How do you fix this?

[PJ_12345 1,098]

Northey, Balme and Daniher all took Melbourne into Prelim finals and Grand finals

Get a proper coach and we will be fine

it starts and ends with the coach. Simple as that.

First step is to not let Garry Lyon anywhere near the coaching selection process

Poppy [censored].

Last time I checked MN wasn't running around on the ground, going out on the [censored] during the week and getting in a tussle with team mates and laughing in a hot tub.

MN is a big part of the equation, but to blame him for 100% of the poor performance is rubbish.

People can say they are putting in no effort because of MN but for me that's pathetic. They need to take responsibility of their own actions.

I hate my boss like the next guy, but I put in 100% effort in what I do because that's what I get paid for... You'd think they would do the same and also because their club is struggling

Edited May 26, 2013 by PJ_12345

[Fat Tony 5,231]

Sack Neeld and replace him with the most attacking, positive and experimental assistant at the club.

Play Blease and Toumpas in the backline. Try Frawley on the ball. Play Fitzy. Play Howe in the forward line.

Hire an attacking coach that will take the job on a two-year deal and don’t sell the farm to pay him. (We don’t have the money.)

Invest heavily in the recruiting department.

Lobby the AFL to change the system to give salary cap concessions to clubs on the bottom of the ladder and give us a better draw from a commercial standpoint.

[Adam The God 30,261]

Sack the Coach tonight.

Bring in the meanest toughest [censored] of a coach we can find as an interim before we get Roos for next year.

Get them up at 4am swimming in the bay in the morning, and dragging tyres up hills in the afternoon, until they learn the meaning,of gut busting effort over 4 quarters .

Sellar, Bail Jamar and a few others shouldn't get a game for the rest of the year.

Bring in the best VFL performers, as we must reward good form , so Fitzy, and Pedo should come in this week.

We already did that and it fractured the playing group even further. We need someone who can get the balance right. Dish out the tough love when required, but gain the respect of the players and reward the good at the same time.

[demonique 314]

We have to start showing something to attract players or attract interest in the club.

At the moment there is a smell of total incompetence and weakness about the club at every level.

It is a rotting corpse of a club. It's the culmination of decades of total mismanagement

And it is now all falling apart to the point where the AfL has to step in to save what is the founding team of football !!

Very poor look for the code if we go down the pan!! While they prop up GWS !!

[Rhino Richards 1,467]

When you look at MFC, asking how you fix is secondary to clearly identifying all the problems. By God, there seem so many issues.

While I want Neeld gone ( and have so since round 1), the issue of finding a capable and competent replacement won't be easy. This should not stop Neeld be sacked tomorrow.

The bigger issue at MFC is leadership....At all levels. IMO the 4 most important positions at a Club are President, CEO, Coach and Captain.

Now we won't get a good coach until there is a competent full time CEO appointment. And we won't get a competent CEO until a functional and energised Board is in place.

The soilution to the black hole MFC has dug itself is up to the AFL and how much they fear such a squalid outfit like MFC compromise the integrity of the competition. If they are prepared to right our ship then great

IMO, the only reasonable path forward is the AFL to install a team of commissioners to run MFC (replace some or all of the Board) and then drive a revitalisation of the Club from there. As a starter would the AFL make it enticing for Jackson to take to role for 18 months to handover to a full time CEO then.

The league must move promptly and then it needs to providing backing an security for a new coach ASAP. A top appointment with an early announcement may the best way to retain what few quality players we have.

It's a really hard and difficult turnaround and MFC is not capable on its own to do it.

Edited May 26, 2013 by Rhino Richards

[stevethemanjordan 6,952]

^^^

I don't like the guy, but he makes a point.

[stevethemanjordan 6,952]

No wholesale changes to the list for mine. Clear off the players who are clearly a long way outside the best 22 as per normal; give the rest the benefit of the doubt. I don't know how you could possibly make objective decisions on these players at the moment; they are all playing with so little energy that you just couldn't tell where they are really at.

