Leaderboard

hang on a second. the board told neeld when he started that there was a culture problem. neeld comes in and says "We are starting over". gets rid of egos like moloney who sulked when he wasnt given the captaincy. brings in non egos who are literally there to work hard and show the kids how its done, as well as talented kids. people panic when we dont get results immediately. i didnt expect us to be this bad but consider this about our list; key backs (tick) key forwards (tick) young captains with a heap of potential (tick) some young midfielders also with a heap of potential (tick) the midfield is the gaping hole in our list - but it is also the one that is quickest to fix. the culture of the club amongst the players WAS toxic. this is on the path to being fixed - if you think a culture can be changed overnight, dream on, but it CAN be changed.

You're. No. Give him a midfield and then let's see. I reckon the culture is almost sorted. Neeld is building relationships with those who understand what it takes to belong and succeed in an elite competition. Those who chose not to are kicking off the dew in the ressies.

I've said it in other threads: if he is the best available when we get our pick then we take him. If he isn't we take another. No drawbacks in bringing the best to the club. Plenty of drawbacks in trying to pick a kid that we think should or might fill a role we hope they can fill.

anyone else think we will finish dead last ?

Regressed under Neeld? Really? None of those three got any worse under Neeld, they just failed to get any better. Your argument about how no one gets better under Neeld might make more sense if you stopped referring to players who have been moved to other clubs and have since not improved anyway. If Morton, Gysberts or Petterd had flourished for their new clubs, you'd have a great argument. But as we've seen, all three are continuing their careers wallowing in mediocrity. Moving them on was the correct decision and it wasn't because they'd gotten worse under Neeld - none of them were good enough.

Disagree Culture went downhill when it was ok to lose under Bailey

Unbelievable how all posters except one have demoted Trengove completely out of the leadership group! No wonder the MFC is on its knees if this is how loyalty is rewarded!

Comments re King are spot on. They recently replayed his comments regarding Neeld last year. He couldn't have looked more smug if he tried. His comments were still premature. The fact they now appear to be correct doesn't alter the fact that at the time, there was not enough evidence to make such a call. Every time he is introduced as one of "the sharpest minds in footy" I vomit just a little bit. He's lucky Maclure is there on 360 to make him look like slightly less of a toolbag.

I blame cale morton

The AFL have virtually stepped in to run our club, that is the equivalent of the recievers coming into a failed business. It represents a failure of the highest order, and the responsibility for the rests with the Board and in particular the Chairman. That the oldest club in the competition, the club which virtually began the game itself, is named after our capital city and plays at the greatest venue in the land, has been reduced to this, is staggering. I don't understand any apologists for the Board or Don McLardy, where's the anger, the fire? We are the shareholders of this business and it has been driven into the ground by those who took on the responsibility of running it. If Melbourne footy club were a business and we had all done our dough, I'm certain nobody would be excusing the Chairman's performance because he came in at a tough time or that he didn't really want the job or that he had the best of intentions. If he didn't want the job or was not up to it, he should never have taken it on. I understand that these are voluntary positions but there is great kudos associated with a Board position on an AFL Club, and especially that of Chairman. The profile certainly wouldn't do your other interests any harm. The point is mute anyway - a individuals level of responsibility is not reduced when they don't take compensation. I've often heard our Board called "well credentialed" and it is and has always been. Maybe we have had too many credentials and not enough time and enthusiasm? A case in point is the Stuart Grimshaw. As CEO of the Bank of Qld he is no doubt a clever guy with a great understanding of how an organisation should be run. I note that he is also President of Hockey Australia. He is now leaving because he has too much on, is that an admission that he always had too much on to give the MFC the time it deserved? It worries me no end that now everyone is talking of Geoff Freeman becoming Chairman but he isn't sure if he wants the job or is in the right state of health to take it on. If he is not absolutely certain he wants or is physically up to the job, then we should draw the line through his name right away. I bet Collingwood wouldn't have to convince someone to take on their Presidency. I write this because we deserve better. We deserve representation from quality people who want the job. People who have a fire in their belly and the time to give the task what it requires. At the very least we deserve and should demand a Board spill and an election. This club belongs to it supporters and we deserve a say in how it is run.

