Who Takes The Blame?

[Crusty Demon]

I'm very dirty on today's efforts. In fact, the last 2 months has been borderline pathetic.

Two things mentioned for a fortnight about this match that needed to be addressed! Our starts to a game, and our embarrasing record in Adelaide! Both these things were highlighted by our players and coaching staff throughout the week and we as supporters were promised a much improved effort in these categories.

Watching the first quarter to the game today proved that we as a side have hardly improved if at all from last season! You can say what you like, but our efforts since the close loss to the Bulldogs has been an embarrassment.

So who takes the blame for todays weak display? Our senior players for again not showing up at an interstate game? Our coach who still is yet to prove he belongs at this level? Or us as supporters who actually thought against, possibly the weakest Adelaide Crows team to take the field, we were a chance to finally come home from Adelaide with 4 points? And don't give me the same old crap about how young a side we are, and it's all a learning experience! If we can take it up to Collingwood twice this season(albeit last match they should have buried us), and nearly get over the line against the Bulldogs, then we should have accounted for Adelaide today!

I need answers as I'm running desperately out of patience with this club!

 

[d33my]

You can say what you like, but our efforts since the close loss to the Bulldogs has been an embarrassment.

You're right, I was absolutely filthy with a win over Port Adelaide and spewed all over my Demons jumper when we drew with a top four contender.

On a more serious note, and to answer your question, the whole footy club takes the blame today. Coaching staff for being all talk and no walk, players for not having an AFL level of intensity.

I tell you what, next time we play in Adelaide I don't want to hear one mention of our poor form there. I just want the boys to go out and play ****ing football

 

[Crusty Demon]

You're right, I was absolutely filthy with a win over Port Adelaide and spewed all over my Demons jumper when we drew with a top four contender.

On a more serious note, and to answer your question, the whole footy club takes the blame today. Coaching staff for being all talk and no walk, players for not having an AFL level of intensity.

I tell you what, next time we play in Adelaide I don't want to hear one mention of our poor form there. I just want the boys to go out and play ****ing football

Lets not get carried away with either of those games! Collingwood should have buried us last match with umpteen more shots on goal, and the win over Port has proven to be not that good since they have been just as pathetic as us in recent weeks! So we have had a win by a point and a lucky draw in the last what 7 or 8 rounds?

The fact is, we are getting a pantsing by most teams now! A team on the rise my arse! We are still a bottom 2 side, and could well finish last for a third straight season! Something is clearly not right at the MFC at the moment, and i as a member want to know where is the effort and the confidence shown in the first 5 weeks(excluding rnd 1) gone?

Why have we fallen so far away and gone back to being pathetic easybeats? I'm 36 years old, have never seen any success at this club, and want a flag as much as anyone on this board! But what I've seen in the last couple of months proves the coach and i would say nearly half our list cannot take us there.

 

[1980GFVideo]

Watching on Foxtel was a bit dissapointed with the game.

Will be an interesting game when you guys play us (Richmond).

Whether Bailey has truly taken you forward will come under scrutiny against us.

 

[wowlace]

I'm tipping the Tiges.

 

[Mr Rude]

I'm disgusted.

We played for one and a half quarters total today, again another shit first half. Bailey cant be blamed for the poor starts, its obviously the players mindset. Then we go defensive to try and stop the bleeding, we **** that up so then we go on the attack and make a run before getting blown out of the water again. Shithouse effort by the players, coming off a weeks break there is no excuse for that first half of utter shit.

Short of Bailey giving them all a hand job before the game, i don't know what else he can do.

 

[Surkin]

Jack Watts

 

[Ando727]

There have been good signs for our future from various individuals, but as a team, we have only improved modestly. Seems we got on a high and produced a series of great efforts, but when the going gets tough we still fall in a hole. It all points to the self-belief of our club still not being what it needs to be. I'm not sure how we will build that, but it's going to take time. We are clearly still a bottom 4 side, with the potential to push for finals next year or the year after if we can get a bit more mongrel and self-belief into us. We are nowhere near finals this near and could still finish bottom if we aren't careful.

It's not all doom and gloom. I think we have the team now that can be very powerful in a few years, but we need to stop getting ahead of ourselves. The thing that got us those wins was relentless pressure and tackling. That has gone missing and that's why we are getting embarrassed on a weekly basis. We probably believed our own press and stopped putting in the effort required.

 

[Dez!]

Lets not get carried away with either of those games! Collingwood should have buried us last match with umpteen more shots on goal, and the win over Port has proven to be not that good since they have been just as pathetic as us in recent weeks! So we have had a win by a point and a lucky draw in the last what 7 or 8 rounds?

