Crompton's the man

Well if it's only 3 or 4 months I wouldn't think his Achilles tendon is ruptured ( that would be the season surely?) - but that is what it looked like. Or maybe it's a torn calf muscle.

Will be at President's Lunch together with Superior Being with whom I live 72 611 Is there a prize?

It was a very very poor attempt at a spoil that left Jones dazed and missed the ball by 1/3 metre - I really did expect such a naked attempt to injure a player to be referred. Take the point that it's history now but sincerely hope I live long enough and gain enough wisdom to understand the reasoning of the Almighty MRP

I agree - as many human beings and Collingwood supporters as possible

But even so he'll always be a decoy at the least, requiring the dedicated attention of a talented opponent. It then becomes an issue of the ability of the alternatives. After last week we can have a sense that with a talented midfield capable of capturing turnovers and catching the opposition on the hop,and kicking accurately and (necessarily) unpredictably it is the depth of the team - the "second tier" players who are the ones who can take us into the next level. We've hoped all year to see that happen and been disappointed til now. The last game should remind us that there is some developing talent in our list. No doubt not all will make it - and some of those who do may be seduced elsewhere (hopefully not) All in all we can have a reasonable degree of faith in the list managers - fair assessment?

Had a phone call on Tuesday night seeking me to purchase another raffle ticket of the centennary style - hope it has nothing to do with the club trying to assemble a warchest to ward off invaders

The team mix seemed to have struck the right recipe and those two were fizzing off each other - unpredictable and classy Perhaps these talents together with their speed are part of what's been missing.

Twelve matches true But isn't it interesting how he suddenly looks a better coach when he gets some good players back into the team. It's almost enough to make you think, isn't it?

Sensible stuff Rogue Rumour was Carlton tanked in the last game of the season in order to get the priority draft pick and if that affects team morale then according to that football logic they should have lost last week ( or maybe rumour was incorrect, or in the alternative the demoralising effect of such tanking wears off in another twelve months in which case we should be ok for 2012) The fact that West Coast was so hopeless last year and yet so awesome this year should encourage us all to be of stout heart. We can surely expect a similar return on our dividend can't we? ( By the way Watts only needs one game where things run his way instead of against him to give him the confidence to believe he can make it happen - and it's not too far off ( not necessarily this Friday though) - I watched Matthew Richardson play his first game and he was so gangly and out of place it was hard to see he'd ever be much. Watts has come a fair way along the path and he ain't at the end yet. )

This comment seems to me to be the core issue and no one seems to be discussing the Board attitude. Do we have confidence that the experienced people at that level who no doubt have the interests of the Club at heart (and therefore our own) will be able to make the right moves? Enthusiasm is great but what we need is nouse as well. ( Not a supporter of " Off With His Head " as a panacea for all problems. The knife may need to cut deeper if it is used)

Can you turn a hyperbaric chamber into a hypobaric chamber ?

Thank you Being a supporter seems to be an outdated and unfashionable occupation. Hopefully it won't be made illegal.

I don't like interchange infrindgments (don't think we have had one yet anyone got stats?) Well done Cameron Butler !!

FWIW the game last night reminded me of one of the twilight games of Neil Daniher's career at Port Adelaide when we went in to the game ( at that time with a mature list and no expectation of significant improvement in the forseeable future) but we knew before the battle that the troops simply weren't up to the task. So we played to ameliorate the size of the loss. As a strategy it was somewhat successful - there will likely be worse defeats this round. Not much joy to be shared around however.

Probably won't happen but - how could anyone consider overlooking Malthouse? Seriously.

Well Choko I know that your post may appear to be well reasoned and not inflammatory and basically sensible and yet you must be prepared to recognise that this approach will be extremely unlikely to sate the blood lust of those you probably consider simplistic, reactionary and short-term thinkers. You probably further think that what happened to Freo today lends credibility to your argument : take the gun ruckman out of the side and see what happens I can imagine you saying. And then I can extrapolate and suppose your argument might run : what do you suppose might happen if we took eight or ten of the better players out of the Freo team and ran the remainder of the list against any of the in-form teams. Well I think - why not roll the dice? - jump horses midstream and take the chance that whatever horse we might jump on ( whoever might be available at the time I say ) might be able to effect a change of mentality that will produce results against all apparent odds. Now I can't really think of any rational basis to diagree with what you have written so I'm going to say I disagree and I'm prepared and I'm going to come right out of the closet and say I know it's irrational but the course of action many others have suggested ( it used to be called self-immolation but I prefer the term "changing coaches mid-season") I may be writing this because I've been refusing to take my medicatio these past few days. In short - I don't like sensible arguments : what else can I say? Give me the crazy zany white-anters any day of the week : I'm with you all to the edge of the precipice - AND BEYOND !!!

It will be interesting to compare our performances when we're up to speed in terms of players back from injury to some of our worse performances. The second half of the season will give a fair indication. Also I give a public apology to whoever it was said we'd win eleven games and I wrote we'd win twelve. This estimate reminds me of some of my stock market dealings.

Going back to the cultural thing: Bearing in mind that when he first came to MFC he couldn't even speak the Queen's English and that his superb ball skills were recognised and he got a ticket to the big time (must have seemed like a dream come true - hope it still does) could it be considerd that the sort of naked agression that all ( ALL ) our football-playing young men grow up with and regard as normal perhaps is something he is yet to grow into. This desired attitude will probably happen by osmosis but isn't a mentality that will come naturally when his previous 90% of his life thus far has probably been immersed in attitudes of respect and cooperation. If this is a factor ( ok - I might be wrong) the key to an improved defensive game is for him to see how this aspect helps the team if he chases and is more aggressive.

Surely this is going too far?? Or maybe they should try this regime every time they lose a game.

Just a quick question If one took the view that we played fairly well yesterday and lacked a couple of skillful and experienced players to kick the two or three deciding goals and therefore failed to believe the sky to be either falling in or about to fall in (notwithsanding the likely upcoming pain) would that mean that one was soft in the head?

07.17 left in the 2nd Q Geelong/ C'wood Is that reportable? the player's head hit the ground

Interesting in retrospect Two or three weeks ago there were some reports about a NFL player ( I seem to recall that he ulimately suicided ) who had chronic brain injury following a succession of concussions. The AFL no doubt took more note than me of the story - perhaps that explains their drive to establish a "new standard" and it would be necessary for at least one to be an example. Convenient if it doesn't involve Collingwood or Essendon - that's just the way it goes.

Response : "They were spontaneous utterances and as such should be deemed inadmissable"

Sounds right to me I'm coming around to the majority opinion. Sorry I've been so slow to see the light .....

How many times have we heard an expert commentator say as a player is pinned by one arm and cannot legally dispose with the arm that holds the ball : "That's the perfect tackle and deserves to be rewarded"