Paul McNamee

[Cosmo Kramer]

Gday guys, first up congratulations on the whole debt demolition month and the way Jim Stynes has come in and....well I'm not going to say saved the club (there is still a long way to go) but he has definatley stabilised it and given Melbourne fans hope going foward that their club will financially sound/strong in the medium to long term. If any clubs fans should realise how good administration and passion can turn around a club it is Hawthorn since the merger and particularly over the past 5 years.

Anyway I was having a discussion with a mate over the sacking of Paul McNamee and how/why he was sacked? My understanding was that he was let go because his style/direction was more in line with the Gardiner administration and Stynes wanted to take the club in a different direction and his skill set wasn't suited to the role he would have played under Jim Stynes.

If I remember correctly one of the platforms that McNamee came to the club with was that he was very focussed and felt his skill set was with re-connecting Melbourne with the 'top-end of town'. Which is exactly what debt demolition month basically was, yes I know there were smaller events in conjunction but I'm talking about the massive night where 2.2 odd million was raised from 150 odd guests. Am I missing something or was he stood down by the Dees, only to have the Dees do exactly what McNamee stated his aim was and where his skills lay.

 

[stabler]

I think the best way to put it is that McNamee had his head in the clouds while Jim was back down to earth dealing with reality. Jim realised that the most important thing for the Dees in their current situation was to deal with the tremendous debt and basically, just survival. McNamee had come from a background where he was given large amounts of money at his disposal to lure superstars to come and play tennis. This glamourised approach did not really fit with the Dees situation. Paul had this idea of Melbourne being 'the Premiere club' and wanted to lure Jon Brown over to the dees. This was never going to eventuate and would only really have been a band-aid approach to our glaring problems anyway. The coaching staff and Jimmy however were more focused on rebuilding the club and introducing alot of youth to the club.

In the end i think Paul Mcnamee and Stynes were never really on the same page and what we really needed was a CEO with a football background and a history of turning around poorer clubs (ie Schwab).
I'm glad the decison was made early on rather than let it boil before it was to late. Melbourne has a long, long way to go but it is important everyone is on the same page and working together if we are to get out of this hole.

 

[cSylvia]

I dont think he had his head in the clouds.

Paul just wasnt experienced enough in a system where money-saving procedures needed to be taken. He wanted to take Melbourne to the top. We simply didnt have enough money to back his plans. If we did though, Paul would of been a huge success.

But he tried to put Melbourne FC on the map, I appreiciate that.

 

[Nourishment]

I remember reading that if McNamee and Gardner stayed, the club would've been insolvent by October. Seems a good reason to get rid of them, I would've thought.

You probably won't believe this but Melbourne has never, EVER had a decent business plan. The new admin are working their dates off to put a business plan together, and the AFL is helping us. But I have a terrible feeling that the horse has already bolted.

 

[DemonErrol1964 - dees]

I heard that Paul went to Wimbolton and the French Open on MFC money. When I heard that I was glad that he got shown the door.

My source was from the inner sanctum.