There is no doubt in my mind that it is time that McLardy fell on his pitchfork.

He seems a good man who means well.

He just ain't up to it.

Mind you that sort of fits in with the players and the coaches.

Sad really

However, if we did nothing wrong, why not just tell the WHOLE truth.

For the same reason we don't give out the results of the pre-season 3 km time trial, why we have closed training sessions, and why the injury list is always a bit of a furphy: we don't want other teams to know what we've been doing, what we've been taking, and who we've been working with.

This wasn't originally about who was working with Dank. It was - and primarily still is - about who was taking illegal substances. If Essendon are penalised here, it won't be for working with Dank, it'll be for specific breaches of the ASADA code. We addressed all that back in February, and didn't (and don't) need to go further.

It's a competitive sport. Even off the field.

For the same reason we don't give out the results of the pre-season 3 km time trial, why we have closed training sessions, and why the injury list is always a bit of a furphy: we don't want other teams to know what we've been doing, what we've been taking, and who we've been working with.

This wasn't originally about who was working with Dank. It was - and primarily still is - about who was taking illegal substances. If Essendon are penalised here, it won't be for working with Dank, it'll be for specific breaches of the ASADA code. We addressed all that back in February, and didn't (and don't) need to go further.

It's a competitive sport. Even off the field.

No mate, you are really kidding yourself if you believe this. There was no competitive advantage to be gained here it was more people covering their backs and hoping everything would go away. How stupid.

Here comes all the "brave" Melbourne supporters calling for admin sackings again when our backs are against the wall...

How about we wait and see how this unfolds before unleashing another Demonland lynch mob. Sick of this kind of mentality.

"The Board is the first to acknowledge that today the Club as a whole, both on and off the field, has not met the goals we set 4 years ago. This is unacceptable and must be addressed."

In which world do you live in where Presidents, CEOs and boards aren't held accountable for not reaching targets?

The ex-CEO of Electronic Arts (I am a shareholder) resigned a few weeks back for what he says is "accountability": he was holding himself accountable for the company's inability to reach financial targets in his time as CEO, 2007-2013.

A "weak" supporter is not one that demands change: it's one that DOESN'T demand change.

"The Board is the first to acknowledge that today the Club as a whole, both on and off the field, has not met the goals we set 4 years ago. This is unacceptable and must be addressed."

In which world do you live in where Presidents, CEOs and boards aren't held accountable for not reaching targets?

The ex-CEO of Electronic Arts (I am a shareholder) resigned a few weeks back for what he says is "accountability": he was holding himself accountable for the company's inability to reach financial targets in his time as CEO, 2007-2013.

A "weak" supporter is not one that demands change: it's one that DOESN'T demand change.

No. A weak supporter is one that demands change before all the facts are known.

If this whole thing is proven to be as bad as is being made out then I'll be on board with you guys calling for a spill, but I'm just trying to not jump too early.

I was condemned early for calling him incompetent. Understand he has the very best intentions but was never our man. More bloodletting to come soon.

These are the things that have gone to poo that could have been influenced by the board

• Tanking coming up in the manner in which it did; this happened because we had the wrong mix of people in our footy department
• 186
• Sacking Dean Bailey over the phone
• EnergyWatch
• Sacking Cam Schwab, then extending his contract for another 3 years(!), then sacking him for some fluff reason (right course of action, but years too late and for the wrong reasons).
• Hiring Mark Neeld on the say-so of Garry Lyon, on the say-so of Mick Malthouse
• This latest epic Dank disaster

I excuse them for the Jurrah and racism disasters. The rest happened under their direct line of influence. So what that they're not the ones pulling on the jumper or coaching the side or whatever? They're the highest level of management at the club. They are charged with making sure the right people are in the right senior management position. Hardly a thing has gone right under their watch, I can't understand why you can't see that they are responsible. They are the the highest level of management at the club - they must take responsibility!

The thought of this group being the group charged with getting us out of this endless marsh of faeces terrifies me.

186 and EnergyWatch... you have to be kidding me.

Please tell me how a group, employed for running the business aspect of the club - such as the financials (not the day-to-day activities, have:

1) Influenced the 186 loss against Geelong (I guess the next board we elect we better hope they can get us out of debt and be prepared to chuck on the footy boots and play, because getting rid of the coach [which is what most supporters wanted isnt good enough])

2) Influence EnergyWatch (I guess the next board we elect we better hope they have a crystal ball because apparently axing the sponsor and condeming his reponsibilities straight away [more than Victory did] isnt good enough)

I respect arguments that the buck has to stop somewhere but for blaming them on issues such as these is a crock.

No mate, you are really kidding yourself if you believe this. There was no competitive advantage to be gained here it was more people covering their backs and hoping everything would go away. How stupid.

Agree.

Downplaying the involvement of our club, whether it be players or doctors, directly or indirectly, was dishonest and foolish. Very poor judgement.

Nice guy who's out of his depth.

It's over Don.

186 and EnergyWatch... you have to be kidding me.

