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Whispering_Jack

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Everything posted by Whispering_Jack

  1. Yes, I know. I've been maintaining elsewhere that we should look forward and not back and then the first thing I do is write something about 1972 which, as you can see, was a fairly ordinary year for the Demons. We were supposed to be on our way up at the beginning of 1972 but it didn't work out that way. Perhaps we can really learn some lessons from the past?
  2. I don't know if it's been mentioned before but I reckon this tweet is all class. It's from Brad Green: Well played Brad and let's hope you're back to your absolute best in 2012.
  3. Whenever I discussed a different job or profession with my father, he used to say, "It's a living!" I suppose the pay must be good.
  4. My experience with new coaches is that they're all very charming at their first AGM and then, after a couple of years their hair starts turning grey and it starts falling off and if they're lucky enough to last beyond that their faces turn craggy and their voices become croaky. Unless they strike it lucky like Chris Scott.
  5. Sorry but when I read that I had to step in and repair the post for Bob's sake. After all, he's a legend. Hope Deevoted doesn't mind.
  6. To get things into their proper context, my comments were about what occurred at the AGM two nights ago and how the matters were dealt with there and I made it clear that as far as that was concerned, I don't have any real problem with the way it was conducted and that we should now look forward rather than dwell on or be obsessed with the past. On what happened, six months ago, I don't know if everything's fine now, I can only guess the answer to the questions you posed and yes - they certainly are the kind of points I had in mind when I quoted the need to understand the past to avoid repeating it. I accept that there are some things that happen within clubs that need to be dealt with in house and addressed internally. There is a body of evidence to suggest that significant steps have been taken to address the ones that confronted us with 186 but, to a large extent, we "just have to trust" although we can see from the fact that there have been new appointments, that personnel have come and gone and moved aside, that extensive efforts appear to have been made to address what I consider was then a catastrophic situation. It's not ideal but to some extent, the ends might have justified the means in this case - I'm speaking specifically about the removal of Dean Bailey (not the way he was removed) and the changes that have occurred since. As one who is outside the board, I feel uncomfortable about 186 and am curious to know what happened but understand that there might be many reasons why I, along with many others, will never know all the facts. That said, I might be naieve in trusting but I'm impressed enough by what Jimmy, Garry, Cameron and Don have done in resurrecting the situation to do so with some confidence.
  7. And if you believed that there's a harbour bridge over there that I can sell you on the cheap if you like.
  8. Thanks Maldonboy38. I always look forward to your reports with great interest. Love Maldon too but you'd have to be flying to get to CF from there in 20 minutes!
  9. Oh and incidentally, as the players filed out of the Long Room on Wednesday night, I noticed a few changed body shapes. Cale Morton who I believe has undertaken additional work with a trainer looked in good shape without having put on that much weight. I've previously expressed the view that I believe the change in coach will do him no harm. Matthew Bate looked as if he's trimmed down a bit for his new role as a midfielder. I think these guys have been unfairly maligned in the past. I don't see the value of people being highly critical of players at training but if posters have something to say then get it off your chests but please back it up with facts and/or logic without going overboard and hijacking this thread. (sorry if I sound a bit like a schoolteacher but it's that time of the year and there's probably a full moon coming up)
  10. A mostly sunny day with temperatures in the low 30s is predicted for today as the boys head out to Casey Fields for training. Unfortunately for me, work commitments have intervened and I must miss out again so, like many others, I'll be looking out for reports from those who can make it out there today for the first training session under the post Jimmy regime. Wednesday night's AGM was a pretty lacklustre affair (especially for those expecting fireworks after the controversy surrounding the sacking of Dean Bailey) but the highlight for me was the football part of the night and in particular Mark Neeld's speech which is available on the melbournefc.com.au website. Neeld said that his pre-season challenge to the players was an elite work ethic and elite compliance. I think this has been reflected in many of the reports here but perhaps those who go out there today could concentrate on the new faces? When introducing them on Wednesday night, Neeld spoke of Mitch Clark who he said some consider a ruckman but Neeld has a specific role for him as a key forward. He spoke of Tom Couch's strong legs, James Magner's big arms, how James Sellar was a tall, big, mature age player, of Jai Sheehan, a tall youngster who went to the same school as Neeld (and strongly touted by new midfield coach Aaron Greaves), that Leigh Williams was a strong aggressive forward line player, mid size Josh Tynan was a hard at it defender with an interesting hair style who took on taller players in the TAC Cup and of the great first impression made by Rory Taggert at the draft camp. There's a definite thread there and it was clear when they stood together on the stage. Strong bodies that you don't mess around with so I wonder if today's observers could check out how that translates on the training track. I've left Taggert last because I haven't previously seen mention made of what impressed Neeld at draft camp. He explained that he gave his interviewees his email address and asked them to send him an email of what they wanted to get out of themselves in football. Sure enough, when Neeld returned to work the following Monday there was a comprehensive email from Taggert (Neeld expects him to be an inside mid) setting out why he wanted so much to get drafted to an AFL club. If Norm Smith would have done that in the 50s & 60s he might have received some messages too but they probably would have come in by carrier pigeon.
