Time to go Mark Neeld

[Dee Fan 3,247]

Just exactly how many paying clients has the MFC lost during Neeld's tenure? Membership numbers appear to be going along at a similar rate to last year, sponsors have come and gone and come again as is perfectly normal.

He was given the brief to fix things and as we all know, he is at the halfway mark of that brief. As I said earlier, by adding a couple of high performing mids at the end of this season, plus possibly one more defender, we will start to look like a real team. Let him complete his brief and then see whether he is up to it or not.

There is NO quick fix when it comes to the issues at the MFC and the fast-food, want-it-now approach will not work. I've been following the Dees for 55 years and am quite prepared to wait for them to get it right this time.

Membership numbers are supposed to grow not shrink, ours are shrinking. There are more people living in Victoria than two years ago, but instead of us picking up our share of the new settlers we are in fact giving up those we already had. No business survives unless it continues to grow, costs are up, footballers in our case earn more, staff costs are increasing and it simply costs more to run a business.

We are falling further behind and we will continue to do so until we are able to show we are capable of progressing up the ladder or at least running the club professionally.

[iv'a worn smith 1,979]

Just exactly how many paying clients has the MFC lost during Neeld's tenure? Membership numbers appear to be going along at a similar rate to last year, sponsors have come and gone and come again as is perfectly normal.

He was given the brief to fix things and as we all know, he is at the halfway mark of that brief. As I said earlier, by adding a couple of high performing mids at the end of this season, plus possibly one more defender, we will start to look like a real team. Let him complete his brief and then see whether he is up to it or not.

There is NO quick fix when it comes to the issues at the MFC and the fast-food, want-it-now approach will not work. I've been following the Dees for 55 years and am quite prepared to wait for them to get it right this time.

It is a salutary lesson for any business that you do not wait for the arse to fall out of your revenue base, before you act. You look at your revenue trends and you act accordingly. The fact is, our current membership numbers are down on last year and we should not wait until current or potential sponsors say, I've had enough so I am baling out.

In short, it is about protecting what you have left of your brand and ours is already a tarnished brand, which continues to be damaged almost daily. Let's not forget, it was Jimmy's debt demolition campaign that substantially got us out of the poo. You can't keep going back to the same well to sustain yourself, because sooner or later that well will run dry.

[nutbean 8,838]

I don't know whether Neeld should go. It is true that we have become inured to failure; it's extraordinary that a 10 goal loss can be seen as having positives, but the new players do excite me a bit - Kent, Matt Jones, Terlich, Evans

This

"""

During the annual shareholder meeting held on Tuesday in Helsinki, investors took issue with the corporate leadership, particularly CEO Stephen Elop. The Canadian executive is same man who authored the famous “burning platform” memo in 2011, expressing the imminent need for change within the company.

"You're a nice guy…and the leadership team is doing its best, but clearly, it's not enough," shareholder Hannu Virtanen told Elop, according to Reuters. "Are you aware that results are what matter? The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Please switch to another road.” - Cyrus Farivar, ars technica

"""

was interesting.

maybe so...but you keep switching roads because you think that each road is a better shortcut...invariably it takes you longer to get there ...

[pm24 451]

The one thing that I find to be a major inconsistency in some of these arguments about Neeld losing the players etc etc, is that many of the players have come out and shown how they support Neeld and Garland even recently complimented Neeld by saying he was coaching better than ever.

To think that the reason we are still struggling is solely due to Neeld being unable to coach is just rediculous. By making such a statement it completely disregards the lack of support and strength in the footy department pre-Neeld but under Bailey, it also completely underestimates how bad the culture may have been and how much a change/shift in culture was required. Such things can not be done in a short space of time, and if you also consider what has been said by the coaches and players alike regarding the training standards of the club pre and post Neeld, it is obvious that the club faced an uphill battle just to get the players at an AFL fitness level.

I also find it unlikely that successful AFL types like Neil Craig and Dave Misson would continue in their work, given they are obviously well regarded in the league and would be sort after, if Neeld was an absolute basketcase and they felt they were wasting their time.

Just because some on here are getting annoyed that we are still losing does not mean that Neeld has gone about things the wrong way. Out of the players that have recently left the club, only Moloney and Petterd have been playing regular games. Stefan Martin is still getting injured and playing as above average athlete with below average skills. And for those criticising the game style being implemented, watch the Craig report video, and the passage of play highlighted as the way the team wants to play makes me think of teams like Sydney and St Kilda (under Ross Lyon), who constantly harass and pressure the opposition to win the ball.

All of us here are naive, myself included, about what is actually happening in the club. None of us have all the information, and to just say "sack the coach" based on perception while also disregarding relevant information is rediculous.

