rpfc

OUT Garland - Don't see it, whatever it is, I don't see it. Davey - Injured Miller - 93 games of stagnation. Bode - Petterd's better. IN Newton - Someone's got to play FF next year. Rivers - It's Jared Rivers. Petterd - He's a talent, don't know the story there. Frawley - Need help down back and Miller isn't the answer long term, he isn't even the short term answer. AND Bate for Sylvia if he's right, but probably not.

1 - Rivers 2 - Jones 3 - McLean 4 - Davey 5 - Bate 6 - Morton 7 - Batram 8 - Bell 9 - Grimes 10 - Petterd There aint a Lance Franklin in that list. Good midfield though.

THE GAMEPLAN We look awful with our overpossessing. We do. Just kick the farkin thing! I say it constantly, probably too much. BUT does anyone remember when the Hawks looked awful doing the same thing. Think about it, in 2004 they lost many games in a row and then they beat the Lions at the G by 8 goals doing exactly what they had failed to do right so often. And look where the Hawks are now. I'm going to give the gameplan time. The players i'm fed up with but this "run & carry/backline wave" game plan is what Port Adelaide won a flag with and what Hawthorn tore us apart with. Remember the Inside 50s were 54 - 46 and they won by 104! They just flushed it out of our forward line with numbers and delivered it well to Franklin. BAILEY This is mostly pabulum to me, this rumour. However, with every rumour... It looks like Dean Bailey, new senior coach: testing the boundaries of what he can and can't do, pushing players who aren't used to being pushed, and telling players who don't listen to listen. We have a dearth of leadership so he's showing it to the young blokes himself. And don't tell me Green and Bruce are leaders, 'cos they aint. He's telling Newton that to become a player he is capable of being, means he has to work and push himself. Getting him angry? See how it works. He's telling Moloney that he isn't listening to his gameplan. Doesn't suit his natural game this "run & carry/backline wave" plan. Dean says do it this way, Brent says "I want to farkin kick it" and he is out of the team. I Love Brent, love the way he plays, but if the coach of the Melbourne Demons Football Club tells you to do something - you do it. No. No. No excuses. You do it.

That is some wisdom, Yze Magic.... Did everyone feel that cold wind....????

The top three or four are always so even that what we will get doesn't worry me so much. Examples are Judd, Pav, and Morton (hopefuly). My problem is that in the St.Kilda/Hawthorn models they had the testicular fortitude to move on players that were talents, had value and that were fine servants of the club. It was brave, if a little lacking in loyalty, to get rid of Smith, Everitt, Lappin, and Hall (Saints) and Hay, Thompson, and Everitt (Hawks). But they want a flag more than a great yarn at a testimonial dinner after another season where they got close. If we move into Rd.6 and have 0 or 1 win(s) we should slowly but surely retire Neitz, Yze, Holland, White, and Whelan. Green should go to a pocket and Bruce to the backline and when trade week comes they should be top 20 picks. Although maybe they aren't worth that anymore. Don't talk to me about the leadership qualities of either, it's negligible for both and neither will be around for our next tilt. Wheatley, Jamar, C.Johnson, Miller, and Warnock should be mainstays at Sandy for the rest of the year to make way for Cheney, Meesen, McNamara, Martin, Maric, Grimes, Valenti, Wonaeamirri, and Frawley. I don't care about winning 8 games in our 150th if it means we aren't ready to attack our 151st year in the best possible way. And it includes retirements of players with a little bit more to offer, playing senior players in less important roles, and moving on decent players in favour of untried kids. In basic terms, I am imploring Melbourne to tank for its future. And I hate it. But I want a flag.

MCC/MFC for 12 years.

This argument again, can we confine these threads to draft week.

Cranbourne shouldn't be too much of a hassle, most of our players live in Bentleigh(possibly a generalisation). All for going there in the summer, maybe do what the Hawks have done in Waverley in terms supporter bases. But Melbourne FC should be based in the city, but if rent gets too heavy i'm sure Casey would spend a bit on facilities (I hear they're pretty good anyway) to accomodate us. As an aside, who gives a flying F if our training facilities and office are in a rectangular stadium. We don't train on it FFS. It will be a similar setup to Collingwood - and how are they going at the moment?

It was 1 awful game, but just 1 game. FFS we had Morton, Weetra, Garland, Petterd, Buckley, Newton, Jones, Bell, Johnson, and Mclean (all 22 and under) and we want more kids! Never mind the fact that Batram, Rivers, Sylvia and Bate (all 23 and under) are also in the best 22 and soon to come back. By my reckoning these players are in our best 22 and they are all 23 or younger: Petterd, Newton, Buckley, Bate, Batram, Dunn, Jones, Johnson, McLean, Sylvia, Bell, and Rivers. That is 12 with Moloney and Davey being only 24 and Bode, Meesen, and Morton on the periphery. We are a very young team and we're going to get blown out of the water on some occasions, I refuse to believe we are this bad. We will be competitive next week.

