by Whispering Jack

This is the time of year when I usually sit down and compile my list of Melbourne's top players from 1 to 10 in the lead up to the coming footy season. However, after what has probably been one of the most lacklustre and disappointing off seasons for the club in recent memory, I'm not all that keen to even contemplate the task let alone start and complete it.

Mike Sheahan of the Herald Sun must agree with me because he not only snubbed the Demons in yesterday's annual list of pre season Top 50 players but he also left them out of his list of those who were unlucky to miss out and included only Aaron Davey among his up and coming contenders.

The bookies have taken note of Melbourne's poor fortunes as well. Off the field, Melbourne lags well behind the rest in membership numbers and the club is firming as the selection to finish in sixteenth position in Dean Bailey's maiden season as coach. What more can you expect after a less than uplifting off season and a pre season that saw the club finish last on "the pre season ladder" with an average losing margin of around 50 points?

The disappointment of the pre season lies not so much in the results of the games played because these games are not really for winning but for preparing a team for the year ahead. My disappointment stems from the near lifelessness of the team's performances – particularly the abysmal attitude apparent in its last two outings - against the Bulldogs where a five goal lead was reduced to a five goal deficit and only after it was put out of its misery by a lighting failure halfway through the final quarter and against North Melbourne when the team was blown away after quarter time. Both times, there was little evidence of passion, improvement in skills and a change of direction or even the basic desire to provide some attack on the football - all things that you want to see at this time of the year. What we have witnessed throughout the off season is an appalling lack of discipline and sadly, little leadership evident both on and off the field.

For all that however, the ray of hope on the horizon is the impending appointment of a new CEO - hopefully, the successful candidate brings with him (I'm assuming it will be a "he" based on the names on the short list put forward in the media) an infusion of all the things that are necessary to rejuvenate a club from top to bottom, inside and out.

The fact also remains that if it can get its best 22 out on the park, Melbourne would be fielding a side not all that dissimilar to the one that had it feted as the best of all the Victorian clubs and that was just twelve months ago. If I scratch around long enough, I can come up with some redeeming features: -

The Walking Wounded Start Walking

Melbourne's 2007 season was scuppered by its injury problems and this has been reflected in its pre season as the club has taken a cautious approach with those players returning from injury. Last Saturday, we saw defenders Jared Rivers, Clint Bartram, Matthew Whelan, Ricky Petterd and Paul Wheatley making cautious steps forward in their quest to return. The return of Rivers, who played only three games last year, will make an enormous difference to the defence - the club's most glaring weakness in 2007 and in the pre season games of this year. The midfield will also be boosted with the return to full fitness of the likes of Brock McLean, Cameron Bruce, Brent Moloney and Aaron Davey who played injured for most of last year. And if Brock and Colin can get their heads out of whatever regions they currently occupy, it would also be a help.

Shoring up The Weaknesses

Most of the pundits regard Melbourne’s forward line as its strength but I disagree. The key will be the club's midfield and a fit Davey, the emergence of Nathan Jones, the return of the injured players and the infusion of a little extra pace from the likes of possibly Simon Buckley, the skills of youngster Cale Morton and even Austin Wonaeamirri will help to give the forwards improved supply of the football in terms of quality and quantity. The club's rucks need to get cracking as well because they have been disappointing for the last two seasons and time is running out for Jeff White.

The Start

I'm probably clutching at straws here but the club has four of its first five games at the MCG including the season opener against a weakened Hawthorn without four key players suspended. I know that's a crutch that could blow up in its face but the opportunity is there for the taking. The following week's game is against the Bulldogs and hopefully, the team will start as it did in Bendigo and not come to a dead stop at the 22 minute mark of the first quarter. A couple of early wins and a bit of momentum can do wonders around a club that seems to lack confidence and aggression in its attitude.

History

This time last year, the experts had Collingwood and the Kangaroos down as the prime wooden spoon candidates. They both performed abysmally in their first round game at the MCG and Collingwood got the four points thanks only to an umpiring brain fade. The Roos lost their first three games. Both sides were still alive on Preliminary Final day so that's how much the experts know about this game. Moreover, last year's "pre season ladder" wooden spooner was St. Kilda which fell at every hurdle but thumped the more highly favoured Melbourne in Round 1 of the regular season. Obviously, I'm hoping for a repeat of history and that Melbourne is the one that upsets the critics this time round.

The CEO

We need a breath of fresh wind and someone from outside to come in and give the whole club a kick in the pants. That includes all of us including those supporters who haven't signed up as members. I may be clutching at straws again but it has happened in the past where such an appointment has enabled things to turn around quickly at sporting clubs. Given that I hold the view that our current malaise is largely one of attitude and not lack of talent, I’m hoping that the new boss will strike the right cords from the outset and get our engines running again.

The Ultimate Con Job

I'm getting desperate here but I wonder if the coaching panel might have been shrewd enough to devise a plan for the team to tank its way through the pre season so as to catch the opposition completely unaware of its true potential. The AFL doesn't mind it if you tank as long as the coach doesn't joke about it in front the interchange stewards but those types aren't around when you hold your training in closed session. Who knows what's been going on away from the prying eyes of the usual track watchers? Perhaps something really new, exciting and innovative is about to be unleashed upon an unsuspecting football public but why am I desperately clutching at so many straws in these hands of mine?

It's all a waiting game now but, for the time being, I simply decline to put out my list of ten best players until I see some indication of performances from the players that are worthy of inclusion on such a list.

A good read Jack... I concur.