Bonkers

I didn't say Hinkleys arrival wasn't a factor I'm just saying he has more to work with. This is still Neeld's responsibility however.

What I'm saying is that we don't have players such as Boak & Hartlett in our midfield if we did we would be playing better footy. Hartlett is playing his first consistent stint of AFL footy & is regarded as their best player within their club. He's made a big difference to their side along with Hinkleys coaching & other players standing up. Neeld has had the opportunity to strengthen the midfield & has chosen to top up with kids & draft in Talls via trades. Perhaps this strategy was factoring in potential improvement over time from our current players & hoping that our kids could be competitive through short term development. Neeld's coaching is definitely an issue but not the only one.

I'm not writing this to defend the coach as he is ultimately responsible. But Port actually have some pretty good midfielders at the moment. Boak, Hartlett, Ebert etc would walk into the current MFC lineup. Neeld has so far made tall forwards his priority in the draft & trade period. Although he has brought in midfielders through the draft midfielders have also left & not really been replaced or topped up. It may be his strategy to build the list in this way & have draft picks in mind, I'm not sure. It will probably cost him his job unless some of our existing mids start performing above what they are now.

The cream would be used to speed up muscle recovery. In this instance it wouldn't have been used as it is usually is to aid weight loss. On a side note carbs don't turn into muscle, they are used by the body as a fuel source for exercise etc & then if not used are stored by the body as fat.

The Shannon Byrnes goal that was paid as a point was incorrect. The ball didn't hit the post, Byrnes protected the ball from the post using his hand. Apologies if someone has already mentioned this.

Sorry to be picky but not sure why you mention Viney?

Lmao you don't get sh*tfaced as a professional AFL player. It sets you back in terms of recovery, overall fitness & mental application. These blokes should be watching everything they put into their bodies, barely have a drop of grog during the season & some of them are out getting pis*ed. Explains a fair bit about why we are so shite on field.

Impressed that he quoted Cantona.

The club IMO should base it's culture around the principles in which Barass played & coached the game. Although the game is now more professional the principles remain the same. Our players & club can still learn a lot from him.

Not only has he screwed the game in his former football operations role, he then opened an investigation into tanking against one club. Sounds like a great idea if you want an incompetent CEO heading up the club.

So you want the guy that tried to bury us for tanking to be our next CEO. Makes a lot of sense.

Schwab both loved the club & was a good businessman IMO. His downfall mainly appears to be that he also loved being directly involved in the footy department which has eventually cost him his job.

http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2012-02-01/former-captain-greg-healy-joins-board Yes it is an official position. He has been on the board over a year now.

Greg Healy has been the Football Director for quite some time now.

Garry was asked by his dieing best mate to help out where he could. He did the best he could under the circumstances. I think Garry is aware of his limitations & has decided he doesn't have what it takes to be involved at an administrative level. It isn't for everyone. I understand supporters get disappointed that he isn't what they want him to be, but is that really his fault?

I agree we are now getting told its a rebuild & the players need to be competitive etc etc. The same thing happened under Bailey, no one at the club wants to talk directly about winning games of football. Neeld is even saying its going to be a long road. What sort of a message does that send? How will the players believe if he really doesn't believe in them? I think the club does have a core group of players capable of taking the club forward & winning games. We have some talented forwards & defenders. Even the midfield on paper doesn't look that bad. A winning at all costs mentality needs to be implemented regardless of how our list is placed in terms of experience & talent.

Geelong's success was largely player driven, that's not to say that having a good CEO & president didn't help. It took years of bad losses & failure before the players took responsibility, called a meeting & held themselves accountable for their own results. Garry Ablett & Steve Johnson are two examples of having their career turned round by accepting criticism from their peers after player meetings & changing their ways. There are players on our list who have the ability to drive this club forward but are taking the easy option. Whilst Schwab & McLardy may not be ideal or perfect as administrators it's hard to blame them for match day ineptness. Change has to come from the coach as well as the players by holding each other accountable & being brutally honest with themselves.

I think this week is a big week for Greg Healy. He needs to sort this out & find what the root of the problem is amongst the players.

The strange thing is Neeld addressed this in his post match press conference but didn't do a great deal to address it during the trade period. Although Magner doesn't have elite skills he has the ability to get his hands on the ball first & should be in the side. Also Dean Kent would add something on the wing or across the half forward flank. The longer this goes on the more excuses Neeld is peddling out. I don't believe our Midfield is as bad as some people are making out either. On paper it looks ok: Grimes, Trengove, Sylvia, Jones, Viney, Blease, Toumpas are all talented players but Neeld is failing to get the best out of them.

Here is an excerpt about Norm Smith:'Oh well, he was a terrific man, Norm... He was unique in that he ruled with a very stiff arm, like a rod, but at the end of the day he was your best friend. Forget about what what happened preceding the game, he always had an opportunity to be your best mate & put his arm around you & have a beer. He had the unique ability to communicate at all levels, Norm, in all levels of circumstances. I had the greatest respect for Norm, more than any other person in the football world, because he not only saved my career but built it into something worthwhile' Stuart Spencer

Start him on the wing & make him run hard all day. He has the attributes to be a good wingman & really just needs to add some hardness to his game. I also think the selection panel has been selecting a team that is too tall. On Sunday they had Clark, Sellar, Pedersen, Jamar, Watts, Gillies, Frawley,Sellar & Garland. They could probably drop Gillies & Sellar from that list & add some running players. IMO we wouldn't lose much by dropping those guys. Based on the Casey game bringing in Terlich & Kent would add some run & aggression at least.

I agree with your team other than spencer in for Jamar. I just don't think Spencer is upto it.Dawes won't play so I'd have Pederson at CHF. I'd bring in Magner if possible but obviously we need a long term injury for that so maybe give Bail, Evans or tackles McKenzie another run. I'm starting to think Watts may be a wingman so we could play Grimes across half back again & move Watts to a wing.

I've already voiced my grievances directly to the club & on here. It's a good idea though that people can voice anything constructive they want to communicate to the club via this thread.

I remember back to the time that Stynes was appointed as President & he made the point to members at functions that the club was going to be a club again. That members would be valued, members would be involved & included. It seems a lot has changed since that time & the powers that be care more about the size of donation you can make than about the size of the contribution you have given to the club. I have had negative experiences regarding club business groups & whilst they are not on the scale of yours it makes you wonder how often does this sort of thing happen throughout the club. I will support McLardy however his speech at the commencement dinner is a little alarming. Perhaps it's time the powers that be take a hard look at themselves & hop on board their own reality bus. The supporters need something to hang on to & in a way McLardy saying they don't need fair weather supporters lacked perspective of where the club stands with the people they are supposed to be representing. I don't enjoy bagging the club but feel that this could be used as constructive criticism. Culture is often referred to on this board & the way the club treats or values people in general is where it all starts I believe.

I don't have the answers for you. Like I said it's hard to argue that he is the right man. He has set up the off field structures & raised the standards off field. But for whatever reason this is not translating to on field at the moment. You raise valid points & I have many questions about the performance as you do.