Suzanna

Free hug?

Group hug..... Sending out one to everyone who needs it (that is all of us right now)

The AFL is becoming more and more like the ATO - they say jump, you say how high.

Now now, that's not nice saying the ATO is as bad as the AFL.

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/afl-to-call-demons-doctor-over-dank-link-20130419-2i3w1.html

An angry Andrew Demetriou said this morning there appeared to be “inconsistencies” and “at least some omissions” in what Melbourne told the league in February about its work with Dank. The AFL CEO said "they (Melbourne) will be in breach of a rule".

I don't believe that the board would have been so stupid as to put out the statements it did, had it been aware of the true extent of Bates' dealings with Dank. They are educated bsuiness people, well versed in disclosure requirements. They simply aren't that stupid.

It's far more likely that Bates mislead the Board as to the extent of Dank's involvement at the club. The texts released yesterday would have been just as surprising to the Board as they were to the AFL.

Those are the only two possibilities I see here.

I predict that Bates will be gone by the end of tonight, or tomorrow morning. Anyone else who knew the truth about Dank's involvement with the club, but didn't speak up, will go too.

So the problem the AFL has is not whether the substances were illegal (which they weren't) but that we didn't ask 'how high' when they told us to jump. Vlad the control freak is just angry because we didn't tug our forelocks and bow down to his royal highness. He can't get us for the substances, so he is going to get us for not playing the game by his rules. This will cost us, because Vlad is a spoilt, nasty little boy who gets vicious when you don't play the way he wants to play.

Did he win the fight?

The fight had four quarters and although he was holding his own in the first half he went down in round 3 and never got up....

Melbourne is run by aliens who are actually using their experiences to observe how well humanity cope with a lack of hope...

My town is celebrating its centenary tomorrow, something that clearly only comes around once in a lifetime. I will be at the game, foregoing some of the celebrations, but if we are getting thumped I will not feel any compunction about leaving early so I don't miss the parade - once in a lifetime, or a round 3 game? Hmmmm.

We never man up. We never kick the ball down the middle, instead kicking it across goals and to the boundary. We never take our time when we mark, but instead quickly handball off, putting our teammate under pressure. Probably a few reasons why we never win.

Can anyone enlighten me as to why we let Stefan Martin go? It seemed to me he was just getting it all together, then he is gone. Seems to be doing ok now - it seems to be our 'thing' - put all the hard work into young players, then wave goodbye to them and watch them do well at their new clubs.

What are everyone's predictions for what I'm sure is going to be a long week for the Dees.

Long week? It's going to be a long year...

THE DAY THEY WAVED THE WHITE FLAG by The Oracle

I didn't see this coming either.

Ten minutes into the game we were looking shaky but level at one goal each. Ten minutes later Essendon had broken our backs and then our hearts went too.

There's nothing much more to say.

MELBOURNE not much

ESSENDON a lot more.

It's a pity they didn't wave the white flag a lot sooner tonight, then we could have all gone home....

It's been a very hard few days, and it's been very hard to digest. How on earth, a club coming from several poor seasons, apparently a belter of an upbeat pre-season in preparation for Round One, with a 'next to no-injury list', can produce such a performance on the introduction to a new season on it's home ground is just bewildering in the extreme - despite a new look line-up.

What is worrying is the coach coming out after the game with his explanation on matters against Port Adelaide.

Alarming when he says he has "absolutely no idea" what happened and "didn't see it coming".

Asked about the difference in training standards from 12 months ago, he said it was "unrecognisable".

He concedes they just have to "stick at it" and "keep at it", well, I'm kind of hoping that he'll think outside the square and try anything this week that will make the players play for him.

Because he went on to say, “What we spoke about at three quarter time was unrecognisable when the [final] quarter started,” - that in itself is very alarming, but not as alarming as the following comment....

Neeld said some home truths were spoken immediately after the match.

“The players were really honest with each other and honest with me,” he said.

