Jaded No More

He's emotional at the moment and he should have cooled his head before fronting the media. Neita is a champion of the MFC and his aim would be to win a flag. As long as he thinks his body can withstand another season, he will carry on, and he will have the full support of the board, especially Gardner. Despite what a new coach might decide, I know for a fact that Gardner wants Neita to carry on as our captain next year and be part of our 150th year celebrations. For god's sake, the hysteria surrounding the entire week is completely over the top. Coaches come and go all the time. Daniher has had 10 years, has left in more than respectable circumstances which best served both him and the club. The players who have been under Daniher for 10 years are upset, but they'll get over it. Their aim should be to win a flag, and that hasn't changed and won't change no matter who the coach is. Neita is not weak hearted, he'll carry on because he deserves to win a premiership and he still can.

I was refering to Neita's comments.

This should have been done in private.

Ok firstly Ferguson is not a youngster. Do you actually know how old Ferguson is? And Bartram would fetch more than Bruce? What are you on about? I thought Bruce was Melbourne's best player Name one youngster who has shown a lot of potential who has been traded in the last few years? The only ones I can think of have left to go home (e.g.- Scott Thompson). Clubs don't trade their potential youngsters, they trade older more senior players who they don't think fit their plans. They normally strike deals with clubs who believe they are on the cusp of winning a flag, who are therefore willing to trade draft picks in order to gain the short-term services of players they think will complete their team (e.g.- Byron Pickett, Nick Davis). What could we possibly achieve by trading Clint Bartram? We'd get a second round pick at best, and have to invest time and money into his development in the same way we did with Bartram. The idea is that by trading older players, you get to bring in players who complement your current under 23's who can grow and develop together into a formidable side. If you don't understand that, then I seriously give up.

Yes, lets trade the youth, the players who could potentially win us a premiership in a few years time, just to save us the heartbreak of seeing some under-performing senior players running around at another club. We won't win premierships, we won't have any success, and in a few season we won't have a team to field either, but as long as everyone is happy Do you actually understand WHY they have better trade value.... I'll give you a hint, it's because they have more potential, more room for improvement and are more likely to help teams win games in the future. ARGH! *goes to bash head against a wall*

Bit hard to blame players with less than 50 games experience isn't it? Maybe we should blame Newton because he dropped a chest mark. Yep, burn him at the stake. Nobody should be getting the blame individually. As a group, they all stuffed up in the first quarter by playing like a bunch of 9 graders. And I know you don't hate McLean. You only get stuck into him to try and annoy me, isn't that right? Are you and BrownlowBruce related?

We all have our favourite players. I can tell you right now that if Robbo was ever traded to another club I would be absolutely shattered, but I wouldn't go on and on and on about it for 4 years, and if it helped the club in the long term, then I'd be happy. I'd look at the trade from a club perspective, I'd look at what we got out of the trade, and I wouldn't be selfish enough to only care about my own feelings. I barrack for the Melbourne Football Club, and that means I barrack for anyone who plays and works for that organisation. But the reality is, players and staff come and go, but the club still remains. I will love and support this club always, no matter who wears the jumper or who coaches the side. There isn't a single individual player who I could love more than I love the club itself. We've been around for 150 years, and have had thousands of players take the field, and none of them have ever been greater than the club itself. Some may have come close, but we survived when they left and we'll continue to do so. P.S.- Bring back Scott Thompson!

Not untouchable. He stuffed up, we all know it, but you called him selfish which was and still is a stupid comment. He works has hard as anyone on the field, and he is anything but a self-centred player. He wouldn't be in the leadership group if he was. Not one individual play cost us the game. Being so far behind at quarter time did it. How many times have we seen this happen... Melbourne lose because they play one bad quarter of footy. The competition is far too even to go snoozing for 30 minutes. Let's hope the new coach can eradicate that up-and-down problem.

Hi, just wanted to remind you that Woey is 30 and plays in the WAFL. Can we get over Woey and move on... Christ, are we still going to be talking about his departure in 4 years time?! It's all this lack of success that's had us holding onto the careers of extremely average footballers even long after they're gone. We made the right decision, if you can't see that, you're clearly in favour of an individual and not our football club.

