beelzebub

Its pays to count to ten sometimes..lol At first I wasnt that enamoured with the redesign. Seems a bit retro... But upon looking at it via my iPhone I can see exactly where ya coming from. Top job )

dont be so smug....you still seem incapable of understanding a TEAM can tank...not the individuals !!

I think the club is long past relying on Sylvia..they just expect things now..and rightly so. I hope he does

All just fluff and bubbles. Preseason paper filler etc.. Similar stuff written about us and other teams. We'll see what there really made of this week I dont rate freo...not one tiny little bit..will battle it out with the Toiges me thinks !!

Cant say i totally disagree with the notionas originated in this thread, however he has improved and shown what he can and might be. That is for me the constant niggle......always signs..., glimpses....never the complete show.If he is to be what many purport him to be then he will neeed to fly out of the blocks this season and stamp his presence over games. The reality is we havent seen a best pick Melbourne team hit the deck in battle yet this year...Im happy towait a whiles . Lets se what he does...(not can do )

Was wondering if it was just me (which is always possible lol) others get it ... Halelujah seriously , it's about the tram dynamics not the individual on theain, but it can be

Oh you msut be kidding...everyone in football knows what goes on. You still really arent listening are you..I'll spell it out.. again. Its NOT THE PLAYERS BY DETERMINED ACTION !!..got it?? hmm ?? If they are thwarted from..and therefore incapable of playing the natural game, frustrations and other elements creep in. You seet o thinkIm saying they throw games etc. or they dont try.. Havent said that at all. What I am saying is there are subtleties at play here. They may well with all intention go out to play at 100% etc.. but if they know the coach is applyiing the brakes its a different game to when he isnt. Think of it in terms of any work place. If the rewards arent there, if the dedication of all isnt to the best outocmes then it a human nature thing that you'll back off a tad. So wonderful HT that you live in some fairy tale world where all is right.. Some of us live in the real one

In topic..and a very salient point there 4j is and will be the effect of comradarie and bonding. As Bailey rightly puts it the more they play together the better and further they will go. This season sees a few ol friendships brought back to the fold from TAC days etc. . Weve got a whole stack of young lads..who are starting out on this journey together. The young far outweigh the old in terms of who'll be around in 2-3 years and they probably rightly sense this. Its a fairly young list ( is it the youngest now ?? ) and the blooding they will experience together ought to forge a formidable unit...All for one and all that stuff

Some will understand the subtleties that will invoke their effects when such conditons exist when you are trained in one thing,encouraged even to attain succes and then systematically deprived of the tools to do such. Those that think this wil have no bearing on the overall outcome or the individuals level of determination might want to delve a little into the ideas ofhow team outcomes affect the individual...and vice versa. Yes we nearly won that Richmond game....gave us all quite the scare...especially Bailey Id imagine good job we didnt

With all due respect.... you still dont truly understand the difference between what you can achieve, or will strive to achieve where there is a valid compensation for effort ....and where there is none. Im not at all selling the players short...just taking into account the pyscologies of conditions. Im not the one with blinkers...by far. Its a very noble stance to take that all will always give all however history often shows us otherwise. Still how we view it all is opinion

You dont get it then.. The players as such are taken out of the equation.(from an individuals decision making stance ) The team is instructed in a certain fashion, its selected in a particular way.Its coached ( gameday) to a certain plan, as much as a reactive game canbe. Tanking isnt about the individual, however its an impost upon them. You ( as a player ) maybe instructed ...to say play on all the time.everytime etc..even when you know its suicidal ( in the context of footy ) you may be instructed to go a particualr flank,.. theres any number of conditions of play that canbe given. These WILL and DO contrict the performance of a team and quite potentially stifle a particular player(s) style and output. At this point a player ( if half intelligent ) will understand what is going on. This has to impact on how effective he can be. So many look elsewhere and whistle , not wantinng to acknowledge whatis so blindingly obvious. I choose not to. As a player you can give 100% you can even try for the 'classical' 110% but if youre got the brakes on you will struggle to get even near 90% it just becomes disheartening and this very sentiment has been expressed by many a player from various sides who eperienced the timely art of experimentation. Itchanges how hard and how long you chase, how hard you hit...and if you think this IS bunkum thenI would question whther the reader has player real competitve sport. To compete at your best you have to beleive you will or can win. Take away that and the mind will question the reason of 110% exertion. So I for one fervently expect some players to come out with renewed vigour and unbridled passion for the game...simply because they know the gearbox reads D....and not R !! Many other factors will influence the new lok Dees...new players, older ones rehabilitated, players with a better sense of belonging and some simply for having got that "whatever it takes" number of games under their belt where upon they take the next step. But lets not ignore the elephant !!

