Alan Smithee

Cheers Deanox.

What law is that Deanox. Do they apply that to the field of medicine too? Just curious.

Its not a federal election. Its a survey. The key is to select a demographic or population base which defines the subject. Gear the questions so that they are not misleading and restrict response choices.. Avoid leading questions that suggest an answer. This is Roy Morgan research. Not a backyard beat-up. But some of the content is amusing.

Jack, I posted an article written by Garry Lyon today and I made some comments on his article from a business perspective. There is no doubt the "let down"factor for supporters has significantly permeated the club financially. It is an unsustainable position to find oneselves in for the long term. The questions that needed to be asked are obvious. Andthere are no easy answers. But we simply can't park on this issue for much longer.

An interesting article today from Garry Lyon. He always has something pertinent to say & I agree with his comments. He says ... Whilst I agree and do not wish to take his article out of context, it is worth noting a couple of issues which I believe have merit. What are the the consequences of a win from a business perspective. In particular, in the first half of the year? Inhouse, they are never forgotten. Wins are just not 4 points Whilst a win is a win for the team, a win has significant and immesurable consequences for a club for the year. The benefits are there, in particular, for the aptly described 'second tier Vic clubs'. From a financial perspective, a win can mean the difference between breaking even and suffering a financial loss. Its a cumulative factor which expands to a broader scale as the season progresses. Case in points are Melbourne & Richmond. Both are categorised as 2nd tier clubs. Both are suffering financially from on field output so far. Richmond has forecasted a 1 million turndown in profits based on their win/loss ratio. Melbourne are not doing much better. Richmond say they can salvage their pride financially through busines support and sponsorshop revenue. I am not so sure about Melbourne. I have parked my expectations for '07 and would just be happy for Melbourne to string a few wins together for the sake of our financial position. Our onfield success is the all important marketing tool. Atm Finals and premierships don't even make it on the radar. See link for sull story... http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/com...5E20322,00.html

or otherwise its just the Scott family having a weekend.

What makes you say that Jarka? Going by what i've heard, most Demon fans would be satisfied if he simply makes a commitment to apply himself. If he does, the rest would surely take care of itself and there'd be no need to speculate?

Picketts personal troubles were due to an illness in the family. It obviously hit hard. Issues of this nature hit hard at the best of times, wouldn't you think? For the record, I remind you this bloke is a highly decorated footballer. AFL Rising Star '98, pre-season premiership player '98 All Australian '99, '99 premiership player, '04 premiership player, Norm Smith Medallist '04 & 35+ career Brownlow votes. For a bloke who is being accused of making ' a lot of mistakes', somehow he has still managed to deliver throughout his impressive career.

Yes, the parallels are there Deanox. A good question.

I too have heard a lot about Hayes. A lot of it is good. But I also hear he needs to completely focus on applying himself. Even more so than the average footballer, which, from all reports, I hear he is not. Jarka, for such a young student of the game, he is well & truly in the spotlight.

Agree TimD, the whole scenario is schizen. But still you have given an unjust assessment of Picketts attitude here. His preseason was flawed and riddled with personal issues. Yep, we all have em and still we all still have to perform. Thats what we get paid for and some more than others. So what makes Byron so different. Nothing. Bur we all handle personal issues differently. I'm not privy to Byrons psyche so can't comment. Are you? How should the Mfc handled it. IMO they could have handled the issue better than they did. Clearly he was not fit when selected. I know the club tried to play him into fitness (ala '06) but clearly his physical shape wasn't the only issue ..the club should not played him until he was physically & mentally prepared.

Aint that the tryth.

Thanks Minka, I'll tune in as I can't make it to the game. Cheers!

Cheers Pello, If we do go a bit lateral with the next incumbent, the club will need to be right behind the change. I would say it wouldn't be so much of an issue for me if they appointed a 'known'. I also feel that it would may sit far more comfortably with the current board if a proven replacement was found. The only experince the current board has had with key personnel is pretty much supporting and maintaining the status quo. They are definitely faced with the unenviable but necessary task of making difficult and hard decisons. Once the decision is make, they will need to committ for the long term to make it happen. As for the members, the will have the opportunity to see in the coming months whether this board has the mettle to steer a club through a major 'fork in the road'.

You have a very good point here Pello and no doubt you've thought this one through. I guess we've all had a bit of time to do this!! We agree Matthews has the pedigree and yes Buckley is a deep thinker. As we all know and recognise, Buckley has the ability to rise to a challenge. If recruited for the top job, I pose a question to you. Given his age, the unfamiliar surrounds of a nomadic Mfc, a foreign culture and extremely contrasting fortunes of clubs, would he rise to challenge and embrace the tough decisions needed to move our club forward. This for me remains an unknown. His powerbase would be limited given he may not have the armory to bring in assistants to weight his cause. My concern with Williams would be his tentativeness to 'rock the boat'. He too, would have strong associations with many within the Mfc and may be faced with having to think twice berore making difficult decisions. Harvey would be an unknown quantity. What exactly do we know of him. We know he has chosen to remain a bridesmaid for a long while now. Whats his problem?

Anyone?

Interesting post Pello and you have made good points as has BzlB. Of the candidates you have listed, there is a significant variance in terms of their experience and proven track record. You seem to cover a broad expanse here. I would have thought a key criteria would be for the candidate to be able the ability to demonstrate and impart a strategic focus, not only for the game plan but in the inevitable remoulding of the playing list. Based on this, this rules our Mark Williams, Nathan Buckley and Mark Harvey for mine. If Mark Harvey had the balls to coach at senior level, he would have done it by now. Leigh Matthews in the only candidate I can see that has demonstrated he has the experience & skill set to accomplish what is needed at the Mfc. I dare say our chances of recruiting him are remote. Call me conservative, but to punt on an untried recently retired player will not cut it. Going on Harvey's CV he is flaky and Mark Williams would know it is a big step to move from VFL to AFL. He may be keen but for the record i'm not.

Interesting, Deanox. I suppose with the number of raw forwards we have, it would be worth a try. He has very good marking skills and a turn of pace for his size. I suppose anything's possible.

So you say the coach is the problem DV8. Fair enough. How bout tabling your thoughts on the next step then. What are the options? Who do you believe is capable of taking our list to a flag and why? Do you suggest we go with an untried commodity or do we seek a candidate with AFL seniors experience. Just interested in your post here.

Yep. I think it may have been an achilles or ankle injury he had pre-season. I had seen him working a lot on his running, speed drills etc. He looks a bit quicker to me atm and he is reading the play well. I won't go overboard as as Allen Jeans once said some words along the lines of 'the moment you think you're a good player is the moment you aren't'............or something like that.

The 'Malthouse brand' of football works, as you rightly point out AL. I was just highlighting that its been suggested by a few I know the Pies have Malthouse written all over them and I acknowledge that as I am ignorant as how to gauge McKenna's impact.

Maybe I have my wires crossed but I have heard 'Bluey' McKenna may not be all he is cracked up to be. One keen observer I know from over the west suggested the pies are playing 'typical Malthouse football' , similiar to what and how WCoast played when they were coached by him. As for longmire, how exactly can we know what gameplan & coaching style he would bring to the club?

Port Adelaide supporters??

Quite!

Don't get me wrong as I am not trying to stir the pot on this one, but an interesting article the The Age today had me thinking. http://realfooty.com.au/news/news/voss-say...1414549904.html