iv'a worn smith

Where does the AFL hold the record of us doing what you say?

As we know there is a thread on here about Roosy, with some questioning his record at the MFC. What he has said and the way Macca has said it makes me believe that collectively, behind closed doors, the coaching staff are heading in the right direction. What Macca said is something I have been wanting to hear come out of the MFC for a long time. Thanks BM. You're what the Dees should be all about. Long overdue!!!!

I've got a big month of work coming up in October. Have to be at my best then.... many challenges ahead. Might take the rest of September off to make sure I have re-charged the batteries and I'm ready to go, come 1 October. Are you OK with that boss?. ..................... What do you mean no effing way? Pretty unreasonable for the bloke that pays my wages to think that way don't you think?

To quote Leigh Matthews, who is one for the few footy commentators, whose view I respect; Says it all in my opinion

We were found not guilty of tanking. Our only crime was to employ people who were found to bring the game into disrepute, hence the fine. Go Figure. I can to some extent understand Freo's position having already won the minor premiership. However, to me it treats your opposition with some level of contempt to do so. Not too mention, I reckon it is dangerous to play with your form heading into finals. In the case of North, to me this is nothing less than tanking, for the purposes of a better draw in the first week of the finals. Both also set a dangerous precedent, particularly in the future, where such actions could actually affect how the top 8 actually may be formed, come season's end, if this were to occur season after season.

Do the bullies have shades of the Dees circa 2000? I get the sense they do and I hope they can. Difference is, if they can, they won't face an omnipotent side as Essendon were in 2000.

At finals time, the so-called experts often refer to the comparison between the players considered to be in the bottom six of each of the finals sides, with the view to determining the greatest differential between the finalists. For one moment, just compare our bottom six with the rest of the competition and the contrast is alarmingly stark perhaps with the exception of, at the moment Brisbane and Carlton, there is a massive gulf at the moment. Therein lies our major problem. Our top level players continually have to carry us and for this reason, we pull of the occasional great win; eg. Geelong at Geelong. But over the course of such a long season, this clearly cannot be sustained over the journey. This has and continues to be the MFC coaching staff's greatest challenge.

No I haven't. The message remains the same. When the job that has to be done, is left in the hands of a few, who drag the rest of the group through with them, then this is simply not sustainable. You will not see and we have not seen wins being strung together. Until we see the workload spread more evenly across the group, supporter frustration will continue to abound.

Thanks OD. Precisely.

Hang on. Where and when did I say that? I said, they are buggered, because they had to do most of the grunt work on their own. They need their team mates to share the load. Get your facts right.

C&B, if you are going to interpolate, then please read the post in context. At no stage did I say that the players I named are mentally weak. I said they're buggered - physically - from carrying most of the team thus far. It is the lack of mental toughness and a diminishing skill level as you go down the list, that is, in my opinion, the root cause of the drop off. I have the utmost admiration for those "5 or 6 players' I named, but they need some of their team mates to lend their support.

Vince is a damn good player, who along with a few others e.g N Jones, Viney, Bradshaw, MacDonald early, Hogan and perhaps you can throw in Neal-Bullen, have basically carried the team on their backs. To put it bluntly, they're buggered. Others perhaps give credence to that old fashioned term 'playing above themselves'. As this game is played more and more above the shoulders, you only have to be a fraction off mentally and you will get hammered. In terms of talent within our playing stocks, we still have some way to go. Sure the coach has a pivotal and crucial role to play in doing everything possible to get the mindset right on game day, as do the entire coaching staff. But unlike days past, fire and brimstone rev ups just don't do it anymore. It is the calibre of the player, their own individual mental steel, that set the elite apart from the also rans.

That is the point, it is the lack of talent which is so self evident, that we are just not in a position to have sustained periods of good form. As I said in my original post, I have no doubt that we have improved, but the little improvement that we have made, in my view, is directly attributable to - still - a considerable lack of class. I remember the disappointment in 85, when Barassi's much vaunted '5 year' plan seemingly came to an end as what seemed to be a fizzer. It was not all that long after, that Swooper Northey inherited a list with talent and a desire to win. I am hoping - and I think he will - that Roos can replicate that and what Goodwin inherits may take us that one step further, of which Northey fell just short.

1. I think he remains a very astute reader of the modern day game. 2. Really??? Never could stomach his music really. It is amazing what production gurus can do in a recording studio 3. Now that is really funny. Sadly, my missus says the same to me.

Not sure he actually said that OD. I think he was talking about a veil of negativity that shrouds the entire club. That is, players, coaching staff, admin and supporters. The old self fulfilling prophecy syndrome. Perhaps his efforts of explaining it were clumsy, but then again how does anyone explain what has bedevilled us for so long now.

I really can't believe the apparent position being taken by some on here. SACK THE COACH NOW!!!!!!!! Another one? Simple fact is we are still bearing the pain of the legacy bestowed upon us by previous regimes. We are talent poor. Simple as that. Considering where we were before Roos took over, there has been some remarkable performances, although I agree it would certainly be nice to have more. We have a bunch of young stars, who at this time of the year are probably tired and sore. Certainly we lack a core group of real leaders and I suspect that when the tide turns against us, as it inevitably does with any football club, the collective mindset with our group becomes; Oh no, here we go again. Such an attitude then become like a contagion which affects the entire group. PR maybe good, but he does not possess divine powers. We have too wait.

Spot on LH. As angry as we may get, it simply is not practical or workable to make wholesale changes to the list come the seasons end. Those who are supposedly in the know, say this year's draft is thin compared to last year, other than about the top 6, for which we should be well and truly in the mix, given our likely ladder position at seasons end. Other than that there is a trade period, which I would think will be extremely competitive this year. I still believe Roos is astute enough to make the right decisions, along with his match committee.

I had great hope, like most of us after beating Geelong on their now dung heap. Did not expect miracles, but thought that win was a sign of improvement and moving in the right direction of the future. I am absolutely at a loss to understand yesterday's performance. I would have thought that the belting we received last week would have been enough of a spur to perform better and have a red hot go, against what most see at the moment as a basket case of a club; Carlton. To me, this is the worst loss of the season. For years now, we have debated the cause of such inept displays. Is it culture? Being mentally scarred by past events? Or are we simply talent poor? I suspect the latter, but right now, we are a rabble. I am not looking to blame anyone, as I am not privy to what goes on behind close doors, but there is something very wrong - still - within the club and it needs to be fixed asap. Otherwise, we will again see further leakage in the membership numbers.

Not looking for excuses, but there was word around the traps that a virus went through the club over the last week or so. Now I will wait with baited breath as to those who wish to give such a virus a name.

This one!!!!!

Here we go again.

Great to hear he has taken the time to respond.

Who said there is a fine line between pleasure and pain?

We have had to endure garbage football for sometime now and other than a fleeting increase in membership numbers a few years ago, the membership base has remained fairly static. That's probably because we still have a solid core of members who stick fat. We also don't sign up the family dog or cat. I don't see any marked decrease next year, given we will have Petracca back, Brayshaw and Hogan with another pre-season under their belts and hopefully some astute trading and drafting and the end of this season. That said, what worries me more is attracting the next generation of members and their kids. Maybe I'm the ultimate optimist, but I have the feeling this year's pain will see much more gain on the field in 2016.

I can't believe Roos' credentials as a coach are even being questioned. Simple fact is, the playing stocks are still not good enough. We can bang on about coaches and inept game plans as much as we like, but this current crop, collectively, still don't have the skills required to be even moderately successful at AFL level. OD, your last sentence says it all.