Skuit

This thread is the definition of 'association' football.

I currently live in the Netherlands but used to support Ajax many moons ago - along with Chelsea - before the Abramovich take-over finally persuaded me that soccer as a sport was just one massive crock of [censored]: sportsmen as a dynamic visual representation of arrows on a spread-sheet. Anyways, I thought there were some interesting and uncanny parallels with Ajax's current resurgence and the MFC related in this article - in general philosophy and on-field approach. A worthwhile sporting read regardless. https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2017/may/10/ajax-johan-cruyff-peter-bosz-europa-league-lyon The basic assumption is that: after focusing on in-house development and again rising to some prominence, Ajax will nevertheless have their players raided at season's end and that soccer's capitalistic imbalance will prevail. Yet, while it is true that Ajax won't likely overcome the 'big club' status quo, they will receive some decent compensation for lost personnel to continue building on steadily into the future. And this has got me thinking . . . We still think of the salary cap as the primary equalisation measure in the AFL. Yet, the draft and ability to develop (based on functions outside of the cap) are massive - as this is where you get a free injection to your bottom line. The GWS equation has driven this home. We haven't just fluffed selections as potential on-field saviours in the past, we've lost serious market currency; e.g. Toumpas for basically nought. The thing is now - we've assembled a seriously talented list of youngsters, and while we may be concerned we can't keep them together, we've got ourselves into a position where we'll be compensated enough to keep the momentum rolling. Kudos to Jackson and Roos. This is the real 'money-ball' at play.

Step away from Demonland for a couple days to re-calibrate my head only to come back to Brayshaw trade suggestions? Maybe it's you guys who are crazy and not me. This kid is a future leader of the Melbourne Football Club. Copping a couple head-knocks doesn't change that. Patience, my pretties.

I definitely have no children and barely any family at all. This excludes me from suspicion as the JKH letter-bandit because the author of such referred to shielding his/her family from the pain of it all. The reason I have no off-spring is that I couldn't possibly philosophically justify passing on such as burden as I undoubtedly would. But looking forward to the Deemented girls in the AFLW red and blue in years to come.

Racism is the discrimination against an individual based on their race. Let it be clear that not a single person here or in the media has ever made any sort of racist determination in this instance. There may have been examples of 'profiling' - the expectation that JKH should be some freakishily-skilled small-forward - and then some generally embarrassing confusion in identification - the inability of commentators to correctly pick Garlett from Jetta from Jay (I was getting Hunt and Wagner mixed up on the weekend if this is any sort of consolation), but no-one is judging JHK based on race. The very suggestion is upsetting.

Kent has to come back in. Purely on his flair and 'pressure acts' in the event of a melee.

We should all take a good hard look at ourselves and hang our heads in shame. This guy's unfortunate letter to the press is the failure of Demonland. If you can't come on here and vent by saying that JKH is [censored] [censored] [censored] and shouldn't [censored] [censored] Melbourne ever again without people responding that the coaches know better, then this is the end result.

A random home for this post, but: I've noticed a number of times that Pedersen has actually managed to get clean, clear hands to the ball in the ruck, yet a) hasn't known where to direct it or had the poise to place it to advantage, or b) our mids weren't expecting it. Once upon a time I had noticed the same with Gawn. Not suggesting he could be our next Max, but that he has the potential to be a very decent second ruck - and is doing surprisingly well to get winning hands on it despite being wildly undersized. The other thing of note - he's given away very few frees (actually 1, with 2 for) - usually a condition of an inexperienced or undersized ruck. Suggests to me that he's quite good with his body-positioning. Maybe the full-time rucking stint will give him some extra confidence as a stay-at-home FF/second-ruck when big Max returns.

I've revised my earlier prediction and think we may give up two or three of the next four now. Things could get pretty ugly around here and in the media. But we don't get to the finals by playing as we have the past two seasons - by etching out enough wins against the form of our opposition with depressing up-down-up-down predictability. We get there by finally clicking and going on a run against any and all comers - which I'm still hoping we can do at the back end of this year. We're just so conditioned by mediocrity that we can't imagine something more than just steady incremental improvement is remotely possible. But our best really is just about good enough to beat anyone this year, and if we put it together, we are a genuine top-four team. As a measure, last year there were a number of games where you really wouldn't have given us much of a chance going in - perhaps the Bulldogs, Sydney, WC away - but this week we're possibly facing our only real sense of that. We have other serious tests to come, but hope and expectations are rising.

It is a concern. One that I think Goodwin will be ultimately judged on. But it may be the reality of modern AFL. Pick a design you think can give you an advantage over the pack, recruit to suit, and back it in to the hilt. Nowhere teams like Richmond and Collingwood haven't been doing this. Some of the bottom teams have been left behind with old styles. The good news is that Goodwin seems to be ahead or aroundabouts the curve rather than trying to follow aspects of old premiership models two years after the fact like we've done in the past. Even better news, they chose a model with both grunt and flair - who would've thought we'd be saying that after signing up Roos - we just have to learn how to drive it at full speed and how not to crash.

