News Voss contract not renewed

[Rowallan Lion]

Still can't believe it's all happened....and the thought crossed my mind that it was timed to be hidden amongst the Essendon drama....but Vossy is truly a Club legend for his fantastic contribution over the journey.

I wish him and his family all the best for the future!

 

[iBeng]

I think the NAB cup turned out to be a real poisoned chalice for Brisbane as it increased everyones expectations that they were at least a top 8 side whereas realistically they're a 8-13 team. They were always a season or two off the 8 in terms of development imo but at least can say they were moving up the ladder rather than down it like Carlton and St Kilda.

Bad luck to Vossy, great player and always appeared a decent bloke.

Still is.

This is more or less a scapgoat move by the board, they had better have one hell of an ace up their sleeves.

 

[Ceebee]

Full Seven News interview with Vossy after he heard the news here:



Looks a very deflated man. I really hope he gets another crack at senior coaching somewhere else down the track and proves our board wrong.

Dignified as always.
You are a man of great integrity .
Good luck with your future Michael.
Will always be the greatest Bears/Lion .

 

[Bucking Beads]

I'm not against the club not giving Vossy another contract although I thought he had done enough to get another year. The club has done this in the worst way possible. I can only hope that we do have a big name coach already on board otherwise it will be very hard to ever forgive the club for treating Vossy like this.

 

[Skoob]

I have no idea why Skoob brought up team selection in the first place, but I was just replying to his comment. In regards to your comment I do trust the board members. It is their job to do what they believe is the best move for the club, it may or may not work out but that is the thing about hindsight. They didn't just rock up to the club today and decided there and then to sack Voss, he would have had set goals to fulfil during his last contract and obviously he didn't complete them. It's either he is or isn't the man for the job there is no middle ground. The only thing that I am concerned of is the timing of the event, it isn't a coincidence that this occurred today.

Because your comment suggested we shouldn't question the board's decisions because they have "insight" yet you continually question the coach (though he doesn't select alone) without considering their enormous insight. It was a stupid comment based on a ridiculous double standard.

 

[patfullfankezz]

Can someone who was there last night confirm for me, before the players came out I remember the annoucer saying not to ask the boys for autographs. I can't remember that ever being said at a Gala Auction, more a case for the Club Champion dinner. I know at previous Auctions fans were always swanning between tables getting stuff signed. Not last night though.

 

[dlanod]

A link for what?

Conversations I had with various people at the Lions/Function a couple of weeks back?

You mean you didn't blog it or tweet it? So pre-millenium!

 

[LionKing]

If the Board has jumped at shadows then they are not fit to run this footy club.

It's time for the Board to come clean

Also, could someone please change the thread title to 'Voss contract not renewed' or words to that effect

 

[lukiuslion]

I love Vossy giving the exclusive to ch7 - clearly that is where he will next year, his special comments are second to none so that's good for him and the viewers.

the most telling thing for me from that 8 minute interview is he considers now to be "the end of the year" and also he says that he asked for their decision "which they gave". So this means to me that the board have choosen to be honest with vossy in the moment, perhaps at the expense of being viewed as incompetent as they didnt have a presser or club statement drafted.

again - we don't know the full story and I am shocked people are so up in arms, we are no better than last year in his 5th year, look at Ratten and Harvey. for mine it's a 50/50 call and I am excited about the next phase for our club.

 

[dlanod]

PAUL Roos has confirmed he had spoken to Brisbane about their coaching position a month ago, as Michael Voss was left reeling from his sudden sacking.

Club legend Voss was sensationally terminated by the Lions, just hours after speaking optimistically about the club's finals chances.

But while Roos has already been linked to the vacant role, he told the dhifHerald Sunnf he had made no commitment to the Lions.

He was called by Brisbane chief executive Malcolm Holmes last month but told him he felt uneasy about talking to any club that had a coach in place.

In an extraordinary development, Holmes told Roos that Voss was aware that he was being approached, despite hoping to win another contract.Just as ntsGhe isnte with Melbourne's coaching position, Roos is refusing to rule out further discussions while at the same time saying he is dhunlikely to coach again.

"Malcolm Holmes rang me a month ago and said Michael (Voss) knows about the phone call, and I reiterated what I had spoken about to Peter (Jackson, the Demons CEO),'' he said.

"I am happy to talk to Peter on a regular basis because they don't have a coach but I said I felt very uncomfortable talking to Brisbane. In terms of contracts, there is no contract and nothing like that at all. But it is the same discussion I have had with Melbourne. Unless something changes.