A few home truths for the coach perhaps??

Here's a few home truths from me: -

*When a debutant is leading the charge in the dressing room post match and telling some home truths, it really hits home with where our club is at and secondly, what he's about.

*Shave those beards off and look like footballers, pi55 off any other side-track games the players have going and get them to focus on the matter at hand in helping resurrecting this football club. If it improves things by 3% in being switched on, I'll frick'n take it.

*We were smashed early on in the midfield and clearances and it didn't let up throughout the day. I recall the figures during the second being 11-3 or 11-2 in clearances Port's way. We already know our midfield is inferior, but FGS, bloody well address it. or at least get to a 50/50 split on our home deck.

I am sick to death with having to vent and put up with [censored]! And I know the majority of who read this are as well.

It should be a privilege to play and coach for the Red & Blue, on the G.

Clearly not every stone has been turned to ensure the team plays to their best, or the coach/coaches - coach to their best. We all know that failing to plan, is planning to fail!

SO do your homework, and f**king well do it to your best! Each and every week!

Because it certainly isn't good enough to date and it hasn't been good enough since 2006.

That game was as significant a loss as the massive 2008 Round one loss to Hawthorn under Bailey. That's how bad it was. And it probably hurts more given Port's 5 wins last year and our recent minor win over them at Renmark.

7 months to prepare and serve up that crap, particularly after half time, given what the club has already been through, is just the pitts.

If the coach and team somehow turn it around and get 4 points against Essendon it will be a slap in the face to the supporters, by showing that results can be achieved when you put in effort. And it will be a lesson to the club of how to prepare each and every week in getting the players mindset right.

Ref: http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2013-04-01/we-didnt-see-that-coming-neeld

Kick the ball up the middle of the ground! Aaargh!

Gaz, Hutchy, The Bitter One and the Mannequin are on ... Let's see what they have to say.

Oooh, it's rather embarassing to see in slow mo, even worse than in real time!

Is there an under 8's team we can call on to stand in for us? They will probably try harder and display more skills.

Face facts: anyone who turned up to the game yesterday is not a "fair weather supporter"

They all left a few years ago when this downward spiral began.

We, the rusted on barnacles, are sick of watching us get thumped when with a bit of application and determination we could not only stay in a game but win it. I refer you to the Gold Coast Suns who kept cracking at the Saints until they got the win.

For the record, I did not boo the team and never would. I left 5 minutes early instead.

Spot on. Those of us who turned up yesterday are real fans. The ones who turn up even when we know we are going to lose. The ones who turn up when the weather is predicted to be cold and rainy, we pull on our plastic ponchos and demonstrate our insanity by sitting in the freezing rain in order to cheer on our boys. The ones who are pitied by nice people, and laughed at by those who are not so nice. We are Melbourne.

In return, all we ask for is that our team show a bit of spirit, and put in a little effort. That insipid tripe on display yesterday qualified for neither. I did not boo, and would not do so, but can understand the frustration of those who did. I even stayed to the end, although leaving early was tempting and I could understand those who thought catching an earlier bus/train/tram or just getting into a warm car was more interesting than watching Port Adelaide look good.

If any of us were 'fair weather supporters' then we would not have stuck around for the last few years, and the club would not have ANY members. The fact that we are still here shows either that we are committed supporters, or else, deserve to be committed. Either way, we deserve better than this. Many of us have busy lives, and have to make choices about what we are going to do with our weekends. Go to the footy or do 'X'. Unless the Club attempts to make going to the footy worth our while again, doing 'X' is looking pretty good right now.

Brock got out because we would not meet his contractual demands, anyone who thinks he left because of the poor culture has a lower IQ than he does.

Agree with rest.

