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Had a cushy job at a successful club. Could have stayed there for a few more years. Could have chosen an easier option like Adelaide or St Kilda but no he came to the basket case that was/is the MFC and has staked his entire fledgling coaching career on turning around the Titanic. He's been prepared to put self-satisfied noses out of joint, sack ineffectual leaders, drop soft no. 1 draft picks and most importantly completely dismantle a useless game plan that would have seen us fold under the first sign of trouble in a final. And he's prepared to get flogged week-in week-out, enduring the inevitable calls for his sacking by supporters fearful of change, in order to get the job done. Hard as f..!k this bloke and I for one stand up and applaud him for having the cojones to put his own future in the game on the line in order to turn this joint into what for most of the past 47 years it has only ever been masquerading as ... and that's a football club. I'm backing him in come hell or high water.

Just watching the Essendon West Coast game and a few things I noticed that relate to us; How the West Coast defence started to make uncaracteristic errors because of the weight of ball coming in with their midfield being thumped. Made me have a greater respect for Frawley and co. as they have to cop this every week with our mids. how good would our guys be if they had an even break. A lot of turn overs and mistakes happen because no one is working to postition to take a kick on the way out. Without Priddis and Selwood, Kerr being tagged and no Nik Nat, Shuey and Gaff have been ineffective at best. It's easy for young players to look good when they have senior players leading the way. Maybe Trenners is not going so badly, still think he is carrying something (besides a lot of senior players) and Jones is really stepping up. Jack Darling is having a go but again he is ineffective without good supply and without the pressure being taken off him by Kennedy, LeCras, Nik Nat. he draws an A grader. Mitch Clark has been doing a mighty job with little supply or assistance. Liam Jurrah last year was better than people give him credit for. You don't need to be super quick to be a good player, eg: Jobe Watson, strong attack on the ball, quick thinking, working within limitations. Sorry had to put this one in but Luke Darcy is self opponionated dick of a commentator, love Ling, just out of the game and really good insights.

I find it funny that some people on here actually believe Neeld doesn't want the players to spread and look for the footy and be daring and bold. Yes, it may be the by-product of the focus on defence that Neeld has implemented but it is the players who don't trust each other and crowd their teammates with the footy, don't give options to players running out of the backline, and don't run through the lines. It isn't Neeld shackling their ankles - they just aren't doing it. The FD are trying to teach them some defensive intent and they, for probably a cacophony of reasons, are not able to do it and play some decent footy (when we get the ball).

Keep the faith Stuie. They say it's darkest right before the dawn. I see hope. I see hope in the faces of Bartram, Jones, Mckenzie, Clark and Magner as they fight tooth and nail for the pill, setting a standard for the kids to follow. If you want to get angry ... get angry with those in the team that won't get with the program!

Flags earn respect . Not getting flogged in GF's.

Excellent post. I too hope we win as few games as possible for the reasons you mentioned. I don't want and I'm sure there won't be any tanking, but I'm fully cognisant of the benefits of losing for this one last time. Garry Lyon touched on the impact a change of coach can sometimes have in the first year. The Saints coming off a finals campaign won only 4 of their first 11 in 2007. At the time I remember the former coach and many others being critical of Ross Lyon half way through his first year. The calibre of players at his disposal included Riewoldt, Montagna, Fisher, Dal Santo, Ball, Goddard, Robert Harvey, Gehrig, Hudghton, Milne, Gilbert, Gram and Baker. Not a bad baker's dozen, yet they struggled big time with a foreign game-plan and structures. Imagine the difficulty our young mob is having with such a quantum shift in playing style. Alistair Clarkson won only 5 games in his first year. Players at his disposal included Hodge, Mitchell, Franklin, Sewell, Batemen, Joel Smith, Brown, Lewis, Dixon, Crawford, Croad, Roughead and Young. Not a bad group either, but many of them were young and all and sundry were calling for Clarkson's head. Franklin played 20 games for 21 goals. At that point no-one knew he'd become the star he has. I believe that we also have talent, even though right now we're considered a laughing stock. Things can and will change once some players mature, the style becomes second nature and we get some class into the midfield.