We've lost and won pretty much every match in the past two seasons with a philosophy of playing the match on our terms. Punters get frustrated that our coaches don't come across as tactically reactive according to the opposition, but I think Roos and Goodwin devised a formula that they are supremely confident with and are constantly trying to install and reinforce it in the team - play this way and you will win. Fearless footy. How often have we heard Simon say we got back to the brand of footy we want to play, or we need to get back to it after a flat spot? Goodwin didn't make moves to counter what the Hawks were doing on the weekend but to provide an injection to our own style. The problem is, to stick with the tennis analogy, tightening up in the last. It of course happens in close final-quarter football contests as well, but when your game-style relies on fearlessness rather than grind, you're more likely to lose your nerve. Especially if you're a young team, and don't have experience of confidently backing your plan through to a win. Our biggest last quarter was against Freo - when he had nothing to lose. Until the very point we had something to lose.

Maybe we 100% did and perhaps therein lies the problem. Why prepare for a team's former best when that team is no longer capable of it? Determine how the opposition is playing in general, examine their current strengths and weaknesses, work out a plan to maximise our performance, and prepare accordingly. I doubt Clarkson spent much time in previous years preparing for some fanciful Melbourne best and preaching respect for us as opponents.

That's a bit harsh AF. I think demanding changes on an internet forum is closer to the bottom level than the VFL.

They'd take one look at a Deeluded letter and presume it was a ransom note.

I've been thinking about his. But it must be an awkward sell for the coaches. Kent is frustrating and erratic. Which means he's also unpredictable and then hard to match up on. While he [censored] half of them up, he at least generates multiple chances. A big and competitive body who can unsettle opponents - probably a very handy in for this one.

Frost has won me over since the moment of his return this year. Happy to admit that I had my doubts (especially after watching him closely from behind the interchange bench in a pre-season match lat year) but I think that he can become a genuine footballer rather than athlete and has a decent amount of upside to come. Competitive, hungry, probably not given much respect by the umps to date, and the coaches have clearly told him to back himself in when we've been down in an effort to break the deadlock. Also a surprisingly steady hand. Well done to him and Viney on making Team-of-the-Week.

I was wildly against the idea last week. For this round I'm open to suggestions. We're going to lose the hit-outs and be dominated by Sauce whichever way we swing it. Would an extra tall come in handy? Can he mark a contested ball? Will King be able to make someone accountable and be accountable himself? How is his tank - can he drift forward and kick straight and follow his man into defence? We're basically screwed regardless. On the Demonland podcast, big Max said he came into the team under similar circumstances (though my memory fails). What was the result? A bold selection may lead to stirring response across the board . . .

I played competitive tennis growing up. And would play in a dominant, scintillating fashion when matched up against better-ranked opponents but more often than not still somehow lose the match (by giving up too many cheap, key points). Meanwhile, I would play horribly against hackers and could never get my [censored] together. The concept of the 'ball not coming on'. It wasn't mental weakness, a disrespect for my opponent, or because I had tickets on myself, but a lack of maturity and the inability to adapt and find my own rhythm. We have a young team which thrives on intensity - when it's not coming back at break-neck speed in the other direction (or if we're not overcoming a deficit) then we seem entirely flat. This week against the Crows is chocked with the potential to be a rip-snorting game. I'm afraid that we'll struggle to overcome our structural deficiencies, but I think we'll give them a red-hot run. Go Dees.

I foresee some more short-term pain before we go on an absolutely barnstorming run post-bye before a couple hiccups toward the end of the season leave our finals hopes in the balance. I base more so on us than our opposition.

N. Jones was aware of it. There was a moment on the HB flank in the last where he pushed up to the mark to stand alongside the blocker.

I'm pretty sure that Tmac was making consistently stupid decisions before Gawn was injured. But I do get your point. The thing is, apparent poor decision-making can be the result of not having the right options to choose from. Like when players don't spread effectively, the carrier might be blamed for a poor decision to hand-ball in close. I think our biggest problem right now is the severe structural damage we've copped through injury (and other), and our lack of KPP depth/flexibility to adjust. We probably seemed perfectly fine in our decision-making vs. St Kilda.

I'm not in the business of forwarding excuses on behalf of Tom McDonald. Maybe he didn't fly for the ball because he reasoned that every other single Demon past and present including our coaches and administration would make a simultaneous attempt to spoil?

I was unfair in omitting Weideman from that list. The other absentees however are either long-term injured or aren't even close to getting an AFL call-up.

The Suns defeated the Hawks by 86 points and notched up 242 handballs. We are 5th in handballs behind Geelong, Adelaide, GC and Bulldogs. We are 3rd in kicks behind Carlton and Essendon. Maybe we're not hand-balling enough?

A stat from a few weeks back, but: Number of times an individual player has kicked 4 or more goals in an AFL game since 2015: 401 Number of times an individual MFC player has kicked 4 or more goals in a game since 2015: 10 5 or more goals? I can recall maybe twice.