Debamboozle

McAdams issues in Adelaide were preparation and fitness based. He would not do the off season work and would come back underdone. In trying to get up to speed with the rest of the team, he would invariably get injured and get further behind the eight ball. From there, it always became catch up through the season. Apparently that’s why his best footy, most consistent footy has been played at the back end of the year when he has somewhat caught up fitness wise. Hopefully the change of environment at the Dees will help with his professionalism.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/afl/victorian-commission-for-gambling-and-liquor-regulation-announces-own-probe-into-melbourne/story-e6frexx0-1226581447543

And CS finished by saying "It heralds the next phase for the Melbourne Footy Club. And we also recognise that it is the stage where we want the scoreboard to be our judge."

But won't it be great winning Grand Finals at our ground again. The MCG is our home and the MCC is a huge part of who we are.

And we have Jack Viney and two top 20 picks in next year's super draft. New salary cap. We are paying less than the required amount, so font load a massive contract 'to do something'. We have been so insipid for too long. Clark was a great play, just what we needed. Watts and Jurrah can now play on the ball. Our many other young guns are one year older. Noah might even be named Captain. We just took the supercoach arms race up a serious notch - 2 coaches and 1 IT person for each line plus directors of developent (Viney), elite performance (Misson) and innovations and sports science (Neale). Neeld is smashing it with deliberate purpose. Gary Lyon - not a word, very quiet. Schwab also strangely quiet. Big Jim hope your not in pain and with loved ones. You started this bonfire. You gave us belief and pride again. C'arn the Mighty Demons!

Hardtrack, best post in 7 pages. Despite what the media wants to write about and believe, the club is strong and united. Footy professionals who were but strangers a short while ago are jumping on board and trusting in the club's vision. Continual kudos to professionalism, passion and determination. It's about time we TRUST the club that we love. Excited about Neeld. Had me hooked in the first minute he spoke.

Don't be so sure. I posted this in the Burns/Craig topic so pardon the repeat. GL was very excited to break the news about RL to Freo. Was also very calm with the inevitable Melbourne coaching & RL questions arose. I particularly liked the bit about "We never approached or offered a contract to RL. Blah, blah respect whilst team in finals. We 'enquired' with his management that if he was not going to coach STK we would like to chat." To casual by half. The media do not know a thing that is happening down at Melb because we have the new best in business as our head ATM. Tight ship at Melbourne since GL took over. Filtered secrets, betting plunges, proposed directions.... GL is using the media circus against itself and it is working a treat. No news is good news. Nothing to see hear. This goes one of two ways. We had our man a long time ago and both parties have been cloak and dagger and pointing elsewhere for distraction since. .... Or GL and the board and Cam Schwab believe thier own spin and we are pathetic amateurs like we have been for 50 years. I will bet my ... on the former. Time will tell. Early Oct - just in time for me Birfday.

No. Not at all. GL was very excited to break the news about RL to Freo. Was also very calm with the inevitable Melbourne coaching & RL questions arose. I particularly liked the bit about "We never approached or offered a contract to RL. Blah, blah respect whilst team in finals. We 'enquired' with his management that if he was not going to coach STK we would like to chat." To casual by half. The media do not know a thing that is happening down at Melb because we have the new best in business as our head ATM. Tight ship at Melbourne since GL took over. Filtered secrets, betting plunges, proposed directions.... GL is using the media circus against itself and it is working a treat. No news is good news. Nothing to see hear. This goes one of two ways. We had our man a long time ago and both parties have been cloak and dagger and pointing elsewhere for distraction since. .... Or GL and the board and Cam Schwab believe thier own spin and we are pathetic amateurs like we have been for 50 years. I will bet my ... on the former. Time will tell. Early Oct - just in time for me Birfday.

This is hilarious - in the same mould as Judd's grandmother. Nevertheless, this is what I heard from a close friend of my Dad's over dinner last Thursday night. Her demon-supporting son ran into Ron Barrassi the day before (Wed last week). They were keen to know about Scully and the new coach. RB did not yell from the rafters but did confirm both rumours as true. 1. Scully gone. However, for 6 yrs at 6 million, rather than the usual 5 for 5. 2. Ross Lyon signed, sealed and delivered for five million over five years to the Demons. I still wait with anticipation as to the truth of the latter, but she was certainly right with 1. She doesn't even follow the footy!

1. Patches of that information from a few Devils's Advocates. 2. A MFC board member who my Pop catches up with intermittently. 3. My uncle spoke about the possible behind the scenes agreement after a discussion with someone with close ties to the pies board. I could not get the name or who or connection - despite my badgering. Apparently the pies board member is very keen for Malthouse to move on and is not the only one.

