The Chazz

Well said! I got laughed at when I mentioned Pagan - at least he has 2 flags next to his name and is a ruthless coach. Still coaches the Under 18's too from what I can see.

If the players are putting in 100%, that includes match day, pre-game preparations, and post-game recovery sessions, then they have a leg to stand on when they speak to the President or Vice President. There wouldn't be too many of them that have any right questioning decisions made by administration, especially when they have continually put in poor individual performances. You want respect? Go out there and earn it.

I knew I would be in the minority (was back when I suggested a Twitter ban, so good to see nothing has changed!). I have been involved in footy clubs before, so no amount of pranks mortify me (I have seen some pretty ordinary things). But I can't see how f**king around doing crap like that, in a motel room, the night before a match against a top 2 side, to a player who is trying his guts out for the jumper, can be seen as acceptable behaviour. The idea of going to Geelong the night before is to treat it like an interstate game, and start preparing for the game the night before, but to me, acting like this is totally taking the pi$$ out of the situation. I don't need to get a life as Choko kindly indicated. It's about professionalism which some at the Club ooze, yet so many lack. Cale is one bloke that I would suggest needs to pull his head out of his ass and starting working hard. I'm quite sure that Malthouse wouldn't put up with his inconsistency, especially when he is showing off his maturity for the public to see. But good on Cale, he managed to get in the best (not THE best), playing in the VFL against a team who won by 20 goals. Just what the recruiters had in mind when we picked him up. This is not jumping at shadows whatsoever.

It's about all I've got when I'm constantly reminded by a Carlton-supporting mate when he rattles off which years he has seen a flag. After he sings Happy Birthday to me and asks how many candles are on the cake, all I can say to him is that he would want to hope we don't win 1, becuase when we win 1, there are normally 4 or 5 in a short timeframe after the 1st! It's sad, but it helps!

The thing that stood out for me the most, and it's not news-breaking stuff I'm about to say, but the effort of our kids compared to the senior core. Our kids - which include the obvious Jordie Mac, Wattsy, JT, Chip as well as Nicholson and Strauss, they put it. For the latter 2, yeah sure, they got smashed by their opponent, but if you have a good look at the replay it's because they were running around trying to chase 2 or 3 blokes at a time. It's probably an appropriate thread to bring it up on here, but I'm on the Twitter-ban campaign again! Last night I heard them say on "On The Couch" that the players had met with Club officals twice in the week leading up to the Geelong game, and that mentally, they were stuffed going in to the game. Well, if anyone here can do me a favour and post the photo that Cale Morton put on his Twitter account from the Friday night - the one where he took it upon himself to trash Jack Watts' bed, by turning it upside down, and putting anything that wasn't tied down on it (which included an ironing board). Am I the only supporter that thinks that leading in to a game, any game, especially on the back on your teammates complaining about off-field things within the Club, that this behaviour is totally unacceptable? Were the meetings with HQ that draining that your mental state was in total dissaray? Hey certain players - You think the Admin aren't professional, well, take a look at your teammates.

I was actually told by Yze himself that Robbo was dirty on the Club, and still believes he can play AFL-level football. While I haven't seen any of his work at our home games (except for his duet with Olivia Newton John), I'm not fully sold that he has come back with wings on his back. Very disappointed with Adem. He did tell me that a few of the senior players (when he was one) were disappointed with the fact that players were getting played becuase of their draft number rather than form, and that it stuffed the culture at the club. But, one thing he did say that after the initial shock of being tapped on the shoulder, Junior was more than comfortable with the decision, and was just annoyed (mainly with himself) that he didn't make the first move. Would love Lyon, Stynes & co to get hold of that Tweet from that Twit.

I can't for the life of me see why Dean Laidley's name continues to get thrown up. What has he done? At best, I'd consdier him for an assistant's role, but can someone shed some light on him for me please? We are crying out for a proven, successful coach, which of those boxes does he tick? None in my opinion, and I'm only looking at the form guide!

I think it's easy for a lot of people to think debt free = open cheque book. It doesn't! Even if Malthouse were to coach us, I feel a bit sorry for him with the expectations that they will place on him. Actually, goes for anyone who coaaches us, but worse if it is Malthouse. As we saw him at Collingwood, it took him 10 years to get a flag.

I think he and Jordie Mac are the only 2 that can walk off from yesterday and have some credibility left.

