THREE AND A HALF PAGES by Whispering Jack

A lot of water has flowed under the bridge since I received my copy of "Breakfast with Bails" in the mail early last month. I finally opened up the book this morning to find the place where I had left off reading the early chapters that were available to download onto Kindle and which I read while in flight above the United States.

I have now read a further 3½ pages that resonate strongly on a number of levels, particularly after witnessing an outstanding film based on the true story of how a team of reporters from Boston Globe investigated and ultimately exposed a massive cover up at the highest level of abuse within the Catholic Church which had enormous ramifications worldwide, including in Australia (and judging by the weekend’s headlines, it remains a very much live issue). The events covered were disturbing in themselves and for that alone I recommend that you see Spotlight but there was also a sub text that leads me to the story of the 3½ pages of the book about Dean Bailey.

I'm referring to the work of the characters in the film - "investigative journalism": a search for the discovery of the truth about a single topic of interest. A search that involves the delving into of documents, interviewing witnesses and researching issues. Checking the facts or if you like, "accountability reporting". We saw it to effect in the work of Fairfax journalists Richard Baker and Nick McKenzie with Stephen Dank and the Essendon saga, just as we saw the opposite with the other type of journalist which brings me to the football editor of the Herald Sun Mark Robinson, a Bomber fan whose body of work on that subject was downright embarrassing.

It was also Robinson who threw Dean Bailey under a bus with his "Dead man coaching" story at a point not too far into the 2011 season. That's what the 3½ pages I read this morning were all about. "Robbo" with his "coaching pressure barometer" on his Foxtel programme had already designated Bailey as a high risk to lose his job but this was at a time when his team had a record of two wins and a draw in five games. The two met face to face and Robinson offered a dispassionate response that read a bit like the Nuremberg defence - "Yeah, I went too far; the heading was no good. But you gotta' understand I don't write the headings."  In this case however, the words were also in the text of his  article so Bailey could have called him for his bullshit but rather, simply unemotionally accepted it with a, "Yeah, no worries." That was Bails.

The offending article came after a poor game from Melbourne against the Eagles in Perth.  Bailey's team capitulated weakly to some heavy defensive pressure all over the ground, a performance that admittedly, set off doubts in many peoples' minds (including my own) about the style of coaching he had adopted for the still developing side, but Robinson was way out of line coming up with a virtual epitaph to Bailey's coaching career at such an early stage in the season. The team reacted in its next game with a 16 goal win over Adelaide at the MCG.

Coaches of losing teams are an easy target and Robinson used his position in bully-like fashion. It was weak, cowardly and ugly but Robbo has form. Look at how he dealt with the Garry Lyon/Billy Brownless situation last week - more easy targets for one with an agenda who might not be too interested in checking his facts before firing bullets. And Robbo claims to be a mate of Garry's who even dropped in to play cricket with the family. Ironically, Lyon has taken flack in some quarters for his role in the appointment of both Bailey and his successor Mark Neeld who were both thrown under the buses by the media vultures.

Robbo’s barbs must have had their effect on Bailey even if he didn't show it and even if he didn't read the on-line message boards and social media or listen to talk back radio and taxi drivers. I say this because from my brief experiences of speaking with him at a couple of Melbourne functions (he was always very approachable), I concluded he probably never felt completely secure in his role as the head coach of the club.

There was a sponsor’s  function at a Volvo showroom on the eve of the 2008 National Draft when I mentioned to him that one of the club's problems in recent years was its inability to turn high draft picks like Colin Sylvia and Brock McLean into champion footballers. He seemed to take this comment as a direct criticism of his coaching and I had to reassure him that this was not what I meant. At the time, Bailey had been coach for one season while Col and Brock had been at the club for five years without fulfilling anything close to their promise (or perhaps our expectations). Ironically, the club drafted Jack Watts with its number one pick on the following day.

The "dead man coaching" tag followed Bailey for the rest of the season to the end of July that year. I expect the rest of the book will cover these events in some detail but I don't think it can be understated how difficult life was made for the coach of a team going through a topsy turvy season with an attendant build-up of tension through the club. The constant internal and external criticisms would have taken their toll as it does with all clubs where the coach is under pressure.

As for Robbo, he would do well to look to characters like  another Robinson - Walter "Robby" Robinson of the Boston Globe who led  the Spotlight team's investigation to a Pulitzer Prize, rather than play for sensationalist headline grabbing attention for his agendas. On that note, I'll leave you with the comment of one who is said to have opined that when Robbo was chosen to replace Mike Sheahan at the Herald Sun it was like "replacing Frank Sinatra with a karaoke singer."