It's all in the players' brains IMO. It may be that Neeld can coach - doubtful - but it looks to me that there is just no getting them out of this hole they are in, and it will take a major shake up to do so. I expect a new coach to have a big psychological boosting effect on our players, increase the moral and get them playing with spirit again. From there we can truly start the rebuild, without going back to ground zero yet again.

Couldn't disagree more.

Under two coaches, this list has been belted by 186 points and 145 or whatever it was. Neeld needs to go, and the list needs a huge turnover again. To get it right this time, (this is where I agree with Rhino), the club or AFL needs to employ a coaching team with a proven record of success. Our recruiting department needs to be beefed up and the list needs to be completely stripped.

Nasher, how you believe a new coach will magically change the conditioned and ingrained patterns of play, habits and shocking skills that the majority of our list display is beyond me. It is a combination of us having the worst list in the AFL and being coached by someone who is not up to scratch.

A rebuild from the top down as Rhino suggests is the only way this club has any chance of surviving let alone improving.

[Fat Tony 5,231]

When you look at MFC, asking how you fix is secondary to clearly identifying all the problems. By God, there seem so many issues.

......

Rhino, whilst I agree with you that we need a change in leadership, I don't see the AFL stepping in being the answer. The AFL needs to reduce the imbalance between the rich and the poor clubs. This has to be our focus if we are going to survive. We need an advocate to fight the AFL for a fairer go and this won't occur with an AFL insider.

[DemonFrog 1,354]

Most people's step 1 seems to be sack Neeld and get a better coach.

Let's for the moment assume that, first, a better coach exists, and second, that coach agrees to come to Melbourne.

What happens next? What is step 2? Do we commence a total clean out of the list, again? If not, and we try to work with what we've got, what has to be done? More emphasis on running? Fitness? Clearances? Marking? Tackling?

Is it a case of, we have the list, we just need a decent coach to make it work? If so, what is Neeld not doing that a new coach will do? If not, what do we need to target?

In your minds, what exactly does a potential new coach need to do?

Then we get rid of the President, Board and Recruitment Staff!

As if only the coach goes and other decision makers stay, MFC will be exactly where it is now, STUFFED!

I for one would be prepared to donate towards the payout of the current coach. But not at this stage towards the recruitment of new player as the current leadership and decision makers will only balls it up again and again and again!

That question is simple to answer a compent coach will WIN and the current coach only makes excuses.

A new coach as with any coach needs to win and show that the team is continually improving.

Please give me a coach I can respect and support.

[PJ_12345 1,098]

Look at what Chris Dawes has said:

"EFFORT SHOULDN'T NEED TO BE COACHED AT AFL LEVEL"

The first thing that needs to be cleaned out is those lazy excuses for players. What a lazy bunch of crunts.

What grinds my gears the most.

Basic stuff such as smothering, shepherding, spreading, being the first first in and first out in a contest, and running - just the lack of running kills me the most. These guys are getting paid on average (across the AFL) $300,000 a year...

I know a rugby team in NSW made their players work as a laborer for one day of the week - maybe that type of program should be brought in for a month, but you'd think the fact that their laziness is going to cost 2 coaches their job, probably theirs, and ruin their club would be incentive enough.

[Rhino Richards 1,467]

Rhino, whilst I agree with you that we need a change in leadership, I don't see the AFL stepping in being the answer. The AFL needs to reduce the imbalance between the rich and the poor clubs. This has to be our focus if we are going to survive. We need an advocate to fight the AFL for a fairer go and this won't occur with an AFL insider.

It's too late Fats.

They have already installed Jackson.

It's matter of how far the AFL wants to go to resuscitate us.

And the very last thing MFC needs to do or can afford to do Is fight the AFL.

I'd leave the advocacy to others. Our problems at home have largely been home grown and we need to deal with those with the AFL's assistance.

[Straight Sets Simon 23,113]

What grinds my gears the most.

Basic stuff such as smothering, shepherding, spreading, being the first first in and first out in a contest, and running - just the lack of running kills me the most. These guys are getting paid on average (across the AFL) $300,000 a year...

That's it, we are calling for our team to do the basics right, the only problem is these are meant to be the best players in the country, not junior footballers.

When I watch the top teams play I feel as though I am watching a different league or division.

