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That's how you propose in New Zealand...

I was there last night and I tipped in a bit more than I usually do because I can and because I wanted too. I don't give a flying fig what they use as a reason I know they need the money so I contribute. I would imagine that the majority who were there last night couldn't give a stuff either, they were asked to chip in and did. What I can't understand is why anyone that didn't put in or wasn't there really cares how they dress it up.

There are a few issues that involve Schwab, Bailey etc and it's not always as cut and dried as it seems. So lets start with Bailey, selected by G.Lyon as the man best available at the time for our needs. It must be remembered we were heavy in debt and therefore strapped for cash. The FD didnt have the luxury of giving Bailey the best available to help him with (KPIs) player performance and existing targets that Neeld and Co now have at hand to compare where our players need to be. So he was already was behind the 8 ball. You could say we had a 3rd world FD, no fault of anyone in the FD but more like lack of funds, so we had to make do with what we had. Bailey didnt have the luxury of having the experience of a Neil Craig to call on, someone that has been there done that, and offer advice. This is no way a defence for Bailey or his demise, but a matter of circumstances he had to endure. Stynes wasn't at his best at making decisions, he had his own issues,nothing major mind you, just life threatening, to the big guys credit, he kept the club going. What Bailey did have was Connolly and Schwab, perhaps both offering support, or perhaps Bailey relied of both or either for guidance or a 2nd opinion, or maybe he told them what was lacking. Knowing the shortfalls, and seeing the team struggling, in their efforts to help Bailey where they could, both or either without realising, were slowing undermining what was being helpful to being over bearing to the point of being now seen as sticking their noses in too far, and getting everyone offside. Schwab, I believe wants to see Melbourne successful, but in doing do, nearly lost his job, by not just offering advice when and where needed, but now thought by jumping in and virtually taking over, did more harm than good. Thats probably why he was told to step back, and concentrate on his job at hand, and leave the FD to run its own course. We now have experienced professional people running the FD. They have the finances to get whatever that is required to succeed. If they fail to do so, they fall on their own swords, and havent got any excuse to get to where we need to be. In the meantime, Schwab goes about what he should be doing, If Neeld needs advice, support, or whatever, he talks to Neil Craig. And through the chain of command it goes. No need for Schwab to be seen as poking his nose in, when its not required, or to be seen as being overbearing, though his intentions may have been in his mind in the best interests of everyone. With the FD cashed up, the onus is on Schwab to do what he can do best, thats to get the best sponsors and do HIS job. The board now sees Schwab doing the right thing, if he doesnt measure up they will make the call, but for now, his fate is in his hands. What we need is too be pulling together, stabilise, and seen to be in control. Chris Connolly, is an interesting one, he got pushed sideways, so perhaps he was meddling a bit too much for everyone's liking; again I am sure he thought he was helping,but over-stepped the mark. Changes happen to every club, for a number of reasons. Some good, some bad errors of judgement will be par for the course. The MFC board with all what has happened this year, now needs to take a deep breath and nut out their best options. For now they are happy with the personal. The FD / Player list is about go through their turn. Neeld and Co, will make the call,thats their job. They wont have any excuses, we have the best available,and as the norm,it will be refined,to make it better. G.Lyon shouldn't be again required to be called on for advice, McLardy has stated he is happy with the board. Lyon has make his stance, he doesnt want to be involved with running the club. Let them run their own race, and hopefully, we end up with a strong footy club, with the right personnel, and everyone is happy. It's a lot easier on everyone when the team wins, but we just have to bide our time. There is always room for improvement, changes will always happen, and need to happen, but not for sake of change. Not everyone will get along, all of the time. There is no 'I' in Team.

Wait... but I thought... this doesn't make sense... I'm so confused... he's Scully's BFF, AND he was on SEN AND he was taking an eternity to re-sign AND so many people were saying he was gone... but now he has re-signed? I don't know what to make of it. Oh yes I do, not everyone is a money hungry snakey little bastard rat. Onya Sammy. I reckon Scully's BFF's Blease and Bastinac both faked him out. "Yeah do it Tom, take the offer, we'll meet you up there next year!" *wave goodbye* "Well thank f... he's gone."

