hemingway

I don't love Paul Roos, but I do respect him. He is intelligent, articulate, credible and commands respect from players, staff, the media and the football world. Our playing group may not have the respect of the football world, but Paul Roos gives the club a level of respect that we would not otherwise have. I can't think of anyone better than Paul Roos to coach this side. He provides reasons for the bad losses not excuses. Is he right? Perhaps yes, perhaps no. However, I can't say he is wrong or talking rubbish. Would it be any better without Roos - No. Could it be worse without Roos-Yes. I would prefer 5 years rather than 3, but that is the situation. At least with the current coaching staff and the succession plan we do have stability and a long term plan. We not longer have the media saying that the club is in a mess or in disarray. We have stability in our coaching staff and administration. That is required to achieve long term success on the playing field.

Sounds like Jack "The Bull" Viney is ready to rumble. Bring on the bullfight. Let's hope there is some metaphoric blood spilt.

Agree Curry, Vince has really added some mongrel to his game, presumably at the direction of Roos and the coaching staff. Last year he seemed to be mainly an outside player but now he is both inside and outside. A more valuable player to the team.

old dee, don't disappoint all your followers, you need take a bex or a single malt and have a lie down.

suggest you don't walk down lygon street Coup, the Carlton Mob might be waiting for you. unless you are a woman. although they may still be waiting for you.

Neale's character, reputation and integrity rubbed off on the MFC during his coaching period. Unlike some other coaches always felt that he was Melbourne.

Trigg reminds me of someone. Glasses, shifty looking, backroom operator, wheeler & dealer, and a dubious track record. Can't think who that would be. Oh no, the image is becoming clearer. Run for the lifeboats.

Trigg reminds me of someone. W

Carlton may be the current club that looks dysfunctional but look at the MFC going all the way back to Norm Smith. It is the way. It is the way when clubs are performing badly. Boards are made up of business types and professionals who like to use their power and influence. I suspect that they often conduct themselves in a different way than the way they would conduct themselves in their own businesses. They come from different backgrounds than the Coaches and those in the Football Departments. Running a football club is not the same as running their own business. Board members also are influenced by outside pressures and the perceived need to be seen to be acting in a decisive manner and are influenced by the short term pressures and demands just as many Boards in the business world. They don't want to be seen to be doing nothing, particularly when the club is performing poorly on the field. We live in a world that demands instant success and a world that does not like to wait. One that has no patience. Also Coaches have egos and pride and their own way. They are often idiosyncratic. Coaches and Boards never have easy relationships and often success just papers over the cracks for a short period before tensions arise. Norm Smith is the best example, although MM is the current example.

Call me old fashioned, but I dislike the way folks speak so harshly about their players. We are all blessed or not blessed with differences of intellect, skills, aptitude etc. It may be a supporters site but we should not write with such disdain and contempt about people just because they are footballers and seen as expendable. Sure talk about trades but do we need to be so harsh in our reasons.....no skills, hopeless etc? Would you like to be described in this way?

lets hope so OD.

Another supporter of Brayshaw, but who isn't. This kid looked the part from his first game and if it needed confirmation we have now got it . Cant think of anyone for a long time that has given such early confirmation of his potential although Vandenberg comes close. As others have pointed out its not just his talent or ability, it is the boy's attitude. Go for attitude every day over talent. You need both, but its the attitude that is the key. The fact that we have both Brayshaw and Vanders firing from day 1 is a bonus.

