Cheesy D. Pun

I would have left that bit out.

He's the neighbour of some guy, the friend of another AND he sells insurance! That's the trifecta right there.

I understand when our development and strategy is questioned but talk about drafting always annoys me. Surely, there is a general level of consensus about the draft order across the league. For example, if we didn't take Watts, one of the next couple of teams would have and perhaps they would have done a better job developing him, who knows, but the focus on drafting just seems ridiculous to me.

Are you that fat Soidee? Try gastric band surgery. Worked for Joe Hockey.

Hahahaha...You'd be awesome at writing essays.

He had nothing to build incremental improvement on Iv'a. Instead, he has chosen to tear it all down and start again. We have no reason to get rid of Neeld without giving him his full tenure UNLESS we, as a supporter base, stop paying for memberships and going to games. It's our choice. If you don't like the product, don't buy it. Personally, my gut feel is that we achieve nothing by moving another coach on, especially at such an early stage - but I know many here disagree.

Can't have been too private if you were there stueyspencer.

Good stuff Stuie. It all makes sense. Pressure on the ball handler is number one. The only problem Geelong have is Sydney. They are so damn good at working their way through the pressure. This all makes sense as well. However, I would argue that you get the pressure up and a lot of these other things fall in place as a consequence. I'll probably get grilled for this but I would argue that we don't have a huge problem with our kicking skills. Instead, I think we don't get enough easy ball. We sit in the middle of the pack for disposal eff. despite this fact. If we could pressure up better and remedy the problem we have transitioning from offence to defence (and vice versa), my feeling is, you'd see a vast improvement in other areas.

I just thought this stat was interesting. Geelong averages 30.6 clearances a game, the worst in the competition. I don't know what to take from it but it doesn't seem to be hurting their W/L ratio.

Watching replays of Pagan's Kangaroos (and others from that era) is a real eye-opener. It is such ordinary football. People seem look back with rose-coloured glasses at the way footy used to be but the skill, speed and above all, decision making of the players today is so much better. There's a classic final between the Kangas and Dogs that often gets replayed on the premise that it is one of the great games of footy and it makes me laugh every time. It is just rubbish - bombing the ball without looking from half back to half back until finally a forward bobs up with a pack mark. Compare that with the play of the Sydney Swans on the weekend and it's like we're talking about two different sports. Sydney's decision making and execution was sublime - they were able to work their way through any jam without panicking. While I can't tell you whether Pagan understands modern footy well enough to coach again, the one thing that is clear is that the game is evolving at a rapid rate and it is hard to imagine someone who has spent that long out of it could slot back in with any assuredness.

I think the skills argument is an interesting one. I think that it is noticeable that when our defensive effort is ok, the perception of our skill level lifts as well. If we aren't getting any easy outside ball, then our skill level is going to look a hell of a lot worse than it actually is. I'm not claiming that our skills don't need a lot of work but I don't think that is the number 1 priority. Pressuring the opposition and spread are our two biggest issues. As an aside, does anybody know where we rank in terms of turnovers? Does Nutbean's assumption that we're giving the ball away too much/too easily stack up? I'm genuinely interested if anyone knows of a stats site?

Exactly. The amount of sweeping statements with nothing to support them is growing by the minute on here. I appreciate arguments on both sides but please people, make sure you can back them up, otherwise we're feeding something that is not necessarily genuine.

Back it up or remove it. Some of the comments on here are ridiculous and don't do the club any good.

Come on. You hate this guy but let's not conflate your distaste for Mark Neeld with the player's feelings towards their coach.

A long post but also a good one. It's good to remain circumspect in situations like this. I have this feeling that at some stage we're going to have to back someone through a dark period otherwise we're going to be stuck in this spiral for a long time to come.

You guys would all kill on Burgo's Catch Phrase! So many worn out clichés and not much else on both sides of the argument. I don't think anyone can really judge how good a coach is. All the premiership winning coaches have been part of great clubs, many from one-club towns. My gut feeling is that we should stick with this coach. However, the pragmatic argument is that the club can't make a decision based on what is best for the playing group, whatever that is - instead it must act at the behest of supporters. If supporter's aren't going to games, buying memberships etc. that's it. Game over. I feel for Neeld and I'm wary of anyone who claims with any certainty that he can or cannot coach - but the reality is that if you lose your fanbase/clientele, you don't have a functioning business/club.

Hahahahahaha...aaah..you're cracking me up kid. Where do we find one of these mythical creatures with the power to single-handedly change the fortunes of a club in an instant? Hey, better still, we should get two of them. just in case one gets sick or whatever.

Exactly.

In what way is Titan's post a personal attack?

Don't do it man.

I'll stick with the fine tradition of consuming a hat.

Yes, Yes & Yes. I can't see it happening but hope it does.

We're not playing well and we're losing games. This club has done a lot right over the past couple of years.

I totally agree with this. I'm just making the point that Colin would have more value in a good team.

I reckon he would dominate in a good team.