Moonshadow

Or Sydney, they have a habit of recycling old players on the brink and bringing them around.

Whereas we have a habit of not getting the best out of our current players and rarely out of recycled players (Clark aside, though he's hardly 'recycled').

Keep Moloney, one year deal. He has experience, body size and has shown in the past that he can play well. A one year deal will say to him that if he doesn't lift his game, then he's gone, and no one would want him after two bad years in a row.

With Green's experience missing next year, I think Moloney needs to re-signed. Unless we can pick up some good FAs, Beamer is a required player.

Let's not eat our own, like some clubs do.

Great clips DD. I had forgotten about that biting incident. Brings back a lot of memories. Football wasn't such a business in those days, hey.

Fitness and defensive ethic.

And more muscle. But that too will come, especially with Misso on his tail.

Really want him to come back from his end of season leave in tip top knick. Gyz as well.

Davey.... I just can't get it that a seasoned player with such sublime skills (when on song) is having such a crappy couple of years. Yes, he's had some injuries, but many would argue that his time on our list is nearly up. Should be an A grader, but so far from that now.

its all part of the "lets kick the Demons" didnt you know. Theyre getting short on ammo !! lol

Next they'll start asking Lawrence about his knowledge of tanking.

Rookie listed only.

His skills are worse than almost every other player on our list. Turnovers are killers

Great, insightful post.

Soooooo... I guess your suggestion is trade him or delist him. After all, "turnovers are killers".

Better skills than Chip?!!!

Must be a typo.

He's a big unit as well, very solid. Imagine him with another 2 preseasons and 25-30 games, especially if he keeps improving at the current rate. Confidence will certainly help to sharpen this Pencil.

don't need a clash strip against the aints (nor most so-called mfc clash teams)

I think they do it for marketing opportunities.

I've always liked the idea of reversing our home strip. Blue V on red, anyone?

Next they'll play Junior in the ruck!

500 times tested. O times positive.

Despite what his team mates or his team Docs say? Weight of number shifts when people fess up.

from AFL website. Sounds like he's had great treatment. Now its rehab time.

http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/144140/default.aspx

Chances of Gold Coast nominating Jacky Viney 5% - GC have had a horrible year and can't afford to get too smart and they don't want Viney full stop.

Chances of GWS nominating Jack Viney 95% - Sheedy, Silvagni and Allan's modus-operandi is being too smart, vindictive and conniving.

And just for good measure ...

Chances of MFC taking Viney at pick 3 if he's nominated = 100%

and 5 out of 4 people don't understand maths...

The Coaching situation has been exacerbated by 2, Kevin Sheedy who will sulk till the day he dies that Dean Bailey got the job instead of him and will kick every chance he has got and Paul Roos, not even sure who at MFC upset him, but somebody has, to put it mildly HE HATES MFC.

Inflicted the worst loss of his coaching career. Perhaps hastened his downfall???

I don't have a problem with people criticising Neeld & speculating that he isn't the MFC's next premiership coach.

If you watch the team play it is a frustrating process. The players are slow & unthinking, they get sucked in too easily to the contest, in the odd occasion that they win the ball there is no spread, only handballs to stationary targets, the skill level is atrocious, often the get out plan is to go long up the line (on the full). We struggle to win contested ball even against the effing expansion sides & can not seem to score for large chunks of matches just like under DB. Brent Moloney was a B&F last year & won 19 Brownlow votes but his form has gone so far backwards he is pretty much a fringe player who seems unhappy at the club. These are all issues for which I believe Mark Neeld needs to bare some responsibility. Therefore I can't criticise any poster that pots Neeld for these problems.

I'm willing to back him in to turn these things around. To bring some balance to the argument it is hard to think of a first year coach that has had a tougher initiation. He inherited a fractured club after the departure of DB & the aftermath of the soul destroying 186. Tom Scully's departure was still a foul stench in the air when Neeld took the chair. He had the tough task of trying to overhaul the FD & onfield leadership of the club after Brad Green's disastrous 1 year stint as captain. Liam Jurrah's problems, Jim Stynes lost his battle with cancer, the club lost a major sponsor through sheer dickwittery, sub par fitness, massive injury lists & adjustment to a radically different gameplan were always going to be tough factors for Neeld to negotiate. Its been an extremely tough initiation. On that basis I'm prepared to cut him some slack & measure my expectations accordingly.

Expectations come into it as well. Neeld has probably inherited a more impatient fanbase than most other coaches, the prevailing logic is seemingly that the MFC has served its penance in the cellar under Bailey. It has become apparent in 2012 that the recruiting has not been great. Morton is still a fringe player, Maric was delisted, Watts isn't close to being a KPF in the mould of Riewoldt, Blease is fringe, ditto Strauss, Scully bolted, Gysberts has played 1 game, Tapscott has struggled & Cook is a million miles away. Combine this with injuries to Jurrah, Clark & Jamar as well as the declining form of the likes of Green, Sylvia & Moloney is it any wonder we're [censored]?