Brakes off is rather self descriptive I would have thought. We all know we tanked. There, Its said. You know it, I know it, the Footy world knows it ....even Demetriou knows it. We deliberately played in a manner which would negate the strengths of players and play them out of position ..or on the pine if proving too dangerous. They ...were the BRAKES !! The team was picked and coached to ensure we finished last whilst also gaining as much valuable information about not only the skills and abilities of various players but their temperment under duress. Some players reacted adversely to this, others saw the bigger picture..Some simply relished the opportunity to play in positions they otherwise wouldnt be afforded the chance. There was indeed much good delivered amongst the gloom. Bailey was hardly holding back as a coach..he coached brilliantly...what he did was hold back the team...a big difference. So as per original interest, will Melbourne play differently now he ( DB ) will obviously coach to maximise the output of his charges rather than hinder them..i.e. playing to win. So I for one will be interested in a number of players and how they take on the challenge(s) now they are allowed to go and do what they can. I expect us to play very differently, not just because of gameplan and better suiting of players to job but because the monkey's off their back.

I think many just took a whiff of what they were cooking !!! and ran ...............................:lol:

probably not too far off the mark.. cant for the life of me understand how anyone thinks westies are going to climb so rapidly...yes some talent.. lost some too.. not the depth and range we have. Port to slide definitely, the loss of Burgoyne to really hurt. Carlton may not get to where they think...they need to replace goalkicking ability..big ask. Freo are a basket case, Noth may steady a bit but will not be in the top 2/3. A lot of hype re Collingwood..still they seem to pull it out of their arse .. Jolly will help releasing Fraser.. A fit Medhurst will help.. rate them top 8..not top 6. Dont think Essendon are that great personally. Be interesting to revisit this after some NAB matches to see how some teams are faring. No ones played anyone for real yet. Lets see how some kids have come on.

Undoubtedly more will join as the NAB starts . I presume MFC will have the opportunity to sign up members at all these events. And then of course as the season proper starts..theres are those that wait for that first game. ( god knows why)...then there are the fence sitters who may fal leither way depending upon the outcome of those first handful of games. I really wouldnt want to be at Richmond and counting on membership revenue this year. No hype ( ala Cuz ) limited aspirations..looking at the 2010 spoon. We all know how that hurts !!

I must confess, I'm curious. Something , to me doesnt quite gel. So far , as of the time of this writing 16-7 suggest Melbourne will play differently with the 'brakes' off. I would have thought this would be reflected in the previous question's voting but it doesnt quite tally the same. I wondering how some might say that issue of draft picks, experimentation, etc etc whilst seemingly not effecting the output of players last year equates to playing better when there is no impost made of them ? These two results I presumed would be quite close...and they're not. So is it reasonable to suggest that some people fervently "believe" there is no effect whilst the reality is there is ?

