Dr. Gonzo

I hope so, guess we'll just have to wait and see. Don't think those two are over-rated though, wish we had scored Cotchin from the 2007 draft instead of Morton. Deledio is hitting his prime and won the Tiges a few games last year. He is quick, has skill and can kick goals from outside 50. Would slot straight into any side in the comp.

I got these figures from a BigFooty thread collating the figures from the Annual Financial Reports. I simply can't understand the attitude that "we've done enough" and "we can afford not to worry about a few million dollars." What we have done over the last few years is clear our debt and get us back to level so that we don't drown. We are treading water and barely have our head above sea level - any backwards steps and we will be going under again. I can understand not stressing about something we have no control over but I can't understand thinking the club doesn't have to worry about it and that we as members shouldn't be provided some explanation and shouldn't be concerned about it and hold the club accountable. Gross Revenue Collingwood - $75,232,702 Essendon - $51,416,731 West Coast - $50,200,000 Hawthorn - $49,151,009 Geelong - $48,438,196 Brisbane - $42,297,354 Carlton - $39,950,000 Port Adelaide - $37,017,885 Melbourne - $33,514,371 Richmond - $33,403,202 Western Bulldogs - $32,453,030 Adelaide - $30,546,426 St Kilda - $28,287,336 North Melbourne - $26,017,066 Gaming Revenue and Hospitality Collingwood - $19,201,114 (inc. Social Club) Brisbane - $12,641,070 (inc. Social Club) Geelong - $10,083,082 (inc. food and beverage) Hawthorn - $10,057,704 (inc bar and bistro) Port Adelaide - $6,822,171 (inc.licenced venues) Carlton - $4,504,537 (gaming only) Western Bulldogs - $3,770,594 (hospitality only) Melbourne - $3,594,013 (inc. social club) Richmond - $3,410,144 (inc Social club) St Kilda - $656,918 (Social Club) Essendon - N/S Adelaide - N/S West Coast - N/S Membership Revenue Collingwood - $16,419,687 (does NOT include gate reciepts) Geelong - $12,121,444 (inc. gate receipts) Hawthorn - $11,705,117 (inc. gate reciepts) Carlton - $11,617,793 (inc. gate reciepts) Adelaide - $10,591,091 Essendon - $10,363,690 (inc. gate reciepts) Melbourne - $9,727,844 (inc. gate reciepts) St Kilda - $7,750,153 (does not inc gate reciepts) Brisbane - $6,918,708 (inc. gate reciepts) Western Bulldogs - $6,712,710 (inc. gate reciepts) North Melbourne - $5,745,872 (inc. gate reciepts) Port Adelaide - Not Specified Richmond - Not Specified West Coast - Not Specified Sponsorship and Marketing Revenue Collingwood - $22,170,584 Richmond - $17,252,886 Port Adelaide - $16,238,492 Essendon - $15,532,108 Geelong - $15,517,692 Hawthorn - $14,576,422 Carlton - $12,378,037 Brisbane - $11,033,963 Adelaide - $10,647,497 Western Bulldogs - $8,911,027 North Melbourne - $8,782,975 Melbourne - $8,133,129 St KIlda - $6,938,019 West Coast - Not Specified Merchandise Revenue Hawthorn - $3,065,244 Geelong - $2,583,088 Essendon - $2,563,026 Carlton - $1,910,251 Western Bulldogs - $1,392,135 North Melbourne - $1,036,064 St Kilda - $980,156 Adelaide - $846,018 Melbourne - $806,732 Port Adelaide - $696,759 Collingwood - N/S Brisbane - N/S Richmond - N/S West Coast - N/S Football Department Spend West Coast - $19,800,000 Collingwood - $19,412,167 Geelong - $18,821,742 Essendon - $18,510,078 Carlton - $17,831,197 Melbourne - $16,309,582 St Kilda - $16,974,040 Brisbane - $16,061,596 Port Adelaide - $15,682,596 North Melbourne - $15,280,850 Western Bulldogs - $14,694,994 Richmond - $3,466,748 (all that is specifically named as football spend) Hawthorn - $2,316,797 (all that is specifically named football spend) Adelaide - Not specified. This argument is simply fallacious. The current economic climate hasn't seemed to hurt the other clubs in finding sponsors (with the exception of Port and if we are judging ourselves by their standards we are in trouble.) Your second point has some merit but I don't accept the excuse of the current financial climate.

