Mark Neeld head of development at the Bombers

[Moneider96 1,045]

Everyone deserves a second chance. Plus, I think now,he will have the hunger to prove all the doubters wrong, as well as his many learning experiences at Melbourne, and great reputation at Collingwood. Overall a risky appointment by the bombers, but it could have a very high return. All the best Neeldy!

And the people who still hold grudges on this guy are pathetic. Forgive and forget. His life no longer effects yours. Life is too short to hold grudges. Again, i wish him the best....not Essendon though...[censored] them...(am i hypocrite?)

[waynewussell 4,864]

Moneider96 has summed it up nicely. I keep a low profile around here these days, although I read several times a day. Mark Neeld is a quality person who gave senior AFL coaching his best shot but it didn't come off at the Dees. He was held responsible for the failings of many because the buck stops with the cocker. However, the insane hatred expressed by several present on these boards has been unwarranted. His rise part way from the depths (that he must have visited) is a tribute to his resilience and spirit. I hope he experiences great success in his new role at the Bombers. I respect him and, even at this late stage, thank him for what he tried to achieve at our club. I don't see myself as a supporter of all things Neeld; I just see myself as a more reasonable and educated football fan than those who burden us with their warped brand of scapegoatism.

[dazzledavey36 52,728]

Moneider96 has summed it up nicely. I keep a low profile around here these days, although I read several times a day. Mark Neeld is a quality person who gave senior AFL coaching his best shot but it didn't come off at the Dees. He was held responsible for the failings of many because the buck stops with the cocker. However, the insane hatred expressed by several present on these boards has been unwarranted. His rise part way from the depths he must have visited is a tribute to his resilience and spirit. I hope he experiences great success in his new role at the Bombers. I respect him and, even at this late stage, thank him for what he tried to achieve at our club. I don't see myself as a supporter of all things Neeld; I just see myself as a more reasonable and educated football fan than those who burden us with their warped brand of scapegoatism.

Brilliant post WW.

[P-man 13,366]

I'm happy for him. As poor as he was at the senior gig, he faced an unprecedented series of challenges and he remained resilient throughout, which had my respect.

Good luck to him, but not too much, because, ya know, it's the Bombers.

Edited October 28, 2014 by P-man

[Guest]

One thing that got me WW was how personally people took things. The vitriol was insane. I make a few jokes about his time but some (we know who they were) sounded like they wanted to burn his house down!

[picket fence 16,648]

What many here fail to realize is that it was the MFC's failure when Neeld was appointed, not Mark's.

Neeld had applied and failed to get many senior coaching positions (Richmond, PA, Adelaide) but got ours because we failed to conduct a proper interview process which would have exposed his weaknesses. But we wanted to avoid "death by powerpoint". Mark did nothing wrong and merely wanted to test himself at the highest level. And he didn't have the greatest administration backing him up and was surrounded by newbie assistant coaches in the main.

I didn't like Neeld from the beginning, never struck me as a leader of men, but I wish him all the best at Essendon and beyond.

Well, as Clint would say "Every man's got to know his limitations"

[DemonFrog 1,347]

Please God make Mark Neeld Senior Coach of Essendon

As they deserve that much

[Striker475 696]

Are people kidding?

Mark Neeld took over a side that, while admittedly flawed, still won 8 games and drew another at the end of 2011.

In the following three seasons, it has only won 2 more total than in that 2011 season.

He got rid of so many of the top players simply because of coaching disagreements, when the list clearly wasn't in a position to support it.

He would make mistakes with his management decisions, then refuse to concede the mistakes.

He holds the fourth-worst coaching record of the last 30 years. 2 of the coaches who were worse were at Fitzroy in 1995-96.

[Jaded No More 67,627]

I wish him luck. But he was a shite coach.

[Yarra Valley Demon 112]

Head of Player Development. Developed how many players on Melbourne's list in his tenure?

Couldn't drive a greasy stick in a dead dog's arse let alone oversee the development of a young kid into an AFL quality footballer.

[Je Roos Salem 661]

We played a horrible brand of football under him, he picked apart the team until it was hardly recognisable. Several players looked like they had stopped enjoying playing. We lost plenty of fans at the MCG with his conservative, joyless approach to footy. This was a huge contrast to how it was in 2010-2011 up until 186. Neeld was meant to put the club back on its feet but he just sucked the life out of it. He was certainly sold well by those who picked him for the gig, but wow, at the end of the day it goes down as a massive black mark in football history. He really didn't convince me as a coach, or man. Unless the guy had a ventriloquist or there is a God, I'll certainly blame him.

