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Just heard Ox wants to get donw to the club and help sort out our football department. Great move. Certainly the best player ive seen wear the red and blue. Remember finals 94..

In Jnr Mcdonald, Out Royal, no brainer really

I think Melbourne was more or less on track in their development after the 2010 season, but we passed a tipping point with the sacking of James McDonald. In 2 years we had lost Whelan, Robertson, Wheatley, Mclean, Bruce, McDonald and Miller. 1000 games of experience out the door. In retrospect, we can see that high draft picks aren't the be all and end all and that simply 'playing the kids' ahead of experienced players won't fast track their development, quite the opposite. We should have identified a core group 4 - 6 players (regardless of age) who best represented the culture of the club and given them the responsibility of educating the next generation of players. Bottom out completely, as Melbourne have done and whatever spirit, culture and morale that previously existed is completely destroyed.

I might send the HUN my resume. You've just described me!

im new to this forum and i will probably get shot down by some members of the keyboard army, but fcuk it,here we go.. i want Mark Neeld to stick Colin Sylvia on the half back flank this weekend v West Coast. Woosha will play Hurn on Col if he is in the forward line and after a quiet game by Shannon last week, he is gonna tear Colin a new asswhole. i say put Col on the half back flank and make him accountable, but give him the freedom to run from behind the ball and use his disposal as a focal point (aka EMULATE Shannon Hurn) in return id drop Gillies and put Rodan to use his experience on Hurn in a run with.. thats my thought..

Nah, that'd require some effort.

While it goes unrecognised on this site, you are a true Melbourne person with an enduring emotional tie to the club that gave you your start in football. Better than most, you understand what makes this club distinctive. All football clubs are alike, but some have elements that set them apart, and you have grasped and articulated this where others could not. Some years ago the AFL ceo said Melbourne stood for nothing, but on Sunday when asked if the club needed help that same ceo pointed out the club's status as the oldest and the founding club of the game. That is the result of your work, Cameron. Sure, the blazers might look somewhat twee but the Harold Ball story that lies behind them and that inspired their reintroduction is a uniquely Australian one, and rich in meaning. Ditto the crest. That is part of your work and flawed though you might be - unlike your critics who, of course are paragons of virtue - you did much to right this club. Goodbye and good luck.

Thanks for you hard work and loyalty to the club Cameron. Best of luck for the future.

Just confirmed that I'll be getting a call from Neil Mitchell tomorrow during his show to help get as many people as possible down to training

Vlad was on 3AW just before and he said he wants our club to survive for another 150 years and that the Melbourne Brand is powerful in the overall competition seeing that Melbourne is the heartland of the competition. He wants a new CEO to go in to the club and do a full review of what's wrong and report to the board and tell them what needs to be done. Strangely I believe him.

I think the absolute best thing this club could possibly do is hire James McDonald as our midfield coach as soon as possible, for all the reasons you just mentioned.

"If you live long enough, you'll make mistakes. But if you learn from them, you'll be a better person. It's how you handle adversity, not how it affects you. The main thing is never quit, never quit, never quit." William J. Clinton Good old William J. Clinton hit the nail on the head here. The easy thing to do would be to turn our back on the club and pretend all this never happened. Well guess what? It is happening. It's how we all deal with it that matters. It's easy to give up, it's easy to stay home and pretend like we don't care, but the reality is, Red & Blue runs through our veins and no matter how much we deny it, we all love the Melbourne Football Cub. I've supported this club for over 20 years and i'm not giving up, i'm never quitting on them , EVER!!!!! I PROPOSE WE ALL GATHER TOGETHER AS ONE AT OUR NEXT TRAINING SESSION. LETS SHOW THE PLAYERS HOW MUCH THE CLUB MEANS TO US. I understand that the majority would be reluctant to partake in such an extreme act but I honestly think that this is the only way we can get through to the players. Imagine the scene, Imagine the headlines!!!! Our club needs help, I wont stand by and do nothing because I love this club way too much. I WILL NEVER QUIT. I understand that people work during the day, but would you turn up to training if we made the grand final? Don't kid yourself, this is more important. We are talking about saving our Club. Our Club Needs Unity. Who's with me?

