iv'a worn smith

I mean you might feel the new positive atmosphere and spirit. A sense of optimism that we all seem to need at the moment.

I agree. G Lyon is true Melbourne man. What Bailey and Connolly have done is to bring back some ex-players to the club, from our recent successful past. Lyon, the Febeys, Hoppy and many others are in and around the club and have put their hands in their pockets. With all the doom and gloom spoken about lately, I reckon while we won't set the world on fire in 2009, we will be a lot better. Beyond that the improvement curve will be fast and steep. These guys coming back to the club have instilled a new spirit for the young guys. A lot of the ex-players have done more than we will ever know and G Lyon leads the pack. Let's be a little bit more positive shall we? Anybody going to the Mates of Melbourne meeting tomorrow night? If so, you might just see the affect these guys have had on the club. Go you Demons!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The points made above, regarding Brock McLean are well made. However, I think given Green's seniority, experience and now demonstrated loyalty, he will get it. Cheers

While I take your point and it would be nice to know the financial position of the club right now, I think we will all have to wait until the Annual Report is released, including audited financial statements. What would be interesting is the actual debt to equity ratio. Cheers

Nugget, I reckon the potential benefits this appointment will bring will outweigh the cost. In any event, I'm sure MFC management would have crunched the numbers on this and don't forget, it is only a part time position

This is a great appointment and just what we need to put a little more positive feeling back into the club. I just hope we can keep him beyond a 1 year tenure. Whoever pulled this off neeeds to be conrgratulated.

Mate, I'm busting for some good news. But you reckon it would have been leaked by now and the likes of Caro would have got hold of it. Must listen to SEN or the Healy and the Pipe tonight then.

If any of this is true, I can think of no reason to delay making announcement. It should be on the MFC website right now, but it is not.

Neita indicated, when announcing his retirement, that he would be around the club in a variety of capacities. So if it is him that is joining the coaching panel, then no surprises and I would have thought no need for a press release, with a "tease" headline. Unless of course the club feels it is a way of giving supporters some good news, which of course we all need at the moment. Looking forward to having the appointment confirmed, whoever it is.

Yep, sorry. My server went down temporarily and I had already written the post. It uploaded once I went back online. Excuse me for being fallible.

Nugget, Stinga did go to Sydney in an attempt to revive his career. He had a debilitating injury as a result of scar tissue, which was caused after he walked though plate glass. Sadly, he could not get to a physical condition which allowed him to play to his previous high standard. Stinga was a great player for the Dees and was more recently on the football staff. But you raise a good question, where is he now?

RR, You tend to make a habit of selectively quoting posts and then taking them out of their entire context. In any event, I agree with QC's post. The matter is dealt with, time to move on. He won't be coming to the MFC, so the point is moot. I just hope we can pull the proverbial rabbit out of the hat soon, because as I said in a post on another topic, the competitive nature of the market, the dwindling pool of the marketing and sponsorship dollar, compounded by the GFC, means the football business world will not grant us the patience we perhaps think we deserve. Smart marketers need to think below "the line" when it comes to marketing strategy.

They will both be present ant the next Mates of Melbourne meeting next Thursday 27th November, so load up your questions.

Everything the MFC does at present is subject to substantial risk. We simply cannot afford to be risk adverse. If we continue to err on the side of caution we will disapper up our own "ought".

Hopefully that will mean the draft will stay the same for the 2009 season.

What none of us know is what will slip through the net from the National Draft to the PSD. If, by chance, there is a kid that maybe a long term "project" player available and has the raw talent, then we should use our number 1 pick to take him. If there is not, then I think BC is worth the punt, in terms of the experience he would bring to the young guys, his undoubted talent and the publicity it would bring to the club. He will be out of the Perth "fish bowl", with better resources to support him here. The derogatory term "drug addict" is all too easily thrown around to put someone down. Addiction is an illness like any other and can be treated. And let's not forget, while he put his hand up to admit to his problem, he has never tested positive to banned drugs. Contrast this to at least 2 other AFL players who have tested positive on 2 occassions, yet continue to play AFL football, without public scrutiny. In short, depending on what's available in the PSD, BC might be worth a punt. In my view, the positives out weigh the negatives.

CJ's decision to walk out is just the reality of the business nature of modern day football. Loyalty is a 2 way street and clubs will cut players at a moments notice. These days you have to look after "number one". In any event, if Carltank are serious about a tilt at the finals in 2009, in my opinion they are taking a backward step if they think that CJ will add true value to that objective. He was just OK at the Dees and was never going to be a star. In any event, there is no guarantee he will be drafted by anybody. What is more worrying to me about Caro's article is that there seems to be an underlying theme at the moment, that quality people see being associated with the Dees as not a good career move. We need to turn that perception around very quickly...........and yes I know, winning games will go some way to doing that, but the realities of the market place suggest that will be a long and very hard road

Son of Denis Clark. Very slight and played mainly at Sandy. Probably playing suburban footy somewhere.

I am very sad to hear this news. Tiger was a great man. I remember him when I was a young fella, when he was coach in the early 70's. He used to encourage supporters to come in to the rooms at half time. His addresses to the players were legendary. In his first game at the 'G, I think we beat South Melbourne by 126 points and went on to win 5 on the trot. Then came the game against Collingwood. His half time "backs to wall" speech was inspiring and still rings in my ears. "I HATE THIS COLLINGWOOD MOB, MORE THAN ANYTHING, I HATE 'EM". Sadly, we got flogged that day, but even as a young bloke, you knew that Tiger bled red and blue. My sincere condolences to his family and the Melbourne Footy Club family.

It's not being negative, but concerned supporters wanting everything ot be considered. What has happened to Chopper Lovell and Brett Lovett?

Totally agree. At some point, given the problems we have with membership, attracting sponsorship and finances, we need to attract footy people who bring some cache to the role. As I said on another post, we simply cannot wait to win games to reach that goal. Reality suggests that the market does not have the patience to wait. In any event, given our current trading situation, can we afford to cut corners for the sake of saving a few dollars in the short term, when we may forego a lot more in the future and long term? I realise it is a delicate balance, but we need to make some savvy decisions in our football department. As good a VFL coach Mark Williams may have been, I am not at all sure he is what we need right now.

I certainly have sense and humour, but don't waste my time with unfunny puerile stunts. Cheers

What's the difference between a gold fish and a mountain goat? Answer: Gold fish muck around in fountains. Cheers

Yeah, is there a link to this article. "attitude problem" was the cause for retirement? Go figure.

That is to state the obvious. However, if our finances are in such a parlous state, the question that remains unanswered is, can we afford to wait for that to occur, while our sponsorship dollar is diminished? Unfortunately, given the tough global financial times ahead, I am not sure the "market" will have the patience. If the AFL is serious, then it needs to cut us some slack.