Sir Why You Little

This is the Big Decision i beleive. If the Board get it Right we may stand as a club with no more AFL Handouts. What was Gardiner doing for the last six years & Szondy My God!!!

Until you can use hindsight, there is no reason to suggest the Roos team is different to Melbourne of '02, 04-6.

North have so far lost to an inept Freo and an out of sorts St Kilda. Even Carlton in their last premiership team of '95 had lost to Sydney and St. Kilda, who hadn't won nearly as many games as Carlton did that year between them. So chosing 2 games in any given year is a rubbish way to "prove" the culture of a club.

I ask yet again, how do you think Melbourne can establish this "good culture" you speak of.

North had a great list of players and coaches throughout the 90's, and if we'd have converted 2 Premierships (one lucky that Essendon choked) out of 9 attemps you'd probably claim it as have a "bad culture"

We've won 12 of 17 Grand Finals (not including the tie), and 12 of our first 15, I could claim our Grand Final culture is the best in the AFL of the original teams, but I don't beause i realise it's not that simple.

Will you this time address what you would like to change and how, or will you simply state that we lose games we shouldn't on occassion and other teams have awesome "club culture" without attempting to address the MFC?

I think losing games to weak opposition is exactly the problem. Yes we did have a great "Grand Final" Culture and that is exactly what i want to get back. Being thrown out of the MCC & losing the 'G as a training venue was a Major Stuff Up that should never have Happened. I Believe The MFC has been Pushed an pulled by everyone else since larger $$ Came into the game. By Being Passive we lost our Identity. That is the culture i am talking of. The Kangaroos have made the most of their opportunities even tho i hate them. We have not.

Next weeks game will be a beauty for this award-Hostile Ground with few supporters. I really want some young players to play their guts out. Bailey will be up against old Workmates...

So you address one point out of that, and one in which i even used quotation marks to underline how i didn't even believe it, I don't see this conversation going anywhere.

The priority pick has been a part of these great club cultures you speak of, the same Carlton team who cheated to win Premierships in the past. All teams have good and bad years, you have made it an impossible task for the MFC to be seen as having a good culture as you've outlined no criteria and no course of action to get there.

Other than that you're only sprouting rhetoric about a mythical "good culture"

The Afl set up the Draft in its present form so clubs would be winning flags around every 12-15 years. Thats the basic theory. In that time we have been belted senseless twice. We were not competitive in the 88 or 2000 on the day, North Melbourne who survive in a siiliar fashion to us have won 4 flags (2 under the Current Draft Rules) and are again challenging. When Carey Stuffed up and got the Arse I honestly thought that was it for North, they wouldn't beat this one, but they have sofar proved me wrong. There is a very strong bond at North, & i don't think its been at melbourne for a long time (Losing twice to Carlton in 2006 was a perfect example.....

Buckley has caught my eye big time lately as has Morton. Both will be hopefully Guns in the Future. Buckley is so cool under pressure-good signs...

I'd like to see it as well, but i feel the way you're going about helping it happen will achieve nothing.

As supporters we should establish clear goals as to how to get our club where it needs to be, otherwise you are not helping the problem at all.

Hawthorn's culture didn't stop it missing finals each year from 01 to 07, going out of it's way to lose and gain priority picks, so each team can have bad years. Melbourne have had bad years, but you've chosen to state they are the result of bad culture after having good years.

I'm not sure why we were as "successful" as we were during 04-06, but I know now it was false hope and that our membership/supporter base did not increase to anything near a "power" side

Vague references to a "winning culture" that lives inside teams like Hawthorn and Carlton will not instil a fierce, attacking and proud culture at the MFC. Somehow there must be a more direct way we as supporters can help boost our own levels of support, at least helping one part of the puzzle.

We weren't successfull between 2004-2006. That's my point. I am talking about setting a high standard at the MFC & sticking to it. Getting Close regulairly is not good enough. When that Happens the club has to improve. Yes I agree that the Priority pick situation is not good for club culture, but i don't think that system will last forever.....

That could be done. Good point Redleg. What are the age's of Murphy and Mundy incidently? 22-23 aren't they?

We'll probably get some poster who thinks he/she knows it all saying their useless or something....but you're just throwing up a hypothetical scenario I know.

Do we want a bunch of ex Shockers at our club?? They worry me even more concerning Fragility than this Great Club..Green is a good solid player who i would like to see stay but if he is asking too much money the club must be tough on this.

Interesting Times await......

We must Focus on Youth-paramount, otherwise in about 2-3 years the bottom will fall right out, then a sponsor would definately leave. With Youth sponsors can see ahead. No more Kelvin Templeton ideas again please!!!

