Slartibartfast

Well I'll buck the trend Typical Demon and say that I think it's a shame that supporters of opposition clubs are not respected and welcomed by those that post on this forum. Your points are well made and your tone so much better than many here. But the nature of footy forum debate is childish adolescent "mine is bigger than yours" and many feel better if they can convince themselves that they are not "the worst". It's a shame they don't strive to be the best. Melbourne has nothing to brag about and for as poor as Freo have been we are not in a position to gloat. Good luck for the rest of the season, we all know what you are going through and it's not much fun. And for the record the KKK episode is a storm in a tea cup.

One of the mysteries of life YM. BTW Simpson is no longer with us. Approve???

I've deleted his/her/it's membership. Thanks

YM Bohdan Babijczuk it the athletic development coach, he has NOTHING to do with conditioning, physiotherapy or medical. This means he has NOTHING to do with Aussie's training schedule or his rehabilitation. Accordingly he has NOTHING to do with Aussies hammy. On this occasion you're not surprised because you're ill informed.

I reckon the trade was a classic win win situation. Trav was never going to be a part of any success we have in the future and Grimes will be playing football for us long after Trav retires, hopefully. And the move has been very good for Trav as a person. I watched him last night and putting the frustrations of the past aside (because however you look at it he didn't produce for us) I recognized just how much I like watching this bloke play. He has a style and methodology which is almost unique and when its working its fantastic. While many talk of his foot skills what is not mentioned are his hands which are so clean at pace. Personally I hope he has a fantastic season and realizes all the potential he has. It would help him as a person, it would be fantastic to watch and it won't hurt us.

You can't win <_<

Congratulations Andrew you've put together a relationship that will certainly help our club and I sincerely hope helps Kaspersky. I'm wondering if you'd outline just what the timing was. I've read the Age article which outlines the process but what was the time between your first meeting with the club and the signing of the agreement? How long does it generally take to put these sort of sponsorship arrangements in place? Also I'm unsure how you say "Kaspersky".... any hints?? Anyway I hope this sponsorship proves so successful it is the start of a relationship that runs for much longer than the initial 3 years. Well done. cheers Fan

If you didn't want to call me a suck hole you shouldn't have. Does it matter if Hazy and RFW know each other? Does that make their contributions any less relevant? I think not but everyone is able to make their own decisions on that. Do they have some connections to the Board? I hope so, it would be good to get that sort of input. Do I agree with them in this instance. Mostly no although I do think any Board and CEO should be held accountable. If we shot everyone because they had a particularly strong view on something very few of the interesting posters would be left, including you and me probably.

I believe that the approach taken by Hazy and RFlowerwing is correct. They are questioning the performance of our Board and our CEO. Not only is that their right it is necessary as complacency can lead to trouble. For those familiar with the concept of "groupthink" it is very important to have diversity of thought and Hazy and RFW have presented their views articulately and intelligently. Moreover they did it without any criticism of any member of this forum, a courtesy that was not extended to them. I've followed football for a long time but probably only followed the "political" side since 1996. I tire of it now because football is no different to any other business and I've seen Chairman of clubs (and I think I'm right in saying MFC does NOT have a President, we have a Chairman) begin their Chairmanships with the best of intentions only to find that after time they start to run their own agendas. In my opinion this has been the case of every Chairman we have had since 1996. I hope that Stynes and his Board don't fall into this trap, but having been bitten on so may occasions I have no confidence that it won't happen again. I therefore support Hazy and RFW. It doesn't mean that I agree with their stance but we must have intelligent and articulate people scrutinizing our clubs management. Thanks guys and well done particularly in light of the avalanche of opposition you've received.

You're doing a great job DD. I've pinned it and with luck this could become a wonderful reference thread. Thanks for your efforts!

I'm of the opinion that this thread has nearly run its race. Could we keep to the topic please. Thanks. By the way Hazy, I doubt you'll ever be accused of Groupthink!!

Thanks Casey. Does social club membership mean you can stand and watch the game in the upstairs area on the balcony? How crowded is that on gameday?

Daniel Hughes was walking laps with Paul Wheatley on Wednesday at training. I think he's on the injured list and doubt we'll see him for a while. I don't know what's wrong with him. He was certainly in full training in January and the beginning of Feb.