I am sure we all understand how tough AFL footy is and that if you are a bit off you can get belted. Being "off" includes things like skill, talent, attitude, pace, fitness, aggression, team orientation ( selfless play), courage, knowledge and understanding of the game plan , any of which or a combination of some, that may be below your opposition. It would be fair to say that we are "off" in most of these areas. If I am correct with the above, then it can be no surprise what is happening. If that is the case and we believe we have a good coach as we all did when he was appointed, then he needs full support as many on here have posted and not be white anted. We have been down for a fair while and the team needs a clean out and the addition of more players who can provide what is needed in all respects. Not necessarily nice boys but great footballers. I am not suggesting criminals but you all know what I mean. Again as many have posted we need an injection of speed, skill and hunger for success. We have a strong draft coming. We will have high picks. We hopefully will get JV for a 2nd rounder thereby preserving our high picks. There are 2 players who GWS can trade and we might have the best picks to offer. We will have some players who can be traded for some value to improve our later picks. We should also be in the market to pick up a player who shows something but is not getting a game elsewhere like Sewell when we tried to get him and now say Kennedy and Hill who are playing well for the Eagles but were modest at their previous clubs. Our good young players will get fitter , gain experience and understand the game plan better by next year and those who have tried and failed will be gone. We have the nucleus of a side but we need the injection of that skill, pace and hunger. The players that don.t care less should be discarded and the culture will change. Both the Eagles and Bombers were pathetic and in one year improved markedly. We need to back this coach, footy department and club and stop sniping. We can,t keep changing coaches all the time, maybe it really is the players we have who are just not the right players. Does anyone really believe that even God could coach us to a flag at the moment? I hope I never have to say this ever again, but I hope we finish as low as possible this year so we have the best chance to fix this mess up. A few wins and a few spots higher could really stuff up our chances for the future. I will cop it this year for the last time as long as our choices in every situation after the season are the best ones that. Can be made. I will be at the games hoping we play well for the rest of the year but deep down inside knowing that a small loss may be our best "long term result". At the same time Neeld will have my full support and hopefully that of all Dees.

Emailed both clubs, might give talkback (actual talkback, 3AW, not just SEN) a ring Monday too.

I've backed the players for far too long, only to see them throw up chicken hearted efforts time and again. No more. There is something seriously wrong at our club and has been for a long time. Neeld has my full support to do whatever he thinks needs doing to fix it.

I'm with you RR. I have said this before and I am lucky to have more insight to the internal workings of the club than most. It does take balls of steel to do what he is doing. The size of this task again cannot be limited to the outcomes we all see on the field. Bailey certainly couldn't do what Neeld has done. Every week these knee jerk emotional reactions to losses fail to consider the holistic point of view around everest that the club has in front of it. Its easy to get caught up in week to week emotional responses and much, much harder to stay the course and have a long term view. (Here come the posters telling me they have been waiting since Norm Smith was sacked how much longer blah blah blah) Well fair enough we are all frustrated and bloody unhappy deep into our veins but if we are to go anywhere we need to let this man build the foundations of this club ground up. Unfortunately people seem to go into meltdown, disown the club, not renew memberships, call for sackings and question all his decisions being incompetent. He is one preseason and 7 games in. No other coach has ever had so much expected of them in such a short period of time. Let Mark Neeld do what we need him most to do. Once again I urge you to continue to support the coach and the club.

Seriously? Lloyd hard and uncompromising? The closest to hard is the time he came off the square to snipe Brad Sewell, the rest of the time he spent sprawled on the ground trying to milk free kicks. Lloyd was great at kicking a football through the sticks, but hard is not a word I have ever heard used as an adjective in describe him.

