sue

Has there ever been such a long thread about a player who did not play for the Demons? I posted earlier that this was pointless (and better to focus discussion on those players we actually do have) and someone replied that there was a point - it was a chance to 'vent'. Fair enough. But surely by now all those with volcanic feelings have vented.

Isn't the fanfare and expectation by supporters almost inevitable when high draft picks come to a bottom club. It is up to the coaching staff to ignore that and do the settling-in, provide a senior group from which they can learn etc. It seems we now have a coach who has that in mind. Let's hope it works out. But let's not despair at every setback like many of the posts in the Hawks practice match did.

Since scabs have been mentioned: I've always wondered what evolutionary advantage it was to humans to so enjoy picking scabs. Real ones I mean. The dangers of infection must be outweighed by something. When someone can give an answer to that I will see the point of this thread.

But totally pointless. What good does it do to endlessly moan about the choice. We have new recruiters whom most agree did pretty well last year, so how does moaning about alleged past errors help them, the club or the supporters? There are plenty of other things the club has to get right with the players we do have - better to concentrate discussion on that surely.

Difficult to get the stats compared to other clubs because to be truly meaningful you would only want to count injuries to significant players and it is hard to define who they are and even harder to decide who is one. So you'd want the stats produced by a person who supports no team yet knows enough about footy to decide. Since such a creature doesn't exist you'd want a supporter of every club to do the stats of all the other clubs and then merge the result. Should be a PhD in there somewhere.

It is odd that we'd be so concerned about a new player missing the start of the season. Unfortunately what is driving the fuss about Hogan missing round 1 (plus the rest of our tall forward line) is the annual expectation and pressure to win the first match and the fear of the effect if we don't. If a loss happens, we just have to hope that the new regime can deal with it in a way that doesn't destroy confidence for the rest of the year.

While some will say yet another example of MFC incompetence, how about: sore back, not getting better, better have a closer look, scan.....

I'm in sympathy with all the above. It still not analogous with the criminally evil.

If that is true, he is a pathetic little man. Anyone who gets their kicks out of stirring up die-hard fans of a bottom club is a sad troll. I hope he reads that and reflects on his character.

Reported or speculated?

What, they haven't put the scans on Instagram yet? As a paid up member I demand the right to make my own diagnosis!

What a bunch of sad-sacks we are. Of course almost anything is possible. Some always rush to assume the worst because we are the MFC. Is this a defensive mechanism, an almost superstitious feeling that the more we wring our hands about negative outcomes that that will somehow avert the disaster (or give us an excuse to hit the whiskey bottle)?

It is too much to ask. If you don't want to hear news from unofficial sources which upsets you, perhaps you'd better stop watching those sorts of shows. Either that or get yourself a job within the medical department of the club. Otherwise you will regularly see and read a mixture of half-baked news, speculative circulation-raising 'news' and occasionally spot-on information before it is on the MFC web site. But it's not a peculiar failing of the MFC - it's true for almost anything, business, politics etc.

This is all true. However I wouldn't conclude that this general lack of governance means they kept no records of the actual program.

While there is doubtless an element of schadenfreude amongst many posters, including me, the Essendon saga does have a lot to do with us and anyone concerned about footy. Such a serious issue for footy that may lead to a club/players being banned and totally unknown effects on the players for the rest of their lives is quite rightly subject to a lot of discussion. And when the facts are not all known there will be a lot of speculation, hence many pages. I don't think I'm noted as a pessimistic supporter, but a thread dedicated to 'positive' items only, while interesting once in a while and welcome when all other news is depressing, is always going to be somewhat artificial and whither. Especially as right now general discussions are more positive than they have been for a long while. Long may that have reason to continue.

Generally I agree, but the bolded statement doesn't hold water. Their public stance is they have done no wrong, but that doesn't mean they believed they were doing no wrong and thus wouldn't feel guilty about keeping records.

Sorry to tempt you to have another word, but what evidence is there for your saying "Clearly it was not <well run>"? I mean beyond the fact they got caught?

Anyone heard anything about video being streamed or recorded for us exiles from Vic?

Understandable perhaps. But no reason why we shouldn't point out to those frustrated supporters when they are being ridiculously negative in the hope they might look at things more calmly. That personal attack on Dawes and Clarke was completely over the top. Edit to add this quote from Garland today: “It’s tough when you get paid to play footy – that’s all you want to do. And the way the club’s feeling at the moment, I really want to get out there, but I just want to get my ankle right.”

Crikey, I hope they are not paying those blokes or some Saint supporter will moan about the cost. Look, you offer the bloke a contract. He doesn't intend to get injured. Bad stuff happens. It's disappointing, just have to live with it.

That possibility did occur to me, but I dismissed it as an insult to Essendon's management.

OldDee, of course none of us can say definitely the records existed and were definitely destroyed. But many of us feel that on the balance of probabilities they were kept, and if they no longer exist, were deliberately destroyed. The only thing that would make me seriously doubt the latter is: If a lot of people were involved in maintaining the records and/or their destruction, then perhaps by now someone would have squealed. Maybe they have. We will have to wait and see.

OldDee, if firm evidence ever comes out proving that they did destroy records, they will be in massive trouble. But if I had to bet on whether they simply never kept any or did keep them but destroyed them when the excrement started to hit the fan, I know where I'd put my money. As I said it's not conspiracy vs stuff-up, it's Incompetence versus cover-up. I don't think Essendon would be that incompetent.

I agree. While the western Sydney region is big, I'm not sure the AFL wouldn't have been wiser to promote the Swans out there rather than establish a new club. Fortunately that's not my job. I just hope their little adventure doesn't screw the Demons and the other struggling Melbourne clubs (more than it has already).

Now that ManDee and OldDee have kissed and made up, I have to agree with ManDee (minus simpleton). Anyway, this is not a case of "conspiracy versus [censored]-up". I don't see shredding the records as a conspiracy. I see it as the natural act of someone holding evidence that incriminates themselves.