iv'a worn smith

I heard from a source, that Robinson's been on the sauce.

Absolutely we do. As we have had before. Waiting, waiting.......... still waiting. I am talking about the trade, not the draft, where the kids drafted will necessarily take time to come on. Not sure another 3-5 years of "waiting" is sustainable for this footy club.

A couple of gun mid fielders anybody? The so-called twin towers might get very cold if the ball continually gets turned over, we get smashed at the centre clearances and get most of our possessions in the defensive 50

I am glad the club has come out and tried to quash this tweet, regardless of its veracity or otherwise. The free agency/trade period will certainly be interesting, but you can't help but worry about the rumblings that are currently on the rumour mill. Riv is gone, some say, with others to follow. I trust the club is clear in its vision and strategy in terms of moulding a list that it wants. Once the dust from the meat market settles, I hope we hear an equivocal and positive statement from the club, in particular the coach, about the direction we are heading in.

Which one? Or did you steal RR's car. edit: I think it might be a Jeep

I agree, his passion for the MFC is great. Hopefully, given the new job is Melbourne based, he will continue on the Board.

I wonder whether this will effect his tenure on the MFC Board?

You went a long way about DL, but you are right, so much that relates to performance is in the head.

Deeluded, any chance I could book a consultation on your couch? How much is your fee?

You can call it a "buzz word" if you like, but it still has gravitas in team sport. Sir Alex Ferguson instilled a winning culture into Man U. Other EPL clubs have tried to buy an EPL title, failed and nearly went broke doing it. There's the difference............"culture"

And to state the obvious, footy is a team sport. As many so called experts say, 90% is played above the shoulders. If the "culture" ain't there, you won't win. DeeM's first hand information is testimony to that.

Rebuttal for rebuttal sake is moot. The point is the coach along with the entire FD would direct recruiters as to the type of player they want. As they all do, the coach sits with the recruiting manager at the trade table, watches how the cards fall and directs the pick that way. No-one has said the coach would possibly know the full population of junior talent, either can the recruiting manager for that matter. There are scouts that do that job in every state and in the bush. At the end of the day, the coach will get what he asks for. Simple as that.

And what is the greatest contributing factor to outcomes on the field? The player stock I would humbly suggest. If a coach "lives and dies on the outcomes on the field" then it behoves every coach to ensure that their recruiting managers act under that coach's direction and not carte blanche. You have a serious problem in any enterprise if the line of report is not supervised by the 'boss'

Surely people don't believe that so-called recruiting managers act in isolation from the rest of the FD. Decisions are made on recruitment, under the scrutiny of the head coach and FD, together with the contingencies that are thrown up come the actual selections during trade week and at the draft table. It is naive in the extreme to believe that any perceived failings are down to one person that happens to carry the word "recruiting" in his job title. Strategy planning starts at the top, not 2 or 3 levels below.

That he did WYL, but I doubt, behind closed doors, he would be as silent as the club seems to be right now. I understand that some on here would believe that is the way it should be and to communicate to supporters now may only serve to exacerbate any anxiety among members, but it was not all that long ago that the club went to its heartland and asked for more money, with the justification that we can sure up our position and bargaining position come trade time. However, I doubt that the club can keep going to the well, without clearly articulating our position and vision for the future. I am reasonably comfortable with where we sit right now, under current circumstances, but I doubt that everyone else feels the same way.

I agree Neeld should not be bagged and there is no point in doing so in any event. However, given our 2012 season and those players who have freely indicated either their intention to leave or rumoured dissatisfaction, I would suggest it is not unreasonable for supporters to become somewhat anxious and jittery. With that in mind, the only criticism I would level at the club is its current silence. Supporters need to hear something POSITIVE right now. I am of the view that the administration all too often is not as proactive as it could be in communication with its members, when things, at least on face value, look bleak. Waiting.........................................................................................

One bad observation does not deserve another, which is perhaps even more indelicate. The Court will decide on evidence, not hearsay. Let's just leave that incident alone and not link it to anything else other than Liam may be feeling mightily anxious.

