AndrewD

I'll admit to being one of those who haven't signed up for 2011. Will do so on either Monday or Tuesday of next week. That delay has mostly been due to waiting on the outcome of a post-grad scholarship application (I got it) which would allow me to buy a more expensive pack but also partly due to the thoroughly depressing experiences I've had recently with the membership department. Every time I've spoken to someone at other parts of the club they've been fantastic - super enthusiastic, helpful, first-rate. Every time I've spoken to the membership division I get what seems to be a bored teenage girl who doesn't appear to give two hoots about the club and would rather I didn't ask any questions so she can go back to her Myspace and Twitter. That frustration was compounded when I had to call Richmond, Collingwood and Geelong to buy memberships for family members and found that their people were as super enthusiastic and helpful as everyone I've dealt with at MFC apart from the membership division. Also, that lousy experience will make people far less inclined to upgrade (from 3-game to 11-game; from general admission to reserved, etc) or add on something extra that will ultimately help the club. Of course I'm going to buy a membership but it just cheesed me off. Rant over; big year for Nathan Jones in 2011.

My opinion is to let your kiddie choose the number but, given that he sounds too young to understand the significance of those digits I'd be consider either #11 in honour of J.Stynes or, if that doesn't appeal, #2 or #31. They are the club's iconic numbers so even if the player who wears them doesn't become his favourite at least he'll start off wearing a bit of history (also allowing you to continually trot out Robbie Flower and Ron Barassi stories).

In most cases I would agree. However, this is a special situation. My opinion is that, given current circumstances, anything closely related to Jim takes on more significance than it normally would. As a result, the #11 guernsey becomes a powerful motivational tool for the players, the supporters and the club itself. That being the case I would put it on hold until Jim's health situation is resolved. Use it as a new icon for the MFC (same as the #31) but don't award it to any player just yet. When it comes time to hand it over, let Jim or his family make the choice. On a side note; I'm absolutely not in favour of giving first or second year players low numbers. Obviously Scully-Trengove was a unique situation (lot of marketing opportunities there that we needed to take) but, otherwise, make them earn it.

What are the seats like in the Trident and Redlegs package? Redlegs has reserved seating on Level 2 of the Great Southern Stand while Trident has seating on either Level 2 of the Great Southern or Olympic Stand. Are they undercover and is one a better view ?

Can you guys comment on the seating arrangements they offer for the 'Demon Seats', 'Redlegs' and 'Trident' memberships? Living interstate for the past decade I've only had the chance to attend one home game (last year - vs Sydney) since all of the redevelopments took place at the 'G'. So I'm not really sure which of the seating positions are best of the ones on offer in those packages - Level 1 Great Southern Stand and Olympic Stand, Level 2A Great Southern Stand (Demon Seats), Level 2 Great Southern Stand (Redlegs and Trident), Level 2 Olympic Stand (Trident). Any help would be much appreciated; thanks.

2010 Ladder position and record: 12th-13th / 7wins 14losses 1 draw B & F Winner: Nathan Jones (r/u James Frawley) Most Brownlow Votes: Nathan Jones Most Rising Star Votes: Luke Tapscott Most Improved: James Frawley Our 5 most important players at the end of the season will be: Jones, Moloney, Sylvia Davey and whoever can hold down the #1 ruck position. 2010 Premier: Footscray (more because I'd like them to win than that I think they will) Wooden Spoon: Fremantle Brownlow: Bryce Gibbs Coleman: Lance Franklin

You also can't expect the marketing surge we've undertaken in the last year or so to bear all of its fruit now. We might want it to but that's unrealistic. What we've seen to date, with 21K members signing up, is what we should have always been getting every year with our committed supporters. That's Stage 1. Stage 2 is getting the less committed to join up and Stage 3 is to bring in new supporters. While I'll be disappointed if we don't break all records this year I will, at least, be comforted in knowing that our marketing department is on the right track. Ultimately, I'll be happy when I see that the club has worked/is working to change people's perception of membership as being a seasonal thing to an annual event. That might seem minor but it really is a huge shift in attitude and behaviour - by the supporters and the club.

Hair follicle testing allows you to trace any drugs which have been ingested in the past 90 days. That's why there was a lot of fuss when Ben Cousins shaved his hair supposedly so that he couldn't provide a valid sample. Stokes, on the other hand, has a full head of hair and a horrendous mo. Easy to test him.

Stan Alves to North Melbourne Greg Wells to Carlton (as a kid, I was crushed because he was one of my heroes but happy he got the chance to win a premiership) Laurie Fowler - sheer insanity to let him go Gary Baker to Sydney (I know that injury had done him in but he was another hero) Healy to Sydney

I don't know if any of you guys have heard of Saad Saad, who plays full-forward for Seymour in the GVL, but his aerial ability is on a par with Robbo's. I would pay very good money to head home (originally from Seymour) and watch those two go head-to-head. It'd be like the old days with Van der Haar and Knights. A quick clip of Saad in action:

DrM (great name), I just spoke to memberships and they said what's happened is that, although I live in Queensland (Brisbane), the membership package I took out wasn't classed by them as 'interstate'. As a result there was a bit of a mix-up and they'll be sending the scarf out in January. Got the impression I'm not the only one that might have got muddled but that's okay. Thanks for the information.