[Adam The God 29,330]

Are people kidding?

Mark Neeld took over a side that, while admittedly flawed, still won 8 games and drew another at the end of 2011.

In the following three seasons, it has only won 2 more total than in that 2011 season.

He got rid of so many of the top players simply because of coaching disagreements, when the list clearly wasn't in a position to support it.

He would make mistakes with his management decisions, then refuse to concede the mistakes.

He holds the fourth-worst coaching record of the last 30 years. 2 of the coaches who were worse were at Fitzroy in 1995-96.

I tend to agree, although it depends whether you think the players he got rid of were actually to aid the reversal of a rotten culture. If you agree with the last part, then you'd have to say it was a bit of a catch-22 for him.

[bing181 8,908]

Are people kidding?

No.

The discussion is about Neeld joining Essendon as one of their assistant coaches (development), not about Neeld's capacity as head coach. Which none of your points address - he will have no say on list managent at Essendon, for example.

[bing181 8,908]

Head of Player Development. Developed how many players on Melbourne's list in his tenure?

None. He wasn't responsible for player development at Melbourne. That would be the trio of Development coaches, Greaves, Satterly and Nichol, while Neil Craig who was Head of Coaching, should have been overseeing progress and addressed any shortcomings.

[nutbean 8,838]

Are people kidding?

Mark Neeld took over a side that, while admittedly flawed, still won 8 games and drew another at the end of 2011.

In the following three seasons, it has only won 2 more total than in that 2011 season.

He got rid of so many of the top players simply because of coaching disagreements, when the list clearly wasn't in a position to support it.

He would make mistakes with his management decisions, then refuse to concede the mistakes.

He holds the fourth-worst coaching record of the last 30 years. 2 of the coaches who were worse were at Fitzroy in 1995-96.

I don't think anyone is debating whether or not he was a successful coach at the MFC .I think some posters are mystified ( me included ) at the vitriol that was aimed at him near and post his departure.He has been blamed for everything from Toumpas over wines to the global financial crisis.

He was a failed senior coach like many before him in the AFL and many more to come.

Great assistants do not necessarily make the transition to great head coaches. This does not alter the fact that they were great assistants.

[chookrat 4,201]

I don't think anyone is debating whether or not he was a successful coach at the MFC .I think some posters are mystified ( me included ) at the vitriol that was aimed at him near and post his departure.He has been blamed for everything from Toumpas over wines to the global financial crisis.

He was a failed senior coach like many before him in the AFL and many more to come.

Great assistants do not necessarily make the transition to great head coaches. This does not alter the fact that they were great assistants.

Ultimately the MFC picked the wrong coach to rebuild our club and underestimated the impact of 'not tanking' on our playing group. Neeld did his best but got our soft core of senior players offside early and couldn't get the team to perform on game day.

We may look back as the Neeld appointment as a great coup if we go on to setup dynasty, ala Geelong or Hawthorn over the next 5 years, as

1. Neeld got rid of our poor senior players

2. Our performances in 12/13 were so bad the AFL had to get involved resulting in Peter Jackson coming onboard

3. Peter Jackson was able to sell the 'greatest football challenge' to Paul Roos, the Messiah

4. Our core players will be able to use the memory of our mediocrity to unite amd stand for something

5. The Norm Smith curse will finally be lifted

So thank the guy who is from all accounts, an excellent Senior Assistant Coach with a strong track record in developing players.

[nutbean 8,838]

Shoot me down but if you go back over what Neeld was trying to do - lift training standards, rid ourselves of mediocre players ( close enough is good enough) and more attention to defense - he was spot on. His major problem was not want he wanted to do but implementation. If you cannot get players to buy in you will fail. Not only didn't they buy in but by the end of his tenure, seemed to be actively sabotaging his efforts.

[beelzebub 23,197]

He'll have his work cut out for him .......soon

[robbiefrom13 877]

I don't think anyone is debating whether or not he was a successful coach at the MFC .I think some posters are mystified ( me included ) at the vitriol that was aimed at him near and post his departure.He has been blamed for everything from Toumpas over wines to the global financial crisis.

He was a failed senior coach like many before him in the AFL and many more to come.

Great assistants do not necessarily make the transition to great head coaches. This does not alter the fact that they were great assistants.

