beelzebub

Well they are an hour behind i guess lol

And we are still waiting on the promised developments re bananas up nth.

couldnt agree more.Time to stop the rot, time to push back (hard). We want to be taken seriously? Often its not even what you do, but how you do it that is important . Even so, anything less than effective exoneration is unacceptable .

Was always told not to settle for second best......they arent even close to that...turd best possibly !!

id rather we didn't take it as a point of principle. We despatched one idiot sponsor for a whole lot more money I feel we could tell unFairfax what to do with theirs !!!

They do pay us......not nearly enough youd think !

The "Truth" had more !!!

The aged has turned into a big wide gossip sheet. A sad end for a once fine masthead. Care factor=0

im not anguished . Im not worried . Concerned ...yes.Wilson can get knotted !!!

For mine its actually a lot about what they havent said.we'll see

Masterfully understated Red !!Have no doubt there were many other words that were your first choice

If it goes to court all arguments will be ajudicated on merit and relevance according to law. All hysteria and agenda is removed ( or highlighted lol ) The AFL has written itself in glorious 'greyness" though abtractness in its rules. The law doesnt like grey !

thanks Hardtackthats a great article

WYL I dont for a min think the AFL are shaking, I sont suspect theyre even worried but that only goes to my point . They to a point are misreading the situaton . They ought to be concerned. THEY have the problem.

I think you very much misunderstand the predicament the club actually faces. it either fights or capitulates. If it does that it will have rolled over so far many will be dizzy. If it rolls over many will abandon as being exactly what many claim , that being a vaccuous refuge of old boys and having little relevance to the modern game" i.e Standing for Nothing.It would seem that those with legalese on this site and elswhere suggest that the AFL would have little to put forward or indeed defend it self with should it go to court.. In many respects the club could be at a point where it has little to lose should it decide to go all out David against the Goliath. Ego inc ( aka Vladamania ) is alerady percieved as the over bearing and unfair protaganist.. The Schoolyard Bully in this instance. Should the AFL impose a sanction that going to be as bad as it gets.. The BEST it could get is to take them to task. Other than money theres not muchg at stake, other that the aforementioned existance issues. To accept any penalty is to efectively admit it was of our doing. It wasnt. The climate and circumstances were all of the AFL's creation. It needs to take ownership of the malaise and fix it .It tacitly has but theres no esacaping who made this able. I dont actually see the club shaking in fear. GOOD

I counter that you paint them as overly bright. Theyre not !!Thyre that dumb that they not only refound a can of worm theyve opened it. Clever !!!!

I dont think they necessarily want us alone at all. Some elements of the media called them ( the AFL ) over the Brock fiasco and the AFL kneejerked into action.The issue is and always has been 'tanking" as a whole. The better scribes are always at pains to rationalise the problem from the standpoint of it being an AFL self created debacle thats affected any number of clubs and to isolate and concentrate on teh MFc is plainly and manifestly unfair. Vlad Inc needs to tread carefully from here on in otherwise it might soon find itself immersed in quiksand.

Did Dick ??

The AFL if not careful will back THEMSELVES into a corner. They to a point need to save face. Theyve gone hunting what they thought was a toothless tiger but now are gaining a sense that what lurks beyong those trees might be dangerous enough to fight and inflict pain after all.

If....and I emphasise the word IF the AFL were to be truly coy and crafty they could do the following: "AFL announces that "the initial investigation into Tanking allegations towards the Melbourne Football club have unearthed a myriad of parallel circumstances and similar findings of actions taken by any number of clubs which brings the scope of the AFL tanking probe into areas which whilst known were not fully investigated with the zeal as is currently the case of that directed towards the MFC." "In this light it is envisaged to broaden the investigation into a league-wide discovery. No timeleine for investigative or summary finalisation is forthcomong at this juncture "

Gee.. a lone voice of sanity. Absolutely spot onNice get there DS

All this reminds me of a game of tennis. The balls been served and weve played a baseline return strategy to date. They keep hitting it hard, we just return, return, they keep at it. The secret to winning this point is to wait. You waiti while they get themselves into a bit of a rut. They think your on the backfoot. Youre not your just where you need to be at that point of play. You wait for that opportunity to change the pace of the ball, to move to the net and take your opponents advantage away . Now wherever they go you will put it away. Despite the seeming pounding were absorbing we do have an ace up our sleeve. The Courts ( npi ) . Trial by media plays by the 'pack of wloves' mentality where they band together to snipe and bite all the whiles hoping to wear you down , to react, to lose guard., to be vulnerable. But try as it may the media has no jurisdiction. Only the AFL can impose its will here; or so it thinks. So can we. We have two paths to redress. One is directly with the AFL and seek a solution thats fair to us , and all the competition. The other is our legal right to redress, the Courts. The last place the AFL wants to go is court. It doesnt rule the roost there. It would be forced onto the back foot itslef and this isnt a part of its game its terribly good at.. its a bully boy 'ace' server. Hit back and you have more than an even chance. Its just not done much and for good reason. it will be a move of last resort. Whatever be the resulting relationship between the Club and the League after such a stoush will remain for some while. Until it goes to court the AFL seemingly have the upper hand but its a hand it wants to use mighty carefully and thoughtfully. Force someone into a corner and it WILL get ugly. Another sporting analogy might be Boxing. One bloke hammers away the opponent seems to be on the ropes, hes taking all the hits, absorbing the punches and to many doesnt seem to be offering up much resistance. But again, its about timing and opportunity. When he senses the fighter tiring, when he notices the guard slip he musters his energies for that one mighty knockout punch. He was losing on points, right up until he put the other flat on his back on the canvas. The lesson is to know your strengths and how to use them. Our strength is our right and will to defend ourselves in a place where the AFL has to toe the line. Our allies will be many other clubs, who'll know if they arent with us they are open to the bastradry of the League's rulings also. I wouldnt stop there either. Id be lining up all those silly writers etc for defamation and libel where possible. If they havent crossed Tee's and dotted I's and got their FACTS straight , I'd eat them. Often in times of adversity there comes golden opportunites, aka 'silver lining' The Club can turn this kangaroo court come sytematic assasination into a chance to turn the tables on many of its detractors, stand up and quite firmly put it back to all and sundry "we're Melbourne, we're back, dont mess with us !!"

exactly what ive suggested elsewhere.Id have thought the current line up untenable now. I sense he's seething but astutely avoiding being drawn into the mire.

I dont mind Brayshaw as a bloke. ( for what I know of him ) We all have flaws etc. A litlel of his style grates but otherwise I think hes fairly balanced in his efforts.He owns Wilson in this. Sytematically he shows up her condemnations are nothing but her "opinions" There are no real foundings they are just a barrow shes pushed Interesting she harps on about Brayshaw being conflicted as I cant think of anyone seemingly more so ( her ) .. She and reality are at loggerheads !!

What if she isnt? What if shes counting on something turing up in the river to bolster the flimsy hand shes actually holding . Her agendas arent driven by facts just rage.