beelzebub

Was discussing the comments (Jimma) with bro/law this morning. He a Woodie... We both fell that it was more directed at the FD than the players. The leadership( if there's any) will have a go at the players... The coaches will have a go at them all.. But public dissention is aimed at those who are supposedly orchestrating things. who's in charge of matchups, who's in charge of rotations , who job is it to rev up the team etc ? I personally think that the comments effectively put a certain person on notice; time to deliver.

Good to see. For mine it was just as directed to the FD as it was the players. I sense the club is drawing a line and putting everyone( that needs to be) on notice. The time for talking has gone, it's now the time for doing. I disagree that this is fodder for the media or succor for the naive . I believe there is genuine concern from the top and a public bake was due. The honeymoon is over it's time to get serious. A line hasn't been drawn in the sand yet but the stick is poised.

might consider taking Vicodin there Billy...seems you take umbrage at shadows. Many , especially on the boards considered many of the games very winnable. Given WCE start you certainly would expect them to be ultra competitive. We're supposed to be stepping up a bit this year.. many would have thought , given where wce finished last year, then we should be putting them away...should be.. maybe not now. I inparticular wouldnt have cemented all five at any time...all im saying is now im not convinced of any bar GC, do you now get it.. ??

Clone Tapscott !! Nothing at all wrong with his hit on Shaw ... For mine it was a bit of good ol fashioned footy so rarely seen in these namby pamby days of diluted competitiveness. That wasn't thuggery in the least, it was a beautifully executed thump totally within the game. That more Melbourne players could play that way I can only dream . It was no nonsense stuff. It wasn't a hit behind play moment. I see nothing wrong with intimidation in the sense that you have your opposition concerned even before they cross the white line. There's been many a thug on a footy field but that hit wasn't one. To describe it as such borders on literal thuggery in itself. Were supposed to be Demons and half the team play like Angels ! You're on the money Red.

It's very simple Billy . despite their poor kicking we'd applied pressure and were in the game until half time . obviously Clarko gave them an almighty blocking and they they rebooted and hammered us. The matchups that originally worked now failed miserably. That we hardly troubled the board not just in the premiership qtr but not really in the last either (all junk by then) gives me the impression Bailey is loathe to get inventive and re-roll the dice. We should have breathed fire come the start of the last. Senior players ought to have stepped up. Bails needs to demand this. I( and I'm not alone) just don't see this happening. I think he's a very good development and mentor type coach. His tactical game day success has yet to be seen. Many a footy mate( many not demons) don't understand why so many changes ar slow if indeed they happen at all. If something isn't working...change it Clarko had Bails on toast.

Well put IWS

And the winner for "making excuses" award goes to RR!! Any which way you cast it that was a deploable effort from the club. That's Coaches down, pathetic for all but a couple . That same team has played much much better. No, let's set the tone for acceptance of mediocrity again in 2011. I understand Rhino that which you're trying to explain however a simpler and far more accurate appraisal was they played like sh!t. They all need to own that game as Farr as responsibility goes and do something about it... One might even suggest take a leaf out of the victors book and DO , not TRY !! Or we're in for a very trying year .

I actually only consider GC a win... Only as I can't stomach the notion of us being their first scalp. All others are now iffy!! Were supposed to be taking a step up this year... All I've seen is stumbling back. We SHOULD win all five ... We won't

The Rockets post is GOLD !!! but you actually need another Rocket...and the biggest obe at that for Bailey himnslef...totally out-coached..TOTALLY !! and if that continues whilst I hate to say it it will become a major issue. 3 words ? The team..... NOT GOOD ENOUGH !!

Very surpised by the margin of this result. And yet its but one game. Lets see what happens next week before crowing too much and then its us...Hate to be the first ones to lose to them !! We better worry more about our own game than gettingour jollies from another's debacle. Smug tends to get wiped off faces !!

At best it's a perk at worst it's a perk. You all need to grow up and get over yourselves, that is , those that have a problem with it all. Why is this even a thread !!!

Have always rated Scarlett highly, but then many better situated have also. That he rates Chip highly bodes well for us but alas only highlights the hole he currently leaves. That gangly kid's come a long way )

Very impressive isn't it. How good that we're now considered worthy of being a vehicle for such a campaign. A fair way yet but we've certainly come a fair way. Well done to all concerned, Kudos to NB

Strangely enough I was addressing that which I was addressing, the unwarranted haughtiness of some . Seems some got it, you didn't . Try keeping the observations of apples to ... Apples !! Sometimes best not to say anything than to offer an irrelevance .

Very pompous and high horse of some . Castigating any who's life might not revolve around an unerring commitment of funds annually. This is the real world and in it people have choices. They also have various livelihood commitments and then there's discretionary spending. Being a member is a choice. It's how many wish to follow the game and support the club. Some aren't that fussed. That's not a crime. We ought not dispense such folk to the fires of heresy but embrace them and encourage such supporters to attend more and more. It bemuses me when people act all lah de dah , they're members and surely any fair dinkum supporter would/ought to be !! Many of us are whether it's value or not. We do because we can . Some can't and some don't. It might not sit well with some that there are those that actually feel return on spending is a reasonable prerequisite but that's their prerogative . There are many reasons why footy followers support a team. We could use as many as we can attract irregardless of the how or why.

