I am in the "I hope Dean Bailey works" camp. There is no doubt the bloke has done the hard yards and put in the time and energy to set the playing list up for a sustained period of finals football. The drafting will be judged in years to come, but per many commentators views, it has been (at least if not better than) good.

Unfortunately though, all the effort and the pain that Bails has suffered does not necessarily mean that he IS or WILL BE a great coach. Our record (while very explainable) is extremely poor. And if after 3 drafts and preseasons we can make serious inroads this year, we would be silly to think that he is the only way forward. That is called head in sand behavior.

Charting the progression of Melbourne under Bailey and Hawthorn under Clarkson is interesting

Hawthorn under Schwab (in his last two seasons) won 12 (2003) and 4 (2004). Enter Clarkson and Hawthorn won 5 (2005), 9 (2006), 14 (2007) 20 (2008)

Melbourne under Daniher (in his last two seasons) won 13 (2006) and 5 (2007). Enter Bailey and Melbourne won 3 (2008), 4 (2009), 8 (2010) and ?? (2011).

I know everyone will say that Hawthorn had a better list and drafted Buddy and Roughhead etc, but we had the same opportunities to do that too. Its the closest thing that I can get to having a comparable situation. (It will never be perfect)

We need to be significantly better than 2010 in my opinion to believe and have the players believe that Bailey is an exceptional coach.

In my eyes it would be foolish to rush in and offer anything until seasons end. I cant see anyone poaching him (no disrespect) and I think the players, club and supporters would want to be pretty sure we are on a winner before turning down opportunities to assess other well credentialed candidates that could have a material affect on the future performances on the team.

Lets hope DB brings a season of at least (and I think 10 is an absolute minimum) wins and the promise that the game plan is starting to develop as well as the players within that game plan.

If this is not shown categorically, I think we have to look elsewhere after 4 years of giving him every opportunity.

Bailey must Perform this year..He Knows it, like you i hope he does-but if he is not our man we must make a swift change at season's end (even if Bails is kept on as an assistant)

But at this stage he has this whole season to get results (improvement)

But we must get maximum benefit from this list of players.

Bailey can still salvage this season.

!!!! We're 3 matches in, have a 1 1 1 scoreline, and you're talking about "salvaging the season" as if we're into the final half dozen rounds without a win on the board and with the whole club a complete train wreck.

What's that acronym ... MFCSS?

Sheesh.

PS - I should have also mentioned that anyone who says we should not consider Malthouse if he is available and eager does not have an objective bone in their body.

You MUST consider the best performing coach of the past few years if you are serious about success.

There may be things that mean that he does not fit, but to rule him out is, well, outrageous.

I have given this a bit of thought lately and I've come to the conclusion that if Malthouse coaches next year, it will be at Melbourne. If you think about it, the guy has scaled almost every peak in football. What a way to finish by coaching the league's oldest club to its first premiership since Norm Smith -- one of, if not the, greatest coaches of all time -- and along the way break the record for number of matches coached? It would appeal perfectly to Malthouse's planet-size ego. He would be up there with Barassi.

He would walk into a club with a very good list, a solid administration, new training facilities etc. It would fit him perfectly. I doubt he'd even care that much about the money (in terms of matching Collingwood). He would want the prestige and to engrave his name in AFL history.

Having said that, I can't stand the bloke (at least from what I've seen of him). But I can easily see how it would happen.

Interesting how our very own CEO mentioned Mick Malthouse in this weeks Whiteboard Video

Whiteboard Wednesday Week 3.

There are obviously a few on here who are in the "misery phase"

If he is available Take him in a heart beat!

I would take him in a heart beat however I think ( based on recent comments ) that there is very little chance he will leave the Pies.

Things can change but Roos has said on numerous occasions he is not interested in coaching another side.

So for better or worse we have Bailey.

If we do not win more than 8 games this year ( we have a very good draw )I think he will struggle to hold the job.

However we are then faced with going back to the untried lot.

Do we really want to start with another untried Coach who thinks we went the wrong way and start another 4 year player selection and new game plan.

Perhaps we will have no option!

Could not agree more,though i believe any comments from the magpie camp(whoever that may be)should be dismissed.

Mick does not want to leave the senior coaching position and another premiership tagged with a demotion would be highly disrespectful.If he wins another flag it will test Buckleys fiber.

If Bucks does not step off,and Eddies relationship with him is so strong it defeats common sense,Collingwood will be putting a price on two flags retrospectively ,Collingwood fans are fanatical and are hailing Mick,imagine what they will be like if this year ends with a flag.

We all know the egos of Bucks and Eddie,it will b fun to watch just how big they are,could they possibly have enough hubris to follow through.I cannot believe im saying this but i am looking forward to Collingwood winning the flag.We could see a star at its brightest collapse on itself,for me that would be consequentialism at its best .go pies.

Let's not forget Williams and Laidley. Unlike Roos and Thompson, these two appear very keen to restart their AFL coaching career somewhere.

Throw in 7 other current coaches coming out of contract at seasons end, and we are heading to perhaps the most interesting post season period in years.

Bailey is in a tricky situation at the moment. We have the second youngest list. It's still a development year for the likes of Watts, Blease, Scully, Cook, Jurrah and a few others. But this is Bailey's 4th year and I don't accept that this is another 'development' year for the coach. Last season we proved on occasions we could be very competitive against top teams like Collingwood and Footscray, and we also belted the Swans; we could see improvement in the team.

We need to see similar results this year so that Bailey can say 'I can make this team a top 4 side in 2013 and beyond'. I suspect that his chances of being re-signed will depend largely on the team's performance this year, regardless of who is available after round 22.

