Leaderboard

That vibe is just a psychological defence mechanism, sorry to break it to you. I feel illogically optimistic most weeks; I've learned to ignore it. We are going to get reamed.

You have demonstrated to me and most on here with this post, your clear hypocritical attitude.You have said previously this Board was pathetic in not telling the AFL everything about the Dank affair and yet you condemn Joe for telling the truth to the AFL about systematic cheating on the salary cap. At the same time you don't mention those that were responsible for it, the Board at the time. You attack him for his corporate life and I am not defending that or commenting on it, as I don't know all that you know, but you fail to mention the fact that he donated $2.7m to save the cub and opposed the merger with others like Brian Dixon. For what it is worth I can give you another fact to digest, he is one of the biggest donors to Jewish and Non Jewish charities in Australia. He has personally helped many many families and individuals in Australia and there are plenty of hospitals and educational facilities that see him differently to you. Why the f..k would anyone help this club when they are opened to this sort of garbage attack on them. Please feel free to defame at your leisure.

Oh, he would be in the 18. He would be getting 30 touches against GC and GWS and 15 against every other team. He would yell, and scream, and point - and we would be having the very same conversations about the future of the list that we are having now. That isn't to say that Moloney should not have been kept - I would have kept him. But the evocations of Moloney's use is being so inflated that I had to post in this thread: if he were at the club we would be exactly where we are.

If what Barret said is true then Neeld's biggest weakness is his lack of perception and dealing with reality. If he expects to be there to see out his 5 year plan he is delusional. If his original plan was to take us to the disgustingly low level he has overseen, why not tell us so? All we have heard about fitness levels, performance etc have been HIS OPINION and I have no respect for his opinion any more. "Didn't see it coming" and "It is what it is" show he is a one trick pony with 1 plan and when it isn't working he has no plan B. He cannot even admit he maybe wrong. Another Barret quote "I will not changer anything I am doing" Arrogant pigheaded and WRONG. No self respecting Football department would accept a rebuild that took a club to the depths of despair. I dare him to back up "This is what I expected" with what he presented to the board and if they accepted this why FFS did they think it OK to disenchant every single supporter and sponsor and the AFL. As I repeatedly say the Swans and Kangas declared in the market place they can never bottom out as they don't think they will survive and I fear we won't without the AFL coming to our rescue!!!

I know it's not the Dees but I have just witnessed one of the more biased umpiring performances of all time. Talk about getting WCE home. Am I that wrong or were there a series of decisions that brought them back into the contest?

As you said, we can't afford to loose Col. 3 year deal and make this man a Demon for life, I've been impressed with his work rate this season. Would be a huge boost for the club (and Neeld) if this can get done soon! After Col our attention can then turn to big Max.

And you of course donated $2.7m to the MFC and was one of the main people rallying people in opposing the merger.I think I recall your posts back then, telling us to refuse his money, which saved the club at the time and urging everyone to accept the merger. You are obviously a fan of the fine job Szondy did for this club, nearly destroying it. Unbelievable!!!!!

I reckon we'll be right in it for at least a good part of the first quarter.

This actually puts the heat right back on the Board. Either Neeld is right, and he's doing exactly what the Board (on behalf of the club) want him to do. In which case the ownership of the "plan" lies with the Board. This would surely make the Board's position untenable. The President now needs to answer whether Neeld is in fact doing what they want him to do, and if yes, then explain to us what and why. Or Neeld is not right, has seriously misrepresented the club by saying that he's only doing what they wanted him to do. In which case his position is untenable. Either way, what Neeld said is more than trying to spin his way out of trouble; it's throwing petrol on the fire. Providing, of course, that Barrett hasn't seriously misrepresented his discussions with Neeld. Which can never be discounted as a possibility. But if he hasn't, what Neeld told him would indicate we're in even bigger trouble.

Poor Beamer. Best & Fairest and 7th in the Brownlow in 2011 & Vice-Captain. Then this loser coach comes in and tells him he is nothing and finished, drops him or green vest. Before you know it we lose a lifelong Demon who still has plenty of quality football left in him. Oh and he is a midfielder... and we need midfielders. Then the loser coach has the gall to imply "we offered him money but he went elsewhere for more money". That is straight up lying to the public. We have a weak and desperate coach who is costing us our best talent.

I think David Schwarz would make an excellent media personality. When PJ said we needed to bring in the best people in the business, I'm very doubtful that he was implying Ox. Your "good source" is yanking your chain.

One would have to say, what is the rush? Were there other suitors out there clambering to get him? I would doubt that very much. As has been said, surely one would only sign established players before the end of any season, let alone the season we are having. What exactly does he offer? Was it the same person at the club who gave Newton his hundred year extension?? Have the goat photos been passed on to him??

Evans showed a bit from day one. But then got injured and was out for the better part of two years. Don't see any injuries restricting Pedersen

I understand Dawes recruitment I understand the recruitment of Byrnes I get why we got Rodan This one has always escaped me. It's not as though he was being kept out of North's forward line by Carey & Longmire

Ah screw it, whatever. Should've made it four, let's get crazy.

