layzie

Exactly. I can appreciate loading being a factor but I struggle with it as a sole reason for why we are losing games. Am I willing to admit that the fitness staff and coaches look at the season as a whole and decide on which games in the year don't quite have the same importance as others hence the loading period? It's possible and long range thinking we may be better for it. However if we're being totally honest with ourselves, neither of these previous two losses should have happened. Forget about healthy win-loss ratios, forget about losses we needed to have, there is no reason why these two games should have been lost. I'll say it again, loading should have no affect on our skipper taking a shot from 15 metres out on an angle, loading should have no affect on sticking a 3 metre handball. This team has earned some major credits in the bank and rightfully so, but the pocket urinating needs to be reigned in a tad. If this was two years ago and Melbourne blew near 5 goal leads twice in a row we would be RIPPING the place down. You can say these were two very good sides we played and yes they were but I think there was a fair bit of us handing these games as well. Loading, illness, injuries. I subscribe to all of these being major factors but I don't want this getting away from the fact that we do not seem to be performing in the moment when it matters right now. I don't know if months of building leads and sitting on them rarely being challenged has anything to do with this but we've lost our edge when the blow torches come our way. It's a bigger game than people think next Monday.

Just need some more people to pony up. The people I'm having a go at are in their 20s and 30s, in good health and living in metro Melbourne, sitting on their ar** at home with Kayo. You get this period in your life once, you get this successful period in your life very few times. Why would you not want to do everything possible to make it to every game of this era? There is a part of me that hopes the new TV deal stuff up Kayo and means people will either need 100 subscriptions or actually go to games. I don't really mean that but there does seem to be a real 'Kayo clientele' and type.

No I hear ya, do something about it or accept and move on. A brainstorm isn't wasted. Appreciate the effort.

Would you get a title like official Demonland Team Leader/Area Manager/Hall Monitor? You'd have to have a sash as part of the uniform surely!

I just want to see more when it comes to attendance. I know not everyone can make it for various reasons but I really think 5k extra per week on average isn't unrealistic. I've sounded like a broken record in the last few days but not one of my MFC friends bothered to show up for this one and opted for the couch and Kayo. I'm certainly getting sick of that especially since I paid to go to Marvel and sit with the 500 other Melb fans while these dopes sat at home as if it was an interstate game. I'm not super focused on the noise level I feel this would naturally improve with that bit extra in numbers. I yelled my lungs out too but it didn't stave off the cold, to be fair though I already had it 😛 Just want to see more people make the effort.

Maybe not yet but we are probably closer than we think to trying out these kinds of experiments. We are going to need something big from Weid. A consistent effort where he can at least provide a presence physically. Now if this doesn't work as well as we'd like there's probably not a lot of other options so it's definitely worth the thought.

I get it, but you just need to choose the words very carefully when doing so.

Can we back in and give a shout out to the Demon Army cheersquad for all their great work on the show tonight guys? Getting a bit sick of seeing them cop it on threads here lately after all the time and effort they put in.

I hate to say it but it's a bit of a tough one Kozzie. On one hand you have fans who are there, in the stadium which is what we want but then people complain we aren't loud enough or clapping hard enough. You've then got people and I knew plenty of them who bailed on going and watched in the comfort of home which really if they are paid members they are also entitled to do. So what is it that we are actually aiming for? I think what I would like is to just have as many fans get to the game as possible and then there's enough to cheer, scream, boo, be silent to still give the place a decent presence. It's not black or white either it's a case of anything people can do will help. If you're there in your MFC gear you still form part of the presence and we still bring out the 'Demon' in everyone. It's not about decibel levels and who appears to sound louder. I'd actually like to know where everyone was who thought we were out cheered? Last week I did think the Freo fans sounded quite loud but that was because I'd moved around to the Ponsford to sit with mates and we were on e bay away from 90% of Freo fans in the stadium. If people thought the opposition fans sounded louder on TV well there's reasons for that too with ground mic placement. But yeah enough waffling, I think the more fans that come, the better, but I'll also be happy with the ones that make the effort to get there. I don't think crowd has any reason whatsoever for these last two defeats but if I was going to look anywhere I'd look at my friends who didn't get there long before looking at the Demon Army for something to blame.

I think we might be pretty close seats wise! I'm very lucky in that there are two very vocal ladies in our area (Who are great by the way and are there week in week out) so anything I do is considered tame compared to them and believe me I am a very vocal fan at times 😝

In one of my group chats this literally became the first thing people were talking about when Sydney ran us and eventually took the lead. Is it a factor if true? Yes of course it is, but for the common public to be tossing this line around is complete crap. I even had one person in the group saying 'we miss Burgo' probably as a joke but for crying out loud, we don't need Burgo to help us kick a goal for 15 out! These things can be factors but in terms of excuses they rank up there with 'coming off a 6 day break' and the Bulldogs having to travel so much that the poor sods simply ran out of legs in the second half of last years grand final. It's honk, great teams don't make excuses like that they get it done, so far this season we've been doing exactly that, getting it done. But don't urinate on my back. Maybe it's just that in my experience the moment MFC fans start making excuses and feel like moments are one offs they aren't, we spiral out of control and these freedom fighters are either no-where to be seen or at the buffet table with their face smattered in humble pie.

100% Nev, the best way to improve it is to get off your ar** and help.

Haha my cold is pretty bad right now can I use a loading period to explain my performance tomorrow?

I've never seen so much potting of the cheersquad than in the last few weeks. It's like always looking to the government for handouts

FARRRRRRRRR OUT. I really hope these teams destroyed each other today.

Disgraceful decision

A Grandstand finish

This loading and de-loading crap is being bandied around literally everywhere right now.

Agree, silent fans at home get off your ar** and help.

Yep, +1 over here. I was 15 when I started on DL with the old version.

I appreciate your positivity and your post. I wish I could be more like this. Just give me today to get the negative out and will try to return to upbeat this week 😀

I'm just not going to have anyone call me a bad fan for being humble but critical of our own performance last night. I resent some friends throwing this accusation out while I sat in the freezing cold at a game and they sat at home with Kayo.

All valid points, no arguments at all on these.

This loading line is spreading as quickly as the flu and while there's possibly truth to it I'm getting tired of friends using it as a crutch to why we lost and completely ignoring our inability to convert when the game was there to be won. What's next, are people gonna blame Ramadan? Come on, there's nothing wrong with calling a spade a spade and being critical of the events in this match doesn't make us bad fans.

3 charlies