mo64

Your whole argument is all about "can or may". If the football club isn't big enough to accept criticism, which in this case is warranted, then let's close the doors now. The poor precious souls have had their feelings hurt.

Why not? He's not a paid employee of the club. He's on the radio 5 mornings a week, and it's his style to be emotive about football. It's not like he just targets Melbourne for criticicm. He'll call it as he sees it. The football media is largely made up of ex players. Some of them see themselves as football analysts, others see themselves as entertainers. Ox falls into the latter category.

Nathan Jones should have responded with "We don't have an Alistair Clarkson". Roos didn't show up once again. Not what you would expect of a leader.

Sorry DG, if we have this mentality, we are doomed for failure. The speed of the upward trajectory is all important. And to achieve that, we need to be a destination club for A-Graders, not B, C and D graders like Hibberd, Melksham, Kennedy and Bugg. It's been a slow burn under Roos, and if we lost key personnel like T. Mac and Hogan in the next 2 years, we are back to where we started when Roos took over.

Ridiculous question. Clarkson, Longmire, C. Scott, B. Scott, Beveridge, Simpson, A. Richardson, Lyon have all outcoached Roos over the past 3 years, so take your pick.

It's premature to be talking about culture and belief. Beveridge instilled belief into the Dogs from day 1. Belief equates to unexpected success. Haven't seen any evidence of that under Roos.

Your 1st point about player retention can't be proven or disproven. And didn't we shop Watts around last year, but there were no takers? Secondly, Malthouse, Pagan and Blight were premiership coaches who failed at their next club. The game evolves, and sometimes coaches don't evolve with it. Your 2nd point is spot on. A couple of months ago, PJ was interviewed prior to a game. We'd had a win the previous week, and the media were lauding the team and Roos. The interviewer asked PJ about Roos, and his response was all about Roos offering stability, and retaining membership and sponsorship. A first time coach would have endured far more scrutiny with Roos' coaching record at Melbourne. Not once did PJ praise Roos' onfield efforts. Naturally we lost this game, because the team never responds well to backslapping.

The improvement of the team has been at the same level as it was under Bailey. We could finish anywhere from 9th to 13th this year, which is nothing to gloat about in your 3rd season as coach. I give Jackson the credit for bringing stability to the club. Roos has been a by-product of that stability. As an matchday coach, Roos has been average at best.

Spot on. To give credit to Roos for building a list is a massive exaggeration. The cornerstone of our team are Hogan, Gawn and Viney, none of whom were acquired under Roos. And we haven't landed a decent free agent under Roos. Our trading has been passable, but not exceptional. In essence we got Bernie Vince for Matt Crouch. Garlett has been our best trade. Our recruiting has improved under Jason Taylor. No credit to Roos there. The list of promising talent (Brayshaw, Petracca, Oliver) was the result of high draft picks due to poor performance. Again, no credit to Roos. As a coach, Roos has been no different to Bailey in his first 3 years, but his reputation has brought us stability, on and off the field. The OP is insulting to Northey and Daniher, and I rate Balme ahead of Roos.

I wouldn't concern myself braysure. The responses you are getting are pretty stock standard here. If you had of posted that your source said that Hurley is likely to come to Melbourne. you would have received a 100 likes and lauded as an oracle. Post anything to the contrary, and you'll get accused of being a troll. How's Simon going BTW?

There's no question that Hibberd is best 22 at MFC, but I pose the question. If Goodwin didn't have the relationship he had with Hibberd and Melksham, would they be the type of player that you see as urgently addressing a specific need at MFC? I don't.

Mayne would suit teams like Hawthorn, Geelong and Sydney, who need a 3rd tall who can play a role. Don't think he'd been on our radar. Barlow has reinvented himself as a ball-winning tagger, and may have some appeal to teams like P. Adel., Adelaide and West Coast, who require midfield depth. Again, has no appeal to us.

Different players, but I don't think that Bugg has a very high ceiling. Jones got pilloried for his fumble last week, which is fair enough, but you'll find that Bugg fumbles quite often under no pressure. He's not worth investing in IMO.

At least the match committee has realised that Bugg is a more limited footballer than Matt Jones. His omission is long overdue.

Hardly see Bugg as a recruiting coup. Lin Jong is a better footballer than Bugg, but I don't see him as addressing a critical need.

Due to insomnia, I watched replays of of a couple of our wins last night. The thing I noticed about T Mac's kicking is that he can only kick the ball in the direction he's facing, and it takes him ages to get boot to ball. In one instance, he was facing the boundary line at an 80 degree angle, and kicked it straight out on the full. He can't curve the ball with his kicks, hence it's easy to smother. On other occasions, he made horrible decisions with ball in hand. Anyone who puts him in the elite category for KPFs are kidding themselves. His role needs to be simplified. Play as a stay at home key backman, and don't provide yourself as an option for uncontested kicks or handball received.

I agree with your 1st statement, as I don't want to see T Mac go. But since the middle of last season, I think he's been a disappointment, and hasn't developed his football smarts at all. I could name 10 tall defenders that have had better seasons than T. Mac. And to say his younger brother is more skilled is not very complimentary.

We've got a player that has the lot. O Mac. As for Matt Jones, his performance today was on a par with his performances throughout his career. Unfortunately it shouldn't cut it in a team aspiring to improve. But he's not on his own. Everything I've seen of Bugg isn't much better than that of Matt Jones. I can see Bugg being a whipping boy in the near future.

What's the point of someone posting their beliefs when they don't support it with facts? Frank66 posted something of a factual nature, that Richmond were white hot into Prestia, but because it didn't appease the fanboys like yourself, he got little response. I'm not on here to read fluff pieces, but each to their own.

And your beliefs are based on nothing. Thanks for sharing.

I wouldn't put it past a player agent (not O'Meara's) leaking that garbage to Slobbo, in the hope that he runs with it. Then that player agent can bump up his own client's price, using the fictitious O'Meara $figure as a bargaining tool.

Nah, I think Picket's into older women.

I'm sure Henry VIII would be disturbed by your necrophilia.

I'm not a huge T Mac fan, but that trade is ridiculous. You're basically giving him up for pick 15-17, which could turn out to be nothing. The 2nd for 3rd round picks also doesn't add any value.

Shiel is in a different class to Prestia, and Prestia is a class above Crouch. Shiel would be our best mid if he came, so a trade for Salem is a no-brainer. But Salem offers something that we lack, which is quality ball use out of defence, so I'd baulk at trading him for Prestia or Crouch.