Peter Jackson - On The Couch Monday 29th July, 2013

[Sir Why You Little 36,982]

I don't think PJ will mention the 50's at the next AGM either

[Adam The God 30,126]

Just watched the replay of ON THE COUCH. Loved Jackson's comments RE: Melbourne have too often looked to employ Melbourne people, rather than simply appointing the best people for the job. Thankfully someone said it. If anyone gets [censored] off with that comment, I want them as far away from our footy club as possible. Further, really enjoyed the mentality of getting the footy team right and the focus on the need to develop.

[dee-luded 2,959]

DL you and i having a beer and a tosted Ham Cheese & Tomato sanger away from the MCG are not going to change the fortunes of the club!!

When Checker & Smithy coached this Beast The MFC trained on the 'G 2-3 times a week.

They got stronger not suffocated.

Have you ever walked on the 'G midweek when she is empty???

that time was different & the supporters were allowed contact with the players into the rooms training nights, into the rooms to watch quietly 'game day' before, & after the games... the place felt like ours & felt like home...

It does not Now!

the supporters can't get next to the players race, & can't get into the rooms after the game let alone before.. its totally fragmented from whence it came.

... in the days of Smithy the people were less affluent & less articulate & less politically correct on game days & they yelled their pleasure & yelled their disdain for things that weren't good.

in short the people of the day were more to the point as supporters in the crowd, an honesty that kept players in check... & heads levelled.

WYL did you ever wonder why Smithy wore that plain old looking rain coat? instead of a swish jacket?

... today is all about status, & trying to elevate ones importance, & the realities & truth has become a victim of this pretense. this is a very big part of where we fall down as a club, & no doubt a large part of the worry that Roos would fear.

coaches can and have done their balls on these MFC Hooks, speared by the very trident they try to revive.

Edited July 29, 2013 by dee-luded

[dee-luded 2,959]

I'll re-enforce those 1st 2 lines of your post. Frank 'Checker' Hughes was an outsider. (Richmond FC.) Yes, it took an outsider to take the club by the scruff of the neck, and make some dramatic changes. Norm Smith, learnt his trade from Checker, then added his own personality and knowledge to build on what was in place. We know the rest.

The rot / cancer started the moment the board, falied to support Smith on an outspoken comment he made. The high and almightly board members forgot what got them there in the 1st place they wouldnt have known that this one descision was going to have a profound and lasting lecacy. To keep a strong culture and a strong team, they must stick together no matter what. They failed. Apart from a few glimmers of success and hope, we have not had a strong board, some have tried hard, but failed to bring the club and its supporters the success they crave.

Why do Sydney and Geelong have strong cultures? They are somewhat outcasts, Geelong (copped handbagers and living in 'sleep hollow') for as long as I can remember. Who is laughing now. A tightnit community that stick together, but they also got lucky and have a few outstanding board members directing the ship. The Swans, helped by the AFL, and had Barassi, Hafey and smart business people guiding the club. They had their backs to the wall and came out the other side as one club to to use as a role model. It wasnt easy for them, but they got there, we need to do the same, stick tight,and select the best available on the board. PJ is putting the building blocks in place.

We are somewhat like the Swans, we are starting from a long way back, like Checker, we have an outsider making changes that need to be made. he wont get it 100% correct , but the people selected for the board, should be able to fix any oversights missed and retify them.

This club wont die, we wont let it , the AFL wont let it, supporters of AFl footy wont let it. The best part, a lot of people (outsiders) will help where they can. It wont be fixed today or tomorrow, but it will be fixed. We need to hold our nerve and support the club. Its easy when its successful, the real test comes when its on its knees, right now we are on our knees. I will remain faithful and hopeful we are slowly bringing together the right personal to end the misery.

The football team learn from the board, (hard and uncompromising) in turn the team makes the board the finances to keep it solvent. Until they hang a sign on the door to our footy club that says "CLOSED' I'm a demon.

the swans were lucky they were starting from scratch base in a foreign land.. without any negatives pulling them down... we are like were on jupiter,,, @ the 'G', where the gravity is 20 times, and all advances are pulled back to ground by the overwhelming negating power.