"Culture" is a dark word on D'Land - some think it's at the core, others say that's all BS. I'm in the former group Can't imagine the great Jim ("Mirror") Cardwell ever uttering the phrase "Bifold of Opportunity". He would have, on hearing the phrase, thought it's complete BS and the speaker a w@nker. No blazers until you earn them - putting up a facade that mimics the glory years is delusional. "Honour before Honours" should be our motto. *Edit: spelling

Since when has a game-plan that is based on defending well ever been out of vogue ? The players aren't implementing it well and because of this aren't spreading and attacking well, but the game-plan is sound. Neeld told the players before the match to be bold. They weren't, but it will come. Game-plans based on defence have won finals for time immemorial.

The Jurrahcane is ready to rumble. Over to you coach!

I'm not applauding. Don't think that's what I meant. But I have seen glimmers of hope - not many but one or two. He wants a hardness and desire that I've only seen in the Northey years. I don't know if he can get it with this lot but also can't think of anyone else out there that will give it a better shot. The simple fact is that this club ruins players. We don't produce stars. We don't produce players with mental strength and we take good kids and make them average footballers. That wasn't going to change in a pre-season and I don't expect it to change this year. I had last year and Bailey written off after the West Coast game, and this year written off after the 186. That was when I stopped lying to myself that we had a group that had any sort of real desire to do the hard things that were needed for the team to progress. We need another big clean out of these players that only do enough to keep their spot and couldn't give a stuff about doing the extra yards. We need to completely cull the list of players that think they have a right to wear the MFC jumper. It's going to hurt more. And it needs to, because if we don't do it now this club will get worse until the AFL puts us out of our misery. That's why I'm backing Neeld. That's why I'll take these losses on the chin. We don't have a choice any more. We have to harden this club up within the next 5 years or cease to be.

The thread/post is a supportive response to weak-kneed posters calling for his sacking on other threads. A mandate from the board is one thing. To actually walk into the joint and do what he's doing without flinching, that takes balls of steel.

I hear a lot of people bemoan the fact that we could have had both if it wasn't for the Kruezer cup. In my honest opinion I think nic-nat really hasn't done that much to deserve the hype and he only gets it because he looks explosive. But ffs he can't even kick the footy properly. How Mike put him in his top 50 players is absolutely beyond me. If he was running around in a Melbourne jumper I bet the media wouldn't being creaming there pants over him and if we had both picks 1 and 2 and selected Watts and Nic-Nat respectively, they would be having a field day about our poor recruiting and the fact we let Hurley, Yarran, Rich and Ziebell etc slip past us. Both Watts and Nic-Nat have a long way to go.

Yeah, RalphusMaximius' stats say it all really, don't they... although I think it's maybe a little harsh calling him a "pea heart"; Nic-Nat isn't really that bad!

Neeld deserves the same opportunity Bailey was afforded. It is hardly Neelds fault the players can't perform fundamental football skills especially seasoned senior players. All this pain and angst should be directed at the old regime. I said at the start of the season consider this season with the same attitude as the start of 2009. We played unaccountable football and although at times it had flare at soon as there was pressure we folded. Players need to fundamentally adhere to structure and a defensive intent thats polar opposite of what they knew. It will take 2 to 3 years to see the rewards. That's how it is that's where we are I don't like it and I frequently get the shits and crack it. Neeld comes from an elite environment he won a premiership and at the time was in charge of an elite midfield. He needs time to turn the ship and while it sucks I'll let him have a go at fixing the joint.