If, in the next 5 years we develop a team with a strong gameplan who play consistent footy and don't lose games they shouldn't, who then move on after 5 or so years of good footy and give way to a young team who have shocking losses, and then whinge about our culture being "soft" i'll spit chips.

I hate that we have a rubbish culture, but follow enough sports to know that the majority of teams in all sports have a rubbish culture.

If you complain about it, either try and hep fix it, or follow another team.

All clubs will have shocking losses, thinking back to the 80's i don't think there was one team that didn't get belted at least once. Carlton's "winning culture" hasn't helped them much of late, neither has the Bombers, yet the Dogs are going against their "soft" culture for so long.

You can't whinge about your team's soft culture, whilst then complaining about opposition supporters laughing at our club. That reeks of hypocrisy and double standards.

We as supporters must help build this club into a powerhouse again, i'm not sure how but i do my best to get as many people along to games, evetnts etc. but i just can't see us becoming the great club we all want us to be. Where will it come from? How will we get there? What milestones must we achieve to have it happen? (Keep in mind, the Kangas made 9 straight prelims, winning 2 grand finals, in the 90's and '00 and it didn't help their club become a powerhouse)

These are the questions we must address if we want to change the "soft culture" of our club. With medicore crowd attendance and memberships, even on field success will not give us a hardened culture.

We can instill that through coaching leadership into on field discipline for a certain amount of time, but that will only last for a certain amount of time.

Talk of the 80's, and the "hardness" that evoked in players all you want, it is irrelevant to modern day footy

So you are prepared to accept the current culture that has hung over this club since Norm Smith was Shafted, & just say that's how it Goes. Lets talk Hawthorn for a sec. John Kennedy Built a winning Culture into that side in the late 50's, and it still lives today. Sure they Have Bad years but they Bounce Back. They won't beat Geelong this year but they will learn & Get Hungry for next year i got no doubt.

You underestimate the power of a Good Culture. I want to see Melbourne Fill our Home Ground again, & i aint giving up on that vision....

ND is a great Bloke & i Think it is great he is still part of the Big Footy Wheel so to speak. One thing Neale is, is a very good people person. He will be successfull ime sure.

Hope he will always be welcomed to the MFC into the future...

A lot of people think the Kangas have it. Not me. They lose winnable games far too easily for that. The truth is that no team nowadays really has a 'winning' or 'losing' culture. Some teams are better than other, sure, but Geelong's winning culture will fade very quickly in a few years. This will probably coincide with the resurgence of the good old Carlton arrogance that inexplicably went missing in the past 6 or so years.

Don't agree. Winning Cultures do exist. Clubs like Carlton & Hawthorn Drop down yes, but they bounce back up quickly & Strongly. They do not accept Losing-when it happens they address it.

Our up down up down seasons would not be tolerated at the Top Clubs. We must get Tougher-The Whole Club.

Totally agree. Nothing more to add

The players don't tank. it's too risky with injury. The Clubs sure do though. But i Respect Bailey. After Q time he straightened them up & wanted a win. Next week against Port will give an even better indication of the "Dirty Word" Tanking. This Club should aim like Geelong. Win everything well regardless of opposition. Draft Picks 20 onwards are a total lottery anyhow-Worsfold Stinks anyway. He Knew about that Drug Culture & did nothing about it...His time will come.

I think you will find that Templeton was quite a bit better than Johns!!!!!!!

Not by the time he played for Melbourne he wasn't.

Kelvin Tried hard but he was a Shot duck by the time he put the Red & Blue on

Can;t Believe he waited a week to spray the Media. He is Right on the edge. The Pressure is on!!

Not one of Sheeds greatest Decisions Courtney Johns. Not even up to VFL Standard....

Yeah good point - I was also hoping that Mark Williams would drag some of that winning culture across with him when he joined our coaching panel full time but as I have stated it needs to permeate through the club from the top down and one assistant coach is not enough to drive it.

I remember games against Hawthorn in the late 80-90's where their supporters would laugh at me and others before the Game, and then Beat us by 80+ points. There was nothing i could say- they were right

And nothing has changed.

Rubbish, if we had a culture centred around an uncomprising pursuit of success we would not have fallen away after seasons 88, 98, 2000 & 2002 etc. If we had that winning culture we would not have offered up the countless lame efforts that we have had to endure over the years. I'm not talking about Geelong type defeats either - I'm talking about games where in the first 5 minutes you can "feel" that the players are not switched on and you know we are going to lose already. These are games where we are fielding a good team and have a real chance of winning - how many times has that happened over the years. A non negotiable winning culture would not tolerate such efforts.

If we had a winning culture we would not have tolerated Daniher for 10 years. I'm not talking about sacking coaches after a few years but a decade was way too long - he was able to cruise within the confines of our culture (or lack thereof) because we were making finals (but not winning many I might add).

