gs77

1 hour ago, Northern Summer said:

Regarding your last line, spot on. Everyone loves Stynes and nobody would ever want to criticise him, but it's important to reflect on a few home truths. .

Stynes, Lyon and Schwab were very very close to each other and had been for years.

Stynes was the one who brutally sacked Paul McNamee on the spot as soon as he walked into the club as President and appointed his mate Schwab into the role. McNamee had only been in the job for 5 minutes, yet apparently his death knell came when he wanted to recruit Jonathan Brown on a big-money long-term deal. Suitors were hardly reaching out far and wide for Schwab and he didn't appear to leave Freo in glowing colours. It was clearly a boys club back then.

Stynes might not have been well when the 186 debacle occurred, but his allegiance would certainly have been with Schwab over Bailey sadly.

It continued beyond this. . Garry Lyon became involved and looked after Schwab (along with Stynes), giving Schwab a 2-year deal (which alone should raise eye-brows). 

Who hired Neeld - primarily Lyon and Schwab. Not one to excuse Neeld because he's clearly shown even in recent TV interviews his lack of self-awareness and man-management skills, something you would have expected he would have reflected on over the past 7-8 years. However, it's still my view that he was initially hired to coach with one mandate from Schwab - to [censored] the players in an old-school militant manner - much because of Schwab's knowledge of their distain of him. The reality in any management position is you can lose your direct reports (or players in this instance) in a single moment only never to get them back again - it's clear Neeld did this straight away and had no way back. Yes, it was his fault. Was it a condition he was hired under? Perhaps.

 

 

 

Very good points. I've long mused on just how much damage Neeld did to his relationship with the playing group right back at possibly his first public address as coach (was it the BnF?) where he delivered an awkward slapdown to applause when he was introduced. He may have come from the successful Collingwood setup, but he hardly carried the credentials of a Malthouse that may have lent greater weight to such an approach. 

16 hours ago, Diamond_Jim said:

WA Premier keeps on saying they wont lift the border restrictions so no idea of when WA may open.

The plus is that they have as I understand been letting in fifo mining workers all along so there is some precendence for exceptions.

WCE v Richmond or Collingwood at Perth would be  a nice opening round game

Fine. 2020 can be a 16 team comp and they can sit it out.

12 hours ago, Little Goffy said:

Forgive me, I need to mention Neale Daniher's final game. Ripper of a game against Essendon but the taste of ash lingered a long time after that one.

Not a close one, but our 111 point capitulation to the Cats for Paul Roos's last game as coach was a pretty disappointing send-off for one of the game's titans.

Ooh the public burn on Fitzpatrick and Dunn. Gawn really is a character. ?

Interesting to see large gaps where 13 hasn't been worn. Superstition I assume, but does anyone know more?

44 minutes ago, demonstone said:

Sorry Moony.  I'd love to oblige but lack both the technology and the know-how to do so.

I can provide the proposed team song, but make sure you've got a bucket handy:

We're the Melbourne Hawks

We're the high-flying Hawks

We're the mighty Melbourne Hawks

We play each game and we play to win

Watch us, we play it with a grin

Every heart beats true for the gold red and blue

As we sing this song for you

One for all and all for one

Two will make you stronger

Keep your eye on the mighty Melbourne Hawks.

That "two will make you stronger" line is nauseating in its appeasement. 

51 minutes ago, Macca said:

Agreed

Mergers would never work in Victoria ... 95% of the supporters care way more about their team than they do the game itself. 

Merging 2 teams within Victoria would be like merging the White Sox & Cubs,  Yankees & Mets,  City & United or the Reds with the Toffees.  Or Freo & the Eagles. 

Anytime there is a match-up between 2 Victorian teams there's often over 140 years of history between those 2 clubs.  1877 is a better starting point rather than 1897.  200+ games to boot (each match-up)

It wouldn't work and the new entities would probably have less supporters & members.

Most would rather see their team die than merge.  Footy is all about the passion,  the colours,  the theme song,  the jumper and history and past greats.

And not many care about the money either ... we just want our teams to win.

Out of curiosity, does anyone have any firm numbers on how many Fitzroy supporters were lost to the game after their merger? I can't imagine being nearly as interested in the game if the Dees were pushed into a merger.

1 hour ago, Demonland said:

 Essendon great Matthew Lloyd has come up with a radical idea to combine the 2020 and 2021 fixtures and have one premiership awarded over a mega 34-game season.