Once again I have to look at the statistics since nobody has yet come up with an accurate measurement for pea-heartedness. Nic Nat - Games 60, avg disposals 12, av marks 1.7, av goals 0.6, av tackles 3.6, av hitouts 18.3, disposal efficiency 67.1% J. Watts - Games 45, avg disposals 14.3, av marks 5.1, av goals 0.8, av tackles 1.7, av hitouts 0.4, disposal efficiency 74.4% So, Watts has played 75% of the games, is the best part of a full year younger, has more disposals, marks and goals per game but fewer tackles and hitouts. Given that he doesn't actually play in the ruck it's not unexpected that he should fare so poorly in the hitout stats. To summarise, Watts is younger, has played less games, gets more of the ball and does more with it. Yet he is still considered the lesser of the two players and consistently hammered by the media and supporters for a perception that he lacks "heart." Edit: Stats courtesy of http://www.footywire.com/ (except for disposal efficiency, which came from www.afl.com.au)

There are enough experience coaches from successful backgrounds at the club currently! At what stage do we question that we may have the wrong players at the club. Neeld apoke about talent vs desire & commitment reffering to a silvia question, players must have both & talent alone will not make it for you.

I'll take the new coach at his word. On arrival he found an unfit, unprofessional group of highly rated juniors. Most of them with 2 to 3 years of serious hard work to do before they have any chance to adapt to a game that demands physical sacrifice. Remember Northey had a guy called Jamie Dursma stopping the likes of Kernahan and Brereton in finals matches. When Neeld arrived he found a guy called Jack Watts prancing around pretending to be a footballer. It's going to take time and I'll give him my support because currently he's all we have.

Aint that the truth.

There's no guarantees in life about anything, but if you get the picks right and develop them properly it could be the difference between winning that long and elusive flag and not. And right now I'd take that opportunity. If you put Judd (pick 3), Cotchin (2), Sidebottom (11) and Shuey (18) into our side how do you reckon we'd go ? Rather than assume we'll pick poorly forever I assume we'll get the picks right. It's just the way I roll. EDIT: I posted before I read this article. The article canvasses picks between 1996 and 2005. It's a flawed analysis because everyone knows that recruiting has improved markedly since that period. The dollars spent on talent identification are far greater now and have been for a few years. There are still no guarantees, but I wouldn't be basing my thinking on that data.

We've got 5 'potential' stars who for one reason or another are miles away at the moment . Watts - in the 2nds Trengove - struggling , injured ? Sylvia - an enigma Frawley - lost his attacking flair Jurrah - ? If all these 5 were up and firing we'd be a much , much better side . We're most probably going to have to bring some stars into our club with free agency , trading or the draft .

Striker... I was at the game on Friday night sitting in q49 with a few of my mates and we were maybe 2-3 rows behind you. You wear a jumper with no 11 on your back right? If that was you mate all I can say is I was absolutely disgusted at what you were copping and was this close to coming down and telling all those dawks to shut the f**k up and leave you alone. You were doing nothing untoward just being vocal at the game (as we are to) and its ridiculous that you have to put up with that!! If I see you again at the footy and you're copping it I won't make the same mistake twice and I will come down and fly the flag for you. This club needs more supporters like you and good on ya mate we all think you're a legend. Have a great weekend champ and go dees!!!

One thing that hasn't been discussed in this thread (or perhaps I missed it) is that we are only now being able to compete with the better clubs in terms of the amount spent in the footy and recruiting department. We just haven't had the cashflow to be able to compete, but now we do (thanks Jimmy). We have been far behind the rest of the competition with our fitness and it's crazy to think that we can close the gap in just one season. This season is a reality check for everything about our club. We have to improve in every single area if we are to survive and I believe that Neeld has the knowledge, temperament and energy to make the hard decisions and bruise ego's which will make us a better club. I don't see what happens within the club but it appears that there's a group of players who've had it very easy for a long time who may be reluctant to change, I also have a feeling that it's going to get worse before it gets better.

I think he should actually be afforded more leniency because of his injury, but he should have started in the VFL. I still want to trade him at year's end.

Agreed. By the time we're a developed side and are playing finals footy, it'll be the Melbourne game plan. I don't think we know what the game plan looks like yet. Neeld is trying to instil a philosophy that works for any game plan - one about hard bodies applying pressure and winning hard ball. Those elements are common to every side that has won a flag in the whole time I've been watching football.