The bottom line is that Melbourne officials would be derelict in their duty if they didn't sound out Malthouse (and Roos) before they recommit to Bailey. They may find that Malthouse is interested but decide to stick with Bailey, but find out they must.

I'm not so sure. Why approach Malthouse if you're going to retain Bailey even if he expresses an interest?

The first question you ask is whether you think Bailey has what it takes to be a Premiership coach and then if you want him to take you there. If that is a "yes" "yes" response that's it.

You should always speak to who is available. Different opinions and ideas are always healthy to listen to.

I'm not so sure. Why approach Malthouse if you're going to retain Bailey even if he expresses an interest?

Notsureifserious.

Let's all stop kidding ourselves.

We should sound out Malthouse now to see if he's available. If he is, we should be making a serious play for him.

To approach a coach when you have no intention of employing him doesn't make sense

Agreed, but who is suggesting that ? You won't form a definitive conclusion until after a discussion/s.

Fellow Demoniacs ...

The current premiership coach and architect of Collingwood's current era of dominance will quite possibly be available to coach a rival club at the of this season. Despite the "Kirrbilli" style agreement brokered with Eddie McGuire and Nathan Buckley, Mick Malthouse has given every indication that he would like to coach on and appears to be right at the top of his game.

Regardless of how you feel about Dean Bailey's performance to date, should we be canvassing the possibility of making a play for this man as our senior coach heading into season 2012?

We are only going to get one chance at creating our own era of dominance with the talented young list we have assembled.

Surely we would be derelict in our duty if we don't at least look at him?

We don't need to canvass the possibility of making a play for him because we don't need a new coach at this time. Maybe the reasons people support a club may have changed over time. There's something distasteful about chasing a premiership Collingwood coach to try to do the same for MFC. Call me old fashioned, but that's my view. I would love a MFC premiership coach to be an ex MFC player though.

Malthouse? Yuk.

I may have missed something as I haven't read all the thread. My premise was you wouldn't approach him if you'd decided you were not going to employ him in which case you have a definitive conclusion.

From how I read it, Hannabal's premise seems to be the opposite - how could you have decided you were not going to employ him without having a conversation with him first?

We don't need to canvass the possibility of making a play for him because we don't need a new coach at this time. Maybe the reasons people support a club may have changed over time. There's something distasteful about chasing a premiership Collingwood coach to try to do the same for MFC. Call me old fashioned, but that's my view. I would love a MFC premiership coach to be an ex MFC player though.

Malthouse? Yuk.

You are going to be waiting a while for that premiership with that attitude.

You are going to be waiting a while for that premiership with that attitude.

Could not agree More WYL.

The best coach for Melbourne is "the Best Coach"

Right ... what's it going to take Mick?

No sure I quite get the people suggesting we can't afford Malthouse.

We can't afford not to get a coach of his quality!

Surely the spark it would add to the club in sponsors, members, and press would outweigh the salary we would have to pay him.

I think he needs to be our number 1 priority.

Right ... what's it going to take Mick?

Very good question!

$1M per season, and his say on the FD structure / staff just to start the ball rolling.

Very good question!

$1M per season, and his say on the FD structure / staff just to start the ball rolling.

We didn't pay off our $6 Million debt in 2 years for nothing. This is the exact thinking i am hoping for.

If we paid Malthouse $1 Million a year the extra membership and attendances would pay it all off in 2 months.

"Gotta spend Money to Make Money "

No sure I quite get the people suggesting we can't afford Malthouse.

We can't afford not to get a coach of his quality!

Surely the spark it would add to the club in sponsors, members, and press would outweigh the salary we would have to pay him.

I think he needs to be our number 1 priority.

It's not just his salary - at Collingwood they spend double what we spend on their FD. If we talked to him we'd need to ask him what does he need in the FD to deliver a premiership. I'd expect him to say that he needs more than we are currently providing - possibly millions of dollars more. For example are we going to Arizona next year? I would be keen to canvas MM's interest but both sides need to go in with eyes wide open. The worst thing that could happen is to take him on and end up with him saying we couldn't provide the resources necessary for him to win a flag - maybe we need to find that out anyway.

It's not just his salary - at Collingwood they spend double what we spend on their FD. If we talked to him we'd need to ask him what does he need in the FD to deliver a premiership. I'd expect him to say that he needs more than we are currently providing - possibly millions of dollars more. For example are we going to Arizona next year? I would be keen to canvas MM's interest but both sides need to go in with eyes wide open. The worst thing that could happen is to take him on and end up with him saying we couldn't provide the resources necessary for him to win a flag - maybe we need to find that out anyway.

You're right.........some good points.

How good would Queen's Bday be with Mick V Bucks, Dees V Pies..........I'm drooling just thinking about it!

It's not just his salary - at Collingwood they spend double what we spend on their FD. If we talked to him we'd need to ask him what does he need in the FD to deliver a premiership. I'd expect him to say that he needs more than we are currently providing - possibly millions of dollars more. For example are we going to Arizona next year? I would be keen to canvas MM's interest but both sides need to go in with eyes wide open. The worst thing that could happen is to take him on and end up with him saying we couldn't provide the resources necessary for him to win a flag - maybe we need to find that out anyway.

Points well made old, But if we do not take some risks we will never know. The supporter base would back the club spendind up big on the Footy Dept.

Yes tell me in a years time if The Filth would not take Queens Birthday seriously if it were Malthouse v Bucks...First encounter.

You need players to help with memberships, but you ALSO NEED COACHES. Dean Bailey's game plan with the talent on our list isn't working

Mick would be great- Bomber Thompson Role? or Senior Coach?