P-man

Honestly that was pretty much it, stu. He said it's amazing what you can do when someone believes in you, prompting Robbo to ask one of his trademark questions to which he already knows the answer, "did Mark Neeld believe in you?", to which Beamer said he didn't think so. Robbo then asked him if he believed in Mark Neeld. Again he said he didn't, and that they had to part ways. He said he put his heart and soul into the club, working with the younger players every day in trying to fast track them to play finals footy, but it just didn't happen in the end. The rest of the Interview was about Brisbane and the debate around the bump.

Taking the Rivers route by the looks. ..or not. Only said he didn't believe in Neeld and that was a reason that he left. Nothing to see really.

I love it, but in my office it will likely prompt every second person to discuss the Melbourne Football Club.

Mate, you've gotten stuck into me on more than one occasion when I've been critical of him on what I consider reasonable grounds, one example being my criticism of his comments in the Brisbane presser which you disputed. After I quoted his exact comments in the presser, you didn't respond. Let's not pretend you haven't been leaning much more towards towing the company line than not, bing. To what extent that belief is based on fact as opposed to hope, I can't say. At this stage of the debate, if you think Neeld still deserves to be senior coach of the MFC, and that it is a matter of him needing "clean air", you are a Neeld supporter. That is your right. I however think the evidence strongly points towards him being incapable, and his position being untenable.

I'm sure it's been covered before, but why, after all the hoopla about Dunn being reinvented as a backman, including an interview with him on the club website where he goes into detail about how feels he has found a new home and is slotting in nicely into the defensive group, and after playing there the entire pre-season, why is he back to being named in the half forward line?

Two of the best last week in Viney (clear best) and Sylvia go out. Barring a miracle it will be Tiges by 100+, quite possibly Neeld's last game.

Watched a different game to me Chook. Nicholson was awful, got beaten all day and continually looks lost. What did McKenzie do to earn the title of one of our best? I honestly don't remember him doing anything. He did lay 3 tackles, so by current standards that probably earns him a recall, but he's still utterly useless in attack.

Precisely. A ray of light for this weekend. Thank god.

I have acknowledged that very thing several times on this forum. Does not take away from the fact that there are those who still support Neeld, such as yourself, who tend to get on the front foot whenever he is criticised, hence the disclaimer.

Did you actually read my post? I am not writing off him or his talent. I just no longer think it's a given that he will become an elite player, because all the evidence right now is to the contrary. And with all due respect, Roos has very little interest in us or our list. I doubt he'd be able to name enough Melbourne players to field a side if put on the spot. He named Watts and Trengove when talking about our talent, the two highest profile, highest draft picks.

Pretty pointless article I agree, but it is a sobering thought that in 2010, the Tigers and us were practically neck and neck. I remember looking forward to a future rivalry between the league's two great underachievers of recent times. This dark tunnel is a bit longer than I had anticipated.

I haven't written Trengove off, but right now he is merely a shadow of an AFL player. Is it possible for the speed of the game to have gone past you at age 22? I'm tired of all these theories thrown around about mysterious injuries and he's simply too important to be playing around with. Relieve him of the captaincy, get him 100% fit, and play him in the magoos for a few weeks to find the footy and remind everyone why he was at one point the second most sought after young talent in the land.

For a long time I've also taken it as granted that Grimes and Trengove are talented footballers waiting to blossom. I no longer hold that view. I think what we're seeing from Grimes is as good as its gonna get - an honest tryer with a pretty average boot. As for Trenners, who bloody knows. Right now you wouldn't have him in the VFL side. Our top 3 picks in the next draft all have to be midfielders, and we need to nail every single one.

I have to admit I find it amusing that you can determine the gravity of the weekend's loss by whether Robbo or Burgan conduct the interview on "The Coach's Office". If Burgs is there, we've just been embarrassed. If Robbo is there, it was just your standard belting. Warning that Neeld supporters (the ones left) won't like what I'm about to say, but I can't dance around the fact that I do not like Neeld's attitude one bit, and t is not difficult to see how he could be a divisive figure. In the interview he makes particular effort to mention the players that have joined the club this year as being ones that are standing up - Matt Jones, Terlich, Viney, Dawes (I'm not sure what he did on the weekend that warranted special mention)..and that they "need a bit of help". To me, he still is carrying this mindset of the disparity between the before and after his arrival at the club, and is now trying to paint a picture that it is only the players he has introduced that are contributing. Rarely do the improved efforts of Frawley, Sylvia, Garland etc get a mention, or certainly not to the same degree as Dean Terlich. Not only does it reek of a desperate man trying to save his own hide, but it is this mindset that has been his ultimate undoing and has sent the club into a dramatic tailspin. From the moment he arrived there appears to have been an almost stubborn refusal to acknowledge anything to build upon in the club environment, and this trend continues. As an aside, his body language is that of a shattered man. Him staying here is doing neither him nor the club any favours. I hope Jackson sees this sooner rather than later.

Eade is signed up at Collingwood but he's on the list.

Oh god, Terry Wallace is an option. I agree that Choco is a strange omission.

Anyone but the Demons. I hear they're not very good.

The list is poor. It is however not THIS poor. There is talent spread throughout, but alot of it is at a critical development stage. Even Jack Viney is not immune to going backwards in this regard, if we don't get the right people in place.

Having played alot of soccer myself, the way Goodes slides in with his feet before adjusting makes me think Roos might have a point. From memory he played for a long time at the top junior level before making the switch.

Great work again HG. I think the "boring" tag gets placed upon Freo a bit too readily, and unfairly. Yes, Lyon plays a very staunch defensive game, but the ferocity with which his players pressure the ball carrier and attempt to keep the ball trapped at their attacking end is a joy to watch. And now with Hill and Pearce to give them outside run on both sides of the ground, the manner in which they carry the ball forward is entertaining as a neutral. Also worth noting is that two of the three most exciting games I've seen this year have involved Freo (v Essendon and Tigers), the third being Port's miracle win against West Coast.

Heads up that Beamer is a guest on tomorrow night's AFL 360. I wonder what sort of things they'll talk about.. Will be interesting to see if he goes the diplomacy route or the Rivers route. I'm tipping the latter.

You can also bet your last dollar on opposition fans pulling out the tanking card, the moment we see anything resembling success. You would think the fact it's done us nothing but harm would put that one to bed, but it will still rear its head, especially if we see a premiership with Trengove or any of the $cully compo boys.

Agree in part, but I've watched a fair bit of the Dogs and if we played them this week, they'd monster us. Yes they faded away against the Roos in the last but they went toe to toe with them for three quarters, and North are a top 8 side this year. Whilst they do have a few of those quality senior players that we lack, there is then a huge gap in terms of ages and games experience down to their next level of talent, which is the Libba and Wallis brigade. The reliance on these guys means they may struggle to see out four quarters against quality opposition, but one thing you get from them is 100% endeavour. They play with self belief. I'd kill to see that again in our guys. Watching them now is gut wrenching.

titan - being pedantic, but I assume "this week" doesn't include post-match, because "we didn't see it coming" is a direct quote out of the presser, only this time it came from Nate Jones. Maybe next week Jonesy can remind everyone that we're in a development phase and that Richmond were more experienced. If he ticks off those two points, Neeld won't even need to attend.

That, and the Dogs are playing much, much better footy than us.