Sir Why You Little

51 minutes ago, Jaded No More said:

We all saw how Dimma went when he lost the top end talent at Richmond, and despite their 9000 first round picks, GC have again done SFA this season.

Longmire has won the same number of flags as Goodwin in 13 seasons as coach, and has the advantage of academy picks. Remove the players Sydney got via COLA and the academy, and lets see how he goes. 

Likewise Scott inherited a premiership dynasty and won a flag in his first year, but it took him 11 season to win another one. 

I really don't understand why fans thinks that a new coach = more success. History will show you that in many cases, new coach does not in fact equal instant or faster success. Look how many coaches Carlton went through. Each one made them no better, until Voss inherited a good list thanks to multiple years at the bottom end of the draft. And still, no flags. 

GWS have had every advantage known to man in terms of drafting, and yet 0 flags despite 2 grand final appearances. Freo were a bee's dick away from getting rid of Longmuir last year, and they're a flag chance this year. 

And then you have perennial 'always the bridesmaid never the bride' in Fagan and Hinkley. 

Winning a flag is bloody hard. We won one in 57 years. And now we want so sack the coach who got us that flag, because he hasn't won another one since? Like how many current coaches have won more than 1 flag with the same club? 

We all know that we have won a Flag, that is not the issue and it was 3 Seasons ago

The issue is what is happening now and beyond 

These stats are very damming 

17 minutes ago, Swooper1987 said:

The player ratings say that Gawn has had a big improvement from last year from 13.90 to 17.02.  Tracc is roughly the same as last season but obviously nothing after round 13 and Oliver has had a massive drop off - 16.15 to 10.85.  Brayshaw was our 5th highest rated player last season at 11.21.  That loss, coupled with Oliver's decline and Petracca's absence is basically the reason for our season.  Viney is rating similarly to last season.  Rivers and Neal-Bullen have both improved by about 1.5 from last season. McVee has gone from 8.81 to 9.68. May and Lever have both also dropped from last season by around .6. So other than Gawn, none of our big guns have improved from last season.  The decline in Oliver, May and Lever and the absence of Brayshaw cannot be covered by the improvement of players like Rivers, Neal-Bullen and McVee. Our best chance of a rebound in 2025 is to have Oliver back near his best and to find someone who can fill the role Brayshaw played for us.

Hence the interest in Dan Houston…

Just now, layzie said:

We need to get a lot right for next year 

That’s what most Clubs do every year…

MFC seems to Struggle 

24 minutes ago, middleagedemon said:

It's the classic goal-post shifting that is the more hilarious thing from Binman and the like.

It's now fatigue apparently!!! Fatigue! 

I mean, give us a break! 

How did fatigue go for us when we managed to peg GWS back in that last quarter? Was it fatigue in the first quarter alone against the Bulldogs? How are we measuring this exactly? 

You can't take that bunch seriously because there'll be an excuse that becomes 'The Reason' for our failings for that given season. Which is utterly ridiculous given these are commonalities ALL teams go through and just covers over underlying issues that have existed for too long. 

Injury and fatigue hey. Wow. 

How you measure these as a supporter depends entirely on what level of bias one holds for their team. For Binman and co, the dees  always seem to be victim of such cruelties, more so than any other side in the AFL! That's because this particular group of dlanders have held the long-standing and unequivocal belief that we are the best team in it, we have undoubtedly the best game-plan and the most talented list. 

If you vehemently believe the above to be true, you're no doubt going to throw up one or two excuses as 'The Reason' for a failed season. Which is exactly what this crew have done since the 2022 finals campaign, all the while completely ignoring a set of underlying issues that have plagued us even throughout our 2021 home and away year. 

Along with the obvious disadvantages that all teams face every year, why don't we look at some of the contributing factors that have remained with us as a side for far too long now. And are the reason that all supporters get so frustrated with Goodwin. 

1: Jackson replacement/genuine Gawn support. Why is it that Goodwin defenders cannot seem to handle criticism of the failings in this area? It's been a significant fail given the way we have relied on him and provided next to no support. If dlanders are happy to throw up the injury excuse when he's out or when 'carrying' injury, how do you not point the finger at Goodwin and co for providing no support in a game where injury is bound to happen to anyone at any time? Especially so when part of your game-plan has been built around Max Gawn. 

2: Midfield balance/attribute diversity I've banged on about this for I don't know how many years and it has plagued us in just about every game in which a team brings heat to our midfield. How much longer will it continue? Look no further than the first possession that we had on Friday night against the Dogs. Viney racing for a ball in dispute, gets to it and has two free Melbourne players if he manages to hook a dominant hand handball over his right shoulder. But no, he sees red, handballs blindly forward straight to a doggies player who takes possession. That kind of play is emblematic of our entire midfield unit when any serious heat is applied. And it happened all night. We have a contested heavy, ball winning heavy midfield unit who all lack in the same area when under pressure. Composure and disposal. 

