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Re: Melbourne FC
Melbourne are an attractive target thanks to the AFL doing hardcore image rehabilitation on their behalf.
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Re: Melbourne FC
Bruce Duperouzel's recruitment was the last time we were even close to a destination club. That's the real issue. However it feels better, more authentic to grow our own greats.
Melbourne has had such help from AFL that you'd suspect thats the case with their latest recruits. Plus Melbourne to me still have glamour because they are tthe capital's team and had a proud history until most of us were born. My father played reserves with them and died in '64, so he missrd their ugly slide to irrelevence. In his memory I hope they win one soon.
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Re: Melbourne FC
Originally Posted by
BornInDroopSt'54
Bruce Duperouzel's recruitment was the last time we were even close to a destination club. That's the real issue. However it feels better, more authentic to grow our own greats.
Melbourne has had such help from AFL that you'd suspect thats the case with their latest recruits. Plus Melbourne to me still have glamour because they are tthe capital's team and had a proud history until most of us were born. My father played reserves with them and died in '64, so he missrd their ugly slide to irrelevence. In his memory I hope they win one soon.
With all due respect to your Dad, I can not hope Melbourne (or anyone else) win a flag.
Every one they win is one we miss out on.
Life is to be Enjoyed not Endured
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Re: Melbourne FC
Originally Posted by
Bulldog Joe
With all due respect to your Dad, I can not hope Melbourne (or anyone else) win a flag.
Every one they win is one we miss out on.
Only if we're not in it....
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Re: Melbourne FC
Bernie Vince's comments about May were interesting...bit of a dig at the standards of GC in previous pre-seasons. He was also a huge wrap for Tom Sparrow who I'm looking forward to seeing in action.
I'm not convinced on Melbourne as a genuine premiership contender yet, but they've got a solid midfield, the games best ruck and reliable key position players at both ends. If a couple of their midfielders make the leap to elite they'll be a tough side to beat.
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Re: Melbourne FC
A third coaches marriage is rumoured to have broken up. Andy Goodwin is apparently splitting up with his wife.
They say Burt Lancaster has one, but I don't believe them.
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Re: Melbourne FC
Originally Posted by
Twodogs
A third coaches marriage is rumoured to have broken up. Andy Goodwin is apparently splitting up with his wife.
I'm sure Andy is shocked to learn of this considering it's Simon who has separated from his wife.
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Re: Melbourne FC
Originally Posted by
Axe Man
I'm sure Andy is shocked to learn of this considering it's Simon who has separated from his wife.
Maybe Andy is having it off with Simon's missus
FFC: Established 1883
Premierships: AFL 1954, 2016 VFA - 1898,99,1900, 1908, 1913, 1919-20, 1923-24, VFL: 2014, 2016 . Champions of Victoria 1924. AFLW - 2018.
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Re: Melbourne FC
Originally Posted by
Axe Man
I'm sure Andy is shocked to learn of this considering it's Simon who has separated from his wife.
Originally Posted by
bornadog
Maybe Andy is having it off with Simon's missus
No. Andy hung tough. Buddy bailed out. How he survived, it was a miracle.
Then Howie survived?
No, 'fraid not. We lost Howie the next day
Over Macho Grande?
No. I don't think I will ever get over Macho Grande.
They say Burt Lancaster has one, but I don't believe them.
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Re: Melbourne FC
Originally Posted by
Twodogs
No. Andy hung tough. Buddy bailed out. How he survived, it was a miracle.
Then Howie survived?
No, 'fraid not. We lost Howie the next day
Over Macho Grande?
No. I don't think I will ever get over Macho Grande.
Brilliant.
Nobody's looking for a puppeteer in today's wintry economic climate.
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Re: Melbourne FC
Originally Posted by
Twodogs
A third coaches marriage is rumoured to have broken up. Simon Goodwin is apparently splitting up with his wife.
My mail is that Mrs Goodwin could not face watching another season of the Demons.
Fair enough. That would be cruelty under the old grounds of divorce.
The fight is here; I need ammunition, not a ride.
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Re: Melbourne FC
Originally Posted by
Dry Rot
My mail is that Mrs Goodwin could not face watching another season of the Demons.
Fair enough. That would be cruelty under the old grounds of divorce.
Oh snigger snigger you cheeky devil!
Nobody's looking for a puppeteer in today's wintry economic climate.
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Re: Melbourne FC
Originally Posted by
Dry Rot
My mail is that Mrs Goodwin could not face watching another season of the Demons.
Fair enough. That would be cruelty under the old grounds of divorce.
1959 Dissolution of Marriage act also mentioned unsoundness of mind too. It set a time frame of 3 out of 5 years. How long has Goodwin been coaching Melbourne now?
They say Burt Lancaster has one, but I don't believe them.