[Pommy Demon 0]

One thing we all need is Hope as supporters. Something to believe that we are on the right track to return to a better side. I had that during the pre-season. Sadly tonight there is no hope. I have lost it completely. I now have only fear. Fear that our Free agents and better players will be lured away from the duldrems of losing. Fear that a Future star like Jesse Hogan, will be poached by a bigger club. With the lure of Money, Fame and Finals. the Players and the coach are the problem, but the buck stops with the coach. Where are we compared to round 1 or to last year. Sadly we have gone backwards. So even though i thought Neeld was the right choice when he was selected it hasnt worked. For us to fix this, The Club Has to sell HOPE !! For there to be hope in 2014 the club needs to get a seasoned Coach like Gary Ayres and he needs to recruit a high profile player whom could be a captain. (Like Judd mould) with someone like Ayres he has seen all the talent in the VFL so hopefully could find another Barlow or Pods. We need to take a punt on someone like Dayle Garlett in the West whom at 19 has all the talent in the world but people are scared of his attitude. (its working for Tigers and Dustin Martin)We need to select the best talent whom is ready to go Such as Tom Boyd. WE need a total turn over on assitant coaches. They need the balls to poach a guy Like Jason Akermanis. Yes he is opinionated. But guess what hes a brownlow medalist, triple premishiership player. who tells it like it is. Hes coaching first year in the ovens and murray and is making a impact turning a wooden spooners to a top 5. If this all happened I would gain some hope and I so want hope cause of right now the club is dying a slow death.

One thing we all need is Hope as supporters. Something to believe that we are on the right track to return to a better side. I had that during the pre-season. Sadly tonight there is no hope. I have lost it completely. I now have only fear. Fear that our Free agents and better players will be lured away from the duldrems of losing. Fear that a Future star like Jesse Hogan, will be poached by a bigger club. With the lure of Money, Fame and Finals. the Players and the coach are the problem, but the buck stops with the coach. Where are we compared to round 1 or to last year. Sadly we have gone backwards. So even though i thought Neeld was the right choice when he was selected it hasnt worked. For us to fix this, The Club Has to sell HOPE !! For there to be hope in 2014 the club needs to get a seasoned Coach like Gary Ayres and he needs to recruit a high profile player whom could be a captain. (Like Judd mould) with someone like Ayres he has seen all the talent in the VFL so hopefully could find another Barlow or Pods. We need to take a punt on someone like Dayle Garlett in the West whom at 19 has all the talent in the world but people are scared of his attitude. (its working for Tigers and Dustin Martin)We need to select the best talent whom is ready to go Such as Tom Boyd. WE need a total turn over on assitant coaches. They need the balls to poach a guy Like Jason Akermanis. Yes he is opinionated. But guess what hes a brownlow medalist, triple premishiership player. who tells it like it is. Hes coaching first year in the ovens and murray and is making a impact turning a wooden spooners to a top 5. If this all happened I would gain some hope and I so want hope cause of right now the club is dying a slow death.

THIS!

However I would change ``could be`` to ``will be``. In 2014

We must move heaven and earth to recruit a 25-30yo from either Sydney or Geelong( IMO the clubs with the best cultures going round) to captain this club and grab every single player on the list, look them in the eye and say follow me!

......and get rid of Mark Neeld. Sorry Mark, not even the most pessimistic observer of football could have predicted we would regress from the abyss of 2012......sadly, we still can`t see the bottom!

[Fat Tony 5,231]

And the very last thing MFC needs to do or can afford to do Is fight the AFL.

I'd leave the advocacy to others. Our problems at home have largely been home grown and we need to deal with those with the AFL's assistance.

We can't afford to leave it to others. Our time is running out in light of the introduction of free agency and the expansion teams. It needs to be done cleverly and out of the media spotlight initially.

Demetriou is sympathetic to our plight.

[Rhino Richards 1,467]

We can't afford to leave it to others. Our time is running out in light of the introduction of free agency and the expansion teams. It needs to be done cleverly and out of the media spotlight initially.

Demetriou is sympathetic to our plight.