Welcome to The Melbourne Demons, where we bag the cr@p out of our best and fairest and stand to applaud a coach who has taken us to 0-7 and pretty much bottom in every important stat... Don't get me wrong, I like Neeld, a lot, and he may turn out to be a great coach, but this "positive" thread after what we've seen so far this year is an absolute joke.

We've been soft as butter for years. Consistently disappointed when we were favourites. Hardly won a key game. Only ever looked good on a roll. Virtually never won an arm wrestle. Under-achieved. Over-rated our own worth. Flat track bullies. Bruise free [censored]. I for one am prepared to suffer the current slop if it will mean we harden the truck up.

It's a cliché, but there's a large dose of "accepting mediocrity" in this thread, by those longing for the Bailey years. Neeld is taking the long hard deliberate road of rebuilding this side into one that can win. And a lot just aren't willing to suffer short term pain to do that.

From some in the group, certainly not all. The players were mollycoddled under Bailey and have now been told a few hard, home truths. Interesting to see the ones who have put aside their egos and responded with some fighting spirit (Bartram, Jones, McKenzie) and those that have hoisted the white flag (we all know who they are). Neeld is exposing the soft, self-satisfied underbelly of the playing list and we should all be thanking him for it. It's been long overdue.

I agree but the risks have to be calculated. My fear is that if you walk into any workplace and say 'you guys are [censored] and you're doing it all wrong' you run the risk of losing confidence from your group really quickly when you don't get results. That appears to be what's happening in our case at times. In the balance of high risk high reward I think the risk is too big and we havent seen a single reward from it. I'm not suggesting Neeldy should be fired. That's absurd. I just have concerns about the balance of management versus teaching that is happening. The players look concerned to make mistakes all the time. Management is about balance too, not just my way or the high way.

Yes Adelaide - the club where Neil Craig laid the foundations.....good observation.... Do you think Sanderson just walked in and all of a sudden the list got better? Neil Craig assembled a good list. We should let he and Neeld do their job. Clearly you haven't read any of my other posts. You don't understand what he has had to do to get the club even to this point. But thats understandable you have your view. And not sure if you read that I did state one preseason and 7 games? In terms of insulting other people - I didn't realise it was offensive to ask supporters to stick with the 7 game coach who has a plan. The club needs all the support they can get. What I see here is meltdown and people saying they wont buy memberships. (Understand that isn't you) PS Im the real 'nut'

I guess it all comes down to the question of why the MFC actually exists. Is it to win a flag or is it to just float along, make up the numbers and die a slow death of irrelevance? If it's the former - as I hope most of us would like - then I'm sorry you've got to take some risks. This is high stakes poker and you can either ante up or get the frack off the table.

Great post Macca. Footynut - read this and think! You claim to have more insight into the club - in which case you should realise that Neeld has had 6 months, not just 7 games to make a difference. You should also know how other clubs operate - we are simply not performing well enough at all levels. You should also realise that you are offending people who don't just react emotionally to one week losses - many of us think way beyond that, and have done so for a long time, despite decades of poor performance from MFC. You might also like to consider Adelaide's performance so far this year.

Good post, despite what some are saying. Very easy to look at the scoreboard or listen to a Walls or McClure make s*** up and then get angry and call for heads. There is not one MFC supporter or player who knows what a successful AFL club looks or feels like in this era so pay attention people. Still probably a few half-arsed senior players on the list to be cut loose and some who aren't up to it but I have no doubt that Neeld is the bloke for the job. Yes we are success starved but I am surprised how how many of our supporters are on Neelds back already given what was clearly a basket case and s***storm that came to a head in the secomd half of last year.

If they play his style we will see how good he is as a coach, we have to build fitness, we have to learn aa different game plan. Should see some results 2nd half of this year, next year, etc

There's no doubt about that. I'd hardly suggest his ability to tolerate defeats is testament to his strengths though. If you listened to Ross Lyon speak earlier in the year you would have heard him speak about the importance of an early win to building confidence from within an organisarion. There's nothing wrong with laying out a broad plan but I fear that he's thrown the baby out with the bath water and is playing a dangerous game with our footy club. Like it or not the last 7 weeks have proven this too (if not the last few weeks of the NAB cup too). What exactly happens if he doesn't work? It's a high risk game he's playing.

