the year. I love this guy already, and he hasn't coached a single game for us yet.

Bring on 2008.

I wouldn't say he is coach of the year yet but he has definitely had a massive impact on the club already. Good on you Bails.

And yes..... BRING ON 2008!!!

Ok...

He's a long way from being bona-fide just yet...

But if he DOES get Judd, and keep our good guys along with dropping our dead wood, I reckon you should think about retaining a little bit of credit for the people who decided on Bailey in the first place, while overlooking some more high-profile people...

But I digress...

Bailey hasn't done anything wrong yet I guess...

i reckon he could be sensational for the club, im just scared that he may bring across that rubbish football Port Adelaide play.

i went to the game today and they play the most anti-G football ive ever seen and i suddenly got scared that we may forget that the G requires 1 thing- quick down the guts.

hoping that this doesnt happen but bailey appears to be very impressive

he is heads up in the coach of the year stakes...no other coach has done as much for the 2008 season as DB has...

i reckon he could be sensational for the club, im just scared that he may bring across that rubbish football Port Adelaide play.

i went to the game today and they play the most anti-G football ive ever seen and suddenly got scared that we may forget that the G requires 1 thing- quick down the guts.

hoping that this doesnt happen but bailey appears to be very impressive

I was thinking exactly the same thing driving home after watching today's debacle, although the lack of direct movement may have had a bit to do with not having a way of getting through Geelong's defense.

Look how badly Port has gone since DB left!

While DB has come with good references, I am at a loss to see how any poster not closely connected with the Club can make any informed valid assessment of Bailey beyond media hype.

Those jumping on the bandwagon now are likely to be part of the group that wants to hang him and the MFC committee for hiring him if we are 0 and 3 in 2008.

rhino, i am jumping on the bandwagon based on what we as supporters know.

- he was, by all reports, very, very, impressive in his interviews. impressive enough to knock over the great Kevin Sheedy, and a number of other qualified candidates.

- he moved very quickly to sure up CC as footy ops manager.

- he quickly delisted deadwood from our list

- he put forward an impressive presentation to Judd, (again by all reports)

- trade week hasnt started and we all ready are dealing with getting a new young ruckman to the club.

the club is moving and shaking like it hasnt for a number of years. we have had a lot of the same old from ND and crew, but suddenly we seem to be trying to make things happen, rather than wait for them.

i am encouraged by what i see. it is by know means definitive, and we dont know if he can coach or not just yet. however he seems to be making all the right noises at this stage of the year.

rhino, i am jumping on the bandwagon based on what we as supporters know.

- he was, by all reports, very, very, impressive in his interviews. impressive enough to knock over the great Kevin Sheedy, and a number of other qualified candidates.

- he moved very quickly to sure up CC as footy ops manager.

- he quickly delisted deadwood from our list

- he put forward an impressive presentation to Judd, (again by all reports)

- trade week hasnt started and we all ready are dealing with getting a new young ruckman to the club.

the club is moving and shaking like it hasnt for a number of years. we have had a lot of the same old from ND and crew, but suddenly we seem to be trying to make things happen, rather than wait for them.

i am encouraged by what i see. it is by know means definitive, and we dont know if he can coach or not just yet. however he seems to be making all the right noises at this stage of the year.

Its great you are supportive Dean of DB and I was happy with his appointment but I will judge him where it counts and its not in the media flyers.

In regard to your points......

- he was, by all reports, very, very, impressive in his interviews. impressive enough to knock over the great Kevin Sheedy, and a number of other qualified candidates.

Great and thats one of the reasons he was appointed Coach not actually done as Coach! How interested was Sheedy in the job? DB beat old cheese IMO but did it well.

- he moved very quickly to sure up CC as footy ops manager.

CC still has another year on his contract and was not going anywhere. It was a given that an incoming coach should ensure ensure a good relationship with his recruiting head four weeks out from trade week.

- he quickly delisted deadwood from our list

Its that time of year Dean. Hardly surprising omissions and there are more to go. The test is still on.

- he put forward an impressive presentation to Judd, (again by all reports)

If we land Judd, he can share some kudos then. I would like to see how he coaches Judd.

- trade week hasnt started and we all ready are dealing with getting a new young ruckman to the club.

That's CAC Dean and while DB may have had an input it is not rocket science that with White ageing that Jamar and PJ are not the answer at all.

Just dont get off the bandwagon as quick as you have got on!

I reckon CC = Chris Connolly

I also reckon he was hoisted on Dean Bailey who in effect had little say in his appointment.

sorry rhino, when i said CC i meant connoly. CAC was going no where! i spose i better be more careful with that in the future lol

regarding the delistings, yes it is that time of year, but in all honesty those players should have faced the music well before 2007. they were not part of a group that was going to win us a premiership. he made a hard decision based on popularity etc which the previous coaching regime didnt/couldnt/wouldnt.

for mine the big judgement will be his match day coaching, which i think you are waiting for as well. i think ND was poor on match days and DB hasnt come in with trumpets blaring about his match days. he is a 'developmental and teaching' coach, remember? so it will be interesting to see how that translates to match day coaching. if he has a plan B he is one up on the previous competition. if he experiments with certain players, and considers putting proven goal kickers (green, davey et al) back in the forward line occasionally he will go along way to coaching well.

is it DB that is causing the shake ups around the club? or is it that with ND gone, everyone else has realised they need to jump into gear, or they are next? either way there is an air of change about the place, and if we are successful it will be DB who gets the kudos (maybe with judd)...