I was at an amateurs game yesterday and met a Melbourne supporter who was laying into Mark Neeld and blaming him for every ill under the sun including the "disgraceful decision he made to sack Junior McDonald". Unfortunately, that is exactly what passes for debate among many here. I wrote previously that in the main, the history of war is written by the winners and so today, those who opposed the current board are having their field day conflating fact with fiction and wringing their hands with glee about being right and for allegedly having made fools of people. But if you truly support the club, that's reminiscent of Nero playing the fiddle while Rome burned. It's still a matter of opinion as to how good or bad the board has been overall. I think it's undeniable that it inherited a financially stricken club with a decaying player list brought about by years of poor coaching, woeful development and diabolical list management (it's simplistic to claim that anyone is blaming the recruiters alone but that's the nature of this discussion). It repaired the club's disasterous financial state to an extent but it was unable to get things right on the football side and for that we are currently in the crisis which has seen Cameron Schwab, Don McLardy and others fall. No doubt there's more to come. Those who have gone have taken responsibility and now it's time to move on, or (as I quoted previously) in the words of the philosopher Life can Soren Kierkegaard:- "Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." I'm assuming people are interested in getting Melbourne out of its current crisis which is not the first we've had and is no more dire than it was when we were broke and the AFL claimed we stood for nothing. Time to move on.