Boards & Coaches make some changes, but the false environment soon erodes the positive changes back to where they started.

the people have to learn to understand how some of the things they crave, are the very things bringing us undone...

[Rogue 585]

"One of the things I would say about Melbourne, at the risk of upsetting a few people, is sometimes the club has gone back to too many people who have red and blue," he said.

"I know I'm being harsh ... but we have to get really good people."

I cannot agree more with this.

It's diametrically opposed to CS and his approach, talking up the fact that key MFC admin people support the Dees.

[Ron Burgundy 8,584]

Did he mention anything re coaching? Was anything said about Williams?

He said it's about finding an experienced coach who can build a decent footy culture.

And, in this regard, Choco Williams absolutely has to be our man. He'd be perfect for this club right now.

Paul Roos doesn't want the job IMO - it's been clear all along, just not to certain Demons wish-thinking supporters and certain media shock jocks trying to create headlines. We're the ugly nerd on the dance floor who keeps asking the hot chick for a dance, and refuses to accept that she doesn't want to go there.

[Jarka 767]

He said it's about finding an experienced coach who can build a decent footy culture.

And, in this regard, Choco Williams absolutely has to be our man. He'd be perfect for this club right now.

Paul Roos doesn't want the job IMO - it's been clear all along, just not to certain Demons wish-thinking supporters and certain media shock jocks trying to create headlines. We're the ugly nerd on the dance floor who keeps asking the hot chick for a dance, and refuses to accept that she doesn't want to go there.

No, you're looking at it the wrong way, it's a great opportunity for someone to become elevated to legendary status if they turn us around. We're a great challenge and now that the AFL are assisting the incoming coach won't be hamstrung by our past. What had to clear out the old guard for us to go forward. The fact that PJ is still in discussions with Roos is interesting, I'm pretty sure that wouldn't be the case if he really wasn't interested.

I do agree with you about Choco though, he would be great for our club.

Our next coach won't win us a premiership, he'll be responsible for changing the culture of the place and setting us up for a realistic attempt at regular finals appearances

[The Chazz 4,077]

Thought it was a great interview, and as someone mentioned earlier, it's disappointing that it didn't go for longer.

If nothing else, it brought a number of things out in to the public that we all unofficially knew, or had speculated. It will hopefully see us all on the same track for a number of the decisions that PJ will be making, and make us understand why he is making them.

I did get some satisfaction about the CC comments. He won't step foot back in the MFC. Regardless of your stance regarding him taking the fall for the "tanking" issue, the fact is, he significantly contributed to our club copping a $500k fine. If I did that to my employer, I'd be lucky to work in the same town again, let alone keep my job. Further on the tanking, the fact is that it has been investigated, we've been fined, we didn't take the AFL to court, we've got new people running the club, we move on.

While Roos is still my favourite to accept the coaching gig, I'm not as confident now as I was 2 weeks ago. However, there were reports on here a couple of weeks ago that Roos was looking at a 3 year deal, but we (could be just Demonlanders) wanted him for 5. PJ was very big on getting a coach in that could sell hope to members and sponsors, and in my view (reading between the lines), he'd have no problems having Roos sell hope for 3 years and getting things set up from a culture perspective, if that's what it took to get him there. Who knows, if there is enough onfield improvement at the end of the 3 years, it'll be a lot easier to convince him to take an extension.

I really liked the bit about getting the best people, rather than getting the best red & blue people. PJ's toughest job now, after making that comment, is to get the balance right. If former MFC greats, ie Neitz, wants to join the board, or if Schwarz wants to get involved in some way, he can't just pi$$ on these blokes, however, we as supporters should demand successful people, just as we demand success from our current players. For me, success is a number of things, but most importantly in the form of a premiership. What does Schwartz know about winning a premiership at AFL level? What does G Lyon? etc, etc. You can't have that attitude totally, but as I siad, it's finding tha tbalance. I've got no doubt it's that reason why Todd Viney is not going anywhere. Club great, didn't play in a premiership but helped Hawthorn win one, so has an idea of both what the MFC is/was like, and can compare it to what successful/power/premiership clubs are like.

