Redleg

Butcher was the meat, Salopek could be a spud.

Read my post number 498 and think of meat.

Agree our defence is our bright spot. As you say we need a hard bodied mid or two to turn things around. Oh how I wish we had been harder on Ferguson and virtually forced his move to the Hawks. Then we would be far better off with Sewell in our mid field instead of the 1 extra nothing year we got from Ryan. On another note and this will bring howls I am sure. I would consider trading Jamar home to Port for Butcher and even another lesser player like Maric, Bate to get the deal done. That would give us the big players we need up forward with Cook, McDonald and Fitzy to come. Rationale is Jamar is getting towards 30 and we have Martin, Gawn, Spencer, Fitzpatrick, the shorter McDonald who has rucked and Campbell rookied. The younger ones need developing and we are not a flag contender for at least a couple of years. The first 4 are genuine rucks and not all can play there or in the same team. It is an area that hopefully we will be ok in. Also Jamar often seems to be injured and has a foot problem, that won't go away. A forward line of Watts and maybe no one else as a tall forward is not a winning combination. Butcher, Watts, Jurrah and one of the rucks resting forward with Howe, Petterd, Sylvia etc is a good forward line. That would leave only the mid field for improvement. OK everyone start screaming.

I think I have managed my expectations, they have just proved to be wrong. I thought we would be more competitive when losing, wrong. I thought we would develop a modern gameplan, wrong. I thought more individual players would improve than have improved, for example Gysberts, Grimes, Scully, Petterd, Dunn, Jurrah, Aussie, Bennell, etc, wrong. I know Watts and Martin have been improvers but they are in general in the minority. I also know Grimes was injured but he wasn't playing that well before he got injured, especially in regards to his disposal. I thought Cook would do better at Casey than he has and yes I know he is skinny and young but I wasn't expecting Carey, wrong. I thought we would go into a game against the Suns on the G as absolute certainties, wrong. I thought things were going well off the field and that everyone was focussed and pulling together, wrong. I thought we would finish just inside or outside the eight, wrong. I thought a couple of weeks ago that we would finish with 10.5 wins, wrong. Heaven forbid it could be 7.5 wins and that wouldn't shock me. I didn't think I would ever go to Skilled stadium again and I did and I sat through every second of the game and aslo half the Casey game and I won't ever go back, wrong. I thought we would end the season with me feeling optimistic and I don't at the moment, wrong. I never thought that I would be watching the season be hindered by the possible loss of our priority draft pick, who we suffered so much to get and then end up not caring either way as a cracked patella surfaced, wrong. I never thought that the whole football community would condemn our leadership group and rightly so, wrong. I will stop there as I could go on a lot longer. I understand that one needs to be realistic with an assessment of where we are at but I look at Carlton and note they were last in 2007 yet this will be their third finals in a row, West Coast were last in 2010 and look at them and Essendon who are not great and have a stack of injuries will play finals. Yes you can say that at West Coast the leaders stood up but it is more than that, they play as a disciplined team to a game plan. I understand the need for patience and you know Fan that I have been patient, but after 47 years it is wearing thin. Still as they say in the classics, there is always next year and the next.

Interesting to look at the players featured on the Demonland banner. Three are not playing, three are in poor form and only Chip is going well. Maybe that goes part of the way to explaining our current situation.

I was really hoping that Fitzy would get a game sunday just to see how he went and to give him a feel for it. I have always thought that a player who has had a senior game is more enthusiastic and confident the following pre season. After a senior game they have a sense of belonging and also belief that they can go on with it. Hopefully he gets a chance next week and maybe another along with him. Hope Tom McDonald has a good game.

Glad to hear that. I was still disappointed though I know he is not a sprinter and not all horses handle the synthetic track. Hopefully toady will be better. On another note, I actually have disliked this season far worse than 2008 and 2009. Those seasons had a purpose, this one to me was a train wreck. Can't wait for it to end.

Needs more ground, he is being trained to stay. Hopefully Le Beau Cheval does better saturday.

He seems a bit slow for a mid. Certainly can take a mark, can play forward, but doesn't seem a true mid.

First the diet. No good, I have as much application as our forwards do with the forward press. Doesn't help that WJ and Mrs. WJ keep asking Mrs. Redleg out for dinner which means I get dragged along kicking and screaming. I am going to have to apply myself and show some guts and determination. By the way WJ has become a grandfather again with his 5th, Alexis Poppy. Mother and father (Demonland Andy) all thrilled with new Demon. Interesting you pin hope on Grimes and some poster on Demonology suggests trading him. Can't believe it. Would have thought he is one of our brightest hopes. As for the midfield I would have thought we have a couple of big bodied boys in Beamer and Jones and that a few others could put on some more muscle. Not sure JT is a midfielder but he is not small. Wonder if Tapscott could play some mid field. Yes it may be another hard year but we seemed to be improving last year and then slipped back this year. Maybe next year can see some dramatic improvement. We will also find out the answer to "is he going or staying" soon.

Scratched friday running saturday.

Eddie is now bleating about another big name player going to GWS. We can eliminate Pies players so it will be interesting to see what eventuates. Hear from Carlton supporters that Jordan Russell is off to GWS and that is why they are not playing him.

Le Beau Cheval friday at Bathurst 1.55 PM. Might now be Saturday Newcastle at 3.02 PM.

Hope it doesn't affect the rumoured sponsorship. Might be a face saving exercise to allow someone to seek alternative employment not due to a termination.

More change at the club with the CEO CS to go once he finds another job. Reported tonight on 10 News.

Chaplin at Geelong friday is the next runner.

Might run next week.

Great get. Unfortunately I didn't select the name.

Ok. Ssssshhhhh. Iconic Princess won at Geelong last friday. She was my latest.

You old timers could come into a racehorse with me. At least they win some of the time. I breed and race them. At the moment they are my only sporting enjoyment. I even have some Melbourne colored silks that I have never registered.

Looks like our Coach hunt is going to widen.

Just watched On the Couch and Footy Classified. Footy Classified and AFL 360 are my favourite shows. Loved the way both Garry and Thomas got stuck into Hutchy. Garry for Hutchy calling our Coach search "variable" when there was absolutely no basis for the statement and Thomas for Hutchy getting upset about his mate and drinking buddy being knocked by Thomas. It was great TV. From On the Couch I learnt that Roos really doesn't like the Dees. He knocks us at every chance and seems to have an agenda. Two things I will say about Garry, he is clearly a very relaxed TV performer and he seems as though he is very committed to getting the club in the right hands in his stint.

Its not as though I could say we are a great team and I love watching them play great football.

I have never seen us a play a team in orange/red jumpers, so I will be there.

Couldn't agree more Old Dee. You just leave the ground with an empty feeling. I have a friend who is a Melbourne Heart Director and he has made me join as a member even though I don't like soccer. I went to a game last year and because I had no emotional attachment the 1 all draw ended up as a nice day out with a lovely lunch thrown in. Of course with the Dees it is completely different. I do see the future. I strongly believe in our list though not in every player on it and that what is missing is a hard edged, good coach, who is up with the modern game and is also innovative. We need more physical development in many players and obviously more game time as well. I will have to try and stay positive and hope that we appoint a good coach, sort out the admin problems whatever they are, hope for a result in trade week, start speculating on the draft again and then off to pre season training. Sounds good, but at the moment I fee like sh-t. Then again maybe that is the reult of the food I ate at a Lebanese restaurant that Whispering Jack dragged me to last night. We tried in vain to drown our sorrows while watching some amateur belly dancers perform. Perhaps I should have asked them if they play football.