Great decision ... not lets get on with it and overachieve in his 2nd "real" year.

I don't think the board will sack him after agreeing to take a long term rebuild approach .

It would be a bit of hypocritical thing to do .

However ,If we're pathetic for the rest of the year then we should have a look at a few resumes .

I think all the clubs have already been doing that for the past 8 weeks. It looks like the Honour roll that was looking likely, has evaporated If the actions of the clubs is any indication..

It looks like Malthouses antics may have backfired on him with the Pies hierarchy seemingly threatening him with his contract terms. He looks to have gone into his shell.

Roos has recently (apparently) distanced himself from the merry go round for another Year. And 'Matthews' is still the darkhorse, commenting on Craggs coaching, and an odd mistake in setup,,, almost by suggestion, elevating himself as still a quality coach by comparison.

I thought the tone of that was 'Interesting'.

I'd have him @ Melbourne, If he wanted to continue coaching, but 'If', that were the case, the Hawks would have something to say. And If they did, & he did, we could have a go at one...

I don't think we've made any real positive steps forward this season, and the only reason we'll even get to 10 wins is because of the easy draw we had compared to last season.

The games won benchmark is stupid, and I for one hope that the board has better KPIs to measure Dean against.

What if we beat Carlton, West Coast and Geelong, and lose the easy 3?

Surely there'd be no contract extension.

Making the decision on the basis of wins displays incompetence. Genuine assessment requires far more insight than that. Can Bailey coach at this level? Certainly not a top 8 team. You soon learn which players play well in the VFL but just cann't step up to the AFL. Not many can do it after four years of trying. Bailey's form indicates he is a 'good ordinary VFL coach'. The problem is Melbourne is so pedestrian in attitude. It will probably stick by Bailey for 2 more years. But maybe that won't matter because we are four or five years away from a serious challenge.

Bailey has put the development of our team ahead of his own job, I think we can at least let the guy play with what he started to build. Melbourne WILL finish with 11.5 wins.

8 of which will have been against the bottom 5 teams. Have you thought that maybe he knows little else other than what he is doing. Your head in the sand comment about 11 wins betrays 'dream time', but then that's the Melbourne culture.

Absolutely impossible for us to better 10 wins for the year with not one forward in form for the year(Jack Watts the only big improver),Scully out for 11+,Davey out for 10,Frawley out for 4,Jamar out for 4,JT out for 4,Grimes out for season,Aussie unavailable and a bunch of under 21's running through the midfield.LJ had a shocking year,Petterd and Morton up and down,Bate out of favour.

How do you get more than 10 wins from the above? No coach could've done any better considering this is our second season after our last spoon.We are not a top 8 team yet,regardless who the coach is.

Although i'm not a fan,Bailey gets another season and he better work on a more defensive gameplan preseason,ie. start defending across the centre rather than 20 metres from goal!

I think we've made progress, but it might be progress that isn't necessarily going to be "seen" for a while. The very fact were getting more and more games into younger players will continue to develop what is still a VERY young list. Look at Watts, his progress has been fantastic to watch, he's yet to dominate but yes a consistent contributed and that's the progress we've made.

On the topic of Bailey, I see absolutely no reason to give him the flick unless we've got an experienced, PROVEN coach waiting in the wings, an untried coach will only set us back imo. I would have no issue with him continuing on next year if we won 10 or more this year but I would put the finals as a must next year to retain a contract beyond 2012.

Absolutely impossible for us to better 10 wins for the year with not one forward in form for the year,Scully out for 11+,Frawley out for 4,Jamar out for 4,Jt out for 4,Grimes out for season,Aussie unavailable and a bunch of under 21's running through the midfield.LJ had a shocking year,Petterd and Morton up and down,Bate out of favour.

How do you get more than 10 wins from the above? No coach could've done any better considering this is our second season after our last spoon.We are not a top 8 team yet,regardless who the coach is.

Although i'm not a fan,Bailey gets another season and he better work on a more defensive gameplan preseason.

This answer is the correct one....Add to that the fact our midfield kids are still not BIG enough.

They have improved this year, but so has the opposition coaching. Teams now plan long and hard how to beat us.

Between 2008-2010 we were not rated, thus we got a few wins or got close when not expected....I am not saying Bailey has been perfect..The Carlton game still has me scratching my head trying to work out our tactics...But the Bottom Line is our engine room is still not big and strong enough...

It's like comparing a Falcon GTHO to a Mini Cooper at Bathurst back in the 1960's. The Mini could hold its own up and down the mountain and occasionally got in front, until Conrod Straight....Then the Big V8 just said "See ya Later little one"

We need another summer in the Gym and on the track for a tough Pre season.

Bailey should get at least a 5th year. Unless the club has already got plans in place that we do not know of.

But considering what has happened at the Adelaide Froot Loops i think Bailey has got another year at least.

It looks like the Honour roll that was looking likely, has evaporated If the actions of the clubs is any indication..