Brock got out because it was too far to travel from his home (in Altona I think?) to Casey. Or at least that's what he said then. He has since proved to be an unrealiable sod who put his old playing mates and supporters right in the poo for no reason other than spite. (He left Melbourne because of tanking? Really? Yet he went to Carlton to play alongside Krueser and Judd who wouldn't be there but for games Carlton 'lost'? Gimme a break). So was he lying then or is he lying now? You can't put any faith in anything he says because you don't know when he is lying and when he is telling the truth. Scum.

As much as it might feel good to get your rant off your chest by sending an email of complaint, how much more infuriated will you be when you get a response along the lines of "Your feedback is important to us....". It will just make you angry all over again.

Yesterday's effort was awful. Insipid and boring. The sort of game where you wish you had brought a book to read to pass the time, because the game isn't keeping your interest. But when you have 7 new debs in a team, what do you expect? The team has been substantially recast, and that sort of thing takes time to gel. But who else could they have played after the cleanout last season?

Don't know the answer. Just know that something has to be done, because the club can't go on dishing up this rubbish and expecting supporters to turn up each week. The on-field performance will lead to off-field 'breakage'. People who were undecided about memberships won't waste their money. Our bottom line will suffer. It's time the club considered that the damage being done to the brand has to stop.

And shave off those beards - they look like shite.

Bored with the play today, I found myself looking at the boys, and wondering why they look like escapees from Ned Kelly's gang. Is there a common theme, (are they fundraising or something?) or are they just trying out a new look? There was some serious facial foresting going on - anyone enlighten me?

Is Lyon ever going to live that stretcher bit down? Poor dear. All in good fun anyway - no harm in having a bit of a laugh in the middle of a working day.

Its such a level playing field. All clubs treated fairly and equally. Amazing how they do it really

It reminds you of George Orwell's Animal Farm (I hope I get the quote right - I am sure someone will point it out if I don't):

"All animals are equal. Some are more equal than others".

Woo Hoo! Don't care why we won, it's been a while and it feels goood.

This is how good this guy is.....at half time, despite the fact he was a sub, Watts had more DT points than Izzy.

Well done AFL, $1 million well spent.

He is really good - could anyone of us get paid that much by putting in so little? That takes real skill!

Actually it has been a lot longer than a decade and it will continue long after the PP's have gone. Teams that are out of the finals race will experiment to find out who can play and where and who can't and should go. That will continue as long as we have salary caps and limited lists.

There's nothing wrong with experimenting. Just this year we have discovered that both Colin Garland and Jared Rivers can kick goals. How was this discovery made? By the coach shifting them to roles they haven't been doing at this club - experimenting in other words. It worked. He shifted Watts to the backline, and he had a couple of good games. What is wrong with that?

I also read the article and giggled to see the big deal that was made of the fact that the doctors chose NOT to fill players up on painkillers and send them out to play when the game wasn't going anywhere. Should players EVER be injected with drugs that will mask an injury and possibly allow them to make it worse? I would say no, but then I am not a doctor. However, when there is no hope of making the finals, it is only logical not to put added stress on players. How is that tanking? If 'tanking'= list management, then there are 18 clubs out there tanking right now, because they all have made changes due to injury.

The AFL will have to be very careful with what it decrees to be tanking, if it does at all, because so many clubs have done just what ours has done.

Now I know this isn't strictly Dees stuff, but she is the sister of one of our captains, and we did win today, and wouldn't it be nice to think he is sitting in front of the telly right now cheering on his sister....

IMO Sheedy's beef against Melbourne definitely influenced his decision to target Tom Scully back at the end of 2010.

As such it is a decision fraught with danger on several levels for that club.

Never let emotion cloud business decisions.

I think it's obvious that he did. Scully was offered far more than he was worth, and the decision to pursue him and pay him so much can hardly be called a sound business decision - an unproven young player with a dicky knee? Well, we profited from the deal, so should we complain about it? No. But by the same token, can we be done listening to his rants though? There's nothing worse than listening to a senile, bitter old man berate others for his failures.

Back in the (colonial) day - where did they send Tasmanian shop lifters

Port Arthur