Just got back from the night. Two captains spoke well and promised as usual that players would give their all. As you know announced that Sam Blease had signed for 2 years. A moving tribute to Jimmy was given by Trisha Silvers, Troy Broadbridge's wife. Looks like about $750000.00 might be raised. Hopefully more. Lot of ex players there like Robbie, Ox, Neita, Dicko, Hoppy, Ingo, Riggers, Smithy, etc. Good function but not over the top. Sat with my sponsored player Jack Grimes and Rory Taggert. Rory on way back and I predict he will be a good player and he is an elite kick. Mitch Clark on the way back. Coach said there would be some changes to the list but that is the same at every club. Said we are improving in certain areas and will continue improving. Garry revved up crowd. Good vibe and everyone feeling positive.

Sam Blease tweet:-

She is one hell of a woman. Jimmy met his match when he married her. Just saw her on A Current Affair. She is intelligent, articulate, self effacing, brutally honest and attractive to boot. She is naturally doing it tough as are the children and I personally wish them all the best from all of us. She shared her husband's last months with the MFC and deserves our thanks for that.

In total agreeance with Old Dee, RobbieF and others. If i could i would happily donate that kind of money to the club. No-one is being forced to donate. No-one is being threatened. The donations are made because people love this club and want to contribute those amounts. If people here for one minute think it does not happen at every AFL club they are exremely mistaken. It happens at just about every football club in the land. I have a Collingwood friend who does exactly this. Melbourne's function receives more press because it stems from the original debt demolition and Jim Stynes' campaign. But it is nothing that other clubs do not engage in. If it is that extra 1% that puts us ahead of the opposition in years to come and delivers us what we all so desperately crave, then go for it. Whilst everyone who posts on this board has their own opinions, and comes from different walks of life, like it or not we all have the same love. The Melbourne Footy Club. It is what unites us all in happiness and makes us tear each other apart in anger. I have been guilty in the past of losing sight of this when engaged in discussion with fellow posters, and sometimes it pays for everyone to just take a step back and remember this. Good on the club for holding this function. Good on the Foundation Heroes for their wonderful generosity. And good on every Melbourne member and supporter for the contributions they make, be it through memberships, donations, apparel or simply turning up of a Fri/Sat/Sun and supporting our team.

We enjoyed the night and our two guests kicked in very generously as well and are now considering further options to support our club. The players and footy dept staff kicked in $30,000! We are happy to contribute to our club. A frequent poster here donated major dollars last night. Thanks to all. EVERYONE can give a bit not just those who are Foundation Heroes. You know what to do. Go Dees.

As you said LS, about those who moan about the "exclusivity" of the Foundation members, let me assure those moaners that it is not an exclusive club. It is open to everyone. I understand that many can't afford to become members, but there are many others who can and choose not to. That of course is their prerogative. While ambitious, the club is hoping to swell the number eventually to 1000 members. It started on the first night at 140 and has now reached 430. That of itself has involved a fair deal of work. The entry level is $5000.00 which of course is not cheap, but they have now sought younger members and offered those under 30 who can afford it, to become members and pay over 4 years, $1250.00 a year. That amount of course is still a significant amount of money. Just so everyone understands, every AFL club has these sorts of groups and fundraisers. We just seem to get publicity for everything that we do or that is done to us. In summary this group has wiped out a $5million debt, continues to supply funds and is being led by the club Board, whose members have actually donated large amounts to the club and also continue to do so as they did last night. In other words the Board members are leading by example.

McLardy has reported on mfc website that Opel have signed on for another year...more good news for the club

The best posters are the ones that do the match reports! Jack, Oracle, Mean Gene, KC from Casey, Grapeviney and everyone else. Thanks for outstanding match reports and previews. Much better reading than the papers.