If we had a winning culture we would be respected and hated by the other 15 teams. We have no respect currently and most other supporters don't mind us because we are not a threat - we don't generate any animosity.

I will agree with one thing you said though - you do need the right environment to breed culture. That is not a physical environment (although that helps). You need everyone from the president and CEO down to the boot studder and property steward to understand, respect and expect that the only thing that survives in this environment is success. A winning culture is a harsh environment, not a place for the weak hearted or the indecisive. When everyone associated with the club is living and breathing that and understands that then success on and off the field will follow.

Spot on Pello....Interesting that Sandringham have had a winning culture pretty much since the Mid Eighties but it hasn't rubbed off on Melbourne. I Honestly thought after 2000 when Sandy won the Flag and the Demons were Runners up it was all about to roll. For melbourne i was sadly Wrong

13 People have voted for the Hawks to win a flag!!! Must be too young to remember the Eighties obviouslly!!

We have it alright.....no question.

We just don't have a "home" where we can express it, as one voice.

The culture is underlying, always there. I have seen it, smelled it and felt it.

We just need the right environment.

The Great Culture Died when Norm Smith was Hung out to dry. We at present do not have a culture. Our Hey day was just too long ago.

We have to start a new one-using the old one as a base. I think Bails is the man to do it. The CEO appointment will tell us a lot as to what direction we are going.

A monster physical specimen. But injured with knee reco.

Thoughts?

Walk away. Cannot play, can't run, ordinary kick. WALK AWAY!!!!! Kelvin Templeton Flashbacks!!!!!

This is what I wrote after the St. Kilda loss earlier this year about the MFC club culture. It still applies now, has applied for decades and if it continues to apply there will be no MFC in the future!

"I wish I could predict tattslotto numbers as easily as I picked yesterdays result. Last weeks gutsy loss inspired by Neita's retirement was a good (not great) effort. The Saints were under the media pump all week and came out like we did last week and the rest is history. Quite simply we failed to match their intensity.

We can blame the current coaching panel to a degree, we can blame the players and the lack of leadership and we most certainly can blame Daniher and Cameron who were largely responsible in building and managing this list which was done with no foresight whatsover.

However, the MFC has a bigger problem than our current playing list and our financial woes. As a club we lack CULTURE!

We do not have an identity that players and supporters and the media for that matter associate with. We need to have a relentless no holds barred non negotiable demand to succeed that permeates throughout the club. We need a culture so that all players know that it is an honour to represent our great club and wear that famous jumper. We need a culture that everyone including players, supporters, coaching staff and the board all understand what we represent. Once we understand what we represent the other 15 clubs will well and truly get the message and they will start to respect us again.

I want the MFC to breed a culture where mediocrity is unacceptable. The culture must embrace success and the relentless pursuit of it regardless whether favourite players are delisted. Non performance and non conformance are not acceptable.

It is up to the board and in particular the president to drive this culture. Clearly Garnder is not capable - let's hope Jimmy is."

Good to read someone else shares my belief. Without fixing the Culture-everything else is just a band aid...

I would hope we would attract Brian Cook or anyone else on the basis of what they can provide the Club. Whether someone has or has not played for MFC previously ahould not be a major consideration of them for the position. After 44 years in the wilderness, I dont see the big reason to favour ex-players into executive positions unless they are the best available for the position.

Cook is the Best tho Rhino. The Fact he played a few games for us is a Bonus. What he has done for west Coke & Geelong is amazing

Bailey -"Melbourne jumpers go out there to represent the club" this should be written everywhere down at the club! He goes on to say it's the culture he hopes to establish. Meaning two things, the first is obvious, that he wants a proud culture that plays for the jumper, the second that it really isn't there at the moment.

If he can institute this culture, I will be a very happy man.

At least this week we get to play in our "real" jumper and not that God awful silver thing, I Believe Bailey has got the right idea, although a situation like last Friday should never Happen again. If it does we are in serious Trouble as a Club.. There were enough Senior Players in that side to know better. Kicking from the centre Square to a Totally Vacant 50 Arc!! Not Acceptable. It Happened so many Times.

As well as A New CEO we could do with some better Assistant coaches Maybe. (I am sick of Being Laughed at for Barracking for the MFC) Get Tough.

A handshake is a commitment to honourable people.

Correct you are, all i am saying is that if Brian Cook Played even a small amount of games for melbourne, we should do all we can to get him back in the fold, and i will continue to believe that.

Good things can take time to eventuate..

He has RECOMMITTED to Geelong. He is a professional manager - such a commitment will be honoured.

Cook is not available. End of story.

As far as i know it's a Hand shake deal. as i said "Everyman has his price" If Geelong win another flag wht more is there to do? Biuld another blue & White Grandstand-Woopee!!