La Dee-vina Comedia

Beverley O'Connor has just tweeted "Former Victorian Treasurer Alan Stockdale steps in as possible Melbourne President". Wonder if he'll take his orders from Jeff Kennett like he did as Treasurer. (Just joking, by the way. I'm sure Stockdale wouldn't be listening to Jeff on how to run the MFC). Given she's a former Vice-President of the club, perhaps we should give her tweet more credence than most other journalists' guesswork. reason for edit: typos

Mind you, a lot of turnovers occurred because players played on perhaps when they shouldn't have. Such as (a) Trengove in front of the members when he slipped after taking a mark and (b) every time the ball was around the centre line and there were no forwards to send it to.

So, $6 mil over 5 years is today's equivalent of 30 pieces of silver?

While we might fit the criteria for a priority pick I still think it's a hard sell. I can see the arguments being put as follows: If the problem is the coach, then we replace the coach and we'll improve without the need for a priority pick. Or... If the problem is not the coach, we'll improve as players come to grips with the coach and his requirements and we'll improve without the need for a priority pick.

I suspect he didn't drop it. He went to dispose of it in the storage rack and missed by a few metres. Mark it down as a clanger.

I don't want Jeff Kennett as Premier, but let's just keep in mind the start of the process to have a casino in Victoria commenced when Joan Kirner was Premier. Feel free to knock Jeff for the things he was responsible for, though.

Hasn't got enough weight. That doesn't mean he can't make a good defender - although I don't see that he's skilled enough yet for that role. Perhaps in time. The real issue is that so many of our players (current and recently departed, such as Watts, Morton, Gysberts, Frawley, Petterd, Strauss, Rivers, Garland) are, or were when they were with us, undersized. They just can't stick a tackle or break one, or hold their ground in marking contests. It's my main gripe with the lack of development during the Bailey years. In my view, Watts has only had two proper pre-seasons. And that doesn't mean Frawley and Garland aren't good players. They are, but they'd be better if they were physically bigger and stronger.

First class revisionism. I'm confident the players looked equally depressed, frustrated, unhappy and confused at times under Bailey as well. That's not to say Neeld is a good coach and should stay (or vice versa). But it's a bit rich to now say the players weren't any of those things under Bailey.

Good. It wasn't just me. Just about everyone else commenting on selection for the next game wants Dunn dropped. And for everyone on here who wants to say he's a good kick, I'll accept that he's a long and reasonably accurate kick for goal. But around the ground his 'up and under' style puts the recipient at risk of being completely crunched...time after time.

Omens. Kiss of Death supports the Demons and then the MCC plays 'Sympathy for the Devil' just prior to game commencement. Unfortunately, omens don't count for anything.

You can pretty much tell the generational differences of Demonlanders on this thread. Anyone who has put any of Neitz, Schwarz, Lyon, Tingay, Jacovitch, Farmer, etc as their best clearly didn't see Flower play, or, at least didn't see him in his prime. My best three of all time: Matthews, Carey, Ablett Sr My best three Demons: Flower, Lyon, Stynes (I'm too young to remember Barassi)

Watts. He's not where we want him to be or as good yet as we'd hoped, but he's a lot better than before Neeld started. Whether he would have been anyway through natural growth is a moot point, though. Ditto Blease. And I'll agree on Garland, Sylvia, Howe and McDonald. And N Jones. And clearly Neeld thinks Dunn is better because he plays him regulalry, although personally, I can't see it. reason for edit: Forgot N Jones

Yesterday I saw that Fitzpatrick can play a bit. He's a long way off and with his decision making reminded me of an early Mark Jamar. But he didn't play well yesterday - just better than his other games and most importantly, showed enough to suggest he might make it one day. Clearly a work in progress.

Pedersen has some flaws, but he's far more creative and certainly much quicker than Sellar. It's like we've upgraded from The Reject Store to KMart when we really need David Jones...to go with Nathan and Matt.

6. Garland 5. N Jones (did he ever have a rest? Seemed he was at every centre bounce) 4. M Jones 3. Pedersen 2. Terlich 1. Jamar Watts was the most impressive when he had the ball. Just didn't have it enough.

And to think people say Melbourne supporters don't have any conviction.

I thought he was CEO for a while but not President. But still great that he took the time to speak to you. On a slightly tangential point, I've always liked players who have real nicknames (Flash, Russian and Hassa, for example) rather than derivatives of their surnames (eg, Greeny, Browny, etc). I grew up in the 60s and it took many years until I found out what his real name is.

So, at least 7 of the starting 22 last year won't be playing on Monday because they've either left the club or are injured. And quite possibly, none of the back six or the centreline will be playing in those positions, either (although a couple - Sellar and Nicholson - might). That's a lot of change in 12 months.

Part of me thinks it would be great not to sack Mark Neeld just to stick it up the journos who keep reporting it as a fait accompli.

I like the outside the square thinking. Four Ins and three Outs. Should help even things up...but probably still won't be enough.

To be fair, there's probably an 80% chance we'll be b1tching about it in two years time whoever is appointed. I'm not in favour of Knights right now for another reason. He has no AFL premiership experience as a player, senior coach or (I believe) an assistant coach. Which means he hasn't experienced the extreme efforts necessary to achieve that goal. That's not his fault, but until he's been an assistant coach in that environment, I don't think he's ready. Of course, that could change by the end of this year. Then I think Knights would be ready to be reconsidered but that may be too late for the Melbourne appointment.

Actually - I think the opposite. On TV you generally only see what is happening where the ball is and not what else is happening - such as who is leading, who's running hard and who's not in the right position (such as players standing too far away from a free opponent who is obviously going to come into play. We have a prime candidate for that last comment, but I won't name him here as that's not what this thread is about).

A few posters here seem to think Neeld is going to continue. That's a surprising shift in sentiment I would have thought. I'll restate what I've said before. Neeld should only be sacked now if keeping him is going to put players offside to the extent that key players may decide to leave the club. Otherwise, I can't see how replacing Neeld now actually benefits the club. Sure, it gets rid of some angst and allows us to find a sacrificial lamb, but what does a stand-in coach do for the next 12 rounds? On the other hand, if things have not improved by round 19, that's when it's time to act and start the process of selecting a new coach for 2014.

With respect to the question of alignment, it's not just a question of what Melbourne should do. Let's hope that Casey doesn't commence divorce proceedings from the dysfunctional Melbourne Football Club. Who could blame them if they wanted to go their own way? In my view, the best long-term solution is for Melbourne to have its own reserves/VFL team. But that, should not be on the mind of the Board and Peter Jackson right now. There are more pressing matters...

I'd keep Joel Mac and send him to the backline in place of either Dunn or Strauss. Strauss played very poorly, but as there's no upside in Dunn, I'd keep Strauss and send Dunn back to Casey. Bail's had a few poor games in a row now, so he should go, too. I thought Pedersen and Fitzpatrick both struggled, but (assuming Tom Mc is not ready), I'd keep them both as they need more time. If Matt Jones needs a rest perhaps Dunn gets saved. But given it was M Jones only poor game for the year he deserves another chance. So, I would bring in Sylvia and Magner and drop Bail and Dunn (or M Jones).