Macca

And we go to a 5th !

The time for winning should always be "Right now" regardless of list age , size etc etc . Losing should never be tolerated . We can still build for the future with a winning culture / thinking . I prefer talk of "Finals" window - which should be kept in house but aspired to every year . The fans can say what they like , what matters is results on the field . Neeld and co. will hopefully bring a zero tolerance to losing . Even against the best sides . The playing group needs to develop a much harder edge . The Coaching staff can develop this but the players themselves need to have a burning desire to succeed . A major increase in contested possessions out of the middle would be a good start and that's one of the areas that Mark Neeld would be concentrating on you'd reckon . Can we play finals this year ? You betcha we can . There's enough talent and our draw isn't difficult . Cheers

Probably a bit more than my "Dunlop Volleys" . I think Rod Laver wore the Volleys during his career . Good match so far hey ?

Yep , I like a fair bit of what you've said there Akum . In the end , it may come down to a test to see how good our Board is . I want to see how well they can perform in the current circumstances . In some ways it's good that we may get to see our Board at work ( in a more visible way ) . Often Boards are a bit non-transparent . For instance , getting hold of the minutes of meetings is a lot of hard work ( I'm told ) . Though I stand corrected on that one . Be good to be able to read them hey ? Just touching on '186' . In a lot of ways I'd prefer to forget the whole sorry day but something tells me there's a bit more to come out . Totally off subect - I can't remember ever looking forward to the pre-season cup as much as this year . We really need to get back on track , quick smart ! Often these games are in some ways meaningless but I'm hoping we have a good go at it this time . Cheers , Macca

Lutz , I'm not going to change my mind on this one . I've been involved with sporting clubs my entire life and I still am in a small way ( more of a consultancy thing ) I've served on many committee's and have seen many times how someone can be covered periodically . Big or small , most sporting clubs work in a similar way in my opinion . When somebody goes down you stick together as a team and lift a notch . Loyalty can't be measured but has to be adhered to . Otherwise things fall apart . Now , the above paragraph is not meant to come across as me "big noting" or suchlike as I'm sure many people on this site have served on Committees or Boards . It's there to partly explain my point of view on the subject matter ( Jimmy ) . Cheers again !

Yes Lutz , you make a valid point . But as I said in an earlier post I believe the Board can cover for Jimmy in the immediate future ( if needs be ) . That's where we disagree and that's fine . I respect your opinion . It has to be said that I really like Don McLardy as well . He's a good man and is a more than able Vice-President . So Don can step in like he already has on occasions ( once again , if needs be ) . I'm fine with that . Cheers .

Tim , I put forward the "agree to disagree" comment because I reckon we're way too far apart to find some middle ground . If I think someone ( Jim Stynes ) is doing a good/great job 95% of the time then in my eyes it becomes 100% . That's just the way I am . I choose to ignore the "5%" where it's not "good" unless that % increases too much . Or there's a major stuff up . Hope that makes sense More people should "agree to disagree" on occasions in my opinion rather than go toe to toe . I see some arguments on some of these threads go on for too long and then become slanging matches and sometimes resort to insults etc etc . And often the subject matter gets lost . Sometimes it's best to "get out early"! One of Jimmy's great strengths is that he never gives up . Ever . Isn't that what we want from our footy Club ? Cheers

England all out for 72 and are now 2 nil down against Pakistan . Oh dear .

So how does that father/son rule work again ? I tied a piece of string to my finger but I can't remember what it's there for !

Perth Scorchers vs Sydney 6ers . Should be a cracker ! Herschelle gone 1st ball ! That's gotta hurt .

Papa Roach are a band from California . They originally formed in 1993 . Macca 5.2

Yep , Zimbabwe have very few Ist class cricketers and Bangladesh have a terrible infrastructure . I might keep Bangladesh but as ya said Zimbabwe should never have got Test status . It ends up making a mockery of averages , aggregates , Test rankings etc etc . They should just play in the South African SuperSport Series ( used to be known as the Currie Cup ) . That result in New Zealand does absolutely nothing for Test cricket . I've noticed that Australia have avoided playing these 2 nations for a while now . In fact , Ricky Ponting has only played 7 Tests against these 2 Nations Sachin Tendulker vs Zimbabwe and Bangladesh 1718 runs @ 94.88 ( 16 matches ) Jacques Kallis vs Zimbabwe and Bangladesh 996 runs @ 124.50 ( 12 matches ) Ricky Ponting vs Zimbabwe and Bangladesh 550 runs @ 78.57 ( 7 matches ) From CricketArchive.com I'll get a 2nd source later to verify these figures but they tell a bit of a story

Beer and Lyon went to South Africa ( see link below ) The tracks in the West Indies are often grassless and tend to keep low and often take spin . Ajmal took 17 wickets for Pakistan in 2 tests there last year whilst Harby took 11 wickets in 3 tests for India in 2011 as well . And the West Indies "Leggie" Devendro Bishoo took 21 wickets in 5 tests against India and Pakistan last year . And yes Rhino , there will be a "beer" of some description taken on the tour of the West Indies ! Speaking of which ....................... http://www.smh.com.au/sport/cricket/cummins-caps-rapid-rise-with-test-call-up-20111017-1lsp5.html

Yep , but on the flip side he'll get to play a few Shield games before the selectors pick the Test squad for the West Indies . I must say it is a bit of speculation on my part because I haven't seen a lot of him . I have heard that he's got a fairly big turning leg break . I'm just a bit mindful that there is often a surprise selection in a touring squad . Btw cricket.com have some live streaming of shield games (periodically) so we might get to have a bit more of a look at him . And Rhino , you are correct about Cameron's last match figures but prior to that game he had match figures of 5/57 against NSW and 6/135 against Victoria . And we did take 2 spinners to Sri Lanka and South Africa ( Lyon and Beer ) In all honesty I don't think he will get in the squad but the selectors might choose to take him for the experience if they think Beer won't get a game anyway .

