Maldonboy38

By far the greatest player I have seen at the Dees. Poise, grace, skill, courage, leadership - all in a skinny body not made for footy and horrible eyesight. I met him at a club open day in the 70's, still have his signature in an old autograph book. I had a kick with Paul Callery but desperately wanted to kick with Robbie. In the country growing up, on cold Sundays in the late 70's I would be out kicking a soggy, rotten old footy between trees and yelling out "Flower"!!! I was fortunate enough to meet him when my friends' brother-in-law played for the Dees in the early 80's and I was allowed in the rooms before and after the game. I was there for the 1987 finals series, rising with the whole Dees crowd, yelling out "Robbiiieeee" every time he went near the ball. I love Schwarz, Farmer, Lyon, Brett Lovett... many others. But no-one comes anywhere near Robbie for me. I am just so sad tonight. I feel like the whole MFC family has lost its elder statesman, oldest son, and club icon.

Two separate quotes from Brennan: 1. "I just heard that Bluey got the flick... Damn, a year late!!! In all seriousness though" 2. "Feel for the players who didn't get a chance to develop and excel because of his stubbornness and one-minded ways".

Both the sackings of Bluey McKenna and Brenton Sanderson are huge errors. Both of these blokes are seriously good coaches and are being sacked as if this was the EPL. The ridiculous Jared Brennan tweet just confirms that boards are now listening to players too much and not supporting their man. I hate this part of the AFL.

I absolutely DESPISE Essedung. I never really enjoy watching other people/clubs/organisations suffering, but the ego driven, chest thumping, narcissistic attitude taken by Hird and Little leaves me actually enjoying watching them implode. Under Hird's leadership, his club allowed the players to take a regime of unknown and un-traceable supplements. How they could not just put their hands up and take their right whack is morally reprehensible and demonstrates deep character flaws in their leadership. I hope they go bottom four and then wooden spoon as we rise.

Frawley was a gun and I am sad to see him go. A genuine defender who could break a line, play on the huge forwards, and monster opposition forward lines. My son's favourite player. Thanks Chip for every effort you put in for the Dees, and for giving one of my sons a favourite player to look up to in a era of losses, no excitement and few thrills. However, I am neither surprised nor disappointed. Neeld killed his natural flair, and Frawley leaving sits right on Neeld's lap. He has not played any of those great backman games for almost 2 years, and needs fresh air. Pick 3 here we come.

Sorry to interrupt the flow of this thread, but I have been reading through a lot of rumour/trade threads, trying to sort out the wheat and the chaff. As far as I can tell, it looks likely (not definite, but getting warmer) that three players are heading to the Dees: 1 - Lamumba 2 - Frost 3 - Gwilt Do these sound realistic at this stage, or nothing more than "possible"? These three are all backmen, and Roos has said publicly that he wants to continue to build the midfield. So, are we jumping at shadows? Where are we in terms of midfield trades: - Dangerfield, Taylor Hunt, the Greenwod rumour, other midfielders looking for a change etc...?

Yes, I think so. I thought Rioli was very flaky and you could get inside his head. This Sydney team is the best single year 22 I have ever seen. The Hawks kicking game and finals experience will be a factor but the Swans have got a unique thing going: they are a team of champions that have merged into a champion team.

My dad was born in South Melbourne in 1935 and had to wait his entire life to see a flag. I can't stand what the Swans have done to get Tippet and Buddy, but this Swans team is the best single year team in my living memory. They do not have a flaw across the 22 and that is very difficult to achieve. Swans by 28 points.

I don't know too much about either of them, so neither fill me with too much excitement. However, Roos does have a strong tra k record of bringing players from other clubs who sit just outside their best 22, and making them into a 150 game player.

I am a de Boer fan. A work horse whose disposal is clean without being penetrating. He is something a lot of Melbourne players are not - effective. Whether closing someone down, or providing reliability across half back he is a role player. His pace is a concern but has not held him back from being effective in his career. Yes for mine, unless other better options present.

