Fitz Fitzpatrick

i normally am against massive clean outs after a few losses as it can be a bit of a knee jerk reaction . id like to see neeld get another 6 or so weeks to see what can be turned around. but i also hope theres some phone calls being made in the background. id like the ceo and connolly to be moved on . i think schwabs performance has been overrated. he has done some good things but he has made a few blunders, connolly as well. although they didnt play this fortnight i think the games are a result of a steady accumulation of poor decisions made over 5 years. anyway , back to the players. i actually think our list is BETTER than it appears. a contrarian view i know . i think we have a group of 10-12 players that can have very bright careers. below that it does drop off very quickly however.

sylvias gone, frawley will probaly leave as well. cant see how we'll keep hogan once his contract is up and wc or freo throw an offer at him. viney is too much of a compettitor to stick around if he thinks the club is not being operated as it should be. He will have some loyalty but he is so driven i cant see him tolerating incompetence from above. some like grimes will stick at i reckon but even jonesy will decide hes sick of other blokes holding up premiership cups.

threeonesix, how is the club going to attract any of these players you are tlaking about? this is the most damging aspect of our performance. the plan to pull a big name free agent midfielder this year is going down the gurgler. it wil be one way traffic im afraid.

think youve summed it all up pretty neatly there rjay. as dark as it all seems , theres something there if you pick through the bones. but unfortunately the club is going to need a lot of time to fix this mess and put some meat around that core group. Does it have this time? we need a new CEO and coacing group to buy us time.

alot of people quickly forgot how effective martin was in 2011 when he covered for Jamar. that was his best season for us. he was quickly chopped and jamar quickly signed on for another 3 years. martin isnt that good but i think he was unfairly maligned and that period of half a season or so was the most effective ruck work the side has had since 2010. jamar hasnt been the same since unfortunatley

i really feel for Neeld. He had such big visions for this club. he really wanted to change it. Perhaps he isnt the right choice but he has been scuppered by the upper managmeent and the players. he never had a chance. Sad night. very sad night

wonder what Ben hur is thinking aobut watts at the moment? by the way, where is BH?

i thought the exact same thing. we werent any good in those games. i just couldnt work out what neeld was so content about.

I agree with you Rangey that more than likely blood needs to be spilt. but i dont agree that the time for that is now. lets hope the year can be spent planning and sourcing proper replacements rather than racing out and grabbing whoevers available now. lets see how the players respond and more importantly lets see how neeld responds. we will learn alot the next few weeks. if we chop heads now or in 8 weeks it wont change much except satiate our current emotions. on the admin side of things perhaps kennets up for a challenge?

Like Melbourne after stynes's passing?

exactly! people talk about the club being soft. the supporter base is in my mind, soft. im glad the players were booed off the ground. that sent a very loud message to all concerned

short term perhaps wines would provide more for us but toumpas is for the long term. hes a talent and you have to take them when you can get them. like barry, we put these guys in our back pocket and pull them out at a later date when theyve developed and the team can actually provide them with some footy. toumpas will be fine. loved that pass of his to viney in the pocket . a quick glimpse at 2014.

grimes looked like a 10yr old in trouble outsde the principals office. great guy, solid player but hasnt got enough C*NT in him. had the captaincy decision been made last year then jones wouldve got it but thats by the by now. What would you guys think about getting Carey over to the club for some leadership/grit and determination/ mentoring under the guise of Forward line asst coach/goalkicking coach? whatever mistakes he made in life one thing he never did was take a backward step or tolerate mediocrity. i think he has a lot to contribute as a coach or mentor as far as leadership goes. another good one would be LIng. these kind of blokes that could lead people in to battle. can you imagine what carey would do if one of his players shirked a contest like pedo did yesterday?!!

Ive been a big supporter of Neelds so far and used to tire of tonatopia etc bagging him. but i will admit ive been wrong. he is not a good coach. he was exposed warts and all yesterday. there is some good individual talent on this list but they just look like they are being stifled and are too busy trying to follow instructions instead of just manning up or going for the footy. its all too robotic. i dont buy in to all this stuff about players not trying etc. of course it appears like that but the fact is , any bloke who can make an Afl list is a competitive beast. if not they would never have got through the system. of course they try. yes some try harder than others but its ludicrous to think 12 out of 18 blokes werent trying. Its deeper than that. they are trying to robotically follow instructions that either they dont quite follow or which simply can not be extrapolated in to real game situations. the latter i feel is more the case. neelds game day philosophies and plans dont stand up to match day stresses. firing neeld now isnt the answer but the club must certainly be prepared for tough decisions if neeld cant turn this around.

I really cant see how it can , WYL? even if the team improved tomorrow and made the 8 i fear its too little too late. lost generations. look at north."'the team of the 90s". still not enough to bring up level to the big clubs. there is SO much more riding on the short/medium term than some respect and 4 points. A commercial farce that collingwood/nth had to play in etihad while the Dees packed out the G with 20000 attendance. pies/roos wouldve packed the G yesterday. its only a matter of time and the club will be lucky to get a home game at the G . it just doesnt make sense to give the dees games there when there are more seagulls than people.

Nicholson has copped some stick for that 2 handed punch /spoil attempt at CHB and yes it showed a lack of self confidence. he and the back line were rattled . but for me the more glaring aspect of that piece of play was the 3 team mates in the vicinity who obviously offered absolutely no talk. Where was the " Yours Nicho"! , that would have let him know he had the time and space to take the mark?!! thats the bigger question. that situation showed up the lack of talk down back but if it was lacking then im sure it was lacking th ewhole game. leadership and preparedness to look after each other is imperative in the back line as we all know. Disgusted

holy sh*t!

True but what i havent been able to understand is how on earth did th eclub manage to recruit so many dumb unskilled players? even if you tried to recruit that type surely some good ones would get through. the sheer number of poor players on our list makes me believe its more development and training related. it cant be easy finding that many sh&t footballers?!! can it?

The back half is a disgrace without Rivers and wait till Frawley leaves. theres no way in hell he'll be sticking around when his contract is up. would you?

make no mistake, the future of the club is on the brink here. not because we lost today but because todays lost just reaffirmed how deeply rotten the culture of the club is and the climb out of the hole jsut seems to get tougher and tougher. this reeks of fitzroy in the 90s

Some poor performances on field today but a weak as pi$$ effort from the coaches box. i like to wait till seasons end to make calls but ill be honest, im not too sure about neelds game day ability guys.

for all of those who complain about the media giving the club a hard time - now do you know why?!! we are a rabble and we are irrelevant. the media are jsut saying it as it is.

gysberts just doesnt have 'it'. that inner c^%T thats going to drive his competitiveness and hunger for success. watch him in the rooms after the bombers game last year. mclardy just pushes him out of the way to get to someone else. he just was standing around all sheepish. skilful junior but thatll be about it i reckon.

but having a father/son like the ablett's who are both legends of the game is certainly very rare. theres several examples of father/son playing top level sport but cant think of many where both have been absolutely heads and shoulders above all others of their generation

archie wasnt an elit qb. he was serviceable.