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Nice one Tex Double spacing really gives your rant more ... .. .. emphasis Oh, and can you provide a link for this? (Oh and Petterd on the verge of superstardom? Damn, he was getting a long bloody run up then!)

I think I noticed a pattern. First he typed something. Then he pressed Enter. Twice. Then he typed something else. Then he again pressed Enter. Twice. Then he did it again. Not only was what he said funny. The way he said it. Was. Funny. Too.

Neeld knows the reality of coaching at AFL level. It's not a fairytale. If, after three years, he hasn't radically changed the culture and performance of this club, he's gone. And he's not taking any chances with the list. He's imposing his style on it. If he gets it wrong, he knows what will happen - and it won't be you Tex who loses the gig. Personally, I will be disappointed if Gysberts goes - but, then again, I trust Neeld's judgement on such players over my own. If true, the real pity is in the blown opportunities - Gysberts over Talia, and Cook over Darling, are tragedies of almost Shakespearean proportions. And it's bloody annoying too, given that most Demonlanders were calling for these selections to be made at the time, only for our expert recruiter (BP) to go completely left field and blow up each of these picks. Clearly, our list is not as good as the media, and perhaps Tex, thinks it is/was. Don't blame Neeld for that - he's merely trying to fix it.

For the first time in years I'm actually excited about the direction the club is taking. Cutting spuds and seeing the backs of average veterans makes me happy. I just hope they keep on chopping as some of the deadwood is starting to get covered in ivy. Guys like Cook, Gysberts, Morton, Moloney, Bate, Bennell, Davey are just not good enough to play key roles in our future team. Neeld has my support as a tough and uncompromising coach. Something this club has needed for a long long time. As a player you need to be willing to extract 100% from yourself for the benefit of your teammates first, your club second and yourself third. That is what makes great players, COMMITMENT. If you haven't got it Fark off

L O L

More principle than fact..... Yeah yeah yeah. Let's not put the spotlight on our precious players. Let's not put the spotlight on the perennial underperformers. Let's not put the spotlight on the downhill skiiers. Let's not put the spotlight on those who cancel training sessions. Let's not put the spotlight on those that crack up because our club finally has AFL standard training and they think it's too hard. Let's instead put the spotlight on a first year coach who came from a flag winning club where he was directly responsible for one of the best midfields of the modern game, who pointed out the massive and long standing flaws with our club and will put his neck and career on the line to change them. Yeah, ok. Sensible outlook

I've done some extensive research into drafting over the last 5 minutes. Some say drafting is not an exact science, well I think I've come up with a formula to guaran-damn-tee us drafting success. Throw some decent coin at Craig Cameron and Big Bad Bazza Prendagast to return to the club and lead up the recruiting department. Come draft day, draft anyone that these two bozo's don't have on their list. Watch our hit rate suddenly sky rocket.

The spuds at our club that think that they can coast while they are here and then just jump to another club when they get hurt feelings by being told they aren't up to it, really want to have a good hard look at where the players of the past five years have ended up.

I think you've come up with something really novel there Tex. Instead of being his own man and attempting to mould a dysfunctional team with a list which failed to cut it against the leading teams in the competition, Neeld should revert to the methods of coaches and football philosophies that got us into this mess in the first place. If the football department holds the view that a particular player doesn't fit in with the style of play the coach is adopting, if he doesn't play or train hard enough, if he's lost interest or if he's just no good, let's keep him on the list for a decade or so and something might just happen!

Funny though ... in the long run it may actually turn out to be one of the best. Finally someone - Neeld - is taking a stand and saying "we're not putting up with this [censored] anymore". There's a definite change in ethos occurring here.

This site is slowly growing on me...some of the 10 page drafting threads read like Cheech and Chong but with haircuts and wearing suits but this one...this one is GOLD. More please Tex,its a long off season and Blueys posts are usually terse and quickly digested

I stopped reading here.

I haven't read the whole thread, so words to this effect may have already been said. But: 'I didn't want to go overseas and get my manager Bruce to ring up Mark Neeld and say Brent wants to leave. I wanted to sit down with him and talk to him about it and that's what we did'. Memo, Tom Scully: this is how you do it. From: http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/147042/default.aspx

Unwatchable? I'd give anything to see our club playing that high intensity stuff for even 5 minutes during the game. That's what finals football is all about.

