How do you fix Melbourne?

[The Goon]

Has to start at the top.

For a club that claims to have fantastic connections to business, money and power to abrogate the responsibility for selecting a coach to a show pony like Lyon is absolutely mystifying. Lyon hasn't been intimately involved in a club for how long? The man's a entertainer and nothing more. What a disastrous decision. To me this means that even if Neeld needs to be removed, how can you trust the current admin to make the right choice in his replacement?

I'm not sure constitutionally how this could be achieved, but they need to replace McLardy ASAP (quite frankly he should resign). Further, someone who actually has an idea needs to be canvassing all of the club's contacts to see who would be willing to come in and run the board professionally. Once this is in place Schwab needs to be given the flick. The man has been involved in footy for an age, yet never presided over a club on the up. Again, the club needs to be canvassing their contacts and ruthlessly pursuing the best options available, even poaching if they need to.

Then, and only then, does it make sense to look at addressing the coaching situation.

 

[Achilles Heel]

Just watched the AFL 360 footage from the end of the Neeld/Grimes press conference.

I don't think Neeld is built to be a senior coach. Over-emotional. The way he cold shouldered Grimes and left him sitting at the desk, for a club with young captains like they have, Jack looked shattered and there was just nothing but venom from Neeld.

Obviously outside looking in, but looked really bad to me. You can be as knowledgable about the game as you like, but if you can't man manage you're nothing as a coach.

Absolute disgrace if he hang lost the dressing room before he certainly has now, what a stupid comment maybe the players thought it was still nab cup, ffs he is the man responsible for dialling the players into the game surely he knew it wasn't still the nab cup?

It seems that neeld as a touch of the Julia in him. It's never his fault.

 

[Achilles Heel]

You're all missing the real problem. What HASN'T changed since 186?

Schwabb

 

[Bluelegs]

Just watching the presser, Neeld has a terrible twitch, that's very scary stuff.

People make too much of the twitch. He's apparently had it since he was injured playing AFL about twenty years ago. Nerve damage.

 

[lamaros]

They need to get rid of Neeld. And get rid of the people who were in charge and so incompetent that they hired him in the first place.

 

[mehow2g]

When the people who made the choice to tank are held accountable for, if they continue sacking coach time and time again they will get no where.

Bailey didn't make the choice to tank he was told to, the CEO's the managers the admin didn't have to face the cameras when Melbourne were losing on purpose Bailey had to.. Not only has Melbourne has destroyed a career of a perfectly fine coach but they have also destroyed young top class talent careers and those kids may never become who they should of been they deserve much better.

Melbourne's list aint that bad they have showed it before but the people at the top have sapped every ounce of motivation and enthusiasm out of the kids.

They need to take a good hard look at themselves and stop being greedy they obviously got Neeld for cheap.

 

[Spanish_Fly]

Just watched the AFL 360 footage from the end of the Neeld/Grimes press conference.

I don't think Neeld is built to be a senior coach. Over-emotional. The way he cold shouldered Grimes and left him sitting at the desk, for a club with young captains like they have, Jack looked shattered and there was just nothing but venom from Neeld.

Obviously outside looking in, but looked really bad to me. You can be as knowledgable about the game as you like, but if you can't man manage you're nothing as a coach.

Said the same thing from the first press conference last year. He distanced himself from the poor performance and it was a huge mistake IMO. He should have gone with the one in all in mentality with the players from the outset.

 

[MisterMarcus]

Really, they need to start the rebuilding all over again. Nowhere near it with this list.

* Clear out all the spuds and duds and return to drafting kids again.

* Anyone has cracked the sads and doesn't really wanna be there? Piss them off.....

* If you play a bunch of kids, you can get away with paying minimum salary cap. Use the money you save to invest massively in the recruiting and development areas. No more drafting duds with Pick 1 or having them stagnate after 2 seasons....

* With free agency, it should be easy to grab a few experienced players. Get blokes who are not the most talented or skilled, but have busted their arses to get the most out of themselves. These guys won't win you a flag, but will show the kids the sort of standard they need to meet to play AFL footy.

* Either back Neeld for another 3 years minimum or get a new coach with a long-term contract. Make it clear this is a 5 year plan and the coach ain't going anywhere, so if you think you can coast along in second gear and get the coach dumped cause he told you a few home truths, forget it.

* Come out and admit to the fans you stuffed the last rebuild up. No good pretending, otherwise fans will think you're gonna repeat the same mistakes.


Get all that right and it's happy days. Even get SOME of it right and you're a hell of a lot better off than you are now.....

 

[mehow2g]

Really, they need to start the rebuilding all over again. Nowhere near it with this list.

* Clear out all the spuds and duds and return to drafting kids again.

I think this is somewhat in correct I mean we have said the same thing about many low performing teams a good example is WCE of 2010 we had the worst list according to footy world, the kids started improving and believing in themselves and had a good mental attitude.

Melbourne has destroyed the mental drive of that whole list, there were a few games where that list have produced some amazing footy at one stage I was scared of what they will become I remember a very Geelong type of game they played in 2010.

This game relies on the mentality players just look at what confidence does to any player look at every premiership team there has been there are alot of average players who just blossom because they are surrounded with a team on a mental high of confidence and they believe they can do anything.

Players like Sidebottom and Leigh Brown are good examples of this, Sidebottom would not be the same player if he was at Melbourne probably would be labeled as a bad draft pick if he ended up there.

Or even better Judd at Carlton, I remember watching an interview of Judd and he was saying at the Eagles knowing you are going to win a game of footy is probably the best thing for a player once your in that mentality nothing can really get in your way.. He also went on to say there was a point of dominance where he felt no nerves which helped to perform the way he did.

At Carlton he says hes more nervous than his first game because of the level of expectation there is for him and Carlton to perform.

