La Dee-vina Comedia

6. Dawes 5. N Jones 4. Frawley 3. Garland 2. Rodan (although terrible in the first quarter where he fumbled everything) 1. Howe Interesting that Kent got votes from many people. I didn't think he deserved votes but I liked what I saw for the future. If he can build a tank, I see him as a potential classy midfielder. with pace, evasive skills and a great left foot. And I didn't think Bail was the worst. I thought Strauss and Pedersen had him covered.

There's some very well written stuff on this thread. Well done in particular to Whispering Jack, Baghdad Bob and I'va Worn Smith. Intelligent and beyond the superficial, angst-driven knee-jerk criticisms on some other threads.

If we require a caretaker coach I don't think it should be Todd Viney. Not for any reason other than it will create unnecessary media tension when Jack Viney plays...or doesn't. Denis Pagan faced similar problems when his son was on the Kangaroos list (albeit Denis was the full time coach). If Viney was the only option, I'd take him, but with other experienced coaches in Craig and Rawlings in the employ of the club, I'd choose one of them first.

I think he'll kick 5, but he may well be their third highest goal scorer after Roughead and Breust.

Hey CHAMP. Serious (but off topic ) question. is your avatar a picture of Mark Neeld or Michael Douglas? I can't tell.

Why not? I think we'd all appreciate the novelty.

I'm not sure that's correct. I seem to recall hearing that the club gets a payment for every person who goes through the turnstile whether they pay or not. And that includes MCC members. If anyone knows, it would be helpful to have the facts.

I was referring to the 'Hollywood Boulevard allegations made by Charles Happell many years ago. I accept they may be without foundation.

I'm a dinosaur. What's that in imperial terms?

There are a number of players whose names should be on that list with '(no heart)' in the injury column.

Interesting. Some media reports suggest our problems might have something to do with Neeld doing exactly this with negative consequences...such as players wanting to leave at the end of the year. The whole issue of players v coach and who is making the decisions seems to have been an ongoing issue for a number of years with allegations players told Daniher and Bailey what to do and, conversely, Neeld telling the players in no uncertain terms but the players not liking it. Perhaps there's a happy medium which we haven't found yet.

You mean this particular board, or in general? I would have thought it's hard to make a Board subsequently accountable for something they are not actually involved in.

It’s all been a bit too gloomy on the board in recent weeks. So, given the call by many posters for the MFC Board to be replaced, who would you like to see on the (hypothetical) Demonland ticket? Personally, I’d be happy with Whispering Jack, rpfc, Daisycutter, Nasher, Redleg and Jaded. Each offers wisdom, humour and passion without the need for vitriol. I’m tempted to add Bitter But Optimistic although perhaps I just want to quell the stereotypical image most people have of Melbourne supporters. I can’t find a spot for Why You Little or Ben-Hur although I don’t doubt their passion. I just feel they might struggle with the need for a unified voice. And Rhino Richards might aggravate the supporters a bit too much with his, er, biting commentary. Who would you choose? (And lets keep it friendly, OK?)

Loveable? Malthouse? I don't see it. I'm always in favour of a coach who has had some relatively recent involvement as player, coach or assistant coach in an AFL premiership. Which would go against Matthew Knights (although in his favour is that he built the key building blocks of the Essendon list).

I'm not necessarily promoting him, but I think you should add Mark Harvey to that list. And John Northey will be 70 years old next month. I'm not convinced he's necessarily au fait with the modern game.

Actually, the person who struggled most on FC last night on this issue was Craig Hutchison who seemed quite unconvincing when he tried to argue that he'd never discussed Melbourne approaching Clarkson with Liam Pickering who is both Clarkson's manager and Hutchison's colleague on radio.

I thought G Lyon was direct and clear on FC last night that he did speak to Clarkson. And I wouldn't expect him to criticise Neeld given his involvement in the appointment process. Not at all strange. If he had said anything else that would have been the lead story in the media, not Gerard Healy's comments.

It's all very well to say the Board should resign. But someone has to replace them for that to occur. The appropriate process is for others to nominate for positions on the Board, either as individuals or as a new ticket. Then members can decide who they would wish to elect to do the job. So, if you're not a club member (i) stop complaining until (ii) you become a paid up member so you can have your say whenever the next elections are held. And Peter Jackson is accountable to the Board, not the other way around. Some posters on here seem to think it's his job to fix the Board. Sure, he can make recommendations to the Board as to how it should operate, but it's not his role to change the personnel on the Board. That's the members' role.

While it seems crazy, it's not. It helps prevent the AFL from facing a restraint of trade action. Players have very little say in which team they play for (none, really, until they are free agents). Which means a top quality player may end up at a dud club. If teams at the bottom of the ladder pay less than those higher up, players will be earning less even though they have no capability of moving to where they can earn more. That's unfair.

I like the idea of replacing the Veteran's list category with a sliding scale for salary weighting so that for every two years a player stays at a club, there is a 10% reduction in that player's salary with respect to calculation of the salary cap up to a maximum of 50%. In other words, for years 1 and 2, 100% of salary is counted; for years 3 and 4, 90% of salary is counted, etc. It would help clubs retain players. Players Association won't like it, but all it really does is call their bluff when they say players don't move for the money.

I love working with dodgy stats and false logic. Using the same idea, I reckon Bailey was judged harshly given most of the time he was coach we were playing teams above us on the ladder. (Include here spurious claim that the AFL is against us, too, for constructing the draw in a way that we always seem to be playing teams above us on the ladder). And, similarly, if the Hawks lose, Clarkson's a dud because Hawthorn will be losing to a team below them on the ladder. (But if it's going to happen, please make it this week).

We have a huge list of coaches, assistant coaches, support staff, etc. But do we have a team psychologist? Seems like we need one.

Lyon inherited a fine team, though. This is the only reason I would move Neeld on right now and only if the damage is irreparable...and even if the fault is with some prima donna players. Other than for that reason I can't see how moving him on now benefits the team irrespective of the pain we may have to go through for the next 10 weeks. At about round 18 I'd wield the axe unless the remarkable happens and we turn things around. However, if I was on the Board I would be looking now at my options for a permanent replacement. But it would have to be done very circumspectly. My starting point would be to list every potential coach and start looking at reasons why they might and might not be suitable candidates.

Actually, I'd rather do it the other way round.

So, why can Melbourne-listed players at Casey play so well and why does Casey play well (most weeks) and Melbourne not? Why do we have plenty of VFL stars who don't seem to be able to play at the next level? For all but approx three hours a week all the Melbourne-listed players have the same coaching and fitness regimes. From what I've read on here, I believe Casey is playing the same game plan as Melbourne (please correct me if I'm wrong). It gives me hope for the future that our 2nds aren't also basket-cases.