Alan Smithee

What took you so long? How do you know this? The relations between sponsor and club are sacrosanct and privy to those within the club only. Anything else is simply outsider speculation. The sponsors would been edgier about matters way before round 1. A premiership winning coach can. As far as his coaching creds are concerned, atm he has zip. He is a punt.

A credit it was WD. Ultimately, in his time, Neale & the FD failed to build that 'premiership winning' spine. It has come at a cost.

Time for bed Tooly.

The opp to coach at AFL senior level is every aspiring coaches dream and every current coaches opportunity. The selection process will isolate a more than just one potential candidate. The only guarantees of acceptance apply to those candidates who 'apply' and meet the selection criteria. Its the candidate who we want for the job & chase is the one who may be no guarantee.

I wouldn't be. Going by the Uni Grad HR selection criteria, KPI assessment dtata and 3rd party consultation the club unashamedly posted on their website for all fans to peruse, Lyon would not clear the first hurdle. In all seriousness Mickrocks, give the club a bit more cred here mate. You of all people

Jacey, only you & Demon Dave have taken the initiative to assess Thomas on his football credentials. He has by far a better record than what Daniher ever delivered. He transformed St. Kilda into a regular finals contender for the first time since 94. Before then, they were nothing more than a dead carcass and a joke. He also broke the clubs internal records for most games won since the clubs only premiership in '66.

Here here!!

Are you Caro, Old? Just kidding. I would have preferred Daniher to see out the year but alas it appears not. It's Neale's call and I feel for him.

Maybe he can get the message rolling by dropping the players who have let him down the most and start playing the youngsters.

Interesting comments. Voss is a former triple Premiership Captain and leader of arguably one of the most successful clubs in the modern era. He has played and assisted under arguably one of the most successful coaches of the modern game. His professionalsim is second to none and has a reputation of pulling players into line. Eg; Pike and O'Bree (the latter unsurprisingly leaving the club soon after another altercation). He ticks the boxes for leadership, nous and pedigree. He brings with him a winning culture. Obviously the gamble for the Mfc lay with his lack of coaching experience. To what extent is this a concern, we don't know. Remember, ND was only an assistant when Joseph hired him. If he can convince the selection committe that this is nothing but a short term drawback, I would say he has to be a front runner. And IMO, a gamble worth taking.

Good call BJS. At the end of the day, I don't give a toss where they came from or who they played for. Isn't this is all about getting the right person for the job?

The club has placed itself well to now go find a new coach, start playing the kids and decide which players won't be fronting-up in the red & blue in '08.

Soft? I won't rain on yur parade here D3165 but ol joe footyhead public out there still smirks at how supa soft this club has been for delaying the inevitable for so long.

Sleeve, what you say here is pretty much bulldust too. We all got a pretty good window into Paul's mindset over the past 4 or so days. If nothing was going to happen to Neale after what he said then shoot us all now. The blowtorch had well & truly been lit . Neale was gone! Out of curiosity, of the players you mention, who of them do you reckon will be around to see the new coach?

My answer is No. Footnote: QueenC, no need to post another agreeable reply.

Jarka, yes he did...I'll pull the article if necessary. Maybe we should start serving consistently good meals. When the chef starts spitting in the soup, pull the sonofabitch. As for C'Wood & Bombers, for starters, try picking-up a members mag & having a look? It wasn't that long ago that C'wood was in the [censored]. Remember? Please give it some thought.

SJX, of all the names youve listed, the one you're kidding about is probably the one best qualified for the job.

As to be expected, The Age is all over this one and their assessment. The chairman says the club would make a similar profit to last year's $750,000. This seems difficult to believe, given that the club's normally poor attendances have been poorer than last season. The Demons are still almost three years away from moving to their new Olympic Park home, but for now Daniher's team trains in substandard facilities on a small ground. This does not excuse its performance on Friday, but nor should the board start backslapping itself. Gardner admitted last night that his comments could have been untimely, said he had spoken to Daniher at length to clarify his comments, and said the coach accepted his explanation. Daniher last night refused to comment on what his chairman had said. For all the details... http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/news/devi...525.html?page=2

4Dees, Here is a couple of extracts from his interview with Angus Mortan from Sportal 23/06/07 Firstly, Gardner's take of the Melbourne supporters intellect. "If all I did was listen to supporters I would fire (Daniher) every week and hire him for five years every second week," Gardner said. Then he chairman reserved a final swipe for the club's supporters, reinforcing the popular typecast that Demons' fans prefer Mount Buller to the Members Stand when the going gets tough. "Unfortunately Melbourne supporters are often fickle and if we're not playing well they're not paying well," he said. "They don’t come and watch us, they don't come and support us, they don’t mind writing a note and I will be inundated no doubt with 2007 membership scarves in the mail this week which would be handy for those who need them to go to the snow." If he is not criticising 'us' , who is he criticising?

Just a few thoughts here PPD... We have suffered the fate of injury this year. But like other years, and with fewer injuries to key players, the club has still underperformed on expectation. Agree, but I am moderately confident this issue is being addressed now. IMO for too long we have been too timid & conservative in our management of this issue. Agree, but they also like to brand themselves with successful organisations whose winning culture is symbolic of their product & merchandise. The Mfc would not cut it for the Nike execs and their ' Just do it' campaign, would they? IMO they could have shown this earlier than now. The problem has been recognised and well voiced by the 'fickle supporter' way before season 07 even started.

Yeah RDM, I do recall the events. His career was one hell of a tough journey. Multiple knee reco's, then fighting back to be club champion'99, and then overlooked for the Captaincy etc. Its no secret what he thinks about Daniher and where he feels the club is at. Schwartz played under him. Compared to us, he sees things from a fairly unique perspective. You may disagree with this? That said, I dont recall him firing any personal attacks or swipes at Daniher on friday night. He may have said he has been "outcoached by Wallace". I say thats a fair call.

Anyone?

RDM, what is the Ox so bitter about?

BB59, even the most ardent of optimists would suggest you may have to think again.

Franky, As disappointing the team is & has been, I can understand how the patience of even the most loyal fan has again been challenged (this time) by Gardner's regrettable swipe at the fan base. It has done nothing to ease our long standing pain. Many members share your anger.