TGR

Love it. I loved Peter Moore as well. Thought it was bold; but see what you say. What I love most is "stop taking the soft option".

Giving up means you actually finish the game worse than you started. FCS, you supporters need an apology from yourselves.

Are you serious? If Mitchell has the ball in hand, his teammates just get on their bike. AKA offensive mode. It is rarely turned over, so you don't see Hawthorn front-runners like Breust and Sheils and any other overrated players they have, pay a price. It is actually the other way. They free-wheel knowing that 9/10 it will come off. We had a 2-on-1 where we were likely to win the contest, and you expect Dawes to say in 50/50 or defensive mode? You are probably one of those supporters that lament our poor scoring and Roos' ultra-defensive mindset. Do the maths sunshine.

Spot on. Great post. Kent is like a train. Speed plus hitting power and I dare say it potential swagger. Petracca ditto. Frost is that mobile multi-dimensional quick big we need.

First point is that progress in the AFL is rarely linear. My prediction of very mild improvement for this year (2015), might be replaced by a prediction of rapid improvement for 2016. For the dumb SEN blokey football media and football supporters, that can't understand why we can beat Geelong, Collingwood, and Richmond; yet be pulvarised by the Saints, Bulldogs & Carlton, don't really have a deep understanding of football at all. Garry Lyon included. As I have said here for over 2 months, ignoring the best 2-3 teams in the competition, speed kills us. The bulldog massacre on the quick deck at Etihad just epitomised it. We want to think it is about effort and intensity, but you have to be able to get to an opponent to actually tackle them. Just think about our reliable, mature ball-winners. Jones aint fast. Tyson aint fast. Cross aint fast. Vince aint fast. Gawn as a ruck aint Stef Martin or Nick-Nat. Viney aint slow, but he has been wisely put into a defensive-first gig at this early stage in his career. On the fringes, Toumpas, Trengove etc... aint fast either. To be blunt, we have a serious deficiency of speed where it matters. To highlight a deficiency of effort over this is too easy, too lazy and really doesn't get to the crux of what our problems are. The other issue is the introversion. I understand why Roos can see the "veil of negativity" throughout the club. But I don't think this is entirely accurate. Any negativity is actually the product of introverts everywhere. Since I have posted on ology from the early 2000s, my mantra has been to the club and its supporters, that ego is not such a bad thing. An ego or a strut, with a little bit behind it, can actually lift many around you, and can blowtorch any "veil of negativity". Look at the story of a young Luke Hodge. With Hawthorn as cellar-dwellers, and Brisbane at or just off the peak of its powers, Jonathon Brown recalls a young Luke Hodge sledging the likes of Brown, Voss, Black and Lappin. The Melbourne Football Club, for whatever reason, has recruited/attracted/retained a plethora of introverts. We had no choice but to choose one as captain for goodness sakes. But not only have are we a collective of introverts, we have actually play like introverts. Go have a look at our run and carry and bouncing stats before this season, and you will find it at Tackers level on a wet boggy day. I applaud the club for getting Garlett and Lumumba as it addresses this in some small way. All the MFC needs is a bit of speed and a bit of strut. As Lethal says, things aren't as bad as you think. Roos and Co. can talk about culture, and defense first, and consistency. TGR will talk about speed and strut. The next captain needs to have self-belief. Since the Grimes/Trengove experiment, we have been scared of appointing youth. While I love how Roos has taken the microscope off the next young saviour of the MFC; the leadership needs to exude confidence. As for speed, why the hell is Billy Stretch in and out of the side? I realise games should be earned, but what is wrong with getting games into players that we urgently need. As for us supporters, we do need to realise where we have come from. The gold that we have let slip and the trash (recycled short-term players) we have bought in, especially in the Neeld era. For a rudderless on-field club to let two AFL captains go (Wines & Rockliff), and a multi-dimensional mobile tall in Martin can't be erased from thought. Us supporters think in a dichotomy of black and white. Either Roos is a messiah, or he is yesterday's man. Not too many of us think deep and grey. Lets not forget that Robert Walls called for the head of Paul Roos in June 2005. Three months later, he became a premiership coach; and this goes back to my non-linear argument in relation to progress. The other thing that us supporters do, is have a crack at journalists that critique the club and/or its coaching. The irony is that those that have had a critical point of view of the MFC for the last 15 years, have been closer to the mark, than those of us inside the club, and those that support the club. It is about time, we objectively take on the critique, than typically playing the man and having a go at Caro and Lloyd etc... I am sure you over-celebrated the Geelong/Collingwood wins; and I am sure you over-grieved the Carlton loss. Just suck it up, think deep and grey, and as Matthews says, all is not as bad as it seems. Purest TGR

Rubbish. The only thing I disagreed with Lloyd on was the Dawes/Kreuzer thing. It looked like we had control of the pill with a 2-on-1 on the members wing. McDonald and Howe should have won the contest. If I was coaching Dawes, I would have praised him because the balance of probabilities was that we would win it and need an option to go to...so on your bike. Problem here wasn't Dawes at all, and his knee extension problem. Problem here was that McDonald/Howe should have won the one on 2. No wonder we are a pathetic offensive outfit, if we can't trust a favoured contest to get up.

Can't believe you haven't quoted Lloyd, who probably nailed it squared.

Probably the best pre-game mainstream song a club can come up with. Sorry bugle-man.