Everyone is AVAILABLE, contracts mean jack sh!t if you have enough money. But it is a question of why would Clarkson leave Hawthorn to come to Melbourne? I just don't think he would, and am confident that he will be coaching Hawthorn next year. They are 3rd FFS.

Out - Green, Sylvia, Gysberts, Rivers In - Scully (hopefully he is fit), Tom McDonald, Bartram, Davey

Is he still coaching at the Northern Knights? I know he was, but not sure if he still is! He also took over at Carlton in a similar fashion to what Bailey did at Melbourne. He had to have a massive cleanout, and ensure they lost certain games to get draft picks. It's only this year that Crlton are looking at a top 4 spot, and Ratten has had the luxury of 3 or 4 seasons of a quality, yet under-developed list. The person who takes over from Bailey will be in the same situation as Ratten was/is. My theory is that we want a proven premiership coach, and of the current brigade, I can't see Clarkson leaving Hawthorn, and I can't see us having the ability to secure Malthouse.

While there are many threads talking about Bailey's sacking, and what is going on behind the scenes, I thought a simple thread about how we want the Club to react during this week. while it is hard to only have 3 wishes, do your best! Also, try and come up with an alternative to the situation. Mine are; 1. Brad Green to step down as Captain, and make Watts the caretaker. I can't see how any of the current vice captains are deserved of the role, and believe Watts has shown enough leadership this year to suggest he could actually thrive on the extra responsibility. I'm only asking for him to do it for the rest of the season, then we can sit down in the preseason and reassess. 2. Scully to re-sign this week. I know it's a saga, and I was happy for the end of season business, but I think we, as a football club and supporters need something positive to come out of the week. I just wonder how much this is impacting on some of our players? It may not be at all, but it may be! 3. I think Bailey's race has been run and lost, so I think they should terminate immediately. Todd Viney HAS to become caretaker, and the sooner that Brian Royal is given the arse the better. Chances are, none of the 3 will happen. If not, I seriously want some changes made at the selection table, with Sylvia and Green to be dropped.

Well, I'm not ashamed to say that I have been a Dean Bailey fan. As I have posted recently, I put all my trust and faith in what we have until proven otherwise, and sadly, I think yesterday proved (perhaps confirmed) a lot. Reality is, Bailey will go. While I fully support the Club for not giving in to external pressures in the past, I don't think they have an option in this one. What is really disappointing though is that some of our players seem to get off scott free. But, as I have seen for the past 30+ years, that's footy life for you. Now that I think this way, and replying to the thread, I ask myself "who should we get to coach?". Amazingly, we are still in contention to make the 8 - win one of the next 2 and then win the ones we "should" win, and chances are we will be playing finals. That said, nothing is certain after yesterdays eforts! The call is for Malthouse, and to be honest, I'm not sure if he is the right man for the job. He is coaching the best team in the league at the moment, but is he the type of coach we want? Put it this way, I don't think Roos' style would suit our list, and don't think he would be suitable. The man that I think we should seriously consider is Denis Pagan. Premiership coach, has a ruthlessness about him that almost intimidates his players, and I think that he would be a good fit. One thing is for sure though, I just hope that G Lyon doesn't get the job. Nothing at all inspires me about the possibility of him being our next coach. I will be in the minority with that comment, but that's where I stand!

