spiritof76

Your showing your age there WJ :-) I remember a sprightly Colin Graham running down the right flank kicking a goal at the city end on a day in 76'. We were up and the centreline of Alves ,Wells and Flower was a promise of things to come. Sadly it never did. Over-rated boom recruits? Can't go past Tilbrook, Carmen, Templeton surely.

Oh I will - but seen it before, that was what the Barassi era was all about- cop it sweet, lots of journeymen to stiffen the youngsters and then see it come to (almost)fruition albeit it took 8-9 years instead of 5.

The vic metro bond was a major part of their thinking

Trenners has shown remarkable loyalty

not anymore

that will only happen if the players get their head out of their arse and have a coach that can demand respect and pull the leadership group into line - at the moment we resemble the basket case over at the punt road penitentiary. This is the biggest issue to obtaining a 13th flag. Player power forced Bailey out and have performed shite ever since. F.A. coming in could mean sweet F.A. for us unless we sort this shite out now.

I can only tell you what I know - it does not hurt for it to come out now. It was a family decision not a Tom Scully one. His injury history had a lot to do with it.- None of us would look that $ in the eye and walk away from it- as I said won't stop me giving it to him in spades. Family is one-eyed Richmond - we are MFC the club that tanked to ensnare him. LOL

Go on then - it is a cursed number- Carmen and Templeton did bugger all wearing it. Didn't Groom do his knee badly wearing it? Apart from the two RB's, it has not really had a glorious history- wheatley was one of the longest servants wearing it. A bit like #4 - O'sullivan and Lord who both wore it are probably the best of the bunch outside Smith (Watts excepted). We place a tradition on the numbers because of the hankering for the halcyon days - like Hawthorn's No. 23 - all clubs have them but really you could argue 11, with Stynes, Wells and Mithen has had a better pedigree. the issue is the club made a big fanfare about the #4 and #31 with the number #1 picks receiving them that has heightened their importance within the club's current link to tradition. Retire it - if a number means little then this gesture cannot harm either way.

Big f'n deal - we have given away players in the past - Wells still wrenchs' my guts. Scully went for the money- the club could bend over backwards and take it up the arse form the AFL it won't change much. We are a club in decline- have been for decades. We are not one of the big 4 - the period between 1930's and 1960's we stood for something= but the last few generations that has eroded, I still remember the resurgence when Barassi returned and the northey period= people came out and supported- but by then we had robbed Peter to pay Paul and had abandoned the MCC-MFC alignment. The PR over giving he would cannot be named the No. 31 makes this all the more to swallow but then RDB left end of 64' and started a trend we just have to move on- the way the club responds will tell if we are a weak club or not. the naming of a coach that is desired and can bring people to the games is the big deciding question.

he made his mind up within the last two weeks. Family pressure to not take the money considering the obscene amount of money on offer - won't stop me giving him an earful- but he was never a MFC supporter.

Tom came home because his sister who he was staying with at their new pad in Malvern was struggling. He is a homebody and it took alot for the club to get him out of his comfort zone in the first place. Unbeknown to us his family's pressure on him a year later not to look a gift horse in the mouth has led to this. Take it or leave it - this is the truth.

First time poster- have no credentials what so ever in the eyes of the Demonland community nor am I seeking any. Clearly the club share your appraisal; they have already conducted informal talks with another coach in the AFL - a week or so before the Carltank game - only issue is- Bailey is not aware of this - so since they have been less than honest with the current coach- bollocks if I should be in revealing this! The upshot is the club are exploring options at present - Dean Bailey is a dead man walking and he does not even know it yet. I'm not sold on Bailey's game plan-I also think he has been too cautious in his player selection and game day tactics but I do expect the man who took the fall for the club to obtain a wealth of picks to be given some dignity. The only dignity he'll get is to be allowed to coach out the season. The coach who has been spoken to is a current coach and this was sourced from a family member of that coach. Why have I raised this? Because half the stuff on here is rhetorical malaise clutching at assumptions and straws and I'm in a "devil may care " attitude, so it may assist people on this forum by cutting down a hundred posts on the "are they/ should they"- debate. the fact is they are! People should also realise we cannot attract star players anymore and the same applies for star coaches. The last homegrown star players were Flower and Lyon, the last star coach was Barassi and his presence brought a longline of journeymen and two potential star players in Templeton and Moore - without either- the other(s) are hard to convince. This should make you understand that we have an uphill battle to bring a proven-star- coach to our club. The alternative to DB is not what I would have thought is a coup- rather a compromise. BTW: Garry also let it slip by what he said on FC - taking us to be morons and not reading between the lines. Welcome to Hell- for we are only in purgatory.