Slartibartfast

I agree Ron, we are singing from the same book. I posted this in the AFL Investigation thread on 17th January:

Thanks to those FH who have answered. Iv'a would you like to expand on the undertakings that were given?

Who made the decision to put Lyon on the coaching selection panel? McLardy, Schwab and Stynes. They are admin. Schwab was sacked because he was no good and he approved tanking. That has cost us an extraordinary amount. No amount of criticism of those in charge of our situation "over the top". We are where we are because of them.

Ron we've won one game against a non development club since Neeld took over. He's shown no skills as a coach. His list management has been a failure. The MFC is a laughing stock. We need to act professionally but we need to act now even if it's appointing Viney or another FD person as coach until the end of 2014. To fail to act now would be as big a failure as the many you've listed.

As most know I was worried about this Board, the CEO and the coach quite some time ago. Having said that I didn't think it was this bad. For these reasons and the fact that I didn't see it as a sustainable business model I didn't become a Foundation Hero but I have supported the club for over 25 years and I hate to think of the amount I've put in over that period. The Foundation Heros are a group of generous MFC supporters who eliminated the club's debt, their contribution was significant and the single achievement of the Stynes/McLardy Board. They have been remembered at AAMI Stadium (as I understand it) and were promised success and professional management of the club and their contributions would be the cornerstone of a new era. But reports in the press that we are again unprofitable and heading into significant seven figure debt must be distressing to them. Much of the loss is being attributed to AFL fines, legal fees and payouts of contracts of CEO and potentially the coach and others. All of these expenses were avoidable with sound and sensible management which they comprehensively failed to deliver. I know that there are a number of Foundation Heros who read and post here and I'm interested in their reaction to our situation and whether they would again help the Club out of this position. For my part I'll continue to contribute in the way I do because the Club is much greater than a bunch of misfit administrators and because what I do is within my sustainable business model. But this administration should know that my ongoing support is despite and not because of their effort. Frankly I'm angry and appalled at how they've trashed my contribution. How do our Foundation Heros feel?

I can't agree. Morton, Gysberts, Cook, Strauss, Blease, Petterd, Bennell, Martin, Jetta, Bail, McKenzie and Watts are all players who have failed to "take the next step" or "develop" into genuinely good AFL footballers. Your list is, bar Fitzy, a list of first and second year players but development is over 3 to 5 years. I can accept that some won't make it but not all of the above. It's telling that our young players don't develop and it's telling that players seem to play with much more spirit at Casey than they do in the seniors.

http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2013-05-18/competitiveness-the-aim Ripping to know that we plan to be as competitive for "as long as we can". That the objective - hell, I was a bit apprehensive about tomorrow but now I can go with a full understanding of what the coach thinks we can achieve. When was the last time the word "win" was used at our footy club. Should be a great game. Glad Deledio is the captain of my dreamtean.

OK, thanks, I missed that.

It's bad news on Grimes though. He's out for another 8 weeks as I think that's the minimum for LTI unless there is some transfer arrangement for the mid season promotion.

JJC administrations are not involved in governance, Boards are. Administration implement the strategies and objectives of Boards who measure the administrations performance. Jackson has not been at Essendon for a number of years (I think he left in 2008 or thereabouts) and at no time was he involved in governance.

I'd take it out of the hands of the members and give it to the AFL. We are in their hands anyway so it's in their interest to make sure we are well run. And if they stuff up they have the power to fix it. I think I'm right in saying that WCE don't have an elected Board, it seems to work for them.

The most recent contested election, that is where the number of candidates exceeded the positions to be filled and where an election was required, was in 2003. At that election, 3 incumbent directors (Paul Gardner, Gary Hardeman and Peter Dohrmann) stood for re-election and 2 vacant positions needed to be filled. Each member could vote for up to 5 candidates. Gardner received 3565 votes, or 91 per cent of the vote, Hardeman 3370 votes, Dohrmann 3333, Michael Coglin 2964 and John Phillips 2681. The closest any of the other eight candidates got was independent Aris Imbardelli, who garnered 696 votes, or a 21 per cent share.

