The Reverend

Given the start to the year and the obvious focus on learning new structures, I can't see us getting 10 or 11. 8 or 9 would be a more realistic result. Besides, it's all academic at this stage. This year's gone. The year is only important now as the first step in restoring the club to its rightful place as a competitive entity in the competition. If by the end of the year we have earned some respect for effort and hardness it will be a good result.

Geez it must be important to be right.

Stuff the lid! The genie's out of the bottle. It aint going back.

I've been confident all along and now I'm convinced. Neeld is the man.

Appropriate name you have.

So you're happy for Andrew Demetriou to appoint someone to run our club. This is the guy who applauded GWS's underhanded actions in taking Scully as "a master stroke". You can't be serious.

A sound survey does not simply provide leading questions designed to generate the results you want. Why are the choices so generally negative? I wouldn't waste my time with this. At this point in time I'm super optimistic. Neeld is doing what has been needed for a long, long time. When he's finished and the dust has settled, we'll be left with a playing group that wants to play for the red and the blue and we'll have supporters who have been brave enough to stay the course instead of reacting to every jerking knee that twitches uncontrallably.

Even if this was the case, the players are still being paid to do a job. They need to either stand up and be counted = resign and walk away, or do the job they're being paid to do. These are professional footballers earning the sort of money most of us can only dream about. If the players don't care enough about the supporrters to give their all I don't want them at the club. I'm tired of this stuff. Get on and do the job or leave.

B59 is right. It's not about accepting the woeful performances, it's about understanding the reality of our situation and being patient. Neeld may have thrown out everything we've learned but maybe that's what needed to happen. I'm sick of half measures. I've seen enough bandaid approaches over the years to convince me that tinkering around with the problems is not the way. Neeld is doing more than coaching a team of footballers. He is changing the culture of a club that has wallowed in mediocrity for the last 50 years. Culture doesn't change over night. Sometimes you need to come to a complete halt before you can change direction. You need to know where you want to go and how you're going to get there before you can even begin. That's where we are now. We have stopped being Melbourne of the past and are embarking on a journey into the future. We will get the right bums on the right bus and get the right bums on the right seats. Then we'll be a football club again. Until then we have to have faith. Neeld must be given time to do his job. In the meantime, maintain the rage, demand high performance, ask questions, but support what is happening. We will be great again. It's a long time since I've been this excited about the MFC.

Gulp, chomp, chew, swallow, gasp, cough, etc. Could this be the sound of me eating my own words? Morton actually looked like a player on Saturday. Not a match-winner but more like someone who might just be responding to Neeld and co's coaching. If the improvement continues I might just enjoy the meal.

I'm with you on this Belzebub. Neeld is a teacher and understands the need to build skills upon a strong foundation of understanding and practice. From what I've seen this year, it appears we are indeed more focused on practising the structures than on winning games. It goes against the grain a bit to condone not being focused on winning at all costs, but I think Neeld has it right and that the long term future of the club depends on getting it right step by step. The blocks are being put in place for future success.

??? You win. I've got no idea what you're talking about now. Won't waste my time again.

Still Waiting, Far from apponting myself as anything of the sort. I simply took offence at your tone and choice of language when disagreeing with other posters. I'm more than happy to agree with you on the points where we concur, however, I think you need to avoid the stereotyping and wild generalisations. You know nothing about me and how I live my life or what I've achieved. It's possible to speak your mind without being offensive and derogatory. Your language comes across as antagonistic and bullying. It's as if you think if you speak more aggressively than everybody else it will make you right. Not necessarily so my friend.

All class my friend. How does it feel to know everything? It must be really comforting to know that you are your best friend. Get over yourself and enjoy what is going to be a great ride. The building blocks are being put in place and the framework will be built over the next few years. Be a supporter not a white ant. If Watts doesn't make it, so be it. Football is littered with those who didn't quite get there. It's about survival of the fittest. If Neeld is happy to play Jack Watts, I'm happy to trust him. I suspect he knows a little bit more than you and me put together.

