Demonland

Scroll down for a training report from Bringbackbarrassi and more photos

I've now fixed this issue for iPhone and iPod Touch (and soon to be iPad) users. The forum should display as it does on a computer now. Let me know if it doesn't.

The error messages and issues actually have nothing to do with th update to the forum software. They are occurring as a result of our new web host and I've logged a complaint so hopefully that will resolve it or we'll be looking for a new home again.

If the correct time is not displaying when you are logged in (it will be correct if you are not) then you need to go into your My Settings and click the check box for DST correction.

I'm planning on doing some testing out of different colours tonight. I don't want to go too dark on the actual forums but it's good feedback to know about the white. Keep the feedback coming guys. I will take all into consideration but obviously not everyones going to be 100% happy.

I will try to sort that issue out as it's trying to make the site easier to view on a mobile device but the iPhone is so good that it doesn't need the page to be "dumbed" down.

i too am having this issue and I believe it is an issue with our host provider. I have logged the issue with them and hopefully it will get sorted out ASAP. This never happened with Nasher but that's what you get when you actually pay for a service. Go figure. Just keep hitting refresh. You will get there. Please log any other issues that arise here.

Not sure where people want more Red and Blue and how this is much different from the old forum colours. Red and blue on the text part of the forum looks a bit tacky and can be hard to read. I think this looks cleaner. Happy for more suggestions though. Keep em coming.

Thanks all. There are still a few tweaks here and there that we need to make but I can assure you that any changes we have made are for the best. Please let me know of any bugs or glitches that you notice. If you are using an iPhone or another mobile device and you get the following screen: Click that link to get the message board as you see it on a computer. For some reason it detects that the site is being view on a mobile and displays like that. I'm not sure if you can manually change that setting. Maybe Nasher can take a look. It seems that once you click that link it displays the forums as normal on a mobile device.

Hi Guys, We've upgrade the forum software which was well overdue. Please be patient whilst we work out all the new settings behind the scenes and come up with a suitable look and feel. Anyway enjoy. Cheers, Andy

I might have to come out of retirement for this game. Or at least show up to show my support.

A HISTORY OF THE MELBOURNE FOOTBALL CLUB: PART NINE: IN THE WILDERNESS ... by the Professor Melbourne's 1964 premiership pennant was unfurled before the opening game of 1965. Missing from the lineup were Ron Barassi (who had been lured to Carlton as its captain coach) and "Bluey" Adams (retired) as the Demons struggled to win by 6 points against co-tenants Richmond who had been mauled by 113 points when they met in round 10 of the previous season. Although Melbourne won their first eight games straight to hold premiership favouritism, the times were a changing. Carlton and Richmond were emerging with new forms of professional administration that was to considerably alter the football balance of power. When the crash came, it hit Melbourne with a vengeance. Melbourne was thrashed on the MCG against St. Kilda on Queen's Birthday. The team's form slumped over the following weeks and then came the shock sacking and reinstatement of Norm Smith. Considering Smith's record - 4 premierships as a player and 6 as coach - the dismissal was an incredible blunder. This was recognised by the club when Smith was re-appointed after just one week. To his credit, Smith "ate humble pie" and resumed his duties for another year and continued to coach until the end of the 1967 season. By that time Melbourne had lost its magic touch in recruiting and the golden era was over. By 1969 the once mighty Demons could win only three games and claimed the dreaded wooden spoon. Melbourne suffered a number of reversals of fortune during the 1970's. In 1971, former great player Ian Ridley was appointed coach. Under captain Frank Davis the team began the season in brilliant fashion winning 8 of their first 9 games. With the talent available including Stan Alves, Gary Hardeman, Greg Wells, Ross Dillon, Greg Parke, interstate stars Graeme Molloy and John Tilbrook and a young giant in Peter Keenan there was a great deal of optimism in the camp. But a wet winter and a drop in form put paid to Melbourne's year and the team slumped to finish seventh. This decline continued in 1972 and again in 1973 despite the recruitment of St. Kilda star Carl Ditterich. By 1974, with triple Brownlow Medallist Bobby Skilton as coach, the team finished last. Melbourne's ability to improve was restricted by unproductive recruiting zones and a lack of initiative in recruiting as its unimaginative administration lagged behind its more progressive counterparts. The doyen of Club Secretaries, Jim Cardwell, retired from his post after 25 years in 1975 as the Demons began to make a little headway under Skilton's coaching. A new young star in Robert Flower was emerging as a football of exquisite skills and Melbourne also gained from the toughness of Laurie Fowler who crossed from Richmond to win the club best and fairest. The advent of colour television led the club to alter the club's colours to royal blue in place of navy blue - a decision that was reversed in 1987. By 1976, Melbourne was ready to return to the finals but luck dealt the club a cruel blow. After a reasonable start was followed by a mid-season slump, the Demons hit their straps to win the last four games by big margins. They had only to win their last match against Collingwood and hope for an in-form top team Carlton to defeat Footscray to topple the Bulldogs out of the final five. History records that Carlton and Footscray drew meaning that Melbourne missed out by two premiership points. The Demons were doubly unlucky because the Bulldogs had won their previous game with a goal after the siren. Captain Stan Alves was lured to North Melbourne at the conclusion of the season and Melbourne plummeted to the depths once again. New coaches Dennis Jones and then Carl Ditterich (as captain-coach) could stem the tide. Melbourne was hampered by poor administration, poor recruiting zones and a lack of direction. By 1981 it was time for Ron Barassi to return to the fold. During 1980 the Melbourne Football Club began a total rebuilding process which saw a partial break between the Melbourne Football Club and the Melbourne Cricket Club with the football club becoming a public company limited by guarantee. Ron Barassi - Melbourne's greatest son - had been successful as a coach at Carlton and North Melbourne and supporters were clamouring for his return as coach. Barassi did return to Melbourne but his task was a difficult one. The team disappointed in 1981 to collect the wooden spoon but showed some promise under Barassi's youth policy to improve to eighth position in 1982. North Melbourne recruit Brian Wilson won the Brownlow Medal after a stellar season. Gerrard Healy and Mark Jackson were emerging as promising forwards. Despite the recruitment of Brownlow Medallists Peter Moore from Collingwood and Kelvin Templeton from Footscray, the Club was unable to improve its position on the ladder over the ensuing years and, apart from a second Brownlow to Peter Moore the Demons made no headway and Barassi resigned at the end of 1985 having failed to lift the club in five seasons. The club was thrown into turmoil after the 1985 season when a reform group attempted to overthrow the existing Board headed by Sir. Billy Snedden. The high cost of legal action dampened the spirit of the challengers. Barassi's replacement was a low profile coach in John Northey who was disappointed after the team struggled to finish in eleventh position in 1986 - the same position it occupied in the previous season. There were whispers during the season of Melbourne's possible participation of a merger with another V.F.L club. The face of football was now changing rapidly as teams from Western Australia and Brisbane were invited to join the former South Melbourne (now Sydney) as the competition's interstate clubs for the 1987 season. It was clear that with the inclusion of new teams there would be pressure on a number of Victorian teams to improve their performance. The Demons had to emerge from the rut of more than two decades of failure if they were to survive in the new national competition.

