La Dee-vina Comedia

I see what they mean by a divided supporter base.

I suspect Cameron Schwab is a decent person and I wish him well whatever he does next. His departure was probably necessary to defuse tension. I mean no disrespect to Richmond's CEO, Benny Gale, but gee it would be nice to see Caroline Wilson's apoplexy if Richmond appointed Schwab as their CEO.

Do you read Demonland?

How should the club talk directly to supporters if it doesn't use the media? Members and sponsors I can understand - the club has their contact info. But supporters?

Happy to have pace, as long as they're prepared to run both ways.

Please let this be true...please let this be true... Mind you, is it possible that the flu could have also affected players in the PA game also? (Or for most games in the last 6 years?)

Well, I'm glad your position is clear. (To be fair, you do claim that miracles don't exist in footy).

And perhaps a cash injection of, say $500,000, to go with it.

Simplify this and you've got the right poll. Who is going to be the first to leave? (1) Schwab (2) McLardy (3) Neeld (4) Watts. If that's seen to be too pessimistic, ask it this way. Who's going to stay at the club the longest from hereon? (1) Schwab (2) McLardy (3) Neeld (4) Watts.

One of these days we'll turn it around and I want to be able to say "I was there" when the change happened. So. I'll be at the MCG in the game against he WCE and the following week against GWS and thereafter. And I hope that's the message Neeld is giving to the players this week. He should be saying to them, "When your career is over, you'll want to be able to say 'I was there when the improvement began and I was a part of it'" Not every player on the list will be playing when Melbourne is considered to be one of the better teams. But it would be great for them to be able to say that they were part of the team that went from the bottom to that newly powerful position.

Growing up in the 60s and 70s, I thought our prospects were worse then than now. That's because football socialism (salary cap and drafts) gives the weak teams a chance. There was no such help back then. So the off field results back then may not have been as bad (although my mental scars suggest they were) but there was zero chance of improvement in a scheme where the rich got richer and the stronger just got stronger.

Congratulations Rufus. That's a major positive which outweighs every piece of negative associated with the MFC.

Tonatopia, I agree with you on most of your post but query why you say we have a "strong relationship" with the AFL. I don't see it.

Some questions: 1. One of today's newspapers has Watts in the injuries with "ill". Has that been covered anywhere? And what impact might have it had (on Watts, not the team)? 2. A number of people have proposed Dunn as an "In". Is he any chance? I would have thought a hamstring would see him out for another week as a minimum. 3. Bail has not played any contact football until yesterday. But is there any reason he wouldn't be at full fitness? 4. A lot of love for Gawn and not a lot for Jamar on this thread. But what about Spencer? So, having seen none of the Port Adelaide game and about one half of the Essendon game, I'm not qualified to comment on ins and outs. But ask simply, 1. If Watts was ill, doesn't he deserve another chance? 2. Why would you rush Dunn back if (a) he's possibly still injured and (b) he's not particularly good - that is, he's not Luke Hodge, for example. 3. Should Bail be given a run? 4. Should Spencer be given another chance? Reason for edit: typo fix

I'm struggling to work out whether Hazy and RR are participating in deliberate irony by whinging about the whinging thread in the whinging thread.

I feel sorry for those not old enough to have seen Robert Flower play. He was so far above the quality and style of everyone playing for the club now. For those who didn't see him, think of Gary Ablett Jr but with the grace of a ballet dancer.

I must be lucky, then, to somehow see us, comparatively, as being not as bad now as we really are.

I've been on Demonland for about 4 years or so. The opening post is the best post, bar none, in all my time here. And my condolences to P_Man.

It might be just my memory (I was pretty young) but my recollection of the second half of the 1960s and early 1970s is that we were worse then than any time in the last 6 years. The data may not stack up that way - but I know that is how I felt during that long, dark, lean period. Old Dee, WJ or anyone else who is 55+, what are your recollections?

It's a sad indictment on Round 1 that the question of what has happened to Ben Hur is marginally more interesting to me than what's happened to the players.

Does this mean Chris Dawes' hamstring strain didn't really happen and he's OK to play?

[Posted this link earlier only to have it wiped by the data problem. Apologies if it's buried in some other post.] A great article up there with the likes of Martin Flanagan's pieces. http://inside.org.au/haunted-by-demons/

A glorious article. Gives Martin Flanagan a run for his money. And I feel his pain- I suspect we all do. http://inside.org.au/haunted-by-demons/

You should have gone with the quadrella and predicted there'd be a "Jack Watts was a wasted No. 1 pick" thread, too. All four are useful vents and meaningless chatter.

Recruiting Byrnes and Rodan is a similar strategic approach to GWS recruiting Cornes, Brogan, McDonald and Power. It provides senior experience and hard bodies to help the young players both on and off the field. I remain to be convinced that it's a good strategy - but I'm certainly not making a decision based on one game.