Supreme_Demon

2020 has definitely been a year of learning some harsh lessons. In brutal reality any year you don't win the Premiership is a wasted year. The old 'Ricky Bobby' saying comes to mind...."If you're not first, you're last!" Having said that I appreciate Max Gawn's sentiment and it was good to hear his honest answers. Let's hope he and the rest of the Melbourne players push extra hard this coming Pre-Season. There will be no more excuses in 2021.

Us Melbourne supporters well and truly deserve a drink. Yet another wasted year since 1964. I would ban Mad Monday for the players as punishment for missing the finals. Let them endure the same amount of annoyance and disappointment that we as long suffering Melbourne supporters have to contend with.

Jayden Hunt I am happy to either keep or trade for the right deal.

Delist Troy Chaplin - Backline coach Justin Plapp - Midfield coach Ben Matthews - Stoppage and contest coach Josh Mahoney - Direct of Football Operations/Football Manager ‐----‐-------‐----------------------------- Time for a clean out of the dead wood.

I don't mind the blokes mucking around and having a laugh when there are no cameras around. But during game day they need to be more professional. Especially as Essendon gave us a scare and we could of dropped that game. In the end we sadly miss the finals regardless. I should note that in my opinion Harley Bennell has made the bigger stuff up wanting to go off and get drinks at the pub. That's far more disgraceful and Harley should be made to pay a fair portion of the $50,000 fine. We can simply not afford massive fines like that! Any regular person with a regular job would get sacked.

Another wasted season. I dunno what happened in 1976 when we missed out. Would of been awful as the whole decade was full of disappointment. But 1995, 2017 and 2020 have all really annoyed me. So many missed opportunities. Time to actually get ruthless Melbourne. Not just talk about it like we usually do. Anyway, let's hope they have a proper external review of the Football Department this time.

He really looked slow this year and had injuries. But he contributed too. I distinctly remember him being involved with a few goal assists but I don't know the numbers for that statistic. On purely a selfish and cultural note I think it would be better to nurse Nathan Jones to 300 games next year. It would be a good celebration and if the game is played at the MCG or Docklands I would definitely be there. he woukd only be our 2nd player to reach 300 games and I think that is incredibly important. Nevertheless, I admit to being a romanticist. After the way we treated James McDonald and Cameron Bruce and a few other senior Demons in the past I think it would be better to give Nathan Jones one final season in 2021. Either way, we will see what happens. I just feel it would be wrong to force him to retire without us as fans being able to celebrate his enormous contribution to the Melbourne Football Club. He was the only shining light in those dark days of 2012, 2013 and 2014. Nathan Jones deserves an honourable send off. Giving him one more season to get him to 300+ games won't cause any harm.

Almost tempted to just sack him. If I cost the organisation I work for $50,000 I would be sacked. Harley also broke his promise not to touch alcohol when we recruited him. I reckon Simon Goodwin would be filthy and so should Max Gawn and the rest of the players.

Yet another frustrating and disappointing season which was a waste. Could of beaten Geelong and Brisbane in those close games. Should of beaten Sydney and Fremantle. Still mentally weak and always getting disappointed. Bot the football department and the players need to be told in no uncertain terms that this type of inconsistency is not good enough. A lot of players need to take a good hard look at themselves. If they aren't willing to bleed for the Demons jumper then we don't want them. In the end we sadly finish on the ladder where we deserve which is 9th. We are already getting trolled as "Ninthbourne" after the results in 2017 and now in 2020. Simon Goodwin is hanging onto his job as Melbourne coach by the skin of his teeth. Time to actually get ruthless Melbourne and not just talk about it.

We definitely need a clean out of our assistant coaches. However, the main person I would love to have take over as head of development is Mark "Choco" Williams. He would be excellent and is just the type of good quality football person we need at the Melbourne Football Club. Player development is a crucial factor we need to invest more in with our football department.

Barry Prendergast is more-or-less responsible for that disastrous run of draft picks! What a shocker! Obviously there was rotten luck with injuries too and we also failed to properly develop a lot of those players. Picking Jimmy Toumpas over Ollie Wines in the 2012 AFL draft still annoys me to this day! It was such a no-brainer to choose Jack Viney's best mate and we blew it big time! Anyway, I have alot more confidence in Jason Taylor. But we do need to pick more players who are good kicks and better at decision making.

We would probably get Peter Wright pretty cheap from Gold Coast. The question is...does he play better as a ruckman or a key forward? We need a key forward who can kick goals and ruck occasionally. Can he actually mark the ball over his head? Is he a Paul Johnson clone? Another disappointment? Plus I don't want another Mitch Clark disaster. That was incredibly frustrating! All that potential ruined by injury and other issues!

I don't think we can afford him? But why not roll the dice and at least inquire? We definitely need a good quality tall forward desperately. Sadly if Jeremy Cameron was going to leave GWS it would probably be to Collingwood.

I think Jack Viney would stay. He and his Father are part of the very fabric of the Melbourne Football Club. Plus I think Jack wants to get one up on his old man and win a Premiership for the Demons. Either way, we shall wait and see.

