Gooner

I think if we do a swap with GWS, it'll come late in the trade period. At the moment, even if we did a swap, GWS wouldn't have enough points to recruit Green and whoever they picked with pick 3. They're well short and probably need a pick in the late teens or a pick in the 20s and a pick in the 40s to have enough points to recruit Green. They'll get something for Patton but they'll likely have to give up something else before they're even in a position to trade for our pick 3.

Although this season was a disaster, I'm optimistic about the coming years, probably more than any time in the last 30 years. We've got a good group of players but due to a combination of injuries, lack of pre-season and lack of motivation after our poor start, we had a shocker of a season. I'm sure that the fitness staff will be working on getting everyone ready for pre-season. We've recruited well over the past few years. Yes, not every pick is perfect, but we're not making recruiting mistakes like we did previously. The biggest question for me is Goodwin's ability. He hasn't shown his ability to turn a game around, but remember that both a few years ago it was questioned whether Hardwick would remain at Richmond and a few years before that there were questions whether Thompson was the right coach for Geelong.

I'm looking forward to next year but having an off season this year may be a blessing in disguise. Since the week break was between the regular season and finals was introduced, at least one of the final fours teams has missed finals the following year (including 2 of the three grand finalists) and one of the grand finalists have missed finals the year before. The difference that four or five weeks makes now, means that missing finals can be a real positive for teams that are looking to build towards the next season. It means clubs can start their pre-seasons earlier and get their players in for surgery a lot earlier that they otherwise would. A full pre-season for us, getting any surgeries in early, an easier draw and a high drafts picks (that may be traded) will be a huge positive for us as we have a serious crack at the flag next year. This year has been a real disappointment, but I'm very optimistic about next year!

I think the more accurate comparison is what is the difference between 40 & 53 compared with 23 & PSD1. Do the club expect a better player to be available at 53 than via the PSD?

Re-branding is one of many steps that need to be taken to get us back to the position of a force in football, whilst I agree that winning will make most things better, we can't look at our on-field performance as the solution to everything. I believe that one reason why Collingwood have been able to develop so much talent over the last decade despite having few high draft picks is because of their facilities and coaches which are only possible because of their financial strength. Get that right, and sooner rather than later, the on-field performance will improve. Like most posters, I agree that the logo needs to be changed and I'd like to see the club go back to something similar such as the 95-07 logo that Colin alluded to. However, I'd like us to start looking towards world's best practice across sporting competitions throughout the world. Moves such as making players wear suits when travelling with the team might instil a little more discipline and respect. Generally, clubs that have done well have been more creative, we need lots of good ideas, no idea should be held back because it is too crazy. Based on where we are at the moment, we don't have much to lose, why not try for something a bit different.

I don't think it'll happen, but I'd love to see Schwarz as President. Whilst it's not essential, high profile Presidents such as notable media personalities and ex-players seem to do quite a good job. It also seems that the role of President is to inspire the supporters and to be the face of the administration side of the club, and that's something that I believe Ox could do quite well.

I don't mind the idea of Anderson taking on the role despite his involvement in the tanking investigation. He'll have a better knowledge of the club than many of the other possible candidates, and has probably looked at it in a much more critical way given his past duties.

A bit more discussion on the issue of whether the AFL should take over: http://media.theage.com.au/national/selections/the-bigger-issues-at-the-demons-4173992.html Most of the points have been made already, but it's worth having a look at nonetheless.

I'd be interested to know what sort of support AD was proposing. It's worth a phone call at the very least.

To our members and supporters The letter appears to be more about saving people's jobs, rather than offering any solutions to our problems. The club needs a complete overhaul, not more PR. We will be using every internal and external resource available to us in the short term to make improvements as rapidly as possible. However, we highly value internal stability the lack of which has been a downfall of our club in the past - and we will not bow to the external elements that try to destabilise our club at times such as these. At this difficult time, we continue to seek support from all our supporters and members for the long term good of the Melbourne Football Club. We understand that some of you will be angry and disillusioned, that some will say we have heard all this before, and that some will lose heart and temporarily give up.

Thought it might be interesting to readdress this thread after last night's performance.

It sounds like there's not a clear pecking order beyond Whitfield and each club may pick based on needs rather than there being a clear best available. Pick 4 would be preferred, but if Hogan is sufficiently highly rated, he could be worth pick 3. Interesting the value of the MD picks considering the reported strength of this year's draft. Gold Coast have traded pick two for a player who may or may not still be pick one in a year's time. Seems like a bit of a gamble to me unless there isn't a lot of difference between the top few players.

Looks like Hogan could be a Demon next year. The talk is pick 3 for MD pick 2 which we'll use on Hogan.

We won't get anything much for him at all with the court case looming. It's unlikely that Adelaide or Port will be willing to pay market value for a player who may not be able to play next year or even for several years.

You missed Sylvia (pick 3, 2003) Hawthorn also got Rioli right and have traded away a number of their top picks over the past few years in order to recruit more mature players. Hawthorn haven't been great in recent years but it shows the importance of a few top quality recruits. Let's wait and see how good Watts, Trengove et al are in a few years before making a call on how successful we were.