Deb, If you got your scarf then I can only assume the girl I spoke to at memberships was wrong. Do you think it's got anything to do with my being a first-time member or because you might have a higher level of membership than myself? If not, I'm a bit curious to know why two Queenslanders got the scarf but another didn't. Any idea why ?

Macdonald's family moved from Victoria to Queensland in 99' when he was 14 or 15. Up to that point he'd represented Victoria in under-age football. Only problem Macdonald has had is a long history of injuries - ankles, knee and other bits and pieces. Can I say though, this is a guy who led the Brisbane B&F for the first half of the 08 season and might have won it if he hadn't missed 5 matches due to injury. He gathered 30 odd possessions against St.Kilda at Docklands and Geelong at the Gabba this year. In 08 he got another 30 touches against the Cats down at Geelong. I was at the Geelong match this year and he was very good against an exceptional team. This year he was top 5 at Brisbane in disposals, marks and handballs. Eleventh at the club for tackles and 10th for kicks. Tapered off a bit at the latter part of the season but that wasn't entirely his fault. End of the day, when he is on the field and fit, he is a very good player and will be an asset to the club. As to why he was allowed to leave Brisbane, the non-scandalous reason I heard is that, very simply, Voss was looking for more height and size than Macdonald has. Talent-wise, he was better than his potential replacements but Voss was looking for a particular type and Joel wasn't it.

That's [censored]! I was having a chat to the membership department and they told me that scarves would not be sent out to we interstate supporters (I'm in Brisbane as well) until January because the club doesn't take delivery of the 2010 stock until then. Funny that you got one a month before the club.

In the fantastic Richmond book written by Rhett Bartlett (KB's son), Neville Crowe, who was Richmond president at the time, makes it very clear that he was the one who did the sacking and gives his version of events (KB is interviewed about it and it's fascinating to see where the stories match and where they differ). Brilliant read and a blueprint for how to put together a club history.

Also, you have to remember that not all clubs count members in the same way. MFC sell an option for people who can't attend matches (for those of us overseas or interstate, etc) and it is counted towards our membership tally. Richmond sell a similar option but they don't include it in their tally. Some clubs count match-day only, others include every type of package. When Hawthorn play their 4 games in Tassie they sell a 'mini membership' which gives you entry to all 4 games. That gets counted towards their membership tally. Aurora Park in Tassie has 20,000 capacity. Sell out all 4 games and you can add a lazy 15,000 to your membership tally (5,000 may be set aside for the visiting team). Doesn't actually mean any of those people support Hawthorn, just that they wanted to see the games and it was the only way to ensure they got a seat.

Thanks very much. I'm looking forward to getting my membership kit and the members polo because, stuck here in Brisbane and engaged to a rabid Geelong supporter I need to show some MFC pride. Now, if I can only locate my old posters of Steve Smith, Gary Baker, Peter Giles and Peter Moore I'll be set, lol.

So....for those of use who've purchased 2010 memberships, when do we receive them? I did think MFC said early December but I was hoping someone here might know for sure.

I think you're right. Tapscott said that he needed to work on his endurance so that'll probably mean exchanging a bit of his bulk for lean muscle. In the same interview he also said that people usually compare him to Paul Chapman - and that is one hell of an exciting proposition. I've seen him play a few times and the kid is a bloody good kick. Accurate, long, good technique, can deliver quickly and from a standing start. Personally, I think he might end up being a cross between Chapman and Doug Barwick (if anyone remembers him). Not sure if he's got Barwick's run or Chapman's leap but I think he'll have the power and kicking skills of both players.

But it just looks like they're wearing the Victorian State guernsey. Don't know about everyone else but I never thought I'd live to see the day when a South Australian team willingly played in a strip that so instantly brings to mind 'the Big V'.

Martin Flanagan is, without any question, the greatest writer on Australian Rules that we have ever had. If you're in any doubts, get hold of his books, in particular '1970 and Other Stories of the Australian Game' , 'Faces in the Crowd' and 'Southern sky, Western Oval' (a truly great book about Footscray's struggle for survival). As the blurb in 'Real Footy' says, Flanagan is "a great believer in the capacity of newspapers to act as vehicles for non-fiction story-telling." That's what he does brilliantly. In America great writers (not merely sportswriters but non-fiction authors) write about baseball. In England, they write about cricket. Flanagan's work is on a par with any of them.

So nice to see matches from the Western Oval and Windy Hill ( I think the game lost a large part of its soul when they stopped playing at the suburban grounds - an equally big part when they did away with the reserves curtain-raiser and a large chunk when we lost the under 19s). Not so nice to see that 80's video LOL.

The message I got from the MFC said "Fulfilment of 2010 Melbourne Football Club membership cards and other membership entitlements will commence in December 2009. So, until that time, please regard this letter as confirmation of your 2010 membership payment."

How about this: Under a picture of Barassi and Jurrah you put the words, 'Something old and something new' Then finish it with 'Something RED and something BLUE'

Offer Luke Ball either the #1 or #31 jumper (two of the great numbers in the game and at our club) if he signs. In the grand scheme of things it's only a small detail but it's the little things that make the big things happen. I think Liam would look good in the #5 jumper.