I think all things being equal we are better than them however I think we will struggle against them in Round 3 due to the following factors; No Sylvia No Jurrah Martin, Cotchin & Deledio I don't think they'll thrash us and if Chip can hold Riewoldt again (which he has a habit of doing) we may win, but my early prediction is they'll do us in this game. The return match is anybody's guess but I think it will be closer than many here think.

We have a horrible period from about R6-12 but other than that have a decent draw - even in that stretch I we could pinch a couple of games against Sydney in Sydney and Essendon. All things going right we could easily make the 8. However its going to depend on the results of our two matches against Richmond & St. Kilda and our two Etihad games against Freo & NM for mine. Beat Richmond twice and pinch one of the other 3 and I think we can sneak into the 8. Lose to the Tiges twice and either they or North will pip us for the 8. I don't think we are that far out of contention for the finals as some may think and I am buoyed by the thought of Daniher's first season in 1998 after a horrid period in 1996-1997. Losing Jurrah & Sylvia for the start will hurt but if they can set themselves up for the second half of the season we could very well get on a run like in 1987 & 2000 and come home with a wet sail (to make finals, I don't think we have a chance to go as deep as those two years). All that being said I have tipped us to finish 11th as I think Richmond will have the wood on us this year with their midfield firing and I think we will drop a few "winnable" games at the end of the year to Freo, Saints, NM or perhaps Adel or Port.

Yep - whether he can play out the year remains to be seen but if he could put together 16-18 games like that for the year you would definitely keep him on your list. Thought we made the right decision to get rid of him but this is one I'll be happy to be proved wrong on. Wish Junior all the best, he deserves it.

Its more to do with where the coaches see Cook in future plans I reckon - if they think he is good enough to slot in next to Watts & Clark and build a forward line around they wont bother and will focus on midfielders/small forward/defender - if they think he doesn't have it then they may go after a tall forward. Would prefer midfielders though - look at what Geelong was able to do with Mooney, Hawkins & Pods.

I agree 100% with this, there are other examples as well for instance Moloney getting done for "almost" hitting Bartel while King gets off with kicking White in the face and smashing his face apart. Then JT getting 3 weeks for a tackle. This stuff is history now but it is a recurring theme. Also why does Eddie seem to really have it in for us? He always goes on about how Collingwood are so good for the competition and will help out struggling teams but as soon as he's not happy about something that someone else does he has a sook and threatens to take his ball and go home. For instance always threatening to take the Queens B'day game off us and threatening to poach sponsors from us - now he wants us to be fined because his assistant coach got a new job and they wanted to terminate his employment effective immediately rather than let him serve out his remaining two weeks. That is their prerogative to walk him off the job but why does he then try to put the blame on us and want US to pay out his WHOLE YEARS CONTRACT??? It's just laughable but the fact the AFL not only entertains but goes along with this rubbish is just ludicrous. And why do they do that? Could it have something to do with the article earlier in the week where Pert indicated the Pies were offered their own exclusive broadcast deal for Pies games? Of course he said they would never entertain this idea but just mentioned it had been broached with them. Does anyone really believe that they do not use this type of thing as a threat when dealing with the AFL who is solely focused on the bottom line and bankrolling their pet projects up north?

Boo hoo all we hear out of Collingwood is whinging and excuses. As has been clearly stated in this thread we did not poach anyone; we advertised a job which he applied for and won. His new contract began after his current one ceased. He and Melbourne were willing to to allow Neeld to see out his contract but Collingwood refused. Secondly, how is poaching coaches different to poaching players? Surely what GC & GWS have been doing (and soon every club will be doing with free agency) is inifnitely worse than an assistant coach applying for a senior role before the year is out. The whole thing is a crock.

My dad is an AFL member with club support but has suspended it this year as he is going overseas for three months and can't afford it. I'm thinking of getting him a 3 game membership depending on finances. EDIT: Do these count towards the tally?

Each teams gameplan can be simplified to that extent when you boil it down. It just comes down to how well the gameplan is executed which comes down to the talent, fitness & discipline of the players. What is Collingwood's, Hawthorn's or Geelong's gameplan? They're all pretty simple but they've won the last 5 flags.

We need midfielders and a crumbing forward so I would be disappointed if we didn't use our 3 first rounbd picks on these (Viney locked away already obviously).

