jimcor

Truly poor game today. I know it's been said before (and often!) but I cannot believe that we (the MFC) continue to pay players that are unable to consistently kick or handball. Quite shocking today. Pressure or no pressure, doesn't seem to make much difference. Apart from Neville Jetta & Jack Watts, there are really very few that seem to possess the basic skills. I am a little worried about next week when we come up against a good team.

Was at training today for about an hour and the most impressive thing I saw was Tapscott's ability to put a low, hard foot pass onto a leading player's chest. Virtually everyone else was waiting (sometimes without being rewarded) for someone to drop their defender and then put the ball high - to be marked overhead. This, of course, makes it much more likely that a defender will be able to spoil. it will be interesting to see if he can produce this skill on Saturday and also to see if he can find some space himself.

Nor me. I'm really uncomfortable about public appraisals. In relation to Dees2014's comment, I would expect that as a 'senior manager', he/she would be able to train their subordinates to realistically appraise their staff. The responsibility for his/her subordinates' performance ultimately rests with Dees2014. As a former colleague of mine once said (and as Paul Roos is proving), there's no such thing as bad players, just bad coaches.

Great to go to a game with the chance that we might win. What a change! Also good to see ua becoming a team that other teams don't want to play against....RIP Mark Neeld...then again, f..k him. Finally,Tyson & Watts seem to be developing a rapport. How good is that going to be?

The difference between this season & last season is fantastic. At this point last year, there was no light at the end of the tunnel. We didn't' even know how long the tunnel was! It's almost unbelievable that change can happen so quickly. I'm not even convinced that Top 8 is out of the question this year however realistically, it's unlikely. I was at the game last year when we conceded 6 (?) goals to the 'Dogs in the last quarter when the win felt like a loss. The loss last night was nothing like it and, if we keep competing like that, I think we'll be a force to reckon with for a long time. Respect (like 'Winter') is coming.

I'm surprised that so many are able to make the judgement that they know what Jack is being instructed to do by the coaching panel. Has someone heard that: (A) he's being told to develop his 'inside ness' and go hard in & under? (B) he's being told to stand off of inside contests so as to make himself available when the ball comes out? His use if the ball is consistently sublime and he showed tonight that the odd, critical tackle is an option. If Roos thought he wasn't performing as expected, I have no doubt he'd be at Casey. As I've said before, cut him some slack 'cos he might actually read some go these comments.

PaulRB, I agree totally. Never has there been a 'can't win' like Jack Watts. Can you imagine the vitriol if he hadn't re-signed last year. Anyone else would have been cut some slack for at least showing loyalty. Give Roos the opportunity for good coaching to have some impact & at least acknowledge the effort he's putting in. Who knows what instructions he's been given? Certainly not any of us. I hope he doesn't read any of what's been written because he'd be asking himself why he bothers.

For probably the first time in Jack Watts' career, he is receiving some leadership from the senior coach. He is the most talented player at the club and it is in all of our interests for Roos to be given the time to find the key to unlock his potential. Great leaders (as against great managers) often display the flexibility needed to get the best out of a group of individuals. Ultimately, Jack Watts will decide if he loves football and the club enough to realize his potential but, until he does, cut him some slack. We quickly forget that this is his first extended shot at playing midfield and all the feedback from teammates & coaches is that he's worked his arse off to try and make it a success. None of us know what instructions he's been given and, at the end of the day, the coaching team will make the call. Just remember how happy most of us were when he re-signed this year. At least recognize & acknowledge his loyalty to the club when others are playing hard to get.

I know everyone's sick of the Jack Watts discussion but, given the remarkable difference in his involvement in the first & last quarters by comparison with his virtual disappearance in between, has anyone thought that he might just have been following instructions? First game back, the coach would not have wanted to risk him over-cooking in the tropics and would have been keen to have someone with some run left in them as the game progressed. I can remember many fourth quarters in 2013 where we just hit the wall. That certainly wasn't the case on Friday. Watts is smart and talented and gives me great cause for optimism in combination with what's beginning to look like a competitive midfield feeding a competitive forward line. Anyway, just a thought.

Light training with a slippery ball. What I liked most was the exercise where the ball is cleared out of the back line by a group of 5 or 6 players running full tilt the length of the ground providing options. Very different from the past where, once a pass was completed, the player would stand with their hands on their hips getting their breath back. Did not see Gawn, Garland, Tapscott, Dawes, Strauss...they might have been there but I didn't see them. Fair few skill errors but understandable given the ball was wet. I might have also mentioned that we seem to have a strategy that if a player is leading towards goal, the ball is put over their head so that they can run on and mark it. If, on the other hand the player is leading away from goal, the ball is put either on the chest or in front of the leading player so that they can at least have a chance of picking it up on the bounce. It must be so frustrating leading towards a player at full tilt and then to have the ball sail over your head to the advantage of the defender. Friday will be interesting.

Went down from 10 to 11.30. Much more noise from the players than last Monday. I'll leave it to others to fill in the details so just a couple of comments: - Jamar left early after doing a few laps - Hogan trained by himself ( with trainers) for first hour then joined group. Still has knee lightly taped - Pedo def training as a forward - Gawn & Dawes trained with the whole group in the full ground exercise - Watts & Trengove both trained with the main group but, I think, both left early - Dawes & JKH were the targets during the full ground stuff - fair few skill errors but seem to be training to, if anything, kick the ball short of the target rather than long and then also training the players to pick it up at the first attempt. Last season saw balls being kicked too high and putting target player under the pump. This might be a better option. - N.Jones & Howe had a shoot out from hard on the LH the boundary to finish off. Both missed the first 6 shots until finally Howe nailed one. Jones finished off with another miss. - Toumpas, Cross & Pedo still practising goalkicking when I left

I think I agree with you if, by 'laconic', you mean that he seems to lack intensity - laconic means a not using a lot of words (I had to look it up in the dictionary!). I think he's just a hugely talented, normal young bloke who, as you say, can (and needs to for his and our sake) improve significantly and become a great contributor. Who knows, he might, over time, turn into an exceptional player. Up to now, I don't think he's found anyone or anything to motivate him. Let's hope Roos and his teaam are the answer.