I have absolutely no idea if Bailey should get another year or 2, or if he should be gone at the end of the year. While I have been on Bailey's side since day 1, I still try and read this thread from an unbiased perspective. But there are so many points raised from either party that can be seen either way, depending on your stance. For example; * The draw - yeah, sure, it may have seemed our easiest for some time at the start of the year, but have we not won the games that we were expected to? Probably this coming Eagles game is one that most had penciled in at the start of the year, but who would've seen their improvement? Let's face it, North have been a bogey side of ours for a lot longer than Bailey's time at the club. But then, you can also argue that our losses are worse than what they were last year. At the start of the season, I would've been happy with 10.5 wins, that is even taking in to consideration the new guys. Reality, it is still more wins than last year = some level of improvement? * Injuries have crippled us, there is no doubt about it. Having our better players out for chunks of the year is always going to hurt, but we aren't on our own. What it does though is highlight just how well Hawthorn are travelling. Geelong and Collingwood have not had to deal with the issues a lot of other clubs have had to deal with. * It would/could be fantastic if we could get Malthouse or Roos to coach us, but why, just why would they pick Melbourne out of any team? Every Club in the league would find a spot in their FD to accommodate either, why do you think we should sack Bailey, then click our fingers and have the choice of either? The talk about what Malthouse and Roos can get out of their senior players is better than Bailey, but would they be able to do it with our senior players? It is a massive unknown, and I just honeslty can't see how anyone can have a definitive yes to that question. * The questions raised about Jimmy needing to make the tough decisions and acting on them are just stupid. How do you know that he hasn't already made them? Maybe by giving Bailey a 2 year extension at the end of this season is one of those decisions? Just because some of you wouldn't like it doesn't mean you know for a fact that the Club has made the wrong decision. No offence, but I believe Stynes has some pretty good business decision makers around him, and they would be a lot smarter and more qualified than most of us on here. * People are bringing up Bailey's 4 year record to use in their arguements. While I acknowledge that he has in fact been here for 4 seasons, regardless of whose side I am on, I can't take the first 2 years in to any consideration whatsoever. Bailey has had to do what Pagan had to do to Carlton. Don't think Ratten is some miracle worker, all the hard work was done by the time he took over, and now look at how they are going. If Bailey hadn't put the Club before his coaching record, we will not be in a position to have Trengove running around, and hopefully Scully. Even if Scully leaves, and we managed to get that Jaeger kid and another good player, we got them because of Bailey's "experimenting" in his 2nd year, no other reason. * I also laugh at those who think Bailey accepts any loss, and futher to that, poor performance from his players. It is a totally unsubstantiated claim, and is irrelevant in the arguement. We do not know what is going on behind closed doors. While Bailey gives us 10 minutes after a game at a presser, we do not know if his on-screen ways are the same as in the half time huddle. Maybe he knows exactly where his senior players are at, and no amount of miracle work can get them to a level that they are not capable of (even though we think they should get there). The easy answer is get rid of them if they are no good. I thought he has done that pretty well to date (Yze, Robbo, Brown, McDonald, etc). To be honest, he has probably had too much of a cleanout, but that's not to say his decisions were incorrect. I could go on and on (some probably think I have too much already). But one thing I am disappointed about, the comments being made about our current kids. The questions being asked about if they have enough talent, etc to take us to a flag. Well, you can ask that about every single club in the league and the answer wont be known until the end of their careers. The Club has made some tough decisions about the playing list, and believe that the drafting process was our best option. Why can't our supporters have faith in this decision? Don't use that crap line about us being patient and promised for so long, because I've been around for long enough to share similar feelings. Maybe I'm mad for believing every promise the Club has made in my time. I trust my Club, they are not going to make decisions to harm our chances of the ultimate success, they are going to make decisions that they think are the best for the club. If in 5 years time, we are still lurking in the bottom 8, then I will lose trust in the current group, and no doubt by that stage there will be a new group that I will have my trust in. I strongly beleive the Club is in its strongest position since I was born, and am hopeful that premierships aren't far away. I know that this comment will attract retaliation, but if you're sick of the Club not fulfilling promises, why the hell are you barracking for us? Go and barrack for the Western Bulldogs or Stkilda, oh that's right, their supporters are probably sick of hearing the same thing.

You more than anyone knows how jovial those player reviews are HT. Ok, he made a certain number of spoils, what about the period of about 5 minutes (that started the Hawks momentum) where he was one-on-one with Hale and was outmarked which from memory led to 2 goals or 1 goal 1 point. Then I throw in his vulnerability against Cloke, which is not a huge criticism considering how well he is playing, but to then go on Dawes and have a similar outcome, which at the end of the game both those players openly recognised his weaknesses. It is these examples where his body language is unacceptable for a leader. The look on your face of "oh well, I did all I can and I still was beaten, so all I can do now is have a smug smirk on my face", that's unacceptable. Don't believe me? Look at the replays. To his defence, Rivers is not a gorilla-tamer, and he is vulnerable againt blokes taller and heavier than him. If he doesn't have this criteria met, then he has to adjust the way he plays (maybe Brian Royal needs to take some of the heat). If you often defetaed in those one-on-one contests, you should play half a metre off your opponent and come over the top to spoil. I am very critical of Jared, I do believe he has a place in our best 18 however.

Eth, I'm gald you didn't count looking through Ricky Petterd's window as seeing him in his civvy's! I've seen a number of the younger female Home & Away actresses in their civvy's. It was just a pity that the only time they saw me was when they were slapping an AVO on me. What is stalking anyway? I prefer to call it looking from afar.

