Jaded No More

The main role of the coach involves: - Getting the best from his players - Managing his players on and off the field - Creating a winning game plan - Enforcing team rules If Dean Bailey thinks that his players need a harsh reality check in order for him to achieve his role, than he is entitled to give them one whenever he pleases. Having been at the club for 4 months, he has clearly given our players the benefit of the doubt. He's given them ownership of team rules, let them choose their leadership group, and has given all of our senior players an opportunity to shine during the pre-season and in Round 1. He has given them enough leniency. Given that they have failed miserably to adhere to any of his rules, he should now start handing out punishment. If players don't like it, they have nobody to blame but themselves. And as I said, we cannot remain a mildly competitive, highly mediocre club just because we're too scared to bite the bullet and go through a proper rebuild. How many years will we survive without a premiership? Another 40? I doubt it. If our club can't survive 2 years of poor performances and significant on-field change, then there is really no point in even trying to get better. We might as well just give up, and close our doors. It is the club's main objective to be successful on the field. On field success breeds off field success, so no matter how hard we have to fight to achieve it, we are better off struggling for a short period in order to achieve the ultimate success that we desperately need. One year is a very short time in 150 years of history.

I am not driving. My ride shall remain sober, or he can pay for my taxi home Has anyone thought of maybe wrapping their TV in bubble-wrap to avoid serious damage when, in the heat of the moment, you decide to throw a shoe at the screen in protest? By the way, the last time I saw a Melbourne vs. Geelong game on TV was the day we won by just one point after the siren. Could this be an omen?

So basically we should forever be a mildly competitive, highly mediocre club which bends backwards to please its under performing players. Dean Bailey has every right to tell his players what he thinks of their pathetic, lifeless performances. These players are part of a super competitive, cut-throat industry. Criticism is a big part of their job, and if they can't handle the heat they need to reconsider their career options. I don't care if Bailey alienates some of our players, because frankly any player who is worth anything will not let some discipline get in the way of their commitment to the club. For too long our players have been given the benefit of the doubt, and have done nothing but disappoint us. Every week it's the same old "we need to work harder for each other", "we need to remain positive". Yuck! Clearly what has been done in the past hasn't worked. I welcome a new approach, which may see us struggle for a while, but which has a better chance of fixing our fundemental problems with attitude and discipline. As for the club not being able to survive a few years of bad on-field performances, that is entirely up to our supporter base. If you stick with the program, if you turn up to games, if you continue to buy your membership, and if above all you don't stop supporting the new direction of the club, then we WILL survive and we'll be better for it. Screw the media, the hype, the over- dramatization. I'll be damned if I let slime like Hutchison bring my club down.

Have to attend a wedding in the morning, which is almost going to be as bad as the game itself. Will take full advantage of the open bar before racing home to watch the 'Geelong Massacre'. The way I see it, the more I drink before the game, the more amusing the result will be.

You have to focus on the end result, not the process. We might be losing by 100 points now, but at least we are taking drastic steps to change the attitude and structure of our football club. I don't know how much truth is in the original post, but I am certain that Bailey has had words with many of the players and that many of them probably didn't like it a whole lot. It's because they can't take criticism and because they are struggling to change that we're getting belted at the moment. The beauty of it is that they have until Round 6. After that, they can start packing their bags as far as I'm concerned. Short term pain for long term gain.

The reality is that while Miller is not the greatest player to ever pull on a Melbourne jumper, his attitude and personality represents the values that Bailey holds close to his heart. It is for that reason alone that Miller will continue to get a game, in the short-term anyways. At least he is selfless, and team oriented and 100% committed. When everyone is playing badly, it is those who try hardest that get rewarded. Besides, he is kicking the ball now and he actually hits a target more often than not, so please show him some love! :D

Please, I signed up both my cousins the day they were born, despite my uncle being a Hawks supporter. It is my duty, as their favourite cousin, to brainwash them so that they never follow the Hawks... ever! <_<

To be honest I'm a bit surprised that Garland is getting a game ahead of Frawley. I hope we see Little Spud in the side soon, because we have got to start developing another key defender ASAP. He can also play on the wing if all else fails, which gives us a bit of versatility. Great news about Rivers, and agree wholeheartedly that, should he stay fit, he deserves a place in the leadership group.

Indeed. White has been tried up forward. At best he can float in and out and take some marks and kick the odd goal, but he is not a permanent forward. The sooner we recognise that his career is just about done, the better. Just because he has been a very good ruckman and player for us for many years (and nobody will argue that), does not mean we now need to carry him every week if he isn't pulling his weight. I don't have a problem with him doing some rucking, but he needs to start contributing around the ground more, otherwise he can finish his career down at Sandy.

Spot on. It will take a season or two before Dean Bailey is able to get the list and game plan that he wants. At the moment he is working with what he's been given, which unfortunately is not a whole lot. Big losses are demoralising and I hope like hell that we don't keep getting belted, however it is important to keep our focus on the destination rather than the journey. The worst thing we can do is not stay united on all fronts. We need everyone at the club working together to help Bailey, not hinder his plans by overreacting and making rash decisions based on weekly losing margins. Besides, if you don't finish 1st in the AFL, it pays to finish last. At this rate, we're a shoe-in for another bunch of good draft picks :D

If you had listened to the post-match interview with Bailey you would have realised that the game plan this week was to just be competitive and win the contested ball. How friggin hard is that to follow? Honestly, if that's not an instinctive thing for our players, we are wasting our time.

