Opinion Culture

[Bluelegs]

It's a widely held view that Melbourne have or at least had a poor club culture over the past few years and the signs were undeniable of this over that time period. It's clear that something in the club has changed and while the new footy department hasn't seen much success so far, the club and playing group still seems to look like it's in better shape than it did a few years ago. I've held the opinion for a while that losing culture doesn't exist, that it doesn't make sense as any professional sportsman would do everything they can to win every game on the day. But I do understand that the environment a playing group are in can have large ramifications on their attitude to training and their lifestyles, so I do understand 'club culture' in that sense

Since the new coaching group has arrived we've heard less and less about players going out and having all-night benders, in fact the last that I can remember are Colin Sylvia's infamous drunk car accident (which he was a passenger in) for which he was correctly punished and Liam Jurrah's nightmarish night in Yuendumu which will be finally coming to a close over the next few weeks and has issues that cut far deeper than anything related with the Melbourne Football Club.

The change from 2011 and prior to now is black and white, the players have seen the transition and talk about it, their attitudes are clearly better and those who couldn't cope with the transition have been moved on. The players who have arrived at the club are surprised at the attitude of the players thinking that a team at the bottom would take things easier.

Something that really impressed me was seeing a video the club released today which demonstrated just how much the club cares about their players. The club brought a bunch of the younger players into a conference to talk about the dangers that come with AFL footy and how to avoid the traps that other players including our own David Schwarz have fallen into in the past. It has nothing to do with match day, nothing to do with training, but it builds a positive environment around the playing group which will have positive outcomes on the players both at the club and in their lives.

http://www.melbournefc.com.au/video/2013-03-14/schwarz-shares-his-story

Whether or not you remain unconvinced with Mark Neeld and his first year as senior coach it's clear that he has at least brought an attitude to the footy department which has only had positive effects on the culture of the MFC

EDIT: In hindsight, don't I look silly.

 

[raven echo]

Great write up Bluelegs

It seems, from my understanding, that the tail used to wag the dog at the MFC and since Neeld has come in this has changed and it is now his way or the highway.

Very much look forward to seeing where he now takes this list, which after the clean out after 2012 season is now his list, in his second year.

 

[Sir Hugh Percy]

For those closer to the team, i.e. regularly at training and so on, is there a clear difference in player behaviours?

My impression of the Bailey years were they were like a bunch of mates who weren't taking things too seriously because, with all the high draft picks, the talent would take them places in the end. Once raw talent had them playing finals they would then knuckle down to put in what extra was needed to take them the rest of the way.

Now I feel as though it's more about working your bum off, but I'm not sure if that's just wishful thinking , if I'm being unfair to the guys of the Bailey era, or what. . .

 

[Praetorian]

I'll always say, even if Neeld turns out to be a shit strategist and game day coach (which I don't think he will), he has still had a very positive influence over the club

 

[d33my]

The fact that 186 happened was a clue to the problems at the club. It was as much an indicator of off-field problems as on-field ones.

I'd say Neeld has done a good job of letting go those players who don't want to be there for the right reasons (Moloney springs to mind) but there's still a way to go I would say. Need to build a winning culture (and guess how we do that?)

Interestingly another club who has been in a similar position in recent times is Richmond, and although I know less about their circumstances than ours I'd say they've gone through much the same thing with Hardwick.

 

[maxmustard]

I'll always say, even if Neeld turns out to be a shit strategist and game day coach (which I don't think he will), he has still had a very positive influence over the club

Agree with this, I'm not sold on his match day coaching but it's too early to properly judge. He has a mandate to reform, that's his main job. At minimum it will hopefully set a foundation of professionalism that gives the club a chance to succeed going forward.

 

[CowboyFromHell]

Agree with this, I'm not sold on his match day coaching but it's too early to properly judge. He has a mandate to reform, that's his main job. At minimum it will hopefully set a foundation of professionalism that gives the club a chance to succeed going forward.

