timD

I love armchair quarterbacks. You guys are great. We should ask the same questions of 3AW, truenergy, momenum energy, Melbourne Victory, Melbouren REbels...but no, you won't do that, will you? Harold Mitchell, a bloke who does nothing but sniff the winds of publicity went with this mob too...but it's Cam's fault. some of you people like kicking people when they are down. It is sick.

So, you are a "glass half full" sort of guy then...

Clint, I like this idea. It's not stupid at all. Working it out might take a bit.

Benny-boy, for me it is all about getting a good midfielder. Just one. We have the structure but no heart. We need a heart. We have the supporting cast; we need a star. If Jamar goes and we can get another decent pick and another potential mid, well, that is fine. We have martin & clark; spencer and fitzpatrick are developing...oh and gawn, who I think shows a bit to go on with. I'd trade almost anyone for one very good mid.

It doesn't matter if the insider lied. Mifdus broke a confidence to a gossip...and furthermore, this rumor had been doing the rounds for weeks. Mifsud again? So, it is likely that he broke trust several times. It doesn't matter if he was told that Neeld was doing outrageous nonsense: if the informant spoke in confidence and mifsud betrayed it (as he has claimed he did) then he violated that most basic tennet of his job. He should resign.

Bartram and McDonald (did I get that right nasher?) turn the ball over. They have ticker aplenty. We won contested ball but got smashed...so i think that winning ball is not, by itself, enough. I think Grimes would add to the mids (and also not take a backwatd step, so that should meet your criteria) and the other options would be more effective in supporting the mids.

dee-luded, we need more midfield class. How does your suggestion get that?

This was my point. Thomo, the two players mentionned have a great crack but are otherwise utter liabilities. If that is ok with you, then great. Ultimately, we need more class in the midfield. WE need more class coming out of defence. I'm sure I don't nknow how to get this going. My plan is one suggestion as to how to do it. You don't have a better idea. Try one.

Move Grimes to the midfield. Add Morton and Sellar. Bring in bennell. Magner I presume is out injured. Drop Joel Mac. Drop Bartrum. Drop green. It weakens our backline in terms of hardness but improves its speed and disposal. It allows Grimes into the pivot to replace magner. i don't want to make more than 4 replacements. There will be no big improvements in our mids until gysberts or blease matures (or we get some more good draft picks).

Now I know you did not watch the game.

I did not see a single one of these. Do you know his number?

We looked disorganised at the cleareances. They always had free players. They used where their free man wuold be flexibly. Given the clean hands at the contest it looked like they had 5 more players out there. WE used the ball so badly - with poor skill and made poor decisions. I think game plan. We bombed long at every opportunity. That has got to be instruction. I wish the club would repalce macdonland and bartrum so they never play again. Put it in davis and bennell or strauss. Play grimes in the guts. Play trengove forward and rotating up. Blease to casey unitl he learns to put in and develops a tank.

I think it was great stuff and I wish I had the patience and eloquence to match it. Nice to know you still think about me. I knew you still held a candle! As for Watts, perhaps a family therapy perspective would be useful (you mentionned the couch). In family therapy - particularly when working in a 'systems' approach, you often see kids and their parents. The beginning perspective you bring is that the child does not 'have a problem' but the "symptoms" the child demonstrates are a result of a dysfunctional system. The child is the "symptom bearer" - the whole family system is the problem and as a result need the attention. I reckon that you could argue that Watts, as the 'child' in the system, has: had permissive coaching in a team with inconsistent rules; older players who do not set a good example; players who are not good; is a young forward in a team with one of the worst - if not the worst- midfield in the comp; no aggressive forwards around him and on-field leaders who don't lead that well. We then expect him to be the A+ student. I think it is a reasonable hypothesis to hold that he might well improve if his "family" has better boundaries, rules and rewards, his siblings were more mature and their competence improves. Then we might see more of the attitudes and behaviours we need to - at least it gives him a fighting chance to show them. That said, he needs to show them and they need to be more than a flicker every fortnight.