"They assured me that Vossy knew they were calling me. They said it was a discussion Michael knew about.

link

Interesting parts to the article, but these two bits made me laugh:

Voss took the Lions to the finals as recently as 2010, where they beat Carlton at the Gabba, but he would win only 43 of his 109 games in charge.
Ultimately, his legacy will be tainted by the decision to recruit Carlton's Brendan Fevola on a massive deal.
It was regarded as the worst trade in history, with Fevola soon gone, Lachie Henderson off-loaded, and disgruntled stars Daniel Bradshaw and Michael Rischitelli leaving amid the fallout.

Making finals in 2010 was news to me. Fev being the worst trade in history is also news to me (ignoring the Carlton salary cap trade, Freo's trade for Croad and trading away Lloyd and Lucas are both well above this to my mind). I guess that's why we call it the "news".

 

[notting18]

One thing I don't get about the Hammo article is that if Roos is the "ultimate answer", he has a similar approach and history with top draft picks earning their stripes in the reserves and not getting games unless they have a defensive side.

 

[dlanod]

What do you mean. Did they tell him via text message?

They called him and Harvey into a room, and made them spruik to see which of the two would be fired.

 

[syl]

Well, we're not getting Roos now.

Bloody Lions stealing our great white hope!!!

 

[DonsRule]

Late to the party here.

But, I'm surprised. aI thought based on the early days you could say he wasn't going to make it. But he's improved a lot recently.


Good luck moving forward to who ever replaced him next year,

 

[_hyphy]

Full Seven News interview with Vossy after he heard the news here:

Absolute class, integrity and strength - this was a hallmark of your playing days and in your darkest hour you have once again bowed out with class. As a lion you were my favourite, thank you for the passion you had for our great club, all the best Vossy

 

[SHAKESPEARE]

So shattered for the club and for Vossy.

You guys are on the right path, so stay strong and back whoever the board get in.

 

[Skoob]

Jason Akermanis making good sense for a change.

 

[Fatcat08]

This morning I too am feeling extremely flat and am wondering how I'm going to drag myself to the game this Saturday night if I continue to be in this type of mood. Possibly Black playing will get me there to see the great man possibly for the last time (he's a week to week proposition now).

For me this whole thing boils down to two separate issues. 1. The decision to not renew voss contract and replace him and 2. the way this decision was handled by the club.

Had the second been handled with anything resembling competence I would have been a bit more pragmatic about the first, however the way they have gone about this has washed away any confidence that they have any idea how to run either a footy club.

The list of mistakes by the lions board in this case has been overwhelming

1. Categorically state that a decision on Voss would be made at the end of the season - was a massive mistake by the club. They should have said it would be made later in the year. It would have given them scope to make the decision in season or out, however it really had to be made before the end of the season regardless which way, but especially if they were going to not renew his contract. The time between end of season and start of trade/draft period is barely long enough for a new coach to meet with everyone he would have to to start making personnel decisions, let alone a month after the end of the season.

2. Schedule a board meeting where a vote on voss was to occur for the morning of a club function - they would have known how the vote was going to go. If they thought that after telling vossy and saying we have a press conference tomorow where we will announce it that he would just attend the auction and say nothing then they are complete idiots. He said he wouldn't see out the season and obviously wasn't going to attend so they had no option but to let the players and the rest of the club staff know. Once that happened it was always going to come out and not calling an immediate press conference was a mistake.

This made what is usually a pretty fun night and a fund raiser for the club, take on a solemn and almost funeral like mood from all reports. I wouldn't be surprised if there were many in attendance and online who decided to withhold bidding on items and has subsequently cost the club money. If it was someone's first time to such an event I can only imagine it wasn't a positive experience and they may not look to return again.

If anyone on that board thought that they could tell vossy before such a function and be able to keep it quiet until their presser the next day then they are extremely delusional and have no right to be sitting on the board of a football club. Its a massive case of mismanagement.

The only scenario I could think of where the above doesn't apply as much is if voss got wind that he may be replaced and walked into the board meeting and demanded to be told either way, forcing a vote. I would find it hard to believe, however I guess I can't rule it out entirely.

As for the decision itself personally I thought there had been enough signs this year to get Voss another two years with the group. However as I have no idea what the actual KPI's were for him I can't really say its a right or wrong decision. Given it will take at least a full season for the side to learn a new gameplan, we have effectively set ourselves back a year. Whoever comes in will have to make marked improvements within the next two years, otherwise the board will look like fools. The kind of progress would have to be akin to Fremantle under Lyon I would imagine and its probably a decent comparison to make. Of course if it does happen how much of that is attributable to the groundwork laid by Voss will be hard to measure.

