So.... the Judd (waiting ) is dead....

LONG LIVE THE CLUB !!

This is not another Judd thread though his name may crop up from time to time Im sure. Football and by asociation the MFC is far bigger and more complex than one person. More than one person went into the Cats Premiership win. Indeed more than one event was necessary to get them there.. In many ways a football club is typicall greater than the sum of its parts. There are the players, the Coaches, the Board and Staff. There are its physical assetts, its home and facilities and there are the intangibles. The spirit, the traditions, its supporters ( for some clubs even their detractors ) and probably the most important aspect of any person, club , business , institution or purpose driven pursuit .... , it's Mentality !! i.e How it sees itself in its environment and how it chooses to interact.

A typical mentality of the long suffering Demon supporter seems to be associated with such thoughts as:

If only we hadnt had so many injuries

If only we had a better draw

If only we had a better coach

If only we had a better ( insert playing position of choice )

and now possibly add to the list

If only we had better training facilities !!

a lot of IF's there !!

nature provides for a balance and so it does with IF's

They are called BUT's. A way of using the buts is to revisit each of the above and really question whther that in itself ought to result in failure ? Or is it just a comfortable and easy cop out. An easy fallback. Yeah Yeah.,,,we would have been in it IF only !!

All these things that might, could and indeed on a good day be fixed arent what will stop a Melbourne from gaining a flag, it is the mentality that youre somehow a victim from even before the first bounce as a result of this.

You achieve by simply first of all firmly describing what it is you want to achieve. Sounds simple, strangley many dont or do so in a very airy fairy way that it becomes again easy to not accomplish because there's no measure of what you have or have not done. You achieve by coalescing the required attributes , skills,personnel and experience together with a clear set plan.

In football the goal is quite simple...it's Premierships and a continuing successful club.

This will be had ; not by an inclusion of 'one' person; whehter this person is player, coach , board member , financier etc. but by a Plan.

I think that Plan is already here. We are seeing a changing atmosphere and perception of where the club is and what it can do. The Plan is already reaping benefits as some of those things on the "IF" list are changing. The PLAN isnt about accomplishing one or two aspects..... Oh such and such is amongst the run ons..all is good. or a different tactic or attitude is now directig the charges..all is saved etc.; as it all come s back to the overall mentality. A simplistic form is the classic Glass is half full or half empty etc etc. But in reality it I think is more about simply acknowlwedging that there is a glass..and its filled to some point other and that it is up to YOU to decide what you want to do abou t it and how you feel its impacting.

Melbourne and again by association its supporters have I think been miserable failures and soft thinkig folk for many decades. Some facts speak for themselves, others are perceptions from the outside. Melbourne for a long while adopted not hte Demon as its mascot but abject failure and somehow embraced this as comforting.

Am I alone in thinking this has changed and that the VICTIM image is being dispensed with and a quiet but steadfast DEMON looms. I see some of the threads today and see many of the victim's torment reappear. Encouragingly enough I see as much if not more of the 'life goes on, deal with it, embrace its oportunities "

To those who mourn something that didnt exist, doesnt exist, wont exist.. get over it, get over yourself..and more importantly get over here... where's here ?

its HERE of course..the HERE and NOW.. that which precedes the future , if only momentarily.

The future of Melbourne is bright, its happening. There's a plan and it doesnt embrace victims.

Dont be one !!

Go Dees

2008...cant wait !!

Agree with everything stated.

IF my aunty had balls she'd be my uncle. BUT she doesn't.

Another thing about this club is it doesn't hurt enough. Missing out on Judd is disappointing but ultimately I am more [censored] off at our insipid performance last year.

I want our players to be on a mission of redemption, to bleed, to play as a team rather than a collection of individuals, to spit chips at every tiny mistake, to not accept anything less than excellence.

I want our club to be all the things it hasn't been this year and for so many years before in our 150th year.

Unleash hell in 08.