Neita is a brilliant player and an inspirational captain, but a club president and a businessman he ain't. If the players were so against Daniher leaving, then maybe they could have lead better, worked harder... you know, since apperantly injuries were no excuse for getting so badly beaten this year (so we've heard the players say)*. I love Neita and I feel for him because the reality is, he's unlikely to walk away from the game with a flag. But at the end of the day, having been there longer than anyone, he'd know very well that to move forward you sometimes have to make hard decisions. There are positives and negatives in Daniher's early exist. A negative would the feelings of the players, a positive would be their ability to pay their respects and say a proper goodbye. Then of course there is the issue of the club having an extra 9 weeks to look for a new coach. The positives far far outweigh the negatives, and Gardner is right, the situation would have become public sooner or later. Why lie when transparency is so much more dignified for all involved?! *Note: I am NOT sticking the boot into Neita and our poor season is not his fault.

Everything in this sport is a risk. Getting rid of Daniher is a risk. Playing players who are not 100% is a risk. Putting your head over the ball is a risk. But, sometimes success requires the courage to let go of certainties. In the words of Kennedy: "Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly"

Jamar will have decent market value. We got plenty for Jolly, and Jamar could be just as good a ruckman (both useless around the ground). There are plenty of teams desperate for ruckman, and Melbourne have a good reputation for developing them. If we got a late second round pick for Jamar, I'd be all over it like a rash. Miller would have no value, and so I'd rather keep him and try and develop him as a defender. Worse case scenario, he's good depth, especially given Holland and Bizzell are done. Ferguson has no value, same goes for guys like Ward and Godfrey. I'd be keen to trade one of Bruce or Green, but I too think that Green's market value is probably not as high as his value in the side. He should and hopefully will return to his rightful position up forward. Bruce has huge value, and at 27 (soon 28) we could strike a great deal and get someone equally as good who'll be there for 10+ years. I have my doubts on whether Bruce will still be a damaging player when we're ready to win a premiership. TJ is hot and cold but he's the sort of talent we sorely need. I'd keep him unless a huge offer was put on the table, or as part of a Judd deal obviously. And who knows, a new coach might be able to get more out of TJ than Daniher could. The players I would be very reluctant to trade would be anyone 23 or under who has shown they have the talent to make it at AFL level. Players like Rivers, McLean, Bate, Jones, Sylvia etc etc...

Don't think they need to go to strip clubs to see those. Plenty of desperate girls who'd do anything to hook up with a footballer BTW, Sylvia going next door and having a drink and leaving shows he is smart enough to know the limitations. Judd is still a superstar and a decent human being despite hanging out with dodgy guys like Kerr. To rob him of his friendships would be unfair, when it clearly doesn't affect him. The same goes for Sylvia. I'm more worried that he hangs out with bigs girls like Dale Thomas. Ugh!

Finally taking small steps in the midfield, which is nice to see. My heart was pounding everytime he went for a run, as with our luck this season, I was expecting him to break down never to be seen again Hopefully over the next 9 games he can gradually build up his midfield engine, and come 2008 become a permanent fixture there. Love his tackling, probably my favourite part of his game. When he tackles you, you ain't going anywhere!

You think 3 clubs will finish below us? Who are they, and how highly do you rate Riley's ability to get us going in the last 9 games?

If we finish 16th, and Carlton win one more game, we'll get the #1 draft pick. We won't get pick #4 as well, if that's what you mean to say. There are no more first round priority picks unless a team wins less than 10 games over two years. Priority picks however still exist in the second round, and whoever finished on the bottom gets the #1 pick.

If Carlton win one more game (and I'm sure they will), then they don't get a priority pick. Meaning that whoever finishes bottom gets the #1 pick, followed by the team placed 15th getting the #2 pick and so forth. Can I hear you say "GO CARLTON"?

