Deemon

Suggest buying a premium membership, there's plenty of us holding up the bar in the Hassett Room post games!! Failing that, the Mt View on Bridge Rd (used to be Barassi's) is the unofficial home of the Dees faithful post game.

Completely feel your pain about the tipping!! Can just never bring myself to tip against the Dees and suffer as a consequence. One day it will all come together...

Don't have kids, yet, but was contemplating something similar during one of my more insightful/drunken moments earlier this year. I decided that I couldn't inflict the heartbreak of the Dees on any potential offspring the way my Dad had "gifted" it to me. This led me to contemplate just who I could put up with in my household: there's no way a member of the filth could live there and anyone who claimed to be a bomber would find themselves up for adoption, sacrificed by the light of a full moon or similar. So after a solid 60 seconds of contemplation I decided that actually my kids wouldn't have any say in the matter, there's no way I could put up with anything else and I pay the bills. Suggest an approach similar to this combined with some good old fashioned bribery to get them across the line!!

I've long held a suspicion that Melbourne supporters are all secret sado-masochists, how else to explain it?? Seriously though, I'm an unconditional supporter of the club, the way I feel now is that I've gone too far to ever contemplate anything else. MFC is a part of me, it's in my blood and part of my identity like nothing else. So many of my favourite memories of my family revolve around the MCG with all of us in red and blue and in some small way supporting the Dees (my club and their club) keeps me connected with those who are no longer here. Whenever things get to me I remember my Dad's favourite saying: the club is bigger than any individual. When that fails I cast my mind back to 2000 and remember how awesome grand final week was. Our time will come and when it does it will feel even better for having stuck with them through the low times. Go Dees!!

Absolutely no chance of goladsack coming to the dees

Great thread, I agree wholeheartedly. I've been really disappointed to hear the criticism of Mark Neeld this year. I've listened to a lot of what he's had to say and been genuinely impressed by him and his philosophy. We can compare 2012 to 2011 forever but I certainly didn't feel we were making progress in 2011, we went backwards. Mark Neeld is a tough coach who isn't afraid to pull people in to line and I think that's exactly what we need. This is short term pain for longer term gain.

After hearing Mark Neeld talk mid season I was expecting to see Lucas Cook debut by the end of the year, I got the impression that Cook was being given the chance to step up. Let's face it, we've been desperate for a forward - any forward - since we lost Clarky, so the opportunity was there for him to take. So I'm not really surprised to see him handed his cards. Interesting times we live in, Mark Neeld is starting to resemble Homer Simpson coaching little league...cut cut cut!!

I'm a fan of the Neeld. I'm looking forward to this trade week and draft like never before, which is very strange for a Melbourne supporter!! I'm a bit surprised at how people have already called for Mark Neeld's head, I've been truly impressed by him and how he's going about it. Yep, he's ruffling feathers, but I think they needed ruffling. This is a real rebuild, this is what we've been waiting for!!

Mine would have to be Lynden Dunn. I've been really impressed with him since he was moved down back and I think he's fulfilling his role nicely. I also remain very impressed with our new coach, Mark Neeld has won me over for sure.

Its not rumours, both Kaspersky and Hankook stated publicly that they were not renewing their sponsorships because of the current administration and how difficult they were to work with.

Thank you so much for posting this Bergly Sanders!! I was starting to think I was the only one who felt this way, well apart from my husband!! I agree with what you have said so much I could have written your post myself. I've never been one of these people who calls for the coach's head and I still can't decide if I was a Bailey fan or not, but I do remember being so disappointed mid way through last season. I really expected us to take the next step last year, perhaps even sneak into the eight, on the back of a very promising 2010, but then we didn't. If anything I think we went backwards last year and I guess with the pain that has been inflicted in 2012 everyone forgets that. I was bitterly disappointed at the start of the season and for the first time in my life I started to understand how people can give up and walk away. I attended one of the fan forums that the club has been running where Don McLardy, Mark Neeld, Neil Craig and Cameron Schwab talk and I would recommend it to anyone who has doubts about our coach. I became a bona fide, card carrying member of the Mark Neeld fan club on the spot. After what he said and the way he answered the questions thrown at him, I fully believe that this is the guy who can and will take us forward, not just as a team but as a CLUB. But of course it takes time and patience and I am not going to blame any Melbourne supporer for running out of patience, but for mine I have full faith in Mark Neeld and that's made my season 2012 a little bit easier.

Good call. My own favourite was in the last quarter when 50 was paid for interference after a mark, but the umpire hadn't paid a mark!! I feared for my health at that point. I think the umpiring this year has been terrible and not just at Melbourne games. The AFL need to do something, the umpiring is a total farce.

