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You better read it again, he was fair and blamed no one but himself for his loss of form. He didn't blame the club at all and said he enjoyed being with us. All he said was that the WC mids trained harder and that is probably correct.

Okay so great win by the scorps. They were certainly the better side on the day, although they had a very poor first half of the 1st and 4th quarters where Geelong scored about 8-9 of their goals... Their tackling was excellent, that was the big thing I noticed, especially after watching the Dees pathetic attempts at tackling in the Freo game. Couch, Rodan, Spencer, Casey's 3, 13 and 10 (sorry, don't know their names) they hunted and gang tackled and it was great to see. I was there with my wife so I can't say I was paying 100% attention but here's a rundown of what I saw: Spencer: A lot of taps but a bunch of them went straight to cats players, got around the ground well, took some very nice big marks, but made some pretty basic errors too. Not worthy of a call up IMO. Pedo: Wow. Seriously, if this guy doesn't come straight in for Sellar then someone's on the drugs that killed River Pheonix. He hit the packs hard, rebounded well, and showed something you don't often see in the dees backline. The balls to take the game on and kick long and well. He took pack marks, peeled off his man and linked up, and a number of times he made 2nd or 3rd efforts which were goal saving tackles or bumps. Seriously, I was shocked how good this guy played. He did concede a few goals but often that was because of quick turnovers from the middle of the ground he couldn't do much about. He also cleared the backline with pinpoint 50 metre kicks on a number of occasions. Definite IN for next week. Couch: In everything early and in many ways kept Casey in the game in the first half. His contested work was bloody good, tackling and harrying and bumping and harassing and just pushing the ball forward. Definitely one of the Casey's best. Blease: Sam would have only had a handful of possesions and I'm not sure if even one of them was effective. In the 2nd term he danced around three defenders on the last line of defence, desperately trying to take the game on rather than handballing off to one of the four teammates standing within 15 metres of him then hit a pinpoint pass to a cats player all on his own 45 metres out directly in front of goal. It was possibly the worst individual effort I can remember seeing on the footy field. To make matters worse, he got cleaned up after disposing of the ball and was groggy as all hell and didn't come back on. Clisby: Was really impressed by this guy. Found the ball in close and used it well in space. Seems to have footy smarts and is a courageous player. Tynan: Wasn't involved much at all, did a few good things but didn't notice him much. Taggert: Really good game from this guy, broke the lines a few times, seemed to play in the middle a little bit and got a few clearances. Like Clisby, was strong and courageous and really took the game on. Rodan: Massive game, was very influential. Laid a bunch of excellent tackles, got a heap of clearances, was a real catalyst for the run of goals in the third term and played a leadership role, constantly encouraging and directing his teammates at stoppages. Macdonald: Was good, dependable. Didn't see him make a mistake (which was a change from his AFL games!) His kicking seems to have improved. I'd like to know his effectiveness stats because I didn't see him miss a target by hand or foot. Kent: Was involved a little but nothing he did was terribly impressive. Work rate seemed high but not a lot of impact. Barry: Played well, was encouraging. Drifted in and out of the game but showed he is up to the standard of VFL firsts. Was very elusive and had a few scoring involvements. Fitz: His ruck work didn't seem that great to me but wow did he make the most of his opportunities up forward. He really used his height and speed well in front of goals and was on the end of a few ripper passes from his teammates, including Hogan. He crumbed and snapped goals, he goaled on the lead and is worthy of a call up this week. His sealer goal was might impressive. Fifty out on the boundary with Geelong having all the momentum, he lined up sideways and snapped it through, a seriously clutch goal. Should take Gawn's spot IMO. Hogan: Okay now I know people are keen to hear about his game today and for the first 20 minutes of the game i don't think he had a touch. However, just before quarter time he dragged in a big pack mark over three Casey players and although he hit the post with the set shot from then on he was on fire. He took marks on the lead, he crumbed and snapped goals, he tackled ferociously winning a number of free kicks, he was seriously impressive. What excited me was that he was sooo smart with his leading. He knew instinctively how to outposition his opponent and then to lose him on the lead. With a bit better delivery he would have have 8 goals. He also led right up the ground on numerous occosions and delivered effectively, setting up a few goals for his teammates. Not only that but with fifteen minutes to go and the Cats playing all over the Scorps, he was placed behind the ball in the backline and took a number of intercept marks, and tackled and harassed really well, stopping one or two shots on goal that would have seen the cats hit the front had they resulted in goals. He also directed his teammates down there and told them when to slow it down and chip it around when geelong weren't manning up but when they did man up he was demanding, screaming they kick long down the line. Wowee, seriously this was a captains game. He was the best player on skilled stadium today and given he is only 17... we seriously need to find a way to start getting the footy inside fifty next year because this guy will do the rest... Okay that's all I can remember and the GP is about to start sorry if I missed anyone but go Scorps!