  11. Actually Old, they call it the welcome to the real world gambit these days because in the real world, football clubs don't preoccupy themselves at AGM's with wrist slashing about past mistakes in front of their stakeholders, their coaches, playing group and staff members when they're on the threshold of a new season, especially when the fruits of six months of obvious hard endeavour to rectify those mistakes is on show in front of those who bothered to turn up. I couldn't help thinking while reading this article about Don McLardy in today's Age -Demons burning with ambition: McLardy that although it's a post-AGM piece, it really captured most of what was covered on the night. Likewise, there was no sinister cover up on the night of the fact that we were disappointing in 2011 and it was admitted that mistakes were made but the message was about the future and our bid to become a strong club and a power in the competition. Surely, that's how it should be?
  12. Kudos to the Victorian selectors who didn't hesitate to bring this kid into the Shield team despite him making a duck at premier district cricket last weekend. Fitting that he scored the ton against SA which tried to poach him and young leggie Muirhead away from Victoria - Vics fume as rivals target young guns.
  13. Apologies for doubting you or was it another of those two horse races? Was the jockey George Santana?
  14. Twin brothers. It's a little known fact that George actually covered for Carlos at Woodstock. When his G string broke and he couldn't play his instrument because he didn't have a replacement, he was booed off the stage. It wasn't the first time that George had suffered such a mishap and he subsequently came up with that well known saying, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it". Yes, it's important that we remember our past mistakes and do what is necessary to ensure that they're not repeated. At the same time it's also wrong to obsess over the past and the message from the meeting was clear that the club's focus is firmly set on the future and that seems to have been the case for the last six months - so let's move on.
  15. Thanks for the heads up. I'm always looking for ways to further my acting career which hitherto has been limited. My highlight was playing the soothsayer in a school production of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar which ranks just ahead of being a witch in Macbeth. It was all a long time ago now but I do remember we won the flag the year I wandered around the stage in a froth screaming "beware the ides of March". I had no idea what the hell was going on but the director was happy. Anyhow, one can only hope for a career revival.
  16. It's a go but Andy needs time to set it up - his boss is an ogre who insists on him doing his job first.
  17. Redleg. Please read my post again. That's exactly what I said (google Geotge Santayana).
  18. All I can say to that is that a man sees what he wants to see and disregards the rest. My views on looking forward and the past are in my post above. I personally would be horrified if the board of my club was predominantly interested in looking back instead of forward. I think the club went from being a power to one of the competition's weak links in the first place by resting on its laurels and looking back at the triumphs of the 50s-60s. Now, of all times, we need to look forward and do so aggressively (subject to the George Santayana principle).
  19. Happy with what you say and in particular the fact that we need to look forward but with one caveat that I've mentioned on a number of occasions - that we need to remember the mistakes of our past in order that we don't repeat them*. I hope that message is understood by those charged with leading our club for the very reason that the past 47 years are littered with stories of boards and committees that made the same mistakes and as a consequence, we first lost our status as the competition's pre-eminent club and then failed to fully recover to this very day. * more or less based on a saying by George Santayana
  20. There was no prohibition on asking questions about the past, rather it was expressed by Russell Howcroft who took Q & A that the Board would prefer to look forward rather than back. As it was, there were only a handful of questions in the Q & A. Howcroft interviewed Mitch Clark then asked Neil Craig some questions first about what interested him in coming to the club and after that, questions were taken from the floor. I think the very first of those questions came from a member and it was about the culture of the club and the very events of last year that some are alleging were banned from discussion. Don McLardy answered that question and did not, at any stage indicate he wouldn't accept it because reference was made to past events. I thought he responded to the question well.