Should be severe language warning. Only issue with this is bad day. If only our plight lasted 1 day.

I am not all the way with Paul Roos, like I was a decade ago; but I love that he's is at our club; and will miss him when he goes. Fan, I am sure you agree that we don't play bruise free footy anymore. I have not looked at contested possessions, but I would guess on the inside, we are par; which is a huge tick for a club with this culture and past trading history. We are super-slow, and get killed on the outside spread; which is why the bulldogs and Saints can toy with us. I am rapt Roos has addressed the inside first, because if he didn't, we would have had Yze, Bruce, and Woey all over again. We try to close games in and take pace out of the equation. In modern footy and hyper-rotations and fast ball-ups and a nervous AFL, it is becoming impossible. We also try and make it hard for the opposition to score. But this is tough, when you don't have pace. Modern footy is about pressing up on your opposition and challenging them to get it out of their D50 in a relatively tight space. But when it gets out, we don't have the speed to beat them back to goal. So we hedge our bets. I can't work out how Billy Stretch doesn't get continuity at the highest level. We need speed, and we need to get games into these boys. When a Bail or a MJones gets picked instead, I wonder why. Siddle took wickets now, but will that help us in England in 4 years time? Trading will be important again, but at least their is a foundation. We need young speed, overlap and courage at the trading table. That means selling in boom, as you well know. We should have 4 new recruits in March 2016 anyway; which is Kent, Frost, Petracca plus/minus Trengove. But the biggest commodity that this club lacks is swagger. We have introverts coming out of every orifice. Even our captain is an introvert. We need someone with a strut that can permeate the group. Jonno Brown said that even Hodge, as a 10 gamer, would sledge the likes of Voss, Lappin, Aker and Brown. This was Hawthorn when they were young and carp too.

Love your work stuey. Just show me how my Dr.Ore Beats connect to the old 78's and I will. Dr. Ore? Is he a wife-basher with a PhD?

How could you split them? A corpse has more of a personality. I guess if you were going to heaven, then the 'dead man walking' gets the nod. If you were destined to hell, Abetz gets the nod.

I prefer the other way round to be honest. MJ sang "One" as good, if not better than Bono. What about Patti Smith in E-Bow the Letter? I am still floored.

Technically you are correct, but would you call the post-2000 release of "A little less conversation" by the King "modern"? People like Orbison can make poo sound like strawberry jam; and you could probably say that for most of the baby boomer voices. Now you need to be naked and twirking for someone to listen to you.

I try an escape modern music for 2 minutes, and Stuie gives me this. Thanks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vt1Pwfnh5pc Brilliant song, not the rubbish that our kids have grown up with. Remarkable parallel about a once mighty force in decline, having a dead-cat bounce. Port Adelaide sing "Tear us apart" before a match. The MFC could serenade this. To those who are genuinely hurt by this, toughen up. To those who fail to see the relevance, enjoy a masterpiece. To the few who can link it, well done, as you are smart and brave. Where is H, or Trav20, or Hannabal btw? pTGR

My friend, this is not a main coaching issue. This is just teething problems between 2 guys who have really just come on the scene this year. I am sure with time, leading patterns will get better; and alternate leading will occur etc... If it is a coaching issue, it is a forward-line-coaching issue.

Another, who plays like an introvert. Just waiting for him to be bold and dare...and to hell with the consequences.

Brainstorming exercise..................... If Fyfe was a Victorian (and he's not), would you consider Fyfe for Hogan plus 3rd round pick this Christmas. The lure for Hogan to go home and awful supply will get to him eventually. What would WC give up for him? Gaff (23 y.o) & Shuey? Gaff, Lamb and 1st round pick next year? Hogan's price is high. If the inevitable will happen one day, might as well cash in big in the boom.

Good today

Coming back now like a steam train, but pretty disappointing first half... Even Rievwoldt could see sense. Carazzo killing Jones. Blind freddy can tell that Jones on Murphy is the go (to give them a 2 on 1 to think about), rather than wasting Vince when we are 8 goals down. This is a product of overrating Jones and Murphy. I am sick of introverted thinking in the coaches box, and introverted action on the ground. Tommy Mc take em on for god's sake. Grimes, know your limitations!

I love Paul Roos, and will hate it when he goes in 1 year. But, he did overestimate our capacity to rebound from ground zero ("I am not afraid of coaching this team (or words to that effect).....mid 2013 OTC). He did overestimate the impact of defence in ultra modern football. He did underestimate the impact of offence in ultra modern football. Do the sums. Mick Malthouse went from the most sought-after coach in 2011/12 to yesterday's news in 3 years. The ultra-defensive mantra worked for him from 1984 to 2012. The game has changed. To Roos's defence he was left with a very average list; which many debate here. What is beyond debate, like climate change, is that he was left with a bunch of introverts that did not have pace and could not break lines. Lumumba and Garlett were needed squared. Kent, Petracca and Frost have been missed squared. In this circumstance, it is very hard for us to offend with speed, and defend against speed. Chill out. Finals 2018, and we will win one or two. Problem is that the game might change again due to Fitzpatrick and White-teeth McLaughlin changing rules for aesthetic reasons. Rotations to 60 will change the game again and stamina might be more important than speed.

Yesterday's result was absolutely predictable on the fast deck at Etihad. Most supporters just don't get it. All you need is half a footy brain, and have the ability to be purely objective. pTGR again.

Interview for the ages

Did he duck?