TBH I don't know how you can argue with his article at all.

I go to support the players out on the ground every week, whether they win or lose. Old fashioned? Boring? It's just the way I was taught to support my team.

I've lost count of the number of times you have said "The club will be dead by then" (usually a year, 2 years, end of someone's contract). It started in 2008. Forgive us if your comment holds no weight. "Look! A wolf!!! No seriously, I swear that this time there really is a wolf!"

Neeld is not the sole problem. He's one of the many problems. We are basically back to 2008 now. We are only 9 rounds into a rebuild remembering Neeld came into a club that was marketed as the best available coaching job. 4 years into a rebuild, ready for someone to come in a reap the rewards of baileys work. Neeld got nothing out of that list. So now he is building Neelds list. Sure there were holes in our list, but a full rebuild? I don't think it was needed. A capable coach would have got us close to finals last year. Instead here we are, lower than we've ever been. So do you give the guy benefit of the doubt to see out his contract remembering he will only be 2 years into the rebuild where results like the weekend are expected (as they were in 08-09)? Or do we say sorry buddy, you've made way too many mistakes already and we don't trust you to improve your decision making skills to get this team to where it should be? Neeld is a Huge problem. The anger displayed at him from supporters is like none I've ever seen at this club. It can't be healthy for him, and it's not healthy at supporters. We shouldn't be hating our coach and our players. But as he says, "it is what it is". Yes it's unfair that Neeld is copping the brunt of 6 years of frustration from the supporters but the situation has reached tipping point. We needed the best leader we could possibly find, we unfortunately ended up with this guy. 2 interviews with players moved on last year and playing reasonable footy at the moment (moloney and petterd) that really confirm some of our fears of neelds man management skills. They both credit this years form to a coach that believed in them. The answers in the interviews were almost identical. Neeld will go, and I hope for his sakes it's sooner rather than later. We have to remember this guy is a human, has a family. It would be pretty horrible being mark Neeld. I really can't imagine what he is going through. The guy has the right intentions, has come in with his vision and he's style of tough leadership he thought was required to turn it around. I honestly think one of the big problems is the admin wanted to bring in someone to change the sick culture of the club when it was obvious our football department is the reason for this horrible culture. It's poor, unorganised, unprofessional, no structure. Peter Jackson has already identified this. Neeld you will go, but rest assured the rest of the clowns in the office will be Walking out with you.

So how do you fix this problem? If you delist all 15 of your NQR players at once, you go so deep in to the draft that you're finding 8 more Nicholsons, Couches and Bails, only now they have zero games experience rather than 30 to 50. If you are lucky you might find a Matt Jones or two, but while he is handy, that hardly seems like the path out of oblivion.No, the replacement of NQRs has to be piecemeal, otherwise the very real possibility is the side getting even worse. Don't think that is possible? Neither did I until this year. Delisting players currently in our best 22 is not going to help us at all, because they have to be replaced with someone.

Can I ask again that people please stop quoting Satyr. It defeats the purpose of putting him on ignore. Cheers.