Nuffies will point to last year that we won 8.5 games but in reality we were going backwards. We beat Adelaide & Freo at their lowest ebb, were underwhelming against GC x2, scraped home against a couple of the worst Brisbane & Port sides ever assembled, our 2 good wins were against Richmond (who went past us later) & Essendon in the middle of a form slump. The only decent side we got within a bull's roar of a decent side was the round 1 draw with Sydney (who we beat by 74 points in our previous meeting. The rest of the year was marred by thumpings, tactical ineptitude & basically failing every test possible.

They also point to his quotes about being the "hardest team to play against" & wonder why it hasn't been the case in his first year.

While it's doubtful anybody could've done a worse job this year than Neeld it's equally doubtful whether anyone could've done better in the same set of circumstances. He has a power of work to do, the drafting and trading period will tell us a lot about his intent. He has a three year contract to get us up to competitive standard. To sack him before that would be a sign of an inept, directionless club. No credible coach will want to touch us with a barge pole & you'd be worried about the mental state of anybody keen to work for such a rabble.

I don't profess to know if he is a coaching mastermind but I'm happy to back him in & see how it unfolds. He has my conditional support, I think everybody else owes him that too at this early stage.

Good post JC. Balanced and insightful.

I agree, i definitely think we can turn things around pretty quickly if we make good decisions in the draft and with the FA's. i'd like to think that we're not going to rely too much of FA's though because i would like to think that neeld and the other new coaches etc can get the most out of players that we already have in our list.

Sylvia for example, i know he has been a very inconsistent player over his whole career and has always annoyed the hell out of many supporters, but since he returned from his back injury this season he seems to have been relatively consistent (touchwood) and i'm hoping that it is due to the input from neeld and the other new coaches and its not just a flash in the pan. We do also have a number of younger players such as Cook, Fitzpatrick and there is also Gawn who is a BIG unknown (literally!) and he could develop into anything and the same goes for the others. Jones also seems to have thrived this season. The approach that neeld has will obviously not suit all players and i'd expect those guys to be moved on at seasons end to make room for newbies.

What i'm trying to say is FA's are definitely a help and we will need them along with the draft picks, but we have to keep in mind that there are some players in the background that haven't as of yet developed big bodies which hopefully they will and lets hope that enables them to take the next big step from VFL to AFL.

As fas as finals go, if we do recruit well i think next year we will push ourselves back up to where we were last year (8-10 wins) but we will be stronger internally than last season. the year after i'd like to think that finals will be definitely in our grasp!

Ahhhh, the optimism of youth!

I like it YDE. Don't let the bastards grind your energy down!

Geeez let's all get off our high horses. Never booed a injured Melbourne player and never will but all Freak did was share an honest opinion. FWIW I wish Cale all the best at another club.

No. He showed really poor taste for all the reasons that many other posters have brought up in this thread.

FWIW Cale is contracted in '13 and, given his shoulder injury, is unlikely to be sought after during trade time

C'mon all you lovers of game theory, given these rules (plus any others you think relevant), can we come up with a solution that either guarantees, or dramatically increases the chance of, us getting Viney in the 2nd round? One for GWS finishing last and/or one for GC finishing last. Or one that works for both.

I'm guessing (read: hoping) that Viney, Harrington, et al have workshopped this extensively and have a strategy worked out

I may get canned for this, but do we want to be giving away the best JV plans by putting them in the public domain for GWS, GC and Dimwitreou to see?

Rather than prolong the pain let's just delist him and reload for next year. I'm betting the club could pick up a player in the top 80 that has as much chance of becoming a player as Cook.

Jack Darling says Hi Melbourne you suckers!!

Quality post. Thanks for your thoughtful insight.

Interesting case would be if (god forbid) we lose to GWS and then the Giants beat both the Suns and us...

???

Are we playing GWS twice in the remaining rounds?

i must say this is one of the best articles on the topic of Mark Neeld. i read this some time back but i still feel it is quite relevant. Neeld is taking us in the right direction but instead of listening to me just read the article. GO DEES!!!

http://www.bigpondsport.com/sacking-neeld-is-no-solution/tabid/91/newsid/88605/default.aspx

Yes. There's no doubt that Neeld has had the toughest introduction to senior coaching possible (so far). And if it is true that what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger, then perhaps we'll have a lot to look forward to.

I can't remember which ex player/coach said it (Roos? Wallace?), but if we trade well, pick up some wise FAs and select the best draft youngsters, we could turn around quickly.

Perhaps we are only a half doz key players and 12 mths away from finals footy???

IMO we have a good coaching team, good facilities and no debt. Neeld will get the best out of the players, but it will take longer than one season.

Edit: spel.

Well I know we support the same club but if that photo's you I very much doubt we're on the same team.

And I want to know (but I'm a bit scared to ask) if there is a leash on that collar of yours, BBO...

Brad is now is coming second in our goal kicking i think

Not that that's a compliment. Andrew Krakouer would be leading our goal kicking if he were a Dee.

Edit: spell.

Many seem to think Moloney may be gone elsewhere next year. And perhaps even Silvia.

If that eventuates, we will be soooooooooo short on experience and leadership. Big vacuum to fill (unless, of course, we pick up some as FA's). Losing Green as well would be too much.

My guess is that the decision will be made when trade/draft directions solidify.