Bailey only needs to explain to the Board who appointed him. Its a bit of a dream that supporters will understand the game plan. On the whole they rarely do.

Taking an extreme position like that only serves to make you look silly.

So why do you always do it Choko?

Both CC and DB have made comments about what they expect from the players and what they are trying to do. They also said they will not any clear judgements on players until after round 6. And it would be presumptuous to think they would disclose such information broadly. However selection/non selection of certain players should give indicative judgements.

There is no doubt that the questionable player list that was inherited by DB needs significant work on it. DB would have know that when he started. But he also needs time to understand who will make and who wont. Its a tough time and supporters need to give him the opportunity to make long over changes to the list and the culture.

I would be more concerned at this point if DB were to make public too many hard and fast judgements on list, players etc.

For heavens sake, if MFC was a company in the normal sense, the receivers would be called in now, and Bailey would have to start explaining to the shareholders/bankers - members & supporters.

FHS, this club is being gutted, and the people in charge (Bailey and other coaches) are saying "trust me". And nothing else!!

FFS

Lets make it easy for the people that are hurting beyond their threshold. :-

We will not win more than 4 games this year!

Any other coach been asked their gameplan yet ?

Think its more the media testing Bailey out myself

Dean is a cool customer me thinks

I already know what his gameplan is anyway

Bailey deserves all he gets after not playing Bate and Maric. We were horrible against the Kangas and we only ommited 1 player, so it was all C.J's fault was it? We have been humiliated nearly every week and we have hardly changed the team. When things aren't going well you just can't do nothing and hope for the best you must make changes and with the exception of moving Sylvia to half back I haven't seen him do anything. He continually backs his ordinary leadership group at the expence of yuongsters like Maric. He has wasted the first 5 weeks when we can't afford to waste even 1 he has Neil Balme written all over him I think Balme lost his first 5 games as well.

We are being taught a Geelong style Template-no doubt. They have the skills to do it. At present we do not. We must persevere....

This is a gameplan that is flawless with the right players. We don't have the right players now. We need to implement this gameplan now, draft/sign well, and hope for the best. I have faith in this gameplan. It worked at Port and is working at Geelong.

I Believe in Bailey But we as the Die Hards MUST be Paitent. look back to hawthorn 2003-2006 They were shite. Be Patient and Hang on

Bailey deserves all he gets after not playing Bate and Maric. We were horrible against the Kangas and we only ommited 1 player, so it was all C.J's fault was it? We have been humiliated nearly every week and we have hardly changed the team. When things aren't going well you just can't do nothing and hope for the best you must make changes and with the exception of moving Sylvia to half back I haven't seen him do anything. He continually backs his ordinary leadership group at the expence of yuongsters like Maric. He has wasted the first 5 weeks when we can't afford to waste even 1 he has Neil Balme written all over him I think Balme lost his first 5 games as well.

Hard not to agree with all that, especially the comparison with Balme (similar style of play actually). Which is why Bailey needs to treat MFC supporters with respect and tell us his reasons why we can have hope. And why we should patiently support him and his efforts with this team at this stage, other than simply take him on blind trust. We aren't asking for the intricasies of his game plan, simply to tell us the members and supporters where this club is heading and how he will get us off rock bottom.

To feel that members and supporters don't need to be told of any plans to get rid of "worst team" tag other than "more training" is simply elitist and only more damaging to our support base.

This is a gameplan that is flawless with the right players. We don't have the right players now. We need to implement this gameplan now, draft/sign well, and hope for the best. I have faith in this gameplan. It worked at Port and is working at Geelong.

Flawless eh? It barely worked at Port, it has cost them plenty of finals and the drubbing they got in last year's grand final. And it's interesting that Port and Melbourne have one win between them in 2008 so far.

As for Geelong, nothing I've seen from Melbourne this year nor Port in the past looks anything like Geelong's current style. Sam Newman actually had the advice to get Geelong on the right track - play direct footy. Any gameplan needs the players, with Geelong once they started playing that direct sort of footy, bingo.

