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As you know, I keep an eye on Demonland as part of maintaining a feel for what our people are talking about. I haven't posted for a while, so I thought it might be worth clarifying a few matters. We will have a more in depth interview up on www.melbournefc.com.au shortly which covers some of the same topics in a little more detail. Second Major Sponsor: One thing I can say - I'm glad some of you guys aren't negotiating contracts on our behalf! We have explained the strategic importance of the sponsorship 'property' and we will do a deal when the deal is right, and by strategic we mean long term and having a significance beyond the revenue itself. We have locked away some very important deals over the last few years (in particular EnergyWatch) that now underpin our sponsorship revenue, and we have a number of contingencies from both a revenue and cost perspective in the event that we don't achieve our preferred outcome. We will not compromise the value by agreeing to a sub-optimal long term deal because of external or perceived time pressures. In the meantime, we proudly wear the Reach Logo on our jumpers. Compensation Picks: We are required to make a call on the GWS Compensation Selections later this month. Tim Harrington and Todd Viney have put together some detailed analysis, which is fundamentally a trade off between current and future value of the selections, taking into account the fact that we have a Jack Viney father/son selection in 2012. I cannot pre-empt this decision, but what it does show is that the choices are very valuable and will play a key role in the next phase of our list development. Tim and Todd know their stuff and they are working closely with Mark Neeld and Neil Craig in particular to map out our direction. Commencement Dinner: Surprised at some of the negativity. We received outstanding feedback on the night, which continued today. The evening is deliberately nostalgic, and will continue to be, as well as presenting the thoughts of our coach as a lead up to the season. We will never apologise for celebrating our heritage. As I said on the night: - We will look back – for that gives us our identity - We will focus on the now – for that is what our game demands - We will look forward – for that is our responsibility. The feedback from the players who received their blazers, modelled on the 1940's blazer worn by Harold Ball, was one of immense pride. This pride was beautifully articulated by Ron Barassi, Hassa Mann and John Beckwith. These videos by the way, were produced in-house by our new Digital Production man Jack McCowan who has captured the personalities and emotion of three legends. Unfortunately, the audio on the speeches is a bit rough. I won't comment specifically on Liam Jurrah, I think this has been covered off in many forums. I will say, that we are confident in the support he has received in the time he has been at the club, and continues to receive, as he deals with a number of challenging and complex issues. Finally, really pleased with how the football structure and personnel has come together. Capable, committed, directed and passionate, with clear standards and expectations that have been set very high. Importantly, they are loving our club. I won't answer any specific questions as I better head home, its been a solid week, but just to let you know we do follow Demonland, enjoy the by-play, love the passion and we do take on thoughts and suggestions. Cameron Schwab

I just wanted to publicly acknowledge the tremendous effort it has taken - by both the individual, and obviously the medical and fitness staff at the MFC - to get James Strauss back in a position of playing footy in readiness for the 2012 season. When he broke his leg last year, I would not have been at all surprised had he missed the entire 2012 season recovering as well. It might take time for him to get enough match fitness and confidence in order to crack back into the best 22, but I say kudos to you James, it's good to have you back out there representing the MFC, and here's hoping for an injury-free season for you.

Somehow this will be blamed on Jack Watts

In all likelihood - it'll be the updates themselves that will make you want to jump out of the 4th floor window.

With all due respect Thomo, anyone / club can lock in a sponsor for the sake of doing so. The Energywatch deal has been a record sponsorship for the MFC and one of the biggest in the AFL..............it's value is greater than the Hankook and Kaspersky deals combined over the same timeframe. After the club secured a record deal for the back of the jumper, why would they now simply give away the front of jumper space????? Just because a few misguided supporters feel uneasy about starting the season without a front of jumper sponsor????? If anything, getting such a great result with Energywatch has probably made it a lot harder to land a similar deal for the front......................sponsors prepared to spend up to that level would be few and far between, and if the MFC simply gave away the front of jumper spot at a much lower rate, they run the risk of putting Energywatch off side in the process. I absolutely agree with his comments that he is glad some on here aren't handling the negotiations.................................I love the fact that football is all encompassing these days, and members and supporters are up to date with nearly every aspect of their clubs.............the level of engagement has never been higher, but there is a lot of crap on here written about how the club should and shouldn't be managed, and a lot of comments made that either don't make sense, or would be diabolical if ever put in place. You can't honestly expect our CEO to start detailing the state of discussions with potential sponsors on a public website like this. The most accutely aware person on the planet regarding the MFC sponsorship situation at present is our CEO.................let him do his job. As a member, and just another red and blue face in the crowd each week, from the outside looking in, I reckon we have a cracking CEO running the club at present, and am more than comfortable if he deems it the best course of action to wait for the right deal for the MFC...............he is in the best position to know, not us.

Ever thought you have no idea what you are talking about, the man has come on here and explained the position of the club, ever so simply , you are stating to become the Andrew Bolt of the MFC just going on and on with the same thing.

We'll all turn up Round 1, we'll all pay our memberships for another year, we'll keep donating money at club functions and the like. The board will work their arses off to assure that we have top line coaches and facilities. It's the players turn now to show the same determination and grit.

