iv'a worn smith

Perhaps apologies from some are a reasonable expectation. However, if the injury underlies Flash's poor form, what the hell were the medicos and conditioning people doing? Another question................. why do I feel decidedly more ill as this season progresses? How much worse can things get?

If Paul Roos is in the market, I would rather go for him. Mick M, by the end of the year, may well have lifted the holy grail for the 4th time. He is now in his 60's. And, as already pointed out, even if we could afford Mick and his entourage, will he still have the hunger? Perhaps, as he is a total professional after all. Paul Roos became coach as a result of "people" power. Remember, Terry Wallace was all but in the chair, having already told the the Bullies he would be moving on. While there was undoubted skill and talent at the Swans when they won their flag, they beat an Eagles team, which, pound for pound, had a lot more class within its ranks. Paul Roos gave real kudos to the axiom, "a champion team, will always beat a team of champions". While the dollar is undoubtedly a motivator for anyone, Paul Roos would attract a calibre of assistants that we need, because they would be likely to believe that working under Roos, would add to their own credentials for any future senior position in the offing. If he is in the market, I say we go for him, with all guns blazing.

So in the here and now, we should take comfort in the fact that we're not alone in being also rans? This once mighty club, should aspire to be mighty again - back up there with the Essendons and Carltons. To aspire to less is ignominy. In the world of business, which footy is, the market place does not suffer mediocrity patiently. TV rights will provide us with succour in the short to medium term, but come free agency, which will become freer as time goes on, woe be tied those who aren't ready and well placed to meet the ever increasing demands of the market. Messrs Jalland ,McLardy, Howcroft and Stynes are successful business people. I am confident that they are fully cognisant of what are the business imperatives and they won't tolerate this for much longer.

A great post WJ.

Re-wind. Sorry, no longer an excuse.

So lets take comfort in that and ignore the bleedin' obvious. You will never challenge, when you try and play an entire game off your half back line. Sure, we could not have won tonight with the squad we had in, but I am still yet to see a structure that will win games, even when we do get our, so-called, best players back.

Stef Martin. Had a red got go. Love him, but he was let down by his team mates. You will not win games, if you have no forward structure.....and we dont........ not by any stretch of the imagination. [edit] and please don't tell me again about our lack of ability. The real questions is, what does this club believe in? Tonight, from the beginning, we went out to save it, not win it.

We, the jury, find you guilty as charged.

Maybe the old eyes are truly starffed, but I found it difficult, at times, to distinguish the jumpers on Saturday. I can think of no reason, other than dubious "marketing" why both sides could not have worn their "traditional" jumpers

In posting on this thread, I, in no way subscribe to the "rock bottom" scenario. But it seems to me, we accept defeat far too easily and clutch at straws to justify that acceptance. We fail to realise, that while it is self-evident that we are a very young side, we are not, by any means unique. If we want to be truly successful, we need to go beyond the paradigm of youth and seek to reach goals that the football department must surely have set itself. The comparisons to Bulldogs and Saints are odious. Clearly, both are way off the pace of recent years and in my view, have themselves sought to rely on a perceived talented core group, topped up with dubious trades. Their premiership window is fast closing, if not has already been slammed shut. In any case, I see no reason to take consolation out of their seeming demise, in relation to our own performances. The "cultural" issue I have referred to in my previous post, perhaps is at the heart of the Saints malaise and there are lessons there for all clubs to learn. Do we take comfort out of being beaten by a Saints side by 20 points, that is really only a shadow of its former self - less than a year ago? Both Bate and Petterd have been criticised for their lack of defensive pressure, but consider this. Petterd's first game was as a sub and he was dropped the following week. Bate has been in one week, dropped the next. As we know, this week he was the sub. As mentioned by other posters, he is a "touch"player and he needs time. Not just one week. In my view, these guys' confidence is at a low ebb at present and clearly that lack of confidence is reflected on the field. A lack of confidence is as contagious as an over abundance of it. These guys need more game time, in particular Petterd. As for the comments made by "one media personality", love him or hate him, he was a more than a reasonable footballer and history shows he never shirked any issue. His criticism was of a senior player, who needs to lead by example. Aaron Davey is greatly talented, but unlike other years, he attracts a hard tag to stifle his run, week in and week out. That is just the reality of professional football. He needs to be able to rise above that, and tactically, he may need assistance from the coach, strategy wise. Yes, we are a very young side, which is still learning, but that said, I would rather we play the youth - give them a taste at least - than play the likes of Newton, who, to despite his spurts of endeavour, has proven to be inept when the crunch comes.