It is that simple. We win the ball in tight and give it up almost immediately when the heat is applied. And every single side that have a half decent midfield know this when they play us. As the game goes on, the more desperate our mids become to win a clearance/contest and the more we swarm to the same ball and man with ball, in part because these mids have been 'ball winning' players since they were kids and desperation kicks in. The commentary around our lack of pace/run and the 'fatigue' comments are actually by-products of what is happening in close. We give the ball up that easily when heat is applied, it makes the opposition look quicker, fitter and like they have more players on the ground. When opposition half-backs could see the standard set by their mids on fri night, they knew they could have a field day by rolling the dice and streaming off their men, getting that call right the majority of the night due to how easily we were giving the ball up in close if we were getting our hands on it. (Which for much of the night we weren't even doing). So then it's two fold. You've got oppo half-backs playing their own game of footy as their mids are just consistently either winning first possession themselves and handballing out of congestion and then to running half backs, or they knew if we were to get first possession, we'd likely cough it up thanks to the the heat their team mates were applying in close and our lack of composure and disposal came to the fore. 

When the dogs bring heat like that, they look a million bucks because they are one of a few clubs who have mids who excel at feeding a ball out of a contest with a quick, smart handball under pressure. Libba and Bont specifically are specialists at this. Even Treloar has better hands in close than most if not all our mids. 

Now, clearance altogether has two parts to it. The one I listed above and the second being our actual setup at both centre bounce and stoppage. Both our positioning and lack of connectedness with Gawn has been wildly inconsistent for too long. Another issue that Binman and his brigade seem to ignore when they say things like, 'oh well, we don't place a premium on clearances anyway'. 

How about nah. Clearance gives you complete ascendency if you get it right. End of the third Q grand final? 

3: Forward setup/personnel. 

Again. How long? Let's go back to last year's finals and those who basically said inaccuracy cost us the flag. That might be so, but that has been in part down to game-plan and personnel. And inaccuracy has cost us in plenty of other games over the last few years. I'm not sure what Goodwin expects when he plays two key defenders as key forwards and one young kid who is still learning how to be a forward at AFL level. (JVR played a lot of defence as an under-aged kid and I don't classify him as a classical key forward).

Our inability to land one has been telling. We have a make-shift forward line that consistently looks like a dogs breakfast with little to no predictability in the way it moves. At the very least, Ben Brown was a straight line ball leader, which created vacuums of space for specialist forwards like Fritsch or Kosi to creep into. Goodwin has seemed happy to continue to play 'competitors' which means our kids are again happy to bomb away into the forward 50 with little to no intentionality. 

This problem also goes hand-in-hand with our midfield issue which I highlighted above. We have average ball user through our midfield when under no pressure and they're poor when under pressure. 

So, what will it take for us to land a specialist forwards assistant coach and perhaps a complete re-think of the type of players we want to have inside 50? Are we prepared to continue to play Fritsch when the ball isn't perfect for him given his complete disinterest in competing defensively? Another factor in why opposition teams waltz the ball out of our defence. Opposition defenders completely exploit that part of Fritsch's game. Do people notice this? When will Goody hold him to account? I won't hold my breath given the myriad of issues we have in our forwardline anyway. 

Ben Brown at full fitness is what this team misses more than supporters give credit for and we need to bring in another player of that type pronto. 

So, whilst I'm not in the 'sack Goody' camp. I certainly think that he's done this team no favours in the last few years and if he is not to blame, who we blaming? The umpires? Injury? Fitness? 

How about no. Those things will be there every year, period. Sure Petracca has been a missive loss. But that's even more telling! If a team is that reliant on one player, there are some serious underlying issues. 

And just so it's clear, I'm no doomsdayer. I believe we can rectify, recalibrate and go again whilst we still have some key pillars. But we need to absolutely nail this off-season and nail the pre-season and actually fix some of these underlying issues that have existed for far too long. 

If not, it will indeed be a wasted era. 

An Excellent view of Reality 

and exactly why Members of The MFC are allowed to ask serious questions on what has gone wrong over the last 3 Seasons. 
Why do most Clubs run harder than us in 2024?

i don’t want to hear excuses, i want to hear some f&&ing answers. Our Season is just as long as everyone else. A mate of mine has called the MFC “Pea hearts” for decades, he laughs whenever they are mentioned  It has been very hard to defend my Club, so often 

Fatigue at The Beginning of August….Hmmmm

I thought loading was meant to have the Team “Cherry Ripe” going into Finals..but alas that has become too hard for this year  

29 minutes ago, WalkingCivilWar said:

Right???! It’s [censored] annoying and it’s at a point where this thread is meaningless because it’s no longer only about NON-MFC matches. It used to be fun watching those matches while on this thread but it’s become contaminated and is only getting worse. 