How about before ripping in to them you pay attention to what they're saying?? There are no instant solutions. Our list is sitting at fitness levels equivalent to 60% of the top flight teams. Next season will step it up to 80%, year after will be 100%. If you try and go from zero to hero you end up with soft tissue injuries. For a case study please see Essendon team 2012.

Thank goodness at least someone is talking sense!! Would also point out that Maloney's strength is his stoppage work and the average number of stoppages in a game has gone from 115 down to 90, which is also impacting on his game. I have no idea if he'll still be there next year, but I would like to think we have learned our lessons from throwing out our older players as soon as they show a bit of weakness.

Mark Neeld and David Misson have both said that Old Dee. When they looked at our fitness stats at the start of pre season and compared them to the top flight teams they realised how far we were behind. They set the standard last pre season at 60%, this pre season will be 80% and the one after 100%. Any quicker than that and your risk of injury goes through the roof. Maybe instead of tired a better way to discribe it would be fatigued?? I don't know what the answer is but I think as our fitness improves the skills will too, but we obviously need a lot of work in both areas.

I think a big part of it is fitness. We're sitting at about 60% of the fitness levels of the top flight teams and that has to impact on everything else. When you're tired you make mistakes and it's the same on the footy field. Once we have the fitness levels up to scratch I think we'll see a vast improvement in our skills, but the trouble is that we're still at least two preseasons away from that.

Did anyone see the Freo game last week?? I didn't but was listening to the radio after the match and all the commentators were saying how bad they were and that they would have to give Melbourne a chance. Clutching at straws I know, but you have to at this point in time!!

The recruitment department and the player development department used to be seperate from each other, so the recruiters wouldn't necessarily be listening to the development guys and vice versa. One of the first changes made by Mark Neeld (and probably Neil Craig) was to bring these departments together, with Todd Viney heading things up.

I really hope that this offer was made (if its been made at all) in an attempt to force the Filth's hand, get them to do the deal with Cloke and thereby making it extremely difficult for them to hold on to all the other out of contract players. I think that they would rather keep Cloke than anything else and our priority has to be midfielders. Cloke isn't worth $1 mil a year, not in our team any way.

I'm feeling slightly optimistic this weekend, but in Dees supporter style I am keeping the lid screwed on tightly!! I'd be feeling a whole lot better if the Russian was back in. I agree that the gaping hole is in the forward line, but we knew that was going to be a challenge the second we lost Mitchy. Who knows, stranger things have happened before, we did beat Essendon!! The emergencies are suspicious to me, I wouldn't be surprised to see some late changes, but that might be wishful thinking. Richmond are there for the taking this week with everything that has been going on at their club and the players they have lost through injury. We should be able to take it up to them, I do not want to see another 10 goal loss, and if a few things go our way then we might find ourselves on top.

The longer it goes on the more likely it seems to me that they will sacrifice Cloke to keep the others. I can see why we would look at Cloke but I don't think he's worth what he wants and agree about the affordability. I think we need key midfielders more, but we're coming up against that hard question of why would you want to come to Melbourne when you could stay at Collingwood and play finals?? Or go to Geelong and play finals?? That's going to be a hard thing to get around.

Agree with you 100%. Earlier this year I was really shaking my head, wondering what was going on but I think we have turned the corner. Our games aren't perfect and we still aren't doing any where near enough to beat most teams, let alone the good ones, but I've seen glimpses and I think we will get there. Mark Neeld is the man and I have full faith in him to take us ahead, albeit one step at a time. After going to one of the forums the club is running (and cudos to them for doing that) I was so impressed with what he had to say and what he is doing. I feel like we are finally on the right track and its exciting, but still a bit frustrating!! Good times to come Dees fans!!

For my money, I'd like to see us go after Beams. I think he'd fit into our midfield nicely, but can't say much about Boak as I haven't seen a lot of Power games lately. Would much rather we put all our effort into recruiting a Beams or a Boak than a Travis Cloke though!!

I thought Davey played the best game he's played for ages on the weekend. I know we only played GW$ but hopefully that gives him the confidence he needs to get back into it. I'm not sure I'd make any changes, apart from Clark of course *sigh*

I think Maloney will get another contract. Mark Neeld rates him highly and considers him one of the best stoppage players in the game. I think he was really disappointed to be dropped from the leadership group and he has been one guy who might have struggled with all the changes being made at the club (just my opinion). Neeld makes the point about players needing to put in off the field as well as on it and I don't think anyone will be keeping their spot on the list if they don't do that. I think that Beamer has turned a corner and the penny has dropped for him. We need to retain him, he's a hard body and an experienced head if nothing else, and we don't have many of those.