I've been as frustrated as the rest of you with the performances this year, but after each big loss which at the time seems unexpected, I find it useful to sit back, remove emotion from the equation and consider the lists and clubs who have handed us the latest belting. The two that stand out in most people's memories are the Gold Coast loss, and the Freo game. The first two rounds were obviously also very hard to take. However, upon reflection I think we are underrating the teams that are giving us these beltings. Firstly, the Gold Coast. They have now beaten all four teams that are also in a rebuilding phase (GWS, Melb, Dogs, Saints) and pushed the premiership favourites only to go down by just over 4 goals. Upon reflection, do I think we were favourites for that game based on a list comparison....hell no. Our experienced senior players do not hold a light to there collective group of Ablett, Bock, Brennan, Rischetelli, Brown and even Hunt (in terms of approach to the game). Secondly, our young developing players do not compare to their group. Now onto Freo. Going into this game, they had just drawn with Sydney on the SCG while undermanned, they had also just beaten Collingwood by just under 5 goals with a depleted side, and sat 4th on ladder despite all their injuries. In short, they are a bloody good side. A top 4 side now, and probably for the rest of the season. So should we be surprised they belted us...probably not. But the reality is, that it's the perceived "lack of effort" that is killing us as supporters, and making our team harder and harder to watch. But is the lack of effort of Neeld's doing??? The more I read, the more I listen to what the players are saying, the less I believe it is. Originally Neeld said the club was 3 years behind the level of fitness required to play AFL football. Here's a simple thought; if a player is not fit enough to play against other AFL players, they are not going to catch them in a chase, they are not going to be able to run out games, and their skills will not be at the same level for as long as the fatigue earlier. I just noticed this article about our good mate Cale Morton about his time at West Coast so far (http://www.afl.com.au/news/2013-05-27/cale-morton). If anything, it highlights how right Neeld was with his comments about the fitness of our players, and the lack of leadership within the player group. Leadership that obviously wasn't coming from the senior players like Moloney and Rivers, who were present when Neeld came into the club. So let me paint a picture of what Neeld took on when he accepted the head coaching position. When Neeld took over this club after Bailey's tenure, he took on a list that had kicked out it's best leader, Jnr McDonald, and said goodbye to good clubmen like Yze, Miller, Robertson, and Bruce; lost Tom Scully due to financial incentives and (if Scully is to be believed) concerns around the leadership of the veterans on the club list; had training standards and fitness levels that would take 3 years to fix; had a core group of young inexperienced players that had never experienced an environment with real AFL level standards before; and a history of poor drafting and insufficient investment of funds into player development; but he took it on with an aim to turning the club around to become "the hardest team to play against" within 3-5 years. Now, some people seem to think that this can be fixed within 18 months. I think that is unrealistic. We have a team bereft of leadership, which is why we have two of the youngest captains in the history of the game. We have also said goodbye to some senior players during the last offseason and gotten younger again. We are now in a position where we have the 2nd least experienced team in the league. However, the foundations are there for change. Veteran players recognised as good clubmen, who are recognised for their attitude to training, as well as some seriously talented Key Position talent, have been recruited. Byrnes and Rodan were two such players recognised as good club men, who were brought into to help mentor the player group. Clarke and Dawes have been recruited to provide us with the most promising Key Forward combo this club has seen since the Neitz and Schwartz years. Players have been recruited to fill roles, and some good mature age recruits have been brought in to bolster the ranks (Pederson, Magner, Terlich, Couch, M Jones). All the while, some seriously promising young talent has been recruited (Toumpas, Hogan, Viney) while games have been poured into our developing list. Some players have also shown a new level of consistency not previously seen (N Jones, Sylvia (some may disagree on this one), Garland, Grimes) under previous coaches. There are a number of positives, to go along with the negatives. Some say blame Neeld, some say don't, blame the players instead. I say, the problems lie largely in the past, and have contributed to the poor practices that our current player group have displayed. Why, because when you look at everything that has happened, our club was a basket case before Neeld took over and changes were needed to turn it around. Those changes are currently being made, and I believe that we will not see the improvement we are all craving, until next year. And when I say improvement, I simply mean that we will jump over the Saints and Bulldogs on the ladder while holding off a developing GWS. But we shouldn't expect much more than that, because that's just not where we are at with our list. Many on here will disagree, and many will say, BUT IT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH!!. It may not be good enough for where we WANT this club to be. But we are where we are for a reason and I do not believe that the big improvement will come until next year, and the year following. For me, the benchmarks of our progress for the remainder of this season should be when we play St Kilda and the Bulldogs, two clubs I believe to be in a similar transition period to us, but with a better group of experienced leaders. Those are just my thoughts on where we are, agree or disagree I don't care.

how about you poll how many people would still go no matter who was coach?

