The Reverend

Look, I don't know if Neeld is going to be the man to change our fortunes. I have no way of knowing what is going on at the club. I have no idea what the grand plan entails. All I know is that it's just plain silly to be talking about plunging us back into the black hole of nothingness that the act of sacking a new coach would bring. At present I'm happy enough to put some faith in Neeld based on the rhetoric which is now starting to be supported by action. The fact that we are not negotiating new contracts with eleven players untill we've had a look at what else is available is a clear sign that significant change is taking place. I'm ambivalent about Green's retirement and I hope it won't come back to bite us in the same way Junior's did, but at least it showshe has an understanding of where the club is heading. His comments about players 'buying in' were significant. Neeld is makiing it clear that only those who are prepared to buy in will survive. No more list-cloggers. Neeld has a three year contract. Let him see it out and then we can make a call on his success. Three years is not long in terms of achieving culture change in an organisation. It's usually a five year process so let's at least give him a chance to make an impact. I'd rather suffer the pain of losing now than to be going through the false hope of 8.5 wins against ordinary teams that we had last year. 'No pain - no gain' might be a cliche but there is some truth to it in this case. It's not about messiah's - it's about supporting the club as it goes about the process of redressing fifty years of failure. I want a long term solution and that can only come through a change in culture.

Can I borrow your book? I'm often at a loss for something really stupid to say. If you won't lend it to me where can I buy it? Is it called "500 Dumbarse Comments for Any Occasion"?

Injuries?

What is your excuse for the nonsense you write?

I turn up, do you? Does the heart beat true? I just don't get the constant criticism. If you don't like the club, there are others you could inflict yourself on. See ya.

Should we just rely on blind ignorance then? Give it a rest.

You're so negative. Why do you bother?

I'm not sure what the fuss is about Caddy. Why would we trade Tapscott for the 5th or 6th best player in a wooden spoon side. FFS, he had 11 possessions against us on Sunday. I'd need to be convinced he was running on one leg to excuse that performance. I'd rather have the grunt of Tapscott. At least he knows how to make the opposition nervous.

I was in the reserved seat area and the only noise I heard was the groans of pity for the state of his shoulder. It certainly wasn't sitting anywhere near where it should have been. He was in a lot of pain. I've been a critic but this time he had his body on the line. He took one for the team so I'm sort of hoping it's not too serious. He could still have something to offer.

The persistance of some on this forum has changed my mind on Neeld. RR's poll nearly had me convinced I was right in supporting him but given we only won by 42 points yesterday, I think we should sack him and just let Bandicoot, Hardnut and Tonatopia, et al share the coaching job. We'll be better off then, won't we? Give me a break!

Given our situation, a five goal loss to one of the top teams would be an extraordinary effort. Find a positive somewhere, please!

Given the quality of the cattle on the paddock, it was a reasonable win. Yes we could have/should have won by more but it was a win nonetheless. I guess it just comes down to what makes you happy. If being disgruntled does it for you that's fine. Be my guest. I'd rather look for any positive I can find and put it in the bank for the future. Howe, Jones, Tapscott, Tommy Mac and a few others played well today and carried a lot of others. When these guys are part of a team that includes Clark, Jurrah, Jamar, Watts, Nicholson, McKenzie, Gawn, Davey, etc. we will start to look a whole lot better. Patience my friend. Enjoy the ride. We have bottomed out and it's upward from here.

When you watch that and hear Paul Roos talk about irrelevance, you can only wonder at the irrelevance of the three on the couch. They present opinion but give it the appearance of fact. They suggested that Jake Spencer has never made an effort like the chase down against Notth. Remind me again, how many games has Spencer played in his career? Oh, that's right, 12 games since Round One, 2009. WTF? These guys are a joke.

Some uncommon common sense. Congratulations.

Ah! Another ray of sunshine. Is it getting dark in that cave of despair?

Who do you support? Who do you guys barrack for? We are guilty of playing within a system and a set of rules imposed by the AFL. We've done nothing more than any number of other clubs over recent times.

Sorry, what was the point again? I'm not sure I can see it. All I see is some posters who want to argue a ridiculous point about Neeld's ability when we've not had sufficient time to make any sort of informed opinion. All we can do is give him time.

Nobody says you can't have your say. Just say something half intelligent.

Does 91 to 4 in support for Neeld tell you anything? Do you think you might have it wrong? Just drop it man, he's not going anywhere and nor should he.

No, I just don't see the point of having the few remaining fit players suspended under the AFL's super stringent MRP. If Trengrove got three for a sling tackle what are we going to cop for actually whacking someone? Better to address the real problems and start playing some decent football.

What? Has that villain Neeld stolen Moloney's feet? The bastard!

Off you go then. The true believers will reap the glory.

You just don't get it do you? Oh well, one more time... Bailey's game-plan was never going to get us to finals. He bred a team of soft, uncommitted individuals masquerading as a team. Neeld is working to undo that situation. Wait for the cull and the resurgence some carefully chosen fresh blood will bring. Patience instead of silly attacks on a coach in his first season trying to undo years of poor coaching and development.

You're right. It does sound stupid.

See ya. Why wait?