I reckon it's in a pretty reasonable shape and a new coach and even Neeld have a bit to work with. Just needs to get games into them. My take: 1. Jesse Hogan: Potential future superstar. Already had comparissons with the likes of Carey, Brown & Brereton. Has a great work ethic and hunger the the contest and rough stuff. Not affriad to throw his weight around and is very good not only in the air but also on the ground. Only needs to work on his kicking at goal. 2. Nathan Jones: Heart and soul of the team, has turned into a B+ - A midfielder who would get a lot more recognition in a better team. Coming into his prime and still has another 5+ years in him and can certainly still experience some success in the red & blue. 4. Jack Watts: One of the most talented players on our list and I hope we hold onto him as I think we're more likely to get something out of Watts himself then from whatever he'd be worth in a trade now. Can see him forming a vital combination with Howe as vital utilities that can play as the 4th tall forward, 4th tall defender or off the wing causing match up headaches for the oposition. Has shown some encouraging signs recently with some aggresion that hasn't been seen before. The sooner we sign him up for 3 years the better! 5. Jimmy Toumpas: I've seen enough to be convinced that he'll be a good player. It may be a little early for him now, but the kid can use it and has shown in the VFL that he does know how to find the ball. Will be a valuable distributer of the ball off the wing or half back. 6. Chris Dawes: Think Collingwood will already be regreting this trade. The guy brings leadership, a physical presence and will form part of our menage a trois of KPF with Clark and Hogan, within no time I expect Dawes to have the third defender and we've already seen in the Hawthorn game what he can do to the best defender. Still has 5+ years of good football ahead of him. 7. Jack Viney: Don't think I really need to say much. Will be the backbone of our midfielder for the next 10-15 years. Can see him as our Sam Mitchell. Great with the contested ball and clearances but also able to use it on the outside. 8. James Frawley: AA KPD who we need to give a 2 year contract extention to as early as we can next year. Although he hasn't shown the attacking side of his game this year that we're used to, his stopping ability has still been first class as we saw against Buddy. Again he still has 5+ years left in him so there's no reason why he can't experience success here. 9. Jack Trengove: As others have said, I'm convinced he played last year while carrying some sort of injury. Throw in his injury effected pre-season I think he's starting to work his way back to some of his better form that we saw in his first 2 seasons. Needs to get more of it but I think that will come. I see him as a valuable midfielder/half forward and still see plenty of similarities between him and Jimmy Bartel. Fingers crossed he can reach the same heights. Still has close to 10 years ahead of him. 10. Shannon Byrnes: A handy pick up in the off season with his experience, ball use and ability to play as a crumbing forward. Don't think he'll play beyond the 2014 season but think he'll play a big part in the transformation of our culture due to the owrk he's doing off field. 11. Mitch Clark: Beast of a man and he reminds me of Neita in his attack on the ball and his very presence. I see him as our 2nd ruck/KPF over the next 5 years or so in the combo with Dawes & Hogan that I've already mentioned. Some concerns over his injuries and that's why I'd be keen to rookie a KPF in the up coming rookie draft to protect our structure. 12. Colin Sylvia: Important player for us to retain. With our lack of experience this is one 100 game player that we can't afford to loose. Has shown more consistency this year then in anyother and we should give him a 3 year deal to make him a demon for life. How much footy if any he has left in him after those 3 years is debatable. 13. Jordie McKenzie: While I think he does have some type of a future with the Dees, I don't think it's an overly long one. He's got 2 years to run on a contratc at the end of this year and I'm happy for him to serve those 2 years as he's clearly a good club man and can bring some midfield depth. However he's got a lot of limitations on the field and the less he plays I think that means the better we're getting as there will be better skilled players to take his spot. If Jordie only plays 10-15 games over the next 2 years due to other players getting a game ahead of him then I think that can only be good for the team. 14. Lynden Dunn: Is contracted for next year but I'm hoping we can trade him for a very late pick like we did with Morton last year. Dunn has no future here as evident by his horrible performance against Collingwood. 15. David Rodan: Will be gone at the end of the year, but like Byrneshas played a role in helping turn the clubs culture around in the way we train and go about hings off the field. 17. Sam Blease: Like Watts, one of the most talented players on our list and I hope we can get the best out of him. Needs to develop his tank and defensive side of his game so we can play him more on the wing and off half back which is where his best footy will be IMO. 19. James Strauss: Time is running out for Strauss and I fear he may not be up to it, but there is still time for him. HBF/BP is the spot for him and he does use it well, but he just doesn't get involved enough. Was very stiff to get dropped after his job on Nahas in the Richmond game, although when he did come back against Hawthorn he got stitched up Breust. 2014 will be a big year for him, however I wouldn't hve him in our best 22 at this stage and if I had to call it, I'd say he probably won't make it. 20. Colin Garland: If he was in another team he'd probably be getting talked about as an All Australian for this year. Has taken his game to a new level and is a very valuable 3rd tall defender for us who can also play small. Still plenty of years ahead for Col. 21. Cameron Pedersen: Amazing that he has a 3 year deal.... I guess he coul be auseful depth player with his ability to play back and forward when injuries arise. But I see Cam being a depth player at best. 22. James Magner: Will be gone at seasons end IMO. If he can't get a game now with the way our midfield's going and the numbers he's getting in the VFL then I don't see a spot for him going forward. 23. Josh Tynan: I really like Josh however I think he may go at the end of the year. He's got good courage and he's not affraid to get his hands dirty. However he lacks a yard of pace and he doesn't use the footy that well, and if you lack both those things as a HBF or wingman then I can't see a big future. 25. Tom McDonald: Love the way the kid goes about it. Can run all day, has good speed, is good in the air and loves the contest. Just needs to clean up his kicking and we have our CHB for the next 10 years. He should also have the ability to go forward if need be seeing as we drafted him as a forward. 26. Daniel Nicholson: Will be gone at years end IMO. Provides plenty of run but can't use the pill and doesn't shut down on his man that well. An issue when you're a HBF wingman. 27. Tom Gillies: Will be gone at seasons end. I'm still kind of curious as to why we recruited him. 28. Joel MacDonald: I'll never question Joel's effort and desire. But with him out of contract at seasons end and him struggling to get on the park due to injuries, I doubt he'll be here next year. 30. James Sellar: Could have potentially been a handy depth player with his ability to play down back and supposed ability to play forward. However with the three year deal given to Pedersen, I don't see the use for Sellar. Gone at seasons end. 31. Jack Grimes: Was one of, if not our best performed player over the first few rounds this year. Will be a valubale member of our midfield rotation, however I see him mainly playing off half back. Is really starting to grow into the role of captain I reckon. Still a big career ahead for Jack. 32. Michael Evans: I hold high hopes for Pickles. He's obviously got some way to go, but barely a week goes by where I don't see something from him that makes me think he could be a really good player. I see strong similarities to Leigh Montagna in the way Pickles goes about it. I hope in time we see the same form produced. Still only 20 which is great news going forward. 33. Dom Barry: Skilled, smooth running outside midfielder. To be fair I haven't seen a heap of him so the jury's still out given it's his first year on the list. I don't know why, but my gut says he won't make it, but time will tell. He still has plenty of that on his side. 34. Dean Kent: Really like what I've seen from the kid so far. He's hard at it, has a good turn of speed and is a beautiful long kick. Still in his first year but I see a lot of similarities with Adam Schneider. High hopes for Kent for many years to come. 35. Luke Tapscott: Four years in and I'd of liked to have seen a bit more from Tappy then what we have so far but I still haven't lost faith. Feel he can be our defensive forward ala Campbell Brown. Strongly built and a thumping kick. I feel he just needs to work on his ability to spread and run out the game as even in his better games, he seems to go quieter the longer the game goes. Jury still out I guess but I'm optimistic. 36. Aaron Davey: The vetran is playing the best footy he's played in at least 3 or 4 years. I think he's earnt 1 more year and I still reckon he'll slot into our best 22. Possibly often as the sub due to his ability to play forward, off a wing or even off half back with his brilliant use of the ball. 37. Max Gawn: Reckon he's one of our most important players going forward baring injury. I hope they sign him up for another 2 year deal ASAP. He's already got to the stage of dominating at VFL level and he could possibly pass Jamar as our number 1 ruck in the off season. Certain keep, he's got 8+ years ahead of him assuming his knees hold up. Touch wood. 38. Jeremy Howe: See my comments re: Jack Watts as to the role I see Howe playing, although I could even see Howe with an ability to play onball from time to time. With his marking ability he could become our most markatable player, although he hasn't taken quite as many screamers this year as last, although there's still half a season to go. 39. Neville Jetta: I love Jetta hardness and his attitude towards playing, but I don't think he's got a long term career ahead of him. Out of contract at seasons end, and I'd be happy to see him given another year as there's a lot of others who are worse that I'd rather ship off first, but unfortunatly I don't think there's a lot long term for Nev. 40. Mark Jamar: War horse ruckman who's best is past him but I think can still play an important role for us. He's contracted for 2 more years and I'd like to see him stay with us rather then trade him out. Gawn's & Clark have both had their injury issues and I don't think Spencer's up to it, so I see the Russian as a required player. His presence will also help Max in his development so I say he's a keeper. At the end of 2015 however it may be pension time. 41. Troy Davis: Hard to rate as he's 2.5 years into his career and yet to play a game. Having said that he's quite a good defender at VFL level, creates a lot of run out of defence, loves the rough stuff from all reports he's getting better at his disposal which hampered his first two years at Casey. As we have Frawley, Garland & McDonald as our 3 key posts you'd be tempted to say Davis has no career here, however given the speculation about Frawley leaving at the end of 2014 I'd be tempted to offer Davis a 2 year deal at seasons end in case Chip does leave, especially seeing as I think Sellar & Gillies will leave at the end of this year. I don't think Davis will be any star but I do think he will be a good solid defender, so much so that if we did delist him this year, I'd expect him to get picked up by someone else. 42. Jake Spencer: He tries his guts out, but after all this time I think it's fair to say that he's just not up to it. The fact that he's contracted for 1 more year and I can't see anyone trading for him will save him for 1 more year, but no future here IMO. 43. Rory Taggert: I along with a lot of others on here have great hopes for Rory. Not sure if he'll be a star or anything but I do think he could be a bit of a Mitch Robinson type half forward/midfielder. Has a great build and looks really strong through the body. Given he missed 90% of last year through injury, this is pretty much his rookie year and he seems to be getting better each week at Casey learning the caper. Another one where the jury's still out but I've got a good feeling about Rory, although we may not see him in the red & blue till next year. 44. Rohan Bail: Had high hopes for Bail for awhile to turn into our no 1 tagger but it's been a poor year for Ro. You wonder how much the concussions have set him back? Pretty sure he's contracted for next year but a don't see a lot for him from then. Disposal is to iffy, doesn't get enough of the ball and his tagging ability is still probably unknown? 45. Matt Jones: I've been really impressed with Jones this year and he's been far better then I was expecting. Not sure exactly where he fits into the team long term but he's certainly best 22 at the moment. Plenty to work with. 46. Dean Trlich: One of my favourites. I see a long career ahead for Terls in the BP/HBF. I see him as a bit of a Josh Hunt. He's been a bright spark in a bleak season. 47. Tom Couch: Very good VFL player but wont make it at AFL level due to his disposal and spread. Good kid though and can probably consider himself a little unlucky when he's delisted at the end of the year. 48. Jack Fitzpatrick: The great unknown. And that's the best way to describe Fitzy, I just don't know. Has become a very, very good VFL player and if Mitch can't get over his injuries Fitzy could have scope to becoming our 2nd ruck/forward. Incredibly quick for a man of his size and he's improving his overhead marking and ruck work every week. Strength and disposal are his biggest issues. Would be keen to give him another year at seasons end. A big ? for Fitzy. 49. Nathan Stark: Almost impossible to judge given his injury issues this year. Although I suspect he may get the chop just so it gives the club another pick come rookie draft time. 50. Micth Clisby: I really like what I've seen and what I'm hearing out of Melbourne about Clis. He's quick, uses the ball well, goes in hard and is pretty good overhead for a guy his size. He could becoem a very good player off half back for us if he keeps developing at this rate. I'd certainly be giving hima 2nd year on the rookie list at seasons end and if he has another good year next year, would upgrade him for sure. So as you can see, there's a lot of upside to this list. It's just that it's very young and inexperienced. Once the core of our group get to the 50+ games mark I think we'll see significant improvement, which by my calculations would be from 2015. Meaning no matter who are coach is, it could still be a difficult year. You'd at the least though be hoping that the manner of our losses improves in 2014.

lol people suggesting Hogan at CHB yes lets move the next Jonathan Brown to the backline. Great idea

Yes and yes. There are a couple at the moment who are working damn hard to improve. The coach has motivated them as has Jack Grimes. I'm an enormous fan of JT, (quality person) but JG is an enormous role model. Consider that Collingwood scored 89 out of 122 (or whatever it was) from turnovers. Players are getting to contests and getting their hands on the ball. Mistakes relate to confidence and composure that comes with games, games, games. This will turn around.

Dawes Captain. Jones VC in my opinion will be a better option. Dawes was the only angry player out there last monday before he hurt the ankle. Jonesy is to busy trying to drive a 3rd world midfield. Nathan is a class foot soldier. Dawes can lead.

I just love the way people like to look for the one dimensional answer. It's the recruiters now who led to a flawed playing list. While it's clear we made some very poor decisions it's so much more than that. This footy club employed Bailey (initially by Gardner and extended by Stynes/McLardy) who had a football philosophy of playing fast, open, Geelong like footy. He was told to back youth, build from the ground up. develop and plan a side based around his football philosophy. With one of the youngest lists in the AFL he was sacked whilst having won 7.5 games in 17 games and having a chance at a crack at the 8 with some very winnable games in the remaining 5. He did this whilst the Board and CEO oversaw drench warfare within the club and within the football department. He showed that the core group of young players had talent. However on the back of the Geelong loss we ditched 4 years of coaching philosophy and drafting in favour of Garry's conversation with Mick and Mick's choice of our new coach. Surprise Surprise it's one of Mick's assistants who has a football philosophy of man on man, slow ball movement, around the boundary stoppage footy. The philosophy is completely different to the direction the club had, under it's Board, CEO and Coach, been developing for 4 years. It's no surprise that we've gone backwards but what is a surprise is that we've gone backwards so far. Neeld is explaining our situation along the lines of experience and age but really it's because this club blinked and then whilst changing coach didn't do its homework without one person on the coaching selection sub committee who had coached a game of AFL footy. Not one. It just beggars belief. My point. I don't think it's possible to judge the players under this coach. He's clearly asking them to play a gameplan they are ill equipped to play and he has drained the confidence and spirit from them. The list needs to be evaluated by the incoming coach before any judgements are made. For all the players are copping it at the moment there are many players there who would have been taken early by other clubs and would, in all likelihood, be much more successful in a different environment. We need to give them that chance. Oh, and Redleg, Prendergast was initially employed by Harris and then had his contract extended by Schwab (as was Bailey and Connolly).

I'll tell you why. Most supporters are blue sky junkies and most wanted to give the coach and his players the benefit of the doubt. But when the writing on the wall has been carved by a diamond one tends to lose faith in those previous held views and the grace afforded the coach.

Today showed why we should take him with our first pick. 30 disposal 5 clearences and 7 tackles today against Vic Country. He is a 185cm 84 kg inside tough midfielder who is a ball magnet and can push forward and kick goals. Has excellent disposal and will be ready made Ollie Wines like. Make it happen Melbourne!

The way i see it here are the players that i think are capable of being part of a competetive team going forward... Frawley Garland McDonald Terlich Trengove (im sure he is being hampered by OP) N Jones Grimes M Jones Gawn Howe Dawes Clark Hogan Viney Hopefuls: Toumpas (hasnt done much but ithink he will develop under the right regime) Blease (the potential is there but needs to take his fitness base to a new level and needs to become defensively accountable) Watts ( the talent is there, hopefully the new coach gets the best out of him, i still see Goddard in him) The rest of the list aint up to scratch, you have guys like Magner, Mckenzie, Bail etc who may try hard but are not to the standard required for a successful team down the track. It's going to take at least another 2-3 seasons to address this and it will de dependant on bringing in at least 4-5 genuine future A grade players

Well we did not take Ollie why would we look at this bloke? We did not take D Martin, we did not take Scott Selwood, nor Jack Darling, nor a Hurley, we do not take nasty types with talent we only take nice kids in the first round, with talent yes, but no appetite for the contest nd who can't get the ball themselves.

I don,t disagree with most of what you say PJAt present it seems we are in a deep hole. I cannot get away from a couple of facts. - The current board approved the reversal of CS getting flung in 2011 and then reappointing for an extra 3 years a few months back then flung him. Seems amateur hour in a big way. we are now begging the AFL to save us. - this board has guided us to position were our team is the worst in the Comp and irrelevant to the competition. IMO on both counts they should as a group stand down. At this point with the exception of DM this has not happened. They can of course hang on till the AGM in February. This would be a disaster as it would mean a bun fight until the brink of the 2014 season. I am hoping that common sense will prevail and somewhere between now and the end of August the board stands down or call an EGM so the matter can be resolved. It appears to me that right now we have silence from the incumbents and Jeff saying he is willing to take over. Not a lot of information for any of us to work on. Beyond the above I know no more than anyone else on here. In this situation I would vote for Jeff in the absence of any other alternative to the current board but it is very early days god knows were this will end up.

Fall on the floor laughing until I have to be carted off to hospital. If we get a pick there's no moral way it can be at the top of the first round. I'll take it if they're offering but the other clubs should hold a protest rally if we get a pick anywhere before #19 or #20.

We have him killing it down at VFL level already showing us he can kick bags of goals. Mitch is on one leg, Dawes is more of a lead up forward who doesn't really kick big goals yet you still want Hogan at CHB?? strange....

ifgappwdwd ?? say THANKYOU

I'm more concerned with when it will turn around

that's what they said about churchill too

If true, this is just another amateur decision made by the MFC. Seriously, offering such an impure sacrifice will only be seen as an insult to Odin.

Jones Captain outright. Grimes and Dawes: Co Vice Captains exntended leadership group: Frawley Trengove Garland Clark You cannot demote Trengove out of the leadership group, it's unfair he's not that bad

Or to become a bigger and more relevant club. Think about that rather than death.

i believe Jeff when he says his main motivation is that the MFC was a once great brand that has been reduced to almost nothing, and he wants to build it back to something to have the name of Melbourne is a privilege, and i think Jeff is a man that loves this city and the state of Victoria and he wants to see the team that represents the capital city to be strong once again

This is very much it...and the same for any candidate and wannabe Chairman... its a simple question ; what are you(collective ) about ? and how will this fix Melbourne. Many need to keep in mind the MFC is very much a business. It came out of an era when clubs were some sort of extension of the daliancies of those so able and interested to what they are now, multi-million dollar enterprises that need to be treated and run as such by those most able and qualified to do so. it would be nothing for Chrsyler to pinch a Ford exec , oh wait...they did . and so on and so on. Some of you lot are just going to have to be dragged yelling and screaming into the 21st century. The only thing thats half way a constant are the Jumper and colours. . Please note even these have changed over time. We all seem to get caught up with " Oh we're Melbourne, we dont do it like that " ,when in reality the only thing we dont do is win and succeed in general. Clever organisations bring in talent. Look to the world of IT , they go and get the most inventive and creative minds. They look oput of the box or even design and build a new one, or something thats not even a box !! What do we do , we just keep on wallpapering over the cracks and lo and behold the cracks are still there, never fixed and just getting worse and worse till one day the walls come tumbling down. What bemuses me is not that theres damage as a result of this but that still so many are aghast that the walls even fell, that there was anything wrong with them. I too was amongst those that simply didnt know/understand the depth and saturation of the cancer ( npi ) that has riddled our club. Now we know,we must act with a clinical common sense. In medicine you would seek the best advice and bring in the best skilled to operate. Hell , they might even come from another hospital ( egads) . ive often said I dont care really whos wearing the jumper as long as they do so with pride, with conviction and with fervour. I dont care where that jumper occurs, on the field, in the FD , admin , or even at board level. i just dont care who they are really only that once there they ARE MELBOURNE for their duration. For these simple reasons I WILL entertain ANYONE on merit. The MERITS: Are you able to do the job Do you want to do the job Will it be better if you do it than someone else Will you treat the Club and by extension its members with respect. Im tired of the MFC being a boys club , a stuffed up association of seemingly well -intentioned well -to-dos , who simply fail at every hurdle...or by history's page most of them. Its TIME (and yes I fully understand the irony of that )

why we need jeff... In vogue today is the succession plan wiith coaches, learn from the best see how its done then take over the reigns, it is the same with presidents. We have been a joke for over half a century and no melbourne person that could help right now knows what success in football takes, I don't care what business credentials they have, sport is on a different planet. Now say you bring in this freeman fella, who presumably has been asked by don to come in, what can Don teach him? chances are the end result will be the same as every other president we have had for 50 years, historical evidence proves this. Bring in Jeff how ever, a person with no ties to melbourne prior, who has done what it takes and also learnt through Dickson or had a steady platform passed onto him, the chances of success are much higher. It is not an unknown. You can keep saying get passionate melbourne people but as long as this the case, right now will always be the case. The club does not know success and as much as some of you don't want it, it needs complete change, a new club with the same colour, logo and song and home ground. Jeff can do this It will be like a blood transfusion. Look at geelong, flag drought was longer then ours, but they still had the likes of ablett and Hocking who leave on aura of greatness around the club, it breeds success. Who have we had since barrassi, other then Jimmy. Don't say flower because i reckon 95% of our list would never of seen him play. If you say an ox that highlights our problem, he was awesome but was never allowed to reach his true potential. Sounds like a lot of melbourne players of the past decade doesn't it. THere is no one to hang around the club that can resonate this back to the players. Thus, we need to start with Jeff. LET GO OF THE PAST AND WELCOME THE CHANGE, 49 YEARS IS A LONG TIME TO ROT SURELY THERE IS NOT MUCH TIME LEFT.

Magner will not solve our midfield problems - he is a good VFL player. Better to pump games into Blease, Toumpas and M Jones.

Thanks PMan. I enjoy the debate with posters like yourself. I just don't think he's been given a decent run at it. Even Bailey got four....long....years.

if MN goes so be it but don't go blaming him for everything in the debate, just try to be at least close to the facts.

No it's me. Always has been too.

Predicting disaster is almost a win-win bet. If it doesn't happen, no one takes much notice because we are all so happy about how well we are going. If it does, then the predictor of disaster can puff out his chest as a wise expert. So if you are in the prediction business, make the majority of your 500 predictions negative and you will be a success.

Methinks you underestimate the man, he is unlikely to take anything on and let it fail. Perhaps the fact that he is not a one-eyed Demon may assist in him being objective as his motives for taking it on is to preserve the 'Melbourne' brand and not see the football club carrying the name of Victoria's capital being a laughing stock! It is surprising that so many Demonlanders are anxious to replace Neeld with Lethal Leigh Mathews yet dismiss Kennett, despite both having major impacts at Hawthorn!

Pretty much exactly my thoughts, PM.

Yeah wearing white jumpers is the cause for all our problems ....

With all the problems Mitch has had with his foot, I would keep him key position rather than risking him in the ruck!

The way we are going at the moment I don't think we will have to be worried about GWS passing on him and a priority pick would make the choice all the more easy. If Boyd is best available we take him.

Harvey?! Fair dinkum - that's laughable.

King has made some moronic calls in the past. Writing off Geelong in 2011 springs to mind. But broken clocks are right twice a day, and a footy talking head that makes 500 predictions a year will get a couple of them right too. He's a lightweight.

I am still here.

Well, Redleg stole my thunder a tad with the finances and assets but I have a thing or two to say about the list: bad list management is not felt at the time of the mistake, it is felt much later. The 1999-2000 loss of picks means we felt that from 2005 until around now - those two drafts happened to be when Geelong got all those stars we now look at with awe. We lost Pick 5 in '99 and Picks 32 and 47 in '00 (Scott Thompson was taken in the '00 draft). 2001 saw Molan, Armstrong, and Rodgers taken with Picks 9, 25, and 26. 2002 saw Bell and Smith taken with Picks 14 an 15. After Rivers was taken, Pick 39 was spent on Gary Moorcroft. In 2003 we had McLean and Sylvia with Picks 3 and 5 and I would consider them successful. Our dearth of senior players is also affected by the decision by Bailey to trade McLean at the end of 2009. 2004 saw Bate, Dunn, and Newton taken with 13, 15, and 43. To juxtapose disaster with deliverance - Nathan Jones in 2005 was taken at Pick 12. Frawley and Garland came the following year at 12 and 46 respectively. 2007 saw Morton and Maric taken with Picks 4 and 21. Grimes a shining light amongst the din at Pick 14. 2008 saw Watts, Blease, Strauss and Bennell taken with Picks 1, 17, 19, and 35. The futures on the three that are left are far from certain. McKenzie arrived in the Rookie Draft this year. I will leave it there, as the futures of Trengove, Tapscott, and Gawn in 2009 are far from certain. Sadly, Pick 1 and Pick 11 have moved on. The decision to get Ben Holland with Pick 21 (2003), Paul Johnson with Pick 29 (2004), Pickett with Pick 28 and 44 (2005), and Meesen with Pick 38 (2007) further diminished our ability to get talented players. This is why our list is where it is. This is why we don't have any decent senior players and few talented players in the prime ages for a player 23-30. We wasted, our traded out, the following picks from 2001 to 2007 which would be the make-up of our players 23-30: 4, 9, 13, 14, 15, 15, 21, 21, 25, 26, 28, 29, 39, 43, and 44. That is 15 players 23 to 30 years of age we should have if not for our awful recruitment and poor trading. That is why we have an awful list. Oddly enough, before this Board...

Yeah Cook has stared for ?????? Gysberts how many games? Bate which team is he playing for? oh yeah Morton he's playing well starring for ??? Pettard picked up as a rookie, Rivers yes a loss Moloney still a fnger pointer and sook, Matin he's burning up the turf at Brissie, Bennell and Lawrence, their both flying where? oh and I forgot Sheahan and Williams I forget where they are playing.......gee this in your words TALENT was let go and this hurting the club glad your not running the football department.

I know there's a lot of angst around the club because of the way the team's performing at the moment but I think we should give Don a vote of thanks for being there for the club when Jimmy became ill, for standing with him and then for taking over in such difficult times. I hope history judges him kindly in that light. As for Peter, he's now the "Interim Man" - twice had the gig and I'm sure he hopes he won't hold it for too long and that we get a stable and strong leadership to take us into the future.

Ahhhh no he wasn't! Let's get the facts right. Pick 3 and Pick 13 went to GWS in return for Hogan, Barry and Pick 20. Also as part of this deal we allowed Gold Coast to take the first mini draft selection in a trade for pick 3 and therefore meant Viney got through to the second round. See Emma Quayle reference. http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/three-win-in-minidraft-20121009-27bbk.html So it's Hogan, Viney, Dawes and Barry for pick 3, 13, and 26. So you can actually break that down as Hogan for pick 3, Viney for pick 13 (even though he was drafted at pick 26) and Dawes for pick 26 (despite being traded for 20) and Barry as the set of steak knives. It was said pre draft that his value was as a late second or third round pick - somewhere between 30 and 55. That's where we should consider him for player development, not that it should be influenced by draft pick. Taylor Duryea and Sam Grimley played in their first games for the hawks this year after being on the list for 4 years. They also showed little until last year that they'd even make it to AFL standard. We should hold on to kids for too long because we do have an opportunity to play them if they are good enough but what they do in their first year at least should be inconsequential.

He makes some interesting points but like many of those commentating on Melbourne at the moment, I suspect there's not much original thought and he's basing what passes for his analysis (like many in the media) partly on what he's heard from others. I wonder if he's seen Jesse Hogan. While I agree he's important for the club's future I think there are many others who remain priorities for the club above and beyond an 18 year old who hasn't played a game yet. Despite our pathetic form and miserable ladder placing, it's important we get more development out of the players who will be stayers for the club in the long run and overlooking Max Gawn and a few other of our younger players suggests he really doesn't know as much about us as he should. And what does one make of his statement that James Strauss is a "must play" for the rest of the season because "it's time to find out if he has a future"? Well, he had an opportunity to do that a few weeks ago and was dropped. Since then I don't recall him appearing in the best players at Casey so no offence to James, but that's where he has to demonstrate his worthiness first because if he can't play well in a lower grade with a team that's winning then perhaps he doesn't have a future and if he's upgraded at the expense of others, what does it say about our "culture" or Walls' capacity to deliver more than mere platitudes about the game? Perhaps a little more research and some deeper thought might have been in order.