I actually think that the strategies and match day coaching he currently employs is done with the current playing list in mind. Our skills aren't flash so we can't play like a Hawthorn, so we do what we can with the skills we have. That's my belief anyway. Once our list improves, and therefore our skills improve, I believe (and hope) that we will see subtle changes that will play to these strengths more. The style we play now tries to keep exposing our skills to a minimum at the moment and, while it means it may not look pretty, it is trying to play to our strengths.

Good write up though Bluelegs, and the Schwarz stuff was terrific also.

 

[LeverPuller]

Liam Jurrah's nightmarish night in Yuendumu which will be finally coming to a close over the next few weeks and has issues that cut far deeper than anything related with the Melbourne Football Club.

I see what you did there...

 

[Max Power 83]

I actually think that the strategies and match day coaching he currently employs is done with the current playing list in mind. Our skills aren't flash so we can't play like a Hawthorn, so we do what we can with the skills we have. That's my belief anyway. Once our list improves, and therefore our skills improve, I believe (and hope) that we will see subtle changes that will play to these strengths more. The style we play now tries to keep exposing our skills to a minimum at the moment and, while it means it may not look pretty, it is trying to play to our strengths.

Good write up though Bluelegs, and the Schwarz stuff was terrific also.

I agree. One of Bailey's problems was, as early as 2008, he wanted us to play as Geelong 2007 did. Handball handball handball through traffic.

We could link 2 or 3 but then it'd fall apart. We simply didn't have the skills to execute that style of play.

 

[AlDemonic]

Umm I'm still a little puzzled at why everyone rates Neeld so highly... Honestly what has he done??

I keep hearing about how we are now training at a higher level and more we are more professional and we got rid of the blokes that weren't team players etc. blah blah but it's all just rhetoric! Getting a little tired of hearing all this talk and need to start seeing some results...

I still recall a cpl of years back when under Bailey we smashed the swans by 70 points and won 8 games for the year. We were being spoken about as the next great thing....

 

[LeverPuller]

Umm I'm still a little puzzled at why everyone rates Neeld so highly... Honestly what has he done??

I keep hearing about how we are now training at a higher level and more we are more professional and we got rid of the blokes that weren't team players etc. blah blah but it's all just rhetoric! Getting a little tired of hearing all this talk and need to start seeing some results...

I still recall a cpl of years back when under Bailey we smashed the swans by 70 points and won 8 games for the year. We were being spoken about as the next great thing....

So 186 was acceptable to you, I spose?

I'm expecting Neeld to receive a 1-year extension at some point this year to be honest. Finals in year 4 is a good goal.

 

[Max Power 83]

Umm I'm still a little puzzled at why everyone rates Neeld so highly... Honestly what has he done??

I keep hearing about how we are now training at a higher level and more we are more professional and we got rid of the blokes that weren't team players etc. blah blah but it's all just rhetoric! Getting a little tired of hearing all this talk and need to start seeing some results...

I still recall a cpl of years back when under Bailey we smashed the swans by 70 points and won 8 games for the year. We were being spoken about as the next great thing....

Yes, but Bailey's style could only take us so far. You can actually see what Neeld is trying to do, with rebuilding the culture, recruiting players with the right attitude etc. You didn't see that with Bailey.

It's a case a taking 1 step back to take 10 steps forward.

 

[CowboyFromHell]

Umm I'm still a little puzzled at why everyone rates Neeld so highly... Honestly what has he done??

I keep hearing about how we are now training at a higher level and more we are more professional and we got rid of the blokes that weren't team players etc. blah blah but it's all just rhetoric! Getting a little tired of hearing all this talk and need to start seeing some results...

I still recall a cpl of years back when under Bailey we smashed the swans by 70 points and won 8 games for the year. We were being spoken about as the next great thing....

And I'm sick and tired of hearing people bag Neeld when he has had to come in and clean up the mess that was made by the previous FD.

What do you want the guy to do? Work miracles? Walk on water? He has had one season at the club, and this is his first pre-season where he has had the ability to truly shape our list after properly seeing it in action. He has made the appropriate steps, but these things take time. If we were 3 years into his tenure and still in this spot then fair enough, but that above post makes no sense after one season.