Relax, we've got this...

I really like what both of you are saying BUT BUT BUT BUT 1. this is why working on moloney and rivers was so important and such a big fail; 2. this is why failing to promote magner and play him at the first opportunity was such a fail; 3. this is why neeld's initial shirty, judgemental manner was such a big fail; 4. this is why neeld's inconsistent and undermining treatment of watts is such a big fail; Neeld might well have lots of good reasons to do what he has done but he has totally failed - and I mean totally - to see how to do it. Kids need help. They need motivation and rewards. Expecting that to be self-generated is effing silly. Some personalities also need that internal release - to have someone tell them what to do and keep it simple. Having too many serious responsible types lends itself to a certain type of management...which appears to have been absent from the start. Now we are getting too little too late. Neeld may have lots of the right ingredients to manage, but the first bloody skill is to know where your players are and know what motivates them at the start. That can be transformed over time...but not to start with. I'm sure people in the leadership industry can post about transformational leadership - starting with charismatic leaders and then becoming more empowering and less directly inspiring far better than I. Jimmy is an example of a charismatic leader...who left a poxy process behind him. Neeld has been too much process and not enough charisma. Neeld has skipped steps and retreating aint working. When faith in the integrity of a leader is gone (see gillard) it almost never comes back. Stop-loss time.

I'm not quite sure whether I'm more shocked that you posted this or whether people liked it.. You realise we live in 2013 not in the 1920's it's important to include women in the AFL these days. What does sitting on the bottom of the ladder have to do with doing good initiatives. If you're not winning on the field you should be doing MORE initiatives. Good on the club for bringing women into the club, if I was a 22 year old girl and would never get the chance to play AFL or at the top level purely because of my gender I'd be devastated. Melbourne and the Dogs have given these women one opportunity to play in true jumpers, with I imagine real umpires and a crowd that they've wanted their whole career. Your last sentence is embarrassing and christ sake Oli you've written some crap over the years but this is a new low. Quite frankly give all of them a contract because my guess is they will try a **** load harder than the male equivalents at the moment.

NO we dont need to chase him. We need MIDS, MIDS, MIDS. I thought that was pretty obivious.

Couldn't agree more... shame he couldn't have shown more leadership quality at the Dees and, despite being dropped from the leadership group and the vice captaincy, made an effort to prove the coach wrong instead of sulking and, to use his own words, dropping his bundle.

Yes, he was dropped from the leadership group... a real leader would have gone on to prove the coach had made a wrong decision and work his arse off to get back into the leadership group. Let's face it, Moloney along with a number of other senior players, had gone missing all to often when it really mattered... and that was under Bailey as much as it was under Neeld. As far as wondering how many current players are feeling that way, I'm sure you would like to think it is most of the team...but in reality, there probably may be one or two, but generally, I think you will find that most feel the same way that Garland, Dawes and others have expressed in the media of late.

Neeld's biggest weakness is the supporters who want him sacked every five minutes

get down to training and watch him at work, or watch him on the players box on the boundry line during a game. might wake you up a bit. cheers.

I'm gobsmacked that some supporters can't see that we need to go after midfielders.

Nah, we would be better off spending that money on possibly 2 A grade Mids.

nah mate, got Dawes, Clark and Hogan. We got enough. Just gotta get players who can get the ball down to them, and get the ball down to them with decent kicks. Buddy isn't the answer to our woes, believe me.

Wow the Selwoods drive me crazy the way they drop the shoulders ins contest for a free kick. Its borderline cheating

Why would we want to lose another experienced player, and pick up someone else from another club that no-one else wants? We need to stand up and show our boys a bit of loyalty, if we expect them to show it to us in return. The last few years we have been very disloyal, discarding players for no good reason and then picking rejects to 'replace' them. This must be very disheartening to those that remain - and not very good for their mind set. I know that Col has shown more promise than he has delivered, but I still think we can't afford to lose him. We want to make Melbourne a club people want to stay at, rather than one where they jump before they are pushed.

The man has had gambling problems, but let's not be above making jokes please? It's part of what makes living in a free world great. I've heard it said that comedy = tragedy + time

Repeat after me: Presidents aren't just figureheads. Presidents aren't just figureheads. Presidents aren't just figureheads.

I admire your loyalty. Generally I hate early sacking of a coach. But do yourself a favor and watch the highlights from Dees v Ess R11 in 2011. (the link is onthe post "when we were good) That's right! Less than 2 years ago. Watch the extraordinary skills, both of a number of players still with us, and less satisfactorily, of those who are gone.Watch their enthusiasm for the game and incidentally, of the crowd. THIS WAS THE LIST NEELD TOOK OVER! it was not crap at all, it was young, promising, lacking in experience, but with great attacking flair. A couple of weeks before the match v Ess we beat the Crows by 96 points. The week after the Ess match we drew with the Pies. Later we beat Freo by 98 points. One cannot think about all this without admitting that the list has deteriorated immensely. The few experienced players have been sidelined and down rated. 2 kids have had to act as captain, to their footballing detriment This was the list Neeld took over. It was not a bad list at all, as all commentators at the end of 2010 commented. I simply cannot nderstand how he can get away with the excuses. Not fit--BS! Lacking in character--rubbish. For whatever reason Neeld simply hasn't worked out. Stop the recriminations, but make the change now. There is not the slightest point in waiting.