I will renew……. Of course I will. Over 42 years of membership, I’ve seen many lean times. Numerous wooden spoons, a then record winning margin kicked against us by Fitzroy of all teams and my heroes like Stan Alves and Greg Wells having to go elsewhere, just to taste some finals success. The moments of moderate success we have had, over more recent times (late ‘80’s to early 2000’s) had the capacity to dull the pain. I know I will get whacked for this, but I will say it anyway. Despite the obvious drawbacks, such as inadequate training facilities and an inability to draw quality stars to Melbourne, we simply lack a winning culture. For too long, close enough has been good enough, We can debate the woulda’s, the shoulda’s and the coulda’s all we like, but what has been missing at my footy club for far too long is a culture of winning and ‘team’ . An uncompromising, intrinsic and singular focus on busting the gut and getting the job done, regardless of the size of the challenges. That culture was embodied in the coaching tenets of Norm Smith (the Red Fox). Sure, times have changed, but the principles of dedication, commitment to the cause and a shared vision are as enshrined in any endeavour, whether it be business or sport, today as they were back then. When South Melbourne went to Sydney they were a basket case. Despite the money the VFL/AFL gave them, they had to build a culture. Money doesn’t buy that. Roos finally delivered the flag, with a team, which, in my view, was not the most talented, but simply was the best team. They played for Roos and more importantly each other. Six years into his tenure, there were vociferous calls for Bomber Thompson’s head, before he delivered the ultimate prize to Geelong. The Cats now have a culture which is the envy of the AFL. North Melbourne have long been considered to be in a perilous position financially, but you sure get your money’s worth if you follow them. Brayshaw is often criticized for not taking the bit between the teeth and simply pulling up stumps, taking the AFL money and going to the Gold Coast. The Kangas lost their CEO, Eugene Arocca earlier this year , but are now playing in finals nevertheless. The Shinboner spirit!!!!! So what is the common denominator? None of these teams had to bottom out to get back to playing finals. They instilled a culture within their footy club which is almost palpable to the players. I suspect (hope?) this is precisely what Mark Neeld is intending to build at the MFC. There is no doubt that he is uncompromising, that he intended to and has ruffled the feathers of a number of so-called senior players, who in turn have acted like spoilt children. At last year’s B&F, in his first official capacity at the Club, Neeld said he wanted the Demons to become the hardest team to beat in the AFL. In my view, his emphasis was on the “hard” part of his statement. This is going to be a long journey, but I have faith that Neeld can and will deliver. I will stick fat, but I just hope the football world in general, the MFC administration and Dees supporters in general can bear the wait (weight). Go you Demons

Clearly clubs like the Swans and Geelong have never had to bottom out to maintain sustained success. Sure, they have maintained a core group of solid players to bring on the youth, but this has come about because of a culture engendered within those clubs through hard, sometimes heart breaking work. Remember, a short time in to his tenure, there were calls, from some quarters, to dump Bomber Thompson from Geelong. Mark Neeld has flagged his intention to be uncompromising. This is his and the club's in general challenge to overcome. I did not vote in this poll, but for what it is worth, I stick by Neeld's agenda and support it.

What annoys me is not the apparent and regular need on here, by some posters to dissect the FD, the playing list or our relative ability or lack thereof: What annoys me is that my football club seems to have gone missing. What annoys me is what seems to be an inability or lack of want to play together and support a team mate. A monotonous regularity, where even the most basic of skill errors occurs. Missing targets, hand balling direct to an opponent, fumble after fumble, no intent on getting your head over the ball, chasing tail all day, no spread and carry, no-one presenting a target, no-one at the feet of the big forwards, no clear zone or path out of the back line on kick outs and what seems to be a want to save a game, rather than win one. Analyse a lack of ability all you like, blame whoever you choose, but in my 48 years of following this club, I have never seen worse – and believe me, I, as others, endured some pretty lean times over that 48 year period. That’s what annoys me and I want my footy club back.

A great post ST

Great sentiments expressed here and by and large I agree. Unfortunately, given the MFC's history of self-immolation, it is understandable long suffering supporters are cynical. Once again, I do not seek to apportion blame anywhere, other than to say, the serious nature of what confronts us, transcends the playing group alone. Whatever the issues, they need to be sorted soon. Unlike the EPL, there are not the $$$$$ going around, which will have the patience or stomach for such constantly inept performances.

Ahem, a classic case of misinterpretation. I took Jumbo's post to mean Ox's battles on the field - knees and the like.

Given the apparent position of some on this thread, why would McLardy want to expose himself to such an audience? Rhetorical question of course.

Really?????!!!!!. Walls has played in premiership sides, coached a premiership side, coached bottom sides. He knows alright. He knows much more than you and me combined. If anyone on here reckons football departments work in isolation to the overall administration of a footy club, then they are delusional.