What I hope is that the board haven't just looked at us not making finals or having more wins than last year as a basis for their decision. If this has been the main driver then I feel that there has been a significant overvaluation of our list as a whole. We are still a mediocre team as far as personnel due to the timing of our rebuild and this combined with our lack of development spending would have to play a factor. Of course mediocre must not be accepted by anyone involved with a footy club, but I feel like we were headed in the right direction.

Press conference today and the next month or two will be very interesting and will largely decide the future of the current board I would imagine. If we end up getting another inexperienced senior coach at the end of it all then they will be on the chopping block (if they aren't already). If they do get an experienced senior coach with a desire to coach us and a plan to get us back to the top that actually works, then they have made a tough but fair decision.

However the manner in which it was handled does and always will reek of a board that lacks the ability to comprehend the subtle differences involved in running a football club vs running a corporation, and one which must be held accountable for their failings.

 

[HalloweenJack]

A very strange decision by the Brisbane Board. I thought that after the disaster that was the Fev trade that Vossy had turned it around. He was always my favourite Brisbane player. I hope he is available for an Assistant role at the Blues.

 

[Gibbo_88]

If the board had a bit of common sense, Voss would never have been employed as the head coach when he was. Should have been given more support with staff than any other club while he learnt on the job, didn't happen.

Club admits they need to expand the football budget to compete...showing they know what they're doing for a change. Mishandle the sacking of the coach who every lions fan loves...

**** off Johnson and co.

 

[lionbear]

Jason Akermanis making good sense for a change.

First time in a while I agreed with what Aka has said about the Brisbane Lions.

 

[DonsRule]

If the board had a bit of common sense, Voss would never have been employed as the head coach when he was. Should have been given more support with staff than any other club while he learnt on the job, didn't happen.

Club admits they need to expand the football budget to compete...showing they know what they're doing for a change. Mishandle the sacking of the coach who every lions fan loves...

**** off Johnson and co.

That is the had thing for me as an outsider to your club too. He was put into the fire, struggled early, "Crazy Vossy" but thought he started to turn the corner, gained the experence needed. Perhaps some of the assistance etc.

First time in a while I agreed with what Aka has said about the Brisbane Lions.

How of interest, what did Aka say?

 

[angrylion1]

Line in the sand moment for Lions now.

The board needs to go. A successfull club is not measured by the cups it wins but the way it's runs, respects it's champions,legends and fans.

To hell with this season. I don't know how I will feel next year. No other club can treat it's champion like this.

Who is in lions board and WTF should I care why they sacked him? He was doing well. If they decided he has to go, well they should have explained it first to its fans.

Explain the bloody hell or I am with anyone who wants to take on the board. Not going to sit here and switch of to other sports. This is a moment where lions fans needs to come to the fore.

Board has to resign. No 2 ways about it. Whether you are Vossy's fans or not, he is an absolute legend for our club. Insulting him like this by our own board is absolutely pathetic, bewildering & gutwrenching. This goes deep in the heart...

Shameful stuff.

As a fan, I feel stuffed..almost backstabbed. #tohellwithourboard

 

[Tassie4ever]

The positives:

apprentices now auto starters: Clarke, Yeo, Mayes, Docherty

fulfilling potential: Hanley, Harwood, Green, Golby, Rockliff , Leuenberger

great recruit: Moloney

the core: Redden, Merrett, Maguire, Rich, Staker, Zorko

next year or soon thereafter: Close, Paparone, Hayes, Michael

Five starting lineup recruits in one year is a a great base to build on.

It's a pity to see some here descend to pretty ugly personal abuse. The Board has its responsibilities and presumably is doing what it thinks best. Personally I think it was always a big ask to recruit Voss without any apprenticeship but in the circumstances, with Matthews pulling the pin, it was a perfectly understandable decision.

We need to get on board a big corporate sponsor so we have some dough to splash about. As always, money speaks and we will never be a big player until we are on equal terms.

 

[josephs_79]

According to a Sauce (see what i did there ) at Brisbane on Triple M Bris this morning Voss still had the players....

http://www.triplem.com.au/brisbane/sport/afl/news/2013/8/michael-voss-contract-will-not-be-renewed

He sounds absolutely shattered and devastated.....