Please tell me how a group, employed for running the business aspect of the club - such as the financials (not the day-to-day activities, have:

1) Influenced the 186 loss against Geelong (I guess the next board we elect we better hope they can get us out of debt and be prepared to chuck on the footy boots and play, because getting rid of the coach [which is what most supporters wanted isnt good enough])

2) Influence EnergyWatch (I guess the next board we elect we better hope they have a crystal ball because apparently axing the sponsor and condeming his reponsibilities straight away [more than Victory did] isnt good enough)

I respect arguments that the buck has to stop somewhere but for blaming them on issues such as these is a crock.

Wow, we really have to explain this all again?

The Admin/Board of the club sets the culture & standards for the entire place. The rift between them and the FD and allowing Schwab to micro-manage the FD, failing to listen to the senior players when they were specifically asked TWICE to raise their issues contributed to 186.

Failing to do their due diligence on EW wouldn't have led them to see Polis for the racist [censored] he is but would have led them to see it was unlikely he would ever be able to pay up and had trouble running a successful business that kept it's nose clean (and I don't give a stuff about Victory, Storm, MCG or whoever else he may have sponsored, I don't follow them I follow the MFC). (I'd still like to know how Polis' FB page became public though and why it was released when it was, no-one's explained that as yet and none of the "journo's" have revealed where their tip-off came from).

186 and EnergyWatch... you have to be kidding me.

Please tell me how a group, employed for running the business aspect of the club - such as the financials (not the day-to-day activities, have:

1) Influenced the 186 loss against Geelong (I guess the next board we elect we better hope they can get us out of debt and be prepared to chuck on the footy boots and play, because getting rid of the coach [which is what most supporters wanted isnt good enough])

2) Influence EnergyWatch (I guess the next board we elect we better hope they have a crystal ball because apparently axing the sponsor and condeming his reponsibilities straight away [more than Victory did] isnt good enough)

I respect arguments that the buck has to stop somewhere but for blaming them on issues such as these is a crock.

The main business of the club is football, everything else is a means to supporting the winning of football games leading to the ultimate win, a premiership.

The board have put people in place who were incompetent, was going to say more on this but 'Gonzo' has spelt it out pretty well in his post above.

The only other thing I will add on EnergyWatch is I believed at the time and still do that the club and CEO in particular needed a good news story after the happenings around the Geelong game and resultant fallout. They were more interested in parading their big new sponsor on the footy show than on doing any due diligence. A lot on here knew that it didn't add up at the time, nothing to do with the racist stuff but there was no way known EnergyWatch could sustain their level of sponsorships, our club and CEO turned a blind eye for a short term PR advantage.

Wow, we really have to explain this all again?

The Admin/Board of the club sets the culture & standards for the entire place. The rift between them and the FD and allowing Schwab to micro-manage the FD, failing to listen to the senior players when they were specifically asked TWICE to raise their issues contributed to 186.

Failing to do their due diligence on EW wouldn't have led them to see Polis for the racist [censored] he is but would have led them to see it was unlikely he would ever be able to pay up and had trouble running a successful business that kept it's nose clean (and I don't give a stuff about Victory, Storm, MCG or whoever else he may have sponsored, I don't follow them I follow the MFC). (I'd still like to know how Polis' FB page became public though and why it was released when it was, no-one's explained that as yet and none of the "journo's" have revealed where their tip-off came from).

Everyone here seems to be an expert on organisational culture.

No, the board is not responsible for all the culture of organisations. It is created through a number of things, including foundation values, organisational actors (employees, senior players), events (such as B&F...)...... you cannot pin an organisation's culture on a board or any single group.

I have posted a detailed summary of organisational culture, factors and analysis in another thread.

The main business of the club is football, everything else is a means to supporting the winning of football games leading to the ultimate win, a premiership.

The board have put people in place who were incompetent, was going to say more on this but 'Gonzo' has spelt it out pretty well in his post above.

The only other thing I will add on EnergyWatch is I believed at the time and still do that the club and CEO in particular needed a good news story after the happenings around the Geelong game and resultant fallout. They were more interested in parading their big new sponsor on the footy show than on doing any due diligence. A lot on here knew that it didn't add up at the time, nothing to do with the racist stuff but there was no way known EnergyWatch could sustain their level of sponsorships, our club and CEO turned a blind eye for a short term PR advantage.

I guess the failure of EW also extends to Victory and Storm.

I would agree with you if it was just one team, but the fact that all three failed their due dilligence is a crock. I think alot of people here are getting mixed between what we know now and what we knew back then.

And I believe the correct due dillegence was taken, shown by other teams from other codes also taking them as a sponsor.

Previously I have been supportive of the Don and what he has done but with this morning news my opinion on Don Mclardy as the Chairperson has changed, I believe his position is now untenable and he must stand down.

Everyone here seems to be an expert on organisational culture.

No, the board is not responsible for all the culture of organisations. It is created through a number of things, including foundation values, organisational actors (employees, senior players), events (such as B&F...)...... you cannot pin an organisation's culture on a board or any single group.

I have posted a detailed summary of organisational culture, factors and analysis in another thread.