The Chairman will possibly go and probably should. Recent events probably dictate that. The Coach should be safe for a while, unless it is revealed that the players will not play for him. If that is the case he goes as well. On the ground we bring in the young players and blood them.Perhaps a team with Gawn, Dawes, Evans, Kent, Taggert, Tynan and maybe Spencer will be better than one with Byrnes, Rodan, Jamar, Gillies and maybe Sylvia.Next year we can add Hogan and Barry and maybe a couple of class mids courtesy of our high pick and bonus priority pick. We are financially sound ATM and it is the on field that has us in this position. That can turn around quicker than most people understand. We need to find out if the Coach is any good and if not he goes. Keep turning over the list. Eliminate as far as possible draft mistakes, ( we have a new recruiting manager ). Ensure the best development of our kids. Draw a line in the sand and start to create the right culture. The new kids will see to that if we give them the right assistance. Conclusion: stick fat, all is not lost, change, mixed with youth, talent, hunger and passion, can bring success.

I don't have any animus towards schwab. i wish him the best in whatever he does next and he should be welcome at the club It was time for him to go and let some fresh air into the club and start the healing process Whether he went yesterday or later it was inevitable and imminent His footprint was all over all aspects of the club and he was the chief architect of the red'n'blueprint and its implementation We couldn't rebuild with his strong presence remaining I think he was a dedicated and loyal demon and he did what he thought was best. Some of his work was good and some fell short. In the end it didn't work out and he had too much influence History has marked him hard and that's football. In the end its about winning games and as he says its a performance business now that we are trying to heal and rebuild there will inevitably (and rightly) be more casualties, but this needs to done with as much direction and diligence as possible. replacement strategies will become more critical as will be timing more tough times ahead

To me this is the source of most of our on field problems. It's not that the game plan cannot work rather the way it's was implemented. Neeld has come into a club that had little or no defensive abilities but on the other hand a free flowing attacking style. Rather than observe and evaluate what the playing group were capable of he has wiped the board clean and started afresh with a game plan devised for the Collingwood playing group. in effect he has made a major mistake of going to hard to soon, our players were not in a position to execute such a game plan.This in turn has the players confused and playing with little or no confidence. The net result is that he has either lost the players or is in the process of losing them. He was right in one sense that the players fitness was below AFL standard and given their new fitness levels one wonders how they would be performing today playing their older game style with a slight tweaking of defensive accountability. In other words making small incremental changes rather than wholesale changes. It's my guess that Neeld probably came to club under the assumption that they were an undisciplined rabble that needed a hard task master to pull them into line. This I believe was another mistake. He needed to gain the groups trust first and foremost. Again I suspect going to hard too early. All of this goes someway to explaining the last two weeks of on field performance. What can he do to recitify the situation? I believe he needs to readjust the game plan to a simple digestible one that the players can understand and adopt, something that does not require to much thought but relies more on instinct than analysis. A game plan that will allows them to rediscover their love of the game and with that their own confidence in their ability to play it. With time he might win them back and we might have a team worthy of going to the football to watch.

What a load of self indulgent shiite

It never ceases to amaze me that some posters go on and on about an issue and express their own view in 20 to 30 different ways when most of the time they wouldn't have a clue. Why was Schwab sacked; I don't know, but it seems as if its because of external pressure brought to bear on the club. Was he doing a good job; I don't know that either and neither would the majority of the posters on here, but that hasn't stopped a few from going on and on about the need for him to be sacked. It's all guesswork and blind follow the leader stuff and the two that have lead the charge RR and WYL, if asked, wouldn't have one shred of evidence to back up their accusations. This is a further nail in our coffin as it shows just how amateurish our club is. I haven't watched the press conference and probably won't, it's been pulled apart enough on here already but if McLardy was as bad as it seems then he was probably under duress, because he's usually quite capable. Perhaps he's getting to the end of his tether and is over the constant pressure of running the worst club in Australia; maybe if it wasn't for his friendship with Jimmy he would walk away from it all, who knows, but if he did I wouldn't blame him. If the dynamic duo can come up with a viable option then they may be taken seriously but their only aim is to tear down, death by a 1000 posts, not to come up with any substance. If McLardy does step down then Geoff Freeman would be a good choice, he's put a lot of his own money in to the club, is a very successful businessman, in the same industry as McLardy and has a large network of connections.

Cale morton

How about George Freeman? Got things done.

Wouldn't everyone be surprised if we won?

Now, there's the other problem. I think we need to fix the culture by bringing back someone who knows the club and loves the club. Furthermore, it could be a spark to re-enfranchise other players who were mistreated by Bailey. For a start, I think we should give serious thought to offering Junior the midfield coach role. Royal can't coach. Junior not only knows many of the players, but he would also generate immediate respect from them as their former captain. Furthermore, he's only recently out of the game, and thus knows what is expected. From there, we can look at folding through other players. The likes of Bruce, Yze and White should all be brought back as mentors. Say what you will about the inconsistency of the Melbourne sides of the 00s, they bloody well could play. And all those blokes weren't Trappa lazy either - they worked their arses off to make sure they were fit and firing. Thoughts?