Not sure if anyone else caught it but this morning on Today, during sports news there was a snippet onWatts. Suggesting he intends to okay this season with more aggression and assert himself more. He's a gangly kid morphing into a mans body. A lot goes on in ok Jacks head I feel. He thinks a lot through, possibly too much. He's getting used to his newer, bigger body. It's very much a mental thing; you can have that body but not really know( or have the confidence) what it ca/can't do. He's getting comfortable with his new muscular suit and as a little more adds( and adds) he be pressing himself more and more on his opposition. With each successful application cones more confidence etc etc. He has the talent, he's building the bravado, I like the Dawes comparison, Goddard too in a way. Much is about self belief, the idea that not only do you belong out there but that you can impose. He's getting there

The mind boggles !!!

I'm very puzzled by Mikes line up. I'd put Maric down forward and Trengove to start centre. No Jordie ??? very strange. Unless Bate sets the world on fire soon he's a liability, same for Warnock; depth at best. Bail deserves to be on the pine if not a starter. Mikes 22 ... about 7/10 , can do better, much better !

The point I made HT with sarcasm , regarding Deja Vu is just that . Melbourne supporters have been coming to the well since 64 and on each occasion go home empty handed, then we all chew the fat ad nauseam during the time between games. It's become groundhog day. It's been this way for ages, long before 08. It's all become familiar. We don't even need full arguments really any more we could assign them all numbers and we could just roll out numbers to each other. Far more efficient. It's understandable, the frustrations. They oughtn't be dismissed out of hand with platitudes. It's no consolation for many to be instructed by others to wait. After many a season the waiting grows thin as sustenance.some simply prefer a more palatable menu. Yes we ought to do much better in 011. I have us in the eight. I can however undrstand why some wouldn't. So for many it's very much been there , done that .

Careful with analogies .. They can build skyscrapers and freeways in under 3 years !! But point taken re foundations. No one , certainly not I , doubts the quality and strength of that which supports the MFC. Some just aren't sure about what's been built on them !

Whos got a funny sense of deja vu ?

The OP gives us a view that maybe we ought not expect too much. Others contend that hey ..its been 47 years ( yes thats the correct number) since we grabbed any silverware of real note and maybe enoughs enough. Theres simply two main schools of thought.. bide outr time , be patient and it will come...the other.. f@#* this I want it now !! Some may contend its a glass half full versus half empty debate..others stil may suggest theres no glass ..or if so , no water !! we have some good players...some emerging good players.. , some players who ought to be good players but arent.. and some dead wood. Yes folks..were a football team, and we're all that goes along with that. I perfectly understand the frustrations expressed by many here. I have some of my own. I honestly see this year as a litmus year. I dont expect to go too far beyond the second week of finals but i do expect to at least get that far. if we dont its really all for nought... There are many at the club, both players and staff who might well consider themselves on borrowed time unless success gushes forth. quite deservedly so Bailey will and should consider himself the top of that pile. Following him a a half dozen or so players who just dont quite tip the balnce far enough to suggest they are anything but seat warmers for some emerging kids. But what we're really about now is seeing results. Weve all had it up to here ( visual required..lol ) with promises, with soothing speeches with glimpses, with false dawns.And we're all probably sick to death of it. Bit like always the bridesmaid never the bride. Maybe our song ought to be "What about me" not "grand ol Flag" !!! LOL But if this season is about realities then the most relevant one right now is the season proper has NOT started. Its all smoke and mirrors to date. I do disagree withe the OP author in suggesting this year is not about results. Im telling you it is. If we arent well and truly in the top eight banging on the top 4 then what are we doing ( besides kidding ourselves ) Weve been building a decent cast and developing their roles but its well and truly time to get our act together. It might not be polished but it needs to be cohesive and deliver something. If we dont have this aspiration then why bother to compete. We'll just become a social club. Baileys had 3 years to date to create something . We now have second to none facilites. We now have the monkeys off our back ( still close by but not on us) . We have a leader (s) who inspire others. There are NO excuses anymore.

Just out of idle curiosity, and this can only be directed to the few that actually saw the game, did it appear to any that there was indeed some rudimentary practicing of "drills" Ie as though theyd been instructed to persist with a particular style or play regardless of effect. To keep at it regardless of outcome as though experimental. The game to this observer ( or not as it was ) seemed very much of two halves. Thoughts ??

Make that take TWO Bex I look forward to the Coaches' reviews. Yes they'll be toned down but let's wait and see what they did right and what they weren't able to accomplish for Bails. KIM it was a 'practice' game , under live fire conditions. DB and his cohorts would have been assessing how certain drills faired etc . They'll go away from this and adjust. You practice to make good , then , you play to win. When it counts, when there's 4 points for grabs. Those that get to the training I'd ask to note what changes occur before the Swannies. Now how's that lay down going ?

So many words from so many who didn't WATCH the game. All very Chinese whisper in nature. It's amazing there's any sky left after falling all the time. I suggest many take a Bex , have a lay down and wait for the season proper and then well all get a look at our real progress.