Jaded No More

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.

It was absolutely freezing at TD last night (rubbish venue!!! :angry: ), and also a bit damp. Ground was slippery as always, and it wouldn't surprise me if the ball was a little too. Mind you, Mr. Baccardi had no problems holding onto his marks.

That was a bad one too. He tried to do WAY too much and backed his pace, which is silly because his pace is one of his only negatives. At least his disposal was better tonight, after his shocker last week. Teams are now focusing on Brock as the number one player to shut down, and rightfully so. He needs to start working through tags though, and he did break away a fair bit in the third quarter and was excellent in close as always. Thought he and Jonesy were quiet by their standards, but it allowed Sylvia to do a bit more and get into the game through the middle. He was excellent tonight!

If you didn't give Ward BOG, I would actually give you one back for that pathetic comment about McLean. Thankfully, all your credibility has flown out the window with your previous comment. Brock McLean was average tonight, but to call him selfish is one of the stupidest things I've read on this website, and I've read a LOT of stupid things.

I have to agree. He dominated last week and our midfield got smashed. He was poor tonight and we did well in the clearances after quarter time. The days of him being our most important and most influential player are over. If Yze is out for the year with that hernia, I'd be keen to promote Neaves and maybe give him a couple of games just to get a taste of AFL. PJ is getting better each game, but a forward he ain't!

I actually went a bit nuts when he kicked that goal, jumped up and landed right on my fractured foot I forgot I'm disabled for a minute, and spent the rest of the match regretting it. Thankfully that was his only goal for the night, or I would have ended up back in hospital.

Thank god for that! Will be mailing my donation in as soon as I can walk to the mailbox Have we got a final tally of how much was raised?

Agreed. Neita to wait until next year for his 300th and hopefully get a win, because the way we're going, we'll get spanked and Neita deserves a win! Belly, my poor Belly... any word on just how bad it is? Looked pretty nasty, and knowing our luck this year, it probably is. What's wrong with Green? Out: Neita, Bell, Brown, Wheatley, Ward/Bizzell, Green (if injured) In: Dunn, Whelan (if fit), CJ, Buckley, Frawley, Miller

We're one loss closer to a number one draft pick.... Did I just say that?

Anyone who expected 10 goals on debut was kidding themselves. He did as much as I thought he would, especially given the focus on Neita and Robbo. Very impressed by his workrate and his intelligence. You can't buy a football brain like that at the supermarket.

I didn't think I would be so sad, but watching the scenes in the rooms after the games is really emotional. Some of the boys are absolutely gutted, especially the older brigade. I feel for Neita more than anyone. The man is a true champion, and he deserves to win a premiership so much. I just really hope that he stays on and stays strong and gets to hold that premiership cup. He couldn't do it under Daniher, but maybe he'll be able to do in the next couple of years. This year has been nothing short of horrible, and the sooner it ends the better.

He played because he's Daniher's boy, he and Neita and Robbo... they are his men and Brown was absolutely gutted in the end, was on the ground crying. This is as much his farewell match, as it was Daniher's. He is an ordinary player with some extraordinary characteristics, and he has given his absolute all for this club, often putting the club before his own needs. I didn't want him to play and I'm still annoyed that they dropped Frawley, but you know what, it doesn't make any difference. Brown wanted to play for Daniher, and so he should.

I have to agree. I wanted a win, but in the end, it was so close yet so far away... a very ironic way to lose a match and a perfect summary of Daniher's time at Melbourne. We are so inconsistent, we are up then we're down, then we're up again. We go missing for quarters, halves, games, months, years... Players come in and out of games but don't apply themselves for four quarters. I hope like nothing else that a new coach will bring about a positive change, but with that, I'm really upset at the lack of intensity we showed in the first quarter. Daniher deserved better, but then, he's probably used to the disappointment. Very emotional scenes after the game, and quite clearly the players loved and respected him. *Sigh*, this club is anything but boring.

Agreed. Stupid decision to drop Frawley, but Brown got his last hoorah with Daniher. Thought Bruce's disposal was horrific in the first half, but improved in the second. While Travis was brilliant then went missing for long patches, is he still not fit? Neita is the most inspirational captain you hope to see, but he needs at least two or three weeks off now just to fully recover. Was very impressed with Sylvia and thought Bate was courageous and worked hard. McLean made a few uncharacteristic mistakes, but I thought did ok. Pevrill is a very good tagger.

The best thing about his game tonight, was the chase he put on in the first quarter. He kept at it, and in the end forced the turnover. Thought he showed great intelligence, and did lots of really nice, small things to help out the boys. Had at least 2 goal assists that I can remember. Well done Juice, excellent debut game given the circumstances and the fact that you played on one of the best in the business in Fletcher. You kept him honest, which is more than a lot of forwards can say.

Just to let you guys know, if you're planning to drive, GET THERE EARLY, as all car park bookings are sold out. I HATE TELSTRA DOME! /end rant

Unlike our wonderful recruiting manager who managed to pick him up at #5, and get Davey as a rookie, and pluck Bruce out of obscurity and bring us the Juice! Don't mind me, just sucking up to make sure he stays... (Read here if you have no idea what I'm on about)