I'm ready for a club change

[Winmar7Fan]

No I don’t want to support another club I just want whatever it is with clubs like the Lions and Bulldogs that instil an attitude of tough mental focus , pride and hunger for success into the St Kilda football club. I am now almost convinced that Injuries, Coaches, poor recruiting and any other reasons we like to use is not our problem.

Is it only me that watches teams like the Bulldogs and Nth Melbourne and thinks what drives 22 players in a list I would call quite average compared to ours in clubs that are barely surviving to come out foaming at the mouth and ALL throw everything they have from the first siren to the last?

Or the Brisbane Lions and Port who after coming off flags lose most of their guns and are supposed to be going through a full rebuilding cycle are already back up there genuinely competing for a top four position? I don’t believe these teams have recruited any better than us and I don’t see a group of young star players I see a bunch of green inexperienced kids with some good experienced leaders who are focused , Psyched up and willing to work together and do whatever it takes for 100 minutes no matter what WEEK IN WEEK OUT.

I don’t believe it’s a matter of how much natural talent you really have today but how you all apply yourselves together and these young kids in Brisbane will show our group of prima donnas this when they carve them up this weekend. So why don’t our 22 players which I truly believe are more talented on paper than most come out mentally focussed on accepting nothing less than a win week in week out as well? F_____D if I know I wish I did but I do believe it’s something in the way these clubs run and operate as a whole that infects the attitude throughout that we lack (and I believe it’s been there a long time).

With the individual talent we have they will win games and tease us into thinking things could be about to happen but until the club adopts whatever it is that filters down to the players, thinking we’re a couple of Players or a change of Coach or Recruiting Staff away from being the best team in the competition and going all the way to fulfilling our dream of a premiership I believe is highly unlikely.

[degruch]

I would have thought that about the Bulldogs last year, if I was a WB supporter.

[Saints Premiers 2008]

the dogs have won 7 games this year and all of a sudden they are tough footballers with an uncompromising attitude bla bla bla bla insert mental toughness cliche here and another cliche about playing like a team week to week

they are playing with a bit of confidence and luck...

they wont win the flag...no chance in hell

[degruch]

Yeah...I don't believe it either...but they ARE playing like a team, whether capable or not. We're more than capable, but not playing as a team...we seem to have replace the Bulldogs position as hopeless rabble, whilst they've nicked our premiership spirit! It's all arse about.

[Winmar7Fan]

I would have thought that about the Bulldogs last year, if I was a WB supporter.

Well if you think that next year we are capable ( we are on paper)of producing what they are now thats fine i hope we do but as i said i dont think so .

[degruch]

Well, yes...that's more my point. I wouldn't get too dispondant at this point, as they've been aweful for the best part of the last few years, you'd have replaced their coach and laughed at their recruiting all day long, but they've still managed to switch on this year, no matter how incapable of winning a premiership they may seem. We're more than capable with the current list, coach and infrastructure...but the team runs on to the ground like it's 1983 all over again...some spirit is needed, that's all.

[The Saintsational Man]

the dogs have won 7 games this year and all of a sudden they are tough footballers with an uncompromising attitude bla bla bla bla insert mental toughness cliche here and another cliche about playing like a team week to week

they are playing with a bit of confidence and luck...

they wont win the flag...no chance in hell

Yeah I'm getting sick of this "Why are the bulldogs getting no love".

Quite fu*n simple really they aren't that good.

Topped Adelaide down here by 3 points.

They beat Melbourne.....WOW!!!

They beat us.....and we're hardly playing great football.

They beat Essendon.....WOW!!!

They drew with Richmond.

They beat West Coast down here.

They beat Sydney over there.....I'll give them that.

And they just beat Freo.

So far they've played the BOTTOM 5 sides!!!

If they beat the Hawks and Cats then they'll get some love, but they won't so no need to give any love.

[degruch]

The Bulldogs have self-belief, so they have a chance and they're winning...I don't care how much anyone likes 'em. Do you think they'd be heading up to Brissy this week thinking they were gonna get pantsed? We don't appear to have any self-belief...did any of the team read that Round 8 banner when they ran through it?

We've got great players and a reasonable coach, but the state of play is very poor...worse than it has been for a while...that's got to do with headspace, not ability. Our guys need a shrink.

[Winmar7Fan]

The Bulldogs have self-belief, so they have a chance and they're winning...I don't care how much anyone likes 'em. Do you think they'd be heading up to Brissy this week thinking they were gonna get pantsed? We don't appear to have any self-belief...did any of the team read that Round 8 banner when they ran through it?

We've got great players and a reasonable coach, but the state of play is very poor...worse than it has been for a while...that's got to do with headspace, not ability. Our guys need a shrink.

Yeah your getting my point exactly and its not just the Bulldogs its teams like the Lions , Hawks , Roos , Swans that stay competitive because of the way they go about it regardless of list.

[BAM! (shhhh)]

I understand why the Dogs aren't getting put inot the same bracket as the Cats and Hawks, but the number of people who still don't rate them leaves me bemused.

Pre-season, most of us understimated the effect of having talls back. Hahn's been good, Murphy's been great, Hudson has picked up where he left the Crows, and Minson has come from nowhere. Others like Akermanis are playing with a new lease on life, Daniel Cross is one of the most perenially underrated A grade midfielders in the game, and Ryan Griffen is coming good after all. They're undefeated after 8 with Gilbee well below his best, without the output they're used to from Johnson, and that Scott West guy is pretty handy too.

They're playing with confidence and skill... and a lot of those wins are being undersold. They came back against us when last year they'd have given up, they beat Essendon when the pundits were still loving Essendon, and I can't believe how few people have noticed how much the Tigers have improved - I bet Richmond will have a good 2nd half. Freo is looking like choking is their problem for 2008, they've done it against Melbourne, the 'dogs... and Geelong.

Beating Sydney in Sydney was the confirmation for me. The Dogs are looking to cement a top 4 spot, and assuming they do, will quite probably play in a prelim this year.

They'll probably lose to Geelong, they'll probably lose to the Hawks, we'll see how they fare against Port... but the Dogs deserve a lot more respect than they're getting in this thread.

[degruch]

Yeah, but I don't rate Sydney that much...they've had a funny year. All I saw at the Saints - Bulldogs match was one team playing footy and another one running around behind them...no magic there. So, given that, they haven't done too much, other than play footy and believe they can win.

[fingers]

the dogs have won 7 games this year and all of a sudden they are tough footballers with an uncompromising attitude bla bla bla bla insert mental toughness cliche here and another cliche about playing like a team week to week

they are playing with a bit of confidence and luck...

they wont win the flag...no chance in hell

Yeah I'm getting sick of this "Why are the bulldogs getting no love".

Quite fu*n simple really they aren't that good.

Topped Adelaide down here by 3 points.

They beat Melbourne.....WOW!!!

They beat us.....and we're hardly playing great football.

They beat Essendon.....WOW!!!

They drew with Richmond.

They beat West Coast down here.

They beat Sydney over there.....I'll give them that.

And they just beat Freo.

So far they've played the BOTTOM 5 sides!!!

If they beat the Hawks and Cats then they'll get some love, but they won't so no need to give any love.

Spot on - I'll be watching with interest when they play Cats, Hawks.