 

[Catswin12]

Make Jack Watts captain.

 

[Menzel As Anything]

Resign all positions, hand the keys over to the AFL and let them sort it out.

 

[Tiger2709]

Schwabb

He must have some dirt on someone high up to still have his job, should have been removed when they sacked the coach.

The answer is do what Richmond did get rid of all those that have the old bad habits and start again, there is a reason why quite a few players that leave the Demons system suddenly improve.

 

[Tulip]

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/afl/tea...-and-he-knows-it/story-e6frf9mf-1226609559875

The 22-year-old is the first to arrive at training and on game day to start a ritual that has helped turn his career around.
"I have a routine with massage and physio, but also basic exercises and activation things and a little loosening up routine with a cricket ball, sitting on it and stuff," Grimes said.
"It's a bit embarrassing. I probably do it a bit too much. I just don't want to sit around and waste any time. I know I'm different.
"Some guys want to laugh and have a joke around and that's fine, but if I'm there I want to use it to do something to help me

There's your problem, most of the players have a laugh instead of employing professional training techniques and trying to better themselves!

 

[MarkT2]

Neeld has coached and man managed with success although not in the AFL.

It's hard to judge the coach given the list. How he could make a couple of players so young and inexperianced captain if the club at that time though has me beat. The club and team lack leadership. They needed to bring in someone. Carlton recognised their leadership issues and that a large part of the reason they made sure they landed Judd. The falling out with Maloney is worrying as well. At least he tried. There are a few questions over the coach but it's far too early to pull the trigger.

It's easy to judge the administration given the long term results. The fact they haven't exited the people involved in the overt tanking other than the coach who was already gone tells a story in itself. Take out Stynes ability to bring people together and raise money for the cause and they have barely put a foot forward in a decade.

It starts with the board and it flows to the administrators who are the responsibility of the baord.

 

[ozgamer]

 

[swingdog]

 

[sumavich]

Schwab.

Cancer, interfering dead weight !!

Swingdog, what is it with your avatar ?

 

[Cudi_420]

1. Accountability - Don't say "you don't know what happened": acknowledge the obvious failures, address them. Accountability seems to be feared at the club. You can only learn from your mistakes. Failure can be a tool for greatness. This applies on and off field.

2. Innovation - Change the name of the game. Redefine it. Stop sticking to the MCC wing like glue. Own the MCG. Do something different. Predictable football leads to a compromised attack, and the enemy will read you like a book. Expect the unexpected, use the unknown. Premiership winning teams always innovate and change the way the game is played: set a standard.

3. Ditch the fantastical rhetoric - The club sounds like it wants "it" to happen. But sometimes it acts like it WISHES "it" would happen. I am truly astonished they even say they "didn't see it" (Sunday) coming. Did they expect to steamroll Port? What a bunch of condescending, arrogant flogs.

Fans also need to stop being so apologetic. They're professionals just as many of us are in our respective fields. The sad reality with football is that sentiment is dominated by PR fluff; if you sound down and out, people will feel sorry for you. It's a typical welfare, victimist response.

"We're as shocked as you are."

No, Mr Watts, I HIGHLY doubt that. We don't know what your mindset is like going in to a game. We don't know what you're going to do on game day. Don't say you were prepared and then play like...you weren't prepared. If you're prepared, you're prepared. There's no middle ground.

The team was simply not prepared for Sunday's game. They were unfit, slow, compromised and soundly out-coached.

The team is just grossly dysfunctional and horrendously under AFL standard. Either they are being over-coached, under-coached, or the club has drafted the largest group of dumb-dumbs since the Soviet's agriculture sector.

 

[swingdog]

Swingdog, what is it with your avatar ?

My hero, growing up. Souths boy. Yours too?

 

[vast]

They should read this thread.

 

[MickyG]

I tuned in during the third quarter and was shocked. I remembered Melbourne thrashed the Swans in 2010. Worst game of the year from a Swans point of view. The Swans did a brief review and moved on to the next game. I think the same team played the next week. In the short term Melbourne need to focus on one week at at time.

In the long term I've previously said Schwab, Connelly and half the Board should go. Tanking has poisoned the culture and it is only with a clean out at the top that a clean culture can be established.

I thought the new coach, assistant coaches and fitness staff were the right move. They seemed to be doing the right thing in terms of raising the fitness levels last year and testing the list. I was surprised at the extent of the clean out at the end of last year and thought it may have gone too far. This may have unsettled the playing group.

Someone in the leadership group needs to stand up and be a leader in term of expectations and "non-negotiables". Maybe a new culture can be built in the playing group?

 

[finders]

Get rid of Chris Connolly, Cameron Schwabb and their stupid Premiership Plan. They have no idea about successful clubs.

Getting rid of the club champions at the Demons as Bailey did was a horrible decision. It didn't give the youngsters any positive role models to look up to. There was no club legends to soften the blow of the media and the blowout games.

Failed coach and snake in the grass Connolly should the first to go quickly followed by Schwab and recruit some quality people to run the club!

 

[pazza]

Now we have seen how they play as a team we can go even further.

1. Reward those playing well at Casey with senior selection and drop anyone not putting in the effort at senior level (hello Sylvia..yeah you).

2. Have a simple game plan. If Clark and Dawes are playing...keep it down the middle with long kicks. None of this panicked short passing/2 metre handball type rubbish.

3. Start with Viney, Trengove and Toumpas in the middle.

 

[Tulip]

Failed coach and snake in the grass Connolly should the first to go quickly followed by Schwab and recruit some quality people to run the club!

Connolly can't be in contact with the club for another year, so he won't have a baring on anything this season.

 

[Scotland]

Connolly can't be in contact with the club for another year, so he won't have a baring on anything this season.

I wouldn't bank on that.