I like this outcome, but mainly because Bartlett, PJ and Roos have been the driving force behind the decision, and I can't remember the last time I had genuine faith in our top line decision makers. This trio are the probable foundation stones of our intended "sustained success". The decision making process to find a coach/successor has been attended to quietly, professionally and expertly behind the scenes, with no media bulldust or leaks to lime-light seeking journalists, gives me confidence in the people making the decisions. This Igives me a kind of confidence that has been rare for too long, and I hardly dare to invest in this confidence. As far as Goodwin being the man, I have absolutely no idea if he will be any good. Everything seems to appear in order, but the same could be said of Bailey and Neeld. And I will become a Collingwood supporter before I ever again jump on board a new coach, investing all my hope in him. But I have to admit this appointment and the explanation of how this appointment was reached makes me feel good about 2015.

I reckon its pretty good. Left field, visually appealing, and well produced. But it doesn't make me renew - I just renew because I love the Dees, can't help myself. Definitely aimed at the under 30 age-group which could be a mistake. We have hardly won a game in their lifetime.

I almost cry watching anything from 1994. Best Melbourne side I have ever seen and we didn't even make it into the GF. The Eagles slaughtered us at the WACA in the Prelimary Final. Neitz, Shwartz, Tingay, Jakovich, Lyon, Stynes, 2 x Lovetts, Charles. The Ox is/was a genuine superstar. Pity gambling and dodgy knees stuffed his career.

This year there have been no leaks or whispers coming from our club, at least none of weight or importance. And even on this issue there is a deafening silence. This again reassures me that PJ and Roos know all the ins and outs of this and are fully knowledgeable about this issuel. On top of this, the total lack of official comment signals to me that there is no desperate or frantic effort to keep Mitch. I suspect MFC believe Mitch is cooked. If I remember correctly he had 2, not 1, lower leg/foot injuries. The Lisfranc thing is a shocker that has finished the career of other footballers. Also, the only 2 players I can remember being public about their clinical depression while playing - Johnathon Hay and Nathan Thompson - never recovered their spark. I would love to see him in the red and blue again, but I have no confidence he will get back to his brilliant best, whoever he plays for.

I want Freo to win, but with McPharlin and Johnson out they just can't do it. I am so sick of Geelong and Hawthorn. Passionately despise Essendon and North. Richmond fans are the worst in the comp. After watching the Qualifying final last night, both Geelong or Hawthorn are so beatable. It is Sydney's to lose as far as I can see it.

Quarterback - I would really look at Salem for this role although he is a bit young. But his kicking is very good and he is a monster tackler. Superstar - there don't seem to be many on offer for a move or trade. We could really struggle to get one so we might have to wait for Viney/Salem/JKH/Tyson to become one. Fitness - Misson has had three years, maybe time for a change?? With the exception of N Jones and Cross, our players still cannot offensively AND defensively spread from the midfield for an entire game. Can this be changed in one preseason? Bsically yes. Port Adelaide changed from dumb and slow to quick and attacking in one preseason so there is no reason we can't. Frost to replace Frawley. Skills improvement - where the %#&* is this going to come from? Hogan to be fit. It isn't looking too good that we can improve where we need to in one preseason. And we MUST get this succession plan in place.

Fitness improvement - 20% Skills improvement - 40% A long kicking, quarter-back type player for half back Hogan fit A replacement for Frawley 1 superstar Just typing that makes me depressed - we really are coming from a long way back.

He has the run and carry we need off half back, but he only does 2 things: 1) sprint like buggery and kick it as long as he can to the wing 2) sprint like buggery and do a dinky little 15.1 metre kick to a team mate. Too limited for mine, and his long kicking often is kicked straight back at him by opposition players who read his 2 options really well. No for me.