Collingwood should have buried us? Those 22 behinds were created by us, barely any of them were good shots on goal and writing off a win is an absolute stupid thing.

The fact is, we are getting a pantsing by most teams now! A team on the rise my arse! We are still a bottom 2 side, and could well finish last for a third straight season! Something is clearly not right at the MFC at the moment, and i as a member want to know where is the effort and the confidence shown in the first 5 weeks(excluding rnd 1) gone?

We aren't a bottom 2 side, we are a young team on the rise but along the way there are going to be ups and downs but apparently that part has gone right over your head.

Why have we fallen so far away and gone back to being pathetic easybeats? I'm 36 years old, have never seen any success at this club, and want a flag as much as anyone on this board! But what I've seen in the last couple of months proves the coach and i would say nearly half our list cannot take us there.

36 years old and you would think that you'd have some decent perception and logical thoughts but apparently not. A young team is going to be up and down quite a lot as they develop and while it's infuriating at times, it was always going to be like that.

Your spazzing out claiming half our list and coach aren't going to take us anywhere is a complete overreaction and a very stupid one at that.

 

[stickman11]

Collingwood should have buried us? Those 22 behinds were created by us, barely any of them were good shots on goal and writing off a win is an absolute stupid thing.



We aren't a bottom 2 side, we are a young team on the rise but along the way there are going to be ups and downs but apparently that part has gone right over your head.



36 years old and you would think that you'd have some decent perception and logical thoughts but apparently not. A young team is going to be up and down quite a lot as they develop and while it's infuriating at times, it was always going to be like that.

Your spazzing out claiming half our list and coach aren't going to take us anywhere is a complete overreaction and a very stupid one at that.

I don't know, from what I have seen, Bailey hasn't shown that he is going to take us anywhere.

Rather poor for someone in their third year.

 

[demonfan9]

As much as I am angry about todays result, lets not get too carried away. We have improved significantly this season, and I don't think we are the worst team in the league.

R1 - Smashed by Hawks, pathetic effort.
R2 - Lost to Pies by one point, should have won.
R3 - Beat Crows in a close one at the G.
R4 - Smashed Tigers in a convincing display.
R5 - Smashed undefeated Lions, best game of the year.
------------------------------------------------------
R6 - Beaten by North, poor effort.
R7 - Close loss to Dogs, should have won.
R8 - Lost to Eagles at home, terrible match.
R9 - Gutsy win over Port in Darwin.
R10 - Comfortably beaten by Cats at Skilled.
R11 - Disappointing loss to Blues at the G.
R12 - Great effort to draw against Pies in big match.
R13 - Pathetic record at AAMI continues against Crows.

You can draw a line after round five and say that we've clearly dropped out of form after a great start. Only three of our last eight matches have been competitive.

However, you've gotta look at the season as a whole and compare it to where we've come from. We were 1-12 at the same time in 2008 and 2009. We are currently 4-1-8 and our percentage of 88% is better than six other teams. There are still a number of winnable games ahead, and I reckon we are still on track to finish around the 8 win mark which many predicted.

 

[Catsace]

Your side could be a little like Geelong were in 2003. Early in that season we promised improved performances, but were pretty ordinary for most of the year. But glimpses of form were shown, like a win over Port that season when they were top, and a win over St.Kilda and a draw with the Eagles. But ask any Bulldog fan, we embarrassingly furnished 8 of the 14 premiership points Peter Rhode accumulated as coach of the spoon-bound Dogs that year...

But Geelong were also abysmal away from Victoria. We lost an un-Godly number of interstate games in succession, particularly in Adelaide where we had sometrhing like 3.5 wins in 20 matches! Even in 2004, when we finished 3rd we lost all our interstate games, breaking our duck in 2005. By 2007 though we started on a run of 12 successive interstate wins.

Not saying you'll start winning all your interstate games, but it is often the last little piece of the puzzle of a side heading towards success. Your team is very young, with several key players no older than 22 or so, it will improve as time goes on.

Mind you, for Richmond to win two of their three games interstate this season is unusual for a young side, but then again Port and Brisbane now are in pretty diabolical form.

 

[KickLongTackleHard]

The jury is still out on Bailey and some players, from the outside its probably something that can only be judged with more time.

But there have been some good results, and exciting football played this year. Just not often enough so its hard to look past a young team struggling with consistency.

So I guess I'm not sold on Bailey and some players but lets see how the rest of the year and probably next year plays out.

 

[unstable punt]

Watching on Foxtel was a bit dissapointed with the game.

Will be an interesting game when you guys play us (Richmond).

Whether Bailey has truly taken you forward will come under scrutiny against us.

If Bailey doesn't get them up for around 15 wins over the next year and a half he should go

 

[Ageing Demon]

The jury is still out on Bailey and some players, from the outside its probably something that can only be judged with more time.