Such a Huge problem…

3 hours ago, DiscoStu17 said:

“It’s been a brown and gold tsunami here at Manuka”.
Thanks Kelly Underwood for that lovely description. 
And good afternoon to all the  personal care workers and residents out there.

“Been damaging The Doulton all night after a Dodgy Vindaloo…”

10 minutes ago, demon3165 said:

Speed and skills and we are missing one other ingredient football decision making, we have some but not enough they are to quick to dish off and put other players under pressure. 

Yes, that is a lack of confidence, that’s exactly why you need the running options for cover

20 minutes ago, HarpenDee said:

The speed and skills are a major issue. For most of the year we've forced a good turnover. Burn all our effort/energy springboarding out in really good shape. Cough it up under minimal pressure and no tickets left to get back. Incredibly energy sapping if getting no reward (and punished) for your rebounding efforts.

That combined with getting smashed at clearance/stoppage gifting so many quick/clean entries to a defence that relies on intercepting has been a recipe for disaster.

Ive resigned myself to 2025 not being much better but 2026 could be ok providing we don't give it all up for Houston.

Speed and Skills work together 

Watch GW$ at The ‘G against us, they were so good at run and spread, which is how we played the Majority of ‘21

2-3 players running, providing coverage for the Ball Carrier 

Where has all that gone….?

20 minutes ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Well this is damning..

 

They are the fundamentals of the modern game 

We have just lost it all….

Excellent. Die Hawks 

Just now, Demonsone said:

How will Goody be feeling watching the hawks go past us and have won 2 more games than us & pushing for finals … the drafting of our recycled players diabolical 

I hope he feels angry 

If he is tearing up, we have no chance 

7 minutes ago, Demon Disciple said:

When was the last time a team got done by 100 points during the season, then went on to win the flag?

Carlton 1995??

They lost a couple mid Season. 
Players cleaned up apparently….

Useless Twats…

10 minutes ago, Maldonboy38 said:

Port, Brisbane, Freo and Bulldogs have the form going into finals. And Port remain fragile and their form can disappear very quickly. I can't see genuine finals aspirants among any of the others striving to finish in the top 8. 

I continue to believe that Brisbane will not win a GF with Zorko in the team, and with Hipwood as a main forward target. Daniher is playing outstanding footy when he is away from goals, but if they expect him to be a main forward force, the finals will find him out.

Looks like Freo v Bulldogs to me.

Looking like an utterly boring September….

Since when is BigFooty the Benchmark for determining the wealth of Players??

Seriously it is so depressing seeing Haw winning again 

The arrogance will soon be upon us

Please Wake up MFC 

Challenge these bastards

18 minutes ago, DubDee said:

dark navy and white looks almost the same as black and white

Peripheral vision as a player you would struggle. the reluctance of sides to play in their away strip is comical.

Solid Blue or Solid White 

i think the Blue with White Shorts is much better 

3 minutes ago, Roost it far said:

I have but from bullish we’ve lost Jackson, Gus, Petracca, most of Oliver, a fair chunk of Viney and a whack of May and now Gawn’s hobbled as well. No coach goes top 4 with that. I do think our recruiting has been ordinary but look at what’s been available and what we’re giving up for these guys. We gave plenty for May and Lever but now we need those picks for youngsters. We’re transitioning and if we snare a couple of plug and play youngsters, have a solid preseason and get a good run with injuries I’m more bullish about 25 than I was about this year. Gawn, May and Oliver remain my biggest concerns for next year. We’re asking way too much of, and are way too reliant on Gawn and that’s my main issue with the coaching currently.

We need young Draft Talent and Senior Players who can be relied upon to play Seniors 

Because there is a void at Casey 

1 minute ago, DubDee said:

The AFL are laughable 

Carlton with white shorts so both teams look indistinguishable 

horrible spectacle

Seriously you cannot tell the difference between the 2 sides?

If Carlton wore that white thing it would be a lot worse 

2 minutes ago, Clintosaurus said:

Actually it was the biggest win for a team last on the ladder. Thank you AFL Tables.

Bottom to 3rd in 1 week!!!

1 minute ago, Roost it far said:

That’s worked really well for Dodoro and the Bombers

I couldn’t give a Dam about what they do

We need to be be more proactive. 
You have always been bullish on this list Roost

It has been diluted of talent over the last 3-4 years 

7 minutes ago, Clintosaurus said:

Saints in the late 70s lost by 178 to the Pies I think?

They were nowhere near the Top of the Ladder. I went to that game

Old man Daicos first game

4 minutes ago, WalkingCivilWar said:

That’s made your night, hasn’t it. 

No. It’s quite sad actually, and alarming for the Club

1 minute ago, layzie said:

So from last quarter last week to this week we lost 18 centre clearances in a row. Ouch

Even more damming 

Good Pick up Layz…

12 minutes ago, Heart Beats True said:

They had checked out and didn’t show up but it’s alright because they’re all still mates 🙄 

Isn’t that so nice….