hardtack

How did this get to 3 pages? (I know, I know... adding my post didn't help)

You are probably right about people not reporting much once the season is up and running, but I would have thought that considering the way things have been going, there might have been a few reporting on the state of the nation...but things went from calls to rally around the team at training one week, to crickets the next. On game day it's easy to simply say "the coach has lost the players" on the back on a seemingly lacklustre disinterested performance, but I would have thought that to get the best insight, attending training would be the way to go... this is where most of the interaction between coach and players and rest of football department takes place. So, on that score, I'm glad to here your view Satyriconhome, as I know first-hand that you do have contact with players and football department members at those sessions. Appreciated.

... no-one gets along to training anymore? Speaking for myself, but I'm sure others may agree, we interstaters genuinely appreciate any training reports that are posted on these forums as it provides more of a sense of involvement with the club where, obviously, we cannot physically show our support every week. Given all of the current talk on these boards, it would also be nice to get any (hopefully impartial) observations on the relationship between coach and players - is there a sense of distance, camaraderie, etc etc. I believe that there was a training session at Gosch's Paddock yesterday, but have seen nothing on here and only an empty topic on 'ology.

Zzzzzzzzzzzz

Ok, let's have no captains or vice captains at all... we can become an anarcho syndiclastic football club where everyone is a leader. The reason there is a captain is so that there is one person on the field of play who can take the responsibility of pulling the team together when things are starting to go awry. Unfortunately, it often happens that the added responsibility that goes with the position can detract from the players ability to focus on his own game... I see Jones as being one player who would relish the added pressure and raise his game to another level while inspiring his team mates.

I disagree... give Jones the captaincy and he will lead us (by example) into finals contention. I get the feeling that he commands respect from the entire playing group and that he has a quality that the two Jacks are lacking in at the moment... he is an inspirational footballer. Name another player in our side who is regularly talked up in a positive way by the media... I can't think of one. I have said it before and will say it again... Nathan for capt with Grimes as his deputy.

This is what gives me heart... they have been putting in great performances against strong VFL teams (well, I think they have been strong... yes? no?) using the game plan designed for the AFL side. Perhaps a few more of the senior side could do with some time at Casey in order to learn the plan in an environment where they can build their confidence? As for Sunday, according to the following article in Real Footy, we are giving some young forwards a run and that Dawes is not ready as he has not yet had a full game at Casey (that will happen this week). Hopefully this means Fitz and Taggert (and possibly Dunn or Kent?) will get a run. http://www.smh.com.au/afl/afl-news/neeld-hopes-to-surprise-blues-with-young-forwards-20130502-2iuk9.html

Last year he had a team that had been playing together badly for some time but new each other's limitations and strengths... now we have had what, 14(?) changes to the list, so we are starting from a lower base than last year... I was hoping in my heart that we would see a immediate improvement, but in my head I think I always believed that we would struggle; so it's probably no surprise we went backwards. At the end of this season, I think that we probably need to add just 3 of the right free agents (two mids and a back) to the list to be genuinely competitive. That's just my take on it.

It's funny, I don't get that feeling at all. I get the feeling that because we are so badly beaten in the midfield that our players are throwing in the towel too early. That was particularly evident in the first two games and then again in the second half of the West Coast game. The last two games started to show something and even in the Brisbane game they could have been in it but for a couple of very dumb mistakes; and yes, I know they were against weak teams, but there were glimpses of what could be coming. Rather than the coach working against them, I get the feeling that Neeld may be just as frustrated as the players, as it must be nigh on impossible to coach a team that has virtually no midfield. The defence hasn't been too bad and we have one of the best conversion rates when it gets inside the 50... this is why I'm prepared to cut him some slack and wait until next year when we have a complete and balanced side. Who knows, we may get a glimpse of what could be coming if Magner gets a run in Clark's absence (remember, he was on fore for the first few rounds last year, so he might inject some much needed hardness and ball clearance.

You know for a fact he is working against them?

This is one of the things that is really bugging me... under Bailey everyone was complaining about how he was too nice and wanted to be friends with the players and that he wasn't hard enough on them, and then when Neeld arrived everyone was rapt in the fact that he was not going to tolerate any player that wasn't prepared to put in and work hard and when he cleaned out the list at the end of last year, everyone cheered... now people are saying Neeld is too hard on the players, too distant in his relationship with the players, too intolerant etc etc Essentially, the things that people now see as his failings are the very things people were praising him for. Go figure!

And lastly, a little bit of relatively intelligent J-Pop from Utada Hikaru who composes all of her own material (unusual in the world of J-Pop) - note that the film clip was directed by her ex-husband who was responsible for directing the films Casshern and Goemon (if anyone is familiar with them).

A couple of random selections: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__obh4w6tD8

I'm not sure that he did in his first couple of seasons... as I don't have access to any documented evidence one way or the other, I am relying on my vague memories of times when they weren't a particularly happy team at Hawthorn.

My bad... apologies - looks like I might be one of those pea brains he was referring to :-)

And like Neeld, early in his coaching career everyone thought Clarkson was a lame duck...shouldn't Neeld be given the same opportunity to build his list and get it up and running?

I hope that if Essendon lose a number of players for an extended period, the AFL doesn't make an exception and allow them to elevate their entire rookie list. Is there anything in the ASADA rules to ensure that this scenario is not possible?

What was funnier was that he followed that up with a *cough* phone glitch *cough* that caused a multiple posting :-)

Hopefully he will put the frighteners on the football department and rid them of the bad hobbits they have been developing.

If only I had a dollar for every "whisper" that's been heard on this forum! ;-)

Sorry, not having a go at you per ce and perhaps the anti-PC brigade will have a go at me, but I really do find that offensive. As for the bagging the coach bit, I'm pretty sure that he would have known anything "controversial" he said would be picked up buy every journalistic vulture within earshot... so in a way, he was setting Neeld up for a lot on unwanted "publicity".

Is it possible that the players will receive 6 month suspensions (one full season) courtesy of ASADA and the AFL as a show of "strength" will impose further financial penalties on the club as well as a season or two playing for zero premiership points?

Look up.

Fair enough and apologies... I think we're all on a hair trigger these days :-)

If that's a reference to the supposed Frawley/Sylvia altercation, that has never been proven to have happened at all. The thread was closed I believe and never reopened because apart from on here and on BigFooty, there was no other reporting.