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A letter to Paul Gardner

leucopogon
leucopogon
in Melbourne Demons

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  Redleg said:
be renewed.

The President has NOT broken his promise and to suggest otherwise is to distort the truth.

I'll keep it brief but you're quite right. Gardner said that he would conduct an end of season review.

Problem is Redleg, we know he's no footy head but absoultely no one at the time would have imagined he was referring to Round 12.

Would love you to tell me right now its the end of the season. But before you do, last time I looked its was only Round 13.

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    What is wrong with having a review during the season and coming to a conclusion that can be implemented as soon as the season ends?

    Because Gardner said at the start of the season, clear as day, that the review would start at the END of the season and that there would be NO discussions on the coaching position or football department until then. Then he went back on that and started the review midseason. We are 2-11. Four of those loses have been by less than a goal. It could easily have been 6-7 which isn't bad considering we had 14 of our best 25 players out for most of the season. Knee-jerk reaction that has damaged not only the club, a good coach and the senior players, but a knee-jerk reaction that has dented the members confidence in the board. I am yet to meet a Melbourne supporter that has been happy with the events of the last week (from a board perspective) or a member that is happy that Danners has gone and/or thinks he is not a coach capable of delivering. Lets be honest, it's the players that have let the coach down, a coach they clearly have a lot of respect for. Will getting in a new coach change that? Doubt it.

    Everything needs perspective.

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      jiska78 said:
    Because Gardner said at the start of the season, clear as day, that the review would start at the END of the season and that there would be NO discussions on the coaching position or football department until then. Then he went back on that and started the review midseason. We are 2-11. Four of those loses have been by less than a goal. It could easily have been 6-7 which isn't bad considering we had 14 of our best 25 players out for most of the season. Knee-jerk reaction that has damaged not only the club, a good coach and the senior players, but a knee-jerk reaction that has dented the members confidence in the board. I am yet to meet a Melbourne supporter that has been happy with the events of the last week (from a board perspective) or a member that is happy that Danners has gone and/or thinks he is not a coach capable of delivering. Lets be honest, it's the players that have let the coach down, a coach they clearly have a lot of respect for. Will getting in a new coach change that? Doubt it.

    Everything needs perspective.

    It was a knee jerk reaction was it? Daniher has been at Melbourne for 10 years. The longest serving coach in the history of our great game to not win a flag. That's 149 years of history that he's broken. Sacking him in 1999 would have been a knee-jerk reaction.

    When Gardner made the comments about waiting to review the coaching position at the end of the year, he could not have predicted the position we'd be in mid-season. I'm sure if someone asked him "what would you do if we win just 2 games and lose to Richmond at the half way mark of the season?", he would have said "we'd have to re-evaluate the situation". Which is exactly what he did. He did not sack the coach, he did not ask for Daniher's resignation.

    The board implemented a review which Daniher decided not to take part in. To sit on his hands and do nothing, would have been terribly irresponsible of our president. He did not go back on his word, he did not force Daniher to leave mid-season.

    The review was pushed forward, and had Daniher agreed to participate, he would have coached us until Round 22, then the board would have looked at his performance further. IMO the end result would have been the same though, because after 10 years, we are still without a premiership.

    Not sure what Melbourne supporters you speak to, but I've met plenty who are happy that we're going to have a new coach and some new direction at the club.

    You talk about perspective, and yet your comments are extreme.

    Whether you like it or not, Daniher would have been out of a job at the end of the season given the way we have performed this year. That it happened earlier only helps the club in finding the best possible replacement.

    Ugh, I'm going to take my pain-killers and go to bed. I've had enough of the endless whinging from our supporters. You're damned if you do, and damned if you don't.

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      Dalrot said:
    Im not a fan of the bloke at all. Comes across as arrogant and fake I reckon.

    Never seemed to hurt Eddie McGuire.

    Oh, and if I haven't said it before... GREAT Avatar.

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      Dappa Dan said:
    Never seemed to hurt Eddie McGuire.

    Bollocks. Never give a mug an even break but love him or hate him Ed McGuire has a proven track record of success at the filth. He has the creds in the bank.

    Gardner has for the most part of his tenure been flying under the radar and quietly going through off field re-buiding matters. Being on the basement level, the only way for him has been up.

    He now faces very public & challenging times ahead. There has never been a better time for him to show his worth to the club & build credibility. Like it or not, he has gone public & has everyones critical gaze. Members & supporters will watch with great interest.

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    I honestly think is was the correct, albiet unpleasant, decision to advance the date of the review.

    But I'm not happy at all with Gardner's mouth. He's managed to show disrespect to both Daniher and Neitz in the space of two weeks.

    I'll still be rating him on how he does his 'core' job, but he really needs to bring the chat under control before he makes Melbourne a media slapstick routine.

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