I don't believe the list is that bad. It appears that way because for whatever reason they are not responding to the current coaching group. I personally think the only way forward is with some coaching changes.We need someone who the players, understand and are respond to. The chemistry just isn't right at the moment.

In many ways we have a great number of peope to blame for where we are at, perhaps too many to make blame worthwhile. From trades made long ago, to kids we didn't pick up for sanctions, to missed opportunities in important drafts, to a bad culture formented over generations, to poor list management, to never rectifying our lack of a midfield, to spurning Junior McDonald, to playing to players fears of their own incompetence and lack of experience. Neeld is not to blame for any of that save for the last one and some small things here and there. But he will, as all coaches do, see his destiny defined by what we do on the field. And what we have done on the field can be summed up in many words - none of them pleasant... The confidence that has been shattered since 186 was never repaired and while I don't want Jackson to act on Neeld until he knows what to do with the FD, I knew after the Essendon game that the MFC would move on before 2014. Our players and not great, they are not world beaters, but they can do more and play better than what they have shown. Is this entirely Neeld's fault? No, but he will own it. And that is footy.

Moderators, surely we cannot have well reasoned and measured posts like this on Demonland. Off with their heads.

Moloney is being made to look good by Simon Black, interesting that Brisbane are playing well when Black is back at full fitness Petterd was given a role, he still was making the same mistakes as when he was a Dees player Jack Hannath was going to be rookied, the Fremantle interest was unknown Neeld won't give a toss about abuse being hurled at him by supporters To categorize people who are trying to do their job under stress as 'clowns' really shows class, try being a bit constructive rather than destructive

The OP is both right and wrong. Neeld is not the sole problem. Those who suggest otherwise are being too simplistic. However, Neeld is definitely a source of our problems. He cannot escape liability for his poor game-day coaching, his poor PR, his poor player selection, and his apparent inability to implement his gameplan or instil confidence. Let's not howl down the OP for showing support for the coach. But, Dr M, I don't think it's correct to absolve Neeld of all blame.

I can fully understand people not attending because they are bored. Footy is ultimately entertainment, so if you're not enjoying yourself, you have the right not to attend. I don't understand not attending out of principle though. You achieve nothing but hurting the club by doing that.

We had 1 AFL standard midfielder playing yesterday, only 1, Trengove is cloase to making that 2 but needs more consistancy winning the footy. No team can compete with 1 quality midfielder. We play 4-5 small forwards that can't run through the midfielder, only Davey over the past 2 weeks has shown that he can spend time in the midfield, Jetta, Tapscott, Byrnes, Bail, put us four players down straight away, they don't impact the game on any front they don't give us forward pressure, they don,t impact the score board and they are unable to go through the midfield. The issue is at the moment we have no one to come in and have an impact, no one is ready for next week. We can bring in Fitzpatrick, MacDonald and Toumpas but the is card shuffling and will not make us more competitve. I feel sorry for Mark Neeld, he may be a good coach but he will never find out, he has got the worst midfield group in the AFL by an absolute mile. Give him the year, after this week and the bye week we start to get players back, Sylvia, Grimes, Clark, Viney, McDonald, these players do make a difference the last two are still young but are better than anything else we have. We have 5-6 games against bottom 8 clubs in the last half of the year, these games should decide Neeld's fait.