The way I see it Neeld is like one of our players who finally has a full pre-season under their belt. He is there all the time, seeing everything, involved in everything and making his mark on the side. Last year was a huge transition face and big learning curve for our team. Now we work on improving the on field results, even if they come slowly. Bailey got us up and about in a few seasons but look where it go us. Nowhere. Neeld has to build everything again and needs time and patience to do it.

 

[d33my]

Forget 186, that Swans game was probably the cruelest thing that ever happened during the Bailey era. Particularly baffling when you see the direction either club has gone since then.

 

[lanky_wes]

Forget 186, that Swans game was probably the cruelest thing that ever happened during the Bailey era. Particularly baffling when you see the direction either club has gone since then.

Had bailey stuck around there may have been a few more games like the Sydney one. But there may have been more 186 type games too. A lot of that depended on which Melbourne turned up and whether they were able to exert their talent freely or whether they were swamped. At least we aren't relying on talent now.

 

[d33my]

Had bailey stuck around there may have been a few more games like the Sydney one. But there may have been more 186 type games too. A lot of that depended on which Melbourne turned up and whether they were able to exert their talent freely or whether they were swamped. At least we aren't relying on talent now.

You're right, in fact there were other games like that. I think we beat Freo and maybe Adelaide by pretty handy margins that season too. As someone said above (or in another thread) we were trying to be Geelong-like, just without the consistency (EDIT: or skill).

 

[CowboyFromHell]

You're right, in fact there were other games like that. I think we beat Freo and maybe Adelaide by pretty handy margins that season too. As someone said above (or in another thread) we were trying to be Geelong-like, just without the consistency (EDIT: or skill).

Problem was those wins were after we had been bludgeoned by much better sides. We would get smashed, then huff and puff and blow an interstate side away, and then get rolled again the next week. Our consistency was piss poor back then.

Plus we've all heard the rumours of how much the players "ran" the joint under Bailey with cancelled sessions, taking it easier, not running the other way etc. It was amateur hour down there for years.

 

[lanky_wes]

You're right, in fact there were other games like that. I think we beat Freo and maybe Adelaide by pretty handy margins that season too. As someone said above (or in another thread) we were trying to be Geelong-like, just without the consistency (EDIT: or skill).

Yes I'm pretty sure the freo 90 odd point win came the week after a 90 odd point belting at the hands of collingwood.

 

[Max Power 83]

You're right, in fact there were other games like that. I think we beat Freo and maybe Adelaide by pretty handy margins that season too. As someone said above (or in another thread) we were trying to be Geelong-like, just without the consistency (EDIT: or skill).

Yeah. Beat Adelaide by 96 and Freo by 89 (after being up by over 100 iirc)

At the time we had the highest average winning margin, but also the highest average losing margin in the AFL.
Says it all really

 

[d33my]

 

[Max Power 83]

Please don't make me listen to katy perry

 

[Bluelegs]

Umm I'm still a little puzzled at why everyone rates Neeld so highly... Honestly what has he done??

I keep hearing about how we are now training at a higher level and more we are more professional and we got rid of the blokes that weren't team players etc. blah blah but it's all just rhetoric! Getting a little tired of hearing all this talk and need to start seeing some results...

I still recall a cpl of years back when under Bailey we smashed the swans by 70 points and won 8 games for the year. We were being spoken about as the next great thing....

The point of the post was that whether or not you are convinced by his coaching record or style there has been a clear positive change in the footy department that will only impact the players well, the attitude is different and there is far more expectation and responsibility laid on the players than there was before.

 

[Theseventhhamster]

Spose I'll give a shit about the rah rah talk when we stop sucking.

 

[Captain Jack]

Please don't make me listen to katy perry

Just watch her dance instead. Great option.

No but seriously, getting on Neeld's back now is like blaming (W33 alert) Obama for the state of the US economy that was ruined by Bush's 8-year reign of incompetence. I'm right behind Neeld, we just need some patience.

 

[Max Power 83]

Just watch her dance instead. Great option.

No but seriously, getting on Neeld's back now is like blaming (W33 alert) Obama for the state of the US economy that was ruined by Bush's 8-year reign of incompetence. I'm right behind Neeld, we just need some patience.

Politics board