Correct, but potentially incorrect. Malthouse is very unlikely to be a the Pies next year if what I'm hearing is true. Irrespective of winning the flag this year, they are on the cusp of a dynasty. They don't want to disrupt the 2011 tilt so everyone is towing the party line (Malthouse has started rocking with his comments recently). As of next year there is serious concern at board level about Buckhouse getting along, especially with the increasing friction between the two this year. The Pies will let Malthouse go without a serious protest. The crows and dogs have their selection panels and processes all go-go-go with media fanfare to boot. The usual media rumour mongers have zilch on the Dees. All we have announced is a bogus selection panel (McLardy and Lyon the only true participants). We ended our media release on Tues with "won't be rushed, no time line". Crap. The timeline will go til after the Granny. Malthouse to Melbourne (M2M) has been in gear now for months by our board and various powerbrokers. I heard on the weekend that Malthouse may already have a behind the scenes agreement with the Dees - pending a backflip from the Pies re Buckley senior coach next year. Bailey was gone months ago aswell. He has been on thin ice for a long while and nearly got the flick a number of times earlier in the year. The board is determined not to waste the list and rebuild years, hence going for the top experienced coach(es). Now I haven't heard this but think the 5 mill 5 year offers being bandied about are to say we are serious and to get these top coaches interested in our ability to resource the FD appropriately. I don't know where the Lyon stuff started or how it fits in with what I've heard. I think the board would would be very keen to appoint him if he was keen irrespective, of the MM rumours.

Ironic isn't it? To quote McChin "The jungle drums are beating..." Magpie board want Malthouse out. Just trying keep the house in order and ship on course for the remainder of the Premiership campaign. Hugely funny if they miss out on this one to the Hawks or Cats! Bit hard to believe the perennial joke of a club that is ours could possibly pull such a Machiavellian move... against the arch enemy... handshakes done? No way! And now throw Saint Lyon into the mix and the fog is just settling in me thinks. I'm very glad Dee Lyon is back in the house. May have also had some say in the Sylvia and Green statements. Ha! Davey probably saw the writing on the wall that he was next so decided to squib it and get suspended. Looking forward to October now. A big off-season awaits.

We've been too nice for too long. People, especially us Melbourne people, are sick to death of it. We are not Demons. We are considered soft and its [censored] embarrassing. Something had to be done. It is an easy and correct choice. Cam's record shits all over Bailey's. Four years into coaching, 25% win rate or something and your football side loses by the 2nd biggest loss ever in a hundred and fifty years of VFL/AFL history. We cannot accept that. Gary made a very good point tonight. The players should not have played the way they did. They are employees of the MFC and have a responsibility to the jumper and the colours. The tail shouldn't wag the dog. I think the players at Melbourne, for the best part of two decades, have had it easy, got off too lightly. I believe Gary will come in as interim President and attract a very good, experienced coach in. Maybe Malthouse. And Todd Viney? Who knows... all I've seen of him is yawning and looking fat. I hope he surprises me.

Excellent, excellent post. We are all impatient and desperate for success but need to temper expectations. I felt so depressed watching the last couple of praccy games because I realised we are still a looong way off. We have most of the talent on the list (flag core) but need 3-4 more years of development before we start featuring regularly in Preliminary Finals. From there you hope all clicks and you can snag a flag. The club is working to a plan (team of the decade) and it involves getting top end draft talent (tick) and putting medical and sport science resources into them (half tick ie debt demolition and now start to re-invest in the footy dept/player development). The latter takes years to come to fruition. Collingwood has spent the best part of a decade raising football dept spending to get an edge and it finally paid off last year. The final bit requires patience on behalf of everyone - building the players games experience together. Regarding the recent Tim Harrinton article, Collingwood and Hawthorn are the only two Premiers out of the last 10 who didn't have an average of 128 games per player. For all the wrist slashing and player blame after our recent losses, I personally think Strauss, Blease, Watts, Morton, Bennell etc will be playing in our Preliminary Final window over most of the 6 players mentioned above... One preseason does not make a player but many people on this sight had written off Maric. Other notable write offs include Sylvia, Jamar, Garland and Frawley.... Gary Ablett took at least six years to become an elite midfielder. Collingwood used Lockyer, OBree, Presti, etc as experienced players while getting game time into Thomas, Pendlebury, Shaw and Swan. There are heaps more examples.

Alan Didak played out the finals series with his pectoralis major torn clean off the bone. If Chip has torn it off the bone, the club would have to send him to surgery at this stage of the season and his career. If he has torn it but not off the bone it is a soft tissue injury that he can still run with to keep up his fitness. It will put him back this season no doubt. Don't know the exact timeline but 4-8 weeks sounds reasonable. Either way, it is not career threatening.