An outstanding post George and whilst I'd take issue with the players "not trying" I love the comments about the structure of the Board. I read with despair the threads about Mitchell and Schwarz joining the Board as I think it's why membership elected Boards are such failures. The members by and large have not the slightest idea whether Schwarta or Neil Mitchell would make good Board members and know their role. Some will like Mitchell and his outspoken views and think he's the man. Others will remember Schwarta and think he's the man. We've seen the damage such populist appointments have done with Garry Lyon being on the coaching selection panel and also carrying out a review of the footy department post Bailey. Lyon is an impressive TV personality but he's not got the slightest idea about running a complex membership based organization and judging by where we find ourselves doesn't have the slightest idea about Football Departments and coaches. He didn't set out to cause the damage he has, he just didn't know what he didn't know. And yet the majority view when he intervened in August 2011 was "thank heavens for Garry". Personally I'd support a restructure of the Club so someone like the AFL appointed the Board where they could ensure competent governance. Make no mistake this is where our failure starts. The Board select the CEO, the CEO the FD and the FD the team. It's taken a while for people on here to see the cause and effect but McLardy/Stynes selected Schwab, Schwab the coach and the coach the team. The reality is the members have failed time and again in trying to elect a good Board because we've got no f'ing idea. It's not our fault, we just don't know. Really, can it get any worse? It's time for a change in the way we are run.

I found the article depressing for the following reasons: 1. On first read I can't remember the word "win" being used. 2. Our benchmark seem to be "effort", so if we show "effort" it doesn't matter about the rest. 3. We've had to spend this week learning or re-educating the players about what "effort" is and this has has a significant impact on our "other" learning. My reading is the FD have trained these guys to lose. Neeld prepared everyone for a loss last week when he said GCS were more experienced than us. He's been telling the world, and I imagine the players, we can't expect to win against more experienced teams. What better way to build a culture of failure. And the players are playing like it. And are we being told we are so badly prepared that over 2 preseasons we haven't learned what "effort" is and that losing a week of focus towards relearning is going to be a big setback? The mind boggles. I really like Chris Dawes, he is intelligent and thoughtful and I'm not sorry we've got him. But that doesn't mean I like the message he's presenting. The focus of the players seems to be to back Neeld at every opportunity and slag themselves/each other. I don't like that and it's going to look really silly if and when Neeld goes.

I agree but I think few if anyone wants everyone gone and I think most would welcome a new coach, CEO and Chairman who would then shape the club the way they want which would require restructuring and different people. Once you get the cornerstones in place the rest follows. Calling a spade a spade the cabal of Stynes, Connolly, Lyon and those attached to them were passionate MFC people but they showed that just because you are an icon of a club doesn't mean you've got the skills to run one. Hence we are in the position we are in. Stynes was a great figurehead but a poor Chairman, McLardy a passionate MFC supporter who didn't understand his role and was out of his depth. Schwab loves the club and its history more than anyone I know but wasn't a good CEO and Connolly is, well, Chris. And don't ask me about Lyon. The AFL have put Jackson in to right the ship. If we can get the other cornerstones in place we will progress. As Jackson says, it's not a hard fix, just a not a quick one.

Go and have a look at his post Brisbane presser R1 2012. Talks about "them" all the time.

Nobody is suggesting we march everyone out are they? Most think a change of senior coach and President would go a long way to improving things. Would you keep Neeld and McLardy in the long term (past 2013)?

I'll make two points. Firstly I really feel for the players. They get one go at a footy career and at the moment it's being trashed. If anyone thinks there is no link between the dysfunctional state of the FD and the results then they are kidding themselves. This FD is not providing the players with an environment in which to thrive and for whatever reason has sapped the players confidence and spirit. Secondly it's genuinely sad to hear the comment that winning doesn't matter, having a crack does. We are so low that our expectation is not winning, it's trying. Col comes across as a really genuine person with no answers and just frustrated and depressed with where we are. Those that simplify things to "the players aren't trying" just don't get it. Neeld told me we were going to lose last week when he was at pains to point out GCS were more experienced than us. Very sad but I feel for the players.

Which is exactly why I think the current Board should go looking but I take the point that a much more likely outcome is the AFL will have to do it for us. This Board has made us so bad who would want to be on the Board? We are now back to losing money, the once in a generation chance to go to the membership has been squandered and our product "football" is unsaleable. It's a legacy that no Chairman would want. It's not surprising people aren't lining up to do the job but the positive is that we are so bad that we perhaps have a chance to restructure the Board to (say) a maximum of 6 who understand their role (the primary failing of this Board - it's governance boys, not operations) and are there for their skills and not because they are "connected".

