Dr. Gonzo

Where are they? This club is flailing at the moment and I haven't heard a peep from any Melbourne people willing to take on the job. I'm not necessarily for Kennett but in the absence of any other candidates he would be a much better bet than what we have currently.

Anyone who would vote for merger/relocation is an idiot regardless of the facts. Would rather die than merge and if the members voted for it they'd deserve whatever they got.

Firstly, where are they? Secondly, forgive me for being cynical but why should the rank and file members have any confidence that another finance person is going to be any more successful than McLardy, Gardner, Szondy etc Look at the bio's of our board members on the MFC website, majority are people involved in finance, insurance, economics, accountants etc the only one with any footy experience is Healy who is in a "casual vacancy" position. Clearly none of them have little to none idea about running a footy club or how to address the problem's Melbourne faces. Besides moving out to Casey (something which I think was set-up by the prior board) what exactly have they done to grow our supporter base? What have they done to expand our revenue streams? What business relationships have they used to bring sponsors on board? They seem like a bunch of abject failures in their roles at MFC if you ask me, despite what their finance/insurance etc pedigree is.

His politics are disgraceful I agree, but this is football not politics.

Who else is there? Unless there are some Melbourne people who wish to stand up and take on the job then he is a better option than the incumbents. You can guarantee we won't be irrelevant with him as President. EDIT: Not to mention he has the runs on the board with Hawthorn and knows how a successful club operates.

The articles state he was asked in recent weeks and approached by Melbourne people.

I have to say I hate the guys politics but we would be negligent not to explore this further. Link for those wondering.

Not without the members voting for it.

The bigger issue is how did the board allow this FD structure after they supposedly told him to keep his nose out of the FD after 186? Where's the accountability? It seems like amateur hour all round and I really struggle to understand how those involved with the club are meant to be successful business people - if they operate their businesses the way they run the club they would be bankrupt.

The media in general are a joke these days but when you have guys like Matt Thompson, Jon Ralph, Damian Barrett, Craig Hutchison etc as senior footy journos and Mark Robinson as a chief football writer you know they're really plumbing the depths. It's for this reason I'd love Melbourne to come out and announce nothing today just give these morons nothing to write about in their papers tomorrow. Would make them apoplectic to think we didn't follow their witch hunt to sack our coach. Find another bone to chew on you numpties.

Hah yep it's like that scene in "I Heart Huckabees" when they smash the ball into their face until they are able to detach themselves from all the crap going on around them.

Haha great idea mate think I'll have to invest in some.

This is simply not true - pretty much everyone on here are "die-hards" the ones who will generaly go every week and are long term members but even these people are staying away.

I still believe though that these things shouldn't influence the board's decision on the coach/FD. The only thing that should matter at this stage is whether we will lose key players if Neeld is retained and whether they think he is actually on the right track. If they think they will retain Watts/Sylvia/Frawley etc and think they can still lure recruits and think that Neeld is still on the path he set when coming to the club then they shouldn't be swayed by low crowds or the media.

I've been going to as many games as I could get to for the last 25 years but just didn't have any desire or inclination to go today. Instead I took my newborn son to my grandmothers for lunch with my wife, dad and brother - I still watched the game when I got home but at this point all my brother and I can do is laugh and ridicule how utterly inept the team is at the moment. I don't even care any more about those who'll try to guilt you into it by saying "go and support someone else, you're not a true supporter" etc etc life's way too short to spend cold Sunday arvo's at the G watching a bunch of overpaid hacks make mistakes that would put junior footballers to shame. I'll still buy my membership and will probably go next week and a few more times throughout the year but my interest is dwindling. I assume when (if?) we come good again it will return but at the moment my interest in footy hasn't been this low since I was 18 and the only thing keeping me watching most games is to see if I get the results of a $5 mutlibet I put on each Friday. There is only 1-2 good games each round at the moment and it's not in any way entertaining to watch for the most part.

So did the FD choose the captains or did the players?

As if he ever would have come to Melbourne, he wouldn't sign with Collingwood for money why would we be different?

Worse than Nicholson, Bail, Jetta, Tapscott or even Dunn or Jordie in the seniors? Surely he could replace at least one of them, he's already shown he can play just needs to gain experience and a tank and be played in the right position.

That's the big issue all else is largely irrelevant - if we are going to lose players because of Neeld he has to go. We don't know that only those within the club know if its the case.

Essendon was an away game.

Oh please. Ok will have to take your word for that - I don't understand why he wouldn't be pumping games into guys like these though if they are going to be part of our future, nothing like learning on the job. Surely they'd have to be better choices than some of the guys who keep getting games.

Close to finals??? At this stage I just want to be able to beat a team other than GWS and come within 15 goals of a top 8 side.

Poor post

I agree to an extent - I was shocked we went for Cook when Darling was still there and thought we should have taken Talia when they went for Gysberts. However I dont think you can just say its one or the other it's gotta be both. Sure Cook may not have made it no matter where he went but look at guys like Tapscott, Blease or Strauss or even Trengove and Grimes I have no doubt if they went to a club with good development programs they would be far better than they are with us and would be cemented as senior players even despite their injuries.

@pm24 You make some good points however two things I'll say in response 1) it's not about not being able to win, it's about being absolutely demolished - it's not about being fixed in 18 months it's about at least seeing some improvement 2) we are not even getting games into the right players - why are Blease and Strauss not getting game time? Let them develop in the seniors to at least see if they can play. Blease especially can break lines and kick goals something we sorely lack.