Go the Biff

I'm not saying to the players don't try... I'm telling the coach to prevent us winning....

Put Dunn on Palmer instead of Bell

Put Garland on Farmer etc etc

The players can still give it there all and learn about other players... we just might not win

You might want to revisit your matchups to achieve your objective Wolfie. Garland played on Farmer when we last played Freo & beat him soundly. That was when I realised just how quick young Col is. He gave Farmer a start & caught him on the lead on a couple of occasions.

If you're fair dinkum, put Jamar on Palmer !!!

The year is farked. Winning a handful of games isn't going to make it any less farked nor is it going to suddenly engender a winning culture. If anything, winning three more games compromises our future.

From a National Draft perspective it matters little whether we finish 14th, 15th or 16th. I'd imagine all clubs finishing in that range will be happy to walk away with a Rich or a Hurley, a Natanui, a Hartlett or a Watts. Any one of them would be warmly welcomed at MFC. The advantage of finishing 16th is pole position in the PSD & the bargaining power that comes with it. We can then offer Freo a second or third round pick (perhaps adding a player) for Robbie Warnock accompanied with the threat to take the deal or lose him in the PSD. Hopefully they'd take the deal & we could turn our attention to another young, uncontracted player with our PSD pick. A Prismall or a Mitch Thorp for example.

Bring on that spoon I say. In a year or two no-one will give a [censored] that we came last. Ideally from here on in we'll suffer a series of "honourable losses" in which we'll see further game-time & continued improvement from the younger players. Then in Round 22, we can take out the Tigers, consigning them to a rueful 9th position while we greet the summer as last-start winners, feeling like season 2009 is something to eagerly anticipate.

Dennis Commett has been quoted that he does not follow any clubs, but has a soft spot for Melbourne.

As a child in WA he followed Melbourne and his favourite player was Big Bob Johnson...He has mentioned this quite a few times in broadcasts

Correct - he's said in an interview that if he was pushed to say who he barracks for he'd have to say Melbourne. Mentioned the Big Bob factor.

Agree that Peter Donegan is one of the best & most versatile broadcasters going around. Despite the impediment of being a 'Pie fan.

As a hypothetical.. Should we move out there and link up with the Scorpions. ( a logical move for mine ) and do the clever ..get out in the schools and communities etc ..whillst still having a foot back in the city is a clever thing. I see no need to be all of one thong or the other just take what works from both.

The Toiges have already lined up the northern suburbs growth areas as a pathway to future members, we ought to be the ones lining up the South Estern growth areas. First in..best dressed.

There is a hell of a lot of upside to this if handled well. Im sure ( wel confident ) that people will take to us. with some very likable and affable young players coming through...they can be our pinup players for the new kids coming into the schools. Think about it..when did most of us decide our allegiances ?? in Primary School !!

I think we sing from the same hymn book BB59. While it may be poor form to quote yourself, below is an excerpt from a discussion I had with our forum friend casey scorp. The full thread is http://demonland.ugbox.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=9801

We have to have our base near the CBD during the season, to me that's a given. But if we have a summer base at Casey Fields we have to be sure not to neglect the area during the footy season. The club needs to be highly visible. Regularly scheduled training sessions should still take place there, though the bulk of training takes place at Olympic Park. These sessions should be at times where kids can turn up to watch, then have a kick on the ground after training. Hopefully the coaching staff would give the nod for a few (or most) players to join in, chat to the kids, sign autographs, give away some family passes to MFC games. Embrace the local population with a few "Hawthorn style" sausage sizzles after training where they can meet & greet the players.

We need an aggressive approach to getting our players into the primary schools to run clinics, hand out some "made in China" red & blue footys (we have to get something out of the China trip). We can pinch Collingwood's idea where they play a "match" against a local primary school. Offer footy "scholarships" in the secondary schools where the winners get to do a week of (modified) training with the club. There is so much more that can be easily & inexpensively be done to generate support in the area & most of it requires our players’ presence. We should have players in the schools the day the contract is signed. We are on the bones of our arse & our players, despite the team's appalling form, are our only marketable asset if we are trying to win the hearts & minds of kids.

But we can't be seen as being exclusively Casey. If we move there full-time, that's what will happen over time & we can't afford that. As big as Geelong is, they would wither & die if they relied exclusively on the support they get from that city. Their Melbourne based supporters are vital to them.

It's a much bigger deal than the shape of the stadium that houses our gym !

casey scorp favours a full relocation to Casey & he fights a good fight for his belief. I see this as a chance to get the best of both worlds. I agree that the greatest gains are to be made in primary schools in terms of getting kids to become Demons. We shouldn't ignore the secondary schools in terms of establishing our "brand" in the area. I'd also love to see the club utilise some of our more presentable players & run "girls-only" footy clinics. They are more likely to switch allegiance than boys. Many of those girls one day become mums and mums are one of the key factors that determine who kids follow in the footy. Gotta think of the future !