But there have been some good results, and exciting football played this year. Just not often enough so its hard to look past a young team struggling with consistency.

So I guess I'm not sold on Bailey and some players but lets see how the rest of the year and probably next year plays out.

Neither am I however he is there till at least this time next year,
I keep hoping it is our young team however I have this horrible feeling down deep in my gut that we are nowhere near as good as I thought a month ago.
At present you would have to say we are no better than bottom four.

 

[Crusty Demon]

Collingwood should have buried us? Those 22 behinds were created by us, barely any of them were good shots on goal and writing off a win is an absolute stupid thing.



We aren't a bottom 2 side, we are a young team on the rise but along the way there are going to be ups and downs but apparently that part has gone right over your head.



36 years old and you would think that you'd have some decent perception and logical thoughts but apparently not. A young team is going to be up and down quite a lot as they develop and while it's infuriating at times, it was always going to be like that.

Your spazzing out claiming half our list and coach aren't going to take us anywhere is a complete overreaction and a very stupid one at that.

You can question my lack of maturity all you like, but over 36 years of watching this club play football, and being a member every season since 1993, i have every right to voice my opinion on where i think this club is at right now! Clearly on todays performance, i am not over reacting. And to call another passionate member stupid on what he believes, is moronic! You must have blinkers on if you cannot see we have some major issues on field right now.

The last couple of months have proved that this side still needs some major overhauling. Bailey has also proved that he struggles to pick the right side, and cannot coach come gameday. Strauss should be playing every week. This will enable Grimes to play midfield. Anyone who went to the practise game at Optus Oval earlier this year against Essendon walked away salivating at the prospect of Grimes playing midfield this season! Yet he has hardly played 10 minutes there all year!

He continually picks a defense that is too tall because he is too scared to drop Rivers or Garland. Both have been underwhelming this season and deserve to be dropped. Cheney has been great in the reserves all season, yet Bailey refuses to pick him. Gysberts should clearly have played today also! He had 1 bad game against Collingwood, and gets dropped.

We have clearly been crying out for a tall forward all year, yet he continues to ignore this area of the ground! Port Adelaide put in a young Westhoff in his first year and he did really well. Why not try Fitzpatrick there and see if he can at least contest for us! I don't understand his reluctance to not try Rivers or Garland down forward either? And sure Maric hasn't set the world on fire for Casey, but can you at least give him a go and see if his game can go up another level? We can't kick a score higher than 80 points, so surely we have to get in some guys who could possibly kick some goals! Dean, please try something different! Clearly what you are trying now is not working.

 

[Gazza_11]

There's such a big difference between Adelaide's behinds and Collingwood's behinds. On QB we applied so much pressure on Collingwood, which drove them to spray it on goals. This week Adelaide just sprayed it.

 

[The Dr]

You can question my lack of maturity all you like, but over 36 years of watching this club play football, and being a member every season since 1993, i have every right to voice my opinion on where i think this club is at right now! Clearly on todays performance, i am not over reacting. And to call another passionate member stupid on what he believes, is moronic! You must have blinkers on if you cannot see we have some major issues on field right now.

The last couple of months have proved that this side still needs some major overhauling. Bailey has also proved that he struggles to pick the right side, and cannot coach come gameday. Strauss should be playing every week. This will enable Grimes to play midfield. Anyone who went to the practise game at Optus Oval earlier this year against Essendon walked away salivating at the prospect of Grimes playing midfield this season! Yet he has hardly played 10 minutes there all year!

He continually picks a defense that is too tall because he is too scared to drop Rivers or Garland. Both have been underwhelming this season and deserve to be dropped. Cheney has been great in the reserves all season, yet Bailey refuses to pick him. Gysberts should clearly have played today also! He had 1 bad game against Collingwood, and gets dropped.

We have clearly been crying out for a tall forward all year, yet he continues to ignore this area of the ground! Port Adelaide put in a young Westhoff in his first year and he did really well. Why not try Fitzpatrick there and see if he can at least contest for us! I don't understand his reluctance to not try Rivers or Garland down forward either? And sure Maric hasn't set the world on fire for Casey, but can you at least give him a go and see if his game can go up another level? We can't kick a score higher than 80 points, so surely we have to get in some guys who could possibly kick some goals! Dean, please try something different! Clearly what you are trying now is not working.

Completely agree with the bolded parts....my mind's not made up about Bailey yet, and the above mentioned bolded bits are the main reasons.

Also struggles with match-ups in my opinion.

 

[chopper41]

I'm not doing it. Neil Balme is way to fat and heavy.

