Keyser Söze

I'd be more concerned if his message and plan started change and was reactionary. Bailey is the type of coach we NEED. Only the short-sighted cannot see that.

Number 8. Who else?

Unrealistic expectation

Gaze is an exception, not the rule. I'd just expect Viney to avoid that situation, that's all. I doubt the club would see it as an issue.

I'd expect that to preclude Todd Viney from the coaching race. Few coaches have been in the awkward position of coaching a son or relative, and even fewer would be eager to put themselves in that situation. If Todd wants to be a senior coach, he may end up with quite a few good alternative offers.

I remember Jurrah playing against Sydney at Manuka last season...

Bad day. Simple. Any more questions?

And... we finally get to the crux of all the hysteria since Sunday night.

I understand your concern, but no matter who we have coaching this team they will be a gamble. If another coach comes in right now, I still don't think we'll properly see their gameplan until much later. It's about having the cattle to execute said gameplan. At this stage we do not have this. I think Bailey well and truly has captured the hearts and minds of his charges, that is no concern. Did you read Martin Flanagan's articles last year? Do you remember the B&F where Don McClardy (I think it was) said we were the most positive wooden spooners in history? (paraphrasing) This is for a reason, and Bailey is a big part of that reason. My concern is that it is possible that Bailey is a useless gameday tactician. But we will not know until he has a team that can execute ANY gameplan on the field, and that goes for anyone else we could put in his position. In terms of what I think we can do to improve on Sunday: - make tackling, pressure and intensity THE sole focus. - give Scully more time in the guts; he found the footy and used it well, made good decisions. - play only fit players - I don't think Davey should have been out there. - get Bate back from injury as soon as possible. - Keep playing the kids (if they earn their spot) because the experience will help them. - remind the players (if they need it) "Don't get carried away with yourself, because someone will bring you back don to earth very quickly."* I have a feeling this has happened and they have been given a rude awakening by Freo, but a timely one. * borrowed from Pagan

I meant more in terms of "obscene" or "grossly indecent". But you are right to an extent.

But how long does that take? I think by the end of this season we will only start to get an idea. If we don't extend it before the end of the season it is a show of no faith. I certainly don't think by mid-season we will have any real indication either way. Taking that into account, why not avoid all the negativity that comes with waiting? Also, if the powers that be at the club are satisfied that Bailey has proven his ability to them and deserves another year, then so am I. I'm not foolish enough to believe that I know better.

Not often someone on a forum admits they made a mistake. Well played. Although you were partly right - some of my reasoning for re-signing Bailey now, is to avoid a media maelstrom and all that comes with it (including unflattering articles by that parasite Mike Sheahan).

Well done. Quoted completely out of context. I was saying that is Mike Sheahan's extra incentive for Bailey to not get extended. It had nothing to do with reasoning why we should extend his contract. Try again Thomo. Edit: exactly.

Especially these ones!

All I can say is Thank Heavens none of you make any decisions that affect our club. Bailey for PM!

Who made that argument..?

Are you SERIOUS?!??? You must see that the football media don't REPORT the news, they CREATE the news. Surely you recognise that..?

Somewhat, yes. I think having a contract in place will lessen the speculation and alleviate the pressure to be placed on the team if we don't extend it. If we are only changing our mind and NOT extending his contract on the back of ONE poor NAB Cup result, then the club WILL fold. That is the type of knee-jerk reaction which will lead to MFC's demise. I trust the board has taken into account many indicators in making this decision and I trust their judgement. Have you stopped to consider that they are STILL kids..? Have you pondered that maybe they need time to grow and develop into players..? Maybe we are expecting far too much far too soon, by nature of our impatience after finishing bottom the past 2 years? (When I say TIME, I am talking about YEARS, not merely WEEKS) So Bailey has had 2 years where he has had very little chance to display any of his ability to us supporters outside the inner sanctum. Now he is finally reaching the beginning of a period where, although the players are still very young and are still learning and growing, he can show some of his talent as a coach. As witnessed by Mike Sheahan's article, the media care little for solid reasoning or delving into the facts of the matter - if significant wins don't come soon they will happily begin a media campaign to have him sacked. It'll be a feeding frenzy with no regard for what reasonable expectations should be put on Bailey at this stage. There is no option to not extend Bailey and have him comfortably see out the year, unless he miraculously reels off more wins than should be reasonably expected. Although I have some faith in him, I do not have that much. It is a choice between extending now and letting him do his job, OR not extending and having the media circus surround the team for the rest of the season, consequently having a detrimental effect on the team and its development. (By NOW I mean in the 1st third of the season.)

But it's CAUSE AND EFFECT!! Don't you take the time to wonder WHY we have been finishing bottom? Have you not analysed our list and seen the clear reasons for this and the indicators which must improve for us to achieve success? The thing is: this isn't rocket science. Bailey has proven little. That includes proving he is a dud as a coach. He has proven to be good at all things off-field, has developed some players very nicely that many had given up on and he is highly rated by those in the know. Isn't that enough for you? Aren't you willing to admit your opinion is uneducated in comparison? Why subject him to trial-by-media needlessly? Your last line makes no sense at all.

Mistakes get made. I'd think that Collingwood's effort at the end of their match against the Saints was much worse. Wonder where they'll finish this year..? Was that laziness and ineptitude..?

Who would have done better with the same list? HOW??

You mean men that have played in the VFL showing up kids who have played in the TAC Cup..? How is that relevant? Who would have done better in those 2 years? So, basically, we should subject our coach to trial-by-media purely because there is a slim chance we could finish bottom on the back of ONE nab cup result. Genius.

Not to mention the fact that he even admits breaking his own 'golden rule' for the purposes of his agenda... Come on.

WHAT VESTED INTERESTS..? The fact that if Mike Sheahan writes a column saying the Dees are correct in their stance on Bailey, it ends up being 3 lines long and no one wants to read it. The fact that if MFC don't extend Bailey's contract it gives Sheahan something else to write about and speculate on and create salacious rumours about for the length of the season. Only having Mark Harvey coming out of contract give him little ammo to fill space with. Irrational hysteria drives the sale of newspapers. It's in Mike's best interests to keep this alive. Also, he didn't care to mention any of the ramifications of NOT signing Bailey to an extension, that being a season of trial-by-media until Bailey loses his job in Round 11 a la Terry Wallace, as a result of not having won at least 50% of his first 10 games. As he should not be expected to. Also ignoring the added pressure this would apply to the playing group, making the task of winning games needlessly more difficult. Think people... THINK.

I don't think its the end of the world like some people, but i think this is a stretch. If Bailey had higher priorities than winning the match, then I can't see what they are. I think this was simply a poor game from the dees. Remember, Geelong were thrashed by 100 pts by Collingwood right in the middle of their dominance. Every team has bad days. I think we're allowed to have more than most considering the state of our list.