How can something evaporate if it was not there in the first place? This speculation is media driven ... grabs eye balls sells advertising.

Making the decision on the basis of wins displays incompetence. Genuine assessment requires far more insight than that. Can Bailey coach at this level? Certainly not a top 8 team. You soon learn which players play well in the VFL but just cann't step up to the AFL. Not many can do it after four years of trying. Bailey's form indicates he is a 'good ordinary VFL coach'. The problem is Melbourne is so pedestrian in attitude. It will probably stick by Bailey for 2 more years. But maybe that won't matter because we are four or five years away from a serious challenge.

No offence but how do you know the answers to the very questions you ask?

IMHO Bailey form indicates

a/ In his first few seasons we decided to go into a rebuild phase to secure the long-term future of our football club.

b/ He has constantly displayed that he is pre-pared to put the clubs interests above his own.

c/ You only can ever do the best with the money available to invest inside your football department.

Positives

1/ He is genuinely one of us now, his emotions took a while to surface but they appear genuine.

2/ He has the full support of his young playing group.

Why rock the boat now with no logical alternative?

Still prefer 'quarters won' ?

??

That's just one of the many KPIs that Bailey talks about.

I have my own KPI measurements. It's a thread, displayed on the main board, as I type this.

Although I haven't done the past few weeks it largely shows stalling in most areas and slight improvement in a few areas.

The board will have to make a tough call - I think it will largely depend on who is available through quiet discussion with a few managers who represent Malthouse, Clarkson, et al.

Making the decision on the basis of wins displays incompetence. Genuine assessment requires far more insight than that. Can Bailey coach at this level? Certainly not a top 8 team. You soon learn which players play well in the VFL but just cann't step up to the AFL. Not many can do it after four years of trying. Bailey's form indicates he is a 'good ordinary VFL coach'. The problem is Melbourne is so pedestrian in attitude. It will probably stick by Bailey for 2 more years. But maybe that won't matter because we are four or five years away from a serious challenge.

If we are so far away, then why are you disappointed with the performance of Bailey?

Surely, if we are as far away as you say, he couldn't be doing much better than he is...

'We are no certainty to win all three of those games. Richmond and Gold Coast will back themselves and Port Adelaide will be sending off a number of aging stars and will be keen for a big game. We will have a fight on our hands to win three games'.

Maybe so, but the task of winning 10 games with our draw should be a walk in the park. I'm sure Dean understands his position as it couldn't be made much clearer. He and the players have other options as well,like winning the next few.

This is more BS.

Games won target?

That is bush league.

Agree.

I think the author said "If my source is correct.....". I thought there was enough evidence to suggest serious caveat emptor on readers.

Whether Malthouse, Roos or Clarkson are available merely changes the yardstick of performance for Bailey.

And if MFC do re appoint Bailey, it wont be just for one year with conditional clauses. And if it were the basis then they should select another coach.

I suspect MFC are well down the line on determining what they will do with the coaching for 2012 and beyond.

We are no certainty to win all three of those games. Richmond and Gold Coast will back themselves and Port Adelaide will be sending off a number of aging stars and will be keen for a big game. We will have a fight on our hands to win three games.

Agree. We are tiring, and have little confidence. Lucky GC is down here, as I think they'd knock us off up there, and Port Adelaide at the 'new' footy venue Adelaide Oval we have very little hope of winning I reckon, despite how woeful Port are. Richmond will see us as the team they CAN beat to relieve a bit of disappointment pressure. Strangely, if we're up for it, I think we could knock off West Coast over here. We just don't have the character to play consistent winning football, and unless we win all 3 of those and one of either West Coast or Carlton, the year will be seen by most as a failure in terms of development.

The argument is then that Dean Bailey should be ultimately accountable for this, but I'm not sure whether he will or should be. We have a younger team out there than last year, and with many of them graduating to the 35 games plus mark NEXT year, the coach dumping pressure should be put off til next year. Sure it's frustrating, but our player stocks this year have been so shuffled and jiggled since about round 4, that we were never going to get the stability that all teams crave, and need.

Agree. We are tiring, and have little confidence. Lucky GC is down here, as I think they'd knock us off up there, and Port Adelaide at the 'new' footy venue Adelaide Oval we have very little hope of winning I reckon, despite how woeful Port are. Richmond will see us as the team they CAN beat to relieve a bit of disappointment pressure. Strangely, if we're up for it, I think we could knock off West Coast over here. We just don't have the character to play consistent winning football, and unless we win all 3 of those and one of either West Coast or Carlton, the year will be seen by most as a failure in terms of development.

The argument is then that Dean Bailey should be ultimately accountable for this, but I'm not sure whether he will or should be. We have a younger team out there than last year, and with many of them graduating to the 35 games plus mark NEXT year, the coach dumping pressure should be put off til next year. Sure it's frustrating, but our player stocks this year have been so shuffled and jiggled since about round 4, that we were never going to get the stability that all teams crave, and need.