Get off this forum and take some lessons in common sense and humility. I don't care about your opinion one way or another but I don't want to read this sort of drivel. When you set yourself up in such a pompous manner you invite negative responses. Don't drag us all down to your level.

This was pretty obvious against the bulldogs I thought. In fact it accounted for a lot of the disparity in possessions. The dogs were doing a lot of backwards and sideways ball movement trying to find a way outside 50. It's far from perfect at the moment but it's encouraging. If only we could get som run out of stoppages to allow us to get the ball in there more often. It's bloody exciting to see Mitch Clark throwing himself at the ball. Get Jurrah, Petterd and Sylvia into that forward line and we might just have something.

Well Jacky, do you ever wish you just hadn't said anything? Given the current state of the team I'll take whatever pleasure I can get wherever and whenever I can. If that means focusing on Jonesy giving his all and showing absolute commitment from go to whoa, that will have to do whilst we rebuild the team. Ok so he coughs it up a bit too often but what would we look like without him? To my mind he's a shining light in a very dark place at the moment. I'm sure we can find better and we should be looking but please, credit where credit's due FFS.

No, he doesn't have the ability to get the ball. He has the ability to be where the ball is sometimes but that's about it. He's a dud. It's an embarrassment that he wears our jumper. Do I sound angry? That's what happens when I sit and watch insipid footballers.

It probably was our best for the year but Morton was certainly not ok. Look at his body language and the intensity of his attack on the ball. A couple of half-hearted attempts at physicality but nothing of the standard required. Maybe he needs another twenty games before we make a decision but he's not doing anything to help his chances. My fear is that we'll ditch him and he'll end up starring for someone else who can afford to have an outside receiver who never gets his own ball.

From where I sat I saw Morton pick up some cheap stats but nothing I saw gave me any more confidence that he's going to be worthy of a place in our team.

Green apparently out for four weeks with a dislocated finger requiring surgery. Does this spell the end for Brad Green? I've got to confess to a soft spot for Greeny. He's been a loyal servant but somehow I can't see him getting back anytime soon. I was hoping he might be able to fight his way back into the team and go out on a high note. It would be a shame if the last we saw of him was a disappointing game for Casey.

I said some time ago that opposition players must just love it when Morton goes to them. They know the handshake is about as close as he's going to get all day. They know he's not going to to hurt them physically or on the scoreboard. From what I've witnessed in recent times Cale Morton cannot survive at this level. He might be okay in an elite team where team-mates have the skills to feed him out wide where he can use his run but in this team he needs to be able to get his own ball. Could I be proven wrong? Geez, I hope so.

It's called integrity. A lesson for Demetriou and the AFL. Now it's up to supporters to do the right thing by the club. MFC needs our support more than ever.

The beautiful thing about living in the free world is that ultimately we can all make our own choices. Social Contract theory says that we agree to comply in order to ensure our own well-being and to maintain the rights of others. Think road laws. We want to drive - we obey the laws. When I go outside this I expect to cop a fine. It's the way it is - for the common good. Those who choose to go outside of the contract can do so as long as they're prepared to accept the consequences. For mine if a player finds it too uncomfortable and they can't see the benefits for the common good they then have a decision to make. If they're not honest or courageous enough to make that decision then someone else Neelds to do it for them. Simple really. Football is not about individuals, it's a team sport. "One for all and all for one, that's the way we are at H.......n." Works for them!

Compliance is about performing in accordance with a set of rules and/or expectations. Neeld makes it clear that these expectations have been established not by him or the coaching panel but by the way the successful clubs go about things. He's simply saying that if MFC wants to be successful everybody has to comply with the expectations that lead to the rewards. i'm sure he doesn't exclude himself from that sort of compliance. I'm also sure that he expects to be judged according to the standards he sets for others. My guess is, at this early stage, that Mark Neeld is prepared to be tough, demanding and uncomromising with the players and that he expects the club to be the same way about him and his performance. Only time will tell if he has the substance to back up his words. I'm hoping he has.