Say what you like about Hall's aggression but he did it because he was frustrated and he did it because it was the only way he could influence the game. If he'd kicked 5 goals he wouldn't have done it. I reckon he's still a very good player but the game is passing him by and I don't think he has the passion to play in a team that doesn't contend. He also wants to box and may make a lot of money from it. A bad start to the season, a few frustrations and I reckon Hall may not see out the year.

That's where we differ. I think he put together two months of solid football last year. Where people damn him is they judge him against his draft pick and I don't argue that against that measure he's disappointed to date. But once you are on a list that measure is irrelevent, what is relevent is what you do. And on that measure he is a servicable footballer and on the improve.

How many games have "mattered" in the last two years? At the end of last year Col was one of our better players and was standing up when most of the rest of the club wasn't. I'd say he stood up when it mattered then. He's a small forward who has played in the shadow of Neitz and Robertson for most of his career. Knowing what you do about footy you'll understand that being a small forward is a hard gig particularly when you're probably 4th in the "go to" player. I'm not suggesting he's "made it" or he's a "very good footballer" and his game against the Hawks was disappointing. But his response yesterday was very good and from my point of view he's played one shocker in his last 9 games (in the last 7 games last year he averaged 20 possessions and considering how bad we were and the fact he played mainly forward represents a pretty good performance I'd have thought). But I understand people's frustration and measured against expectation he has not performed. But I've not written him off.

Sorry to bore you Dappa but I'm not a great reader of every post so I may have missed the Rivers debate. Sadly though you missed the point. In the past Rivers was one of our 2 or 3 most important players and as a result if he missed a game it affected us greatly. Not so now IMO. Even if he is as good as he was he'll just take the spot of someone who is doing a good job in the backline. His incremental impact on the performance of the team is now significantly reduced. And Jack I know one's interpretation of performance is subjective but which of Rivers 4 possessions and one tackle in the game against Freo impressed you? I'm being facetious of course but with those sort of stats and the fact that Pavlich was Freo's only player after half time all I can say is it must have been a terrific tackle!!

He may well play again but to what end? Rivers had a couple of good seasons but he hasn't played for two years when he was almost our most important player. He's not now because Garland, Frawley, Warnock and Martin are all playing pretty well. And I fear the game is moving away from him. Pace and kicking accuracy are paramount and he is not great at either of these things. I reckon he's not a certain first 22 starter and he needs to earn his spot. And I don't think he's going to make as much difference as people think. I remember waiting for Stephen Tingay and Glenn Lovett to recover from injury. Both had the attributes to be elite midfielders. Neither played consistent AFL footy and hindered the development of our list for years. Rivers is quickly falling into that catagory although to our credit we haven't waited around for him to "come good". I reckon this is a "put up or shut up" year for Rivers.

He was good in the second quarter as well as the second half. Just ask Rhino! He'd be a good player for us if he produces that form consistently but he's not shown that he's capable of that. One of his problems is our midfield is very poor and forwards rely, in part, on the midfield. He's not all that tall and he's not all that quick, he's just talented. Sylvia came with such expectation his performance to date has disappointed all of us I think. But he's a fair footballer, just not a great footballer which we thought he could be. But with talent he could still prove us wrong.

Banned for 12 months, effective immediately. Patti and Watts 1019 deleted, IP address noted and will be checked in future. This board is for the enjoyment of all Melbourne supporters and it's purpose is to provide a place where those passionate about the Demons can discuss the club. It is also an important source of information for many people who rely on it for up to date information. Knowingly posting false information will result in a 12 month ban. Thanks.

Occo if Grimes plays today, and I'll be there, you won't be posting at Demonland for a good long time. Posters starting rumours to stir up other supporters is not on and ruins the forum for others. Not only that but people who know Jack may see this and it may cause them some serious concern. You're on notice Occo, any comment?

I hope you are right D's are the best. You've started rumours about a signing of the Casey deal, the MCC deal and given "inside information" on the Mission Foods sponsorship. If it turns out you are just starting "baseless rumours" you're in serious breach of the COD. If you're right and you are privy to confidential information and you're leaking it to this forum you may be in more trouble. You're walking on dangerous ground.

Keep to the topic guys, thanks.

Guys YM left Bruce out of his best 22. Big deal. We all know he doesn't like Bruce and we all know that the FD of MFC does. No personal attacks please. If you don't like YM don't read his posts. Thanks Fan

Jack and Agent please observe the code of conduct. Consider this your first warning.