The comments about the locker-room leadership really interested me. I am in the minority by saying that I supported Junior's forced retirement, but that's not saying I supported the way it eventuated. His body was struggling with the rigours of AFL footy, as was Cameron Bruce. I'm still not sure where I stand regarding the majority of those decisions, as I'm not sure how many of the players that we "finished up" early I would want leading the wave of kids that come in to the club over a 3 or 4 year period. Junior would've been fantastic, Paul Wheatley and Matty Whelan the same, but I'm not sure if I would've wanted the likes of Robbo, Yze and Bruce inlfuencing the way Morton, Watts, Trengove, etc went about things. These "senior" players were part of the playing group that PJ was talking about when he spoke about like in the past decade at the MFC. It could be through no fault of their own that they had that up-and-down culture, but the reality is that it was ingrained in these blokes in the '00 decade, and they didn't know any different. I guess my question to PJ, and a number of people on here, would be "would our last few years first round picks be better developed if the had those "leaders" guiding them?" It's crystal ball stuff, and I don't even think a hindsight call can be made.

Selling of hope is one of the things that we needed to hear, and perhaps it's an angle that will reignite Roos' fire. The next 3 years isn't about the win/loss column, but one of the immediate challenges in 2014 will be the percentage column. The new coach isn't required to implement a quick fix. The new coach's job will be judged on the way the playing group play. The culture needs to be fixed before I want to see results. Results will come when the players see the change. For someone like Roos, he might see that as something that can quite easily be changed during a 3 year contract, and if he were to leave at the end of it, he would know that while a flag may not be unveiled in that time, that he has left a signficant legacy that can be passed on to that "best" rookie coach.

Apologies for the long winded post.

[rjay 24,886]

He said it's about finding an experienced coach who can build a decent footy culture.

And, in this regard, Choco Williams absolutely has to be our man. He'd be perfect for this club right now.

Paul Roos doesn't want the job IMO - it's been clear all along, just not to certain Demons wish-thinking supporters and certain media shock jocks trying to create headlines. We're the ugly nerd on the dance floor who keeps asking the hot chick for a dance, and refuses to accept that she doesn't want to go there.

I'm not as sure 'Ron', I get the feeling it's all about 'Choco' and that's no the right way to build a culture. I do worry about how he exited PA and GWS. Of course I might be way off the mark.

Eade left Sydney a better place and even though the Dogs have gone down there is still a strong senior culture that is leading the way forward at that club.

[Swooper 255]

Full interview here (previous link to Fox Footy was on 5mins) -

[Matt Demon 1,418]

He said it's about finding an experienced coach who can build a decent footy culture.

And, in this regard, Choco Williams absolutely has to be our man. He'd be perfect for this club right now.

Paul Roos doesn't want the job IMO - it's been clear all along, just not to certain Demons wish-thinking supporters and certain media shock jocks trying to create headlines. We're the ugly nerd on the dance floor who keeps asking the hot chick for a dance, and refuses to accept that she doesn't want to go there.

I've seen plenty of fat ugly blokes with stunning wife's or girlfriend's, I don't know how it happens but it does.

[low down 21]

i'm right behind PJ, and can see the merit in all his points.

though while we're talking 'culture', i cant help noticing that we seem also to have a 'culture' - in recent times at least - of bringing in 'strong leaders' who immediately tell us how unprofessional and inept the previous administration was and that what is required is a complete 'rebuild' of whatever department is seen to be 'the problem' (with the ensuing requests for supporters to show patience while this occurs).

i have faith that this time the rebuild will work, but then I had faith in previous architects of major change too ...

[Sir Why You Little 36,982]

After watching that interview Paul Roos is still firmly in the sights of PJ. he even mentioned that the sydney culture as well as Geelong is where we need to get to.

The past is gone if Jackson sticks around.

[Straight Sets Simon 23,113]

i'm right behind PJ, and can see the merit in all his points.

though while we're talking 'culture', i cant help noticing that we seem also to have a 'culture' - in recent times at least - of bringing in 'strong leaders' who immediately tell us how unprofessional and inept the previous administration was and that what is required is a complete 'rebuild' of whatever department is seen to be 'the problem' (with the ensuing requests for supporters to show patience while this occurs).

This is the point I was making before, happy to have Jackson at the MFC but I'm not getting my hopes up as I have seen it all before.

