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We are not selling an effing house, we have a possible 17 other buyers of which about a dozen wouldn't be interested. Watts happens to have a few gifts (height, skills, position) that make him unique, or rare, in the market place. And he also has the added 'benefit' of being from a development program that people look down on as third world "if he was with us, we would make something of him" is an attitude that will make others believe that there is more there than there really is. You ask for more than you are going to get and you hope to get something valuable back. Because if you want to make it a completely emotionally detached decision - Watts is an asset that we cannot lose unless we get a commensurate asset in return. Let's talk about Asset Destruction: Pick 3 Brock McLean Jordan Gysberts Cam Pedersen Try and do a better job than that is what I would say to Viney and co...

You are absolutely right, pantaloons. And the side point to this is how loyalty is a spigot that we have no trouble turning off, but when players see an end to their contract and a choice to be made on their future - we demand what we shouldn't demand.

Board members are volunteers. Volunteers do what they do because of the passion they have for the cause. A Demons Board should, and will, be predominantly, if not dominantly, filled by Demons.

I don't know if his heart is in it. I know he was filthy about having to play Casey 2nds a few weeks back. I wouldn't ask him about his perception of the club right now. I don't think he has a had a happy last season of footy.

And if they lose your case you get a free pizza.

I cannot believe any of you would actually believe that the President would not be a Demon. He has been a lifelong fan and more recently a Foundation Hero. He is a Demon. As if we would give the reins to any AFL lackey. Your Board has to be full of loyal Demons. That way Jackson can be as ruthless as we want him to be. With the emphasis on 'we.'

A great number of you might do an about face if he re-signs... Look, we were all worried about the stories emanating from the club about Neeld's effect on the players and the fact that there were players who were keen to leave if Neeld was still in charge. It was a driving force, for many, behind the desire to remove Neeld. Now it comes to light that, yes, the players were not happy and that Watts was a player whose desire to remain at the club was shaken by a head coach we selected to coach the club in Spetember 2011. Now it is August 2013 and we have another decision to make. And we have no coach, no President, no head of footy, and no midfield (which will effect Watts as one of our prized assets...er players). Frankly, I would trade him if a suitable mid came along but I am not about to burn an asset just because he has the level headed belief to make sure the club pulls its finger out before he signs on for another few years of being the clubs lightning rod. You do not build a list by being 'hurt' by remarks in the media and making ambit claims and blanket statements about the future of players. You coax him back to the fold and if the right trade comes in you pull the trigger. Some of you are making this very personal.

Who Dares Puts Themselves In A Position To Win. It's less catchy... Mike Whitney nixed it at the first meeting.

Ok, there is a fundamental disconnect here because I think most of us sit in the following camp: We want all our players to want to stay but there would be only a handful of players we wouldn't trade to get a better player back. Now with that mindset - how can we damn someone, who has had issues with our previous coach, to wait on who will be our next coach and what direction we will move in? I want to keep him but I would move him if the right trade came in.

UPs are attacks. They involve a man in space who was willing to run and risk that his opposite number will get it instead. When a team gets 60 or more UPs than us, it means they have attacked the game more than we have, and that we have not dared to the same extent to win enough footy to win the game. The old axiom is true... Who Dares Wins.

The GWS and NM has hurt the perception of him but if those on the inside see him as a good option to fix our culture in the next 3 or 4 years I would completely understand. For me, it has always been Roos, Eade, Williams, or Craig. I just want a coach that knows how to instil some belief, and install a good culture. Maybe Craig is more suited to exactly that.

I really don't know where to start... Footy is a numbers game, if you walk into any midfield session during the week at any club they will rattle off 10 different categories that they are tracking. A graph is just an illustration of stats. And, lastly, in no way is the above particularly complex: Winners usually win the uncontested footy count by a comparable margin. Craig has got the team to do much better than Neeld.

Ok, I got a graph that show the correlation between winning and uncontested possessions: The margin correlates to the 'margin' of uncontested possessions quite clearly I think. This next graph shows the dramatic improvement in the first 8 games of Craig's tenure over the last 11 of Neeld's. This graph shows the average margin and the average UP margin of the two tenures. There is no comparison really, the lines don't even cross... The players simply did not want to run and be bold and take the game on during the first 11 games of the season. I don't put these up to illustrate a desire for Craig to stay on, although I can see the argument for that, I say it because I want people to know that there is hope and that improvement so marked like above can come in such a dark season then imagine what a good coach would be able to do with a summer to work with.

The point is that diabetes is bad. And we shouldn't...recruit...diabetes... I feel like we hopped off the train to Pointsville.

As PSD said, they will not be able to make certain of Boyd with ND2. I would still do a trade like this with something coming back our way. Thompson for ND60 or something like that.

The issue is diabetes. If all we have is icing and no cake then we will get diabetes.

If you want to talk politics go to the general board. Don't start it here.

Yeah, I overlooked him. He should get his second rookie year. So should Stark as he has been so often injured this season.

So you are saying that the club is drowning because Watts and Sylvia might leave because we don't have a coach yet? Who else might we lose this summer? Those out of contract: Davey (RFA), Taggert, Tynan, Fitzpatrick, Nicholson, MacDonald, Sellar, Jetta, Davis, Couch ®, Magner ®, Rodan, Gillies, Clisby ®, Stark ® I mean, we are hardly about to be torn apart because we are waiting a few weeks to get a coach in. The only talent we must keep from that list is Watts, Syvia, and Fitz. And I would be close to trading all three next summer if they were re-signed and a few other things went right like Clark coming back and a few things went wrong like Sylvia's career staying on its current trajectory.

Why are you personalising the question of whether Yarran can pull his finger out, stmj?

Would that be why it is called 'behind the scenes'? And the club is getting on with life. They are doing their search and they are doing their list management - players are being reviewed and told of their future right now. Two weeks ago Couch and MacDonald were told and I am sure others will be informed of their futures before the coach is even installed.

Ok, then. No team would think that Mackay and Douglas is worth ND2.

I know you are just 'spitballing' but that is a highly annoying practice when you are on the other end... In no way is Douglas and McKay worth ND2.

Firstly, the power of WADA and ASADA stops at the water's edge. They can only will sports to follow their recommendations. Secondly, the players can wait, but Essendon's fate has to be decided before the finals.

I would be exploring these trades without a coach. You don't (or can't) pull the trigger just yet but this is what we should be doing. We have some assets and we need to get solid, hard working mids. These are discussions I would be having with clubs.