A little of both I'd say. The development in recent years has been hampered by the massive number of games lost to injuries to our young players. Strauss and Blease lost a year each to their broken legs, Nev has just finished his first full pre-season, Tapscott had a series of annoying issues requiring minor surgery, Fitzpatrick has had his CFS and Diabetes. In a sense you can forgive these players for not getting their act together sooner, but they have all been on the list for long enough that even taking those issues into account they should be further along than they are. Of course, the classic bad drafting choice is Cook. I know he was AA in the U18s, but surely they could see that he was another Panos? He was too slow and too soft to make anything of himself at AFL level. I have to wonder if this was a knee-jerk reaction to Tom Lynch being taken right before our pick, since I have no doubt we would have grabbed him if we could have. Equally, Tom Scully has never shown the quality you would expect of a number 1 pick, although he at least justifies his place on a list. Guys like Martin and Bastinac have shot right past him and are playing dominant roles for their clubs. Clearly our ability to spot major talent has been flawed in the past. Given that we now have a new recruiter in our club we can hope that this area at least will show some better results in the future.

get stuffed... you have no idea what the posters on here have done for the Club in good times and in bad. stop being so "holier that thou"

I don't believe the game plan matches the strength and weaknesses of our list. As just one example: I think we all agree that our biggest deficiency is our midfield, and thus clearance work. Certainly we have a lot of trouble getting our hands on the ball. The game plan we are currently playing, call it "Collingwood 2010" is well known and superseded. It relies on a dominant midfield as the ball is kicked out of defence, down the line, towards what should be a 2 on 1 or 3 on 2 situation in Melbourne's favour. However, we are not achieving the advantage as the opposition know exactly where we are going to kick it. The game plan theory is that if things don't turn out to plan, you get a contested situation and at least the ball should be able to be taken over the boundary between half back and the wing. If we had a dominant midfield and were winning the clearances this would be a good thing, however with a very weak midfield this is a loss as the chances of winning the clearance are heavily backed with the opposition. We should not be using this game plan. Not only is it old, and out-dated, to such an extent all teams know how to play against it and defeat it, it DOES NOT MATCH THE STREAGHTH AND WEAKNESSESS OF OUR LIST. To the contrary it further exposes our weak midfield. No wonder we are being smashed, no wonder we have no confidence. I could go on and on and talk about other examples that our game plan does not match our teams strengths. What I will say is that a good coach does not simply copy an old Premiership Game Plan which everyone has studies and understands. They create their own game plan that matches the strengths and weakness of their players and gets the opposition guessing. Unfortunately our last 2 coaches have only be interested in implementing something old rather than tailor make their own.

That is so wrong, It insults me and others on here who have supported this club, been members of it and been there through all the bad times. We have parted with our hard earned mate. In my case I have been a member for 43 years. I say that for no other reason, but that it is fact. Any supporter has a right to expect their team to give something back. More importantly, we feel for the players. We don't want our guys suffering in the way they must be right now. Do not ever accuse me of not caring bout my footy club. It is because I care so much, that I want to see the changes which are necessary. Fellini - Satyricon (1969) More at IMDbPro In first century Rome, two student friends, Encolpio and Ascilto, argue about ownership of the boy Gitone, divide their belongings and split up. The boy, allowed to choose who he goes with, chooses Ascilto. Only a sudden earthquake saves Encolpio from suicide. We follow Encolpio through a series of adventures, where he is eventually reunited with Ascilto, and which culminates in them helping a man kidnap a hermaphrodite demi-god from a temple. The god dies, and as punishment Encolpio becomes impotent. We then follow them in search of a cure. The film is loosely based on the book Satyricon by Gaius Petronius Arbiter, the "Arbiter of Elegance" in the court of Nero. The book has only survived in fragments, and the film reflects this by being very fragmentary itself, even stopping in mid-sentence.

There isn't a better way. MFC has shown itself unable to competently manage its affairs. You are seriously dreaming if you don't think Jackson is an AFL appointment under veil of the structure you outlined. Does it ever make you wonder why a person of Jackson's calibre with significant senior business interests with AFL would do a "charity" 6 month stint at MFC? As Demetriou has said the AFL has "recommended" Jackson. If the Board had any sense they would be co operating with Jackson and the AFL.

Come on. I've looked like that after a long run. What you saw was exhaustion after 2 hours of physical activity, compounded by the disappointment of losing. To compare it to PTSS is probably overkill.

