george_on_the_outer

Regardless of the land ( which is a bonus in this proposal),.....we are taking on $1.8M of debt, with the 80 poker machines probably having a value of $3M alone. Once the vote is through we could close the facility and bank the profit. That is smart business. Or we can keep TBC on drip feed ( which is what is proposed)...keep the Machines running and wait for a suitable venue to become available in the future. THEN we sell and relocate. We have a new venue, devoid of all the failings of TBC with an income stream continuing. That is smarter business. ( and all for $1.8M)

Does anyone wonder why we are in 2011 and we still cannot get the technology to be able to hear questions at Press conferences??

Kevin Sheedy, Alistair Clarkson, Mick Malthouse, Denis Pagan.....ordinary players Bomber Thompson...good player Michael Voss, Leigh Matthews.....great players No correlation between ability on the field and subsequent coaching result.

Since he is already injured, is there any chance we can put him on the long-term injury list now and elevate someone else?? What an absolute waste of money. We have to pay him more now to do what? As others have noted he won't be available for the first 3 matches in any case. If he is good enough by mid-season we could have elevated him under the AFL rules. WHY NOW? Does anyone seriously think he can fit into the 22? Up forward he would have to replace Watts or Jurrah. To be the shortest ruck in the contest he would have to replace Jamar, Spencer and Martin. IF we get to this situation we would have been able to elevate him then under the long term injury rules. If there were no standout candidates, then no-one should have been elevated. Don't reward mediocrity or seniority. We need those with the talent and drive to succeed ( ala Jordie McKenzie)

One has to wonder if some people actually go to the football.... Adam Goodes plays the ruck-rover type role and runs, runs, runs all day long. He is neither forward or back. He is everywhere! SO to suggest he will be "picked up by...." in the forward line and "picked up by..." in the backline is laughable. Morton was used to good effect to match him last time, but is injured. Bruce was used in the past, but got carved up time and time again. Wrathchild has come up with the only logical match in Dunn. You need someone who is tall and can run with him all day. But as Nasher noted, he is an effing good footballer, so expect him still to kick goals and be effective. You won't stop him, just try to limit the damage he can do.

Under Knights,always started the season at full pace. By round 6 their injury list was extensive and they always fell away. Looking like the same pattern under Hird. But the Knights years has yielded some talented individuals from the draft, which will give him something more to work with. More importantly, 1 week later...... did we perform better against them than last years Grand Finalist tonight?

Judd wanted him out of Carlton, and ( eventually) Voss wanted him out of Brisbane....why? ..... Because both know what culture and commitment is required to win a Premiership. And if Voss & Brisbane couldn't "pin his ears back" in the same way as they did with Martin Pike, then no-one can.

Two years ago we had no tall targets up forward. Kicking it long and deep was a guaranteed turnover. Moloney ( and Jones) changed his style and concentrated on clean possession out of the centre, by seeking the 2nd option. Now ( and particularly against Essendon) we have targets, and we have targets who are tall, and who are surrounded by small crumbers. It is time to revert back to type and "kick the bloody thing". Then watch Watts, Jurrah,Dunne,the resting ruck and the smalls take advantage. Trying to barge through opposition players who have known for 2 years that is exactly what you are going to do, is playing straight into their hands.

Bought the money they received from the Federal government (12M) into their accounts 2 years ago as revenue received, and so saved their Board the embarassment of showing how much in debt they actually were. Now they have to build the buildings = all outgoings. How these were every justified as an "Indigenous centre" is beyond me, especially given the conditions on Palm Island or in numerous other locations.

Spot on KS...if this club is to get some credibility back it has to start winning against mid-table, run of the mill ordinary sides. And Port & Adelaide are exactly that! We haven't won any type of silverware since the late 80's. And it about bloody time that we did. We have spoken about winning culture, but to engender that you have to start winning, and you have to give the young team that we currently have some symbols of success early. Then they learn what is required when they play for the main prize. Otherwise it leads to an "oh well, we still have the main season to play ....attitude" Go out and win the damn thing. Make yourselves proud. Give the supporters something to hope for. Prove that you ARE capable of great things.