I want to hear from Bailey that we're just not trying to put in place the exact same style that's in general been a failure at Port.

Bailey deserves all he gets after not playing Bate and Maric.

Lets not worry if Bate is still pushing for full fitness. Nah lets not worry about that. And Maric must be AFL ready as he hardly got a sniff in 26 goals that were kicked and the side won by 95 points.

More emotive crap that bypasses logic.

Flawless eh? It barely worked at Port, it has cost them plenty of finals and the drubbing they got in last year's grand final. And it's interesting that Port and Melbourne have one win between them in 2008 so far.

As for Geelong, nothing I've seen from Melbourne this year nor Port in the past looks anything like Geelong's current style. Sam Newman actually had the advice to get Geelong on the right track - play direct footy. Any gameplan needs the players, with Geelong once they started playing that direct sort of footy, bingo.

I want to hear from Bailey that we're just not trying to put in place the exact same style that's in general been a failure at Port.

What cost Port was they lacked the hardness and toughness in their list to take the final step. They judicially recruited Hardwick and Pickett who delivered when it counted in spades when it mattered. The game plan got them to the top of H& A but there lack of players capable of carrying out let them down two years in a row. In 2005, Williams then cleaned a number of older senior players off the list and sort to rejuvenate the team's performance. Must have worked well because he had them back in the grand final three years later. I wonder why? Different player but broadly the same game pl........

Well as for your explanation of Geelong it been far more that Sam Newman and bingo. Their direct footy comes from the same principles that Bailey has been working on. Geelong have the list with the commitment, belief, self discipline and the skills. Not that you would realise it.

What cost Port was they lacked the hardness and toughness in their list to take the final step.

And Melbourne has that hardness and toughness... ? Hardly (but you know that as well as me). Hawthorn yes, but they started more or less where we've got ourselves to and will win principally because they are tough, and building skills and confidence. I'd love to see us building hardness and toughness in our list.

Well as for your explanation of Geelong it been far more that Sam Newman and bingo. Their direct footy comes from the same principles that Bailey has been working on. Geelong have the list with the commitment, belief, self discipline and the skills. Not that you would realise it.

Ah, the sarcastic sort... don't let the years of failure make you bitter. I know Geelong's success is a lot more than "Sam Newman & bingo" but his constant urging for that Geelong list (with the skills and commitment) to play that way was exactly what Geelong needed. Whoever they finally listened to. Forget Sam, even though he's probably a lot smarter footy wise than you or me. What is clear is that style of play is only one element, but it's a winning style as distinct from fiddling backwards and sideways.

Once we've got the hard, tough, committed, self-believing, self-disciplined and skilled players, they will essentially coach themselves. Until then, what we need to be able to believe in is that we are heading there. Are we?

I disagree with you that Bailey's style is emulating Geelong's. But there's so little to go on that maybe you're right and it's just that our list is worse than I'd hoped.

Bailey deserves all he gets after not playing Bate and Maric. We were horrible against the Kangas and we only ommited 1 player, so it was all C.J's fault was it? We have been humiliated nearly every week and we have hardly changed the team. When things aren't going well you just can't do nothing and hope for the best you must make changes and with the exception of moving Sylvia to half back I haven't seen him do anything. He continually backs his ordinary leadership group at the expence of yuongsters like Maric. He has wasted the first 5 weeks when we can't afford to waste even 1 he has Neil Balme written all over him I think Balme lost his first 5 games as well.

I actually thought Balme was a good coach but the best at Melbourne since 1965 has been Northey IMO

I actually thought Balme was a good coach but the best at Melbourne since 1965 has been Northey IMO

Agree with you Swampy about Northey. He got the team playing to their strengths and then introduced the innovations. I'd like to see Northey back in some role. He knows and understands a bit about the MFC culture and mentality. And he could definitely coach.

........!

That's [censored]!!

He hasn't inherited the bloody Vanuatu thirds. Any player who pulls on a boot at this level should be able to play and be instinctively competitive with the skills they have. Isn't that why they are on the list?