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Re: Melbourne FC
HIT AND HOPE: DEES CRYING OUT FOR WHAT DOGS HAVE
Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs simultaneously endured decades without success, defined by abject failure on the field with a smattering of near misses, and existential threats off it.
Rare finals appearances were accompanied by heartbreak and tears, from the late Jim Stynes’ infamous run through the mark to Tony Liberatore’s premature celebration and Rohan Smith’s slapping of the MCG turf.
When the Bulldogs finally broke the cycle and claimed a fairytale flag five years ago, they left Melbourne with the competition’s longest active premiership drought.
As well as the coveted piece of silverware now in their possession, they’ve long had something else the Demons have craved – a home.
In an age where clubs are run like businesses and fans are effectively seen as consumers, a stroll down Sutton Way past the Ted Whitten statue into the ground that now bears the latter legend’s name can offer a window to the past.
More so than any of their Victorian rivals’ headquarters, the Bulldogs’ long-time base gives off a real “football club” vibe. It has a soul that you can not only reach out and touch, but choose to be at the very heart of on a daily basis – and is accessible to all supporters.
The club formerly known as Footscray, blue-collar to the core, is one that doesn’t let anyone forget where it’s come from or what it’s been through. Tins that were rattled by desperate fundraisers in 1989 sit proudly on display in the entrance, next to a mock Fitzroy Bulldogs merger jumper and stickers emblazoned with the “Up Yours Oakley” rally cry.
There are tributes to the club’s Indigenous history and fallen war heroes, and displays of quirky memorabilia, from old gym bags and membership tickets to pairs of players’ boots and homemade scarves. A quick trip from the aptly named Barkers Cafe to the merchandise store – where you can still buy used Sherrin footballs that the AFL team has kindly kicked in – can take half an hour if you get stuck reading about the early 20th century animosity between arch rivals Footscray and Williamstown.
A trophy cabinet that could look almost barren is, in fact, in need of more shelves. The litany of prizes from minor successes might not scream “power club”, but displays a sense of pride in the club’s history. The men’s 1954 VFL and 2016 AFL premiership cups sit prominently, flanking the women’s 2018 AFLW version, which is displayed boldly in the middle.
The playing arena is now mostly green, rather than covered in Western Oval mud, yet, in keeping with its surroundings, it’s still a little rough around the edges. Looking over it, the old EJ Whitten Stand also bears the names of former Bulldog champions Allan Hopkins, Norman Ware, Arthur Olliver, Charlie Sutton and John Schultz. On AFLW match days, the stand is buzzing and the red-and-blue benches filled with fans young and old.
Supporters, families, community groups, university students, club staff, players (past and present) and other visitors gather daily in the cafe and mingle. On October 2, 2016 – the day after the Bulldogs completed their famous climb from seventh to premiers with a grand final triumph over Sydney – an estimated 30,000 fans piled into Whitten Oval to continue the celebrations after the previous night’s party on Barkly Street.
If Melbourne was to win the flag this year – assuming September’s COVID-19 restrictions allowed them to gather – where would be the Demon fans’ natural meeting place? Outside the MCG? Gosch’s Paddock? AAMI Park? Fifty kilometres away at Casey Fields?
Melbourne currently has its football department and administration split between those four locations, and it has been a similar story for decades. In the ‘90s, the Demons had a share of facilities at the MCG, St Kilda’s Junction Oval and a social club at Sandringham. The spread was part of the reason a merger with Glenferrie Oval-based Hawthorn was considered attractive by so many members.
More recently, the Melbourne board tried to address the issue and turn the Demons into a “big club” with first-class facilities under one roof.
A plan to claim part of Yarra Park for a base next to the MCG and Jolimont Station was shut down by angry locals and the state government in 2018. Other sites at Fisherman’s Bend and Burnley were also considered, but none came to fruition.
The Demons could feasibly build a brand new facility at Casey Fields, as Essendon have done at Tullamarine and Hawthorn are in the process of erecting at Dingley. But their sights are firmly set on an inner-city location, with a decision supposedly set to be made by 2023.
Melbourne, Australian football’s oldest club, has a rich history, legends and a long-suffering, yet dedicated, supporter base. It doesn’t lack soul or a story. It just doesn’t have its own space in which to tell it and add the next chapter.
Fortunately for Simon Goodwin’s men and the aforementioned fans, that doesn’t preclude winning that elusive premiership this season. But there are other hurdles to overcome in that pursuit, such as the Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium this Friday night.
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Re: Melbourne FC
Lost to Adelaide in Adelaide (bottom 4 at the time)
Lost to Woods in Sydney (bottom 4 team)
Questions about travel? Not invincible.
Games to come in Port, GCS, WCE & Geelong.
Rocket Science: the epitaph for the Beveridge era - whenever it ends - reading 'Here lies a team that could beat anyone on its day, but seldom did when it mattered most'. 15/7/2023