Lloyd believes the winner of this year’s premiership will be forever tainted, much like Trent Cotchin and Sam Mitchell’s Brownlow Medal win in 2012.

The only reason the 2012 brownlow was tainted was the disgraceful conduct of Lloyd's club. 

16 minutes ago, faultydet said:

Know what I find interesting about this Chinese virus?

The fact that we have all been happy to share the flu with our families for the past 200 years, with never a word about mass hibernation, even though it kills scores of vulnerable people every year, and will again this winter..

This is not the worst virus that has ever hit the world, so what changed?

 

And before you snap, I am asking a serious question, and not downplaying the need to stay off the streets right now, as I am following the current guidelines.

This is new. Unknown. And it's putting a lot more people in intensive care than the flu does. Influenza mortality rate is something.like 0.1%. COVID19 is looking 10 or 20 times higher than that.

If the rest of the men's comp is cancelled will we have a 9 way tie for the Brownlow?

37 minutes ago, Cards13 said:

Im sure that was the speech Max was giving them to before they broke off for the first bounce.
Come on binny, that was terrible, WCE were outstanding, they sucked it up and focussed on the job at hand. 

It's a little easier psychologically when you know home is a few minutes drive from the ground.

Just now, MF-C said:

I’m glad the season is suspended. 
 

we’re so far from Pies, GWS, Rich and Eagles. 

We're looking a long way from a top 8 side let alone a top 4 side. 

Just now, Clintosaurus said:

How did the dud centre bounce straight to Naitanui not get recalled? That was just a joke.  

Because it didn't bounce to Gawn

1 minute ago, Demonland said:

Frees 4 to 1 without the feral crowd. 

Hard not to happen when we're always 2nd to the contest

Players could be flat as tacks, or frustrated raging bulls. Will be fascinating to see how this game goes.

1 hour ago, Demonland said:

?

2021 swansong perhaps having not been battered pillar to post through a 22-25 game 2020?

2 hours ago, don't make me angry said:

Ok live under your rock hide, people most at risk lots of them are in nursing homes already, no need for those to go to hospital, it's serious but is been beaten up to make it bigger, why young footballer are so scared to get this virus, they won't have more then a cold, and if you get symptoms no matter how mild then yes isolate get tested, too much effort is going to people who are not at risk, this is man thinking he can control everything, stopping a big crowd here or there won't stop anything,

They already have drugs that can kill this virus, they are being held back from the public by the government, they need to use them on people with this virus now, but the government's are using this situation to see how far they can push the new world order, seeing how much control they can have on people's freedoms, lots of right wing governments with things to hide, notice how climate change is no where in the media atm, brexit nowhere to be seen.

Credulity is not a virtue.

16 hours ago, Rod Grinter Riot Squad said:

They were family of players, clubs employees  and AFL staff

 

initially they sat in stands, but AFL put them all in a room watching behind glass as all those people were to quite “not a good look”

I wonder what the relative likelihood of virus transmission would be amongst 80 people confined indoors for 2 hours vs spread outside...?

7 hours ago, Brownie said:

Its was so very Melbourne.

3 goals 6 behinds and three kicked out on the full.

 

And several kicks towards goal that bounced in the goalsquare back into play.

4 minutes ago, Demonland said:

However the AFL not conceding yet. 

 

Hoping for season to proceed but with empty stadiums. If they postpone, season could be a writeoff - no certainty on how protracted this will be. Though if/when players stsrt testing positive that'd surely be curtains. 

5 minutes ago, Demonland said:

The Victorian Government obviously didn't get this memo re: the Grand Prix.

Staggering that we simultaneously have the Premier declaring it is inevitable that all schools and numerous employment sectors will be shut down, and the state is about to host 300+ thousand motorsport fans from all corners of the globe sandwiched together by a racetrack and in toilet/food/beverage queues for four straight days. 

Never liked him at Melbourne; has repeatedly shown himself to be a tool since leaving. Am ideal fit to Collingwood as far as I'm concerned. Where class goes to die.

6 hours ago, DeeSpencer said:

The biggest disappointments right now are Hannan and Petty not making any progress up from TBC with groin injuries.

And the Joel Smith mystery. 

Hoping it's not osteitis pubis for those two. 

Forget about this coronavirus. I've heard there's a new threat called influenza that they reckon will kill 3000 Australians in the next 12 months.

19 hours ago, Diamond_Jim said:

how lovely is our press... "doing a Melbourne" and the "worst team ever" in one day. Our sponsors must be over the moon.

 

True. Not sure they'll be buying the "any publicity is good publicity line."