I think Jason Taylor has done a reasonably good job. Some hits and some misses. Need to draft more players who are good kicks and excellent decision makers though. Will need to focus on finding replacements for Jetta, Hibberd, Jones and another good quality tall forward. Will be interesting this year doing the drafting especially for Victoria because of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) situation so I think a lot of the later picks will be very speculative. Let's hope we can get a few smokeys that nobody else knew much about. We will have to wait and see?

Number #24 (Ian "Tiger" Ridley's and Russell "Robbo" Robertson's old number) is proudly being worn again by Trent Rivers. Let's hope he gets the nod for the Rising Star Nomination for this week. Trent Rivers certainly deserves it with an excellent game tonight for the Demons against the Giants.

That was a relief! A hell of a see-sawing game that was! Was very pleased with the young players Baker, Rivers, Pickett and Spargo. In the end, just happy we won and after celebrating tonight the players should be back to normal tomorrow and preparing for another must win game "elimination final" against Essendon next week. Gotta hope a few other results go our way too.

I thought Steven May played a great game tonight and thoroughly deserved winning the Sony Bravia TV for BOG (Best On Ground) from Richo on Channel 7.

I thought I should give my 2 cents worth on this topic. Firstly, I think Glenn Bartlett is doing the best job that he can. I want to see him finish what he started with building a proper home base for the Melbourne Football Club. However, it is correct that he hitched his Presidency on Simon Goodwin as coach by signing off on Simon Goodwin's contract extension. So that certainly puts him under pressure as well. However, I would like to see Glenn Bartlett continue as the Melbourne Football Club President. It doesn't matter if he is not a "traditional" Melbourne person and being originally from WA. The main thing is being passionate and wanting to help make the Melbourne Football Club become successful. As much as I personally cannot stand him, you would love to have a President as passionate and determined as Eddie McGuire is for Collingwood. Almost all the Collingwood supporters love him for doing what he has done for their club. Furthermore, I don't see him being replaced anytime soon. In an ideal world we would have a number of multi-millionaires and billionaires on the board of the Melbourne Football Club. Unfortunately, we might have some, but there are definitely others out there who seem to be too mean to contribute financially to the club. So it is up to us as regular rank-and-file members to help this club. I am proud that that so many Melbourne supporters have generously contributed to the club over the years and done what they have, particularly with the Debt Demolition campaign orchestrated by the late and great Jimmy Stynes a few years ago. Anyway, in hindsight, it would be wonderful to still have Peter Jackson as the Demons CEO but that isn't the case. He was a very popular and shrewd operator. Having said that, I am still willing to give Gary Pert the benefit of the doubt in his role as Demons CEO for the moment. What perplexes me is that I still don't understand the irrational hate towards Gary Pert? Particularly, as he hasn't had much of a chance to do what he has wanted to do due to having a horrible season with injuries in 2019 and the whole Coronavirus (COVID-19) situation for this season in 2020. As for former Demons player and ex Melbourne Cricket Club President Steven Smith (who is busy with his legal firm regardless) coming in to take over from Glenn Bartlett as Melbourne Football Club President. I don't think we need that kind instability at the club....a fair compromise might be for have a Melbourne supporter and MCC representative on the Melbourne Football Club Board perhaps? At this stage this is hypothetical and Steven Smith (if he changed his mind) would have to have a pretty appealing ticket to run against the incumbent Melbourne Football Club board. They would need to have some heavy hitters on their ticket with millionaires who will to contribute to the club, successful business people as well as maybe some other former players such as David Schwarz and/or Garry Lyon. They would have to guarantee an overall culture change at the club and also guarantee the building of a home base and make winning premierships the sole priority on top of this. Additionally, it would be nice to have at least one younger successful business person with passion and drive on the Melbourne Football Club board. There needs to be a very appealing alternative before considering voting out Glenn Bartlett and the current Melbourne Football Club board. Furthermore, I do agree that we need to have a good relationship with the MCC. But I will admit I have a bit of resentment toward the MCC. They are a very wealthy organisation and I know that things were "patched up" by Cameron Schwab when we reunited in 2009. But I feel like they do hold us in contempt and don't care about us. Historically, I feel that they haven't done enough to help the Melbourne Football Club to become great again and prefer to rely more on Collingwood, Richmond and Hawthorn to make their money at the MCG. Why not do more to make the Demons successful so that we can also have big crowds? Would it not be financially beneficial for both organisations? I think historically the MCC and the Melbourne Football Club used to be very close, especially up until the 1960s. But after that, things changed, especially with Richmond becoming a co-tenant of the MCG, and obviously the Melbourne Football Club wanted to become independent in 1980 but I understand that was because the MCC refused to give the Demons much financial support at the time. I think that the Melbourne Football Club deserved a bit better from the MCC, especially in the 1970s. A lot of mistakes were made in the past. Especially with the Demons not having their own home base (besides the MCG) and training ground until we got the lease at Junction Oval in 1981 when Rob Barassi returned to be the Demons coach. We also missed out on Olympic Park which was pretty stupid. Either way, it is important to keep on good terms with the MCC as they own the MCG and it is our home ground. Overall, Caroline Wilson was always expected to write this kind of article as it is easy to kick us while we are down. As others say, if you win games then you don't have to worry. Winning keeps everyone happy.