Pies on track to smash record an excerpt from this article Current club membership figures Club .................Current figure(as of Feb 1).This time last year ...2009 total (as of June 30) Adelaide .....................N/A............//................... N/A....................... 46,472 Brisbane Lions .........18,572 .............................17,286........//......... 24,873 Carlton ......................22,889 .............................22,272...../.............42,408 Collingwood...............41,762............................. 26,978 ..................45,954 Essendon ..................29,289 ............................. N/........................39,206 Geelong.....................25,233 ............................. 24,077..................37,160 Hawthorn.................. 40,661............................. 32,269*.................52,496 Melbourne ................20,797 ............................. 19,598..................31,508 North Melbourne ......14,309 ............................. 13,309 ..................28,340 Port Adelaide ...........18,682 ............................. 17,552..................30,605 Richmond .................20,810 ............................. 23,500*................ 36,981 St Kilda......................26,054............................. 17,852 ..................31,906 Sydney Swans...........19,659............................. 19,750*................ 26,269 West Coast ..................N/A ............................. ....N/A....................43,927 Western Bulldogs......21,9211............................ 17,636................. 28,215 *Approximate figures only Some clubs obviously fairing better than others. Is interesting to note the increase of Pups...dont underestimate the pulling power of players. Hall etc. Geez North are struggling but still better than last year, I wonder how that will pan out as they slide ( and they will ).. Richmond look to be in for a filthy year on and OFF the field.

Season 2010 is all but upon us. We can all hardly wait to see the boys run out in Red & Blue. I think its fair to say we ( well many of us ) expect to see a much different side compete this year and thats not just a result of player introductions but that combined with the brakes being taken off. There is no doubt ( by me ) that the efforts of the last two years and the last especially must have been affected by the restrictions imposed by ..lets call it "experimentation". Like it or not we benefited by coming last these past two years. Deny it all you wish also but there must be thoughts amongst the clubs footy dept and players that its very hard to really give your all if your heart's not in it. That you know to strive to win may result in a depreciated result come end of year. It must be hard. Much is said that when you cross that line you give everything..you give 100% etc etc. Much is made that the bonus ( to the club ) of better and extra draft picks never crosses a players mind come the game. I say rubbish. It has to. Whether they let it affect their desire and dedication to the ball is another thing but any of us will only have to look within our own lives to understand the difference that un-bridled passion and fervour makes to any abilities and efforts. You apply yourself that bit more, you strive that bit more, you hurt....that bit more. Season 2010 will see something different for the MFC...it will see the beginning of a new era, one where playing to win is the very least and winning IS the desired outcome. This for each and every game ( but 200% for Collingwood ones !! ) The pruning of the tree together with new growth ought to see both a settling of some minds as to their belonging in this team as well as real vigour in efforts to break into it.. I dont expect miracles this year...but I absolutely expect to see sustained hard competition from Melbourne and as the games increase in the legs of players and as the bonding of the team builds from more time together in battle one ought to reasonably expect ladder position to climb..and maintain this upward momentum. The question is... Do you think we will really see a very different intensity and drive on the field now the players know there are "no brakes being applied" ?? and also do you think this factor really affected efforts last year ? Is footy really played between the ears ? go Dees

curious to see how crystal balls appear with such limiting portrayals of future developments. The reality is we cant know how high a player might climb til they are done and dusted.

never say never !! who of say the modern era ( Dees ) would you put next to Flower ?

I wonder if the likes of Volvo, Kapserky or Hankook mightnt like to throw a few scheckles the way of Demonland ?? or any of the other sponsors... keeping it in house possibly. I too would have no problem with a "sponsor' for this site...if an appropriate one could be had. Still its really the domain ( npi ) of Andy & co

All LLoyd has done done is trot out the classic expectation. How much he actually knows about these two? Is he truly knowlegeable of these or is he recycling the popular conception ? This is he opening foray into a media career and hes playing safe. out of ten id weigh his comments in at about 1

Its always fraught with danger to attempt any real extrapolation of preseasons into real seasons but by all accounts Aaron is having his best yet. Possibly..emphasis, possibly with his new found position ( contractual etc ) in the club he may also rise to the associated expectations. These of himself and his peers. he really has it within him to be quite the mercurial player. I still remember, years back , that early game against Richmond. Was as if he cast a spell on them. I just have a gut feeling we will seem him step up. He can and hopefully will put his name alongside of Flower

Matthew who ???????

I think it must also be realised that those five dint do it alone...nor could they...they had elements in their respective teams that assisted. We've lacked that caliber in times past. One man CANT do it alone.. . Now that we have some real prospects at higher end talent to merge into a real outfit then you may well see days that 'look' like this player or that takes it by the scruff of its neck and runs with it... but he'll be helped.