Edited May 8, 2013 by pm24

[old55 23,394]

I've seen this "(because) we are still losing" posted by a number of the "stay the course" advocates. My concern is not that we are still losing - I fully expected us to be losing more than we're winning but I didn't expect us to be pantsed by PA, murdered, buried, dug up, poisoned, drowned and set fire to by Essendon, mangled by out of form West Coast, struggle for 3 quarters against GWS, and lose convincingly to totally horrible Brisbane. The GWS and Carlton results are the only ones that I can say fell with in my expected range of outcomes and they were at the very bottom of my expectations - but have been at the very top of our achievements. What I expected doesn't mean a jot, but what the FD expected does and I reckon they expected pretty much the same as me. They were wrong!

Just because some on here are getting annoyed that we are still losing does not mean that Neeld has gone about things the wrong way.

[hardtack 10,514]

Membership numbers are supposed to grow not shrink, ours are shrinking. There are more people living in Victoria than two years ago, but instead of us picking up our share of the new settlers we are in fact giving up those we already had. No business survives unless it continues to grow, costs are up, footballers in our case earn more, staff costs are increasing and it simply costs more to run a business.

We are falling further behind and we will continue to do so until we are able to show we are capable of progressing up the ladder or at least running the club professionally.

I understand that RF, but if you look at the numbers, 2012 and 2013 are pretty much the same - the only comparison figures I could find in the Membership 2013 thread were from March and they were 26, 791 in 2012 against 26, 751 in 2013 (40 members difference)... does anyone have something more recent? So, during the course of Neeld's placement there has not been much of a change.

However, if you compare 2011 and 2012, there is a big dip of something in the order of 1,300 at the same time (maybe 4 days difference between when the figures were taken). This was the year when Bailey was dumped as coach, so it is fair to assume (at least I think so) that this dip reflected the destabilisation Bailey's sacking caused, and the disenchantment felt by the member base. So, I would think carefully before putting Neeld out to pasture.

Edited May 8, 2013 by hardtack

[bing181 9,193]

Just putting this here, seems the appropriate place. No idea of its accuracy or not, just posting the link:

http://ynotmedia.wordpress.com/2013/05/08/paul-roos-a-demon/

[DemonOX 8,783]

Neeld seems to be confident based on what he said below:

Neeld said there was a glimpse of Melbourne’s future displayed against Carlton last round.

“Certainly, at times, there were snapshots of the way that we’re moving our football club forward – absolutely no question,” he said.

“There was a snapshot there – let’s enjoy the journey and get on board with these young boys.

“The boys who took the field on the weekend, I’ve got a feeling that they’re going to be around for quite a while.”

Hope he is right. TBH i dont want another coach I want this guy to succeed, which I am sure we all do.

[DemonOX 8,783]

Just putting this here, seems the appropriate place. No idea of its accuracy or not, just posting the link:

http://ynotmedia.wordpress.com/2013/05/08/paul-roos-a-demon/

Wow this is big news if its true.

Where did you find this Bing181?

[Satyriconhome 10,715]

Neeld seems to be confident based on what he said below:

Neeld said there was a glimpse of Melbourne’s future displayed against Carlton last round.

“Certainly, at times, there were snapshots of the way that we’re moving our football club forward – absolutely no question,” he said.

“There was a snapshot there – let’s enjoy the journey and get on board with these young boys.

“The boys who took the field on the weekend, I’ve got a feeling that they’re going to be around for quite a while.”

Hope he is right. TBH i dont want another coach I want this guy to succeed, which I am sure we all do.

Just putting this here, seems the appropriate place. No idea of its accuracy or not, just posting the link:

http://ynotmedia.wordpress.com/2013/05/08/paul-roos-a-demon/

Bing........Gee you did a good job of typing it up and/or finding it......it is on a Public Forum so if it wasn't you it was probably Paul Roos that wrote it....or maybe Caroline Wilson

DemonOX.....your assertion is incorrect, not everybody on here wants Neeld to succeed, some posters are willing him to fail, to justify their rather pathetic stance

Edited May 8, 2013 by Satyriconhome

[McQueen 17,864]

Just putting this here, seems the appropriate place. No idea of its accuracy or not, just posting the link:

http://ynotmedia.wordpress.com/2013/05/08/paul-roos-a-demon/

If there was any validity to it whatsoever the big media would be all over it with wet undies.

Wishful thinking.

[bing181 9,193]

Wow this is big news if its true.

Where did you find this Bing181?

Tony Sheahan ‏@TonySheahan1h

PAUL ROOS; A DEMON??? http://wp.me/p2JmwG-10 via @wordpressdotcom

Retweeted by Wayne Ludbey.

[iv'a worn smith 1,979]

If there was any validity to it whatsoever the big media would be all over it with wet undies.

Wishful thinking.

Love it, can I use it McQueen? Or I could stick to all over it like a fat kid on a smartie.

[DemonOX 8,783]

DemonOX.....your assertion is incorrect, not everybody on here wants Neeld to succeed, some posters are willing him to fail, to justify their rather pathetic stance

I was more meaning that if he is successful then that would mean that the Dees are WINNING which is what we all want. Forget posters pathetic stances they will go if we win.

[Tricky 341]

Just putting this here, seems the appropriate place. No idea of its accuracy or not, just posting the link:

http://ynotmedia.wordpress.com/2013/05/08/paul-roos-a-demon/

Classic.