We are not the slightest bit competitive.

He hasn't inherited the bloody Vanuatu thirds. Any player who pulls on a boot at this level should be able to play and be instinctively competitive with the skills they have. Isn't that why they are on the list?

We are not the slightest bit competitive.

He may as well as inherited them. You may well question why some of the players are actually on the list.

That's [censored]!!

He hasn't inherited the bloody Vanuatu thirds. Any player who pulls on a boot at this level should be able to play and be instinctively competitive with the skills they have. Isn't that why they are on the list?

We are not the slightest bit competitive.

I think due to the introduction of the national competition and the expansion of clubs to a 16 and soon 18 team competition the gap between stars and the hack player will increase

I remember Robert Walls once said there are far too many players who are NOT AFL standard playing the game at the highest level

At Melbourne we have more than our fair share

I think due to the introduction of the national competition and the expansion of clubs to a 16 and soon 18 team competition the gap between stars and the hack player will increase

No. I think the opposite.

I think it will be harder to assemble teams of the quality of Essendon in 2000, Brisbane 2001-2003 and Geelong 2007-08 and it will be harder to get a cluster of star or better than average players in the one team unless you have a wonderful F/S gene pool!

I think it may open up the gap between the successful, financial and well run Clubs and the opposite type of Club. The PP system no longer provides a good 2 to 3 year base for the list of a crap club like it used to.

10 Victorian Clubs is a recipe for disaster and the gap that is there now will only increase.

He may as well as inherited them. You may well question why some of the players are actually on the list.

I'm appreciating the discussion here, because I know for me it's sometimes hard to be objective about the players on our own list. I tend to see them through rose glasses. I find it's much easier to identify the duds in other clubs.

While this is some sort of therapy for me, there's a lot of Melbourne supporters not on here and who need some message of hope. I remember the year we came almost bottom, think it was 1999, couldn't buy a win BUT each week we came away with positives, there was a bunch of young stars in the making and you could see the potential, and even weekly improvement. It wasn't a bad year for watching the Dees even though we lost so many (many by narrow margins). This year has started very differently and will possibly continue or maybe get worse. Which is why I feel someone, if not the coach the committee, needs to tell supporters something of the grand plan and reasons for hope ahead. Some of the posts here have given me some rays of hope (assuming they mirror the coach & footy staff's thinking to some extent). Hopefully supporters will find enough reasons to stick with them & encourage on the road to the only success that really counts.

I actually thought Balme was a good coach but the best at Melbourne since 1965 has been Northey IMO

Great motivater but tactically big questionmark!

Great motivater but tactically big questionmark!

he can thank simon eishold for that

There are only limited possibilities. Either the MFC list and current players are not up to AFL standard. Or Dean Bailey is not up to coaching at this level. Or maybe both.

I know there are clever people here who believe that Bailey has Melbourne on the right path for rebuilding. That he has the answers for success in the future. But really, there is no evidence for such optimistic belief.

I hope that Bailey is up to the task. But that's all it is, hope. After 6 rounds we could expect to see clear evidence. Not necessarily winning, but some light. Promise for the future. Going somewhere. I also hope that the current players aren't collectively hopeless. But both can't be true, and anyway all there is is hope, nothing concrete after 6 dismal rounds.

The Age this morning, "if there really is light at the end of the tunnel, it could very well be a train".

Instead of simply hoping in the absence of evidence, we supporters need to hear more from Bailey and co about "the plan" other than simply upbeat comments like "back to the training track, they'll train until they get better". Time to communicate with supporters so we're all on side, if there's anything to communicate. Or many are going to believe that it's situation out of control.

I feel he is way too carm in front of the camera for someone who's plan is not working out.

I feel he is way too carm in front of the camera for someone who's plan is not working out.

He's either a good actor or great coach. Or maybe both! :D

Well nothing he said at the post match impressed me yesterday. CC spoke well, but DB sounded like a man with no answers!