Fats,

The sand is at the bottom of the glass on free agency and expansion clubs.

MFC has shown over the past 15 years and certainly in the 5 years that we are unable to competently manage our affairs.

Vlad is not going to pour money and opportunities on incompetent operations.

The best way they can assist us is the key appointments I mentioned.

If the AFL wants a competitive 18 team comp then it needs to specifically bail MFC out of this mess.

This is greater than some warm and fuzzy advocacy issue. MFC problems are its own doing and needs more in the short term and a longer range re balancing of the comp.

That's why Jackson is there now.

[Biffen 12,943]

THIS!

However I would change ``could be`` to ``will be``. In 2014

We must move heaven and earth to recruit a 25-30yo from either Sydney or Geelong( IMO the clubs with the best cultures going round) to captain this club and grab every single player on the list, look them in the eye and say follow me!

......and get rid of Mark Neeld. Sorry Mark, not even the most pessimistic observer of football could have predicted we would regress from the abyss of 2012......sadly, we still can`t see the bottom!

Not really into importing captains or "culture".

It's a slap in the face of the leaders we have.

Just get a coach who has a sense of purpose and wants to make the team as efficient as possible.

Going through the process and going through the motions are the same thing and lead nowhere.

But they have to believe they can win.

There is no belief.

[DemonFrog 1,354]

When you look at MFC, asking how you fix is secondary to clearly identifying all the problems. By God, there seem so many issues.

While I want Neeld gone ( and have so since round 1), the issue of finding a capable and competent replacement won't be easy. This should not stop Neeld be sacked tomorrow.

The bigger issue at MFC is leadership....At all levels. IMO the 4 most important positions at a Club are President, CEO, Coach and Captain.

Now we won't get a good coach until there is a competent full time CEO appointment. And we won't get a competent CEO until a functional and energised Board is in place.

The soilution to the black hole MFC has dug itself is up to the AFL and how much they fear such a squalid outfit like MFC compromise the integrity of the competition. If they are prepared to right our ship then great

IMO, the only reasonable path forward is the AFL to install a team of commissioners to run MFC (replace some or all of the Board) and then drive a revitalisation of the Club from there. As a starter would the AFL make it enticing for Jackson to take to role for 18 months to handover to a full time CEO then.

The league must move promptly and then it needs to providing backing an security for a new coach ASAP. A top appointment with an early announcement may the best way to retain what few quality players we have.

It's a really hard and difficult turnaround and MFC is not capable on its own to do it.

Totally Agree!

[Guest]

You do act like a quince at times RR but I will agree with you here. We have been one step away from disaster since 1997. Get the AFL in there to fix it up properly this time.

[Sir Why You Little 37,046]

BRING THE AFL IN TOMORROW.

OPEN ALL THE DOORS

FCS

[Dr. Gonzo 24,221]

No wholesale changes to the list for mine. Clear off the players who are clearly a long way outside the best 22 as per normal; give the rest the benefit of the doubt. I don't know how you could possibly make objective decisions on these players at the moment; they are all playing with so little energy that you just couldn't tell where they are really at.

It's all in the players' brains IMO. It may be that Neeld can coach - doubtful - but it looks to me that there is just no getting them out of this hole they are in, and it will take a major shake up to do so. I expect a new coach to have a big psychological boosting effect on our players, increase the moral and get them playing with spirit again. From there we can truly start the rebuild, without going back to ground zero yet again.

My conservative estimate just going over the list quickly says there at least 15 (more likely 17-18 plus another couple who are too inexperienced to jude) players there who simply aren't good enough. We have 1 good midfielder, a couple passable another couple too young and about 23 flankers on the list. This is our problem, we need players who can run through the midfield and be effective we have an abundance of guys like Strauss, Blease, Davey, Rodan, Byrnes, Bail, Tapscotr, Grimes, Nicholson, Dunn, Sylvia etc who either aren't up to scratch or can play well as flankers but not midfielders. You need at least 8 good midfielders these days and closer to 14 to compete for top 4. We have 1 with potentially another 2 more if you want to count Viney and M Jones.