Comprehension's not big around here is it ? Hope those teachers start earning their pay rise.

426 very quiet, snagged a couple early

Just about the only touches 426 got. He was horrid although he had plenty of mates.

Noticed Godders was named Norwood's best in their loss to Knox. Hope to catch him going round in the next few weeks.

I play on Saturday arvo's.

Who for ?

I think it might make a difference if it is marketed to the right targets - young kids at school and new arrivals to the area are two categories when quick inroads could be made. But it will take a smart and concerted effort by the club.

It's going to be a rectangular stadium, dominated by soccer and rugby interests,

You keep throwing this up but the shape of the stadium is meaningless. It's an admin base & there is more to training than the stuff on the ground - recovery, weights, pool, video etc etc. The club will still have ready access to a training ground which, to my understanding, will have dimensions closer to the MCG than the Junction Oval does. You obviously have a barrow to push on the full-time at Casey Fields issue and credit to you, you're doing a good job in terms of persistence. I just don't agree. My view is that moving permanently to Cranny would kill us. The answer is somewhere between the two.

We have to have our base near the CBD during the season, to me that's a given. But if we have a summer base at Casey Fields we have to be sure not to neglect the area during the footy season. The club needs to be highly visible. Regularly scheduled training sessions should still take place there, though the bulk of training takes place at Olympic Park. These sessions should be at times where kids can turn up to watch, then have a kick on the ground after training. Hopefully the coaching staff would give the nod for a few (or most) players to join in, chat to the kids, sign autographs, give away some family passes to MFC games. Embrace the local population with a few "Hawthorn style" sausage sizzles after training where they can meet & greet the players.

We need an aggressive approach to getting our players into the primary schools to run clinics, hand out some "made in China" red & blue footys (we have to get something out of the China trip). We can pinch Collingwood's idea where they play a "match" against a local primary school. Offer footy "scholarships" in the secondary schools where the winners get to do a week of (modified) training with the club. There is so much more that can be easily & inexpensively be done to generate support in the area & most of it requires our players prescence. We should have players in the schools the day the contract is signed. We are on the bones of our arse & our players, despite the team's appalling form, are our only marketable asset if we are trying to win the hearts & minds of kids.

But we can't be seen as being exclusively Casey. If we move there full-time, that's what will happen over time & we can't afford that. As big as Geelong is, they would wither & die if they relied exclusively on the support they get from that city. Their Melbourne based supporters are vital to them.

It's a much bigger deal than the shape of the stadium that houses our gym !

Garland could be a good player, but in those games he played for us he looked completely lost out there.

Did Messon play?

Pinched this from Marvin the Crows fan on the Melbourne Bigfooty board. Dunno if he has any clue about footy but at least he'll be unbiased.

Forgive the intrusion from another board, but I was at Box Hill today and thought Garland was pretty impressive. I'm stunned Bate wasn't listed as one of Sandringham's best - I thought everything he did was good. Yze used the ball well but I can see why he wont play for the 1s much this year.

Sauntner and Poyas were obviously great, but I thought Holland and Newton (in particular) did a lot of really good stuff across half forward and were prepared to sacrifice their games for Sauntner, who was hauling in everything (I think he had 6 or 7 by half time). Newton I thought was really clean with his hands, both marking (one absolutely beautiful one hander in the 3rd term) and dishing off handballs.

The disappointment for me was Meesen. As an Adelaide supporter I was keen to see how he went, and he got his hand on it in the middle a fair bit but he seemed to drift around without a real purpose other than that.

I simply thought some readers might of been interested in

426's first venture @ his new club. I now know better hey!

I'm interested OMR, thanks for the update. Hope to see old 426 in a couple of weeks. He should do well in the air, my main concern is that his turning circle is wider than some of the grounds he'll be playing on.

We even played Ray Biffen there

Did reasonably well there. Strong, could lead, mark - not many overhead though. Even did the one percenters, tackling defenders. Rubbish kick for goal though. He could never settle on whether to use a drop-punt or torpedo as he had equally bad results with both. Gutsy player though - his groin was stuffed, he had a hernia & at times held his body together with a cut-down wetsuit under his jumper & shorts. Still went out every week & gave his all for some pretty terrible Melbourne teams.

I liked Greg Parke for example but no way was he a true and natural full foward

Probably because he played mainly CHF. Headline acts such as Ray Carr occupied the goalsquare when Parke was going round.

