iv'a worn smith

If you rejoice in that then you are easily pleased. But again, I will make my my main point, if this continues, we will go backwards, against the relative growth of most of our competitors. Whether we like it or not, we are in a business environment and a bloody competitive one at that.

I disagree. The increase is marginal and I would think, given the hype of priority and first draft picks, the slight increase would have had to come naturally. Memberships, at this point in our building phase, need to be optimised, not simply maintaining the status quo. My point, after our "horrifying start, all the good work done off the field can quickly unravel, if we keep putting in performances like that. Simply a business reality.

I would suggest we are on very thin ice, in term of the business model and if we have too many repeat performances, as last Saturday, the affect on Membership would not be sustainable.

Membership numbers are currently at 27,595. I would suggest, after our initial momentum and the opportunity to kick it along at the "G for our first and home game of the season, this is a disappointing result. As I said on another thread, whether people agree with the heat being put on DB or not, we compete in a very tough business. DB, given our membership numbers currently and the performances thus far in 2010, surely you can appreciate that every proud and passionate Melbourne supporter has an inherent right to put the the acid on you. Anything less would not be suitable. Our future membership base depends on it.

I know that many members, who were alreadysigned up, would have wanted to collect their scarves on Saturday. One would have also hoped that ourfirst “home” game for the season would have seen a surge in membership signons. Understanding that the Club has no controlover the MFC website, I note that as of this morning, the membership figurestands at 27,134. If this isindeed accurate, how on earth could we have run out of scarves on Saturday? Surely there was some contingency planning?

Not good enough. Although, I don't blame 'volunteers' for this oversight.

Didn't know he's religious. But I agree, Miller might be worth a try down back, as he is no worth up forward at present.

You clearly miss the point, which it would seem, so do some of the senior players. Don't misread what I said please. Supporting the kids and showing solidarity, does not mean you have to fly off the handle and give away a free. It's about support, a pat on the backside, a gee up, a well done son. You have misread the spirit and intent of this thread.

I might have considered it, had I been able to collect mine on the first game of the season, at our "home" ground, for our home game, and at a location where we have our merchandising, but they ran out of scarves. NO, I WOULD NOT HAVE.

Given the belting we were and were always going to receive, I wanted a show of strength and support for the kid. There wasn't any. Let's not try and shift an argument from the sublime to the ridiculous, shall we?

" Shoving", in isolation would be a ridiculous pursuit. But the fact is we were getting belted in every facet of the game, It was the first of 2010 and expectations - whether realistic or not - are an obvious result of being down for so long and the optimism arising over the off season, particularly from the club itself. HT's point is missed, if you simply concentrate on the word "shoving". It's well and truly on the record that we have a lot of kids and these kids need examples they can look up to. Scully being cleaned up - fairly - by Roughead is one thing, but no senior player coming into support our first gamer is a disgrace and unacceptable. Simple as that.

Yeah, like Mick needs the pittance we could afford to pay, on top of the headaches. He has the backing of a powerful club, state of the art facilities and a profile that will see him with a nice, comfy job in the media, when he retires. God forbid, if the filth can jag this year's flag, I say it will be cue in the rack for Mick and he will live happily ever after.

Yes, if possible, it would be good to have a report. I sure miss the days of "Barry from Beach Road".

KS, HT was referring to the mature players within the group. "On field leadership" I think he said. To me this is a no brainer - no argument. HT is 100% correct.

In keeping with the lead off for this thread from WJ and the James Taylor and Carol King theme, I was at the concert on Friday night, so I had a very big highlight to take out of my weekend. But while Demonland quotes a line from Sweet Baby James, I am reminded of another lyric. "There is a feeling like the clenching of a fist There is a hunger in the center of the chest There is a passage through the darkness and the mist And though the body sleeps the heart will never rest"

KS, I didn't know you were a journo. What media outlet do you report for?

As I said on another thread, we pay, they get paid. You might'n think so, but it is becoming increasingly obvious, there is a life outside football. And therein lies the danger of the MFC alienating its membership base, by putting in such insipid performances. I have been there for 40+ years, but enough is enough.

