Fitz Fitzpatrick

Cant not pick Boyd if we get pick one. If it means the midfield isnt fixed as soon as is possible then thats just what its got to be. As much as the team needs to be competitive asap this period is all about setting the club up for sustained long term success. Boyd and Hogan would set up melbournes forward line for the next 10-14 years. the club cant let that opportunity go. Gun mids are of course VERY handy but they can be found in the top 20 picks. it is very hard to get a gun KPF in the draft .....unless you got a high pick. the club needs to load up while it can and try and get some handy mids in the following picks plus pick up some in trade and FA. With boyd and hogan on the list and roos coaching it wont be too hard in the next couple of years to attract some good mids in FA and trade week. Gotta take Boyd

haha , i know my hair is a bit messy but it was windy down here on the bay that day

I hope watts goes. Hes the only real currency the club has to trade for another top 20 pick or part of a swap for a decent mid. Watts is talented no doubt but ive never been convinced he'll reach his potential. Hes a cherry on top type of player.

thats interesting. i know a place where you can get 2 female dwarfs for about 12o bucks an hour

Craig is a fantastic bloke and a gentleman. ill never forget after a game at the G when he was coaching the crows he walked to the fence and spoke to some crows fans who had a small boy. Craigy lifted the kid over the fence and walked him out to the middle of the ground and let the little fella soak up the atmosphere. an incredible gesture and one that young kid will never forget. I think the team played so much better the 2nd half of the year, apart from a couple of games and even when they got flogged there was more of a semblance of structure and link up between players. He should not be tarred with the Neeld brush. he is better than that and regardless of what happens with the MFC coaching position I think it would be a tragedy if he was lost to footy. Hopefully he can stay on in a development role which he has said he almost prefers over chasing premierships, or if not then ive got my fingers crossed he'll pick up a head coach gig somewhere. I always enjoy his press conferences. Candid and refreshing and respectful. in front of the mic he is the "anti-Malthouse". ! Thanks for picking up the slack in difficult circumstances Neil. Much appreciated by all supporters.

See you there Jaded!

Adams would be a huge get! good age bracket to balance the lack of experience in the middle. However id like to see the club trade Watts to get this done and still have our top pick(s) to draft aish, scharenberg etc depending if they hand out a PP. Then a Daniel Cross in free agency. I think that would be a very balanced injection of talent on to the list, not including another couple of mids from the 2nd and 3rd rounds. Watts has talent but I think his greatest value to MFC now is at the trade table. He alone wont be enough to get Adams but he is still enough to garner interest. Perhaps part of a 3 way trade to Carlton. If the AFL give us the 1st pick Im now tending toward taking Boyd. I know we need midfielders midfielders midfielders but talent is talent and to shore up our KPF stocks for the next decade with a Boyd Hogan tandem would be a great result I think. Its far easier to secure decent mids late 1st round and 2nd round than gun KPP's. Even if it meant having some trade currency down the track.

Im gutted Davey wasnt offered a new short term contract. under a new coach he wouldve been a handy pinch hitting depth player. id rather him on the list next year than byrnes. you can see hes a much loved character around the club and couldve provided a bit around the place. He hasnt had a good 2 or 3 years but I think he started to show a bit toward the end and was obviously enjoying the freedom since Neelds sacking.

i reckon roos might go for Buddy as a bit of a "franchise player". someone to ramp up the sponsorship, gate attendances. id rather spend the dough on mids but i wouldnt be suprised if the club has a go at him.

My thoughts exactly Geddy

i still want to trade Watts. Try and get an extra pick for him and grab a midfielder. I just dont think hes got enough of the competitive spirit in him. Skilled for sure but where do we play him? Id rather get a hard at it midfielder for him out of the draft, plus aish and billings/sscharenberg/kelly etc and Buddy in free agency. Theres a midfield plus buddy for the marketing and crowd draw. We're away. Taylor Adams for watts would be a nice result. add him to the guys mentioned above plus franklin

I think you may be bang on there Striker. Andy D is a greater ally than many realise. It seems Gillon is more inclined to believe there are too many clubs in Melbourne. that school of thought combined with new tv rights negotiations is a threat to any side that isnt competitive.

blaming umpires is easy....and f'ing boring to read. lets discuss footy.

