QueenC

Of course Daniher is not solely guilty of creating the problems at Melbourne at the moment. But he should absolutely not be acquitted either. But unfortunately in this environment the buck stops with the coach because they are his team and it is his job to get the best out of them. He has been good for the club, and I would hope that no-one would say other wise, but it is fact that he has his limitations. Currently he seems to be very reactionary, and as always there are the complaints about there being no secondary plan, and the speed (or lack there of) to make manoeuvres on the field if the first choice options are not working. Now he can't help player form slumps, but must be able to recognise them and act on them when they happen. Players will always have bad days (and I think we tend to forget that they are human and will make mistakes no matter how irritating it is to us) as will a coach, but the game plan and the execution of it seem to go hand in hand at the moment. And of course he can't help injuries, as they are just an unfortunate fact of the trade. So I guess what I am saying is that no is not completely responsible but at the end of the day he is the coach and it all comes down to him, and if he can't fix the problems we have then I believe that his days are probably numbered. And as for the question posed in the thread title......because we always want to believe that this will be the year !!!

That is an unfortunate truth occo, I would also love to see a couple of our kids getting a run..... But I don't think it will happen, not this week. To bigger risk for Daniher to take maybe? I have a real soft spot for Bizz but I don't see him in the forward line. And I honestly don't think they will put him there, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him in the twenty-two.

Well said Rod..... Unfortunately loyalty seems to be a little thin on the ground. I am not niave to our short comings but at the end of the day they are still our (yes our) Demons. And this in good times, and in bad !!!

Unfortunately true belzebub..... But seeing (or wanting to see) some positives doesn't mean we aren't acutely aware of all the negatives !!!

Doesn't matter, it went through !!! I am with YM on this particular issue..... If there was a positive to be taken out of this mess it was the game we saw from Miller today. It was undoubtedly a vast improvement on recent times and hopefully a mark of things to come.

I'll admit to being a little bit grateful for a thread like this !!!

I am with you Rampaging Demons....... I have always believed Davey's best position was as a forward crumber, but that seems to have been lost completely. Whether that is him or coaching I am not completely sure. But the fact is, we didn't see much crumbing going on at all today. The ball was being spilled from contests, there was no-one there to mop it up, and it was then being raced out of our forward 50 by the Hawks. This was unfortunately without the Dees even threatening the goals. Of course may not be entirely Davey's fault or responsibility, but it would have been nice to see him there at some point today..... Maybe next week?

Is the crumbers goal a lost art? I don't remember seeing one kicked last week (although I may have missed it, given my eyes were shut tight for much of the match) and there certainly wasn't one kicked today. This used to be something Davey was exceptional at. Parking himself at Neitz's feet and collecting the spill and burning off the defence to kick a goal, or chasing down the opposition with the ball as it tried to leave our forward fifty. The ball was being spilled from marking contests, but there was no-one there to mop it up, and not only were goals not being kicked or even attempted, it was it was then being raced out of our forward 50 by the Hawks with very little defensive pressure. Of course this is not entirely Davey's fault or responsibility, but it would have been nice to see him there at some point today. So where were our crumbers? The other thing my dad noticed was the general lack of team defensive work around the ground. He didn't see a lot of shepherding to protect our player with the ball. In fact there were times when the Hawks simply ran around a Demon player to get to the ball carrier. Some of our tackling was good, but this aspect did tend to stick out. This coupled with the hand balling to a player under pressure (not as bad as last week but still there) generally leading to a turnover, created many a problem and was one of the reasons the ball rebounded out of our half so quickly.

Bless you, Slander..... It is always nice to hear about some positives (however small they may be) and yours do make sense :D !!!

What on earth to expect him to say. ".....yep we are now totally and utterly screwed, today was awful and the injuries are bad. This is the first time in forever I have actually kicked any goals, and who the hell knows about next week. We don't have any forward depth that I know of, so yep we are going to go out and get ourselves killed because we totally suck, sorry." Honest it may be, but I don't think so. I know that it is rhetoric, we all know it is rhetoric, and I am pretty sure Miller or anyone else in the same position doing the interview (including the journalist) after that performance and with the injury news in their head knows its rhetoric, but its what happens, everywhere. Especially so soon after being whomped. And to be honest I really don't care about what a player says, it is what a player does that counts (and hopefully he will be proven right!!!) Besides what Daniher had to say interest me a hell of a lot more. Can anyone let me know. But as for the apparent attacking weapons...... I'll get back to you !!!

For what its worth 6. Miller 5. McDonald 3. Moloney 4. Jones 1. Bell I also thought Rivers, Godfrey, White, Bruce and Jamar were not completely disgraced but the rest......

Thats a question for the ages there dees rule...... And its one that frankly, should not have to be asked.

Well we can only hope.......with all fingers (and toes if you think it may help) crossed !!!

That was yelled at the TV quite a lot (by numerous people) in this house as well :angry: !!!

And some of those have copped a hell of a lot more than their (and others, for that matter) fair share of vitriol and abuse from us in recent times :angry: ...... As for Yze I just hope that he can again show us what has made him the respected Demon veteran that he is (or should be, or could be...... and whatever our personal opinions of him are at the minute, it probably should be remembered that he has done some amazing things for us, over a hell of a long time). Maybe, and hopefully, this will all be for the best, as it sets aside the "monkey" as belzebub said earlier, and he can put it out of his head, and go back to playing with the skill (which I don't believe he has lost, just misplaced and form can be very fickle) as well as the heart and effort (which has been the biggest issue for mine) that put him where he is in the first place. Although I do honestly hope that this wasn't a reaction to current fan bitching. We can be frustrated and annoyed and regularly bloody awful about our (yes, our) players but at the end of the day this is and always should be Neal's decision, it is his head on the block, and I hope he made it for the good of the team, the club and the player, rather than us. Just my opinion :D !!!

Congratulations to Paul on reaching his 100th game. Hopefully he will have a great game as well!!! And a big amen to that :D !!!

Totally agree with you Old Man..... And I truly hope that this is the kick up the butt he needs to want to and to actually get back to his best.

Thanks Nasher !!!

I haven't noticed a thread for this particular milestone...... So I would just like to congratulate Brad on reaching his 150th game!!! I thought he played some great footy and matured quite a bit last year, and while last week wasn't one for the archives, lets hope that he (among others) will be playing a super game this week to celebrate this particular achievement!!! Good luck and congratulations Brad :D !!!

Channel 10 has it listed at 2pm..... http://www.yourtv.com.au/guide/index.cfm

Yep me too, thanks YM :D !!!

You're welcome CB..... I'm glad I could be of some assistance to you !!!

Gerard Healy mentioned the same thing this afternoon when asked. He said that the Demons would not be able to sustain that game plan all year and actually win. He said something had to change and fast. But he also said that if it did he had no doubt we would make the eight.

I'm not entirely sure his spin kick would come in all that handy Wrath :D !!!

You would hope so !!!