I disagree, they are the leadership of the club and are responsible for the organisational culture. They are not the only ones who contribute to it but they are the key ones who can influence it especially through the appointments and decisions they make.

Even if this were not the case, I have detailed other reasons on why they are culpable in the issues you referred to.

I guess the failure of EW also extends to Victory and Storm.

I would agree with you if it was just one team, but the fact that all three failed their due dilligence is a crock. I think alot of people here are getting mixed between what we know now and what we knew back then.

And I believe the correct due dillegence was taken, shown by other teams from other codes also taking them as a sponsor.

The other teams from other codes failed to do heir due diligence also - but I don't support them I support the MFC so couldn't give a stuff about that.

Here comes all the "brave" Melbourne supporters calling for admin sackings again when our backs are against the wall...

How about we wait and see how this unfolds before unleashing another Demonland lynch mob. Sick of this kind of mentality.

You are entitled to be "sick of this kind of mentality" all you want... I for one have waited long enough !!!! Sorry ifyou take this personally..... it is not that way intended...

Previously I have been supportive of the Don and what he has done but with this morning news my opinion on Don Mclardy as the Chairperson has changed, I believe his position is now untenable and he must stand down.

I as well - I think he is a good man with good intentions who was never meant to lead the club and is now in over his head. After the decision to sack Schwab I thought He deserved some time but after viewing his performance in that press conference I thought it was only a matter of when not if. With this new scandal erupting and the litany of disasters under this administration he surely would have to go very very soon. Freeman was allegedly brought in as a replacement for later in the year it seems he'll be filling those shoes sooner rather than later.

CEO wasn't enough blood for you?

Tanking was pre-McLardy, drugs is a very unproven situation currently, we were in the black last year, winning games will fix the brand, pretty sure the board doesn't play OR coach.

Pathetic effort from "supporters" to eat their own so quickly.

Winning Games ????Then it will take a bloody long time to "fix the brand" YOU are far too soft in your approach as most of your posts indicate to me...

I as well - I think he is a good man with good intentions who was never meant to lead the club and is now in over his head. After the decision to sack Schwab I thought He deserved some time but after viewing his performance in that press conference I thought it was only a matter of when not if. With this new scandal erupting and the litany of disasters under this administration he surely would have to go very very soon. Freeman was allegedly brought in as a replacement for later in the year it seems he'll be filling those shoes sooner rather than later.

That's what I cannot fathom. My reading of the situation is that Don never wanted to be Prez, hence his cajole of Jimmy in the first place. What defies belief is that he hasn't given up the Presidency sooner. It's had to get to a dire position before he and the board seem to have acted. I'd also like to know who brought Freeman in. Was it DM or another powerbroker?

Perhaps, the line of thinking was to ensure stability within the club, in the wake of Jimmy's passing, but the mantle should have been passed by now.

This is what I'm trying to say.

Stop getting sucked in, take a breath, have a bex and a lie down, and wait for the facts.

Then we'll deal with it.

Have a BEX ????? Is that still a "legal" drug... Must check with Dank or The Club Doctor.... Some of this stuff is becoming quite amusing in a strange way....

have we released a stament yet? Or are the muppets that run our club still locked in an emergency meeting

Wel,l we got rid of "miss Piggy" Schwab.... Now it's "Kermit The Frog" McClardy's time to "exit Stage Left" it seems...

I wonder if this is why Schwab looked relieved at the press conference? I wonder if the club was holding onto him until this came out so he could take the heat? His firing was only 9 days before the story broke. Makes you wonder doesn't it.

I as well - I think he is a good man with good intentions who was never meant to lead the club and is now in over his head. After the decision to sack Schwab I thought He deserved some time but after viewing his performance in that press conference I thought it was only a matter of when not if. With this new scandal erupting and the litany of disasters under this administration he surely would have to go very very soon. Freeman was allegedly brought in as a replacement for later in the year it seems he'll be filling those shoes sooner rather than later.

If I was Don I would stand down as President, not because I think he is guilty of anything far from it but at some point with the weight of scandal and drama coming out of the club you need to look at doing what is right for the club.

If it was me I would call a press conference dress up in my civvies with no Club logo or paraphernalia and announce my stepping down from the board and chair once declared, proceed to give my honest and unfettered views on the AFL, media and sundry. Go out with a bang a big FU to all and walk out lmao.

But thats just me

Really, we consistently turn on our own?

Like when we raised millions to cover our debts? like when we stuck by the club through 7 years of 'list development' that has netted us nothing but wasted draft picks? like we got through 186 and 148 and tanking allegations and sponsorship dramas and racism allegations and Jurrah and Scully and the death of our beloved president?

Like how we all fail to truly support a club that has failed miserably on so many fronts for so long?

Because I don't see anybody here demanding anything unreasonable, nobody is microwaving their membership, dumping chicken [censored] at AAMI Park. We want to be successful, we want to stop being so poorly handled, dragged through the mud every week, and then perform pathetically on the field.

If you don't want something better for our club than what is happening right now, in front of you, than you are weak. Because seeing something wrong and doing nothing, is worse of all.

Totally Agree ..... Sensible Reply to a "weak" post ..