Yep...sadly Josh Mahoney needs to go too. Been in the position as Football Manager of General Operations for a while now. A total clean out of the football department means out with the old amd in with the new. This needs to be a well thought out process. We need to recruit the best of the best. i highly doubt Neil Balme would leave Richmond to come back to us. Not after we sacked him as coach in 1997. I am under the assumption there is still bad blood there. I would go all out for Brad Scott the former North Melbourne coach to be Football Manager of General Operations. Otherwise, someone from a recent Premiership winning club that has a good culture which is also ruthless and demands high standards. Alan Richardson could also be moved to that role if he is shifted from being Director of coaching Whoever we choose, they need to be a good quality football person who has a hunger to help us win a Premiership at the Demons.

Yes it looks the most likely. It is a more rational approach I guess.... I just think many of us don't want another year of misery and frustration in 2021. It will damage membership numbers as well as sponsorships. Plus I would like Alistair Clarkson to have at least 6 to 12 months away from football to have a holiday and return his passion and desire to coach again. He definitely looks tired and worn out coaching Hawthorn at the moment. A break will do him the world of good. Then he can start fresh at the Demons fully recharged and ready to go with a nice new football department as well.

Really like this suggestion. However, I still think we must get an experienced senior coach in Alistair Clarkson. Adem Yze can come across as an assistant as well as coach of of our VFL side the Casey Demons. This is because I still believe Adem Yze needs to coach a team of his own to have more experience. We definitely need good football people to help with our leadership and culture. Those who are winners and know what it takes to win Premierships. I would also look at getting Luke Hodge involved in a part-time role. Basically, any former AFL players with Premiership experience and wish to be coaches should be considered. Another priority is player development and that is why we need the best in the business in Mark "Choco" Williams. He is very keen to be involved with an AFL club again and would definitely jump at the chance of being involved with improving the Demons. I also like the idea of of keeping Alan Richardson as director of coaching and to assist in a more consultative role. Let him have more of an opportunity to have an impact on the club seeing as Alan Richardson has only been here 1 season so far. Finally we should look at Brad Scott as Football General Manager to take over from Josh Mahoney as he has had long enough and we need a fresh start. I also want Garry Lyon and/or David Schwarz to be more involved with the Melbourne Football Club again. Jason Dunstall and Dermott Brereton have balanced club involvement with media roles. Why can't Garry Lyon or David Schwarz? Basically, I want ruthless people involved at the club who demand high standards from all the players and want to constantly drive for success. In the end the Melbourne Football Club board needs to drive these changes and if they don't then we as members will replace them.

It has to be Alistair Clarkson. Nobody else. He is a 4 time Premiership coach. We missed out on Kevin Sheedy in 2008. We cannot make the same mistake again. Alistair Clarkson's days at Hawthorn are numbered. We can't risk another young and untried coach. Get Alistair Clarkson with Adem Yze as his assistant. Have a clean sweep of the entire Football Department. Give Alistair Clarkson a 5 year contract with free reign to do what he needs to do at the club. We need to start from scratch and build back everything at the club from the ground up.

A very frustrating game in the wet. Freo defended well and played smarter football. The Demons fumbled the ball too much and didn't take enough risks so we could have more scoring opportunities. Sadly I think Simon Goodwin is gone. If his head is not on the chopping block then it will be now. If the Melbourne Football Club board give him the benefit of the doubt for next season then the pressure on him will be immense. Time to start talking to Alistair Clarkson's manager and inquire if he would like a fresh start at the Demons.... The most disappointing part of it all is that it means it is yet another wasted year for the Melbourne Football Club. That's 56 years in a row now.... Either way, we need to make some fundamental changes at the club so we can have success.

Anyone gotta link to the segment on Fox Footy? I don't have it. I am interested in hearing what they have to say. No matter how unpleasant it may be. Either way, we need to face harsh realities head on and fix these fundamental issues with the Melbourne Demons DNA. Otherwise, this cancerous "soft as butter" mentality will kill our club. Demons President Glenn Bartlett needs to make some tough decisions in the near future. I like him as our President, he is different from traditional Melbourne supporters, being originally from Western Australia and played over 150 games for the East Perth Royals and 4 games for the West Coast Eagles. He also seems to have vision and wants to build our new headquarters. I hope he will show strong leadership when things need to either change or stay the same. I actually agree with Robbo that we should definitely give Luke Hodge a call. Fixing this weak culture will help with everything else we need to fix at the club and will allow us to start doing what we need to be doing which is breaking our 55 year Premiership drought. No point sugar coating our problems. We need to drive these changes at the club and support others that also want to do the same. We definitely need to listen to those who provide constructive criticism and look to reflect on ways to fundamentally improve the Melbourne Football Club.