Port Adelaide had 138 more possessions than us. haha...I am laughing out loud at that stat. It defies belief.

Are you serious?? Who the hell are you?? I am a passionate Melbourne Football Club Member who donates a healthy portion to the club each year, and buys memberships for each of my family members.... I live in Adelaide, I drive a ute around that is covered in Melbourne stickers, and has a Melbourne number plate.... I rock up to Footy Park wearing my Melbourne guernsey when Melbourne aren't even playing, just to barrack for the opposition... If I wish to crack jokes, have the odd whinge and talk a bit of BS on my favourite website.... Then I will.... Come here and try and drag me away from my computer.... I dares ya!

Goodvibes made an excellent post a week, or so, ago where he succinctly enunciated how 3 or 4 players missing can have a major effect on a team's performance. I know it's bizarre to suggest this, but Magner's injury has really been crucial to our recent fortunes. As most have stated for some time, we have a third world midfield and it's still where games are won and lost. Magner's grunt and ability to get the ball moving our way has been sorely missed. Clearly the players are trying to adapt to a new game-plan and it's going to take time. I'm not overly perturbed as I have confidence in the end result. But it will test some supporter's resolve.

There are alot of players at our club who are only in it for the money and not the passion and success. Little boys club. Bunch of pea hearts.

col sylvia can [censored] off to.. two handballs halfway through the 2nd qtr!

Ok, depression levels have hit their peak. Time to leave work, get away from the score updates and get drunk. F&$k it.

The membership tally has been making me nervous, so I've just signed up my niece & nephew. I've a sneaking suspicion that I'll get in trouble for it, my brother and sister in law are Tigers and Pies fans. But they're not members so hopefully their lack of effort will be to my advantage. Add in a Birthday Club each, how could I go wrong? My Dad's getting married next month. I wonder if I should sign up his fiance?

Don't worry. They were probably coming from the context of "Melbourne's out on the ground. What the f#$k are they doing here?"

Terry Wallace and list management is an oxymoron after Richmond.

Well.... I don't believe we are anywhere near full strength... be it neither are they.... I'm pretty sure Port would've moved heaven and earth to get the same umpires who massacred (officiated) the match at the Adelaide Oval last season....

It's interesting how negative everyone is about all our players this pre-season as compared to the start of last season. I also find myself very negative for some reason. Probably just the sustained long period of crapness has taken its toll. But i think we are all being a bit too negative. Bennel is a good young player. I think he could make it as a backman, he has pace and kicking skills and could be a Chris Yarran type i think. A relatively loose rebounding defender who sets up play. He will need to tighten up his defensive skills though. Just a little perspective. Last 3 years we have gone from 4 wins, to 5.5 wins, to 8.5 wins. We have been slowly (VERY slowly) improving. We now have a strong key forward. Our kids are not so much kids anymore and should be ready to push on. We've got some stronger bodies in (Magner, Couch, Seller). By all accounts we should improve this season. Plus, when you think about it, last year everything that could go wrong, did go wrong... surely we'll have a bit of luck this year. i'm thinking 10 or even 11 wins!

Will need to get more that his 5 possessions per game.

To me the highlight the other night was MN. Without his speech, the night would have been no more than a "tree hugging" exercise and a p@*s up. In my opinion, the MFC, for far too long, has lacked an uncompromising leader such as Neeld. Sure, there are no measurable results on the board yet, but I would rather go into Neeld's reign with a never say die attitude, than the previous mantra of, "we just want to be competitive". I was speaking to a guy the other night who is the father of a Casey senior listed player (not MFC listed) and he reckons the Dees list is second to none and laden with talent. Mark Neeld is the man - along with his undoubtedly talented coaching and fitness team - to bring the best out of this list in my view. I am more than happy with what I have heard and seen of Neeld thus far.

That's a pretty disrespectful thing to say to the guy who currently wears it. I'd also say Clint Biz had cred.

Bailey was terrible at these functions. Danners was outstanding. Danners gave nothing private away, but he told us things that the industry knew that we didn't know. I can think of a few examples, like wanting Dunn to learn to play forward (when he started on a wing), what he expected from a kicking coach in terms of improvement, where he saw our weaknesses, etc.... There are many many examples of things that can be said that make fans feel like they are a little bit special, that does not compromise game plan, confidentiality, etc... I am not having a go at Neeld, bc he is so new and it's always better to play it safe, especially before he has coached a competitive AFL game. Of course we all want our footy to do the talking. But that is a different issue to when fans are at an MFC event. I should say, MFC generally does events very well - to the envy of quite a few clubs.

.......i think i just heard a few testicles retract around here. Thanks Cam!

These things have been happening longer than Bailey, at least back to Balme and possibly also Northey.

Play like you practice and practice like you play, you spend the final two weeks of pre-season getting pantsed and that's what I'm fully expecting to happen round 1. As some of the others posted earlier, our missing list from tonight hardly fills me with confidence.

If the phone doesn't ring , it's me . If your parents didn't have children , chances are you won't either . If toast always lands butter-side down , and cats always land on their feet , what happens when you strap toast on the back of a cat and drop it ?

