rpfc

I agree, that we can have a caretaker and a restructure. I would simply like them to do it concurrently. If that means pushing back The Decision a few weeks then so be it. There are supporters concerned about the message sent to the players with a broken FD and a failed coach. I would like to end the uncertainty (in as much as you can) in one swoop. Announce the future of the coach and the next day announce the changes the were made the day before to the FD and who will be in those roles for the rest of 2013. I worry that announcing the future of the coach and then leaving the FD structure to be fixed a month later does not send the proper message to the players and it is unfair for the staff. It would be a minor restructure (coach fired) and then a delayed major restructure (ending multiple lines of communication to CEO, nixing duplicated roles etc).

No, it isn't. And I am not saying that as a Melbourne supporter - I am saying that as someone with excellent comic timing. The premise is a child being beaten by his whole family. What a set up! :eyeroll: At least give the story some grounding in reality before the punchline. I should do a workshop...

Again, I am using the above as a rule for all players - if you have no discernable skills then of course a judgement can be made. I, at no point, say we will improve. I only state that these midfielders entering, or in, their prime will determine whether our midfield improves. We may stagnate - we may get worse. If you are a keen follower of football you can have that talent. You do not need to play football with the people you are trying to appraise, nor do you require some sort of special 'football level played' qualification. Quite frankly I find that as a lazy argument used by people who have an inkling they are talking to someone who has not played a great deal of football. Talent is easily discernable for smart people who love footy, nevermind their level of football experience.

PR is a minor concern. Those that want an immediate end to the tenure of Neeld have similar reasons to want this as I do for a holistic answer to the FD's massive structural issues. I feel that it is a major impediment to retaining and obtaining talent - on the field and off of it. I think it affects how the FD performs and, by extension, how the team performs. I fear what roles are not being done properly due to the make up of the FD. Neeld is in a very important position. The department is equally important and urgent to fix in my view.

Is this a post in support of a new coach? Because it would be an irrelevant post if that is the case. My first line in the OP says "new coach." I am attempting to give an idea of when players can be ajudged to have reached their peak - no matter who the coach is. And that is peak for better or worse, good or bad, star or list clogger.

I think the whole thing is urgent and important. But as you say, it is indivisable - the future of the coach and the FD. Removing the coach now and restructuring the FD later only draws out the bleeding.

Eg. Viney caretaker. August comes and there are leaks (there always is) that Jackson has eliminated the Strategic Development position that Viney was to return to. What happens then? More bleeding and poor management, played out in slow motion in front of our eyes. Just get it all done at once.

I think it is irrelevant what happens this week. When Jackson knows what the FD should look like - make it look like it. If he gets that done next week, great. If he does it in August, so be it.

Is that a rhetorical question? My point was that physical development and AFL experience is the deferrment of all negative judgements: I say this player is 'no good' and you say 'he hasn't been given enough time.' This table would give a rough guide to say 'he has had 4 years, enough games - no more waiting.' And don't bother with 'due respect' if you have none. I currently play the highest level of amateur footy in Canberra if it matters. But it doesn't matter.

This is why I want Jackson to know what he wants to do with the FD before he axes Neeld. There are so many aspects to the coming caretaker scenario that he should alter the FD at the same time rather than insall a caretaker and then have that persons previous position no longer exist.

I agree, and this unscientific table is also helpful with determining when a judgement can be made on someone. As 'prime' only means they have reached the point where they can consistently give their best. If their best isn't good enough...

Absolutely, but the improvement always comes through what you have. And the above is what we will have... A bird in the hand... is signed to a contract.

Yeah, won't happen. And when you think about it, it probably wouldn't work in practice.