  21. I also came away with a feeling that the AGM was flat as a tack but then perhaps it's us who are flat because, with the spread of tools such as the Internet and the pages of discussion we have here on Demonland and elsewhere, by the time we get to the AGM we've heard most of it all before. There used to be some mystique about going to these things. Back in the real old days, you would often first get to hear your new coach or discover the names of your new recruits but these days we've seen it all on You Tube and read the daily reports on supporter sites. Even the big story of the night about Jimmy stepping down had been covered, discussed and digested for hours. Perhaps that's why some were hanging out for news about the new front of guernsey sponsor. It's one of the few unknowns we didn't get to find out about on the night but I accept Cameron Schwab's explanation. It will come. My own experience of dealing with the Chinese is that they are very meticulous when putting together a deal. Everything, including the timing, must be and feel right. The important thing is once the decision is made it is always honoured. The new system hasn't made it's way into Chinese culture yet and we need to understand this and be patient. I think the flatness was felt also because there was no fire in the questioning. The one about the culture was better answered (by Don McLardy) than it was asked. The real question should have been about our history (since 1965) of imploding at the wrong time - a history that started with the tensions that led to the dismissal of Norm Smith and have continued from time to time all the way to 186. Again, Don headed off that question by calling for us to look forward. We're so tired of what transpired last year that nobody questioned reports that were shelved, the extension of Cam Schwab's contract by 12 months when the papers said he was gone and a raft of other questions that might have been asked back in the old days. Truth be told, we're tired of the politics and we want only the footy and thirst for the success on the field that we fully expected to happen last year. The highlight to me then was the introduction of the new players - the first time I'd seen most of them - and the common theme was their size. There's no doubt that Neeld is impressing his own particular stamp on the team and in that respect, he's a breath of fresh air after the last four years of struggle and ultimately defeat. I heard Brad Scott interviewed on radio earlier in the day and was impressed by him (particularly his dismissal of the "window of opportunity" theory). I think Neeld is on that wave length too and we're finally going to see some positive achievements on the field. Scott said in answer to a question about Ryan Bastinac possibly leaving North at the end of the year that what was important was creating the right atmosphere at clubs for a player to want to stay but those that didn't were of no use to the club anyway. In that respect another highlight of the AGM and one of the reasons why I don't mind about its "flatness" was the absence of any mention of Voldemort - a sure sign that the club is over him and that we're looking forward which, at the club level, is as it should be.
  22. Russell Howcroft then interviewed newcomer Mitch Clark and then welcomed Neil Craig for Q & A. I'll leave this to others for later on.
  23. Mark Neeld - challenged the players requesting an elite work ethic and elite compliance. The reality is we're one of 18 clubs doing the same thing. We will by round 1 have done enough work to be able to compete. We've changed the players' footy world. It's a footy university and the players are at different levels. New coaching group, new game plan. Mark Neeld can't guarantee where we'll be but we won't die wondering. Leadership group selection process is difficult, tough and thorough. We'll pick the leadership group prior to the commencement of the NAB Cup. Introduces the new players - starting with Mitch Clark. Neeld has a specific role as a key forward. Tom Couch - strong inside midfielder. James Magner - big arms. James Sellar - tall, big, mature age. Jai Sheehan - went to the same school. Rory Taggert - great first impression at draft camp - inside mid. Josh Tynan - has made a big impact. Fairly hard at it - needs to work on his hairstyle. Leigh Williams - strong aggressive forward line player.
  24. Next up Mark Neeld
  25. Nice speech from Cameron - he deserves more credit than what he's given. Also thanked Jim and acknowledged we need to take some important steps forward after a disappointing year on the field. Our integrity was questioned and we took the opportunity to rebuild the football department with a new coach and others who we have attracted. The playing group has significant potential and we have great determination as demonstrated by our president. We've ridden a few bumps and that's part of life in our competition. We wanted to be the first club to appoint our coach and appoint a team around him - Neil Craig and the other new appointments to give our players the best chance to build great careers and our team to be judged by its results.
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