"COACHES SHOULDN'T HAVE TO COACH EFFORT AT AFL LEVEL" - Chris Dawes 19/05/2013 Despite all that has been said about Neeld, I refuse to crucify him based on what has been produced by this playing group. Unless we see week in, week out effort from this lazy as sin playing group, I don't think we can see what Neeld has to deliver. IT'S THE PLAYERS, STUPID!

I remember back in the day not so long ago, when in life the chips were down and it was our beloved dees that would pick me up each week.. Now life is good its now these beloved dees bringing me and all of us down... I think like all of us passionate supporters the bombers game took the complete stuffing out of us and now going to the footy each week has just become and numbing experience.. People do question me y do i continue to go each week and go by myself most weeks, and i can say sitting in the afl members can get pretty lonely at times.. my answer to them is, that one day how ever far away it is, when we hold up that premiership cup, i will appreciate it that much more.. i think that should be enough for all u guys out there to keep turning up every week, were all in this together, no matter how numb, frustrated, sad there making u feel, ur fellow supporters around u r feeling exactly the same... If thats not enough, we can trust for that one moment in the game no matter how far down we r, Howe will take that screamer and pick our sprits up... i have my first born due around grand final day, i guess everyone can imagine the comments about being free that day i get and all the comments about it would be mean to make it go for the dees... i laugh it off, it will be a little demon no matter what.... I read most of the threads on here, its depressing but its what we all feel.. But this once proud club could be back on life support again, and all of Big Jims work was for nothing if we don't turn up each week.. the numbness i feel is the numbness of when someone close to you has a illness and not long left, for some who havent felt that, you need alittle bit of hope and i do believe we have hope (Hogan, Viney, Howe, JT, Jones) we just need to be the heart beat... Sorry if this thread all is over the place, theres a thousand more thing i could have added, but that main point is were all feeling it, we just need to somehow stick in there...

Not sure he was actually 'slagging us off' , but was really quite measured and honest. The reality is , he's right about everything he's saying

Man you guys sound like Essendon supporters when Knights was the coach. Plenty of supporters stopped going and wouldn't sign up if he was still the coach for the following year. The last 2 games under Knights at Etihad l think hardly anybody turned up in 2010. Every AFL supporter and it doesn't matter who you follow can only handle so much [censored]. You lose your passion in the sport because you cannot see any light at the end of the tunnel. I hope you guys get your wish and he is sacked after the Hawks game. Just remember Peter Jackson is the CEO atm and he was behind the Knights appointment at Essendon. So he could be in the running to take over next year. My favourite to get the job next year is Rodney Eade.

I won't attend games not because Neeld is coach but because we suck and are boring to watch (not worth wasting time going to matches and getting depressed)

therein lies the problem - but it is not one problem - it is a myriad of problems - our players are not good enough, strong enough of body or character and they are not responding to the coach. On the flip side you can plainly make the argument that the coach is unable to get the players to respond to him. Either way it is rare that three quarters of the team are sacked for not responding to the coach but common place for a coach to be sacked for three quarters of the team not responding to him. I fully admire Neeld for his stance of trying to rid of us a soft [censored] culture ( although he has back tracked on his early talk of not accepting mediocrity and fallen into the "baileyesque" excuses of inexperience and light bodies.) I fully condemn the players for not coming on board and I fully condemn Neeld for not being able to get the players on board. I never expected lots of wins from last season to this - I expected some measure of improvement to show that last year was the bottom and some progress has been made. Alas......

WE HAVE NO ONE TO COME IN THAT WILL MAKE US A BETTER TEAM. Fitzy great bring him in and let him catch a cold up forward, we went inside our forward 50m arc 25 times, until we can get players that can win the footy and get it inside our forward 50m arc 50-60 times a game we have no chance competing over the next 2 weeks.

