Chook

I was worried for a second when I read that he was only just going in for surgery. Then I read that it was on the 10th of March - nearly three weeks ago. So he and Bell are almost three weeks into their recovery. When are they expected back? Round 8? Or was that eight weeks from the tenth - which would make it about round five or six?

I do the same thing. I've got to say, we've got the quietest cheer-squad in the League. So any voices that aren't raw need to get down there quick.

Fantastic post. Sounds as if you've put some thought into this.

Oh really? Last time I checked, we were on the bottom of the ladder and Adelaide weren't.

I wouldn't drop Miller and Bate anyway, because they weren't our worst players. But if you're playing badly, you should drop the players most responsible for that, regardless of their age. The only person immune from being dropped is the Captain. I'd drop Cameron Bruce because he was in our worst. And I'd do that because he's playing badly, and for no other reason.

Yeah, fine. But to blame him for our crapulence is unfair.

Why even mention Newton? He's not even in the team. It's almost as if you want to sick the boot into him.

but it's not the senoir players doing well. It's the young'uns.

I'm sorry. I thought the centre-circle was abandoned before then. If I'm wrong, then I let facts get in the way of a good rant (my first, unlike others). But it was not Melbourne who got rid of Jolly. Jolly wanted to leave and we couldn't stop him.

Betting is sinful ur all going straight to HEEEEEEEELLLLLLL!!!!!!

We lost Jolly because we couldn't see how past it White was. We continued to play him over Jolly, and so he continued to rack up the cheapies while two real ruckmen, Jolly and Jamar, were relegated to second and third in the pecking order.

Hey, I know, have any of you heard of this guy called Dean Bailey? He's supposed to be a little-known former Port Adelaide assistant highly regarded for his teaching ability. Better yet, he's also had senior coaching experience at a club that's rebuilding. I just know that if we gave him a few years, he might just surprise the football world. And he doesn't cost too much, either.

It's better than running around screaming, or punching holes in the hull. EDIT: My team for the weekend: FB: Rivers Warnock Martin HB: MacDonald Frawley Grimes C: Bate McDonald Miller HF: Sylvia Petterd Trengove FF: Davey Newton Green Foll: Jamar Jones Scully INT: Bruce McKenzie Moloney Strauss OUT: Dunn, Spencer, Bennell IN: Sylvia, Martin, Newton Martin in the backline, where he belongs Miller and Bate on the wings, where I think they play their best free-roaming footy. Jamar in the ruck, because we have no one else. Newton at full-forward, because he can actually make a contest. Davey in the forward pocket, to pick up the crumbs. Scully as a rover, the position he was born to play. Bruce on the bench, because they'll never drop him. Petterd at CHF, because he's the only one who knows how to lead, mark and kick a goal. Grimes in the backline, oozing class like its' some sort of tropical disease. Spencer out, because he has nothing to bring to the table but a little under two metres of klutziness. Bennell out, because they won't drop Bruce, and because he's a little too slight for AFL.

I've left at half-time before, but I'd never do it again. I was annoyed at how badly we were playing, but as the day drew on, I was more annoyed at myself for not watching it all.

Exactly this. My grandfather and I often go with his new son (yes, I have an uncle less than half my age) and we'll be watching our players butcher the ball time and time again, then we'll turn to little Michael who's playing with his iPod Touch. My grandfather gets all mad, but I reckon if you can get them to be happy to go to the football when they're young, the rest is easy. Once we get good, then it'll be more interesting, so as long as you can keep them happy about going to the footy (regardless of whether they watch what's going on or not), then the hard part is done.

In my opinion, the ultimate aim of any organisation that is not a charity, is to make money. But I guess money is only earned so that it can be spent on something. Perhaps having a successful footy team is one of those things. In the same way that a person works to earn money so they can buy a membership so they can watch their team do well, a football club has a responsibility to transform the money it receives from members into what the members bought their memberships for - to see their team do well. If their team doesn't do well, then either not enough money is being spent on that area - or it's being spent poorly.

But the point is that when you're low on confidence, you can't do what would normally be easy. It's not that we don't have the talent, but rather that the talent we have is being wrecked by what's going on between the ears.

Then conceivably, we would be better-served by implementing a simpler form of our current game-plan for the time-being. Then, as we begin to master that, we would move to a more complex, multi-faceted version. Perhaps that would help us. Great post, Goodvibes.

I'm actually really excited to see what we will do against a really, really good team. If we get smashed repeatedly, then maybe something interesting will happen.

No. We had Bruce and McDonald. That doesn't mean we were older and more experienced. If we had a hundred-year-old playing for us, we would have lost by more, despite having an even more "experienced" side. That statistic is as much a lie as "Quarters Won" when the only quarters you win are the last.

In my opinion, the Club owes me 13/14ths of what I've already payed it. Every home game Melbourne plays is return for the money I've already put in for a membership. So, I feel that they owe me and all the other members good on-field performances, as much as they owe it to themselves.

This is what I do. I get my grandfather to by me a Melbourne membership for Christmas. Then I run to and from each game (from Camberwell). I bring food, don't drink beer, and am able to laugh at the comedy I get to witness every week. Total yearly cost: $0 You only pay what you're willing to pay. Of course, others have obligations to take their kids, parents, friends, whatever, so I guess I'm likely to be on my own here.

Newton 4 apparently. Bring him in?

How was your trip to the bizarro world, YM? Have we won a flag there yet, or are we still stone cold last?

I'm not laughing.