La Dee-vina Comedia

My eyes must deceive me. The heat map suggests we kick long to the left. My eyes tell me we kick long to the right. I have serious doubts about this data.

I didn't hear this but perhaps they meant Ling was set to be announced as another assistant coach at the MFC, thereby making him the next (assistant) coach to be appointed. Or, of course, they could have been channeling senior journalists at our major daily newspapers and masking opinion as fact.

I don't think this was the reason the veteran's cap came in. I seem to recall it was to encourage clubs to retain their older players because of public concern that the ruthlessness of list management meant clubs were prepared to axe otherwise loyal servants too early. The views expressed on Demonland when James McDonald is an example of the supporters' concerns at this practice. By only including half the the veteran's contracted amount in the salary cap, clubs were encouraged to be more sentimental in their approach to aging servants.

The Machiavellian approach to list management would be to praise heavily players you want someone to take off your hands. So, Roos's praise of Watts could be genuine or it could be a plan to increase his trade value. (Note: I don't for one minute believe Roos's comments about Watts are anything other than genuine).

Money, I agree. However, I can't see the Roos factor having any influence (except for those with only a year or so to go before they retire) until Roos makes a longer term commitment to the club. And while we might think playing on the G is the best place to play I doubt any player would take it into consideration when thinking about which club to play with. Another factor which may be relevant is the confidence a player has that the club is heading in the right direction. If they think Melbourne's trajectory is upwards they might be attracted. However, if we look like flatlining or, heaven forbid, going backwards, we become a less attractive proposition.

I think Kent can be a line breaker but at the moment only in patches, not for a full game. Matt Jones hasn't missed a game since he started. That's a fair effort. If he could improve his disposal, though, he'd become a much more damaging player.

In Frawley's defence, couldn't he be saying the same thing about Roos? I know if I were Frawley I'd like to know before I made up my mind whether to stay or go if Roos would still be there when I'm halfway through my next contract. Edit: correct syntax problem

With regards to the salary cap, I'd like to see a discount for length of stay on the list. For example, after the third year, each club gets to discount the salary by 5% for each additional year a player stays up to a maximum of 50% (which would take 10 years to reach). So, if a player signs a three year, $200,000 per annum contract for years 4, 5 and 6, the club would have to count $190,000 in the salary cap for year 4, $180,000 for year 5 and $170,000 for year 6. This discourages player movement as the discount doesn't apply the moment a player moves. At the end of year 6 in this example, if a new club wants to offer (say) a $300,000 per annum, 3 year contract, the player's club could offer $330,000 per annum but only have to include $264,000 (ie, $330,000 minus 20%) in its salary cap. This will particularly help poorer clubs (both poorer financially and in performance) as the better clubs will struggle to match a player's demands because of the salary cap relief afforded to the "home" club.

Given any thought to disowning him for being un-Australian?

I just love footy supporter logic. If someone says something, think the opposite.

In the last decade our coaches (excluding temporary fill ins) have been Neale Daniher, Dean Bailey, Mark Neeld and Paul Roos. Now you've had some time to think, do you still put Dean Bailey at the top of that list? If so, why?

4-5 weeks for appendicitis. That seems a long stretch. Haven't a few other players with appendicitis just missed the one week? Did his rupture or something?

Today being Wednesday means there's nothing much to discuss of real import. So, it's as good a time as any to raise two matters about team clothing that don't actually matter in the overall scheme of things...but I'd still like to see changed. 1. Is it too difficult to put players numbers on the backs of their pre-game warm up gear? Not everyone recognises players from over 100 metres away. 2. I always think of our colours as being predominantly blue with some red. So why can't we have the coaches and support staff in clothes that are predominantly blue with some red. For many years (and please correct me if I'm wrong) it seems we've had the support staff in mainly red with a tiny bit of blue. And while I'm not in the fashion business, I'd be prepared to bet that clothes predominantly blue with some red generally look better than the other way around. (PS: If Cameron Ling joins the club, his colouring and red clothing will be a disastrous combination.)

So why take AOD-9604 then?

Did Bartram's degenerative knee contribute at all to his poor kicking? I don't know which knee (or is it both) had the problem - but both legs are integral to the kicking action anyway. I guess the only way to know is whether he was considered to be a good kick at junior level. Anyone know?

While I generally agree with the concept that average players can become great coaches (you could add Tom Hafey to your list), great players sometimes also make great coaches. No-one will dispute that Leigh Matthews was a great player and he managed to win four Premierships as a coach. Ditto Ron Barassi. On the other I can't imagine Gary Ablett Sr as a coach..."This is how you do it. You run 100 metres in 11 seconds, jump over the pack, twist left, then right, do a blind turn and then kick the goal from 70 metres on the run with the non-preferred. What's so hard about that? And it doesn't mater if you don't know your teammate's name."

Yes, but only if you're talking about an Ashes tour of the UK.

I guess you mean the place. But it would make Demonland much more exciting if you could confirm that you've invented a time machine and you've travelled back in time around 244 years.

Picket, the Herald Sun must follow you on Demonland. They've answered your question today.

Would be a newspaper headliner writer's dream if Pagan coached Christian Salem

Melbourne to announce it will field a standalone VFL team from 2016 (which will actually become 2015 when Casey Scorpions fold).

This may have been covered in another thread, but I think we look much better with Dunn back and Frawley forward. Neither looked as comfortable in the roles they played against Geelong as they have in earlier games. I realise there are other, greater problems than where Dunn and Frawley play, but structurally we look better with Dunn at full back and Frawley at full forward.

This is not 2012 or 2013. This year I believe every game is winnable. If I'd thought that in 2012 or 2103 my family would have had every right to have me certified as insane. There's a big difference, though, between "winnable" and "likely to be a win". None of the remaining games should we be considered favourite to win on current form.

Good point. On my theory, the football department would have had very few chances to discuss list management in the last few years.

You'd have to think Ratten's chances of another senior coaching job might have diminished given he wasn't asked to step up to the plate while Clarkson was ill. I also heard Caroline Wilson on 3AW yesterday. Perhaps she said more after I stopped listening but from the bit I heard, while she seemed to believe Ling will end up at Melbourne I wouldn't say that she was speaking as if she had a rolled gold source confirming that view.