Has there ever been a coach in league history who has been more sheltered from scrutiny of performance than DB ? There would appear to be no benchmarks at all - still no wins anywhere but the MCG except Darwin ( and that's against PA - the worst performed team in the league by a mile ) not even competitive against any of the top 4, easy losses to NM and Footcray who we should be on level footing with at a minium - and people are suggesting a 2 year extension - enough is enough

Has there ever been a coach in league history who has been more sheltered from scrutiny of performance than DB ? There would appear to be no benchmarks at all - still no wins anywhere but the MCG except Darwin ( and that's against PA - the worst performed team in the league by a mile ) not even competitive against any of the top 4, easy losses to NM and Footcray who we should be on level footing with at a minium - and people are suggesting a 2 year extension - enough is enough

Dont forget the win at the Gabba last year against the Lions. But they were just as bad if not worse as Port at the time. The only decent effort against interstate sides I can remember under Dean was the second half against Fremantle last year. But that was after one of our worst first half efforts for the season.

We are no certainty to win all three of those games. Richmond and Gold Coast will back themselves and Port Adelaide will be sending off a number of aging stars and will be keen for a big game. We will have a fight on our hands to win three games.

Defenitly

Has there ever been a coach in league history who has been more sheltered from scrutiny of performance than DB ? There would appear to be no benchmarks at all - still no wins anywhere but the MCG except Darwin ( and that's against PA - the worst performed team in the league by a mile ) not even competitive against any of the top 4, easy losses to NM and Footcray who we should be on level footing with at a minium - and people are suggesting a 2 year extension - enough is enough

The stats are not good, but after careful consideration, I have softened a little on the 'hard line' stats evalaution as the basis for an in or out decision. (You can see my analysis of his statistical performance versus the hawthorn development on another thread - as I dont want to become a multi poster of the same thing)

Fair to say that he did more of a clean out than others would have in his first year, and this probably hurt his year two stats as well.

I am refraining as I promised i would from commenting on whether he should stay or go, but needless to say, I think that this decision is massive (whatever form it takes) by the Melbourne Football Club board and administration.

I also think that if they go for re-appointment, it cant be for 1 year, it causes to much unrest. Whoever coaches us next year needs a 2 year contract as a minimum.

I don't think we've made any real positive steps forward this season, and the only reason we'll even get to 10 wins is because of the easy draw we had compared to last season.

The games won benchmark is stupid, and I for one hope that the board has better KPIs to measure Dean against.

I agree.. Games are are not all equal. it is possible we can come away with 10 wins. Only wins to Above-us teams being Freo and Ess.. It hardly speaks volumes of any improvement let alone the strides all and sundry expected of us this year.

10 wins will have meant we will have won only TWO more games than last year.and interestly not really added to the teams we have won games to. We will have futher extended the "wood " over Port !!! oooh.. Achievement !!! ( Speaks more about how woeful Port is than how good we are)

We effectively will be no better placed along our path.. It essentially is a monumental failure.

Good to see the bar is wel land truly set at mediocre .

Its ok ...we're only ever developing.

Please no.

Unless we can somehow win at least 1 of our next 3 and also win the remaining 3 games, I don't want him next year.

I think it's obvious, he's said it publicly recently, a couple of times, that He, & the players, want Bailey to stay on as Coach.

This is the second or third time I've heard him say that.

he has to say that sort of stuff, he is the captain of the club

could you imagine if the captain of the club came out and said "no we don't want the coach here next season, none of the players like him or playing for him"

come on now, these guys are so welled trained in the media, these sort of answers to such questions are now just second nature

I agree.. Games are are not all equal. it is possible we can come away with 10 wins. Only wins to Above-us teams being Freo and Ess.. It hardly speaks volumes of any improvement let alone the strides all and sundry expected of us this year.

10 wins will have meant we will have won only TWO more games than last year.and interestly not really added to the teams we have won games to. We will have futher extended the "wood " over Port !!! oooh.. Achievement !!! ( Speaks more about how woeful Port is than how good we are)

We effectively will be no better placed along our path.. It essentially is a monumental failure.

Good to see the bar is wel land truly set at mediocre .

Its ok ...we're only ever developing.

Yep, these days it appears we have an ingrained culture of mediocrity and any genuine development appears still born. The club still resonates with the recent ungracious departures of highly paid dead wood. There are allegedly grumblings and mutterings from senior players on superstar salaries who continue to under perform. Is this the coaches fault? Mostly not I believe.

Yep, these days it appears we have an ingrained culture of mediocrity and any genuine development appears still born. The club still resonates with the recent ungracious departures of highly paid dead wood. There are allegedly grumblings and mutterings from senior players on superstar salaries who continue to under perform. Is this the coaches fault? Mostly not I believe.

But would a coach with some serious 'fear factor' and authority (ie. Malthouse/Clarkson) put up with that rubbish for more than a minute?

One wonders ...