Like Frost, Frawley was an atrocious kick, and unbelievably poor at ground level in his first 3 seasons and he was able to become very good at both. Frost looks balanced and I reckon his kicking will emerge ok. However, I would like to see more of him before I give a clear cut i.Anyone know if there is a video or Youtube clip available?

I didn't see the interview today but I agree 100% CBF. The list/team will take 3 seasons to become competitive and this is being left to the football dept, recruiters and coaching staff. PJ and the Board have quietly and skilfully done work to make the club strong behind the scenes. This is like electrical conduit - it runs underground and no-one sees it but its just is vital. Landing AHG as a sponsor, getting rid of the cronies and chronic MFC hangers-on, and getting seasoned professionals into senior admin roles has been a difficult and important job. Well done to all involved in this herculean task. And I love the silent way they have got this job done. No press statements, no noise, no "look-at-me". They have simply got the job done.

I have a lot of mixed feelings about this season. A lot of players missed huge slabs of the preseason before the season proper started, and the only one of them to produce a decent season was Dom Tyson - and his season was an absolute ripper. Losing Clark, Trengove and Hogan was a huge blow and we never recovered. Recruiting of Vince, Tyson, Cross, Salem, Riley and Michie at least made us competitive in most games. The form of Garland, Viney, Watts and Toumpas was embarrassing at times, at least Viney showed some grunt and tackle pressure at times. Toumpas and Viney can be excused for being young at a club that has struggled with player development. Our skills, whether under pressure or free outside, were deflating, embarrassing, hardly VFL standard, and the reason we lost so many games when we were in front during the last quarter. This has to be a major focus of the post-Christmas training. The form of Dunn, N Jones, Pederson, Jetta, Tyson, Cross was our saving grace. Well done to these boys. The enraging footskills of co-captain Grimes who reads the play as well as anyone in the AFL, gets to contests, has courage and leadership, but is a worst turnover king of any player at MFC in my living memory. Might cost him the captaincy in 2015. I love the strength and consistency of the coaching panel. Even when we were losing games we should have won, they did not change their attitude, their public persona, the message... they just kept on with it believing it will work. Gotta applaud that. Loved having Roos as our coach this year, but thought late in the year he used the "this is a damaged group" line too many times and he needs to remove it from his chosen language for 2015. I am disappointed that a succession plan coach has not be named and added. However, this makes me think that MFC have already chosen and signed their candidate, but he is an assistant coach at another club, waiting for season 2014 to be over at his club prior to coming on over. I predicted 4-6 wins, thinking we would get only 1 in first half of season, and a few more in the second half. I was only partly right. I have to admit to feeling very deflated with just 4 wins, knowing we were in front during the last quarter in 10 games. And lastly, having to watch another finals season with Hawthorn and Geelong in it (I can just hear the commentators stiffening up at the prospect) makes me want to throw up. And now, I have the increasing frustration of a growing hatred for North Melbourne who have made finals ahead of us, and whose coach reminds me a of a incompetent, steriodal meerkat - standing up barking rubbish at all and sundry if they come to near "his precious players". I %&@#*& hate this time of year as a Dees follower.

A very poignant admission that he did not speak to the players after the match because "the players have heard enough negatives and I had nothing positive to say". He looked to be in control of himself but absolutely seething underneath. He now knows that too many of the players can't kick, mark and handpass and after almost a year of his leadership a lot of them have not improved at all. I just cannot see what can be done.

Yep, true. Apologies Moonshadow - just really low tonight and had a gutful. come October of course I'll sign up - hope is a heartless b**ch.

Not for me. No more "helping the poor, little unsuccessful MFC". We find and/or develop from within through determination and a refusal to go under.

A member and a supporter are not interchangeable words. I was a supporter for years before I became a member: went to games, bought a jumper etc... As for "my only real contribution" you are speaking in absolute ignorance of how I support the club. Maybe you just don't have the guts to express how you feel about the club when angry like most of us do.