Kahuna's ? To take on a head coaching job ? They either remain an assistant on way less money or take the job of a head coach on about 3 - 5 times more money . Often with a 3 year guarantee . Sympathy for any coaches , any time , is misguided . Go and join the general workforce if you can't handle being a head coach . Oh , and be prepared for a bit of a paycut . Coaches get well remunerated for their time . At least 6-7 times the average Australian wage and up to 15 times this amount . And there is a fairly good life after coaching . They're not forced to do it . At the moment all Neeld has proven is that we don't know if he can coach or not . His game plan is ridiculous and won't work . It's only a matter of time before somebody in the media will take his outdated game plan to task . And then watch all the others jump in like vultures . Hardest team to play against ? What an absolute joke . Now , he might or should get much better . I hope so , but only those with blind faith will guarantee that . Pressure needs to be put on Neeld . It should have happened after round 2 . He needs to abandon this game plan altogether and start again . I hope he's not too stubborn to change . All our attacking flair and creativity has vanished . Our teamwork is virtually non existant . That is Neeld's fault . The buck stops with him , as it should . I'm not calling for his head but he needs to lift his game . The players don't get off the hook . Only Clark , Jones , Magner and maybe Bartram , Howe , McKenzie , McDonald and Rivers have had acceptable years so far . The rest are either way below form , injured or not good enough .

This is more of a broad statement than a comment to you wyl. I need to vent after reading some absolute trip over the last couple of weeks. The way I see it, melbourne supporters have two options. A. Take the losses on the chin and come back and support your team or B. Say it’s all too tough and throw away your membership while having a tantrum I don't know about the character of many people here, but being a demons forum I'd assume the members here are in it for the long haul. Myself, I'll be watching the Demons for the next 60 odd years. We could win the next 60 spoons, but I'll still be back at the G' ready for more. We are all angry, sometimes depressed, and ultimately craving finals football once more. We will make finals again, we may obtain that 13th premiership or we may never get there, but this is a ride that I'll never be getting off. Nothing makes me angrier than soft supporters who can’t hack a few poor years and then throw in the towel. Not after what our late president has done for this club.

I'm with you on this one RR... a few people here need to try breathing into a brown paper bag.

I just want to highlight something Jurrah just did then. The ball was rolling towards Casey's attacking forward fifty, with Watts and a Box Hill player chasing it about a metre away, Jurrah was about two metres away, but instead of going for the ball as well, he ran forward backing Watts to beat the Box Hill player. Unfortunately Watts fumbled the ball. The point is, he was thinking ahead and whilst numbers to the ball are important he backed Watts in. Too many times we see three or four Melbourne's players go for the ball which is great for winning a contests, but once they have it there are no options around the pack running off. It was only a little thing but it's the kind of football smarts and thinking Melbourne need.

Apparently........according to the great one Leigh "Lethal" Matthews, Brisbane will get more service out of Ben Hudson than Melbourne will of Mitch Clark.... Someone's lost their marbles.

If the Dees starred in 'Moneyball' . . . http://youtu.be/Yw1A3AnZsD4

Rubbish. If he wasn't 100% fit he shouldn't have played. A poor effort by Sylvia.

Where do you think Dean Bailey got his strategy on defensive play from?

Eh... *shrugs* 0-7, playing considerably worser footy than GWS, GC, quite far removed off the pace. I'm not in this anymore to have faith and just to stick by someome because they've got it tough. You can only have it tough for so long. Get the job done. Melbourne is last on the ladder after 7 rounds. Accountability.

By my estimation we have approx. eight players who are up to AFL standard the rest are simply not up to it. I expect to be in the ground Before the MFC plays in finals