Should have saved the congratulations for later...seems the poor bloke can't spell! ( wishers v wishes) http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/7415/newsid/107312/default.aspx

In all the years of watching pre-season I have yet to see someone who is not in full training post Christmas play any meaningful football until mid-year. The difference for 2011 is that those names which have been seen or reported as "recovering" or "getting over" an injury didn't have a real contribution to the side last year, save Joel McDonald. Petterd, Sylvia, Garland, Jones & Rivers are ALL out on the track now. The core of the goal to goal line are all there. Those who NEED a genuine pre-season are getting miles under their belt to enable them to survive the rigours of the game. These are the ones where the improvement comes from, and are the drivers of improved Team performance. Jurrah, Watts, Scully, Trengove, Bennell, Spencer, McKenzie.....these are the important ones. Others like Fitzpatrick, Gawn, Tapscott or any of this years recruits are only a bonus if they "come through" in 2011. Let's keep the fingers crossed we don't have a Morabito situation before the real stuff begins, but things are certainly looking very, very positive toward having our best 22 fit and on the field come round 1.

....and the other positive is the unqualified audit report. For the first time since I can remember we don't have that statement along the lines that the "going concern" is dependant upon AFL largesse and guarantees. Big, big thank you to Jim and all the staff and all the supporters who have saved us from death. It still deeply concerns me that after 150+ years of operation we have only $300K of net assets. But without debt we can FINALLY start building something good.

And Collingwoods debt is used to service external income producing assets. Ours was used to run the football operations. Thankfully, they are atrocious business operators and have twice in the past 15 years squandered multi-million dollar opportunities. Remember Maggie-land? If Rose & Eddie hadn't sold the land when they were running the show arrived, they would be sitting on a fortune today. Second chance was the money lost on the Hotels...basically overpaying at the top of the market. North are in diabolical trouble financially. Footscray are close to bankrupt if not already, and are dependant upon the goodwill of their banker. Richmond has been cooking the books for years ( wait for this years financial report, when they have to bring building costs to account for the first time). We are at Zero. After 150+ years we are at Zero. Unfortunately, for 130 of those years, the MCC accumulated all the assets, and left the MFC with nothing to operate on their own. That has now changed, but at least under the Stynes-McClardy-Schwab administration we can now actually build the club.

I cannot believe how much the current Board and administration have moved the MFC in such a short period of time. For 25 years there was talk about a training facility. It has all happened at last. And we have an expansion growth option with Cranbourne and Casey. This has got us onto equal footing with every other club, finally. But they haven's stopped there. They are now looking at the next phase in 5,10,20 years from now. For the FIRST time since I have been supporting the club, we actually are planning for the future instead of trying to build on the past, survive or catch up to everyone else. Big plaudits to Jim,Cameron, Don and everyone else.....

Don't you just hate these glib assessments of players. Not an honest opinion about their performance and saying absolutely nothing about where they are and where they are going. You could write an analysis for the whole team without ever having seen a game played. Reminds me of the "truisms" about draftee assessments. You know the ones...."good outside" = useless inside. " strong runner" = can't find the football etc. So does "defensive forward" = can't kick goals "flexible" = can't hold down a position " consistent" = consistently what? Oh well it is the off season.......

Benno, get a grip. This requires good planning. And as others have noted only worthwhile if she is the marrying kind. 1. If the party is on Saturday night, then there is no chance that the game will be played then. 2. If we are there, we could be playing interstate 3. Build up brownie points all through the year and claim them back at the most appropriate time, and let her suggest it ( ...I've been to every Demons game in the past ...years, and this is our first final that I could see....get the drift) 4. We might do better and win the first final..ergo another game the week after. 5. If all else fails, remember that we are unlikely to be playing in a GF next year. Save the brownie points for the big event when it comes. Finally, remember the adage: Happy wife = happy life.