... the gameplan isn't being implemented. they're trying but one or two aren't putting in the effort when we don't have the ball. watts was good early. I haven't seen all the game. just studying that first qtr when the white flag was raised. take a look at the game yesterday minute by minute thru the first 10 minutes or more, with the sound OFF. don't watch the ball carrier. watch what Our players are doing without the ball. In the first few minutes after a very sound start DPearce went thru the centre bounce taking the ball, Davey just stood behind & made No attempt to get after him, no effort. this is what makes others drop their heads. no one was on his tail easy goal. then again after Terlich ran & kicked the ball from 40 mtrs out, along the corridor to Davey out near centre wing. Davey was under pressure & he didn't go at the ball & jump for the mark. another quick freo kick forward & another easy goal. a poor effort to take an easy mark by Dunn with no one around him, dropped the ball & under pressure ran toward the corridor instinctively instead of toward the boundary. It would have n=been better to get caught holding the ball instead of poor execution of skills putting others under the pump. ...all our so called leaders. older players.. questionable players. .... this set the tone for the game. this is not Neelds making, this is the old culture Neeld is removing.... this is the old culture thats seen our good sides be teasers to us. S.O.F.T....culture. without this Exorcism, the Dees will never play like Warriors. & this Is the reason our kids haven't developed for decades... why Mclean & Sylvia didn't, & why our better players of the past 10 + Years haven't gotten past 3rd Gear in the potential. Neeld is on the right track, but after the past 10 yrs of this clubs efforts, it is hard to have faith in someone pulling down what we're clinging to. .

yesterday the players were mentally broken after freo KICKED THEIR 2nd GOAL!!!! we are soooo poor mentally its not funny. the Richmond player who said the easiest team to play was us because they knew we would break eventually was spot on. and the worst thing? this has nothing to do with skill level and everything to do with attitude and mental fortitude. WE HAVE NONE OF IT AND IT DISGUSTS ME

Really? I'm a member and don't remember being involved in any decision or even being told we've been put into administration. I think we need to be very careful making assumptions about corporate responsibility. As far as I'm concerned, the corporate governance scheme currently in place is that Peter Jackson reports first, foremost and only to the Board. The Board, as part of its licence (franchise) agreement is accountable to the AFL. I have no doubt the AFL is taking a keen interest and that Peter Jackson's appointment not only has the support of the AFL but may well have been encouraged by the AFL, but whether we like it or the AFL likes it, Jackson is still accountable to the Board and us as members. Conversely, and what follows from the above, is that as members, we need to take responsibility for appointments to the Board. So, rather than just blaming the Board, we should be actively considering how to improve it. I hope the next round of elections will be a very interesting time.

If this was his first year I'd agree, but in your second year you can't get the players to try. You have failed as a coach. Neeld tried to do the right thing and down the track we will acknowledge his part in getting us Dawes, Clark and Hogan. But it comes down to getting the best out of the players and in that Neeld fails week after week. Other than 1 good quarter we would be winless this year.

Don McLardy - President: Has to go, the club cetainly needs change from the very top and Don's been in charge during a very bleak time. Change is needed to bring about some form of hope. Mark Neeld – Senior Coach: I'll still give him the rest of this year but at this stage I'd say it's 90-95% chance I'd be bringing in someone else, but only if a succesful experienced coach can be found as his replacement, otherwise if he'd only be replaced by a rookie he may as well get to see out his contract. Tim Harrington – General Manager - List Management: Similar to McLardy, been around for awhile with limited succes. Might be time for a change. Todd Viney - General Manager - Player Development & Strategy: As Peter Jackson has said, we lack a lot of experienced football people around th club and Viney is one of the few we have. I'd be keen to keep Viney but maybe in a different role like Harrington's? I'd love to see Nathan Basset come to the club in Todd's role. Neil Craig - Director Of Sports Performance: See my comments above re: Todd Viney, I reckon Craig would be of better use in Josh Mahoney's role. Josh Mahoney – Football Manager: I think Jackson's comments about inexperienced peopel in roles is directed at Mahoney in particular. Sorry Josh, but time to move on. Jade Rawlings – Backline Coach: Don't know what it is, but there's something about Rawlings I like. Keep. Brian Royal - Midfield Coach: First to go. Need to get a good midfield coach replacement. Would love Leigh Tudor, experienced and has had success everywhere he's gone. Leigh Brown – Forward Line Coach: Sorry Leigh, but you're another of the inexperienced lot who should be moved on. Peter Sumich in this role please! David Misson – Elite Performance Manager: His credentials are to good to cast aside. I'd be in the camp for keeping. So for me it's: KEEP: Rawlings, Misson MOVE INTO DIFFERENT ROLE: Viney, Craig WHO GOES: McLardy, Harrington, Mahoney, Royal, Brown WAIT AND SEE: Neeld

The game plan is a significant factor.