FFS.. Some of you blokes are worse than the media with this bloke.. wheres the Dan Nicholson thread.. the Tom Gollies Thread.. the Colin Garland thread.. the Colin Sylvia thread.. the Mark Jamar thread.. the Shannon Byrnes thread.. the David Rodan thread.. theres 18 other blokes whos input has been shithouse.. theres 0 other blokes who have lost a relative and been this harshly criticised.. next topic please.

Cameron Schwab loves the club - immensely. That's not the problem. To be honest, I'm not 100% what was. I don't think we need people that love the club - we need people who are experts, top at what they do with a clear vision to how to make the club better and to implement it. I do agree 100% that this club really lost something when we knifed our captain. Disgusting - it gets worse the more I think about it.

Melbourne FC sucks? Hate watching the games? No reason to look forward to next year? Footy is killing you right now? Never seen a MFC Premiership? i know.. and i understand.. but i have faith. Maybe not the faith that we will win a trophy in the next 5 years, just faith that it wont be long until i love footy again. i barrack for a team called Southampton in English Premier League.. we were never a force, but were always around in the Premier League. then one day we got relegated.. the next year we went Bankrupt and into Administration and relegated AGAIN and woukd start the following season on -10 points. it was at this stage i gave up any belief of seeing my boys fly high again. but we found as a team the Will and Determinatikn to say "this isnt Southampton as it should be.. we belong in the Premier League! and we fought our way back into the Premier League and earned iur respect back from our Peers and the Media. And its given me the belief to have faith in the team i love no matter HOW BAD THINGS SEEM! Im not anyone, im a nobody, just an average guy who loves.his footy, and as much as i hate right here n now i love the fact that like Southampton we can and WILL bounce back again! its the Demons, we never do things the easy way! so just remember your favourite MFC memories.. Flower.. Jakovich.. Farmer.. whatever it may be, and just know that u will one day soon have that same excitement about footy again.. just keep strong and keep believing! thats all really..

If Don had followed Cameron's lead and focused on the "fresh eyes" angle he would have been ok. He could have acknowledged that Cameron had done a great job, supported his re-structuring of the footy department but conceded (as Cameron did) that after 4 years and performances heading in the wrong direction that it was time to find someone with new ideas and different experiences. He could have maintained that Cameron was doing a good job but his responsibility and the responsibility of the board (particularly when the team is struggling on field) is to see if we can make the club better and if bringing in a new CEO would do that then that is exactly what they had to do and that's why we had to say, with much sadness, goodbye to Cameron today. It's our genuine hope that history judges Cameron kindly and when this great club does again become a premiership team, we'll look back fondly on the groundwork laid by Cameron.

George Costanza could bring the Penski file with him.

The Skipper of the Costa Concordia

Thanks Cameron, your dignity was a perfect example of what was needed at this time and I thank you for the grace and respect you showed the Melbourne Football Club.

Stop making shit up. You have no idea how much the settlement would be if anything, so stop talking as if you do.

Did Neeld go? He's the one needing to connect with the playing group more than anyone else.

Thank you for all of the efforts in trying to drag this club up through the muck. Thank you for trying different things from a footy club like Whiteboard Wed (may not have worked but fans loved it at the time), the new emblem, trying to instill the hertiage of the club into new players and people. It didn't work out but not for want of trying, who knows what happened behind closed doors but at least you were in the trench.

Didn't know where to post this but it seems appropriate here Went to the physio this morning....Checked in and went to sit in the waiting room....As I sat down I was approached by an 8 year old who asked me if I barracked for Melbourne........I said Yes and asked him how he knew???.....He replied that he had seen my key ring (which also holds a demon emblem) and that he barracked for them too....I asked what he thought about the situation we were in and he replied....We will be fine and he had barracked for the demons for all of his life (Yep the whole 8 years)but we all need to "stick fat" as he put it......It restored my faith in the footy club and in Melbourne supporters.... Just thought I would share......If an 8 year old has faith.....Then so do I.....

The Ox said simpy "It's time to give something back" These are words we need to hear right now.

