Delta

So we've gone from a potential quote that we don't have at hand... to unnecessarily bringing up the topic of problems of the past, which would in fact lead to accusations of "making excuses"... to a perception that there might be a psychological separation between the admin and the football dept.I'm not seeing much substance here. I just want clearly defined problems and courses of action that will lead to solutions. Not finger pointing, action for action's sake, and then blind hope it will do some good.

This is exactly what I'm fighting against. The stupidity of taking actions that will actually keep us where we are, or end the club. The stupidity that so many seem to be clamouring to be a part of. Like sheep.

Not the supporters killing the club themselves. Campaign for change if you must, but understand the challenges we are facing and consider the best course of action, or at least the consequences of your actions. We should be strong enough to get through this.

Have you forgotten what happened under Bailey, and where we were at when he left? How the [censored] can anyone be expected to have turned it around after such a short time? Not Matthews, not Roos, not Clarkson, not Lyon, not Malthouse, not Scott, not Hardwick ... None of them could have done any better in this time. I don't know why so many have these ridiculous ideas we should be anywhere else, considering where we were at. It's like walking starting at Melbourne, then cracking it when you haven't reached Sydney in a day.

Ok. How exactly do they do that? In their position, what exactly constitutes being accountable and taking responsibility for their actions? I don't see anyone shirking their responsibilities.

By protesting against people that have largely not been there for the first 28 or so, who are putting in the hard yards to turn it around. And your solution is to make it harder for them. I'm surprised you own a lawnmower outright, let alone 3 properties.

Looks like a lot of us are pea hearts like simma. I wish our supporters had some damn backbone.

What does Sue know? Listening to her, if she actually knew anything, she was emotional enough to spill her guts. She knows nothing and is upset because her gutless son's career will be over soon. She's looking for someone to blame.

But do we really want a spill in round 2? Will it somehow magically change the team's fortunes for Round 3? Cultural change is effected over a long period. And whilst I'd like there to be change, who exactly is competent and lining up to replace the incumbents? Surely that needs to be a consideration. What's the point of a spill if we only bring in people at the same level of competency or worse?

Definitive statements when it is far from that. Surely you recognise that the club was screwed before Neeld got there. But HE is the one destroying it? You think 1 year is enough to effect serious change? When have we EVER seen that done elsewhere? Especially when a club has been in such dire circumstances?

I would suggest that rather than faceless nameless social media campaigns, that supporters come to the match early and meet outside the ground for an "old school" forum.

From a generally sensible poster, this is perplexing. How is that "manning up"? What would that achieve?? A change for change's sake?

I really shake my head in the dismay at the stupidity of some of our supporters, and their complete misunderstanding of the problem. Do you take the time and care to assess the actual facts? This is just sad. Placards should read: "We Will Not Let You Kill The Club - We'll Do It First Before You Get A Chance."

What a sad excuse for a human being he is. And if Connolly giggles, so what? He might think we are crap, and he'd be right, but it's a childish response, and I'd be surprised if he said that. He's written precious few articles on the dees in recent times anyway, and as a bombers supporter himself, I doubt he'd like us much at all.

Stalking? It's discussion. On a forum. For discussion. I just called you out because you're a very vocal representative of a certain movement by a group of posters. There doesn't appear to be many threads here that aren't dominated by your posts.

I can't believe some of the crap you post sometimes, Rangerover. Either you have an overactive imagination, or you too easily believe the rubbish Robert Walls and Roban Connolly put out there. How much time do you think they really spend analysing the club and what is happening before forming an opinion? How much insight do they have into the inner sanctum? This is flat out hyperbole. And you talk about the good a mid-season culling will do? Well what about 2 rounds in? I just can't fathom the inherent stupidity of wanting to sack a coach 2 games into his second season. It's absurd and it's not the answer.

But the coaches continually tell the players they believe they ARE good enough. The players went into Round 1 bubbling with optimism due to their belief they had gained from the preseason. If anything, they were overconfident.

The way I see it: If you are correct, there'll be a convincing argument. If you have a convincing argument, promote that and get that out to people. If it's convincing, the majority should agree with you, and change will happen. If its not convincing, it's probably because you're not right. Resorting to telling people not to attend matches, not to buy memberships, and generally doing your best to spread despair through hyperbole, tells me you probably don't have the conviction that people will be convinced by your argument without that. Pretty pictures though.

How do you have a winning culture without winning? Surely it'd be worse lying through your teeth to the players about your expectations. It'd breed inherent distrust. And when I hear the coach speak, be talks about practising and developing elite habits that will win a premiership. They're not silly enough to act as if they expect that to happen this year.

Which young players at Geelong are dominating? Who exactly are you referring to? I'm fortunate enough to be sleeping with the enemy and have quite an insight into the Geelong inner sanctum. They have an "academy" that all the young players rave about as the single most important thing in getting them ready for AFL. I think they attend if they are in their first 3 or 4 years at the club. Around 2-3 days a week at the academy, like school, educating all the kids in the basics and then advanced aspects of AFL footy, so the coaches and experienced players don't spend their time explaining everything when they should be training. Total control over the VFL team helps too. In comparison, we have to educate pretty much 90% of our list in this manner, and until recently I'm not sure we've spent anywhere near as much time on this aspect. Still not sure that we do.

Can he make those older players faster, run for longer, better defensively?

In rebuilding phases like the one we are experiencing, for players not performing, self preservation kicks in. If they do not fit the Neeld mould for whatever reason (not enough endurance, speed, lack of defensive intensity, etc) they are bound to rebel in an effort to prolong their own careers. It's whether they choose to bite the bullet and work to conform, or try to maintain the status quo in a naive attempt to last. It's them or the coach, in many ways. Unfortunately all out senior types are NQRs for whatever reason. We've know this for some time. Sometimes I wonder why we are so surprised.

Who do you think would be a better judge? 5 players who haven't come close to winning anything in their careers? Or a bloke who won a handful of premierships at different clubs at local level, then went on to be a line coach in an AFL premiership? Someone who coached numerous players to be All Australian in his line, mind you. Neeld has said himself, the Melbourne way is not for some people. That's fine. You can go and you will be replaced with people who will play and succeed in his system. That takes time though. And are you really surprised by our results if players are choosing not to buy in? I'm not.

Thing is, Roos can't make the players any older, more experienced, or better leaders. Whoever is in charge, it's still going to take time. If we keep wanting to change coaches at this rate, we'll go through another 3 before we return to serious relevance.

I know what you're trying to say, but that actually sounds exactly like stability to me.