I just sent out a bulk email to more than 2500 members. Sorry for the SPAM if you already know about the move. I'm still waiting on Nasher about how we can do a redirect from forums.demonland.com to demonland.com/forums.

Good question. I'll have to ask Nasher if that is possible.

I have included a Casey Scorpions Forum for all discussion relating to the Casey Scorpions. http://demonland.com/forums/index.php?showforum=20

Go Dees! IMPORTANT: If you bookmark the forums in your browser, you will need to change the link to - http://demonland.com/forums

Hi Guys, As you know over the last 9 years DEMONLAND has always been (and always will remain) FREE despite the fact that it costs us to run the site. We have to pay hosting fees, domain name registration as well as the time it takes to upload and maintain the site. I have set up a donation link on the homepage in order to encourage the members of this site to help us contribute towards the maintaining of this site that you all love. It will direct you to the PAY PAL site which is completely secure. I don't expect to make money from this and any funds not used directly towards covering the costs of this site will be donated back to the club. I appreciate and thank everyone who assists us in this. Cheers and GO DEMONS, Andy --- In order to donate please visit <a href="http://www.demonland.com/donate.html" target="_blank">www.demonland.com/donate.html</a> and click on the Donate button to Donate.

Didn't mean to snub you. The offer is greatly appreciated. A mate of mine has given me an offer that was too good to refuse. I hope you understand.

Many people have been PMing me about not being able to upload personal Avatars (the picture under your name). Well I have now fixed the links to allow people to upload an Avatar. The image must be under 150 kb and it must be no bigger than 140 pixels x 140 pixels. If you need help resizing an image let me know. I have also fixed the issue where peoples current avatars were not displaying after the server move.

I don't believe so. All the files and data will be moved across from one computer/server or another. Hopefully there will be minimum disruption. Unfortunately when you change the server it sometimes can take up to 72 hours until the change reaches all the ISPs around the world. I will let people know before we make the move that we might appear to be down for the next couple of days.

Thanks to everyone for their kinds words and extra thanks for those that have generously donated and for those that have offered their services. First off, I have never wanted to make any money out of this site and I've never wanted to have banner ads splashed across the site. I've always believed that the club comes first and ever dollar should go to them to help build success on and off the field. I've always wanted the ad space associated with the team to be given to their current sponsors and would never want a direct competitor or any others to get highlighted through this site. I understand that we are a fan site and have no affiliation with the club and therefore we should not be taking any dollars away from the club. I have never wanted this to become a paid subscription service and it will never be. A few years ago I put the donations button up on the homepage purely to assist in covering the costs of hosting this site. This was never intended to make us any money and it hasn't. The good news is we will not be going anywhere. I have arranged a new host and we will shortly be moving over there. Hopefully there will be only a minor disruption to the site. I will keep you informed. You can always follow us on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/demonland to find out whats happening if ever the site is down. If you wish to donate, feel free to do so. Understand that this is by no means compulsory and every dollar goes to covering the costs of running the site. I fully understand that many people can't afford it and I would rather you spent it on buying a membership with the club. Thank you again to all those who have contributed and to those who will in the future. Thanks also go to Nasher for hosting and helping to run the technical side of this site for the past few years. He's done a stellar job and I'm sure he will always be on hand if we need technical assistance again. Cheers, Andy

I've fixed the link now. Cheers and thanks.

Nasher could probably explain it better than I.

Hey Guys, Well we're back after one of the servers that hosts Demonland died. Luckily we were able to save all the data and move to a new temporary server. Over the past few years the hosting of this site has been donated (free) by Nasher and was merely a hobby for him as has running this site been for me. Sadly all good things must come to an end and it looks like we will either need to move over to a new server or close this site down permanently. Moving to a new server is going to cost me money and extra time and these days I can't really afford to lose either of those things. I will be shopping around this week for new hosts but unless we can get a good deal this site might have to close it's doors permanently. I have tried donations in the past but that didn't seem to work. So hopefully this isn't the end ...... Andy

It's happened again but this time ... Late on January 14, the planet blacked out for two days and 17 hours. The whole world saw the future... Actually, it wasn't the whole planet, just Demonland and I'd like to thank Nasher for getting us back on air in difficult circumstances. Now, tell us what you did to fill the void and whether you saw into the future ... particularly Melbourne's future!