hardtack

Correct... you are more like the kind that hangs around with Moe, Larry and Curly!

Spoken like a true Dees supporter.

Neeld will know exactly what he wants in the way of players come the end of this season (in fact, he probably already has a fair idea)... so it is going to be an interesting trade period for the Dees and I am sure he will be given free rein, so I expect to see the Dees taking a very aggressive stance in trying to close at least a couple of big deals.

I chose Rioli because when he is on song his skills are mercurial to say the least. Others I would add are Eddie Betts who is the consummate entertainer and Robert Murphy who makes everything look so effortless.

You're right of course Nasher, but if I was Bennell or Morton or MacDonald or Fitzpatrick or Moloney or Sylvia or etc etc, and read these forums, I wouldn't come away feeling too good having had more than just my playing ability questioned. Constructive criticism has a place, no doubt about that...but unfortunately, their are a number of posters who go almost to the opposite extreme with their criticisms which can become almost personal.

Bennell doesn't pick himself to play in these games...I really get sick of the player bashing that never lets up on here. Talk about ferrel behavior...there are a number here who could walk straight into cheerleader positions at Essendon, the way they love to eat their own. Bennell is playing whether we like it of not, and that is NOT his fault.

I know I'm dreaming, but what this team needs to do is suddenly have the plan click and come home with a wet sail in the second half of the season... then we would have no trouble bringing in the right players come the trade period.

A 50 page thread on Demonland of course!

Why am I getting this feeling I'm in Salem?

Nield: "...and after you have finished writing 'I must not berate my team mates unless I lift my own game' 100 times, I want you pick up all of the rubbish in the quadrangle." Moloney: "Oooooh, but sir, The Block, The Voice, and Masterchef are all on and have some big tweets I need to write as well!"

Why do they go to all of the trouble and expense of preparing that lovely Skrota Stadium and then have GWS play us at Manuka Oval in the middle of the world's largest above-ground cemetery? A three hour drive to the deep freeze as opposed to 20 minute drive to the relatively mild environs of Homebush Bay.

There is absolutely no way there will be a captaincy change, regardless of whether the decision to give it to the Jacks was the correct one or not... the club simply cannot and will not, risk further alienation of the playing group. I'm sure Jones is quite happy to go on leading by example as he is at the moment without the added pressure of having to deal with the media on a regular basis and I'm sure that being young, the two Jacks will adapt to being in the spotlight quite easily; their best football is ahead of them yet and by then, the responsibilities and the burdens of the captaincy will be second nature.

Invoked after just two and a half pages of discussion; is this some kind of a record?

So you are not a Melbourne supporter then? I seem to recall reading somewhere that Melbourne supporters are too polite and politically correct.

If he could just get a bit of mongrel about him, he might just well be :-) There's no doubting his skills when he actually gets the ball... he just needs to get more of it and be more willing to go in after it.

Jones has actually been improving at a pretty consistent rate for the past two and a bit seasons - I don't think he has suddenly made a big jump under Neeld, but rather, a few others have gone backwards and he is now having to carry the can for them so there is more focus on him.

Or, more specifically, interesting trade period coming up.

It's rather ironic that one of the things that marks Jones as captain material is the fact that he was possibly one of the few more "senior" players who didn't get his nose put out of joint by being overlooked (or so it would seem).

Flippancy??!!??? Please show us where there was so much as the smallest trace of flippancy in the OP's email. It was an ill considered and blatantly unfair assessment of McLardy and Neeld. It deserved the responses it got.

Why? It should remain as a monument to stupidity.

You are ready to sack him after just 8 games at the helm? In his first year, Bailey had 3 wins; from Wiki: "Season 2008 started badly for Bailey, the Demons losing their first six games by lopsided margins before winning its first match of the season against Freemantle in round seven. Things did not get better, as the Demons lost the next six games, however they won their second game in Round 14 against Brisbane. Then they lost the next five games and won their third game in Round 20 against West Coast. Melbourne Finished 16th (last) for the Wooden spoon at the end of the 2008 season with 3 wins and 19 losses." Yes, if we win games this season they are likely to be against opposition like GWS or GCS, but take into account that we now have a much much younger and less experienced list, we have almost entirely new coaching staff, we have had numerous off-field distractions and we are attempting to implement a game plan that is completely alien to the team (did Bailey even have one?). I am of the same vintage as you and have been waiting just as long (my father also actually supported Essendon after having been a St George supporter in Sydney), but it seems some of us have a little more patience and understanding than yourself. Sorry, I have to agree with RR's assessment (he is also of a similar vintage, by the way).

Fast food king

Fast food generation

He could replace both for all of the work they are doing.

I would have thought that Trengove and Grimes in 10th and 12th spots respectively, says it all. Jones and Clark are our true leaders in every sense of the word.