Mydee

Dispatch from Bangkok To quote Paul Keating, who demeaned himself by becoming a member of the piggery also know as the Collingwood Football Club;- "That was the sweetest victory of all." I found a wonderful pub in Bangkok called The Sportsman's Bar that had the direct link and ensconced myself there, in the company of another Demon supporter. Thai border security, immigration and prison officials had done an admirable job as there was not one Wobble person to be found there. Here, lubricated with a few Heinekens, and good company, I was was able to take in a magnificent game. Even though it is not the same as being at the MCG where you can take in the magnificent vista of an AFL game unfolding in a frenetic atmosphere watching a game live on the big screen does have its advantages, at least the car is safely garaged and won't be keyed anor are you likely to be waylaid by toothless wobble creatures in the carpark Jack Watts set the pace with an early goal. the Collingwood rabble answered but like their overseas supporters they soon disappeared, unlike their supporters in Bangkok the players reappeared after half time, if for only a short time. Melbourne soon got back on top and went on to score a memorable victory. It was fantastic to see the man mountain dominate the center bounces and the revamped center line taking full advantage of his dominance. For Jack Watts four magnificent goals may have been sweet revenge for what the pack attack he endured on debut. I suspect the consequent course of rabies injections following his scragging may have spurred him on. Ah life can be so good at times

No Jagger/Charlie Watts

And what magnificent position to be in

I agree. Brings back fond memories. Playing the old enemy has always been a highlight of the year. Being stuck in Bangkok I miss the same things. I usually watch it via a computer link but today I might find a pub to watch it. I just hope that there aren't too many Wobble supporters there sometimes a few get through Thai immigration despite their best efforts at pest control.

Oh I can spell I just can't type. Talk about pots calling the kettle black, have you run a spell check across your location yet

I think the apoalogy should relate to the fact that you raised the matter, not whether it had been mentioned previously

Yes The old enemy Howe sweet that will be

Exactly I thought the article was fair comment, and, after last weeks debacle well deserved The fact is that for a number of reasons canvassed regularly in the media and on this forum post Daniher, Melbourne has been a disaster.

Indeed and why should they and the seriously incompetent be precluded from all walks of life, such as medicine, architecture and engineering. No doubt this will eventually come about but journalism is brave trailblazer in this equal opportunity area, as any cursory observation television, radio or the print media will confirm So all hail Lloydee sports journalism's new Neville Cardus.

Normally I would agree with your sentiments although not with your logic or dismissive attitude to disgruntled and disillusioned Demon supporters. But in the case of Ascobar your comments are a little unwarranted. As others have pointed out one the main things he emphasized in his post was to praise the passion and insight of many of the posters on Demonland. I concur with his comments and his choice of favorite posters although there are a few others whose dedication and insights make Demonland worth reading. And he also raises legitimate concerns about the way Australian football has recently developed. I share many of these concerns and suggest that all Melbourne supporters should at least be aware of the way the administration of the game is trending. That is, in my opinion, the development of a two tiered or defacto relegation system and Melbourne gets the short straw in this situation. However, the main reason I wish to respond to your and other similar comments is more in the hope that you may have some understanding of the Ascobar's situation which I completely relate to. In my case I have been a member of the MFC for about 38 years. When I lived in Melbourne I would attend most of their games. In 1992 I moved interstate but still watched most games on TV and managed to get to a few games a year as well as holding positions in the local Demons supporter group. So I really don't think my past loyalty and devotion to the club can be questioned. Like Ascobar, I moved overseas last year and I can relate to his present outlook. I don't have the opportunity to watch Melbourne play live and of course the tyranny of distance precludes me from attending games. I did subscribe to the AFL live webcast last year but found it useless and a complete waste of money as I couldn't get one single game live. The website itself is so arcane that I found it impossible to contact the AFL to rectify the situation. So once bitten twice shy and this year I rely on snippets from the free to air AFL website, the Fairfax Press the club and of course Demonland for my fix. But I am living in a country which neither knows or cares very much about Australian football much less the Melbourne Football Club. Interaction with other supporters is limited to emails. Under these circumstances it becomes difficult to accurately discern the reality of the teams's situation from the wild overoptimism during the preseason So it is almost inevitable that when you are so isolated that your enthusiasm starts to wane, especially after yesterday's debacle . So I think that Ascobar's considered post was worthy of a more balanced response than "Careful not to knock the bong over on your way out the door." and "Real fans stick fat"

No If this is to happen the best policy is to continue to develop him and allow him to make maximum use of his abilities. This will maximize the return we would get on that asset. There are a number of advantages in this course, such as the younger stars playing in a more successful team while he is with us, which will attract better players than otherwise. Plus we should be able to attract better compensation for the loss of a marque player, If he is that good and we lose him we should be arguing that a two tiered system is developing in the AFL. Concepts like de facto relegation come to mind. This is the last thing the gnomes in the AFL want as in the long term it will lead to a decline in Australian football's popularity. Anyway that is probably getting more and more off topic when the issue at hand is just why we got beaten by a second rate team.

Reminiscent of Derek Kicket in the early nineties. Ah the humiliation of it all

And a very good suggestion. It will be interesting to see who the preferred playing group are come the real season. We are really in the entree part of the season, tantalizing but not entirely satisfying

Yes As I am not in a position to watch games I always seek guidance from Demonland as to our form on match day - and always end up confused

I think Citizen Murdoch's allegiances are to one person - himself. I don't think they are split

Uncalled for it is terrible news when any player gets injured

As no doubt we all will be

Why not suspend the Essendon football club for a year and give their current innocent players one year transfers to clubs of their choice. it would be a fitting punishment in line with the penalties handed out to its employees.. My view is that it was the club that should bear most of the responsibility not the players. I am not suggesting that their punishment wasn't warranted, like any other drug cheat they brought the game and themselves into disrepute. But they are young men, often teenagers, subject to enormous pressure to both perform and conform in an occupation where the odds of making a successful living are low. The Essendon club let them down. As it stands, Essendon, will be allowed to play matches and field another team when the club has quite clearly shown no responsibility to the young men to whom it had a duty of care The club will be able to keep its playing personal and develop new players while the players themselves may have had their careers terminated. Can't see it happening though.

Try the Checker Hughes Paul Roos comparison, probably more valid

Isn't there a special forum on Demonland devoted to fantasy footy

Probably not Something like "Melbourne's grand old flag is a high flying flag" might work. As long as we don't open the doors for some of those awful attempts to change Australia's national dirge.

Demonland is a broad church

I am fairly happy with the trades My only concern is dealing with the wobble people. I think we were dudded over Howe but that is the nature of the beasts (Howe and Collingwood) But I have just renewed my membership being an overseas member as a token of my confidence on how things are going.

Dream on I think we're the ones who have been shafted.

I think that you will find it was an attempt to overcome or at least comply with restraint of trade laws. How well it does that is another matter