Dappa Dan

:D

Exactly. Neitz is no longer an elite player in the AFL. No-one's expecting him to kick 80 goals, and he will most certainly have his days this year where he's bundled out of contests and struggles to get a kick. But at 32 with 300 games behind him we shouldn't be expecting him to be pushing Feva for the Coleman. The point is, had we had Johnathan Brown, Buddy Franklin and Matty Pavlich in our forward line, and Brock and Chunk circa 2011, Neita wouldn't feel the need to stick around. As it happens we have Bate, Newton, Dunn, Garland and a few other young KP forwards who, after Neitz, will have NO-ONE to show them the ropes. Neitz is a Coleman medal winner who has kicked more goals than anyone in the oldest footy club in history. And as recently as 6 months ago he was still capable of kicking bags of 4-6 goals. 18 months ago he was kicking bags of 8, and bombing 5 of them from outside fifty. The captaincy situation at MFC is dire. Most people um and aah about Green and Bruce, and the only people not worried about Brock's age are the teenage fans. Neitz is VITAL while guys as green as Juice are around. We have all seen what he is capable of, the guy has oodles of talent, but mentally and deveopmentally he's just so far off the pace. To place him at CHF or FF at this stage could be hugely risky on a number of levels. Bottom line is, even as an ageing 3rd tall, Neitz could still average 2 goals a game for us. He'll still probably take the best defender, and like Lyon, even at 50% fitness, the team walks taller with him there. Maybe he's not the best player in the AFL at the moment, but he's a long LONG way from being the worst captain. In fact I'd put him up there with the top 4. Hodge, Tredrea, Lloyd, Simpson, Johnson X 2, Harley, the Sydney triplets and whoever West Coast, Carlton, and Collingwood choose... I would choose Neitz over them any day of the week. Not as a player in 2008 necessarily, but certainly as a captain. I'm not usually one for picking on green posters still learning the ropes. He's probably been frightened off, and that's a shame, but if he'd read ANYTHING on this site at all, he'd have known he was going to cop it. If he wants to stick around he should come back and qualify his statements, or do an about-face.

Hooley Dooley Fan... Got some time on your hands? the more I think about it, the more I reckon recruiting players who are NOT injury prone is gaining in importance... However... Despite the wealth of information you offer, I reckon it still comes down to whether or not you look at the glass half full or half empty. With a good run of injuries in a couple of season, the absolute best we could do was to make he bottom half of the 8. I thought in '06 particularly we had a real run at it mid season, like everyone else, but in the end we were found wanting in not just one, but a few departments. And that was when we were at FULL strength, with an experienced coach, working with a list that he'd had his hands on for 8-9 years, with few injuries and basically everything in place as well as it could have been. I also dismiss the fact that our list is in "deceptively" good shape. I disagree that it's the same list that gained all that success as the players that did most of the work have either retired, been traded or just plain gotten old. SO MUCH of our hopes next year comes down to whether or not these guys that are up to 23 can take the next step, and given the vacuum of experienced players, too much will come down to whether or not players like Brock and Sylvia can handle a tag. Ultimately I'm comfortable with the list going forward as I think CAC left us with some gems, but I'm of the opinion that to delist 12-15 players in one go was impossible, but was what was needed to eradicate the problems. It was always going to take 2-3 season to systematically get rid of the weaker players on the list.

At the risk of sounding like a typical demonlander with rose-coloured glasses... Despite the fact that I agree we'll be more likely to struggle next year than to excel, I still reckon there'll be plenty to enjoy. I still had no trouble attending games last year, and was rewarded with things like Petterd's form, the Adelaide (relief!) and Pies wins (A win against the pies is worth 16 premiership points), Chunk showing us what he's made of, Juice's debut and MOTY etc etc... I don't think we'll have as bad a year this year as last, and that's something to at least be slighly relieved about. This year is all about putting togther and blooding the side that'll come to fruition in the coming years. I look forward to seeing a few early-career highlights that'll be remembered fondly...

It never ceases to amaze me the amount of low-IQ dipshits that come on this site to bag out one of the club's greatest ever players and captains... They never have any facts to back it up... The only reason they don't like him is that he doesn't have the profile and success of some of the others. Neither of these two drawbacks are his fault. If you're going to be an MFC fan, BE an MFC fan... otherwise go to puntroadend, where they eat their own.

It just occurred to me.... Clinton's voice will obviously be heard for years to come, whenever we review classic moments over the past 5+ years, where he did some of the finest commentary work in the land... How does this relate to us? Should Juice become the player we all hope he will, his MOTY will be replayed more times than I care to imagine, each time with Clinton's dulcet tones "He defied his own law!" I don't know about anyone else, but I'm still wondering which way is up with this news. I can't imagine watching footy without his voice, which is pretty impressive given he's only been a regular for suchj a short time, comp[ared to the likes of Commetti, Lane etc etc...

Shocked and Stunned... He was the face of fox-footy, and was the only man who could say with all seriousness that he was going to eclipse the great Commetti in terms of commentary brilliance in his career. A great, great loss to the game, but more importantly a devastating loss to his family and close friends... Clinton, our lives are poorer without you. What little you did for the game in your relatively short time will not be forgotten for decades to come. May you rest in peace.

RIP Len.

A semi-fit Rivers would be a problem on Franklin. But yes, he seems the most likely option. I have my concerns though...

Merry Christmas to all from San Juan, Puerto Rico... Feliz Navidad!!!!

:D Merry Christmas...

:D Maybe. But it's been anything but dull...

And isn't that the real reason to do it? Curse is garbage, as was the Bambino and the Johnny Warren one, but it adds a bit of spice and god knows MFC needs a bit of spice. HA!!!!!!!!

