3183 Dee

Some of us are in the unenviable position of being both a Pom and a Demon!

Never played! Came over to Oz in my early 30s and fell in love with the game, but a bit old to get involved. Would've loved to give it a crack, tho'. I played a fair bit of soccer, wherever I lived, and my claim to fame is scoring a goal in the French FA Cup (ultra preliminary round!).

I spoke to a client today, who has a connection to the Watts family. Apparently, Paul Connors (Watts' manager) has been desperately trying to convince Jack to get a deal done with Carlton. However, after meeting with Roos on a couple of occasions now, Jack has been so impressed that he will almost definitely re-sign.

By next Tuesday. So between now and next Tuesday. Tomorrow?

http://m.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/paul-roos-says-hes-a-50-50-chance-to-coach-melbourne-next-season/story-fni5f91a-1226707831825?from=herald+sun_rss This has the clip embedded in the article.

In other news, if results go Brisbane's way, Angus Johnson will have sacked the coach that got them into the finals!

Good on him - he has really put in and is becoming quite an asset to the team. When you've dealt with the adversities that he has (diabetes, chronic fatigue), it's all credit to him that he's earned his spot and new contract.

Did you see Garland? Absolutely screaming it out. And Jonesy - I always think of Jonesy when these wins happen.

I think he does a great job. His work is the official club line, so don't expect it to be a Patrick Smith article every time. This season would've been especially difficult - imagine having to constantly write/pick out something positive after each ten goal flogging and getting the coach's feedback, when their job is on the line. I think that the amount of content generated each day is surprisingly good.

Love it!

I'm a Pom and I've always barracked for the Dees. I knew I was gonna live in Melbourne, but not sure which suburb, so that's why. This current plight doesn't worry me as back home, I follow the mighty Plymouth Argyle, who have never played in the top tier of English football. In fact the greatest claim to fame are a couple of Cup semi-finals. Gotta stick with your team, though.

A win and a reprieve for Neeld, until the season's end at least. Failing that, a mixture of swashbuckling attack, mixed with some blood and snotters defensive work and taking the game right up to the Hawks and getting right in their faces. It's the least some of those blokes could do.

One of the good things about the MFC/Scorps relationship is that a lot of the young and fringe MFC players are getting game time together in a successful side. Will be interesting to see what happens tomorrow as the 6 inclusions have been playing a lot of footy together recently.

Thanks so much for posting this, Jono. Really interesting.

I remember that game a couple of years ago. We were up at H-T, although the Hawks were poor in front of goal. At the start of the 2nd half, I remember the Hawks players gathered at the top of the race, full of arrogance and swagger, ready to rip into us and I thought then 'This is how I want my team to look'.

I'll see your Wigan Athletic and raise you a Plymouth Argyle (lifelong).

Probably trying to impress his new employer ;-)

I think you have hit the nail on the head. It would seem impossible now, for Neeld to pull the players back, mentally, from the place they're in. This is why I think his tenure will probably come to an end in the next week or two. I sort of know what Neeld was trying to do with his tough-guy approach, but most of that list were already demoralised before he came in and it's just made things worse - they are bereft now of any confidence and just look like they hate being there. Of course, some blame has to lie with the players - you don't just sook because you don't like your boss, you should play at least with personal and professional pride.I think he's gone.

I thought it was funny

I've been in the 'give it time' camp, but I think the bell has been well and truly rung. Sure, other teams have been beaten by GC, but not smashed in every area of the game.

Why are you doing this to yourselves?! The past is past - what's the point in constantly beating ourselves up by speculating what might have been? It's a negative habit which achieves nothing. Surely better to redirect these energies into constructive solutions for a better future?

Apart from the few standouts, I'd say that Evans, Gawn, Terlich, M Jones, Viney, maybe Bail and hopefully Toumpas will improve our side.

Great thread! I don't think you can look past Geelong for how to assemble the perfect side - they are so well-tuned, that even with the loss of their star playmaker and a new coach, they've managed to consistently perform to the highest standard. The idea of building that sort of dynasty at Melbourne is why I'm prepared to give Neeld some more time to perfect his systems and try and create a group that has a really tight core, which gradually spreads across every player at the club. Defence: We look shaky at the back: part of that could be that the defence is having to handle so much on their own. We need a couple of quick rebound players that can bring the ball out of defence accurately and intelligently. Mids: I think that the right midfielders need to have a mix of 'bash and crash' and decent ball skills. We're really lacking here at the moment, which is no great surprise to anyone, so I think that probably two high quality, experienced mids are required and the best mid possible in the draft. Forwards: As others have said, this is where we look good potentially - Dawes, Clark, Hogan leading the attack with the likes of Howe, maybe Blease and a crumber or two helping out. Our service has been pretty poor to the forwards this year, but I think that our ratio of inside 50s to goals scored is one of the highest in the competition, which shows that the job can be done when the pill is up there. Great having Max Gawn as an option up top as well - I think he will be number one ruck by the end of the year. Going back to my original point, I think that sometimes out of adversity can come great strength and I think that there is a core group of talented players starting to develop at Melbourne - the older(!) heads like Jones, Clark, Dawes, Grimes and the young guns in Hogan, Viney, Evans, Gawn, hopefully Toumpas. That's still not that many, though, which is why this is going to take some time.

Agreed - it's reinforcing what we hear from other players. Also reinforces what an exhausting, hysterical football press we have.

Trouble is that the dawn of online journalism means that there is an insatiable need for content. This has meant that we now have a dirth of poor quality journalists trawling for sensational stories in order to make a name for themselves. The vacuous nature of this journalism perfectly suits an environment where news comes and goes at a rate of knots. Compare 'old-school' types like Martin Flanagan and Patrick Smith with blokes like Damian Barrett and Matt Campbell and you see what I mean. Journalistic craft, which was a mix of carefully checked fact and experienced opinion has largely made way for speculative articles based on innuendo and supposition. Unfortunately, there's not much that can be done about it, as news is now all about money/advertising and editors are under more pressure than ever to ensure that their stories get the most clicks. I watch Neeld's conferences with interest - he isn't that comfortable with the press (getting better), but has been laid into from day one. It seems that he has taken Malthouse's approach, treating the gutter press with barely concealed disdain although seemingly creating relationships with more senior types like Mark Robinson, whom he seems to trust. There was a great line in the afl.com match review, describing Neeld giving his 3Q talk, while a conga-line of gloating journalists was assembling in the Members wing waiting for his sacking. At the end of the day, you could say that Neeld is fully entitled to have an intense dislike of the press, but it's something he needs to live with and arguably get better at dealing with. But, as Teddy Roosevelt said: "It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat. "