 

[Spirit of 39]

You can question my lack of maturity all you like, but over 36 years of watching this club play football, and being a member every season since 1993, i have every right to voice my opinion on where i think this club is at right now! Clearly on todays performance, i am not over reacting. And to call another passionate member stupid on what he believes, is moronic! You must have blinkers on if you cannot see we have some major issues on field right now.

The last couple of months have proved that this side still needs some major overhauling. Bailey has also proved that he struggles to pick the right side, and cannot coach come gameday. Strauss should be playing every week. This will enable Grimes to play midfield. Anyone who went to the practise game at Optus Oval earlier this year against Essendon walked away salivating at the prospect of Grimes playing midfield this season! Yet he has hardly played 10 minutes there all year!

He continually picks a defense that is too tall because he is too scared to drop Rivers or Garland. Both have been underwhelming this season and deserve to be dropped. Cheney has been great in the reserves all season, yet Bailey refuses to pick him. Gysberts should clearly have played today also! He had 1 bad game against Collingwood, and gets dropped.

We have clearly been crying out for a tall forward all year, yet he continues to ignore this area of the ground! Port Adelaide put in a young Westhoff in his first year and he did really well. Why not try Fitzpatrick there and see if he can at least contest for us! I don't understand his reluctance to not try Rivers or Garland down forward either? And sure Maric hasn't set the world on fire for Casey, but can you at least give him a go and see if his game can go up another level? We can't kick a score higher than 80 points, so surely we have to get in some guys who could possibly kick some goals! Dean, please try something different! Clearly what you are trying now is not working.

I'm with you Crusty. I saw Grimsey's 32 possession, 2 goal game against the Bombers in the preseason. He smashed them. Let's see what he can do. Everyone keeps telling me Cheney is too small to play on KPF's and not quick enough to play on smalls. Let's see..

When the ball hit the ground in the forward line today, it was dispatched with no pressure. Let's see if Adam Maric can cut the mustard. I felt sorry for Nev Jetta. He was playing the lead up forward role and he is 5'6!!! And we can't hit the side of the barn at the moment.

Riv and C Garland were not significant in marking contests today and certainly gave us no run from defence. They were non-contributors. (Along with many.) Let's see what Strauss and Cheney can provide.

 

[Scully 31]

We have gotten alot better and that much is clear. 8 wins is still on the cards.
All i can say is give the team time to develop. As for Dean Bailey give him time to. I am not sold on the man like many of you, but we need to give him 4-5 years to see if his game plan does fit our system and players Many of his sides have been terible so he has always be fighting a losing battle. Besides when we win a game we all go on about how good we look and how much better we are playing. When we lose a game we all jump all over his and the teams back. The team is doing well because if anyone said at round 13 we had won 4 and drawn 1 many of use would have taken those results considering the part few seasons.

 

[Spirit of 39]

The problem is Sculls, we were non-competitive against a team that had shown little this year. Regardless of circumstances,they made us look second rate in the first half. We need to be better than that.

 

[d33my]

My view on bailey ATM is that he is fantastic with getting young kids up to AFL level. My concern lies with his gameday coaching. Is it inconceivable in a few years that he may still be part of the coaching staff (Youth Coach??) but won't be head coach?

Having said all that, its very hard to judge how well a coach does on game day with a young side. If he was having this sort of trouble with a mature team a la dogs, pies, cats, saints then youd really worry.

Too soon to tell atm. Besides, i think the less the head coach changes, the better (up to a point)

 

[CM Sean]

EVERYONE.

What the **** is with this AAMI Stadium curse? I don't ****ing understand it tbh. This shit's gotta stop, it's getting ****ing ridiculous now. No matter where we are on the ladder, or how good we seem to be traveling, every ****ing time we go there, we lose and lose quite miserably.

At three quarter time when we were deemed "still in it" by the commentators, I didn't expect us to win (nor did I think we would), but I actually thought for ONCE we wouldn't cop a hiding... guess it was just wishful thinking, got a thumping afterall.

We deserve nothing after today, pathetic. Beat St.Kilda next week and maybe I'll learn to 4give and 4get, but today was horrible and it hurts... god how it hurts!

 

[Bartram_Class]

Inconsistency is all I'm seeing.

We're clearly a better side than last year, the ladder might only suggest a slight improvement but the actual performances don't deceive. Even in today's loss, the team of 07/08/09 would have faded gradually all day but at least we had the mini-resurgence of the 3rd term. Ditto the efforts in the 2nd halves of the NM and Carlton games.

The issue is the non-existence of a functioning forward line, not withstanding the loss of Jurrah and Petterd, there's no structure and the development of Watts as a budding FF isn't helped by the fact he's never played out of the square / anywhere remotely close to goal. How many of Watts' touches were on the back flank this afternoon?