No case to answer!!!

No question about that, but these are the things that make up the very fabric of successful clubs. As I said, under the circumstances, I can and must accept the losses, but the club needs to change it's culture and we need to find the person/s who have the skills to do it.

It was not a sling tackle. It was a perfect tackle, with the momentum taking both players forward and Winmar hitting his head on the ground. No case to answer.

What? The concepts of team discipline, commitment and work ethic are "too hard"? As for the game plan, we will never do any good by trying to replicate a circa 2008 Hawthorn run off the half back line, which has long since been sussed out by other club and put to bed. What is simple is that style of play is finished.

I am not going to enter into the personal epithets, but I would like to express an opinion. I have no doubt that Dean Bailey is a great bloke and his forte is developing young footballers. It is also amply evident that he inherited a terrible list from Neale Daniher, who thought he might have pinched a flag by topping up with a few very questionable hacks and has beens. However (injuries accepted), there is no excuse for lack of commitment. Two comments this morning on the channel 9 footy show highlighted the point. Dermott Brereton mentioned that LJ would not need an ice bath, because as sublimely skilled as he is, his intensity at the contest is, at best, tepid. Shane Crawford said, "when it's your turn, you've got to go" - read Aaron Davey. Jack Watts was a highlight for me yesterday, Evans was solid for a debut game, Gysberts is and will be a gun and it is good to see Maric getting more of it, but these guys need to see that they are playing at a club that has strength in its mindset, a mentality that you're there for your mates and the club and that we will never say die. I ask only these questions. Who instills the required passion and discipline? Who makes sure that a culture exists within the club that sees the playing group left in no doubt what has to be done? Under the circumstances, the youth, the re-build which was absolutely necessary and our on-going injuries, I am enough of a realist to accept the inevitable losses that we suffer, on our journey upwards. As a supporter of the MFC for 40 plus years, what I cannot accept is a what I perceive to be as a lack of commitment at the contest and what I consider to be a discernible lack of team spirit, which is the fabric of any club, which aspires to greatness. Who has the job to get that right? Who has the capacity and footy acumen to make sure it is corrected?

Tony Ongarello - Fitzroy? RIP Bob Davis. A legend of the game. Fond memories of Bob, Jack and Lou on World of Sport and League teams on a Thursday night.

As a side issue and I'm not sure if this has been picked up before or commented on, but on the Casey list is one Ryan Pendlebury. Yes, he is the brother of Scott. A mate of mine met him by chance a few days back and it turns out the Pendlebury's were (are??) Dees supporters. If Ryan can turn out to be half as good as his brother, I trust the MFC keep a close eye on him. Bio data as follows:

The criticism of individual players is warranted. But if we can take any consolation out of this, it is that we know our list is better than what is being shown tonight. Maybe we aren't good enough to beat this team at Patterson Curse stadium, but we are better than this. So why such basic errors? My theory is there is no confidence within the group and a lack of belief or understanding of the job that is required to be done. So who's fault is that? I leave you to ponder it as I am now going to bed, as I have to be up at 4:00am to catch a flight to Perth for a work engagement? I won't be taking my "Fitzroy" scarf either. Cheers

Whatever anybody thinks and where they they think we might be in our evolution, this is simply unacceptable.

Only 2 things got us over the line against Brisbane. LJ and a resolve ......... finally....... not to be embarrassed by an insipid team performance. We needed another focal point up forward. The other win was against the Suns................ well !!!! Ricky Petterd has talent and it's being wasted. He should be in the 22 if he is fit, and there is nothing to suggest he's not. I too prefer RP over the mo.

My mail is there is no beat up here and that is the worry. It needs to be dealt with quickly.

It is often said, 'if only we kicked straighter, we would have won by more'. The simple fact is, sure, we hit the post many times, but even if one of those posters goes through as a 6 pointer, the ball goes back to the centre and it obviously becomes an entirely different play. The 'what if" scenario' does not stand up. I acknowledge that there were aspects of our game that were less than desirable, but I would rather think, that in a long season, we will continue to build and gain momentum. I think our guys, particularly the younger guys, will gain a lot of confidence out of yesterday, despite the limitations of the opposition. Let's look at the positives for now and keep our powder until we get to mid-season. That will be the time for re-assessment.

"Molly" Molloy's son Glenn. A ranga from memory. I think the post to which you were responding was more in reference to Chris Johnson, son of Alan.

My only point relates to the colours. I couldn't give a fig, re quality. To me, they simply weren't MFC colours. What purports to be Red, is Maroon.

Sorry, Sunday, beginning at 1:10pm