My understanding is that Cameron Schwab and the MFC parted ways for personal differences between them not related to the operation of the club. Source: Gutnick himself. Ray Ellis was CEO at the club during Gabriel Szondy's presidency. Schwab had nothing to do with the club at the time. He was at Fremantle. Ellis was the CEO who was said to have "lost" tax bills in his drawer. We're not sure what lines of communication there were between Ellis, Szondy and the other members of the MFC board at the time. Finally, if anyone wants to make derogatory or defamatory statements about Joseph Gutnick or any other person on this site then they should be prepared to identify themselves personally and provide an address for service of writs. If not, the moderators reserve the right to remove your posts.

There is irony in the thread title. I thought Dempsey was a 'footballer', not a 'football'.

I think there's a very good chance that Moloney liked his role under Bailey and wished it could have continued. When it didn't under Neeld, he felt overly-disenfranchised. Where Neeld failed was in being able to connect with Moloney and get the best out of him.

Satriconhome I don't know how you defend this guy or his selection. He was a bit player at North. He is 25 and has played a total of 20 games, 4 at the dees. His highlights reel is all from one game at north. Does that not suggest something Every thing I have seen from him in his 4 games at the Dees screams "very Ordinary" Whatever we are paying him is too much

Is this the right room for an argument?

Averaging 25 touches and over 5 tackles... Yeah we don't need that in our stellar midfield

Should listen to her again. She's a Carlton member who said she would be proud to wear the Red & Blue simply because of the support we have given to women's football. Good enough for me.

How is promoting womens' football a case of "political point scoring and social equity"?? This is something the club committed to some time ago and as such should be followed through with. Finally it brings womens' AFL into focus with a wider audience, albeit for a brief moment, and will hopefully promote interest in the various womens' leagues around the country. As well as performing well in the AFL, our business should also be about promoting the game and promoting health and fitness... the fact that our mens' team is a basket case at the moment should not detract from that and should not mean that this promotion should take a back seat. And I think that you will find that apart from yourself and a couple of others on this board, most probably do give a "fat rats", or at the very least, don't object to it.

Whatevs...

So I'm guessing he's expecting to get fired during the season.

The MFC's biggest weakness is supporters who encourage mediocrity

The issue I have with losing Beamer for no adequate compensation is simple: - we need hard bodied, senior midfielders, perhaps more than any other team in the competition - Moloney is a hard bodied, experienced midfielder - it is hard to attract such players to this club, especially without having to pay 'overs' for them - Moloney was at our club, was a lifelong Demons fan, and with any level of respect being shown to him would presumably have stayed - he clearly would be on our team sheet this weekend if he were still at the club Why exactly did we lose his services again? My view - because Neeld likes to work with very specific personality types, and Beamer didn't fit the mould. On any construction, this is a failing of Neeld, and losing Moloney for no adequate compensation (ie, a commensurate midfielder) has turned out to be an error. It looked like a dud call at the time, and IMO it has turned out to be one. Not fighting harder to retain Rivers was also an error. He's in Geelong's best 21 for Christ's sake. Neeld took a fairly high risk approach on the way he treated our incumbent senior leaders upon taking the reigns. I expect it was calculated. It seems to me that this approach was a pretty big miscalculation in the circumstances. Probably made sense on paper - made no sense in reality.

I am genuinly more excited about this match than the Richmond one! (no joke) I hope Toumpas is playing VFL this week (not ready for AFL) and looking forward to watching Hogan, Taggert, Blease, Kent, Barry and Fitzpatrick. A Saturday game yay!

He admitted to dropping his bundle last year... not the kind of behaviour you would expect from someone who believed he shouldn't have been dropped from the leadership group.

Riiiiiiiiight.... So we should sign Buddy as a midfielder?! FMD. Sorry, but you earned this.....

As devils advocate, is neeld of the opinion that he is on track because he was set the tasks of: -Bringing our fitness up to AFL levels -Removing the tail wagging the dog culture -Developing young leaders It is not unreasonable to expect a 2 or 3 year turn around on a problem like that, given the list can only be turned over so many at a time, and only so many experienced and quality additions can be added due to availability. Also, such a gutting of the club to change inherent problems is bound to have a short term detrimental affect on performance due to removal of so many key on field people for off field reasons. If this is truly the task he was set - rebuild from the ground up - would we expect better results?

Just trade Strauss for Fyfe, Seller for Buddy, Nicholson would secure us Daisy and maybe package a 5th round pick with Ro Bail to secure Ablett.

Well, there goes her development!

The devil's advocate is strong in this one - potential to be a troll like Wilson this one has