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Listened to Titus O'Reily on latest episode of the Junktime AFL podcast. While it may be common knowledge to some, I was shocked when he spoke of rumors of just how bad the culture really was during Bailey/Neeld era. Talks of senior players constantly eating McDonald's, one player getting so drunk in China the night before exhibition game that he couldn't even play the next day. Had to make it 17 v 17. Also said when Roos got to MFC, he couldn't believe the team were actually AFL players - they were that unfit!! I knew it was bad, but I just thought that the FD and/or players were just really below par, but those stories of the example setting senior players being slobs just blew my mind. Anyone else got any other messed up behind the scenes tales of what went on?

Unfortunately, anyway you look at it, we have gone backwards under Neeld. Backwards in talent, personell, enthusiasm, gameplan, excitement, fun and most importantly ON THE LADDER!!! Until he and Schwab goes the Melbourne Football Club are without a chance of moving forward. Follow this if you will; 2011 we won 8.5 games - Surely Neeld would back himslef to take that as a baseline and build up from there?? We already had a young list so just develop them beyond what they had performed the year before. We are sooooooooooooooo much worse than 8.5 now. What I'd give for 8.5 wins. In 2011 we often looked fast, competitive dynamic: When we won, we won big - thrashed Adelaide (watch this! ), 94 points, thrashed Freo. Look at them now and then look at us? When we lost we looked spirited yet outgunned and leaky like many a young team does. Our list was good enough to beat teams like the Swans until Neeld disempowered and traded half the talent out and got spuds in. With the talent drain since 2011, even the best gameplan in the world we would still lose uncomfortably. Rethinking 186 - Cats pummelled 2011 runners-up Collingwood by 96 points two weeks later. This is THE Collingwood guys! You know the team that won a flag? The fully grown list and club lost by 100 to the Cats straight after we did. There was a well known power struggle behind the scenes at Melbourne which leaked out onto the field for 186. We were riven with internal tension and flogged by one of the best teams of all time, in top form, on their home turf. The Pies were at their peak and thrashed on the G. Can never be pretty but how is this equation? 186 = 96 (what the pies lost by two weeks later) + 30 (Cats at Kardinia Park toll) + 30 (internal politics leaking onto the field) + 30 (inexperienced and fatigued team). 148 is so much worse than that. In 2011 Brent Moloney came 7th in the Brownlow: The list turnover and spiralling performance of our best talent has been the biggest crime of the Neeld/Schwab gutting. Do they know how many losses we had to suffer to get those talented young players??? Back yourself to make them players, don't just trade out Gysberts for Pederson, Petterd for Byrnes. Moloney for Rodan. Bring more out of players! Furthermore it's well documented that all our AA talent has gone backward Frawley, Jamar, Davey. AFL standard - I am sick of hearing people write about the Neeld as though he picked up a failed rebuild basket case! We were stuttering but definitely on our way up. We were running out games fine. Neeld himself constantly sinks the boot in saying that he is trying to get to AFL standard. What disrespectful rubbish to a peer in Bailey to divert the spotlight from his own dismal performance. We have slipped so far backwards on any tangible scale since Neeld joined. I blame Garry Lyon, Mclardy and the board for supporting snake Schwab over the senior players in the wake of 186. It takes a lot of resentment for senior players to stand up to a bully CEO. (Pavlich vs Schwab at Freo is a happy example of where the players won the day! bye bye Schwabbie!) At the Dees, Schwab had put tanking in place, shelved a 'trust exercise' report and force cut their beloved Captain Jnr Mac! For them to defy the players by sacking Bailey while we were still a chance to make the 8 was just plain weak, reactive and horrible. Don't get me wrong I'm not saying Bailey was definitely going to last the distance, maybe we swap him for Malthouse after his contract was up in 2012 ala Ratts. But one thing is for sure, we have never looked as pathetic and hopeless as we do now under Neeld. But apparently our pre-season GPS data is up to AFL standard so I might be wrong

Date with disaster Quite a detailed account. She's actually quite fair to Schwab later in the article too, which was surprising. Worth a read for any Demon supporter.