I wanted to discuss an aspect of how we can get better in 2014, and what midfieders in their prime the new coach will have at his disposal. I have developed an arbitrary formula for determining when players reach their 'prime' (the experience and time to build your body to consistently give your best). It's a sliding scale of Years in the system OR Games played depending on how old the player was when taken: 18/19: 4 Y, 70G 20: 3Y, 60G 21: 3Y, 50G 22: 2Y, 40G 23: 2Y, 30G 24: 1Y, 20G 25: 1Y, 10G As soon as a player has had their minimum years of experience then the amount of games played against their current age will determine whether they have reached their 'prime.' Basically, Sellar is in his prime because he has played more than 10 games as a 25 year old even though he has not played the 70 games since being drafted as a teenager. From this, admittedly arbitrary, table the following are our prime midfielders this year: Jones, Grimes, Bail, Davey, Rodan, Sylvia, Byrnes and Magner. Prime in 2014 In 2014, these names will be added to that list: M.Jones, McKenzie, Trengove, Blease, Couch, Tapscott, and Howe. This will mean adding 4 or 5 players to the list of midfielders that, assuming they have a decent pre-season, can be counted on to be at their best and ready to contribute consistently. Young Mids with a Elite Facet Added to these names can be those that don't graduate just yet for their prime but bring an elite facet to the AFL from day one; they can contribute immediately. I can see 4 of those amongst our young mids: Viney (clearances), Evans (ball winning), Toumpas (skills), and Kent (skills). Analysis While this is not scientific I think it gives a rough guide to why we have been so poor and how it can turn around. It will come, predominantly, from those players I have named: Jones, M.Jones, Magner, McKenzie, Grimes, Trengove, Bail, Blease, Tapscott, Howe, and Sylvia (if he sticks around). With Viney, Evans, Toumpas, and Kent able to play small roles next year. That list is not fantastic, obviously, but I just wanted to highlight those that should be reaching the point where they should be able to play consistent footy, and for the footy club to make a judgement on these players. If the judgement on M.Jones, Bail, Magner, Tapscott, and Blease is more positive than negative, and if Trengove and Grimes can be healthy this November (and stay healthy) then we will improve in 2014.

Let's not dance on metaphorical graves.

I think DeeInWA is headed for a holiday surely?

Some of you need to calm down. Some games have in excess of 800 touches so it stands to reason that the difference between 30 and 40 clearances is not that much. More than half are uncontested possessions. That's where the best midfielders will hurt you.

You don't quite understand the cataclysm you are rooting for. All Board members will be working for free, and they all have to be Demons for the sake of loyalty and confidentiality. It won't work to have a loudmouth Hawk as President of our club. To put that mildly.

*Heroes I am sure that those that gave during the Debt Demolition and continue to give feel the same as the rest of us about our current predicament. How could they feel any different? If your point is to illustrate the ineffectiveness of this as a business model you needn't bother - it's hardly advisable to rely on charity for your bottom line... But that does not mean that we should not continue the raising of these funds. Collingwood organise donations from their wealthier supporters, the Tigers have their oft-reported Fighting Tiger Fund. Quite simply, if you are a Demon willing to give, we should take and spend.

Yeah, not buying it. If this is how people get their kicks, who am I to give a rip?

How is Schwab's payout his fault? We re-signed him, and we fired him. It's on the Board. Your desire to make Schwab some sort of Vaudevillian antagonist is reminiscent of Range Rover's attempts to have this place froth in a rapture against him. Forgive me if I still think you are him and you are attempting to be some sort of Bizarro version of myself.

So, no?

Thanks, Nineteen. You, and your cadre of selfless Demons, are a reminder that this club is not the coach of the day, the performance on the weekend, or the Admin that writes the cheques: you are the salt of the Earth that preserves the club. Well done.

This is what it costs to fire people... And get fined for a joke... Thankfully, our AFL paratrooper is our CEO at the moment and we can get out of our current mess with the 'thumbs up' of head office. I would not be stalking people on twitter however, Schwab didn't make this board give him another three years, he didn't create the Clusterf__k that was the Tanking Saga. We have got so many to blame that it seems pointless to me. Just move on, accept they had the best of intentions and try to make sure we move forward with the right people and the right lessons learned.

As for 'What to do?!?!?!' - I would wait to restructure the FD and remove Neeld in one swoop. I don't like bleeding out. Cut the arm off at once. Know what you are going to do and then do that whole thing. What will end up happening in my view is Neeld will go and then we will have a caretaker and then we will flag the restructuring of the roles of Craig and Viney during the season and then the removal of Harrington and Mahoney. Do it all at once. And know that your caretaker's position will still exist once the restructure is done if the caretaker is Viney or Craig. The fact that we are 'in-season' is just happenstance to me - if a team can lose a head coach in-season then they can restructure the FD in-season. Just do it all at once is what I would say. And I don't think Jackson has had enough time to get it all done at once. As for the hope: