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From Jones through to Dawes, a number of the players have commented that no matter how bad things were this season, the group never splintered, there was no finger-pointing, and the group as a whole stayed solid. I know you've listened to the Bernie Vince interview. Without going through it again to find the exact quote, he said that something that struck him was that Melbourne came across as a real team-oriented club, and commented that he'd received welcome messages from almost all the players. So, if Darwin was about building team spirit and bonds, you'd have to say that it worked.

Or for extreme optimists Boak (the leader and star) - Jones Hartlett (the injury restricted unfulfiled talent) - Trengove or Tyson Ebert (the consistent worker) - Viney Cornes and Cassisi (the underrated veterans) - Vince and Cross Wingard (the second year break out) - Toumpas Wines (the top 10 pick who makes those who passed look silly) - Pick 9 Unfortunately I don't like our chances of any of those players reaching the Port equivalent in 2014. But that's for the dreamers out there.

Comparing us with a top four side in Sydney was a bit distracting, I'd be keen to see how we compare to Richmond or Carlton. He also failed to note that we have a higher conversion rate once the ball is inside 50 than many teams, and with the addition of Clarke and Hogan this should rise further...

It's all still a bit surreal knowing that Roos is the Coach of the MFC, even after watching that interview. Maybe it'll fully hit home when I see him in the coaches box come round 1 next year. This is going to be one of the longest off-seasons ever.

I agreed with the competitive lines when Bailey, Neeld and Craig said it and I still do. Just because we've heard it so often that it now rings hollow, doesn't mean it's not right, and I'd have thought it was self evident that competitiveness is the obvious first checkpoint from where we're coming from.

It's an interesting article, but the question at the top doesn't match the rest of the article ... he asks what Melbourne needs to do 'to improve', then proceeds to answer with what they need to do 'to reach the top'. They're two different stages on the path from rock bottom. Reaching the top is a long, hard road. But we should be able to at least improve with our better personnel. The question then is how much?

Nice work from Ryan but I'm not overly interested in hearing about Watts being the next O'Keefe or Viney being similar to Hannebery. Better comparison: Jones = Griffen Vince = Cooney Viney = Libba Cross = Boyd McKenzie = Wallis Trengove, Tyson, Michie, Watts, Toumpas = Macrae, Smith, Hrovat, Stevens, Hunter That Bulldog midfield was beaten by us and nearly rolled by GWS at their worst. But at their best served it up to some of the better sides and won 8 games for the year. Now you are some kind of optimist if you wouldn't settle for 8 wins next year right now. The Bulldogs top 5 has an edge on us as LIbba matured a lot in 2013 and Griffen has the edge on Jones and Cooney's best whilst rare is a step up from Vince. But after that I think we have the edge in the next 5.

That's the first time I've seen Burgs [censored] himself.

He's hired by the same mob who keep Andrew Bolt employed...

Interestingly while agreed we have a good and potentially better than average back line, I would argue that we have a great defensive back line but an average attacking back line. We don't have creative and decisive players setting up attacks as part of the rebound from D50. Is this the fault of the players in the D50, or is it the result of our very average midfield not running to position to provide those attacking options? It will be interesting to see if adding some quality to the midfield improves the perceived decision making skills of Grimes, Dunn, McDonald and Frawley on the way out.

Somewhere in that list of cons, you need to look at what the effect on the club would be if he went off the rails again and reverted to his worst behaviour of last year. The effect on the other members of the playing group, distraction of the club and club resources, effect on sponsorship agreements and the like. Other clubs that are more stable are in a much better position to deal with such things than us. We're still partly under AFL control and are coming out of a lengthy period of instability and still have to contend with an investigation into our former doctor's association with Stephen Dank. I'm all in favour of giving second chances to kids whose lives strayed off the rails but there's far too much at stake at our club for the risk to be taken with this player. If North think they can handle him, then good luck.

Unfortunately, your comments/insults are very predictable. Its clear you think yourself as a heavyweight poster who appears to have little respect towards other forum contributors. You may well have very worthy comments and insight in to various issues and threads in Demonland but by adding constant put downs to differing views does in fact devalue your own posts. Over time you should come to understand that your constant put downs actually makes a larger statement about yourself than to the other poster you are trying to discredit. In your view a lightweight I may be, but I am a MFC Supporter/Member first and foremost like the majority of Posters here. Althought I may personally disagree with specific posts/comments, I rarely see that the Poster does not have the best interest of the MFC at heart. I would strongly disagree with your comment that everything you do does need to be done. But that comment does say alot about you as a person and would indicate to me and others that you are likely not to listen to the above advice. After all a rightous man is the most ignorant.

It's always good for a laugh when someone quotes a post, says "exactly", then goes on to say the direct opposite of the post they quoted.

Port were able to turn it round because they had recruited well and had all the ingredients of a good team, if you recruit poorly it makes that a lot harder to do. We have lost a lot of top picks because they were poor selections and that will make it harder for Roos to get this club up and running. Good footballers don't lose the ability to play good football, they may not play well in a team badly coached and played out of position, but once the correct coaching is put in place they should be able to flourish. We can't accept that it didn't mater if we recruited crap, because they wouldn't have played well anyway.

Bernie Vince interview for you VG http://www.triplem.com.au/melbourne/sport/afl/news/2013/10/bernie-vince-off-to-melbourne/

He said you were over simplifying it, not that you were wrong. Sponsors care about everything related to their exposure to a club. We would be a toxic mix of failure and instability up until Jackson agreed to stay and lured Roos. So that means we are a blank canvas with (soon to be) 40k members but we will still have less exposure on TV, papers, and radio than other clubs. It will be tough to get high end sponsors as it always is.

Only rarely do I engage, but being stuck at home behind a computer writing another drab booklet for a client sends me a bit silly at times unless I can daydream about potentail line-ups for 2014. This idle navel leather gazing has been a past time of mine, rather sadly, since the 70s. Eventually I'll select one that wins a premiership. Anyhow, here's one of my all too infrequent contributions. FB: Terlich Frawley Garland HB: Toumpas McDonald Grimes C: Watts N Jones Viney HF: Howe Dawes Vince FF: Hogan Clark Kent R: Gawn Tyson Michie I: Trengove Cross Jones Sub: Salem (P9 - like the sound of this kid)

Provided we can call Melbourne a 'professional football team', this is fantastic. There's always reason to hope.

Interesting reasoning by Roos on why we gave up pick 2 in the Tyson deal. They thought the high draft picks this year were smaller bodied players and on the back on smaller types in Toumpas and Viney last year, preferred the bigger bodied player. It would suggest pick 9 won't be anyone small or light.

Yeah he was. Look at how many of his first round selections have turned out to be poor and how many early picks he has had that have done nothing, zilch. Even $cully is just an ordinary payer and Trenners has done little to show he was worthy of pick 1 (after our priority pick). If you look back at $cully and his highlight reel all it showed was a player who was super fit with very little football talent; his handball was insipid and his kicking was just average. It seems as if Bazza went along with the crowd and just assumed that he was the chosen one. I cannot believe that anyone can still justify his time with us.

Who am I? I am a professional football team In my most recently completed season, I won a total of 2 games I sacked my coach, and in the offseason quickly appointed a coach whose last tenure was one of the greatest in that club's history Already possessing a strong defence, I addressed my team's biggest on-field need via trade, taking that position from the worst in the competition by a mile to one of at least adequacy I am the...

Summary for those who can't watch: Players not being here makes his transition (e.g. moving from Sydney to Melbourne and straight into drafting/trading/list management) easier Said that on OTC all he was trying to do was answer the questions as best he could Getting a senior assistant was always going to be a process, even though 'we would have liked to get it sorted straight away' it was always about getting the best person; it's now about the players now, focus on next year, the senior assistant will wait In the 2-3 year timeframe that he's committed to, his aim is to set some high standards to emulate the likes of Hawthorn/Fremantle. Will take some time. 'We understand where we're at'. Benchmark is percentage, more so than win-loss. It's about being competitive for longer. Coaches have been watching game film the last few weeks, they're learning about what is needed Bringing in his new coaches is no disrespect to the past, but he feels it's more efficient to not have to coach the coaches, his people know him and his style and that means they'll work well together. Getting Brad Miller back was something he wanted to do, not just because he's past-MFC but also for who he is as a person. Having his own coaches helps 'fast-track' things. Jade Rawlings will probably have his status 'elevated' a little bit (he's been here longer than the others and knows more stuff, so he'll get a bit more responsibility) Clear strategy in trade period (even before Roos was here) was the midfield, we are really pleased with how things went. Fremantle didn't want to lose Michie but Roos' friendship with Lyon seems to have helped us get him. Roos says Tyson is 'an absolute star in the making'. Instead of another 18-year old, we decided it was better to get a slightly older player to help Viney/Toumpas/Hogan. Tyson has a bigger body, the kids in the draft are going to be smaller bodies. We kept pick 9 which was great, so it was a win-win all round. Vince 'sort of popped out of nowhere'. Losing Sylvia but getting a genuine midfielder back for him was a good thing, Roos says Sylvia made the right decision but getting Vince out of the blue to replace him is a good thing. His age, plus Cross, helps us out. 'Really successful period'

Beat me to it. To me he understood Sylvia's decision and was fully supportive of him even though he was a required player. Players will respect Roos, Roos will respect the players. We will be a completely different side next year. PS: don't be surprise if Rawlings becomes his successor.. Extra responsibility and a great relationship with our players.

Are you kidding??? This bloke had the same desire for a tackle and hard ball get as Homer Simpsons love of salad. The bloke was flaccid on all counts, and even in his latest game WAFL GF on a wet windy day he still cant register a tackle in a whole game. The amateurs are calling Cale, loud and clear !!!

Fantastic article. Really, really, measured, thoughtful and unbiased. I wonder if Peter Ryan played football.

I think he might have already with Michie, but I am really excited by Tyson. Our midfield will be more than competitive in 2014.

In a world of same same journos who continually borrow stories. I kinda like robbo

Interesting, and about what I figured without thinking about it too deeply. We added some depth and class to the mids, but we didn't suddenly get a midfield of A+ graders, Viney, Toumpas and #9 and still babies, and we were coming from a veeeeeery long way back. I'll be happy to see us win a couple we didn't expect, fight out a couple more, and start to gel as a team that enjoys playing together. Everything else will be a bonus.

Does anybody really care about a bunch of over-exposed voyeurs, who hide behind journalism "privilege" arguing among themselves about who is whose mate, and who can wee higher up the wall??? We have no choice but to listen to some of them because the conduits (modern reporting media) are the only ones allowed decent access, but do we really want to know anything at all about their allegiances or bickering? In the words of the constable at a crime scene: "move along, nothing to see here".

i am not saying for one minute that Bailey should not have left when he did, others should have gone too. But i don't think Bailey was ever able to coach to his potential while at the MFC Schwab's Blueprint was the bible of the day.

Bernie did an interview on triple m Adelaide today. Great listening, and he speaks well. http://www.triplem.com.au/adelaide/sport/afl/news/2013/10/bernie-vince-off-to-melbourne/ It is clear the regard he's held by crows fans is very high. Sando perhaps not so much.

Enough of that thanks. You can conduct a good debate without resorting to the put downs so please leave it alone.

I don't see the point of these exercises in prediction. No-one last year saw Port rising and WC and Adelaide falling. While the whole pack of cards isn't going to be thrown in the air, there will be clubs that do better (or worse) than expected - and no reason we couldn't be one of them. Decent draw apart, I would have thought though that just the addition of Hogan, Clark and hopefully Dawes, plus a few midfielders who have shown that they know how to find the footy, plus a few of the younger brigade stepping up, plus a few players getting in a full pre-season for a change, plus a first-rate coach and coaching team, should all combine to give us reasonable grounds for optimism.

As soon as I saw your name I knew you'd be responding to me. You make me laugh Timmy. As for judgement calls ? i always lean to giving any new CEO, coach, president, etc the benefit of the doubt. That's the way I roll. Unlike others, I don't remain steadfastly wedded to a view. As evidence comes to hand I process it. But you keep getting rapt up in my views and posts all you like. I'll give you the odd bone if you're a good boy.

You are betraying your intelligence if you think this is a possibility.

You're right and most of us were pretty happy with his selection at pick 4 in 2007 and subsequently, with his debut season. It all fell apart rather quickly after that and its difficult to attribute what happened due to one single factor. I do know it wasn't from a lack of trying on his part. What I do find churlish are the cries of "I told you so," and worse still the claims that he was gutless because of that stupid footage of him appearing to be running away from an opponent when he was in fact following the football down the ground. It's so easy for armchair critics to claim to be smart after the event by misinterpreting the past or by plain making up stories.

Landmark...Im right...lol

And we wonder why our club's stuffed. A decade of squandering first round draft picks. That's why. http://www.thecourier.com.au/story/1413660/cook-put-on-backburner-as-roosters-face-star-studded-colingwood-outfit/?cs=63

As has been stated in other threads. Roos will not recruit a small forward unless he has another string in his bow. He must be able to play midfield. We already have Evans who would be ideal as a FP rotating through the midfield.

I dont get all the grief for BP. Yes, he was an out an out dud but it was management opting to give the recruiting role to BP rather than getting a proven, experienced recruiting manager from outside the club. Whether we couldn't get who we wanted or we couldn't afford them, I don't know, but in hindsight it was up there as one of the more shocking decisions of the MFC. It was always going to take sometime to find out BP was a dud because the draftees wouldn't necessarily come on straight away and then there's the poor development to cloud the issue.

Juggling the order serves the purpose of asking the question how can people lament the 2010 draft when if it went 12 Howe 33 McDonald 50 Cook etc they'd be lauding it. The fact is he missed an opportunity at pick 12 to have a genius draft instead of a solid one which has netted two presumptive 200 gamers. If Gawn was pick 11 and Gysberts 34 the same, there wouldn't even be an issue with that draft and that makes no sense versus the malicious comments. The same people would battle to make picks in 2011 at our spots even with the benefit of hindsight. The other years whilst not great are not atrocities either and he gets slammed for picking Scully who was rated by the market as the best player in football at the end of his second season. Not necessarily giving him the thumbs up but the pasting he cops is unfair in my opinion.

Thanks for that. As much as I was appalled by some of the tactics of propaganda and misinformation about AOD9604 adopted on AFL360 by both Robinson and Whateley, Mark Davis' attack on them in his column is way over the top. Interesting that he's also had a dip at Demetriou about the AFL chief having a giggle about the dwarf incident.

I know I've said they shouldn't be read but here's another Phantom Draft. This one's by Paige Cardona

I don't really care about the sponsors. If I had the money I'd offer to sponsor the club to have nothing but the emblem on our jumpers. I think it's cheap and tacky to have a company logo splashed across your uniform and it truly saddens me that it has become a necessity in modern football.

Suckling at the breast of fantasy in the off season is one of the few joys (if not the only one) left to our supporters. A poor memory helps immensely.

I'm not and if we were Footscray you'd be more inclined to go for Lennon and develop him over time. Right now we need young mids that are ready to impact the midfield sooner rather than later.

Trying to kill us? If they wanted to kill us they would never have given us that bail out fund and Peter Jackson aswell. Silly thread.

It's a bit like walking in to a cake shop (I love cakes) and being told you can only choose one; no matter what, you will always look at the plate next to you and wonder if you made the right choice. I just wish we had picks 6, 7, 8 & 9.

Nah...Lucas Cook was pick 12 and there's no buffer on here about that one. You must get your first round picks right and we haven't been good.