I watched Nick Smith rip it up for Balwyn Tigers today.

Kicked 4 goals 6 behinds. Apart for some ordinary kicking he looked sensational.

Huge pack marks & a geniune hard desire to get the footy.

I know the standard of EFL is way inferior to the AFL but how he never made it baffles me.

I can't help wondering if Bails development might of been the difference as opposed to The Rev's effort.

For the recored Balwyn Tigers won by 144 points with Patrick Bowden & Joel Smith also starring for The Tiges.

Did Godders have a run for Norwood ? If so, how did he go ?

In light of Jeff White being named Melbourne's only representative in the Victoria/All-Stars game, and to counteract all the negativity going around in these forums, I'd like to ask who on our list:

A. Has been Melbourne's best player.

B. Is currently our best.

C. Has the potential to be our best.

David Neitz, Jared Rivers and Cale Morton, for mine. Thoughts?

Good thread Chook. I think you got the trifecta.

Going back, the best I've seen would be Flower, followed by Schwartz pre-knee. Then you're looking at Alves, Wells, Lyon & Jakovich.

Doesn't have the engine.

Haven't seen the game so my opinion carries little weight but if we structured up like we have for the past 18 months then we are farked. We have the worst forward set-up in the AFL and have had for a fair while. It's less a form & personnel issue than it is where they set-up & what they do when the ball goes out of the forward line.

For those bagging Neitz, I'd rather have him on one leg with his arm in a sling than a fully fit Newton. At least a crippled Neitz would try to give a contest.

He just looks like a footy coach *. Loved his response to a question "did you think about shutting down when you were three goals up"

No - we were thinking about being four goals up. What was that 16 - 17 minutes into the first quarter ? I make that about 104 minutes to go. No - I wouldn't think about shutting it down then.

* - caveat. Once upon a time Stephen Bickford looked like being a footballer. Appearances can be deceiving

I am no fan of Jace Bode. He evokes in me the same feelings I felt watching Luke Williams kick sideways all the time. BUT - last week he was one of the few who tried to work hard both ways. He was one of the few who led towards the ball carrier in an effort to provide them with a target. He is an ordinary player at AFL level IMHO but he is very stiff to be dropped this week.

all of these people are young and i can see in the future premiership side if they get their act togethor

No disrespect Nugget but you have got the rosiest of rose coloured glasses on. If Yze Magic decides to sub-contract out his previews, you should put your hand up for the gig. 'Twould make very positive reading.

The zone-pack can work very well..but you need a group of players...well drilled ..and with absolute faith to carry it out. We didnt quite have that on teh day !!

As you said earlier, they won't run. Token efforts to present. The sad reality is that most of these blokes don't want the responsibility of putting their hand up & saying "give it to me, I want the football"! Unfortunately, as the confidence gets further bashed out of them, this aspect is likely to get worse rather than better. Often you have to feel for the poor bugger kicking in. Hard to hit targets when there are none on offer.

Do you think the players haven't warmed to Dean Bailey because the players were so dirty on Danners sacking. Until Neitz and Robbo etc are gone will the coach gain respect? From an insiders view what sort of feeling is it between players and coach. Do the players feel they got a No Name brand coach and expected better?

Don't know mick but it's a new theory. Fair effort that as plenty have been put forward. Someone should be keeping a list so that no-one doubles up.

yea but sum of them are rough as guts too with the bloody drought and that.. where u playin footy champ?

Mate, last time I played, dinosaurs still roamed the earth

yea nar i got ya mate.. cheers.. injurys have been a pain in the neck with groin problems.. but playing ovens and murray then off to VFL at the end of the year with box hill hawks

Strewth, even our posters are carrying dodgy groins ! Hope it comes good - there's a lot of territory to cover on some of those big O&M grounds.

wtf? is he the blame for our poor disposal skills? is hethe blame for not laying a good single tackle tackle? is he the blame we aren't fit enough! fair dinkum dont mean to sound harsh but stupid post.. nothing wrong with trying to have a bit of passion!! SOMTHING MOST MELBOURNE SUPPORTERS SUCK AT FFS!!!!!!!!!

Just taking the [censored] DD. Everything else has been blamed from Paul Gardner's speech to Yze Magic's predictions. Can't have that trumpeter not copping his share as well.

Hey, who are you playing footy for this year ? Still at Murray ?

The problems at our club are deep, many & varied. We can't expect an overnight miracle fix but we need to chip away at them. We have turned to shite since that bloody trumpet player set foot on our sacred turf. He must go. While it won't solve our problems nor make a difference to the playing group, still he must go. It's all about doing the one percenters !!! Take out the trumpeter.