Blaming umpires for the teams performance is pathetic and left for the uneducated footy fan. the side lost because of ppor team work, lack of trust between players, poor decision making, poor skills, basics of football such as shepherding and talk not being practiced. Thats why we lost. Get over the umpires guys. The side thats first to the footy will always get the free kicks. I would hope anyone on demonland would know enough about footy to realise this. Save the bullsh.t about the umpires for the drunk guy in the stands and for when we are actually good enough that a free kick becomes relevant. If the game was close and came down to an umpire decision then yeah lets discuss it. umpires decisions dont stop players doing the basics, having higher skills, running harder for team mates. Thats where this side is at the moment. Going on about umpires is the about the most irrelevant topic in regards the the MFC side of 2013 that i can think of. Geez, this site makes me cringe sometimes.

why do some posters think jamar is worth anything? hes done and bundling him up with blease will not get us taylor adams!

perhaps the reasoning behind persisting with picking Watts has more to do with leveraging for a post season trade. its hard for the footy dept to argue his worth if that same footy dept drops him for the last few weeks of the season. the club is positioning itself for a trade

Yes I definitely agree that Simpson has a respected standing in the footy world and for any other club or any other year for Melbourne I would see it as a potentially exciting appointment, however Melbourne is now beyond this. This is the clubs last crack at it. Melbourne can not afford this period to go on much further. The league and the TV stations will only give the club so many chances. The one question that must be removed by this coaching appointment is "can this guy actually Coach at Head Coach level"? I dont think Neeld was in a bulls roar of being able to turn this club around but the fact that he had no Head coach track record to fall back on in early 2012 meant the media were going to give him hell. He was never going to have enough time to turn this around. A coach like Eade or Choco has the cred to , at least in the short to medium term, buy the team time to get things right. Wins will be rare next year. one thing that can be removed by a smart coaching appointment is the question mark on the coaches ability.

the club absoltely MUST hire a coach that will change the culture of the joint. Its imperative the coach is top line coaching personality. Simpson may become a great head coach but melbournes current situation demands someone with undoubted credentials. As i posted earlier, the club can not survive another media onslaught against the coach next year when we arent winning. Eade or Choco will buy the team time just as Malthouse is doing with Carlton this year. Imagine the media if the Cartlon coach was some rookie coach this year! the coach must have credibility with the players. players from ohter clubs must see a coach that theyd love to have mentor their career. The team will have doubts if they see another untried coach walk through those doors and without a doubt will question whether the club has actually learnt anything from all this. the new coach must be someone that can infuse a winning culture throughout the club not just on the ground. He has to have the credibility of past success to make this happen. Any other club this is not necessarily a proviso but Melbourne is in such a perilous state that it can not afford to gamble on this aspect of the coaching appointment.

gee i hope this is Bulltish! Another half arsed, wishy washy coaching appointment, All these rave reviews of Simpson. Remember how highly the Pies midfield, including Pendlbury , rated Neeld? This is bollocks Melbourne. Get a premiership winning coach. someone who will command an audience with these players. when Eade or Choco lead, players follow. I cant believe this rumour can be true. Craig is alright but the players badly need the club to draw a line under the Neeld era and put in pllace a coach who can look can look them in the eye and say Fellas , ive been there and i know what it takes. Lets go!

Im not calling for it , im well aware Bartlett is a club supporter, i m saying that to eliminate candicates automatically because they werent origianlly club supporters is an outdated notion. you get the best available. they dont have to be REde and Blue. their own self respect and determination to take on a challenge and do a job correctly is what is needed. If it wasnt then why dont we go get Neil Mitchell or Mike Sheahan?? Because they are not the best available. Yes its a club but it needs to be treated with the seriousness of a corporation because thats what pro sport is all about now. The era of the Old boys club has passed but unfortunately the MFC didnt see it coming. To set the record straight, im actually very happy with this appointment but when i read Satyriconhomes thoughts from a bygone era it illustrated exactly the mentality that has stifled this club. Bartlett is a supporter but if he wasnt his credentials are still impressive. From now on MFC, we chase the best, not the best Demon.

YES! this outdated notion of people having to bleed red and blue is one of the myriad of reasons the club is in a piece. drag yourself out of the '60s Satriconhome. This needs to be a professional organisation where appointments are chosen purely on the basis of them being the best out there. Have a look at the worlds most successful sporting leagues and teams. they go out and headhunt the best to lead their organisation. The AFL isnt a saturday arvo kick in the park anymore.

it has to be a coach that when we're 3-7 next season the only thing that cant be questioned is whether the coach is any good. its the constant debate on whether its the coach or the players , when we are losing that creates so much doubt and instability in the minds of the members, players and media. we get roos or eade then, ... it aint the coach. a proven coach then has the time to hold course and follow through on his plans without the blowtorch being turned up on him. last year Neeld was getting torched by the media by round 10. if we had malthouse we still wouldve been 0-10 most likely but the spotlight wouldve been solely on our list not the coaches ability. i dont believe neeld was on the right path but regardless his lack of runs on the board meant that he was never going to have the opportunity to see his plan unfold. thats why a proven coach is VITAL.

just cause you guys write it down doesnt mean it will happen. "watts improvement'. hmmm perhaps

nice one Seraph, much appreciated

and PJ as well. you guys that are fortunate enough to have encounters with these people can really help throw light onb this dismal affair for the rest of us.