It's just an absolute shock, I sat at my desk today just completely stunned and saddened. We knew him through football but his legacy is so much bigger than a simple game. Through his life he set an example of how to live in a cynical world with hope and goodness in your heart and he faced the greatest adversity with dignity and a steely resolve to do "Whatever It Takes." The world is a poorer place for his loss but a man is remembered by the legacy he leaves and in that respect Jimmy is one of the greatest of all. RIP Jimmy, we love ya mate.

To be fair I think this is crap - so many of our supporters (particularly those on Demonland) have been following mediocre teams for a very long time. Most on here have been members year in, year out and will support the club and turn up to games no matter what. You have commented on investment in player developmnent, facilities, sports science etc and I don't think that is a valid excuse any longer. We have equal to the best facilities in the competition, we have now invested heavily in our FD. Granted this won't have immediate effect but I don't think we can continue pulling these reasons out of our arse for why we can't win. Look at St. Kilda for example. Are they really that different to us? Yet they have been unlucky to lose 2 GF's in the last 3 years.

Yes people forget the call for Thomspons head after the dreadful 2006 - people also forget how the Cats went in 2004 and 2005 as well. If we're judging ourselves by those standards we should have made the Prelim last year.

Click on the Herlad Sun link above they have footage of the incident. Basically Sylvia was going for the mark, Butcher was coming from the opposite direction (so couldn't see the ball) and went for the spoil - he knocked Sylvia's arms for the spoil and Sylvia fell backwards landing on his back/side. Looked pretty innocuous to be honest and can't believe he was unlucky enough to cop a bad injury from that.

Have you seen our draw? Anything but finals is a failure.

These things have been happening longer than Bailey, at least back to Balme and possibly also Northey.

There is definitely that element to it and I have been going on about that for a while also - would guys like Trav Johnstone or Yze have been better players if they had played under Sheedy or at a club like Hawthorn? What about Green or Bruce? A lot of our players over the last 20 years show something in their first season or two and never evolve their game and improve beyond where they are at 20-22 years old.

Frankly I've heard it all before and I'll believe it when I see it. We all thought Rivers & Miller would lead us to the holy grail how did that turn out? Dunn & Bate? What about Morton & Bennell? McLean & Sylvia? We're forever pinning all our hopes on a bunch of kids to lead us into the future, what about winning now? Grimes I just hope can get on the park, Tynan hasn't played a game, Nicholson & Magner aren't even on the senior list, Strauss hasn't shown anything to think he will be able to hold down a spot in a successful side...

Dunn & Bate were both high draft picks so I count those in our recruiting failures. Whether they were recruited under Daniher or Bailey's regime I don't really care - it is still MFC recruiting that I am concerned about. Look at our best 22 - how many of those could you honestly say you can rely on to perform (even just perform a role) every single week? I'd say Frawley, Jamar and probably Moloney & Jones. Trengove & Tapscott should (hopefully) be added to that list but is not there yet - that is a hell of a lot of holes in the side we need to fill. Now - this is only a NAB Reserve Cup or whatever it s called game - a practice match - and I pretty much forgot we were even playing tonight until I dropped by Demonland. Therefore the result means nothing and is of no concern to me. What is concerning is being down by 70 possessions at quarter time to the team that finished last last season (GC don't count yet).

I don't buy that. Good players are good players and to hell with gameplans and structures. If you can beat an opponent, win a contested ball and deliver it to a teammate you are a good player. If you can beat two opponents and kick goals you are a great player. Pretty simple.

I agree 100% and probably also contributes to the mentality that is apparent within the playing group that making the AFL is all the achievement they need.

He may very well but not voluntarily.

I don't know if it's the wrong mindset or the fact they're just not good enough. Our recruiting over the past 6 or 7 years appears to have been a total failure. Dunn, Bate, Morton, Maric, Strauss, Blease, Bennell, Jetta - Maric has already gone (and was a bust) and the rest of them will likely play out their careers at Melbourne in the VFL before being delisted, traded at the age of 25-26. This is 25% of our list and is only off the top of my head. Others like Grimes and Gawn are perputually injured so anything out of them is a bonus. Then you have guys like Davey & Sylvia who have what it takes but don't have the desire to become elite and will just plod along for the rest of their careers showing brilliane three or four games a year and making supporters pull out their hair for the other 18 games.

Don't know if swapping those players above for any out on the ground would make too much difference to be honest.