For anyone who has been in a leadership position, the adage certainly rings true 'success has many fathers while failure is an orphan'.

My experience is, when things get exceptionally tough, 90% of people go running the other way or immediately go to the blame game. It's when you find out the true charcter of people. I think most people would be shocked about how this 90% can often include Directors of Boards. I'm making no representations of the MFC Board as I have no knowledge.

My point is, I really feel for Goody. We owe him so much for 2021 and the years of great success.

This is where the CEO and Steven Smith situation is not helping.

Would you like to see Brad Green, the Board, Alan Richardson take some of the heat, be by his side?

I have three questions I’d be grateful for the panel to discuss:

1. Why was Turner dropped? He came in after a 5 goal haul in the VFL, was decent against Geelong (I think our 5th or 6th highest rated player), and yet was dropped despite other players contributing far less.

2. To what extend is our 4th quarter fade-out the result of conditioning vs attitude? Is there any evidence from demonland training reports that we’re doing heavy loads on the track?

3. Can you discuss each of our line coaches and their credentials/expertise? And can you discuss the process and status of the CEO search? I’m increasingly worried that the lack of a permanent President, CEO, etc. combined with somewhat make shift coaching arrangements is a key reason why the players look so unhappy and dispirited, particularly the senior players.

7 hours ago, BW511 said:

I’ve played under a number of different coaches in my own local football ‘career’.

One year we had a coach that came in off the back of a finals campaign the year before. We finished second or third last under the new coach with the same list and the entire place was deflated like I’ve never seen before - until now.

That particular coach sucked the life out of the group in the space of 7-8 months and that club has not recovered since, some 20 years later.

Do you guys believe the players are still playing like they trust Goodwin and want him around?

This comment by BW made me think of Nathan Buckley when he stepped down as Pies coach mid-way through the 2021 season after 9 years at the helm (that timing is eerily familiar). In Buckley's last season, I recall the Pies played without passion, as if trying to think too hard about what they were supposed to be doing. Collingwood won only 2 of their first 11 games. Buckley's last game was against the Dees on Queen's Birthday when we were on top of the table - the Pies were revved up and of course they won. But we had the last laugh that season. Robert Harvey became interim coach. Then Craig McCrae came in at the start of 2022 and the Collingwood players responded to his coaching with loving their footy and playing with excitement and passion. After finishing 2nd last in '21, the Pies came within 2 points of winning their Prelim Final in '22 and then they won the flag in '23.

So things can turn really quickly. We have so much talent.

My brother and I have been have been discussing the root cause of the sharp decline, and were curious about the teams thoughts on whether Yze was in fact playing a bigger role than he was given credit for? We’ve all worked in jobs where a leader is propped up and perhaps even managed by those below them. Thoughts on this theory and whether Yze would return after his time with Richmond?

Excuse the length of this but I’m trying to find a way to feel better but can’t find the opening!

To state the obvious. We’ve now got a set of coaches that suddenly look alarmingly second rate ( that covers all of fitness , tactics and group cohesion). We have a group of players that now are beginning to look either old, lacking the foot skills and pace for the new game or alternatively young and out of form. In fact I have that same Neeld vibe that the coach has lost the players.

We have a huge % of the salary cap going to 2 players ( trac and Oliver) on long contracts who, in 2025, you could only class as average . We also have probably our current best player ( kozzy) who wants to leave. Plus and perhaps most importantly we have no home base and in this economic climate seem unlikely to get one . We’re all too aware of the myriad of issues that brings us.

I mean forget 2025 this looks like a decade of pain coming. Are we headed back to 2012 or … here’s a scarier thought…are we actually already there and just waking up to the fact !!

So… this is tough tough question for you three. Given the current pall hanging over the entire club is there ANY hope anywhere about this club.

After 1 qtr of ‘acceptable’ football, it is hard to understand what is going on in this group.

Any insights into why we are where we are, and how do we move ahead, would be welcomed!

Fitness.

I’m only educated in the subject in respect of watching decades of footy but watched Hawks training closely in the Kennedy days and the Blues in their premiership years.