For those of us who had previously dared to challenge the methods of Dean Bailey and the wisdom of extending his contract, before this season had even begun, we received a metaphorical kick in the head for speaking out, from others on this forum. So let me start this post by getting the accepted facts out of the way. 1. We are a young and inexperienced team 2. DB inherited a list from Daniher that contained a number of very ordinary footballers and those few"stars" that we had were on the wane. As a result, clearly a clean out was needed. 3. We all need to be patient. Clearly, these 3 factors alone mean that we were always going to be a long way off playing finals. I listened into 3AW yesterday, only because Tim Lane, who I rate as the best caller in the land, was given a gig there. Melbourne was discussed at some length and I was heartened to hear the number of Melbourne supporters who called the talkback line with some real passion. Tony Shaw and Robert Walls commented that they thought we were at least 3 years or 5 years, respectively, away from playing finals. Either scenario may well be the case. I am under no illusions in this regard. With the above in mind, let me address what I also consider to be patent facts. 1. All AFL clubs clearly compete in the same market and the "playing field" is not always a level one. 2. Like all clubs, the MFC tell us how important membership numbers are to the viability of the club and clearly members are integral to financial stability. 3. Like all clubs, we have to fight tooth and nail for sponsors and Jimmy, his Board and Cam Schwab and his team, should be congratulated for the job they have done in this area. In relation to Membership numbers, I suspect most, if not all on this forum are members. I have been for over 40 years. I am rusted on and will not be going anywhere. I love this footyclub. But what of the future of our membership base? What will ensure kids take up the cudgels and don the red and blue colours into the future? I would suggest we cannot rely on membership simply occurring as a result of familial lines, where parents successfully press gang their kids into becoming members. Kids always need heroes and it is evident that kids don't always follow their parents, if they can find heroes who run around in other colours. Of course, kids are notoriously impatient and subject to peer pressure. In terms of sponsors, in this increasingly competitive age, no company wants to associate its brand with a dud. It is easy for any sponsor to find some other body which is keen to take their money and give them a bigger bang for their buck. Can we expect them to be as patient as the club expects its members to be? I can accept these realities as part of being a business and engaging in the cut and thrust of the AFL industry, but it is becoming increasingly more cut throat. What I can't accept is a lack of commitment. No supporter/member, who was there last Saturday can say they saw even any semblance of intensity in the contest. We saw nothing from our senior players, which suggested they were playing for and with their "mates". When the chips are down, I cannot accept senior players, who should know better, not flying the flag in front of the "rookies". Clearly, we were not good enough to win on Saturday, and I accept that, but I don't mind being beaten, where there is a contest at the footy. When a bloke puts on the red and blue jumper, I, as a member, expect (demand) 100% commitment. What I found even more galling was this was our first game for 2010, at our home ground and our "home"game. From the opening bounce, it was clear to me that we had not turned up to play. So from where or what source are these intangibles engendered? Much has been said about the lack of an apparent game plan and I subscribe to the theory that we simply don't have one. The hemorrhaging started very early and the first reaction from the "box" was to flood the opposition's forward line. Clearly, I am not a football expert, but the much vaunted Hawthorn rolling zone was in play from the first bounce. With monotonous predictability, Hawthorn "rolled" of their half back line, switched the play to the opposite wing/flank and then sliced us right up this guts. If this game plan is so predictable, why would you not even at least make an effort to cover it.? Sure, we may not have been good enough to stem the bleeding, but we could have at least had a go at trying to negate the bleeding obvious. In the end, the score line flattered us. So, it is official, we are a long way off the pace and patience and perseverance is the key for us long suffering supporters. Dean Bailey may well prove me wrong and I sincerely hope he does. He may well be a great developer of young talent; a mentor for youth. But is Dean Bailey a strategist and motivator on game day? I would suggest that these 2 traits are pre-requisites for any coach to be successful. Before the season begun, his contract was extended, while, I would suggest, the jury is still out. In the cut and thrust of the business that AFL footy is today, I would suggest, despite all the good Jimmy and Cam Schwab have done, this was a blunder. As with any club, a mid-season review – something which every club will do, come the break - was the time to assess all positions. As a bloke near me shouted to DB, as he left the ground at half time. "We pay, you get paid". As a side note, I had to attend an auction of Saturday, so I arrived at the ground at 1:40pm. I went to collect my scarf, only to be told, they had run out. Our first game for 2010, membership drive on in earnest, our home ground and the location of our merchandising store. Go figure.

How many top 10 draft picks did Richmond have in their side last night? How many top 20? What gets teams to the top is the "whole" package, not just draft picks and not just state of the art facilities.

I remember Woewy's first game against us, on Queens Birthday. Many of our supporters booed him and i could not work out why, given we gave him the push. Collingwood went on to win by 58 points that day. An embarrassing defeat, made even more so by imbecilic booing. While it may feel good for some at the time, it serves no purpose whatsoever. You can boo at your own peril. I just want to see a good game of footy and hopefully the Dees can challenge Carlton.

Does anyone know what Casey are up to this week, and if playing are there any MFC listed players running around?

How so????? I did not make specific reference to any individual. Anyway, onwards and upwards as they say. Go you Demons!!!!!! THE FIRE HAS STARTED - FUEL YOUR PASSION.

And others need a modicum of courtesy, pure and simple. I am no "white knight", I simply am pointing out that I do not see the point of ridiculing someone for expressing a point of view, even if you don't agree with it. As for thick skins, some on this forum have the hide of a rhinoceros and some of their posts are just as ugly.

I think you mean drivel, which R57's post was not.

Do we all support the same team on this forum, or what? Sure, there will and should be difference of opinions. That is what constructive debate is all about. But R57 made an honest and heartfelt post as his first foray on to the forum as a poster. He should not be criticised for that, even if you disagree. Play the ball, not the man.