titan_uranus

Does anyone have footage? Or remember what time in the game it was, so I can look it up on the game replay thing on the AFL website?

Let's take it in baby steps. No point trying to get us to go from zero to hero. This week, I'd like to see the following: Running. I want our players to run. Whether it's chasing, linking up, spreading, zoning, or whatever, I just want to see movement. Kick-ins. I'm sick of the kick-to-self, run 5 metres, then bomb it to the flank outside the 50 where Jamar and a pack of players are sitting. It's not only predictable, it's not very good anyway. Stoppages. At half-time in general stoppages we were down 11-1. I don't want to see Essendon continually ripping the ball out of stoppages. That will do for now. There are so many things wrong with us, but if we come out on Saturday and we run hard, we work harder at stoppages, and we do something relatively smartish with our kick-ins, that'll be a start at least.

To be fair to the defence, there was no pressure on the Port Adelaide ball carriers, meaning they were delivering the ball at will to their forwards. Very hard to defend when the forwards get perfect delivery. The real issue, as it's been for 6 years, is our midfield. They are slow, they don't work hard enough (whether it be spreading from stoppages, zoning, manning up, linking up in play, chasing ball carriers, or generally looking like they give a f**k), and they're not particularly skilled. Viney showed everyone what a true midfielder looks like. We can change our defenders as much as we want. When the ball is delivered inside 50 with such ease as today, they won't stand a change against GWS' forward line, let alone Port Adelaide's. I shudder to think of what Jobe Watson and Brent Stanton are going to do with us next week.

The kick-ins have been a disgrace for 6 years. I can't believe that they continue the same mindless fail of a strategy. It's unfathomably bad coaching.

Dawes was brought to the club to be the second forward. Sellar wasn't. When Dawes plays, Sellar/Pederson don't get second defenders, they get third. It's going to make a difference. Of course, that doesn't stop Pederson from being soft.

Was just being provocative

Which is why I said that there are plenty of things Neeld is doing wrongly. I just saw some highlights. In almost all of them, I saw a player with his back to the play, just following his opponent. It reeks to me of players following instructions without thinking about the game. I think it's unfair on Neeld to say 'hey, look at the Dogs and Port, they won big this week, so therefore we're behind them'. We can't make that kind of assessment until the year is up. All up, though, there are clearly a lot of areas Neeld is struggling in. Whatever his game plan is, he can't get his players to execute it properly. He can't get his charges fired up, and he can't seem to get his leaders to lead. Those are things he can work on over the coming weeks/months, and who knows, maybe we'll get better. Of course, we're just as likely to see 2013 go down just like 2012, in which case Neeld is going to be in serious trouble.

This genuinely is such a pathetic and unfair thread.

He briefly talks about how 'we've been losing for so long', when asked about our confidence. It's not unfair to infer from that that he's saying 'when we get behind, we're so used to losing that we lose our confidence in our ability to win'. Lends credence to the 'tanking has instilled a losing culture in our team'? Food for thought.

It's one alternative, and from my experience, it seems to be the one preferred by MFC supporters. I'm not used to our fans doing anything other than clap the side off after a game. It's not like the booing was organised or agreed upon. It was passion boiling over. We all care about this club, or we wouldn't be here. There's only so much we can put up with, though. If you'd asked someone on here in 2008 where we'd be in 2013, the answer wouldn't have been a description of today's game.

Your one-eyed hatred for Neeld is clouding your judgment. It's not a way to say 'leave Neeld alone', because he deserves to cop plenty of flak. But Bailey's time at the club led to us having an unfit list of C-graders. There's only so much you can do to a list like that in 18 months. Like I said, though, there is plenty Neeld can do, and he's not doing those things.

I haven't seen the game, but it sounds like Gillies, Nicholson, Watts, Dunn and Pederson were as bad as they come. However, it doesn't really matter. We're not going to go anywhere whilst the core of the side doesn't put the required effort in. We can change the players as much as we want, we just aren't going go become anything other than a bottom 4 side when teams can treat matches against us like a training drill.

Stupid question. A competent club wouldn't be in this position.

Let's be clear with a few things. Neeld inherited the worst list in the AFL. He still has the worst list in the AFL; there's only so much you can do in 18 months. What Dean Bailey did to this club will be felt for years to come. Having said that, Neeld has to take responsibility for coaching a side that continually fails to be competitive. All summer we heard about how we were aiming to be more competitive, about how we were aiming to win more quarters and lift our intensity and be harder and tougher. He's failed on all those counts. To come out in Round 1 of your second year after a year of complete crap and to show no visible sign of improvement, and to look exactly like you did the year before, is the fault (in part, at the least) of the coach. If we 2013 goes like 2012 (not many wins, but worse, continually lacking in effort), there have to be serious questions over his position. But that shouldn't happen right now. We gain nothing by changing coaches right now. It may end up being the case that we gain a lot come the end of the year.

It's obviously got nothing at all to do with our on-field performance. Nothing at all. However, it's embarrassing, unnecessary, and we just don't need more reasons for people to make fun of us.

There are a lot of things wrong about today. Toumpas was not one of them. Focus your energies where they belong - the experienced players.

I have never left a game early, and if I was able to be there today, I'd have been there to the end. However, I don't agree with clapping the side off after a performance like that. If you're not going to put the effort in, you don't deserve anything other than booing, and the players need to feel the disgust of the supporters. The booing was deserved and appropriate.

The club deserved to be booed off today. If I'd been able to be there, I would have too. Of course, we're going to keep playing on Easter Sunday and in other abhorrent timeslots whilst we continue to be putrid. There is so much more than just our next flag riding on our on-field performances. Our effort today was disgracefully bad, and there is not one excuse for it.

From what I heard today, it was a total shocker of an effort. However, it also seems that part of the problem was Neeld's insistance on having the spare man. I hate the tactic, I don't agree with it fundamentally, and I don't understand why we continued with it when it clearly wasn't working. Maybe if Neeld told Watts to man up on someone, he might have tried it. Nonetheless, a terrible effort from Watts.

I will never stop supporting this club, never. I will always be there, I will always go to the game when I can, and I will always be a member. That does not preclude me, or anyone else, from expressing disgust at today's performance. To open a new year with a showing that lacked effort, heart, intensity, pressure, guts, courage and all those intangible things we should be able to put out there in Round 1 is just inexcusable. Part of supporting a club is to motivate it to get better. If the supporters are fed up, that should be expressed, and the club should feel it. The support of the members and fans should never be taken for granted, and performances like today's do nothing to repay them.

We're continually trying to free Watts up as a loose man in defence. 3AW is very critical of this. Watts isn't giving us anything, and in turn, they've scored 7 goals, so it's clearly not working. What it's doing is confusing our defenders and causing others to mop up after Watts who isn't manning up on anyone.

Another goal to Port. 45-19. Hartlett is killing us. 10 touches and 2 goals.

So far, Viney aside, we sound like Melbourne of 2012. Same issues - no structure, no clearance work, no pressure, no hardness, not enough inside 50s.

Quarter time stats. Clearances 13-6. Of these 11-1 in 'stoppages', as opposed to 2-5 in our favour from the centre. Disposals 88-72 (clearly improved in this area and got our hands on the ball in the later part of that quarter) Tackles 16-12 We've had 35 kicks, 37 handballs, they've had 53 kicks and 35 handballs.

Paul Stewart kicks his second goal. Tony Shaw on 3AW says he's tagging Watts, who is not doing his job properly. They're also critical of our smarts - Westhoff set that goal up as the loose man. Our loose man was nowhere to be seen.