Maldonboy38

Tom Gillies - what did the recruiters see? Jack Watts - I have been in his corner for the whole 4 years. But he is not an AFL footballer. Absolutely horrible and embarrassing tonight. Dropped chest marks - Jamar, Watts, Nicho, Howe Spread - we can't and we don't. Forward or back. Was Heppel covered in dung and no-one liked getting near him? Footy involves running. We didn't. I think our midfield coach is Brian Royal. Sack him.

Learning is an important part of coaching, but our boys lack fire. It is the senior coach's job to inspire.

I was - unfortunately - at the game and haven't seen the footage, but my wife said it was the most uninspiring, "down" kind of thing she has seen. Can anyone provide a link for me to watch it?

The AFL will definitely have some conversations with the MFC this week. This was a free-to-air, 50,000+ attendance, Saturday night game, and played like we are not VFL standard. But the club is not the problem. We have new training facilities, no debt, new sponsors etc... This is a player / coach thing. Something is seriously wrong in the dressing room.

I will follow the Red and Blue for the rest of my life. But I can't see a membership renewal on the cards. I can't emotionally invest any more. I reckon I'm done. No more scarves, membership cards, attending club functions, attending with my kids etc... It really hurts tonight.

I reckon they using some internal measures to determine who is in and out, because from the outside it is difficult to understand. I cannot see how Gillies holds his spot when it seems like Tom McDonald is a perfect swap for him. Also, I can't see who he matches up on for the Bombers. And Jetta for Nicholson does seem right.

Who has he "protected"? And he get involved WHEN HE IS INVITED, not sticking his nose in.

Watching Smedts and Blicavs go after the ball with 2nd and 3rd efforts as if they would rather die than let their mates down just made me angrier and angrier. Selwood, Bartel etc... have set such a high standard of effort that no player can get in that side unless they show similar determination and urgency. Why have we not set this same standard?

I cannot for the life of me understand why a person like Garry Lyon cops so much distaste and vitriol. So many screaming "get in there 100% or rack off". There are a lot of people on this forum who think they know what Lyon's skills are, and reckon he is wasting them in the media. He will not coach because he has said repeatedly that he doesn't enjoy it, and doesn't have the attention to detail. He will not enter the club at an official level because he hates club politics. He will do his bit as a pinch-hitter when he is invited in - which has done. He is not our Messiah. The stuff he says about our pathetic club is some of the clearest, most concise and clear commentary across the media and we should be grateful that he is in the position he is in.

Neeld: They are still booing. No, don't turn round!!

The problem does not exist at an administration level. We have: No debt State of the art training facilities Over 30,000 members A push into Darwin. Everything is set for a club to thrive. It is the players and coaches that need a rocket. We need passion, heart, effort, intensity and grunt during games. We need to see creativity and flair from players who have it - Howe, Blease, Davey, Clark etc... And we need to see our coach coaching, not just training.

Play form players - Jetta, Terlich, Evans Tell Jamar not to tap the ball only one metre away from his feet. Give it a belt wide of the congestion and let Toumpas, Sylvia etc.. to run on to it. When we have the ball, run and be creative. Run, run, run, run, run.

Sellar. We need to keep him for backup, but I prefer Spencer, Gawn and even Fitzy ahead of him Gillies. One of our worst drafts in recent years, and that is saying a lot Pedersen. I just cannot see his worth.

As I have posted elsewhere, there are definite parallels between the position of the MFC 2013 - with Sydney 1980 and Fitzroy 1996. All the good administration, strong board, successful marketing etc... is all for nothing if the team can't play AFL standard footy. Fitzroy had Roos, Pert, Rendell, Wilson, Quinlan etc... in the period leading up to their demise - but they could not pull it together. Sydney had Round, Browning, the Morwoods - but could not pull it together. I will not jump off Melbourne - ever. But if we do not start to win, and become a successful game-day team I genuinely fear for our future.

How can we adequately express our rage to the leaders of our club? At AGM's we have our questions disallowed, restricted, or the question time limited. If we phone or email the club we get the automatic response of "yes the club is hurting but we need all our supporters to pull together". Journalists, Commentators, news reporters, web-site coordinators - they all get a forum to express ideas and emotions to the club. What is ours?

OUT: Pedersen. I have said it all preseason - he is a spud and not AFL standard. Gillies - is it possible to recruit this poorly? Nicho - Can. Not. Kick. Tappy. I have been gunning for his inclusion all preseason. He was atrocious today. Watts. The easiest position on the ground to play and accumulate free possessions, and he gets two kicks. I have been a strong and stalwart defender of Jack, but his intensity, heart and focus were embarrassing - for him and the jumper. He must be dropped. The playing staff cannot tolerate this soft, passionless footy. Midfield coaches. How bad are we? VERY LUCKY: Sellar. In certain situations, we probably need him McKenzie. We have no-one else who can stifle Watson Sylvia. IN: Dawes Terlich Jetta. Cannot believe his exclusion for round 1 Davey Tom McDonald

I would love this, but it won't achieve anything apart from allowing me and many others to vent their spleen. I want something to CHANGE. I want to players to play with some ticker. I want evidence that Neeld's coaching is going to be effective. Players like Sylvia, Tapscott and Watts to be dropped. I am a fan of all three but they represent the heart of the matter - no ticker. And please, for the love of all things good and true, never play Gillies or Pedersen again.

Cue Greg Denham

I still have my members scarf and members card. I will support and bleed red and blue until I die. I will stick as fat as I can. But I feel gutted today. Devastated. Again. I wonder if a heap of us should turn up to the next open training session and let the players and coaches know how we feel? Emails to the club, donations to debt demolition, participation in club functions and family days is the support we have given and will give. But how do we express a mixture of emotional numbness, devastation and rage? Would it make the players and coaches play and coach better? I don't know how to express to the club the emotions I am feeling, but I don't just want to type into an internet forum. The club needs to know how it feels for us.

Grimes had a go and got the ball. Half the time, it seemed that if he had some help and some players around him showing energy he might have been able to give it to someone who was moving. He is a bloody good leader surrounded by lifeless corpses - I reckon he can hold his head up.

Since the day Bailey was appointed as coach I have seen no rise or fall in our attitude or performance. We have stagnated in a rotten position where there is no inspiration, no flair, no guts, no mongrel and no coordinated approach to playing hard and winning. We are simply not winners. We might win the occasional game but there is never any feel of excelling. There is a rule of nature that applies to all of life - either grow or die. We have stagnated therefore we are still dying. I have a rally bad feeling about where this could lead.

I agree heart beats true. Where do we go from here? What can Neeld say, do, change? What will spark us? How can a group of players serve that up after a tough preseason? Can we shrink any further?

I have four kids. I was working this arvo, but when I got home the kids were doing other stuff but had the computer on and getting score updates, laughing at the Melbourne result. Laughing!! They are all members - paid up and proud - but I have no chance of getting them to any games this year. They are not turning into supporters, they just "go for Melbourne but have no interest". The MFC is robbing me of a whole lot at the moment.

1. Grimes 2. Viney The rest of the votes go to us Dees supporters who keep barracking and supporting for no return. Nothing. Zilch.

Devastated. Is that performance redeemable in any way? Range Rover - I hate to say it - but I agree with you. I have horrible feelings akin to South Melbourne 1980 and Fitzroy 1996. WE seem to have OK administrators, good marketing adn management, etc... But we simply cannot play AFL standard football. At the Commencement dinner, Mark Neeld said "we are building something special". Bulldust. We are fading away into irrelevancy and obscurity. I really am sick and tired of this. I will hold onto my scarf and membership but I can't emotionally buy in. This one really hurts.