The funniest part is that Craig Cameron has stuffed up with Addam Maric, twice!

Is it possible that we can just keep the BP bashings to just one thread? Perhaps we can get Ranegy to start a new one up for us. At the end of the day, we've picked what we picked. For all of BP's so-called F-ups, he's also provided us with some good footballers, such as Howe, Tom McDonald and Blease. I'm not sticking up for him, I'm just getting bored of reading a thread about an individual player/s and always seeing criticism about BP. Let's move on, and for those that don't want to, give them somewhere to whinge, not taking over every thread.

Neeld can sack anyone he feels like as far as I'm concerned. I'm not backing the players one inch. They lost me against Geelong last year.

I'm just glad we finally have a coach with the guts to make unusual moves. Following the beaten path will never produce results.

I'm interested in, recent and ones before I was born, goals in which you simply went nuts over the most. It gave you a license to just simply go nuts and yell as loudly and wildly as you could. I'm going to start of and say Jeff white vs western bulldogs '05. Needed to kick it to keep us in the finals race with just 1 game, and a couple of minutes to go. Talk about pressure! Miss it, you're out of the finals race , win and you're just about in. I went buzzurk like no other goal.

In the following two photos one of these players has been on an AFL list for 3 years and the other has been part time for a year. One is committed to being the best he can be and the other gets blown over in the wind. One has endurance and the other sleeps with an oxygen mask. One is quick and the other slow. One is a culture changer and the other needs changing. Both of these photos were taken on the same day this year. One is 18 and the other 21. I'll let you work it out Tex:

Gumby and Hogan would be my preference. Mainly because I'd laugh at yelling "GUMBY!!!" and doing a Col Klink impression "Hogan!".

This is a horrendous argument - 'We finished 16th, now we're clearing the dead weight...Why ARGH, Let's keep the crap that got us to 16th!' Neeld was appointed September last year, there's only so much you can do to a list in one off season, when you really have little knowledge of the players. Now Neeld has a true opportunity to put his stamp on the list and shape it in his image - give him 2013. One example: Colin Sylvia's second half of the season. While some may bemoan the fact he isn't kicking 5 goals a game, Sylvia transformed his game and played to the plan - this will bring dividends. Some real quality defensive work coming from no. 12, look for him to have a big year in 2013 after a lesson in what it takes to be an impact HFF in 2012

Just to clarify, Jack Fitzpatrick was overlooked all year for senior action (aside from two fleeting appearances) and was clearly not part of Neeld's plans at any stage, but come VFL finals time he is such an integral part of the MFC that he must be rushed into surgery immediately. Similarly, we would not have seen Jake Spencer at senior level this year, if Jamar had not been injured, but Spencer must be taken out of action as soon as we tick into September to protect such a valued commodity. As other have said, the best thing for young players is to be getting experience in big games and it is a disgrace that the MFC is so eager to shaft Casey each year.

Thread is becoming like people discussing politics, just making any outrageous comment to try and boost their position.

Gysberts came to PS training in awful shape. So did Blease. Blease worked his arse off and was rewarded. Gysberts didn't and his future is up in the air. Face facts people: we are not in a position to let kids coast on our list. The list will change - get over it.

Where can make a donation to buy Tex a new keyboard. The enter key must be in pieces after that furious outburst.

The real denial lies in those that thought we were travelling OK under the old regime Jam your 8.5 wins last year, the club was already a mess when Neeld got his hands on it. thank god he at least has the balls to step on toes and take a long term view instead of accepting the odd massacre of non-Victorian teams at the 'G and/or expansion teams as 'progress'

that show rubs me up the wrong way at times, i understand its a indigenous football program but why the hell when they are showing the teams for the week do they have to highlight the indigenous boys? can you imagine the up roar if the footy show highlighted all the white fellas? (P.s Im a proud half Aboriginal, but at times i feel that we are quick to throw around the race card but we can be just as bad!!) Gilbert shut your mouth you idiot, you have no idea!!

This bad boy, which suckered me into supporting this godforsaken club.

Or Tex's Chainsaw Massacre

Unlike the rest of us.

Gysberts will still kick it to us. Relax

Gilbert McADam has done for sensible football commentary what Mozart did for Panel Beating .

I'll put up my hand and say I thought we should have given Maric another year. Delisted after one year at Richmond suggests he's not up to it. I was wrong.