You make a good point Nasher but Cameron Boyce from Queensland is on the horizon . And a few Test nations don't play leg spin very well . England are susceptible at times . Boyce might be a dark horse for the West Indies if we pick 2 spinners in the squad . We were blessed with Warne and MacGill but I was thinking more along the lines of Hohns , Higgs and Holland . Handy and sometimes good but not great . Anyone above that level is an absolute bonus . Here's Cameron's profile on cricinfo . Not ground breaking stats to be fair but Ashley Mallett gave him a good rap a few years ago (story at the bottom of his profile) . http://www.espncrici...yer/326625.html And here's the Itinerary for the West Indies . http://www.espncrici...mplate=fixtures

Yep , terrific thinking by our Club and shows the value of Neil Craig . We just seem to be on the front foot in a lot of areas . My immediate thoughts were which Clubs aren't doing this . If our Club continues initiatives like this one and aspires to be innovative we'll hopefully create a break on some other Clubs . Any small to large advantages can add up . Possibly getting to an "absolutely no excuses" situation .

Mick Clarke has had quite a handy start to his Captaincy career . 7 wins , 3 losses , 2 draws . ( That includes the loss in the 5th Test vs England ) . With 3 Tests to come in the West Indies , that record is set to improve you'd reckon . We've then got South Africa at home for 3 Tests ( Nov /Dec ) and Sri Lanka are here for 3 Tests next Xmas . Michael's captaincy has been excellent . Rotates his bowlers well . Uses Lyon at the right time and his field placings have been very good . And his own batting is top notch .Wonderful start by "Pup" . In the space of 12 months we've gone from having a struggling attack to an embarrassment of riches . I like Nathan Lyon but if we can unearth another good leggie to put some pressure on , it would be ideal . Our batting isn't quite settled yet . Ponting and to a lesser extent Hussey have turned the tables and well done to both of them . But they can't go on forever . England looms . Warner and Cowan have been terrific and are getting themselves established and of course Watto will come into the side eventually . Marsh and Khawaja both have work to do but they're both young enough to get better and Dan Christian is another option . Haddin will probably stay for the time being . Who the selectors pick in the touring party for the West Indies will be interesting . Which fast bowler or bowlers do they leave out ? And will there be a surprise selection in the batting ? . They'll possibly pick 15 players . Closer to the release date we could all have a go at picking the squad . Cheers

I gave some ground to Bob on the "unconditional" bit . Best if we agree to disagree with the rest of it timD Cheers

Yep , weird how sport works sometimes , esp in the NFL . The Giants are hot right now and I reckon they should be slight favourites . The Eagles were disappointing Dappa but in the end no worse than the Packers . I too wasn't too surprised that "our" Packers lost that 1st playoff game . As ya said , our defence wasn't good enough and you get exposed in the big games . James Starks missed too many games leading into the playoffs unlike last year when he got hot late . Next year !

Wow , that was a great match ! Should be a classic Final on Sunday night - Go Rafa ! Though I like Novak as well . Volume possibly on mute for tomorrow nights Ladies Final !

Ok Bob , I'll concede on the word "unconditional" to save an argument . I agree , there should always be checks and balances . But if our Club can't cover for Jimmy on occasions then we haven't got the right people in there . Boards are always hard to judge . Time judges them . I reckon the whole Club is doing quite well right now .Turnover 40mil ? , Terrific training facility , A new and vibrant football dept . Membership strong and growing , A playing list that's maturing and much fitter , 1.9 million jumper sponsorship ( back ) with hopefully good dollars for the front . A kind draw ( mainly the 2nd half of the year ) etc etc . Jim should be allowed to see his vision through . Cheers , Macca

Gee wizz , we've gone from the Jimmy Stynes supporters being linked to religious zealots and now we've brought the Nazis , the Christians , Jim Jones and heaven forbid " An invasion of New Zealand ! " into proceedings . Not sure I fancy taking on those Maori's but I'm happy to ride shotgun !

Unconditional support , Total support , Absolute support , Undying support . Fanatical support . I could go on . It all basically means the same thing and a lot people say one of the above on a semi regular basis . Your references to Nazi's , Jim Jones , Christians and New Zealand are rather odd and I fail to see any connection to Jim Stynes' position at the MFC .

Loyalty to Jimmy Stynes and backing him to the hilt has nothing whatsoever to do with "The second coming of Jesus" . I'd call it unconditional support Nasher . And I reckon it's an admirable quality . A lot of us have unconditional support for family , friends , footy club , Country , etc etc . I have sometimes found fault with the way our Club has gone about things . For a very good reason . Our Club has made some obvious errors in the past . Sacking Norm Smith was a doozy ! But when it comes time to give praise and to say "Job well done" I've done so and have largely ignored any minor mistakes . As an example , what would be the point in finding minor faults in Robbie Flower's game ? Overall , Jim has been fantastic for our Club and we owe him a great debt and ...............we should show our loyalty . Cheers

So you speculate about Jim's limitations and failings , then offer no evidence to back up your comments other than "If there are any"