One day scoop and you what. This is not about you. Don't try and make it about you.

There should be a separate board for those with true vision, so that they don't have to endure the slings and arrows of the outrageously ignorant. It's so lonely being right all the time but no-one realising it. Oh well.

I know, I know! The big difference is that Watts is good.

He's not being played as a CHF. There are only a handful in AFL footy and in truth I think it is better to consider KPF versus 'flanker'. Players rotate through FF and CHF and really the function of the role is more important than the position. KPF is the clunk-marking, pack-hitting target for your mids. Watts appears to only be able to paly that role toa very limited degree ATM. Tom Mcdonald is being played, and tries to play, like a key foward. With Watts, it is disappointing that he does not play like a key forward. He can learn it. Mitch clark clearly can and he's not been played there for long peroids and has had to do his thing while aso getting out of JB's way. Watts is clean and clever. He does not 'know his size' yet. He'll learn.

Saw the first half. Gys involved in a lot. Seemed to win ball around contests and get it moving quickly. Watts just did a lot of nice stuff and was the classiest user on the field by some margin. In the first half did lots of little things BUT a few pieces of play stood out on the back flank and deep in the forward pocket - beat multiple opponents, gave himself time and hit up targets well. Strauss worked himself into the game. Tapscott was strong in contests and kicked two goals by taking gutsy marks at about 50, went back and slotted the damn thing. Bail engaged and aggressive. Tom mcdonald involved when the ball went forward but "not quite" a lot, if you know what I mean. Morton disappoints me constantly, and then does something really nicely and I remember that I shouldn't damn him. I did not notice grimes much, but one instance where he straightened his run at the ball to put off the opponent led to him winning the contest and clearing the ball. All in all willy got a lot if free kicks. I think 4 or 5 of their first 6 goal came from dubious frees or a chain of dubious frees. A number of their players looked more skilled and less willing to scrap than the Casey counterparts. They caught casey napping a few times: If casey had the ball in dispute and in their forward line, a player for willy would lurk at abotu hbf (for willy) on the opposite side to where the play was. If willy won the ball, this playe would stay wide and run towards the forward line. Casey got caught out by this a few times and did not seem to realise that they were done by by being outnumbered, not overlap and superior running.

RIP Jimma. My most sincere condolences to Sam and family.

DFTT

DFTT

To suggest that we delist our captain on the basis of a contact injury is nonsense. To suggest that the fitness bloke is responsible for injuries that occured before he arrived or that occured as a result of contact in a contact sport is nonsense. To forget hawthorn's injury list from last year or just overlook geelong's ruck problems (and say that these things don'tr occur for them) is nonsense. I do not want to read ignorant guff on this site. BASIC inquiry would have got rid of the need to post pessimistic MFCSS dross that polluted my mind. To ask you to not bother in the future is a pretty mild response. Sloonie, it is sweet that you suggested I am silly...given your name. And no hint of irony. You should take that show professional. Don't get me wrong, i like that name. It is sooo much more creative than just using your real name (like i did). And it is better than calling yourself hannibal, or ben-hur, or spartacus or ego-projection or anything else truely pissy.

I cannot believe that you are here being a clever head about our captain being injured. Enjoying your moment? Now personal abuse is wrong and all, so all I'd ask is that you go away. You add nothing other than to publically enjoy another man's suffering and use it to moan about things you clearly do not understand. Pick up your bags and kick your can somewhere else.

Ben, you should be consistent and decide that this is ideal as it is the decision of the board and they are beyond question. I'd hope that this decision remains a gap-fill for 8 months and that the reason it was made was to address a gap that could not be better filled or that a desired candidate is not available until next year. 'Jobs for the boys' is a legitimate concern...and we just need to check on this as things develop. No panic, but don't abandon scrutiny just to tow the party line.

...or you are living your poster name a little too hard.