Youngest list = statistics mean nothing Take away Fletcher from the Essendon list and they would be pushing for the title. Where are the Gold Coast Suns in the table?......bugger, they probably have the youngest list. If the table had any meaning, we should be seeking OLD players to recruit....Collingwood won a Premiership with Geelong and the Saints vying for the honour. That's what the stats would tell you. Football is about talent not age, or I would kicking a ball for the Demons this year.

Got rid of the AFL membership a couple of years ago. Along with a lot of MFC supporters. AFL contributes only the cost of an adult membership to the MFC, not the AFL membership fee. Once the medallion club got guaranteed access to AFL seats at the GF, the AFL members lost that privelege. Solution: off to the Tridents/Redlegs with all the other fanatics and a guarantee seat at the GF if Melbourne make it, and the full price of membership goes to the MFC. Rather easy really.

You know all those players that signed up in 2010 for 2 years? Well they all become available in 2012...... All those ones who sign 2 year deals in 2011....they're all available the year after This means that ( on average ) half the AFL team lists are open to raid by GWS. And the other half the year after. Ablett to the GC was a good example to everyone of what can happen. It WILL happen again, especially with Sheedy running the show at GWS. WORSE STILL: GC have "regained" a series of their priority compensatory picks during the trading period. GWS have a bucketload to use yet, and expect them to do the same as GC. The next 4 drafts are going to be so compromised that our clubs decision to do everything to get Scully and Trengove last year can be seen as a stroke of genius. If Geelong couldn't keep Ablett with 2 Premiership medallions and a Brownlow hanging around his neck, then ........

Fitzroy won the Premiership in 1916....the same year they won the wooden spoon: http://www.lions.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/5085/newsid/23729/default.aspx

Nice analysis, and certainly confirms what we already know. Was interesting, and surprising, the absolute gulf between Green-Bruce and then Davey-Moloney-Rivers. i.e about 100 games. That equates to 5 years!. Certainly shows why we have been floundering at the bottom for the past couple. At least we have now built and are building a proper foundations as demonstrated by Bails.

I reckon Aaron Davey would have struggled to demonstrate or use his pace in the TEAC oval quagmire........

I hope not, because we are aiming for something better than mid-table. North have now put themselves in the dangerous position that Richmond have occupied for 20 years. Never good enough to win a flag. Too good to finish bottom. Trouble is that the draft rewards those who go to the bottom. Will we be in a better position than them in the future? The answer to that is: will Scully, Trengove, Gysberts and Tapscott be better than Bastinac and Cunnington? Will Watts, Blease and Strauss be better than Ziebell and Wright? And would Joel McDonald and Liam Jurrah be in THEIR best 22? Who knows at this stage, but because we have been amassing quality ( in terms of high picks) in greater numbers than North in recent times, then we have a better chance than them of improving. Regardless of the subjective arguments, North is the benchmark for finals....beat them and you WILL play in September. It is one of the targets for 2011.

If we can trust Barry Prendergast, the solution may have been provided this week by the AFL, when they changed the mature rookie list rules. Basically, there is now no age limit. So IF ( and that is the qualifier) a player who can fit this criteria playing in the WAFL,VFL, SANFL today, he can cheaply be put into the mix. We don't have to trade or give up draft picks.... Now that the silly season is about to start, it is Annually impossible to get most football supporters to understand that there are 17 ( 18?) sides out there looking for just one more <insert here> ( forward, ruck, backman, mid, line-breaker etc). If that was all that was required then every side would create a Premiership team overnight. But supply doesn't equal demand, and these glib statements are nothing more than Internet dreaming. Given the 2010 success of Barlow and Podsiadly, there will be more time devoted by Recruiting Departments to scouring the wider talent pool. We have to have faith in BP and his team to be better than most at the task.