Damo

It is a bitter pill we swallow holding our hands over the flame that is the Melbourne Football Club. The candle flickers in its tatty glory for me. I wonder if when it spits and dies if I will be gutted or emancipated. Rage, rage against the dying of the light..

I see improvement in Robbo working up the ground and we need White to accept change in his game. It is arguable if this can be achieved. But we are better with him until PJ can cope with 100 minutes in the ruck. They are not great leaps forward but you do yourself no favours by proposing mayhem. The graduations in change that may be coming through are hard enough to bear without chopping all class players.

Fai dinkum you two.... Whats the point of being a grumpy old man at any given opportunity?

Very diplomatic...

But not a bad question. i wonder if Griffen would be available for the number one pick? It would certainly win over my six year old who has ominously told me he doesnt need a new footy jumper.

Interesting thoughts. Good post apart from my pet peeves about punctuation...

I agree he is a great kicker in. Although this is one of our perennial faults Moloney should be just as good. I often compare them since their rivalry two years ago. Hunts defense is much more professional and I hold out hope Brent has the capacity to employ more thought to his game. If he did, we would have a great successor to Wheels IMO. But it is all F%6ing pipedreams. I used to argue Wheatley could be a great fullback in the Fletcher mold. But it just isnt as easy as it looks! Nevertheless: Hunt is overrated.

Many teams have average players that hit the high spots because of the class that they are surrounded by. Would Steve Johnson and Josh Hunt be as lauded if they played without the skill and inspiration of their peers? Look at west coast. Doing it a bit harder now. Im sure the coach and players would find it easier to find a "Game Plan" that works if we had a Chad Cornes, Pavlich or Brent Harvey to put some froth on an average cup of coffee. I find it interesting how many posters give up on our list and back our brand new coach. It doesnt have to be mutually exclusive. We should back them both. It is not easy. Im trying to back both our coach and players but its like playing two up when the fix is in.

We have to persevere with Bartram. Bate does not look either fit or interested enough to get picked this week. Valenti must come in. I think Holland should come in before Newton.

Well put RR. You have galvanised my thoughts on this issue. I have no doubt Ooze believes he gives his all for the club but like Robbo, when he runs out he does not put the teams goals in front of his personal ones. I believe Neitz does acheive this. I will miss Adem Yze when he is gone, he is responsible for my son forever having the"lucky number" of 13.

If players are given responsibility to make the best decision when they have the ball we will be more likely to win games. If you think trying to make players go against natural instincts at all costs is a positive you are incredibly naive. I want to win games, I dont see any positives in creating a team where we delist 50% of our list as they arent cut from that cloth. From what I read that is a conservative estimate by those that are grimly holding onto the masterplan. What point is there in changing how players play in a team you are going to get rid of? Im pragmatic, I want to see a win not a car crash.

I dont listen to Stan Alves very much but his comments today were similar to the above. How long does it take to accept that we cant change so radically and expect to win? Is it worth the players and supporters going through inexplicable bad football when the players are obviously under pressure to go against their first instincts in just delivering the ball to a teammate? The new coach is not going to change and the players are not spuds. If you believe that we have recruited wrongly and it is the players fault, how can you be so f&*%king smug we recruited the right coach?

Its not the MCC you should be having a hissy fit at, it is the St Kilda Cricket Club. These fat wankers who hardly use the Junction Oval and have stopped us from using it over summer are much more in my sights. How many members do they have who come and watch them play cricket? how many are family of those cricketers playing? I never see all the carparks taken up by their games yet they have kept us homeless. I would love to stay at the Junction but we have been usurped by St Kilda Cricket Club at every turn.

I thought they were both big losses. So which talls have we had in the back line since they both left 10 years ago? Lamb, Shanahan and Nicho.

Or an announcement that he is going to retire either at the end of the year or after a milestone game perhaps. Possibly a handing over the captaincy baton to another player so as to concentrate on his game.

A. Robbie followed by Alan Johnson (that I have seen) B. Cam Bruce C. Brock

Sorry fatso I havent been able to play at high levels but Ive had a ding dong go at it. How is sticking up for blokes that have pulled on the jumper a bad call? You dont bleed red and blue, so dont damn me with a soft reply. Hammer those who dont go in, but when they have left the playing list buy them a beer and salute them,Dont kick their teeth. We need ex-players to stick up for us so we shouldnt stab them like this.

Name a player you were better than who played for the Melbourne Football Club. Im tipping most here who have picked off ex-players have never had a mouthguard their whole adolescent lives. Whoever was the muppet that threw Stuart Spencers name into this cesspit of a thread, should be banned.

Thats very funny.

I hope it is Bruce. If not then Green, then Miller then Junior.

Does anyone know if our President attended yesterdays match? Thanks.

I got there at 12.30 as I thought it would rain and I figured it would be a good turn-up. I saved seats for a couple of mates and wandered around the empty members. I was happy to see the $40 membership stand was front and centre and picked up my fridge magnet and sticker. I have a problem with ties that come in clear plastic wrap and asked for a scarf before i realised there were only Pasimas... The friendly lady informed me there was no other options. I asked for a blindfold. She was very nice about it. The joint was basically empty. I stayed in my seat as opposed to standing on the steps as I do when Im on my own. I knew the gnashing of teeth there would get to me as people get emotional. They face the front in the seats but on the steps there are always those that want you to watch their pain. I felt sorry for the Demons supporters around me in the seats. They ended up looking like how our team looked from the beginning of the match. Exhausted and depressed. The Blazer bar was so empty we could get two shouts at half time without effort. Back in our seats I watched many young supporters leave before 3/4 time. North and Melbourne wont be around much longer I thought. Somethings got to give.

Ben may be clean as a whistle. But my mail is his mates are still the same as earlier. I believe Micheal Gardiner who is now at the Saints has cut his ties better than Ben. I dont believe Melbourne is as fit as the Eagles or the Dogs and we would benefit from Bennys FOOTBALL experience and hard work on the track. But I also believe our club would benefit more from Wayne Carey as Assistant coach than say, Paul Williams who I cant see as a benefit at all. If you are going to change the culture to be more serious about Football, then you may have to take some hits in other areas. But if you are a grownup and a professional footballer then there should be minimal risk. Im not interested in being the most moral and ethical club. Thats Private School Old Boys Ammos.

The main thing that differentiates the two teams tomorrow is how much better the Roos are at taking marks in the forward fifty. That is my impression anyway. They seem to be excellent high marks and it shows how bad we are in this area. Its not just delivery.

I am not a wrap for Bate any more. I accept others disagree. I was at training and he looks like a ranga Nick Stevens. He needs to do a Gary Ablett Jr and lose the puppy fat. He also sticks the lip out and I believe he is borderline and could go on to be a star or just be another player that wont get dropped like Paul Wheatley. He suffers from too many pats on the back and not enough runs on the board. I wont describe him as another "Culture Culprit" like IMO Sylvia and Green has become, but a work in progress. I hope my fears are unfounded Right now I much prefer an honest Miller to an uncommitted Bate.