Everyone's emotions are a bit all over the place at the moment and that's understandable but I have to say listening to SEN after the game when some Demon 'supporter' was going to buy a membership but decided not to because 'why should I bother?' after the game on Sunday. That attitude is corrosive. No-one should buy a membership to be apart of glory, you should buy a membership to take some sort of ownership over the club. In good times and bad, especially bad. You cannot come back to the MCG in 3/4 years time when Morton, Bate, Grimes, McLean, Jones, Batram, Frawley, Dunn, Sylvia, Buckley, Maric, Bell, Moloney, Cheney, Meesen, Rivers, Newton, McNamara, Davey, Wonaeamirri, and Bode (or some of them) are dominating when you weren't willing to watch as they tried and failed upto that point. I doubt many of those supporters are on this site, but I hope the masses realise the importance of owning failure.

The season is not over. A loss is a loss, no matter the score. As a few have said, we lost the game before we started with that young team and awful defensive line-up. Don't let the senior players off the hook by sending them out of the team; we'll get done again and they won't get their wake up call. Green is a good player who needs to realise he is a senior player and he should kick it instead of handballing it to Buckley, Morton etc. Bruce is a good player and is underdone, and lacking his usual arrogance on the field. White is a good player who beat his opponent in the ruck but needs to work harder when his bloke runs off him. Yze is a good player getting back into the swing of it off a flank in a team that got annihilated, another who needs to work harder. Robertson is a good player playing in a pocket infront of midfielders who refuse to kick it to his advantage. His awful demeanour masks his value to the team. Whether or not we move them out of the team when we are 2 - 10 or something, or delist/trade for youth at the end of the season, my argument is that we are a better team than -104 against a depleted Hawthorn. Leave them in and put the pressure on them for Macca's 200th. IN: Rivers, Batram, Dunn OUT: Miller, Weetra, Garland

OK, throwing this out there... I was talking to Newton at a safeway yesterday, he said he would play in a pocket (argh!) and that Miller has been training as CHF. Moving past the Miller at CHF issue, who will play in the backline w/o Frawley, Bode, and Miller. Williams Boyle Roughhead Wheatley Garland Carroll Dew Franklin Rioli Macca Bell Petterd Maybe Bell could go to Williams and Carroll to Franklin but that backline doesn't strike confidence. Especially considering we will need Macca in the middle. Still, who knows if it will out like this, remember there are rumours about Williams and Boyle, maybe DB knows something we don't.

For those who wanted a clean out, this is good news. New Leadership. Fresh Ideas. (That's right stole it from KRudd, he's not using it anymore, anyway.)

Another 'curse' used by fans as an easy excuse of mediocrity, instead of thinking about what is actually wrong and doing something about it. In Boston the 'curse of the bambino' was used so frequently to explain away their troubles for 86 years that even the players accepted the maudlin story of neverending doom. It took some of the most aloof and relaxed personalities of the last decades in baseball for the players to get past the curse: Damon, Ramirez, Ortiz, Martinez, Lowe, and Arroyo. The rest had to be consummate professionals that gave the curse little thought: Varitek, Mueller, Wakefield, and Schilling. In other words - if this catches on, this crap about 'Norm's curse,' then the fans and players will have a ready made excuse for failure.

Do people realise that "You'll never walk alone" was a pop song that fans sang at the footy shortly after Gerry & The Pacemakers released it? (The equivalent would be turning a Travis song into an anthem today) Singing doesn't work in AFL, their is too much action. Soccer handles it fine because their is so much down time. Also, Australians singing in unison usually descends into obscenity riddled chants that embarrass all - just go to a victory game and you'll know what I mean.

Another thing not mentioned is that you have to manage your deletions because you have to make three every year. If you got rid of everyone you wanted to, then what the next year...get rid of 1st year players? Move on people who may have something left to give?

To play on Rocca, Gehrig, Lynch. Also he was just as good in the last handful of games in 2007 than he has ever been in his career. A versatile role player, great clubman, and worth another go around.

That he has another injury concern, unrelated to his ankle. Nobody knows what exactly, or if they do, they are not willing to divulge.

Garland is more of a flanker than Frawley... Starting FB will be Carroll. If we play well upfield he will do fine. Standouts - IF WE PLAY WELL Robertson - He'll still be where we get our goals. Rivers - Most important player at Melbourne. McLean - Leading a very talented & young midfield group.

Yeah, because who can't talk the electronic availability of training times when discussing historians getting a PhD... When I saw the headline 'Dr.Carroll' I thought a ridiculous thought...completely ridiculous...can't even type it.

Pretty sure Robbo didn't get AA selection in 2005 for his 73 goals. Deserved it though.

I'd prefer to see Newton at CHF. He won't develop in a pocket and Miller/Dunn option doesn't appeal at all at CHF. Newton or Bate at CHF. Sylvia should be looking at a flank, I wonder whether his engine will allow him to move into the midfield. Maybe with a pre-season he might be able to, although I just don't see him capable of holding a spot in the midfield.

Eddie would never let that happen...

My point is the PSD pick will be a prospective dud no matter which bloke we pick up. No guarantees. Hence the little risk, it may be a waste of a pick. But that's the PSD for you.

Jones, Bate, and Davey were in the top 5 in the Bluey. That's a pretty good sign considering Essendon's B&F was dominated by Hird, Fletcher (32), McVeigh (27), & Lucas(30). We will be very competitive next year, and we'll still be there at the end of August.