I don't see anyone denigrating fundraising or the foundation heroes - more power to them! The point Fan appears to be making is that we're raising special funds to pay 100% of the TPP - surely that should be the first thing budgetted for. We're screwed if we have to have special fundraising every year to pay 100% TPP. Extra fundraising is vital for FD expenditure etc so we keep pace in these areas, e.g. overseas training venture etc. I guess it's simpler, more tangible and more attractive to package it up as "get more like Mitch Clark" to the club. But 100% of the TPP should come out of regular revenue.

I tried to put your response through Google Translator but it wouldn't accept input language as type 'incomprehensible' I sent them an email suggesting an enhancement so until they do I will have to continue struggling LOL

Well done Foundation Members - we all (well most) appreciate your generosity

We need good players. We have a boatload of Salary Cap money that we HAVE TO SPEND. The way some of you are talking about Cloke you would think our list is in a lot better shape than it is.

Defending Schwab seems about as popular as saying that you rate Terry Wallace's views on list management, but I reckon Schwab gets some pretty unfair treatment round here. There's little doubt that he meddled too much in footy department matters, but he's seemingly rectified that behavior; and when I look at some of his raw achievements one can't help but be impressed. Our sponsorship has been at record levels, our membership is at record levels and our financial position is supposedly at it's strongest since we broke with the MCC in 1981. And speaking of the MCC, Schwab has presided over an agreement that now makes us once again a section of the MCC and he's also orchestrated an agreement that ensures a better financial dividend from the MCC. Also, we now own the Bentleigh club, which places us in a stronger financial position with greater leverage. The first person I heard say that we "grew out of a ground and not a suburb" was Schwab. I've always felt that he gets the MFC and our difficulties. He understands our nuances and challenges better than most and he embraces our rich history, which says a lot considering he grew up a Richmond supporter. He's responsible for our re-branding with the emblem change. An emblem that reflects our legacy to those lost in wars, our history in writing the rules of the game and our longevity. Whether you like the blazers or not it's another sign that he wants us to embrace our heritage. Does anyone give a better speech when discussing our club and its place in history ? But those that seemingly don't like him want to put every poor playing performance, bad recruiting decision, or past coaching inadequacies at his feet. I'm not suggesting that he's above scrutiny, or that he hasn't made mistakes, but equally there's been much to like. Stynes virtually begged him to come back to the club such was our squalid state. Off the field things are now looking very sound and for that Schwab must take much of the credit and I'm glad that the Board has recognised his good work. Clearly we all want our on-field fortunes to change and it remains the club's greatest challenge, but off-field he's presided over a club that now has no excuses, or impediments to make this can happen. I have a feeling he'll leave a lasting positive legacy to the MFC.

Good news... http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/7415/newsid/145282/default.aspx

I wish I knew mate - looking back at our draft selections in 2001 makes me think we should just throw names in a hat! Seriously, I have a gut feel that we will get Cloke (not necessarily under the conditions I would prefer) - I just hope he proves to be worth whatever we end up paying, in time or money. More importantly, we need the midfield and the coaching to make it all worthwhile - here's hoping!

Its a non-question. Revenue is revenue. For special events you dress it up for max appeal. I thought the question was disingenuous, thats all

All those landers who denigrate the fundraising or moan about the exclusivity of the Foundation members I think you are forgetting the obvious. The Clubs that have to market such clubs are the lower ranking Clubs. Dont you think Collingwood and Hawthorn have the same Clubs but we dont ever hear about them. Their funds just roll in without raising a media eyebrow. Be thankful that we have generous backers and that we are not reduced to a rug being carried around the boundary accompanied by the local boys brigade band!

The business of the MFC is to win games of football and Premierships. I know people don't want to hear this but at the moment we are a laughing stock. And we are a laughing stock because after 5 years of rebuild we look like winning one game of footy this season against non development clubs. And MFC is profitable because of the generosity of its members, not through the recurring revenue the club generates from its business. We owe a lot to those that contributed last night.

Only problem with the Cloke deal is that he is confused and thinks he is Gary Abllet Jnr or Lance Franklin. He just aint worth the money he wants. Or that David wants.