[hardtack 10,514]

Hey P_Man. Hope you're well.

What he subscribes to is obvious. Do you really think that others haven't tried? I'm just less seduced by this bloke as many others on this forum.

Btw, we tried ruthless? Remember? Some precious ones on our list threatened to walk because it got too hot.

Never mind.

I tend to agree with this. How often do we see newcomers to the club being feted on these forums as being the next saviour and how often do we see those same people being pilloried on these forums as destroyers of the club, spuds, hacks or whatever, a relatively short time later?

I hope that PJ will be the person to turn this club's fortunes around, but I'm not going to get over-excited based on a few media performances and the sacking/moving on of a few people who we all pretty much believed/knew would be moved on by whoever took over the reigns. He is obviously highly qualified and he obviously knows how to sell himself - he did good things at Essendon - but the MFC are coming from a much more precarious position than Essendon had ever been in (until now, of course) and he has a herculean task ahead of him if he is to get us back into contention.

We need to temper our expectations and give it some time to see what direction he is taking us in before talking him up as the greatest thing since sliced bread.

Edited July 30, 2013 by hardtack

[hardtack 10,514]

I've seen plenty of fat ugly blokes with stunning wife's or girlfriend's, I don't know how it happens but it does.

Perhaps it's the fact that they are not judgemental, shallow and devoid of personality?

[rpfc 28,262]

Well, I taped it and watch it just before going to bed (slept well) and I also got a great deal of satisfaction out of the interview.

Jumbo has said he only has blame and no vision, and I understand the frustration in hearing these uncomfortable truths, but if you do not correctly diagnose the problem then you cannot treat it.

We have relied on where we have picked in the draft.

We have spurned experience in lieu of the high risk potential of mass youth.

Our culture has been near-enough-is-good-enough for my entire life as a Demons supporter.

My satisfaction comes from the words said and not the deeds done, so Jackson has to back up what he sees with action to do something about it.

We need to build a culture from scratch pretty much and, hopefully, that will entail a competent, proven Footy head, either Eade, Craig, Williams, or Roos as coach, and the targetting of some senior players from other clubs that can help our emerging players onfield.

I didn't want to hear a few things that he said, but I know that he is a proven Administrator in an AFL environment and that he knows best practice.

And he is right - we are fueled by nothing but hope at the minute.

Thankfully, it's a renewable resource.

[Geddy Lee 582]

Love D'landers in this thread bemoaning the issues with constantly employing past MFC people yet saying in other threads saying 'Let's get Junior back as a coach' and 'What's Neita doing these days?'.

[Machsy 2,858]

After watching that interview Paul Roos is still firmly in the sights of PJ. he even mentioned that the sydney culture as well as Geelong is where we need to get to.

The past is gone if Jackson sticks around.

You are the epitome of the messiah complex.

[mauriesy 7,261]

"Too much reliance on Red and Blue" doesn't mean you ignore everyone who used to play for the club. It just means you don't give them jobs ahead of more qualified outsiders.

A club that doesn't embrace its history and previous champions is not a club.

[Sir Why You Little 36,982]

You are the epitome of the messiah complex.

and who would you prefer to be the CEO?

Jackson did not waste one word in that interview

[Robot Devil 1,895]

When a captain of the Melbourne Football Club hoists the Premiership Cup is when I will say "Well done, you meant what you said."

[Machsy 2,858]

I'm a fan of PJ, but I've lost count of how many times I've seen you post something like that.

Each time it makes me laugh.

Where's your self-awareness?

[Bossdog 2,002]

and who would you prefer to be the CEO?

Jackson did not waste one word in that interview

Words....Words ....Words

If he fails WYL.....will you be bemoaning how he stuffed up the club....How he took the money and ran?

Lets just wait and see what happens over the off season shall we?

[The Chazz 4,077]

This is the point I was making before, happy to have Jackson at the MFC but I'm not getting my hopes up as I have seen it all before.

I think one of the main differences Clint, is that he is a true "outsider". He has come from other clubs where he has had great success, and he isn't a Melbourne man.

I'm not sure of the last bloke to walk in to our club in an official capacity that hasn't had baggage.