Where have you been?

Have you not noticed the wholesale changes to the football dept?

What evidence do you have of how much it cost or that is has been ignored?

The players will be and should be called to account both as individuals and the group but so too should there been a significant level of introspection by the board, particularly their governance that has allowed so many issues raised in the Andrews report happen on their watch.

This year they have elected to essentially ignore the Andrews report then at the 11th hour of Bailey's coaching career acted swiftly in their decision to sack Schwab on Friday based on the same evidence that was in the report six months earlier.

It seems remarkable that the club could have sunk to these depths so rapidly and that the Andrews report could have been tabled and yet virtually ignored by the board. The report began at Schwab's request as an examination of the board before it turned its attention to the football department.

Lyon should get hold of the Andrews report. Fifteen to 20 players were interviewed for the report and the overwhelming finding from players and coaches was that Connolly - for all his good public work - was the wrong man to head the football department. He seems the most likely next casualty and at least faces a sideways move. Connolly has been re-contracted but there will be no major payout involved should he leave.

Still reeks too much of an amateur boys club; you want a professional culture start at the top.

Edited April 10, 201213 yr by Dr. Gonzo

Still reeks too much of an amateur boys club; you want a professional culture start at the top.

it also reeks of a journalistic fishing expedition designed to flush out some details

if you read the quotes there are no details or facts, just scuttlebutt speculation

there may be some part truths here but it is heavy on rhetoric and short on detail

I'll reserve my judgement atm

That's not the issue at all, and Caro is being mischievous.

The issue is that either:

- Mifsud made it up and was knowingly spreading lies about Neeld;

- or that he breached the confidence of a player (whether they were lying about telling him that, or there was an honest miscommunication).

So lies, or breaching a player's confidence in a highly sensitive issue.

And not just once to Grant Thomas, but also to Caroline Wilson and others.

Thomas is not at fault here - he just made public something that was already common knowledge among the AFL fraternity BECAUSE OF MIFSUD.

Agree, except about Thomas. He is at fault. Any journo worth his pay must at least try to check a story before publishing. It is clear he did not. Others didn't publish what 'was already common knowledge' because they checked and found the 'common knowledge' was rubbish. But he's just a sports jpourno. Mifsud is an AFL employee of trust and is now not to be trusted.

it also reeks of a journalistic fishing expedition designed to flush out some details

if you read the quotes there are no details or facts, just scuttlebutt speculation

there may be some part truths here but it is heavy on rhetoric and short on detail

I'll reserve my judgement atm

The "journalists" here are relying on "sources" - they obviously haven't read the report themselves as it would be considered confidential to the MFC. I don't expect the report to be made public to members however there is something here that has gone on and Schwab seems to be a central part in it. The very fact that the report was undertaken pre-season was looked at suspiciously in the first instance. OK the FD has been restructured but of Schwab's role in all this (Connolly has been pushed sideways so that has been addressed also).

The fact is that what the report probably didn't address directly but did uncover related issues was that the MFC is still to much of the old boys club. Say what you will but as I said in my previous post I think Schwab and Connolly were appointed as "jobs for the boys" with Lyon sticking his head in only when it is convenient for him. There is obviously some merit to their appointments but I think we need less of the "same old" and more of a new broom to sweep through the place and instil a professional culture from the top instead of one where reputation is the most important thing.

Didn't Demetriou convince the reluctant Schwab to take on the CEO role ?

The "journalists" here are relying on "sources" - they obviously haven't read the report themselves as it would be considered confidential to the MFC. I don't expect the report to be made public to members however there is something here that has gone on and Schwab seems to be a central part in it. The very fact that the report was undertaken pre-season was looked at suspiciously in the first instance. OK the FD has been restructured but of Schwab's role in all this (Connolly has been pushed sideways so that has been addressed also).

The fact is that what the report probably didn't address directly but did uncover related issues was that the MFC is still to much of the old boys club. Say what you will but as I said in my previous post I think Schwab and Connolly were appointed as "jobs for the boys" with Lyon sticking his head in only when it is convenient for him. There is obviously some merit to their appointments but I think we need less of the "same old" and more of a new broom to sweep through the place and instil a professional culture from the top instead of one where reputation is the most important thing.

I certainly don't disagree there has been a bit of an old boys club aspect................didn't need a report for that one

Agree, except about Thomas. He is at fault. Any journo worth his pay must at least try to check a story before publishing. It is clear he did not. Others didn't publish what 'was already common knowledge' because they checked and found the 'common knowledge' was rubbish. But he's just a sports jpourno. Mifsud is an AFL employee of trust and is now not to be trusted.

Agreed.

I should have said he "is not solely at fault."

I felt Caro was attacking Thomas when it was really Mifsud who she should be attacking.

She was quite happy to have Mifsud breach the player's confidence to her, and saw nothing wrong with that.

It just had the stench of having your cake and eating it too.

Carro & Thomas's relationship has always been prickly.

She wasn't gonna miss the chance to make him squirm.

Probably true.