For mine - Northey best coach since our last flag. He got together a list who on most occasions turned up to play. He instilled a culture among the players I've yet to witness since.

Since Northey, our administrators, coaches and playing list have contributed in one way or another to the bad culture at this club.

Enter Mark Neeld. Everything I have seen so far gives me confidence he is the man to hang tough with. We need to change the insipid culture and we need to give him time. It's up to the players each week to do their bit because Neeld is working his arse off to get us up and about.

His test yet will be to see if he can coach on match day. My scrutiny will mostly be on the playing group during the first few games NOT NEELD. It's the players who must perform and change the culture from insipid to winning. That's who I will critique.

We can't keep changing coaches...that much I do know!

Northey turned around a basket case team by getting them playing back to basics. And it took him a very short time. Ultimately he did not have the talent at his disposal to go alll the way to a flag. He did not try to implement an unworkable game plan like Neeld seems to be doing. Plus the players respected him. Neeld only spouts self serving tough talk.

Neeld only spouts self serving tough talk.

That's some harsh criticism, and if he doesn't make it as a coach it's definitely the way I'll remember him. But for now, I'm still buying into his quote unquote "tough talk" - and I hope the players are too.

Edited March 17, 201312 yr by Chook

Neeld only spouts self serving tough talk.

I know none of us here have ever been at an AFL club, but I never cease to be amazed by the lack of understanding of just how much real work goes on outside of those couple of hours each weekend that we get to see.

Northey turned around a basket case team by getting them playing back to basics. And it took him a very short time. Ultimately he did not have the talent at his disposal to go alll the way to a flag. He did not try to implement an unworkable game plan like Neeld seems to be doing. Plus the players respected him. Neeld only spouts self serving tough talk.

Oh dear. Some say they can't see a game plan and you say Neeld's is unworkable. Would you care to explain to us what the supposed game plan is?

Northey got the team fired halfway through his second year in 87 we were 5-9 before beating Geelong at Waverley, then it rolled.

For mine - Northey best coach since our last flag. He got together a list who on most occasions turned up to play. He instilled a culture among the players I've yet to witness since.

Since Northey, our administrators, coaches and playing list have contributed in one way or another to the bad culture at this club.

Enter Mark Neeld. Everything I have seen so far gives me confidence he is the man to hang tough with. We need to change the insipid culture and we need to give him time. It's up to the players each week to do their bit because Neeld is working his arse off to get us up and about.

His test yet will be to see if he can coach on match day. My scrutiny will mostly be on the playing group during the first few games NOT NEELD. It's the players who must perform and change the culture from insipid to winning. That's who I will critique.

We can't keep changing coaches...that much I do know!

Northey may have overseen the most successful era since our last flag but personally I'd put down the culture change at the time down to Ron Barassi. Northey reaped a lot of what Barassi had sewn IMO.

Northey inherited Barassi's legacy. He wasn't so great. Neale Balme was a great coach, sacked before he had a chance to show his true potential.

I don't know what's so unworkable about the way Neeld wants us to play. We have already seen signs of a very good press in place. That is already a massive improvement. Sadly, the players are not yet well-drilled enough to keep it together for a whole game, but when they got it right it was great. I think our forward 50 entries need a lot of work as we still seem to bomb it to the square rather than hitting a target and it's far too easy to rebound from that, but I would hope that as we get better kicks into the midfield and more forward options this will improve. Overall, I'm pretty happy with the progress we've made tactically.

Just as John Northey inherited the Barassi legacy, Neeld inherited the Bailey legacy and to a lesser extent, that of Daniher, both of which were more or less shambolic in terms of the direction in which most of the stronger clubs were travelling. He's been left with the task of turning things around which he could only do with a vastly different list and because of its relative youth and lack of maturity, change won't be effected overnight. The naysayers don't understand this and demand to see immediate change and a finite number of wins. They see modest expectations as an advance sign of failure. They simply don't understand.

Northey inherited Barassi's legacy. He wasn't so great. Neale Balme was a great coach, sacked before he had a chance to show his true potential.

Barassi turned the club around off field. Setup recruiting, demanded higher standards on & off the field, more investment in football etc. The players that took the club further under Northy were brought to the club under Barassi & Jordan. The club was a bigger joke when he arrived than it is now. On field Barassi didn't get results true however it wasn't Northey who started the culture change at Melbourne during that time. Barassi also implemented massive change at Sydney during his time there.

People forget the influence of then club president Stuart Spencer who presided during the Northey years. The most effective club president since the glory days.

Further, I am not too impresed with the revisionism of Barassi's coaching legacy. Under him we were consistently the worst skilled side on the comp. I still have vivid memories of the comical errors that used to happen every game. He was supposed to build a powerhouse side and recruited big names to do the job. He lost the respect of his players. The team played without spirit and heart throughout his tenure and was a complete rabble when he left. Morale could not have sunk any lower.

Edited March 17, 201312 yr by Muvver Jones

Northey inherited Barassi's legacy. He wasn't so great. Neale Balme was a great coach, sacked before he had a chance to show his true potential.

This is so wrong it cannot pass uncorrected.

Balme had one good year - his first - largely with the benefit of an emerging Schwarz building on what Northey had left.

Balme was too relaxed, you can say nice or lazy depending on your disposition, to make it.

Ask yourself why no-one has had him coach since if he was such a great coach in making.

This is so wrong it cannot pass uncorrected.

Balme had one good year - his first - largely with the benefit of an emerging Schwarz building on what Northey had left.

Balme was too relaxed, you can say nice or lazy depending on your disposition, to make it.

Ask yourself why no-one has had him coach since if he was such a great coach in making.

Neil Balme invented the Swiss Cheese defence.

When you match talent with work ethic more often than not the player will prosper, in my opinion that's all neeld is doing and exactly why he got rid of some high draft picks last year.

As they say, comparisons are often odious. While I have very fond memories of the Northey era, they were different times to current days. The game, as it is played now, is completely different to Northey's time. Swooper used a very basic philosophy of us against them, mixed in with a bit of fire and brimstone.

It is ludicrous to compare the situation that confronts Neeld currently, to the 'good ole days' of Swooper. Neeld remains the man in my view. The players' attitudes have already changed compared to the days of DB.

As much as it pains us, we have stay the course and be patient.

. Neeld only spouts self serving tough talk.

I am in awe of your ability to pack so much irony into such a short sentence.

People forget the influence of then club president Stuart Spencer who presided during the Northey years. The most effective club president since the glory days.

Maybe these "people" you talk about... Are in fact you yourself?

You spout off about how rubbish you think Neeld is compared to Northey... Then give an example of how great the president was when Northey was in charge, that Neeld doesn't have the benefit of.

Stop. Talking. Shite.