[McQueen 17,864]

Love it, can I use it McQueen? Or I could stick to all over it like a fat kid on a smartie.

Yeah, knock yourself out mate.

Cheif footy writer for The Age undies though...?

[bing181 9,193]

If there was any validity to it whatsoever the big media would be all over it with wet undies.

Probably/perhaps. As I said, just posted, nothing more.

FWIW, it was retweeted by Wayne Ludbey, who is Sam Stynes brother. Which doesn't necessarily make it more credible, though he's generally a pretty reliable tweeter. He was the one who referred to Spargo as "The Sieve".

[pm24 451]

So Tony Sheahan is Mike Sheahan's son. Not sure if that makes me feel like I should give his wordpress article more or less credibility....

Edited May 8, 2013 by pm24

[Daz's Dee's 113]

Just putting this here, seems the appropriate place. No idea of its accuracy or not, just posting the link:

http://ynotmedia.wordpress.com/2013/05/08/paul-roos-a-demon/

Sounds plausible that the afl are very concerned and needing to help BUT I just can't see Paul Roos putting his reputation not to mention the stress for himself and family on the line for the melbourne football club. Had we not burnt sheedy he would have been the ideal candidate!

[iv'a worn smith 1,979]

The thot plickens

[Dr John Dee 1,057]

Just putting this here, seems the appropriate place. No idea of its accuracy or not, just posting the link:

http://ynotmedia.wordpress.com/2013/05/08/paul-roos-a-demon/

'fledgling club'? Wonder what that makes all those other clubs that aren't 150 years old.

[Chook 15,012]

That source seems less credible than Wikipedia, so I'm not holding my breath on Paul Roos becoming our coach. I'd support it, but he's one of the only coaches I'd be prepared to axe Neeld for.

[PJ_12345 1,098]

The thot plickens

Ps, intended typo?

Edited May 8, 2013 by PJ_12345

[DEE fence 5,004]

8 months ago, we employed a guy with outstanding credentials. He had a great name within the profession, his references were glowing and his previous and demonstrated results, outstanding. We were absolutely rapt we could land a candidate that we thought would have been able to name his own price and get a job with a much larger firm.

Within 4 months of being with us and despite the fact we bent over backwards to vary our practices and processes, he is gone. His productivity was minimal, he had an adverse affect on employee morale, upset a number of clients with his gung ho demeanour and the revenue he generated was well below budget. So what happened? Maybe it was our fault. Maybe we did not provide a working environment to his liking, maybe we didn't provide him with a vision he could share.

That accepted, we believe he just held that his way was the only way. He was not flexible enough to adapt to our way of doing business. That we had to cut him loose, did negatively affect our business, but that was short term.

We are back tracking where we should be. His replacement does not have as high a profile, but their results are 65% better already, than the bloke we thought was a gun. The staff are much happier and our workplace is a much nicer place to be.

Things like this happen and it is regrettable, but we run a business and we had to fix what was an obvious problem. These things happen unfortunately, in spite of our best intentions.

It's funny that you have as your pseudonym IW-S, I can tell you as a fact that IW-S was an ordinary coach in complete contrast to his playing days because he was too soft on the players. This is compared to the days as a player when he belted one of his own team for not getting up off the deck quick enough after he was hit. As a coach he was too gentle and didn't deliver the tough message, the only time in his life I think that he didn't tell it like it is. This is Mick Malthouses midas touch, he knew when to give the players a cuddle or a rocket for motivation. He was much better as a chairman of selectors when he could use his brain to make the tough call on who to start and who to play in the twos (in fierce discussion with Smith and others).

The football club is not a business, it's some sort of barmy hybrid, we are where the coach said we would be, it is clear why, we have a very weak midfield, it needs time - the budget/staff morale issue as you put it has not had the case conclusively made. We needed the change to the style, if we lose two more players its not the end of the world. Anyway it is clear we have yea and nay pretty firmly entrenched, we'll see.

As for the zone, when it works it creates huge pressure, and on the turn over you have lots of players free for a rebound offensive effort. That said it takes truckload of fitness and it maybe a tactic that should be turned on and off so the team has some legs left for the end of the day, a zone executed poorly welllll yes you do lose by a bit. I've played against and for a zone and I know it takes serious match practise to get right. Whether it will work for us I don't know but I'm not going to hang Neeld for trying something.

[simma02 53]

Membership numbers are supposed to grow not shrink, ours are shrinking. There are more people living in Victoria than two years ago, but instead of us picking up our share of the new settlers we are in fact giving up those we already had. No business survives unless it continues to grow, costs are up, footballers in our case earn more, staff costs are increasing and it simply costs more to run a business.

We are falling further behind and we will continue to do so until we are able to show we are capable of progressing up the ladder or at least running the club professionally.

And numbers will continue to fall as long as we are a rabble.... Time we kicked out all the people holding this club back and replace them with Professionals who are capable of moving the club forward.

Edited May 8, 2013 by simma02