My first reaction when I read the article was one of embarrassment that we were the only club currently without an 'elite' player. On reflection, I can't disagree. It's a remarkably disappointing result. I fail to see how, by any measure, different criteria would change the ratings. Let's hope 2014 will be different.

I hate it when we lose. Results to me are everything.....and should be. I do not like being embarrassed by our team's performances and don't like getting sympathy from other teams' supporters. Putting in 100% and falling just short is a fail. Just winning is a pass. A pass is not good enough. Weekend after weekend has been spoilt for me.....it needs to stop. On this board, I always try to be even-handed in my comments but there should be no more need for excuses. For the last two years an untried senior coach was given virtually every tool to get the job done and he failed miserably. We now have a proven senior coach with almost total control over what happens on the paddock so no more excuses. Coaches, players and administration now need to demonstrate that they are worth the huge sums of money they are paid.....substantially by the membership.

No Bob. In fact, that's even more simplistic than I'm suggesting.....surprisingly. Essentially, what I'm saying is that success tends to breed even more success...in business or in sport.....until complacency sets in. Winners attract winners. Why, in the past,have we had trouble attracting the best players, coaches and administrators, do you think? Now, apart from all that, we are a sporting club playing competitive sport at a high level. Surely, the reason for doing so is to win 'stuff'. If that's not what drives everything we do, we should give it up. I am sick of seeing us continue to fail in competition and, frankly, I'd be happier for the club to break even as long as it brought us success. At the moment, the return on investment for decades of membership is in the negative bus, as far as I'm concerned, just one premiership would wipe the slate clean.

Well said. Ultimately, the only thing that matters is what's achieved on the field. Everything that happens off the field is there to support success by the team. Business models are great but we are a football club that must only measure its performance by how many games we win, how many finals we play in and how many premierships we win. We get that right and all the rest should fall into place. We won't have to rely on the old boy network to attract talented executives if we're winning. Good people want to be involved with (and/or stay with) winning teams. Even if we make money but still don't achieve success on the field, we fail. Roll on season 2014, 2015, 2016 because I am desperate to see us winning.

We were 'mediocre' in 2010 which led us to believe that our change of coach in 2011 would lead us to 'competitive' in 2012. How wrong we were. Now, we're 'pathetic', we are hopeful of an improvement back to 'mediocre' and then, who knows?

As a constant JW defender, I guess I fall into both groups - both of which we have ample evidence of being crap at. Ultimately, if we were good at one of them (selection or development), you would expect a higher success rate than we've had so far. It's disgraceful that we have been let down by the club so badly. I still think that JW will, with the right guidance, be a star and I will be devastated if he goes. Having said that, we need to judge Jackson & Roos on their results some of which will be determined by their ability to retain good players, develop what's left after the clean out and select successful replacements. This member of the jury is out until mid-2014.

Given that everyone seems to agree that our midfield is so ordinary, it's surprising how much of a stand-out Nathan Jones has been......albeit one that began to look a little worn out as the season progressed. On the other hand, I don't understand why Matt Jones would be thought of in the same context. At best, in my opinion, just a trier. On balance, my vote would go to Colin Garland who never looked less than very good.

Just watched the replay and, frankly, I've seen much worse in recent times. As much as I find it difficult to understand how we've got to where we are, I can still see that if we can find (or train) some players to create some clearances, we can be competitive. We were for quite a big chunk of this game. A lack of on-field leadership means that when the opposition gets a roll-on, there doesn't seem to be anyone who can marshall the forces to stem the flow. It's not enough to simply set an example. With our lack of confidence & experience someone needs to tell our payers what to do and where to be. I hope part of the leadership training next season will be about 'generalship' rather than media training. Anyway, this can all probably be fixed with some inspired (or maybe just competent) recruiting and some well thought out development strategies. Hope I start 2014 with more confidence than 2013 and we get a couple of priority pick Xmas presents.

Given the unqualified support given by some at the club and some supporters, what a surprise that JW would dare to make a rational decision about his career! He will be a great player with the MFC or somewhere else. He (and we, the loyal supporters of the club) is one of a large group of players who have been badly let down by people who not only should have known better, we're exceedingly well paid to know better. The measure of the new administration will be their ability to hold on to JW and those others.

I also thought it was odd that the was no update in last week's report. Why wouldn't we want to be informative as we could be about the state of play in relation to Mitch's foot? Who would we be trying to keep the news from? It's not as if we'd be wanting to play our cards close to our chest for the Finals and it's certainly not going to cause the supporters more stress than they're used to! Maybe we're after Buddy as a replacement for a soon-to-be retired Mitch and we don't want to signal our interest.......then again, it's probably just a mistake.

There's a JW/MS interview on the MFC website.

I think Blease re-injured his ankle at training today.

Could not agree more, if only for the supporters and for all of the players who have had to put up with incompetent boards and executives for too long. We deserve some success and if priority picks help bring it, fantastic! It's been a long time coming. Frankly, I don't care about any other club and I expect they don't really care about us. I cannot wait for some success and for the rest of the competition to whine about how we were 'special'. I look forward to thanking them for their contributions.