BoyFromTheWest

This is a good article and Cornflakes offers good insight. My question, then, is what happened the last couple of seasons under Popa? Whilst we did make a semi in s4, we drifted to the end and came 2nd when 1st was within easy reach. We were completely undone in the GF. S5 was a total mess, so what went wrong? Where was the dedication to precision, the exacting leadership and decision-making? Popa has done very well this year - did he learn something over the last couple of years in terms of recruitment because it wasn't excessively wonderful at WSW? The team he has is very strong and he's done well with them. He did well with us for 2 1/2 seasons then it all fell apart, picked up and fell apart. Any thoughts? Any wisdom? Have I missed something?

For me he is improving and doing better but why does he turn around and go backward so often???? A few times he obviously saw a bigger player running for the ball and discernibly slowed down. I enjoyed his more aggressive approach early on, as I did with others (except Baccus, who I thought was going to do another brain snap al a Melbourne City in Jan and get sent off!). On the whole Kamau did well but he doesn't cross well nor get it into the box as often as he might. Still not sure about him in RB.

Boys, you obviously didn't get the message that Baccus is apparently not suspended but in the squad. That may not change the result but changes most of the conversation about our midfield possibilities. At least we can only hope so. Not sure of the relevance of kebab-gate - perhaps you could have provided a nutritional analysis of the various types of kebab and how that might positively impact a player's performance. (Rather than how the various forms of kebab impact the spectator's comfort...).

They can use it endlessly now because making the playing surface a car park doesn't really matter. It works well as the showground it was built to be. It is horribly lacking as a general sporting venue - even for AFL (I was taken along once to GWS v Swans and the seats were lousy for it). Just a shocking place for anything but what it was designed for - so give it all the concerts, shows, X games... they want but keep them off BWS.

I assume we've seen the last of Riso? Surely he would have been in the running for RB last week if not already written off and sent to purgatory??

Shannon Cole-de-sac??

The Dino Dungeon! The Covic Colosseum. King Fathead Colosseum

The salary cap issue - isn't this the decision of the club owners themselves? They want to remove or restructure the cap because they don't like how it is working for them. There will always be player movement, with or without the cap. Players don't get game time and move to improve their opportunities. Players want to test themselves against the world and take opportunities to go OS. I would oppose lifting the visa player number too much as that would have an impact on local talent and the national team, as critics in UK suggest has happened in England. Most teams have a majority of OS players so that English players don't compete in the highest levels and the English team doesn't improve... Transfer fees are a must!!

If he ever gets on the park! We've been promised this legendary young player who will rip it up but all he seems to have done is rip his body up and spend the season in the sick bay. Is this typical of his career to date?

Seriously doubt that! None of us would take Simon - for many reasons,not the least of which is he isn't that good. Duke shows more class and skill than Simon.

It may be a kamikaze act for Daley to say it as it is to Jones but good on him. I cannot really understand why anyone listens to Jones, let alone believes anything he says! He has politicians in his pocket and they are too gutless to stand up to him, the ultimate abusive bully! He is only matched by Murdoch - they are a pair. As for Allianz, there is no way I can condone the government's action in spending huge dollars on a replacement. An upgrade for sure. What is actually unsafe about it? Jones and his SCG Trust mates should foot the bill if they are so insistent. Why does the public fund an East Sydney full replacement stadium in vicinity of $1,000,000 and all of Western Sydney has one decent stadium, the biggest being our new one at 30,000. They could spend $2,000,000 on ANZ alone and it would not make it a better place to go.

I remember receiving a call from Tsats after sending an email to the club after one of the great SOP overreactions and bans. He was pulling his non-existent hair out in futility of dealing with various authorities and the club's relative powerlessness - Manfred, you summed everything up much better than I could. One thing I remember him saying after I questioned the amount of police at old Parra. He said that when there is a march through the streets police numbers are dictated - there seems to be some set requirement in terms of numbers of police presence. If they are rostered on to deal with the march, they are then there for the whole shift - if the march is 30 minutes, they don't go home but are deployed at the ground whether needed or not and that is standard practice, apparently. It might explain why there hasn't seemed to be quite as many police at SOP since marches ceased. SOP authorities are just plain dumb (not all, but just enough to make everything bad). A mate went in the wrong gate, the active support. They checked his bag and let him through. When he realised he was in the wrong place (ticket wouldn't register or something, he went back out and in the right gate. They checked his bag there and made him empty his water bottle???!! He got it through active but not general???!! Thanks everyone for the reports - really helpful. I guess we are all in this together, club, fans and players.

Does that include visa players or do you want to re-divide Germany and call them from the Western side?

I am wondering how we can actually communicate the deep concern, frustration etc to the club. What many are saying is that the whole experience so far over these last 3 years has been pretty dreadful - SOP has seemed to drain the life out of everything and then add the FFA's ignorant, naive and pathetic responses to real and passionate fans, the Club's struggle to walk a middle line, which has meant being ignorant of the fan's very real lack of positive experience, the unjust ways RBB are treated... I do understand that SOP are a law unto themselves and there is little that can be done but surely FFA and Club should give an ultimatum and not use these pathetic grounds ever again!! Can FFA not understand that the writing is on the wall and crowds etc are declining? They actually need the RBB at full voice! They need WSW in a good ground with electric atmosphere. They need what RBB in full flight offers and they need to get into the heads of authorities that this is so. When the RBB are at their best, they bring all of us into the game, the experience and the team actually lifts. Even if the mindless ignoramuses in FFA Central can't get it, the CLUB must!! Surely the Board understand that they need RBB more than RBB needs them!!?? So, the question, how can we, in larger numbers communicate that we are in deep support of RBB and fans in general. We don't want second rate AFL/NRL level - they are truly laughable (went to AFL a couple of years ago and landed in the 'support section'. One guy held the flag, then hit a tambourine with a stick and got 'everyone' cheering for the Swans. It was sad and funny and most of the time was silence. That isn't football and it is time that we got back to what we are meant to be and that requires everyone on board supporting our most passionate supporters who work hard, give everything and lift the rest of us - the RBB!!!!! What can we positively do (and I don't really want to hear what won't work...)?

What's the deal with Tokich? How/when did he get injured - again? Is he prone to injury? He seems to have spent more time on the sidelines - does anyone know the deal with him?