Neita's retirement would be all of a sudden and he wouldn't get a "farewell" but neither did Nathan Buckley ...

Please show the great man a little bit of respect and never, I repeat NEVER use his name in the same sentence as Nathan Buckley, its offensive to him and to Melbourne supporters

I know many will disagree but I think there is a place for loyalty in footy to your great players. David Neitz has committed so much to this club. If he wants another year I'll not deny him that for pick 85 in the ND.

I have no problem with any of that provided -

(1) a role can be created whereby we can get the most out of him in much the same way that Brisbane did in Alistair Lynch's latter years, and

(2) he doesn't carry the burden of the captaincy in his delining years.

We're embarking on a new era with a fresh coaching panel and they shouldn't be tied by loyalty to someone who contributed so much in the past. By allowing Neitz to retain the captaincy that could prove a problem to both the coaching group and the player if his form or fitness aren't up to speed during the year. Neither of them need that problem.

(2) he doesn't carry the burden of the captaincy in his delining years.

In the past, Neitz has publically stated that he hoped to relinquish the captaincy before he retires.

Last year, he said that McDonald would make a good captain.

It'll be interesting to see what happens.

David Neitz has been a great Melbourne player and captain but I think it's time for him to retire. He's had a great career - leading MFC games player, only MFC player to 300 games, leading MFC games captain, leading MFC goal kicker, Coleman medallist, All-Australian, best and fairest winner. There's nothing left for him to prove or achieve except a flag and we're not going to win the 2008 flag. 2008 would almost certainly be his last year anyway and with a refreshed footy department, the trade of Travis Johnstone and the retention of Russell Robertson we'll make faster progress minus the great man in 2008.

Forward structure: David's a power forward who dictates the structure of our forward line. We need to move on from this and find a new post-Neitz structure. With the retention of Robbo we still have experienced goal-kicking capability. the absence of Neita will enable us to experiment much more with personnel and structure.

Leadership: With TJ moving on we're signalling at least a partial rebuild. David has been a great leader bur it's time for others to step up. Personally I'd be happy to make Brad Green captain - I really think he'd rise to the occasion. But if we're uncertain about this and would like a year or two for someone to truly emerge then James McDonald would be a fine choice in 2008 a la Todd Viney when Garry Lyon retired.

Neita's retirement would be all of a sudden and he wouldn't get a "farewell" but neither did Nathan Buckley ...

Umm no