I disliked him - intensely - because he struck me as self-absorbed and abusive. He did not treat the players in my team with respect. He made no adjustments when the team played badly and the players were unhappy. And it took a long time, with the club bleeding badly all the while, before he was removed. That's why I got fairly intense about him. Not my kind of guy. He made sport unnecessarily unpleasant for those who love it.

Attack me if you like, I don't mind - I recognise other people think differently about sport and succeeding at it, and I don't say they are necessarily wrong; it's just my take on it. I see sport in a context of human relationships and endeavours, and I recognise that this equates to admitting my own bias. I'm only posting now in response to your "mystification", explaining how I at least felt. I never blamed him for other stuff like the global financial crisis, obviously - my intense dislike had very clear and specific issues with him.

I wouldn't wish Neeld on anyone, no matter who admires him (but, if Essendon want him, I'm not surprised, and be it on their head if it affects them as I expect it may. If it turns out well, I will put it down to them being thugs, so that Neeld was a good fit).

[Nasher 33,607]

Are people kidding?

Mark Neeld took over a side that, while admittedly flawed, still won 8 games and drew another at the end of 2011.

In the following three seasons, it has only won 2 more total than in that 2011 season.

He got rid of so many of the top players simply because of coaching disagreements, when the list clearly wasn't in a position to support it.

He would make mistakes with his management decisions, then refuse to concede the mistakes.

He holds the fourth-worst coaching record of the last 30 years. 2 of the coaches who were worse were at Fitzroy in 1995-96.

Is that really the subject of this debate? I haven't seen too many in this thread defend his coaching record, just defending him as a human being with a lot of undeserved poo being flung in his direction. If he'd had the misfortune of coaching Richmond instead of Melbourne that would probably have happened literally.

I think you can be bitterly disappointed with how things turned out under his tenure without talking about the man as if he is scum of the earth.

Edit: Sorry, thread reading fail - didn't see that Nutbean had basically already covered these points.

[nutbean 8,838]

I disliked him - intensely - because he struck me as self-absorbed and abusive. He did not treat the players in my team with respect. He made no adjustments when the team played badly and the players were unhappy. And it took a long time, with the club bleeding badly all the while, before he was removed. That's why I got fairly intense about him. Not my kind of guy. He made sport unnecessarily unpleasant for those who love it.

Attack me if you like, I don't mind - I recognise other people think differently about sport and succeeding at it, and I don't say they are necessarily wrong; it's just my take on it. I see sport in a context of human relationships and endeavours, and I recognise that this equates to admitting my own bias. I'm only posting now in response to your "mystification", explaining how I at least felt. I never blamed him for other stuff like the global financial crisis, obviously - my intense dislike had very clear and specific issues with him.

I wouldn't wish Neeld on anyone, no matter who admires him (but, if Essendon want him, I'm not surprised, and be it on their head if it affects them as I expect it may. If it turns out well, I will put it down to them being thugs, sothat Neeld was a good fit).

We have all have our opinions - I think we can all probably agree he was out of his depth.

I don't have intense dislike for him however on the other hand I wouldn't want him back at our club.

[chook fowler 19,248]

I think he was on a hiding to nothing. The club had deep seated problems and he was under specific instructions from those that appointed him to be a hard ass I.e G Lyon et al.

[nutbean 8,838]

I think he was on a hiding to nothing. The club had deep seated problems and he was under specific instructions from those that appointed him to be a hard ass I.e G Lyon et al.

not sure he was under specific instructions - i dont think that he knew any other way. Good coaches use the carrot and the stick. IMO Neeld only knew the stick

[daisycutter 29,310]

and there is nothing wrong per se being a hard-ass

it's all about the way you do it. it has to be done with the right psychology

some can do it, some can't

[Go the Biff 3,360]

Not sure what all the fuss is about. He spent 3 years at Western Jets. A fair bit of this year working out of Eastern Ranges. Add to that the lessons he'd have learned at both Collingwood & Melbourne I'd think he has a good background for a Development Coach.

If he was appointed Senior Coach then yeah, PMSL but this seems Neeld's go.

I was happy to see him get the lemonade from here when he did but we have to move on. We spend far too much time looking backwards. Have for 50 years

As someone pointed out earlier, it's good to see the likes of Neeld & McCartney get a gig in the industry. Hopefully Sanderson is picked up somewhere as well. They may have had failings at the top job but they all have a wealth of knowledge to impart to players