Neil Crompton

@hardtack and @Tarax Club - your mentioning of the Captain Matchbox Whoopie Band, brings back forgotten memories, so thank you. I did enjoy the Captain. I think the last time I saw them was at the Myer Music bowl where they were supporting Paul McCartney and Wings.

Hey @Ghostwriter , I remember when you originally posted that info about Luker's height, but I thought you said then that when he woke up he was 196cm and 194cm when he went to bed. (Could be just my memory playing tricks though - but would be good if that were true).

I think we will finish somewhere between 6th and 10th - not sure how many wins that will relate to. We may start slowly but I believe we will come home strongly.

... or just a current thing?

is this your opinion PF or have you been told this?

Rjay, when I was at Monash Uni in the mid 70's, there was always the Friday lunchtime concert in the lounge adjacent to the cafeteria. Split Enz played there a couple of times. The second time they played, Neil Fynn was in the band. My reaction? I hated their music, I hated their outfits, hated their makeup and their antics. Obviously i'd never seen anything like them before. My attitude to them has never changed - but really luv Crowded House.

Please explain why? At the moment I cannot see what Mt Scopus's funding has to do with our development at Caulfield?

This farewell for Oliver - at 101 pages and counting - is longer than Dame Nellie Melba's and KISS's farewells combined. I think I can easily summarise the gist of what has been discussed over the last 101 pages: yes he was - no he wasn't yes he is - no he isn't yes he will - no he won't. I think that about covers it. But just for @picket fence, he WAS a champion, one of the greatest Dee's ever. But sadly the last two years have shown how far he has fallen, and the fact that the Club was prepared to pay him to play elsewhere really says it all. Time to move on i believe - just like Clarrie has.

Well done on your 50th D. Like 48 of the previous 49, I have NFI.

Confucius say: "any man who consistently argues with dolts, must like a level playing field".

It's a perfect day for asking for forgiveness. Merry Christmas picket.

Haha that’s me playing around with AI till I was happy with it.

I sent it to them a few weeks ago but haven't had a response.

He's gone mate - let it go.

So is it till end 2028 or end 2029?

Is there perhaps a correlation between you returning to training and him starting?

Yep, subscribed to the pro plan. Sorry but I’ve no idea what the Premier version is like. Too complicated for me.

I'm interested In DL's thoughts on our ground entry music. Does the two-song theme we have - ie Hells Bells/ Sandman (or whatever) leading into Grand Old Flag - work for you in creating the maximum theatre and atmosphere for players and spectators alike? Personally, I don't think it does for two main reasons. Firstly, no "inspirational" music seems to blend seamlessly into Grand Old Flag. Secondly, there is nothing original in what we are doing - nothing uniquely MFC, which i believe is important. With the musicians, producers and wannabe songwriters we have on DL, surely, we can create something so much better. So I am interested in DL's thoughts and ideas on this subject. Is it time for a change, or are you happy with the current situation, or perhaps it is of no concern either way? I know tradition will be a big factor in this - and change is always difficult to accept at MFC. And I certainly don't wish to be aligned with the poster of a couple of seasons ago who wanted us all to sing "Walk on" or whatever it was. I would like something uniquely ours, without losing our historic identity - which to me is the lyrics to Grand Old Flag - definitely not the tune. I have sent an email to the Club on this issue which expresses my reasonings and thoughts on this issue - as well as a sample of what I believe could be done. Extracts from that email and my sample are contained below: "The MFC has/is undergoing great recent change, and I'd like to respectfully suggest that we also need to review our player ground-entry music, because in my opinion it's not working to create the atmosphere that is intended - for players and spectators alike. Seems very minor when compared to the new coach, new CEO etc, but I think it is an important one to address crowd participation and atmosphere. We have had many years of player entry music like Hells Bells and Sandman. While they are mood inspiring, they don't naturally flow into our theme song, Grand Old Flag (GOF). Nothing seems to flow into GOF due to the age of the tune and its ebullient nature (as one supporter described it). As you are probably aware, GOF was taken from the 1906 song "You're a Grand Old Flag" written by George M. Cohen. In 1912 the MFC rewrote the lyrics to suit its own purpose, but retained the original music. So our theme song is 113 years old. Our words are partially original, but the music is not - which was written by Cohen to show pride in the American flag. My idea is that instead of trying to blend two songs for our player entry - which we know is not successful - why not try modifying the GOF music (not the lyrics) so that one song provides the atmosphere and crowd participation that we want. To me, the lyrics are sacrosanct, and should not be changed - but I have no problem with modernising the music somewhat to suit its purpose. The aim in changing GOF musically would be to have an initial build up (resulting in crowd participation), leading smoothly into the players entering the field; followed by a verse where the supporter base becomes fully involved. I've had a go at modifying GOF (see attached), as an example of what could be done. I've purposefully used a slow introduction, then a first verse to build atmosphere and crowd involvement; then a guitar bridge that signals the players to enter the field and approach the banner; followed by a repeat of the first verse where, hopefully, all supporters would be joining in. I believe the use of one song - our song, not someone else's- rather than two is the way to go to provide seamless entry theatre. Our original words are retained, but the American tune is changed into our own unique version. It doesn't have to be this version - I'm sure we'd have supporters more talented than me that could come up with an improved version. And it only needs to be played at player entry. The old version could still be retained for all other purposes if required / wanted." Grand Old Flag (1).mp3

haha I'm surprised (and thankful) you didn't suggest something from Sigur Rós!

haha you've obviously been reassessed.

Ghostwriter - Ghosty, Ghost, GW, "Little Sheet Rack", Target, "that seriously deranged lady", WCW.

Interesting to see that the Cats have 4 of the top 9 players for this stat. Let's hope Kingy can replicate that with us.

That may well be true GW, but you have to admit it's not a good look from the MFC supporters' perspective. But, because of what he said, it probably endears him to the dockers supporters - which I'm sure was his intent. He is no longer a Dee, so I am not really concerned about his comments to be truthful. I really admire your unwavering luv for all things Melbourne - especially players, whether present or past. It certainly goes a long way to balancing out some of the negativity on here - so keep it up.

L, interesting thoughts. Yes Suno is my AI friend. For me it is just an interest - to finally be able to put some music to my lyrics. The bigger issues I hadn't even thought about to be honest, I'm just having some fun. But I'm sure it's a contentious issue with musicians. Here are a couple more: This Lady of Mine (b_a_g) (1).mp3 Been Down that Road (2).mp3

I prefer to call him “crowded”.