Neitz, White, McDonland and one of Yze/Holland/Bizzell/Ward Pickett and Brown will retire. Ward would only stay on the list because he has pace, but he is a VERY ordinary footballer otherwise. Holland, if he can keep playing his role, might be worth keeping for insurance. Yze will only stay because he is contracted. His time is very quickly coming to an end. And I'd rather persist with Warnock than Bizzell. We have to cut some of these players and move forward. For what it's worth, I'm preparing myself for some big list movements at the end of the year. Wouldn't surprise me if one of Bruce/ TJ/Green are traded, in fact, I'm almost certain a new coach would trade at the very least one. Would like to see the following players get a game for the next 9 weeks to prove they are worth persisting with: CJ, Warnock, Jamar, Miller

Well, given that some [censored] dobbed him in, after they had an argument, as opposed to his actual girlfriend, who I believe he is still with, I'd take that accusation with a grain of salt. What he does in his personal life is his business, as long as it doesn't affect his performance or the club's reputation. Should Judd stop hanging out with his best mates Kerr and Cousins? I'm not at all advocating players being idiots, staying out till all hours of the night and drinking themselves stupid. But I don't think Sylvia should be discussed in regards to this situation. We don't even know if he was hanging out with Didak, or if they just happened to be at the same place at the same time. It doesn't thrill me to know that anyone goes to those establishments, but if they are not harming anyone, we have no right to criticise them. Sylvia had a great game last night and that is what I care about. The fact that he might not be a saint is of little consequence.

Why Sheedy is one of the most successful coaches in the history of the game... http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/com...5E19769,00.html

Just to point out that Sylvia actually didn't do anything wrong... It was the mid-season break, he was out at the same club but had nothing to do with the Didak situation. Were you there? Do you even know if he was drunk, or how late he went home? That club is a filthy establishment, but who are we to tell our players where to go? As long as they are smart enough not to get lifts from strangers, punch bouncers, hit women and so on, they can do what they like. The key is moderation. They might get paid enough to be role models, but they don't get paid enough to be prisoners of the club. A lot of these boys are our age... would you agree to sit at home every weekend and not do anything on the off chance that you'll get into trouble? I know I wouldn't! And I tell you something else, I've seen a lot of players out and about, and from all of my experiences, Melbourne players are always well behaved, in stark contrast to many other clubs.

It's not about fear of the coach, it's about fear of failure. I think Neale, being the nice guy that he is, lets the players get away with failure too easy. He lets them off the hook with little consequences, as evident by the fact that many underperforming senior players continue to get a game each and every week. Our new coach should be tough and demand success. Failure should be punished, not brushed aside with a 'oh well, we'll bounce back'. Basically, I want a bastard of a coach. I'm not fussed if players don't cry for him when he quits, as long as they get to hold a premiership cup with him.

The season is over, and 2008 starts on Monday. Of course I'm going to go to games, but losing this season does not upset me anymore as we have nothing left to achieve, apart from possibly getting the number one pick. As I said, would you prefer we sit on our hands, make the decision in Round 22 then have only a few short weeks to find a new coach? It is better to have plenty of time to get these things right. BTW, all the board did was hand Daniher a review, a review which Paul and Neale spoke about prior to the season. It was Daniher who, rightly or wrongly, chose not to go through the process. Maybe he felt his time was up, maybe he didn't think he'd pass the review. Bottom line is, we did what any solid business would do when their staff is underperforming (and we are, badly). If you separate the emotions from the whole situation, you'll see that going forward, it was something we had to do. 10 years is 10 years. Time to move on, both for our club and for Daniher. I wish him all the success in the world, and I'm pretty sure he's happy to have some time off himself to evaluate his options. I wouldn't be surprised to see him at Essendon next year.

Not trying to make excuses for him, but maybe his foot is still bothering him? I saw him quite clearly limping last night in the first quarter after he put on a chase. It wouldn't surprise me to learn that he is getting injected before matches. I don't think his pace is an issue either, but he isn't Davey. He shouldn't try to slip past 2 big defenders. He doesn't have the pace to burn players off is what I'm saying. Speaking of speed, Sylvia looked very quick last night!

We are very lucky to have Paul Gardner. I know a lot of people won't agree, and will go on and on about how he went back on his word ('end of the season' = being 2-10 and losing to Richmond!), but he is a very astute businessman and he has Melbourne's best interests at heart. To sit on our hands and wait for the spoon at year's end, would leave us with reduced choices and force us into making a quick decision. Would anyone be happy with that? We've had too many 'nice' guys at Melbourne, and it's time we got ruthless and stop always thinking with our hearts. He is the best president we've had in a long long time.