Think people are going around in circles on this. 1. There are no decent FA midfielders. There is a big b@rstad CHF available, though. 2. We are going to choose about 1000 midfielders in the upcoming draft. 3. While those midfielders develop, we have nobody at whom to throw a substantial portion of our salary cap. 4. Why not throw it at Cloke, front-ended, and keep him until the midfielders we drafted in 2012 become truckloads of $$$, at which point we will be paying Cloke next to nothing? 5. It would sure help those youngies develop if they have Cloke and Clark to kick it to, rather than Clark and Petterd, or Bate, or some other spud.

He'll be gutted, gonna have to return the bunk bed to ikea now.

It tells me that our "best teams" played nearly 50 years ago and it's probably time we moved on to 2012 2013 style football.

I know it's history, but some of our best teams didn't have dominating big key forwards (Barry Bourke!), but others did (Bob Johnson). Doesn't that tell us something? Shouldn't we be moulding a team, rather than just following the latest moves of other clubs? Currently, the Hawkins/Cloke style of forward is in vogue. Maybe we should be the innovators and go for multiple goalkickers regardless of size or position - time to think outside the square? Just a lateral thought for a moment.

You have forgotten Darren Bennet. Didn't he kick around 90 in 1990? If you have forgotton him it is likely because he played like Cloke.

We had that problem in 2010. It is too risky. Mitch Clark needs help. He cannot do it all. If it aint Cloke who should we target?All good sides have a structured forward line. To think they will magically appear is poor judgement in my eyes.

Robbie I dips me lid to you. I put in a reasonable amount each year (obviously not enough to get to this dinner) and TBH when I contribute my money I'd like to know I'm supporting a well run club that has the right objectives and is being run efficiently. I don't want to think that I'm supporting a poorly run club that is just using my donation to cover up inefficiencies in the budget or what I would consider discretionary or speculative spending. A bit like when I pay my taxes. I want to think that the money is being wisely used (but of course that is just silly). If our TPP in a current year is only 95% of the TPP and there are a few expenditure blowouts or revenue shortfalls during the year then I reckon the 5% will be under significant pressure. It's a very soft target and nobody will know. Good management would provide provisions for this expenditure and cut elsewhere but I don't have the confidence this would happen. TPP budgeting is done, we know before the year starts how much we will pay in the following year bar a few injury payments and incentives. If you genuinely saw this as a core expenditure why wouldn't you pay the 100% through the year rather than wait until the end of the year to make the commitment? Accordingly I believe Don. He says he needed the money to pay the TPP and that's good enough for me. I've contributed to many a fundraising to provide gym equipment, other FD equipment and at one stage to allow us to have an extra rookie and it's always been itemised. Why would they start misrepresenting it now? It only makes them look bad to those that see it my way. Anyway good on you and I hope it pays off.

couldn't agree more - if we have peeheart footballers who still want to sook over administrators who have put us in a more secure position financially, moved us into great facilities and put in a place what looks to be a solid football department structure (albeit one that is not yet producing results) then I say sack 80% of the footballers.

I have no doubt they'll keep him. I reckon he has shown a great work ethic and i suspect Neeld places a very high emphasis on this

I think we are being naive if we truly believe that this fund raising is that directional and we wouldnt be able to pay 100% TPP without it. Dig deep people because a) we need more account receivable clerks in the admin area: OR B) more dencorub is required for the boys groins: OR c) we need more punching bags in the gym because Chunks head is wearing thin: OR d) so we can splash out and buy Cloke, Goddard and Boak. Which one has the most appeal ?

Let's put it another way. If we didn't raise money last night we could still pay 100% of the salary cap but remove a few of people from the FD, some from admin/membership, cut back some community programs. Whichever way there are short and long term implications. In the meantime other clubs are quietly fundraising, stealing our people, going after our players and opening the gap on us. These fundraisers I am convinced are now a permanent fixture, don't expect them to go away, even if we get financially stable and win a flag.

Not for me it's not. If we didn't raise money last night would we have been unable to pay 100% of the TPP? Do we need a similar fundraiser next year and the year after to pay 100% of TPP? They're pretty simple questions.