I've been able to get a transcript of the session. Here it is so you can judge for yourselves. P Jackson addressed a supporter group at half time yesterday introduced by director R Howcroft. Comments included: - My observations? We are a very inexperienced football club, a very inexperienced playing list, a very inexperienced coaching panel, weve got young, inexperienced staff. All of those people have had to deal with some extraordinary pressures over the last 12 months due to external forces.for probably longer than that. - If I can do anything in the short term for them which is to provide a bit of leadership and experience and wisdom that would be a help. I think we need more than just me thoughwe cant have such an inexperienced level we saw that today in the first half of footy - I think our structures are not great in the footy department. Ive said that through the media outlets to anyone who has asked me - What weve got to do as quickly as possible is as a Club earn back respect from the footy world. That is the AFL, its our peer Clubs, its you people. We dont have respect, we dont deserve respect at the moment. We have got to start winning back some respect. Thats not going to come from the scoreboard or the win-loss ratio I dont think. I think its going to be how we do business as a Club. Theres two things I mean by that. One is getting rid of all those external forces that weve had in the last two years. What they are is a matter of public record whether investigations or whatever they have been. Massive massive distractions for the Club and for such young people and young players to have to deal that and with the team they are dealing with and coping with that I just refuse to believe they are able to deal with that and do their best. - The other thing is how we do business. Footy has got to be our number one objective and our core reason for being. I think as footy clubs we probably think well, thats bloody obviousfootball is our number one reason for being. I think sometimes we have a focus in Melbourne which has been effectively about promoting the Club as being a little bit bigger and better and further advanced than what we want to be and up there with the big Clubs in Melbourne. Certainly we want to aim for that but to do that weve got to get footy right first because everything else will naturally follow. I just get a bit of a sense around the Club that we havent been as good at looking at the footy as we could have been. - I think the footy structures are wrong. We have too many lines in the footy department coming up through the CEO/to the CEO which means that fundamentally the CEOs position in (sic) running football and I dont think thats right. I think the CEOs job is to run a football club. Its a very demanding job. Its much broader than just footy and you need to get the very best people you can in to the footy department and you need a really good General Manager Footy Ops running football. We need to achieve that. - Ive been asked numerous times today How will we entice anyone here?. Easy. Its the biggest and best challenge in football at the moment and there are a lot of people out there who like those sort of challenges. Fundamentally thats why I am here. I cant say no to a challenge. So there will be others who will say the same thing. - It looks lamentable out there. I know how you are feeling. Ive seen another footy team play like that one that I was CEO of. Now were 7-1 on top of the ladder and could have easily beaten Geelong on Friday night. It takes time. I am not going to say to you to be patient. Youve been incredibly patient so far but we havent got it right. Weve got to get that right. Weve got to get football as our main reason for being. - I think that Melbourne being the centre of the universe for AFL footy. Its a big challenge. Its a founding Club. Its a proud Club. I think that people will want to come here and get it back up where it should be. The whole of the competition want Melbourne up and about. The AFL want Melbourne up and about. No-one wants this footy club down where we are at the moment. So people will get behind it and we will make it work. So all I can say to you guys is Thank you for your supportthank you for your tolerance. Its not going to be easy. The most we can do with the rest of this year with a view of improving at least on the field for 2014. Q,. With those structural deficiencies that you see in the football department and you mentioned there are too many lines leading to the CEO does that you mean that you suggest that the football department has more autonomy in the way it runs? A. No no. Im not suggesting that. Im just suggesting you need to get very good people into the footy department and a single point of responsibility for the football department being the General Manager Footy Ops. Weve got a lot of very inexperienced people. A lot of people in the Melbourne Football Club dont really know what it is to be in a great football environment and Im talking great being Geelong, Collingwood, Hawthorn. They are great football environments. Geelongs the greatest but the others are pretty damn good too. We are not structured like them. We dont have.Ill give you a good exampleI dont know if you worry too much about administrators. You probably dont. You probably shouldnt. But Mark Evans who was the General Manager Footy Ops at Hawthorn has come into the AFL to take over that senior role reporting to Andrew Demetriou. Thats how highly thought of he was. We need people in our footy club the players can learn from, be in awe of and get those sort of people right (interjection Mark Evans started at Melbourne Did he well there you go). So weve got to get those sort of people into our footy department I think. Q. Peter Ive heard what you have said but Ive have been hearing this for over 20 years and I accept you have only been here for about a week but I want to address this to Russell. Our coach when he first came to the club said we would be the hardest team to play against. Were playing like bloody wimps. Its time to get rid of HIM! This is crap. (Loud applause). He keeps telling us about our games experience were sick of hearing about it. A. Im sure all thats right. I dont know how to answer that. I wont try to answer that so we are just going to have to work our way through that. I want to draw a line in the sand from the 1st May and say judge us from now on see what we do. Q. On free agency, how do we keep our players like Frawley and Sylvia when they see where we are heading as a Club at the moment. How are we going to entice like Sylvia at the end of the year Frawley, Watts how are we going to keep our good players when they are all going to want to leave because of the fact that they are getting old? A. No answer. Q. Can I direct this question to you sir from the Board. You guys oversaw exactly what Peters just been talking about for a number of years. Im telling you now you blokes are on notice. You will be challenged at the end of the year. Peter you will have to put up with that. But you will be challenged because your performance has been absolutely abysmal. (applause)(interjection this club is where we are because of you guys) A. (Howcroft) Yep. Yep. Of course as a membership based organisation that is more than fair more than fair that people want to challenge for Board seats thats absolutely more than reasonable. Q. Can I ask what we are doing aboutso now that weve announced a $1.5million dollar debt (again). We were $5 million in debt. We got out of it by making the members pay, like, we supported the Club. Now we are in debt again. They promised us that this wasnt going to happen. So whats going to happen to prevent us just going under again? Are you going to ask us to put another $1.5 million to the Club. Do you have a plando the Club have a plan? A. (Jackson) No no. Ive got your point its a fair question. I think were going to have to restructure the administration of the Club. And I think we can do that and get the footy club back on an even keel. With that and the support of the AFL I think we can do that and I dont think well have to go back to the members. Q. Whats the decision making process from now? How much power do you have to make decisions? Who will you make them to and who will implement them? A. The CEO should run an organisation, should make the decisions. The Board should be deciding in my view strategy and policy and then delegating responsibility for that strategy and policy to management to make the decisions to implement it. Thats the way Ive always operated and thats the way I would expect to operate. Howcroft: I just want to say that the Board of the Melbourne Football Club is extremely pleased to have Peter Jackson with us and all lets all give him as much support as we possibly can.

