The Reverend

Nothing like some optimism. Perhaps you should just wish for the end of the world while you're at it. If nothing else be happy that footy is back. Geez, lighten up.

It's not as easy as i thought. We seem to be developing some depth. I'm sure fitness and the attitude shown on the training track will be the final determinants. B: Bartram Frawley Rivers HB: Grimes Sellar Garland C: Trengove Moloney Watts F: Davey Martin Howe F: Petterd Clark Green R: Jamar Jones Magner I/C: Gysberts Dunn Bate S: McKenzie

dees best and fairest? Grimes dees best 1st year player? Magner goals clark will kick? 52 games jurrah will play? 9 dees surprise of the year? Troy Davis premiers? Hawks first coach to get sacked? Kevin Sheedy biggest off field controversy? Kevin Sheedy - drugs scandal. How else can you explain him? games won by gws? 1

I'm in.

Here's the link; http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/jason-akermanis-attacks-late-jim-stynes-saying-he-was-a-nasty-man-treated-like-a-demigod/story-fn7x8me2-1226307235911 Beats me why this idiot gets air time. What an obnoxious, insensitive little [censored]. Why would the Herald Sun even publish this tripe? It just proves that freedom of speech is wasted on some people.

Neeld's a teacher. I'm sure he understands that concepts need to be built around a scaffold. He will be working step by step using the players' prior knowledge and underestanding in order to achieve an outcome. You can't just fill young heads with information and expect them to get it - you've got to move them forward step by step and allow them to learn from their mistakes. I'm sure the players are getting very clear feedback along every step of the journey. It will take time and there will be failures and disappointments along the way but in the end the process will bear fruit. We're only in first term; let's wait and see what the end of year report has to say.

These are powerful words. Maybe they should appear on our banner every week.

Are you positive about that?

I was going to let you have the last word Old Dee but decided not to.

I agree with what you're saying about the players and that we're still a long way from the top. It's a free world and yes, supporters who've paid their money are entitiled to voice their opinion, but I guess I'm coming from a teacher's perspective. I know that if I keep telling kids they're useless, they will more than likely start to believe me and stop trying. I know also that a little bit of positive feedback can turn a struggler into a great student. It's simple psychology really. It would be an interesting experiment if we could remove all of the negative stuff directed at our players and replace it with exclusively positive, constructive feedback. Yeah, I'm a dreamer, but adults are not much different to kids. Particularly footballers.

Did I say our senior players were gamebreakers? Who did I over rate? What I'm saying is, they are what we have, let's support them. If I was a player I'd be more likely to run into Jonathon Brown if I knew my club's supporters were behind me. If I thought they were actively gunning for me and making derogatory statements behind a cloak of anonymity I'd probably put in a couple of short ones and go around him. As I said, positive feedback works a whole lot more effectively than constant negativity. I'll make the same point again, if we truly love our club we should support the players we have. They are out there each week taking the knocks; along with the media's criticism. Should they expect the same from their"supporters"? I love the fact I'm a Melbourne supporter and I pay my membership fees each year to support the club. I get tired of sitting in the reserved seats area and hearing the constant harping criticism from supposed supporters. In fact this year I asked for my seats to be changed to remove myself and my sons from one particular character who made a day at the footy a painful experience. We run the risk of becoming a laughing stock among other clubs. I don't want to be branded as one of those "whinging Melbourne supporters" who think it's appropriate to hurl criticism at their own players. I've been a supporter since 1960 and I've been frustrated for a lot of those years but I choose to support the club because I believe it stands for something. My advice to those who just want to be critical is to go and support someone else.

Man, I'm tired of hearing how worthless our senior players are. I'd really like to hear some positive support from "supporters". I'd hate to be in the trenches with some of you guys. I think I'd be more concerned about getting shot in the back than about facing the enemy. O.K., I've been guilty of having a crack at Cale Morton from time to time but FFS can we leave Brad Green alone please. He had one bad year and that seems to have wiped out all that's gone before. He's been loyal and given his best to this club through some heart-breaking times. How about we all lighten up and look forward to a fresh start for all concerned. Positivity breeds success - negativity achieves nothing.

I agree. I would have thought he's done enough over recent years to merit a spot. Still, we don't get to know all that goes on in a footy club. I'm confident he's man enough to cop it on the chin and work even harder to prove he's got what it takes. The writing on the wall seems to be pretty clear though. New blood and and a new direction.

A week's a long time in footy.

He would need to be smarter on the field than he was at school before we'd want anything to do with him.

Give the guy a break. He was not alone in having a bad year in 2011. Maybe he's not a born leader, maybe he found it hard to deal with the pressures put on him by a plethora of issues throughout the year, maybe he got it wrong a few times but he has been, and remains, a loyal soldier. It's easy to judge from the armchair.

And that's the way he looks to me most of the time. Body language says a lot.

I think this generally refers to maturing physically. Morton needs to mature mentally in order to do the basic stuff expected of anybody on the ground ; like getting one's head over the ball and taking one for the team occasionally.

it would be nice if the club actually made a statement about this. I guess they're wating for the press conference but members who pay their money in good faith need to hear from the administration sooner rather than later on this. Let's move on and focus on those who want to play for the red and blue for the right reasons.

Just explain where Green's leadership falls down. Give an example of where his leadership has been poor. Don't confuse some lack of form with poor leadership. The guy believes in the club and is committed to the cause.

Brad Green may be down on form but he does commit to the contest. Stability is important to a team. I fail to see how you can think it's not. You can't just keep sacking captains and expect to develop a serious culture of success in a club. It's easy to sit in the armchair and pontificate isn't it.

Morton is not what we need at Melbourne. Sure he got some possessions but you only need to watch his body language to see where his head is at. He looks disinterested and continually plays off his man. He wants to avoid body contact at all costs. Soft and fragile. If he's going to stay he needs to build some muscle and be prepared to use it by putting his body on the line.

Seeing as how we have an established precedent for sacking captains we might as well continue. Why would we want to have some stability at this stage of our development?

If I were an opposition player and I saw Cale Morton come to me I'd just be lickiing my lips and laughing out loud. He is the least intimidating figure in the competition. He's not going to hurt you physically or mentally. What does he have going for him? His skills are ordinary, particularly under pressure. I can't see why any club would consider him as a trade option.

This my list of those I'd keep - some with reservations as noted. The rest though are essential for the next 4 - 5 years. Bail, * injury prone Bartram Blease* not convinced yet Cook Davey * needs to show something over next five weeks Davis Fitzpatrick Frawley Garland Gawn Green Grimes Gysberts Howe Jamar Jones Jurrah Martin McDonald McKenzie Moloney Petterd* would trade him for a stronger marking forward Rivers* nearing the end Scully ??? if wants to be here Spencer* could afford to trade Strauss * not convinced yet Sylvia Tapscott Trengove Watts Wonaeamirri * if he settles