Thank you to all the foundation heroes for your generous contributions and your reports, we all appreciate it. I've been thinking about joining up for a while, I have the cash sorted, just need to get it past the missus!

Yeah, as if the money will go to a certain place. We are moving to a $40m turnover, this $750k will keep the lights on and the altitude room heated. How do I know? I don't, but it will pay for something - Don may aswell sexy it up...

Congratulations to those that contributed to the club. It's mind boggling that we have to put our hand out each year to be able to pay the full TPP which is a core expense and fundamental to the winning of premierships. Let's hope we get it right next year.

I'll put it out there that I'm not a fan of this idea. I don't like popularity contests as a rule and it's not just because I'm not very popular. Posters get rewarded with good posts now through the "like" system, so I don't think a big love in is necessary, useful or even interesting - everyone knows who the good posters are. Might see what the other admins think...

The things is ... Schwab was right about Bailey. Whatever his own faults, we should really be thanking him that he agitated for his dismissal. Bailey was doing serious damage to the MFC every week he was at the helm. Coddling the players. Not developing them anywhere near properly.

This from CAC to me some 6 years ago (I've already posted most snippets): "Later picks do compensate for early failures on occasion. Miller doesn't compensate for our selection of Molan at 9 in 2001. It was a stellar draft and we blew it. We have been hanged for it publically and that's fair enough." Even Craig acknowledges we stuffed up, so my advice to you is to accept it was a poor pick. Clearly recruiters aren't going to get every pick right, but it hurts when you stuff up top 20 picks, let alone top 10. Let's hope that Blease, Tapscott, Strauss and Gysberts can repay the faith the club has shown. They need to, because when you look at who we've missed we're coming from a long way back. Supporters can wax on about development and to an extent there's validity in those comments, but in the main we simply haven't drafted well. The constant excuses by some for our inept recent selections need to stop. We need to get the next ones right and hope there's a star, or two on the horizon. If we do our fortunes will change far quicker than many realise. If we don't it will be a long haul.

Do I possess psychic powers, or was this article just a re-hash of what we've all known for a year?

This thread is exactly why the AFL should change the rules so that... Every team plays every other team by end of Round 17 At the end of Rd 17 the draft order is set. This removes any motivation or talk about the benefits of losing (improving draft position) from Round 18 to 22/23. It makes winning the unambiguous goal of every team, even if they are playing new players, and shipping their established players of for early surgery, etc...

We can have midfielders as well. I don't really see how my thinking is too restrictive. Big forwards provide structure and targets for those further up field. Cloke & Clark can be interchangeable if required. Which midifielders do you think we should get if we're not going to spend the spare cash on Cloke? We will be getting some in the draft though I assume you have some lined up for the trade period as well?

90% of the time a ruckman will be under the instruction to handball so I believe it's lazy midfielders not getting around him, or half backs not providing the run, especially in a stopped play where he has marked it! If he is under pressure of course a kick forward is the only option! I'm not really worried about a ruckmans kicking, more so his athleticism around the ground, marking and tap work and his ability to Shepard and chase, spencer is definitely improving in all of the above characteristics, and will definitely be improving at a rapid rate! Hopefully jamar has two more weeks off so spencer can come up against Jacobs and sandi two of the best in the game

Yes. I was there and the highlight was the tribute to Jimmy including a wonderful speech from Trish Silvers (Broadbridge). We left before the final total for the night was announced but I would be surprised if we don't make the target for the night. There were a few rumours circulating about player movements both to and from the club but I don't believe it would be appropriate to comment on speculation. Great news about Sam Blease who I was worried might be lured away to GWS - yes that was a rumour that went wrong and it's why we should be loathe to deal in rumours.

Clark would play 0-40 metres from goal, being the high marking, goal-kicking forward. Cloke would play 40-80 out leading up to the wings and being the link man between half-back and getting the ball down to Clark. He can also bomb them from 55-60 out occasionally as well. I don't see the conflict.

Was gonna say he could buy some, but his Dad would probably eat them... Or at least cast them in the pit with the rancor....

Poor Tom, he has no friends.

Mark Jamar (calf) 1-Season