I don't see Martin as surplus as many here do, but if he is to be traded, I wonder what we'd be after. In terms of draft picks, their first pick (20-24) would be on the lower end of the scale of what we could get for him. Jolly (15), Wood (14), Brooks (7) and Ottens are some examples of ruckmen traded for first round picks in the last decade. If we were after picks it'd likely need to be their first and second picks for our third rounder, which would likely be 4-6 spots apart. While that's not great, I'd assume that's something similar to what would need to happen to bridge the gap. As for players, Wellingham or Dawes are names thrown around here I could see the club being interested in. Wellingham's got to decide if it's Sharon or Jarrod though. You can't wear a blazer with a name like Sharrod.

Once we hit 200 posts on the thread.... expect to see Kim Hagdorn all over it!

I'm sorry they missed the 2010 and 2011 Grand Finals then.

I think I just found the third face.

I agree The people saying cutting Cook is the wrong move are the same people that say we waited too long to pull the trigger on blokes like Bate If Cook was still on the list in 4 years time, they'd probably say "we should've traded him when he had some value"

Neeldy's first address to the players. I don't think he could make it any clearer that if you don't meet a certain level of commitment, you don't play. Looks like Gysberts was an abject failure in this regard. Once again, poor recruiting. [media=]

I don't agree with everything the OP said, but geez I'll be very disappointed if Gys has been cut. Has a heap of talent, something we sorely lack in the midfield amongst our current meat and potatoes lineup. It will raise questions about Neeld, as in, has he got the skills to get the best out of players or does he just cut anyone who can't do it by themselves?

wow...i'm not sure what world you're living in mate....but i don't give a sh*t who plays for us next year, just as long as we're winning.

Looks like we didn't get value in the Brock trade after all.

I think this is my que to post something!I've been a lurker for the past few months but i've been only following AFL since last year so my knowledge of the sport wouldn't be that advanced although i have enough knowledge to know that Carlton Essendon Collingwood and Hawthorn are not worthy of my support!I wanted to support a Melbourne based team so the club that bears the citys name was the obvious choice.It's A Grand Old flag is by far the best theme song in the afl and a lot of people in Ireland would have a soft spot for Melbourne FC because of Jim Stynes and Sean Wight.I bought the illustrated history of Melbourne as a birthday present and i really enjoyed reading about the time when the dees where known as the fuschias to the Checker Hughes and Norm Smith era's.This was a tough season but Dean Bailey left a very poor setup behind him so i'll only start judging Mark Neeld from next year onwards.Im actually hoping for a finals push if the right draft picks are bought in.Anyway that's my story and as for this talk about this club standing for nothing.Jim Stynes helped to clear this clubs debt while he was dying from cancer.If Jim felt it worthy to put this club priorities before his health then this club must stand for something.btw Wouldn't it be great to win the 13th flag for Jim and Troy Broadbridge.I don't know when that will happen but i do know that the dees time will come.

The jeff White goal I went so spasatic that I slashed the front of my shin as I fell between the seat and back rest, I don't even remember jumping onto the seat in the firsts place.

I figured it was something like that. My guess was "he who fornicated us an*lly" But that didn't seem logical considering he has done us a favour, so I propose a new name... HWRALASKWWPABMWBGAAIBTHPPITGFSTWRITT100PASFHTPFTGUAGKOTDWAA2PDPTWFOTCHCERTU,OAINLHAAHHSH. He who ran away like a spoilt kid who was promised a BMW but got an Audi instead, becoming the highest paid player in the game for someone that wouldn't register in the top 100 players and simultaneously forgot how to play football therefore giving us a goodbye kiss on the dick with an additional 2 prime draft picks that will far outweigh the contribution he could ever return to us, oh and I never liked him anyway and he has stupid hair. Far catchier I think.

Heavy stuff indeed!

Grimes could have said "I'm not going to insult your intelligence with yet more empty promises. What I can say is that we've let the supporters down this year and we're going to make amends by training as hard as we can over the summer and as captain I'm going to make it my business to make sure that every player in the club buys into the coaches' plans for 2013 and beyond". If he'd said that he's have won some respect instead of looking like the Cameron Bruce of his generation.

Thanks. Seems so obvious now that I'm a little embarrassed I had to ask!