La Dee-vina Comedia

I agree with most of what you say about the MFC's poor management from 1965 onwards and the impact that has had. However, I'm curious about the claim that "MFC were a powerhouse". Clearly we were the best perfroming onfield team for a decade through the late 50s and early 60s, but were we also considered to be an off-field "powerhouse" club at the time? To me, the expression today could apply to Hawthorn, Collingwood, Essendon and Richmond meaning that irrespective of where they finish on the ladder, they still have huge followings and influence over AFL and media decision makers. Is that the sort of club we were pre-1965? (I'm too young to remember).

I like your post overall, but question this particular point. I regularly read what our track watchers post and don't recall previous criticism suggesting Hibberd doesn't train hard. Am I mistaken?

We haven't won a Premiership in 55 years. Which "things" over and over that we've done since 1964 would you want to stop doing because they haven't worked? Changing coaches every few years? Changing the playing personnel? Changing the Board?

Every year we see posters assessing captaincy potential by onfield performance. I've always believed captaincy is much, much more than that. The above two posts stand out because they address the broader responsibilities and expectations. And because I don't know everything (or, in fact, anything) that goes on behind the scenes, I have no idea who is best qualified to be captain. I am, however, (and perhaps inconsistently with the rest of this post) a fervent believer in a sole captain.

I know it's just a puff piece to generate column inches, but the writer didn't think having Max Gawn as one of the two clearly best-in-a-generation ruckmen wasn't worth including?

Forget about the top 10 MFC players of the decade. We should have a thread on the top 10 Demonland thread distractors of the decade.

I only opened this thread because I misread the title and thought it said "Top 50 wines of the decade". I was curious - not about the wines themsleves, but why Demonland had diversified. Could have been worse. "Top 50 whines of the decade" would be a thread to behold.

Did you ever find out who was standing behind you?

I think the most important point is that none of the rule changes are to the basis of the game itself. I don't object in principle to rule changes which affect the game, but we've had so many in recent years it's time to let the game evolve within that framework.

Snap!

Good idea. I don't think he's ever fully recovered from Cyril's early retirement.

Any reason given for the sudden retirement? Has he reinjured his ACL, for example? Although, if I recall correctly, didn't he nearly give the game away mid-career?

There was also no larger plastic ziplock bag holding all the contents together. Instead, the membership package came in a cardboard envelope that opened up into a letter. I have made good use of the ziplock bag in the past, but must admit that reducing the total amount of plastic being used is a good idea.

That's a very good question. I'm not sure which of these two options I prefer: that for the next ten years we play finals every year, winning many of them but never winning a Premiership; or in the next ten years we win one Premiership but spend the other nine years in the bottom two or three on the ladder. I suspect I'd prefer the first. That would mean we would be winning more than losing every week, whereas the second option sees nine years of relative misery for one extraordinary year.

Umm, no, we can't. Not even one of them. The proof is all around you for the last 55 years. And that's why I agree with SWYL, get the "winning" bit right first. The rest will follow.

The Gold Coast Suns are the Canadian cricket team. A long way north, irrelevant and many people, even in their own jurisdiction, don't know they exist.

Does anyone know if half time breaks have always been 20 minutes? It would be ironic if the half time break used to be shorter but was extended to 20 minutes under pressure from the TV rights holder who wanted to pack in more ads.

I think mediocrity is about right for the last few years. It's the first half of the decade where we could just dream of reaching the heady heights of mediocrity.

Not the worst metaphor going around. After all, one of the best dancing partnerships of all time was Fred Astaire and his sister Adele.

We are getting excellent reports this year. A big thankyou to everyone who describes what they've seen. I note DeeSpencer referred to Marty Hore's kicking and (paraphrasing) mentioned him using his trusty left boot. A question for our trackwatchers...is there ever any specific training to make the players improve their kicking on their non-preferrred side?

Also an old school teacher. Taught at Richmond Tech in the early 80s

Firstly, I admire you courage in going to Chadstone in December. I wonder whether NB not doing more is related to the agreement between NB and the club? Is it possible if we wanted more in-store exposure we would have to pay for it? In sponsorship terms, that might mean less cash from NB in return for that exposure. It might have been discussed and we decided to take the cash rather than the contra.

Not sure I agree with this. Some of the best kicks in the history of the game "leant backwards". For example, Mark Browning and Jordan Lewis. I also think Salem "leans back" when he kicks. Perhaps it's just a trick of perspective in still photographs.

Old dee, you've officially moved from pessimistic to maudlin. Cheer up...there is a bonus to be found from poor performaces. One can rock up to the G late on gameday and still get a good seat.

I hope for your sake that the offices of Demonland aren't raided by the ATO and your true identity given up.