http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/afl...6-19769,00.html

"What we did when we were there - making finals - I think those little bit extras, like the facilities and a home base, put that extra 5 per cent into a team. We should have won a Grand Final.

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/afl...6-19769,00.html

I think Trav's lack of facilities cost us plenty over the years. He only needs his gameboy, battery recharger and a power point.

I remember an article about Northey when he first became coach of the Dees where he had to buy video equipment for game playback analysis as we were behind other teams basic facilities in this area

I'm probably flogging a dead horse here but is the new home going to satisfy all of our needs? I really think we may still be stuck for a training oval of our own during the playing season

There is no doubt our facilities are an issue. However the only GF we got close too was in 2000. We were as close to winning that as Trav is to getting a Ph D. Even honorary.

He's a soft target is Johnno. I wouldn't be so quick to brush aside his views.

While I do not think were close to getting a flag, I also think the rehab issue has worth. ONe being wrong doesn't rule out the other. With Melbourne, every little thing needed to go our way all the damn time. It is hard to quantify the difference better facilities would ahve made...would we have beaten Carlton once during the season and made top 4?

How did North go in 96 and 99? What were there facilities like?

No excuse for a hard working winning culture, something we never had in TJ's time at the club.

How did North go in 96 and 99? What were there facilities like?

No excuse for a hard working winning culture, something we never had in TJ's time at the club.

I don't believe we've had a premiership side in my lifetime, but I wouldn't dismiss the advantages of fantastic facilities and cashed up coaching departments, as well as the money spent by some clubs on talent identification. I don't think it's any coincidence that the most recent flags have been won by well lubricated footy clubs.

North won 2 flags on the back of the greatest player of the modern era. It's also 10 years ago, and much has changed in the last 3 years, let alone 10. I don't believe that the North flags are likely to be repeated by a struggling club. And I'm not underestimating the values of the Noth Melbourne Football Club during that great era, but so much has changed. The AFL isn't a level playing field and if clubs aren't up to speed they won't win flags, unless they get really really lucky.

Fair, but Collingwood's top notch facilities haven't won them a flag. Adelaide's haven't won them one in a decade. West Coast has great facilities, they also had Cox Judd Cousins Kerr Embley Glass etc. Brisbane has great facilities, but it hasn't won them a flag since they lost Michael, Leppitsch, Voss, Lynch etc.

And in fairness, Geelong's facilities aren't out of this world. They are well below the interstaters and Collingwood.

While I'm not in to directly bagging players, and I acknowledge our facilities definately need to get better (and will at O.P), TJ's comment is a soft comment from a guy who often took the easy option both on and off the field. The natural talent to be top 5 in the league, but not the desire or the application.

also, the facilties debate includes training oval and we still have a bloody steamroller in our centre corridor...no wonder we dont use it in the games

Fair, but Collingwood's top notch facilities haven't won them a flag....

I never said that you didn't need the cattle.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> One can't make chicken salad from chicken [censored].

I never said that you didn't need the cattle.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> One can't make chicken salad from chicken shit.

Correct and Trav can't really talk because, with all of their glorious facilities, a champion CHF, some brilliant on ball talent and 2 out of 3 games on their home turf without yet having played against the apparent top three teams in the competition, his own side is sitting with a 1/2 record at the moment.

Correct and Trav can't really talk because, with all of their glorious facilities, a champion CHF, some brilliant on ball talent and 2 out of 3 games on their home turf without yet having played against the apparent top three teams in the competition, his own side is sitting with a 1/2 record at the moment.

I cant talk either because I am still transfixed by watching TJ stick the ball down a champion CHF's throat last week.

It seems to have stuck in my gullet.

It looked like he was told to kick it to Browny and thats all he did.

he dont know much about science books....

Good on Trav. He's just ruined our chances of attracting a big name player to our club in recent future.

Good on Trav. He's just ruined our chances of attracting a big name player to our club in recent future.

Because Melbourne's crappy facilities have been one big secret!

Isn't that why Judd gave you the arse?

North winning a flag with crap facilities is an old argument......we are talking over a decade ago now, and the game is vastly different now to back then.

The club has to take the facilities whack on the chin, and just get on with rectifying it.

It's a professional league with professional athletes, and the standard is to have quality facilities.

Who knows what difference having great facilities may have meant.........doesn't really matter now.....let's just get on and fix it!

I read the full article just now and what concerns me far more is the comment about the players telling each other they'd done really well because they'd made a semi final or whatever despite their "conditions".

That's the near enough good enough culture the club has to eradicate, and put a culture in place that doesn't accept these excuses for performance.

I read the full article just now and what concerns me far more is the comment about the players telling each other they'd done really well because they'd made a semi final or whatever despite their "conditions".

That's the near enough good enough culture the club has to eradicate, and put a culture in place that doesn't accept these excuses for performance.

Aye, we've been a soft club accepting mediocrity for years

That's the near enough good enough culture the club has to eradicate, and put a culture in place that doesn't accept these excuses for performance.

That's true.....but that goes organisation wide too!

I don't think it's too much to suggest that our on field persona matched that of the rest of the organisation.

IMO....excellence starts at the top, and filters its way down through the club, where it becomes the expectation for everyone in all departments, including supporters.

Ask travis did the Facilities cost them finishing top 4 in 2006 when they were on top at rd 18 then lose the next 5 incuding the final agianst Essendon?

Did Facilities cost them finishing top 4 in 2005 when they were sitting second after round eleven and lose the next 7 in a row and just scrape into the Finals and get flogged by geelong.

Did Facilities cost them finishing top 4 in 2006 when after rd 18 they were in third spot and slip out of the the top four and win the first final against Stkilda and then lose to Freo?

Maybey what cost them a flag was a mental toughness issue and along with the other leaders went soft when the pressure was applied to them!

Maybey Travis should ask himself how much grog he drank ast to why he went missing at critical times?

I doubt if facilities would have made a difference!

I read the full article just now and what concerns me far more is the comment about the players telling each other they'd done really well because they'd made a semi final or whatever despite their "conditions".

That's the near enough good enough culture the club has to eradicate, and put a culture in place that doesn't accept these excuses for performance.

exactly. imagine what he thought when he was running out there without key teamates due to injury.

the mercenary judd put our facilities on the map when he turned his nose up at them when he was on his "listening tour" even though he'd already done a deal w. carlton.

don't think trav's comments had a bitter tinge to them or is it just that some of us find it hard to think ill of him?

I Agree with what Trav has too say. It's easy to dismiss it as sour grapes-but i don't. Our Facilities or lack of them have cost us. I mean in the "Good old days" we owned the MCG as our training base-we don't anymore. So maybe Trav's comments will be taken seriously by certain peaople.