[Mono 455]

Peter Jackson said, when taking over the CEO job, the supporters must be wondering " what's going on".

We are none the wiser now; the question remains.

I don't believe that it is just the coach, but he is seriously delusional. God knows how this is turned around, but what Neeld is telling the members/public is seriously delusional.

For this lone he should go; but for who/what?

Nothing easy here, but its time for Jackson to start to act; at the very least to start communicating with the members.

[Dr. Gonzo 24,221]

Not really into importing captains or "culture".

It's a slap in the face of the leaders we have.

What leaders??? The only one we have is Jones.

[darkhorse72 1,920]

When you look at MFC, asking how you fix is secondary to clearly identifying all the problems. By God, there seem so many issues.

While I want Neeld gone ( and have so since round 1), the issue of finding a capable and competent replacement won't be easy. This should not stop Neeld be sacked tomorrow.

The bigger issue at MFC is leadership....At all levels. IMO the 4 most important positions at a Club are President, CEO, Coach and Captain.

Now we won't get a good coach until there is a competent full time CEO appointment. And we won't get a competent CEO until a functional and energised Board is in place.

The soilution to the black hole MFC has dug itself is up to the AFL and how much they fear such a squalid outfit like MFC compromise the integrity of the competition. If they are prepared to right our ship then great

IMO, the only reasonable path forward is the AFL to install a team of commissioners to run MFC (replace some or all of the Board) and then drive a revitalisation of the Club from there. As a starter would the AFL make it enticing for Jackson to take to role for 18 months to handover to a full time CEO then.

The league must move promptly and then it needs to providing backing an security for a new coach ASAP. A top appointment with an early announcement may the best way to retain what few quality players we have.

It's a really hard and difficult turnaround and MFC is not capable on its own to do it.

All sensible points. The AFL has stepped in whether its public or behind the screens. The process worked well for Sydney when they asked RDB to take over for a few years.

RDB shock up the MFC and MCC and bought a degree of professionalism to the Dee's in the 80's but it appears there has been little advancement since then in continuing that move to a highly professional organisation. At some point from the 90s we have stalled.

We need outside professionals to come in and move he club into the 21st century,

The one plus at the moment from 5 years ago is that at least we not in a massive amount of debt which could kill the club like Fitzroy. As long as the finances hold up we can survive this trough of cr%p.

As for Neeld being one who can coach us, watching the performance live today, we have not progressed and there is so much wrong with our team.

[Mono 455]

When you look at MFC, asking how you fix is secondary to clearly identifying all the problems. By God, there seem so many issues.

While I want Neeld gone ( and have so since round 1), the issue of finding a capable and competent replacement won't be easy. This should not stop Neeld be sacked tomorrow.

The bigger issue at MFC is leadership....At all levels. IMO the 4 most important positions at a Club are President, CEO, Coach and Captain.

Now we won't get a good coach until there is a competent full time CEO appointment. And we won't get a competent CEO until a functional and energised Board is in place.

The soilution to the black hole MFC has dug itself is up to the AFL and how much they fear such a squalid outfit like MFC compromise the integrity of the competition. If they are prepared to right our ship then great

IMO, the only reasonable path forward is the AFL to install a team of commissioners to run MFC (replace some or all of the Board) and then drive a revitalisation of the Club from there. As a starter would the AFL make it enticing for Jackson to take to role for 18 months to handover to a full time CEO then.

The league must move promptly and then it needs to providing backing an security for a new coach ASAP. A top appointment with an early announcement may the best way to retain what few quality players we have.

It's a really hard and difficult turnaround and MFC is not capable on its own to do it.

Gotta say I agree with much of this.

The problems are much bigger than the coach, but include the coach (who is seriously delusional).

Time for Jackson (and the AFL) to step up; tell the members "what the hell is going on".

[Diablo Deemon 220]

This board our administration our current coaching all need to be sacked.

Our club needs to be taken over by the AFL.

We have allowed this club to be run into oblivion all on the back of snake oil salesmen who only ever promised a false dawn.

I can't tolerate this slow death any longer I need to see action from somewhere.

We are that dead horse.

Edited May 26, 2013 by Diablo Deemon