I hope at the end of the day that the resolve he makes is to continue to support the current football department and board and to empower the other ex players to do the same. If that's not the case then I'd like to see him run for a spot on the board. At the moment our entire board is commercial people with the exception of Greg Healy who is both a commercial and football mind. To me it makes sense to have an expanded football presence on the board. That way instead of Gary in one second out the next Lyon we have a sustained football presence. I want to current coach to be supported by the board and if it does come to the case we need a new coach I want that person to be chosen by the board. I look at Jason Dunstall at Hawthorn who appointed Clarkson then defended him against criticism and continued to support him. We talk about unity at this club as the underlying problem. No unity, no trust, no culture. So I'm all for Ox helping to rally the troops behind the current football department or getting on the board and therefore presenting a united group to shape the changes to the department.

Relax. We've got this.

Neita is a nice guy, good footballer, sort of shy type.. apparently doing work about the club Schwarta is a more outgoing type with some flair to take things on head on... this would be very handy now as the club has gone into its shell. ... and he would be great, to have a whisper in Hogans ear as well.

Can people just forget about Gary Lyon - its doing my head in. He's not interested and the help he's given us already has resulted in 1 failed coaching experiment and another that looks destined for the toilet. The more we ask people for help that don't have the time or simply do not want to help the more desperate and silly we look. We need people who have the time to devote to the club and will do a great job, not just an ex player for name sake!

Win? I just want to see the players actually play as something that loosely resembles a team.

We don't need a campaign manager, it will become obvious to the incumbents that I am being swept along by the great MFC membership and they will then annoint me. I am working on my aims now. So far I have decided on the following: Get the Dees to play hard, uncompromising, winning football, Eliminate the word culture from our vocabulary, Stop Carlton from getting use of the MCG as a home ground, Lower food and drink prices at the G, Get umpires to give us a fair go, Get 2 Priority picks from the AFL for this year's draft, Ban the MCC from banning anti T$ signs when we play GWS, Free MFC ponchos when it rains, Smash Carlton every time we play them, Win 5 flags to put us ahead of the pack, Get C Wilson to give CS a kiss and make up, Get the media onside with free booze at all MFC media pressers, Cheaper membership tickets and more freebies to go with them, Release news through Demonland wherever possible, Free live stream of MFC games through Demonland, Free coffee and chat with members at least twice a year at AAMI park following a training session, Create a truly inclusive club and to that end I welcome further suggestions, many more to come.

He probably said something along those lines at the start and then it was cut out to make Neeld look stressed

Why don't we just play Sylvia on the ball where he is at his best?

Schwab sounded like a president today. McLardy sounded like an extra from Williamson's 'The Club'. I'm craving stability and unity right now. But when the dust settles . . . .

Great news. I expect we'll sign Jonathan Brown about a week before Wimbledon.

I'd love Ratten back as midfield coach. Always rated him and our midfield was very good under him. Never quite understood Mahoney's credentials to be footy manager. He was a pretty ordinary line coach IMHO. Losing Wells was a big blow and our backline is yet to recover. Instead of poaching D grade oldies from other clubs this off season, lets focus on poaching some opposition assistants.

I love the Barass, but he's 77 and came out last year talking about his dementia. Not fair on him to ask him to get involved in an official way.

Well, he has made it easy for us to move on from what happened a few years ago. He should never have been given an extension but that isn't his fault. For him to resign is the best outcome from our clubs perspective as Boards can be challenged but executives are expensive to remove. He is a Demon despite his shortcomings and I hope we don't make the mistake that we seem to always make and that is make an enemy of a Demon who had the best interests of the club at heart. He moves on. We must move on too.

The club to announce that the first two rounds was to show the AFL what real tanking looks like.

There is so much to feel heartbroken over right now, and Watts is up there near the top of the list. He is struggling, he is scared of the footy, and scared of making a mistake, and scared of not doing well, and in turn that plays with his mind and makes him play worse. He is out of form, and he has inherent issues with his physical application that have to be resolved, but he is also a human being. He has done nothing wrong to anyone, and more than that, he has always been professional and represented the club well off the field, so why then do supporters feel the need to wish him constant failure? He needs a kick up the butt, and he needs to be dropped to find some touch, and he needs a coach who plays him where he naturally should play (half forward flank) and support him, rather than tossing him around like a rag doll. And most of all, he needs pathetic scumbags to stop booing him at every turn. He may never become a successful footballer, but he didn't ask to be a number one pick, and he will leave this game 10 years from now with a whole lot more dignity that some of our supporters will.

Lay off the guy......At least he turns up week after week, supporting the club....Try's to add something during a really dismal day......There are a lot of things to complain about before this poor fella....