Hit the nail on the head both of you... So far he's done the right, but OBVIOUS things. Delisting Godfrey, Ward et al... and those presumably to come, lays down the law, sends the message that the list is his to do with as he sees fit. But really, the board was hardly going to crack the sads at the sacking of those players...

His presentations have apparently been great. But except for getting Judd to the club I'm not sure how genuinely useful that is.

Daniher was a wonderful coach... he was loyal and taught and developed some kids wonderfully. He excelled at getting the most out of ordinary players. DB will have to do a lot to prove as effective in this way... But in the end... It's all about match day. get the most out of Trav, Bruce and Green... players with talent that has perhaps not been mined to its fullest... and maybe get something unexpected out of players like Miller by using him more effectively... Then he'll have arrived...

Until then I'm comfortably on the fence...

So far we are undefeated with Bailey as coach, so I'd have to say we're doing pretty well.

He is making all the right sounds, but like rhino i'll wait and see what his game plan is and how he coaches come game day.

But the fact Judd has nominated us of one of 4 is a good thing and that a ruckman drafted at #8 chooses us as the club he wants to join, well thats..........unheard of!

Just on Meesen condemned...

Would it be fair to say he's chosen to come to Melbourne because he sees them (rightly) as having a very solid young list, particularly in the midfield, and that they have only 1 quality ruckman who has only a year or two left? Jeff could impart SO much knowledge on any incoming young'un... But most of all he won't have to wait behind a list of preferred options, like he has at Adelaide.

Similar to Jolly leaving to Sydney...

Am I speculating here?

Just on Meesen condemned...

Would it be fair to say he's chosen to come to Melbourne because he sees them (rightly) as having a very solid young list, particularly in the midfield, and that they have only 1 quality ruckman who has only a year or two left? Jeff could impart SO much knowledge on any incoming young'un... But most of all he won't have to wait behind a list of preferred options, like he has at Adelaide.

Similar to Jolly leaving to Sydney...

Am I speculating here?

if there were noises about him thinking of leaving, it sounds like the mfc has contacted him, and told him we're interested.

not typical mfc behavious is it? when was the last time we took initiative like that before trade week?

Just on Meesen condemned...

Would it be fair to say he's chosen to come to Melbourne because he sees them (rightly) as having a very solid young list, particularly in the midfield, and that they have only 1 quality ruckman who has only a year or two left? Jeff could impart SO much knowledge on any incoming young'un... But most of all he won't have to wait behind a list of preferred options, like he has at Adelaide.

Similar to Jolly leaving to Sydney...

Am I speculating here?

No i thought the same, but the saints, blues, tigers, bulldongs don't have great rucks either even the pies really only have fraser.

I'm looking at it that he thinks we have a good developing list that he can add to and should become the number 2 ruckman from the start and hopefull take over from white sooner rather than later.

Saying he is the coach of the year is a bit too soon don't you think? Season 2007 just ended and 2008 is still months a way.

Yes it will be great to get Judd, but I think I'll hold my judgement until a few rounds are completed in '08.

In saying that I can't wait till Round 1 of '08 though.

if there were noises about him thinking of leaving, it sounds like the mfc has contacted him, and told him we're interested.

not typical mfc behavious is it? when was the last time we took initiative like that before trade week?

Did Ben Holland, Brad Sewell and Byron Pickett all call MFC before the club called them? Well I never.....

i doubt it rhino, but those trades werent being discussed the week before grand final day were they? byron picket and ben holland were virtually getting dumped from their respective teams when we traded for them, and those discussion appeared to happen within trade week. we might have enquired, but i bet we enquired to the the clubs not to the players.

regarding sewell, i am not privy to the inner workings of this one, but i believed that hawthorn wanted ferguson, were willing to offer sewell and ferguson said no. sounds like we didnt approach anyone, but hawthorn approached us.

in this case we have been proactive in attempting to secure the services of a young uncontracted player nearly two weeks before trade week. can you ever remember that happening before?

can you ever remember that happening before?

Just because it's called "trade week" doesn't mean that it is the only time clubs talk about trades. Every club (bar the ones who were in the Granni yesterday) would, I reckon be talking to each other about trades at the moment - doesn't mean that we know about it.

I think his name was Ben Crowe ... the guy who owns that Gemba company with Jimmy Hird said that the football, along with the entertainment industry are like a different world to work in, very weird he says. I bet a few clubs would be talking about trades with other clubs weeks before the seasons over.