It's kind of hard to take our players seriously when many of them have no football credentilas as players either. Since when does playing ability translate to coaching ability? You can be a champion player and a hopeless coach you know (hello Danny Frawley). You do not choose a coach based on how much the players will admire him. I don't give a flying rats if our players look up to Dean. I just care that they follow his instructions. They don't need to get married, they need to have a respectful working relationship, but at the moment, they need to gain his respect, not the other way around. I am amazed that anyone can point the finger at Bailey after 2 matches.

So not being able to hit a target in the first quarter is the cause of fatigue? Handballing to a teammate surrounded by 5 opponents is the cause of fatigue? Fitness is extremely important, but it does not make up for a basic lack of skills and poor decision making. I'm not suggesting that having many key players miss a chunk of pre-season is not going to affect our ability to run out games, but it certainly isn't the reason we are losing by well over 10 goals. To lose by that margin you need to play 4 poor quarter of football. Poor fitness usually causes late game fadeouts, or poor displays towards the end of each quarter. We're bad all the time, which is kind of a problem.

Our players are performing the way they are because they are CRAP. Read my lips... CRAP. The few who aren't, are about 13 years old, running around carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders (Morton?!). To expect them to win games on their own is unrealistic. Matthews, Malthouse, Jesus Christ himself couldn't make us play better given our lack of skills, confidence and brains. If you're implying that Bailey is a soft coach you are out of your mind. He's coached 2 games. Our senior players have played more than 150 games. So who are you going to blame for our complete lack of ability and hardness? People will find any excuse to avoid focusing on the real issue at hand, the players. They are the reason we are losing.

FFS, these are professional athletes. Even if they are unhappy that they have a new coach who might not give them the same leniancy, there is still not a chance that they'll play like crap in protest. Dean Bailey is not the problem. If the players can't adapt to change, they know where the door is.

Simmonds is not a star. A good player, but not a star. We got a good deal for him, but sadly used the trade to gain Ellis. Farmer wanted to go home. We did everything we could to keep him. Same goes for Thompson, who is the only real star we've let go lately. Armstrong was never a star. As for Woey, his career went down quicker than the Titanic after we traded him. Bell is still developing nicely. So lets stop with this myth that we've traded away stars. If anything, we haven't traded enough mediocre players and it is now costing us big time. We just don't know when to cut our loses.

A lack of fitness does not excuse an inability to kick, handball or tackle. Maybe you can't run as hard or chase down as many opponents, but if you can't kick it has nothing to do with how many miles you ran in January. On the other hand, given our love affair with running the boundary and over using the ball, it seems reasonable that we'd struggle without a decent fitness base.

The actual ruck contest is important, but what makes a ruckmen vital to the team is an ability to fill a gap up forward or slot into the midfield. Good ruckmen, like Dean Cox influence the play outside of the centre circle. Since Jeff White does not do that anymore, and PJ is at least involving himself in contests, he should be our number one ruck. You can win 100 taps a match, but if they are not effective taps, and if you spend the rest of the match covering for the goal post, than you are useless. That's why Jamar won't make it. I rather a ruckman who breaks even in the centre, but contributes to the game, than a ruckman who wins 100% of the taps but does nothing outside of that. Centre breaks make up a small percentage of play within a match, if that's the ruckman's only contribution than I rather have an extra midfielder on the bench.

Cheers. In your opinion is Rivers ready to return next week, and where can we play CJ to ensure that he actually does something at senior level (e.g.- forward 50)??

Demonland is a place where everyone and anyone came come to discuss Melbourne, even if they are not Melbourne supporters. We have some excellent contributers to this forum who barrack for other teams, and their opinions are more than welcomed around here. While it would be nice if everyone who posts here was a member of the MFC, it is unfair for the site to show prejudice towards those who are unable or unwilling to purchase a membership, but are still keen to discuss the MFC. If you want to show everyone that you're a member, you can include your membership number as part of your signature. Short of that, Demonland can do little more than simply urge everyone to support the club to the best of their financial/physical ability.

A rundown of Frawley's game? Wouldn't mind him getting a game ahead of Weetra or Bode.

Bate (or Dunn) has to play CHF or thereabout. He can take a mark and he can kick 60m if needed. Now that Bartram is back, and Rivers is not far behind (hopefully), could it be time to move Petterd to the half forward line? Sylvia is meant to give us a contest in that area, but heaven forbid we give him such a huge task 5 years into his career Also, 3 dinosaurs (Neitz, Robbo, Newton/PJ) in 1 forward line = disaster!

Had the second highest number of critical, unforced errors yesterdays. 5 years of nothing and counting...

Brock is a better footballer in terms of skills (a much better kick). Jones is a far more consistent player. You could argue that he is Melbourne's most consistent player, as he is yet to have a really bad game. Even though many will disagree, I think we're lucky to have them both. As after years of not being able to get near the ball in the middle, we now have two players who love the contest and can really find the ball in close (even if they lack some leg speed and can look one dimensional). I like that Bailey rested them both up forward during the match yesterday, it is a better option than always sending them to the bench especially as they can both add much needed pressure to our forward line.

I agree with your analysis of his game. Looking at the stats in the paper today, he had equal number of clearances, and 20 disposals (same as Jones). What killed his game was the 6 unforced, critical errors he made. Usually his disposal and decision making is spot on, even if he is not that quick on his feet. I thought that at ball-ups, he and Jones worked beautifully, especially in the first half, to get their hands on the ball 9 out of 10 times. Problem is that he struggled in space, he was constantly put under pressure by his teammates with stupid handballs (those damn handballs!!!) and he coughed the ball up at the wrong times. As the game went on, he got more and more frustrated and started giving away stupid free kicks. Overall he had a poor game, but was hardly the biggest offender on the day.