Some have been telling you for a while Ron. Welcome aboard.

I'm not sure if it's been referred to here but Russell Howcroft introduced Peter Jackson to a group of members yesterday in the Ryder (?) room. I never expected to attend a MFC meeting where the depth of feeling from the membership base was as ugly, aggressive and in a sense disrespectful to our appointed officers as at the Dallas Brooks Hall in 1996, but in its own way it was even worse. This was not a meeting that was organized with well drawn battle lines but a regular event where a Board member informally addresses the members. Jackson said nothing different in this meeting to what he'd said all day in his media blitz and while the members welcomed his honesty and common sense they turned on an inept Howcroft. It started with Jackson telling us of a dysfunctional Football Department with no clear lines of responsibility or reporting and an administration which was similar. These comments, while not mentioning Schwab or the Board, were scathing as he outlined that the clear principles of Governance and operations had been ignored, misunderstood and abused. A member of the audience turned to Howcroft and asked how this Board had allowed all this to happen in the 4 or 5 years of their watch. Howcroft dodged the question saying as a member based organization we could all stand for election. He has an unfortunate manner and his smugness and lack of empathy with the mood of the audience led to interjection and abuse being hurled at him and the rest of the Board. Jackson clearly understands footy. He immediately engaged the members. He knows what a good footy club looks like. He understands Boards, Administration and corporate structure. He knows this Board is a failure. In 2008 Jim Stynes and Don McLardy approached the Gardner Board and told them they were out of ideas and needed to move on for the betterment of the MFC. To the Gardner Board's eternal credit they recognized a better Board, read the tea leaves and saved the Club from a battle that would achieve nothing. It's time for Don and his merry men to look in the mirror, remember history and now identify a better Board and stand aside. They have reduced this club to its lowest ebb in history and made it the most unattractive of propositions. They can do one good thing - find a better alternative and move on. What makes this absolutely painful is that some of us have recognized the clear failings of Don, Schwabby and his merry men for ages. Anyone with any training or experience in how business work could see this. And yet this Board who have so much individual talent couldn't. I'll never understand that. There is no doubt their hearts were in the right place but the damage they've done is incalculable.

Jack what do you consider to be Neeld's three best achievements?

I agree Bossdog, with our history of sound decision making, strong management and successful on field performances the last thing I want is.................. wait a minute! Heaven forbid, with AFL backing imagine what could happen to our club....... FM, you've got to be kidding. I'm sceptical about the report but it wouldn't surprise me either, seven years of failure and lower now than we ever have been the AFL have reason to be very worried about us. Just give me some hope!!

I would sack him now because I've made up my mind on him and I think keeping him will further hurt the club. That decision is based on his entire time at MFC. But Old55 put it very well before. We are making a judgement from the outside which is unsatisfactory/limited. I'm glad Schwab is gone as his job and McLardy's are (were) to some degree linked to Neeld's. If both were still there they would have been tempted to keep him partly to protect themselves. Jackson and others are free of the appointment and can act without self implication. I'm happy to follow Jackson's call and trust his judgement. IMO a win on Sunday will keep him on life support, a loss and the hand will be moving towards the off button.