I like it. I don't know if I believe it, but it's publicity, and dealing with "a curse" out in the media implies that the club has a culture. It's probably one of the chief reasons Warren did it. It gets you thinking about tradition and superstition in sport, heightening the mystique... I can't think of who it would hurt.

Jesus. That's like just about the worst thing you could hear in regards to an injury... Just watch the boards now, poor old Barts' rating is gonna drop dramatically. It's a shame I'm overseas. Such a transparent meeting with someone so close to the heart of the footy club is just about the most concrete proof that the 'land-'ology nexus is being taken seriously by the club. Since the day I joined I'd been hoping for something like this, but never believed the powers that be at MFC would take us that seriously. Well done Chris...

God bless us.... Every one.

Morton to the wing, Bartram to Rover, Dunn to HFF, Weetra to HBF. Bate to the other HFF, Garland out of a pocket. Otherwise... Yes. You make an interesting point.

Ah. I see. No worries. Yep. While strictly speaking I'm not sure I agree with all of it, I think it's as close as it comes to middle ground for you and I. The next few years will be intriguing for CAC and for us. On the subject of stars, it's certainly true CAC hasn't recruited one... While that's not something I've mentioned, it's certainly a point I agree with. But I will say this. Even if we DID have a star, no-one ever rates the dees, no-one ever reads anything about them, no-one ever really talks about them. If Brock was a Pie or a Don, or even a Saint his profile would be entirely different. My only hope is that we can land a Carey. A player that isn't just considered a warrior for his club, but a champion and premiership winner. I use Carey as an example because he played for a club under significant distress financially, and still made the grade. MORE than made the grade. Anyhoo... Glad this one's over.

What I meant was, is there any financial reparations that we'll now miss out on? In other words, did we sell the game up there? Would the AFL have paid us any more as a retainer?

This is a good development right? Does the club suffer financially in any way?

I'm saying I take anything written on a fansite with a grain of salt. I didn't, at the time, feel like swimming through demonland to try and find his comments and re-read them... At the time all I remember was that there had been, as usual, a lot written on here about his mistakes with the likes of Smith, Rogers, Molan and a few others. I read his comments at the time, in full, and dismissed each one not as a man admitting his mistakes, but giving his reasons for selecting each player, and for the record, making a lot of sense in each case. As has been written by many other posters, he took guys like Molan because of a dire need for KP players... He learned his lesson, and now he no longer goes for type. He goes for the best available. Many believe he was pushed to take Molan and I think there's some truth to that. CAC took responsibility because he's not a whinging mug. (we really are going over info that's been done to death here now) Now you may say I'm making excuses, but the Molan damage is done, and since then the important thing is he has LEARNED his lesson. From here on in, with whoever we get to replace him, they may take this information on board, but the point is they will not have the ten years of experience CAC had in the top job. As far as I can see recruiting is not about talent, or having incredible vision, or being born with an inherent skill as is the way with footballers. It's all about experience. We just lost 10 years of it. THAT'S why he's rated highly by everyone on here except you and a few others. He did his best work towards the end of his reign at Melbourne.

See above... Perhaps I jumped to conclusions in saying that you thought CAC was the most responsible... But as the head of the recruiting department, and as you stated above that "recruiting is the most integral," I don't see it as a long bow to draw to suggest this... And since you ask... The reason I've discussed this with you is because you have been quite keen to mention CAC's shortcomings, without singing his praises once. To highlight his failures in name, and then to only go as far as to "thank him for his service" smacks of pessimism. You claim that you won't argue the point, but only after you stick the knife in. Like I said, we're all entitled to an opinion, and you make some good points. For the record, it's only the decent thing to do (for CAC) to highlight and explain his failures and to claim responsibility. When I read that I saw it more as his way of explaining his reasoning rather than agreeing he'd failed. Notice he's modest enough not to sing his own praises when we mention Bartram, Bate, Bruce, Juice etc etc...

Poyas is big news...

That pretty much says it all Nash... What this comes down to is a difference of opinion. Fatty holds CAC more responsible than ANYONE for the fact that we've not won a premiership. Personally I'd hold Daniher more responsible, followed by the administration under the likes of Szondy and Gutnick. To give you an analogy of what it sounds like you're saying... you blame CAC, as a part of the machine, for the woes of the Melbourne footy club during his tenure. To me, that's like saying David Neitz is responsible for our lack of premierships. He's been arguably the best player during the last ten years at the club, but surely logic dictates it was not HIS fault we didn't go all the way. Do you see my point? CAC was a part of the regime, it doesn't mean he was responsible for our failure in ANY way. I guess you're entitled to your opinion, and like you say the subject's been done to death.

I'm not sure an enormous amount of platitudes HAVE been handed out. As I said above, I think it's remarkable that this club, in the state it's in in the footballing world, getting squeezed out of EVERYTHING by the bigger clubs, was able to make the finals AT ALL in the last 10 years. CAC had a knack for selecting good ordinary players with late picks. The kind that make a list full of stars look like a premiership side... For example, had he been at the Saints, and had they crashed and burned for the three years they did, he probably still would have picked up Roo, Kosi, probably Ball (maybe Judd ) and then he would have surrounded them with all the low picks we have... Many Saints people, and fans, say that it's not the stars at St. Kilda that are the problem, it's the last 6 selected in their 22. Ultimately, I'll concede CAC wasn't the BEST recruiter in the land, if you'll concede he was still very, very good. And one thing I won't compromise on is the fact that having learned and honed his craft, he's going to do his best work in the next 10 years or so.