An average losing margin of 74 points =12.38 goals. Can someone please tell me, in history of the AFL/VFL, has any other team been so poor 9 rounds in? Maybe University? Doesn't matter, they're not here any more and have not been around for eons. No doubt the players must shoulder some blame, but if you lack a leader/coach, a FD which is cohesive and has a vision which is shared and bought into by the players and an administration which hums along as it should, then you have a massive problem, which must be fixed. If you do not have the personnel which can fix it, then the ones you do have, must move on. Simple as that. What confronts us now is basically unprecedented. Something drastic has to take place.

I think it would be more accurate to say that 'It's not just Neeld's fault'. Recruiting, list managment and senior management all have to share the blame. How the club let it become to this is staggering, we are not an AFL level team and it will probably get worse before it gets better.

Dr. Mubutu: Is Neeld part of the solution then? Because if not, then he's part of the problem.

There's a first time for everything: I liked your post and 100% agree with you. I've got a 2002 MFC jumper behind me with the signatures of guys like Woey, Yze, Leoncelli, Jnr McDonald, and I didn't know how good I had it back then.

When you look at MFC, asking how you fix is secondary to clearly identifying all the problems. By God, there seem so many issues. While I want Neeld gone ( and have so since round 1), the issue of finding a capable and competent replacement won't be easy. This should not stop Neeld be sacked tomorrow. The bigger issue at MFC is leadership....At all levels. IMO the 4 most important positions at a Club are President, CEO, Coach and Captain. Now we won't get a good coach until there is a competent full time CEO appointment. And we won't get a competent CEO until a functional and energised Board is in place. The soilution to the black hole MFC has dug itself is up to the AFL and how much they fear such a squalid outfit like MFC compromise the integrity of the competition. If they are prepared to right our ship then great IMO, the only reasonable path forward is the AFL to install a team of commissioners to run MFC (replace some or all of the Board) and then drive a revitalisation of the Club from there. As a starter would the AFL make it enticing for Jackson to take to role for 18 months to handover to a full time CEO then. The league must move promptly and then it needs to providing backing an security for a new coach ASAP. A top appointment with an early announcement may the best way to retain what few quality players we have. It's a really hard and difficult turnaround and MFC is not capable on its own to do it.

We figure out what we would normally do . . . then just do the opposite.

If we put a fake beard on Hogan and put him in the no. 27 guernsey can we play him next week and just pretend he's Gillies?

Sorry pal, but a year from now we will only be marginally better than we are now - no matter who is coach.

Spot on. It is time to Head Hunt the best. Otherwise the MFC is dead.

dont forget that rising star... Cam Pedersen. Lucky we locked him in for 3, he could have gone anywhere

This board our administration our current coaching all need to be sacked. Our club needs to be taken over by the AFL. We have allowed this club to be run into oblivion all on the back of snake oil salesmen who only ever promised a false dawn. I can't tolerate this slow death any longer I need to see action from somewhere. We are that dead horse.

It seems fairly clear that the job of a caretaker coach is to rebuild relationships between the playing list and the coaching staff. Neeld has lost the list. He will go either now or at the end of the season. If it is after round 23 we may lose Frawley, Watts, Sylvia and who knows who else. If we are in a rebuilding phase now it will be worse if that happens. Removing the coach now gives the list some breathing time, keeping him on ensures its continued disruption, even destruction.

Rumour is that Melbourne Football Club is actually an elaborate reality television series designed to measure football supporter's breaking points. All other supporters are actually paid actors as are clearly the players, coaching panel and board...

wow. we were singing his praises a few weeks ago.