Great post Luke. Some really interesting points here. Your comments are equally relevant to Athletics/running. In regard to the difference between the sports, obviously, AFL players have a 6 month season and have to come up every week. So a team has to be fit enough to compete at a high level week in week out and the scrutiny of those performances is intense. However, the top teams do taper towards season end. Clubs like Melbourne do not have that luxury or the carrot of a finals gig at the end of a very hard home and away season. We do not have the talent or depth to rest players or cover for injuries. In recent years we have seen top sides rotate their players to freshen up. Clubs must try and get a balance between individual fitness and fatigue differences and the needs of the team. However, the point I am making is that all players play tired during the season. The top teams because of their talent and depth of talent can play tired but are good enough to win games. All professional or semi-professional athletes have the same challenge of having to compete tired at a high level during the season and still win or remain competitive. In most cases, they need to maintain a high training load during their season with the same challenge of remaining injury free before they begin their taper for a succession of their own finals campaign which can include state titles /national titles /selection trials/world titles/commonwealth/olympic games. I think the major difference between AFL players and other sports is that AFL players have much more pressure on them from clubs/supporters/media and the public at large. Every week they have to justify their place in the team and the team has to justify its position as a top club or improving club. However, there is no getting over the fact that top sportsmen and women have to regularly compete at a high level despite fatigue or being "tired."

All coaches get the finger pointed when the team is losing. Would much prefer Roosy dealing with the internal and external stuff than anyone else I can think of. Give me an intelligent, positive, and practical guy every time. He is also shrewd in what and how he communicates. It is not always best to be transparent to the media and public when your most important job is player management. I think overall he is maintaining a pretty good balance. He has the respect of the media and his players. That's got to be a good thing. If he keeps the jackals from the media away all the better. As with the players mark his report card at season end.

Season not yet reached halfway. Suggest we wait until season end to evaluate individual and team progress. Sure there are players like Dawes that have their limitations (we have known that for a long time) but the limitations appear more obvious with the poor form of his team mates and the whole team. I am sure that Roos and Co will be marking their progress report cards but the final result will be determined by an evaluation over the entire season, We do need big bodies and we all know about the deficiencies of our other talls. I think Frost has more upside but I would be cautious about trading Dawes too soon. Dawes has not much trade value alone. It is very difficult when we have so many injuries and poor form to get a clear picture on things. Whenever individual and team performance is poor we always start talking about sacking or trading players. We need to see improvement but you need to maintain integrity in list management so that the remaining players see the club behaving in a sensible and proper manner. No different from redundancies or sacking at a "normal" workplace.

excellent idea, i am heading to the bar as I speak.

I dream't that Frawley will play his best ever game of AFL footy? I looked to all my reference books on the interpretation of dreams with no avail. My psychiatrist told me that according to Freud this meant that I was actually in love with James or I still had not overcome my childhood anxieties.

beautiful rejoinder. posts like this lighten my day. nice to see a bit of humour on a depressing Friday afternoon, along with the usual character assassination, conspiracy theories, doomsayers, and the outright fruit cakes. Don't be offended fruit cakes I am kind of nutty myself hence all my bad habits. Where are those tablets?

got to hand it to BB, like a dog with a bone and never deviated from his stance.

no but I like C& Bs take and it does make me feel better, well at least until tomorrow afternoon. the brutal fact of the game is that all good work can be destroyed by one bad result.

Act of faith by both club and the boy. The club could have waited given the knee injury so this act of faith must have impressed the boy and his family. Yet he could have waited to see who would come sniffing. Overall the willingness of many of our youngsters to sign up is great news and speaks volumes for their belief in the coaching staff and the clubs direction. Also gives the club stability in our playing group and avoids all the rumour and innuendo over contract talks.

Probably right. Given last week, the Hawks will have a point to prove in maintaining 4 Q consistency. They are just too strong on all levels. We are miles away from having the same skills, run, hardness and goal scoring options. Can see the Dees sticking for a period if they maintain sufficient intensity but reckon it will be very hard to get ahead on the scoreboard at any time. Losing Hodge and Lewis certainly helps us and will make for fewer short steps from our mob. I long for the time when we turn up expecting to beat the Hawks. Just hope I am still alive. Like all long-time successful teams they have an arrogance and attitude that is hard to put up with. Both team and supporters.

I disagree Beelze, although I admire your relentless and enduring positive commentary. You do not let go. I hope you are rewarded.

everyone has a barrow to push. smith has just joined the queue of all the other barrow pushers.

contrary to past comments this suggests that not all Brighton Grammar/private school boys are soft. T