This is a big issue that we need from our current senior players, but sadly, I don't think they have it in them. And it's probably that issue that you can see in some of our younger players already. What I mean is that the gap between the best and worst of Sylvia, Moloney, Davey, Green and Rivers, is far too great. Compare it to the gap of Frawley, Jones, Trengove and to some extent Tapscott and Martin this year, they are quite consistent performers. While I appreciate that someone like Jones is not likely going to be a superstar of the competition, 9 times out of 10 you know what you are going to get from him, and that tenth time isn't much less. It is up to the development of these players to make sure we get them to the next level, and keep taking those forward steps, because I get the impression that they don't stand for poor personal performances. If Trengove is having a bad game, you know where he will bottom out (and it's not that much of a fall from his best), if Davey or Syvlia have a bad game, we have no idea how bad it will be. But sadly, it is because our senior players have this attitude, actually, I don't know if attitude is the right word, maybe "inability" to reduce the gap between their best and worst that is ensuring our losses this year are greater than what would be hoped. The positive out of it all is that we are not on our own. Last weekends games saw a few clubs in the same boat as us (Essendon, North, Bulldogs). I know you shouldn't compare Game A to Game B, but where I was frustrated on Sunday was that we were beaten by 54 points, the Gold Coast were beaten by the same, does that mean that the gap between us and the Hawks is the same as the gap between the Suns and the Pies? Shouldn't we finish closer to the Hawks than what the Suns did to Collingwood? I think last year we played a lot like what the Suns are doing this year (exciting, not left wondering, etc), but the scoreboard looked better for us.

Haha, it's not like that at all! You just see things differently to me, I can't help that!!! To be honest, my first comment when I saw Green take that mark was "hungry". Then after about 10 seconds, I thought that in the same situation, I'd do the same thing. When you're running back with the flight of the ball, and you are fully focused on it like what he was, there is always that chance of misreading where it is heading. While it would've looked great on the highlights reel if Sylvia kicked it, it was better to make sure of it and that's exactly what Green did. The highlights reel would've looked pretty bad if Greeny had've let it go and found that it was a point! Do you agree about Rivers' form though?

Gee HT, you hate people disagreeing with you! The gesture from Green to Sylvia would most likely have been Greeny acknowledging that if he left it it would have been a goal, but he wasn't 100% at the time and did the team thing (ie ensuring a mark was taken deep forward). The issue regarding Rivers should be more about his form and his leadership rather than his bootlaces. I think the past month hasn't seen Jared play his best football, and think that he has gone through on this site quite unscathed compared to others. For a leader, his body language is terrible at times, mainly when he is getting a smashing from his opponent, which is a standard front-runner quality. Some could argue that Frawley's body language wasn't great at times, but his was more out of frustration when our loose man (Watts in one instance), didn't get in the right position. The difference between Frawley and Rivers is that Rivers gives up too easily, and the opposition can tell that he has.

The business about Scully being paid so much more than other kids if he stays doesn't worry me whatsoever. In Scully, I see a player who can potentially be the best in the league, it's as simple as that. In Trengove, I see a player who can potentially be one of the better players in the league, but not "the best". In simple terms, Scully could be number 1 in Sheehan's top 50, where Trengove might make the top 10. If all our kids reach their potential, Scully will be a long way better than anyone on our list, and therefore should be paid accordingly. I'm sure the contract that he will be offered by Melbourne will be an attractive proposition, without slitting our own throats. But, I can also imagine that the next contract would be a cracker.

Thanks AJ, I will ask for more details (she lives in the Country, so was listening to the program through a broadcast partner). May be nothing - I guess we might find out more if Tony Shaw is on AFL Teams tomorrow night.

This post hasn't been given anywhere near the credit that it deserves. Why not? Because it's reality, and a lot of Melbourne supporters on here would prefer not to face it. I'm glad you have that opinion RPFC; maybe you, me, and the very few others need to catch up for a beer one day at a game so we can get a chance to talk sense to a fellow Demon supporter!

Cheers AJ, around 5pm or maybe a bit after.

Nicholson has a hell of a lot to learn. He would be the first player I drop out of that team. He needs to learn that while it should be encouraged to take the game on, you also need to know your limitations at this stage of your progress, and chances are, you're not going to be able to break every tackle, or outrun every opponent. I strongly believe he has been quite costly over the past couple of weeks, and it wont hurt him going back to Casey for a couple. He's a kid, actually, he's a rookie, so we have a bit of time to work on him, which I think he has the makings of a very good footballer. I see Pickles Evans has hurt his back and it's unknown how long he will be out for at this stage (must have ben a training incident?).