jabberwocky

This week it's Colin Garland

MOVEMENT and RUNNING, attempts to change our PROCESS and INTENSITY at the ball and the opposition player with the ball.

Disagree, he is one player who tends to stand up when the tide is against us. Required best 22 player for mine, has had to temper his ultra aggressive mindset and appears to be making progress.

Cant really expect him to say much more, but as stated words are cheap..

We have the cattle, it is now about how it is developed, the game style, entrenching bloody minded competition and promoting the right leaders to preach it all. We have the midfielders, we need a system that works and confidence in that system.

Nice post

OUTCOACHED : Our gameplan is easily defeated by a competent opposition. CONFIDENCE: Once our gameplan is defeated, simple footballing tasks and skills seem very difficult. Doubt creeps into everything, doubt of your self, your team mates, your coaches. RUNNING: Once confidence is lost, sometimes subconsciously so is the will to run and demand the footy. I said a few weeks ago after the Brisbane game we were one embarassing loss away from a crisis, that time has come. We aren't quite at rock bottom yet, it is clear however that changes need to be struck quickly to become competetive againts competent footy teams. I look forward to the response. I don't think Bailey is a stupid man, let's see if he is stubborn one.

The thing that has been holding him back has been his head position and focus on the footy. He rectified that last night, if he continues to watch the footy ahe will become a very good footballer.

Hit the nail on the head again HT. We have looked spirit-less and confused, even in our wins.

Agree, I didn't pick up on any such inferences.

I think that you have touched on what it is making me and probably a lot of others jittery. The thinks that are mising for mine are process and at times, intenstity. From body language it also appears as though many footballers are not enjoying their footy and are playing on fear. Some of these things are not easily measures by reading a scoreboard or stats. Like HT though I would like to see more of the season unfold. I am hoping that lessons have been heeded from the Hawthorn game and that we will lift things a notch against the better opposition.

There are some areas that we can be happy with. There are some players in form, some young players showing a bit and then there are some players who aren't in great form and some young players stagnating. I would have to say though that given the opposition we have played against and the way we have played I personally am not satisfied. If we continue to play with a lack of process and intensity we will be in trouble in the second half of the season. I take very little out of yesterday's game.

Who are you talking to? You are posting at shadows man.

Agreed completely with this, if we brought this lack of intensity and process to any other AFL game we would be beaten.

Agreed. We don't have much of a system going yet.

Would that be the culture of Gazillion premierships in 30 years, the one where they are the most successful club of the modern era. I agree that the article lacks some critical content however the leadership of our club deserves a timely bake. The Sylvia and Moloney incidents are proven and the lack of on-field leadership has been apparent. We are one embarrassing loss away from being in crisis. To me this is the most critical period for the club in the last three years. Most of you that know me realise that I am not an alarmist, but I think the club needs to respond with a bit of urgency.

Any article that lights a firecracker under the backsides of the leadership of Melbourne footballers at the moment is welcome. I would put down our poor start to the season, (and I maintain that it has been a very poor start) to poor on field leadership. I'm not prepared to make judgements about what happens off the field. Ironically Moloney has been by far the best on field leader at playing against the tide. Green, Sylvia and Davey need to lift when the chips are down. Forget game plans, poor skills, team balance etc. it has been the lack of intensity for large portions of games that has me the most concerned. Intensity at the football, intensity in running and demanding the footy, tackling, and marking contests. We look like a team that is playing with a lot of fear. Fear of failure, fear of making mistakes. It is up the the coaches and more-so the on-field leadership to get us back on course otherwise we are in for a very painful season.

Very hard post to read, but I agree that being given the job as designated kicker in the Melbourne defence would be one of the toughest gigs going around when we play stagnant footy. His failure to win contested footy at the moment is my concern. The ability to actually win the football was, is and always will be the most important skill in our game. If you haven't got it you can't run with it and you can't kick it. I hope he can be a star, I really do. Jordie Mckenzie and Luke Tapscott are young men too.

Not saying that he is not capable but Strauss would need a form turn-round of epic proportions to become a consistently useful senior player. Kicks nicely when in the clear and without pressure but does little else to inspire. Loses nearly every physical contest, fails to watch the ball, and coughs it up quickly under pressure. I hope he can develop and get himself a dose of confidence and gumption.

Yeah but it's just a rumour ROTA. You are an ostrich with your head in the sand, because that's just a rumour and just because Scully's management have come out and categorically said that he hasn't signed a deal doesn't mean anythink because they are probs tellin lies. He is gone. Eddie would know. Fair dinkum, sometimes I want to break the internet.

Correct. The key is to have too many options to tag. You can't successfully tag Ablett , Corey, Chapman, Bartel or Black, Voss, Lappin, Power, or Cousins, Kerr, Judd etc etc. If you try to completely tag three mids out of the game you end up with a defensive and ineffective midfield. The key to Davey's success lies in a couple of Scully, Trengove, Gysberts and co becoming stars that require the oppositions full attention. Then the midfield becomes "untaggable" as a unit. It's a team mindset and ne that Bailey and Co would be very aware of.

I don't like it at all. The flag has connotations in a game, connotations which we don't currently deserve. I understand the sentiment behind the "Grand Old Flag" but it should not be celebrated in a "flag raising". Have it flying, admire it, revere it but don' raise it till we have reason to.

Most of his possessions yesterday hit targets, and while he was under duress. He stood up in tackles and was able to either deliver a telling handpass or break clear and get a kick away, usually hitting a target. I thought that he and Moloney were easily our best. Yesterday he tempered his natural instinct to play over-attacking attacking kamikaze footy and played more instinctively and fired out the quick handpass when it was required. Every team needs a strong and courageous presence around the footy, Jones gives us that. Ball and Kirk are two players he could become as good as, both premiership players and both of high value to thier teams.

Because some anonymous punter rang MMM...... I think I'll wait to hear a little more from the man and the club. Disappointing if true.

Spot on.