At its most simple you need to be able to run and walk for 2 hours. We hear stats of this one and that going 14-15 kms in a game. The Blues at training did 100x 100 metre sprints with a very short time between each sprint

How hard can it be for a handsomely paid fitness person to get handsomely paid professional athletes to run out four quarters. As someone else wrote how did Burgess plan not become part of a Standard Operating Procedure for our club.

The third quarter showed the talent is there, so the issue seems to be application. What are your thoughts on why the players don't seem able or willing to play something approaching good footy for 4 quarters?

From the outside looking in the problem seems to be the inability

to carry out the desired game plan.

This has led to a crisis of confidence and a "veil of negativity"

My question is this

Why not play hard and contested and go down fighting?

This would galvanise the players and the supporters.

I would definitely turn up to see that.

Northey's boys weren't the most skilled but they were feared!

Thank you to everyone for their contributions. It really is appreciated and these questions and comments form the backbone of our podcast which in essence is an extension of this forum. I am going to cut the questions off here. We certainly have enough questions. Let's see if my cohosts have any answers. I certainly don't and that's not even factoring in any MFCSS.

We are LIVE in 15 mins.

Andy tees off with the long handle! Thwack!

Interesting that Brown and Lewis on 360 highlighted a couple of instances that struck me on Saturday.

I.e. Viney and Trac not supplying pressure to Menzies.

Multiple instances of hand passes ignored when they should be given to allow runners into space.

Some of the older players are trying to win it by themselves. They need to just bring the whole team in.

This could be seriously quick to fix if they can talk about it.

Edited April 14Apr 14 by DiscoStu17

22 hours ago, Demonland said:

Thank you to everyone for their contributions. It really is appreciated and these questions and comments form the backbone of our podcast which in essence is an extension of this forum. I am going to cut the questions off here. We certainly have enough questions. Let's see if my cohosts have any answers. I certainly don't and that's not even factoring in any MFCSS.

Andy, your rant was very cathartic! Thanks for so effectively expressing your sheer fury. It's mine too!

Apologies for the blue language.

@Demonland

Thats the best 2 minutes of raw passion I’ve heard from 51:45

I wanted to put the boots on and draw a [censored] sand in the line!

17 minutes ago, Doug Reemer said:

@Demonland

Thats the best 2 minutes of raw passion I’ve heard from 51:45

I wanted to put the boots on and draw a [censored] sand in the line!

It escalated so quickly, haha, loved it

Can we get Goody to play Andy’s address to the playing group, that was a thing of beauty

19 minutes ago, BW511 said:

Can we get Goody to play Andy’s address to the playing group, that was a thing of beauty

Collingwood got that [censored] heads mum! Why not??

15 hours ago, DiscoStu17 said:

Interesting that Brown and Lewis on 360 highlighted a couple of instances that struck me on Saturday.

I.e. Viney and Trac not supplying pressure to Menzies.

Multiple instances of hand passes ignored when they should be given to allow runners into space.

Some of the older players are trying to win it by themselves. They need to just bring the whole team in.

This could be seriously quick to fix if they can talk about it.

I observed the same thing for a long time. After each goal especially when it’s getting tough. Max, Viney, Trac and Oliver have a little talk in the middle and you know Max is 99 per cent to win the tap, Viney with head down will charge forward and their defenders are set up for the loose kick.

The coaches lack the ability of older heads to see these things that are more phycological in nature than game plan .

48 minutes ago, BW511 said:

Can we get Goody to play Andy’s address to the playing group, that was a thing of beauty

Great idea!!!

1 hour ago, Doug Reemer said:

@Demonland

Thats the best 2 minutes of raw passion I’ve heard from 51:45

I wanted to put the boots on and draw a [censored] sand in the line!

Same language but totally different tone to the 2021 Grand Final poddy. Two best moments ever on this.

3 hours ago, Demonland said:

Apologies for the blue language.

3 hours ago, Demonland said:

Apologies for the blue language.

Andy’s little sister here 🙋🏻‍♀️ longtime listener of the pod.

Dusting off the old Demonland password just to say that if you’ve ever sat next to Andy at the footy when Melbourne is losing, that colourful rant was nothing 😂😂😂