Neeld has stated this is not a short term plan. His game plan is the polar opposite of Baileys. He is working with what he has which truthfully is a bunch of kids and mature C graders. Get the structures right. Teach the right lessons. Sort out who has the balls to play the footy he wants to play. If we have a poor year have it with 2 compensation picks in play that hopefully unearth the stars we so desperately lack to add to Viney who will be what we expect. Anyone that expected miracles this year is kidding themselves but it doesn't mean the path that is currently being set is wrong.

We are miles off the pace and we and those in the press overestimate our list by the length of the Flemington Straight. I said it about this time last year that we will have to rebuild and nothing since then has changed my mind. Will I get howled down again? Our Recruiting has been atrocious and that's an irrefutable fact.

Fifth year of rebuild and we haven't bottomed out yet! The next Recruitment Manager better have a degree in Psychology coz we don't recruit mentally competent players I used to think it was something in the water at Junction Oval (like possum pizz or something) but now I'm not so sure I'm going to go and look for a big hole and disappear for a few years.............................................

Looks like our boys didnt care about a sick boy in hospital! Ahah. Now looks like Mr Burns will be coming back to visit me (Simpsons fans will know what I'm talking about).

Melbourne had a few out. Port had plenty out. Port came to play. Melbourne players came to get paid. Earning that pay is a joke with our club. Neeld has some massive amounts of work to do with our rabble. This was just Port ADELAIDE FCS. They had 130 more possessions than us. When will our players start working hard? When will this mentality of the players change? Like I said a few weeks back, it's gunna be a long season. Readjusting my prediction to 4-6 wins for 2012. OK now for all the same old excuses to be directed at this post............................

Thank the Begeezus it wasn't on TV - I would have smashed the screen. Now I know "it is only a glorified practice match", like last week........but seriously, have we shown any real improvement in our biggest deficiencies: contesting at all times, pressuring the ball carrier, being hard to play against? Early days, but poor signs all round. Sure, we beat Collingwood. Sure we don't have a full list. Sure we have a new game plan and a new coach. Sure, we are MFC.

The honest truth is we are all living in hope. We have recruited so poorly in the last so many years. We are so far off the mark that we need a thorough clean out of mentally fragile players. We are years away from success and even thats not guaranteed. It is only the NAB cup but I have seen enough in 4 weeks to warrant saying that we are in a lot of trouble. Everyone, including me needs to wake up and smell the roses and stop dreaming, our players arent as good as we think. They are good B graders.

Is anyone getting a weird sense of deja vu... Blown away in the first quarter and then keeping a relative par for the rest of the match... Only me?

But it's just the pre season

Maybe $250 a win and $40 a loss?

Clearly we have to sack the coach, the conditioning staff, the recruiting manager (sorry, gone already), the captains, vice captains, any players picked anywhere in the top 30 of their draft, the club doctor, receptionist, cleaners et al. We need a clean start.

You know you're in trouble when Rivers scores a point!

Clark would be a little scared about playing deep forward for us right about now...... He has no idea how cold you can get standing in our goal square in June.

Port Adelaide "running rampage"...

I think there wi I think a lot will depend on whether a club is on the way down or up. From my POV it may suit us as there is quite a few FA's we could afford to lose and some potential gains out there. Players with strong leadership skills would be handy. The AFL should make sure the under the table jiggery pokey is fully tightened up or the system may become a mockery.

We miss Watts...

I have a feeling this will be happening a lot. "Smash the packs" is going to leave some bruises on our guys.

If you were drafted to a club as a top pick and they were near the bottom after 8 years service they showed no improvement and weren't in finals contention then you would be forgiven for leaving. If I were a player who played 8 seasons and progressed through with a number of young players/mates in that time and saw us come from being a bottom eight side to a regular finals contender with Top 4 potential, i'd want to stay to see through what we had started. So IMO it's up to the clubs to hold players, I don't see the big deals Ablett and Our Former #1 pick were offered being a regular occurence.

And that is what they are doing....There is a plan B until A manifests.

I was thinking the other day that it would be good for our club to stop adding pressure to our early draft picks before they've even played a game by giving them a club significant number. Start them all somewhere in the 40's and when they prove themselves and sign their first contract then find them something significant. Don't parade them out in the MCG boardroom along side club greats receiveing a significant number before them even broken a sweat.

No, just making a point that some posters keep going on and on with the same conversations over and over with out knowing any facts.

Great work, and thank you for taking the time to answer some burning topics. I'm glad that for once we are in a financial position which allows us to pick an choose the best possible sponsorship deal for us. This place is a mind-field of crap most days, but one thing it doesn't lack, is passion. We all love this club more than is probably good for us, and everybody expresses that love differently. Some of us love blindly and unconditionally (and are hurt often), others are occasional wife-beaters (Australia says no, people!). Whichever side you fall on, nobody here is completely rational, because love isn't rational. As for the blazers, anything that makes us more on trend and fashionable is approved by me. Now please make replicas available for sale, for women, so I can buy one. Thanks!