La Dee-vina Comedia

I rather like the idea posted earlier of replanting trees which have to be removed on the site of the Punt Road Oval which is the real eyesore in the precinct.

Do you mean Ellen Sandell was asking what concerns locals about the MFC proposal specifically or was it a more general question not linked to yesterday's announcement? If it's the former, she's been quick out of the blocks and suggests to me that she's already decided to object to it and wants to get the community to support her.

I reckon you can read whatever you want - harmony or disharmony - into that story. That the three internal candidates attended (harmony), Mahony took a later flight to Adelaide (harmony), "concerns key staff have harboured for the past week" (disharmony); the role Jackson did or did not play (disharmony). All in all, it's really just a puff piece presumably put out by the club to at least suggest harmony, whether it's true or not.

I think access for supporters is possibly the least important consideration for this venue. The primary aim would appear to be to consolidate admin and the footy department, including the gym and all the other stuff needed for indoor training, within one site and to have it near a training oval of similar dimensions to the MCG. The next consideration is to have it as near as possible to our home, the MCG. The third aim would likely be revenue generating possibilities. I don't know whether a social club and a "Demons store" are revenue positive or not, but I suspect both are likely to be less revenue positive than other options such as leased office space, a commercial car park or even a non-Demon branded coffee shop. My preference for that third aim would be to maximise revenue and if that means no social club or even a Demon shop, I could live with that.

I don't know how much the taxpayers contribute. (As an MCC member, it feels like I'm personally helping pay off the redevelopment of the stands built in the early 2000s every time I renew my membership). However, I'm sure it is significant. I agree with the points you make about transparency and equity.

Out of context I don't know what to make of this. Did he mean: (1) he's in favour of it but because the ALP is scared of the Greens, and the Greens hold the seats where this is to be situated, the Premier won't support the proposal so it won't happen; or (2) he's against it. The most likely scenario, though, is that he hasn't made up his mind because he hasn't had a chance to see what the opinion polls tell him. NB: Forget the Rod Grinter Riot Squad reference. I was going to make a comment on his earlier post but have changed my mind but been unable to delete the original reference.

Old dee, could you please confirm whether I am meant to interpret this post optimistically or pessimistically.

Travelling from Melbourne to Alice Springs is approx 1,888 km whereas Melbourne to Perth is about 2,700 km. Since we won our last flag, West Coast has won three while travelling to Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane far more than we ever have to travel. The excuse that we are 'flat' because we have to travel to Alice Springs doesn't wash with me. (Darwin, on the other hand, is problematic, not because of the distance but because of the conditions.)

The little bit of East Melbourne which is right next to the proposed site (ie, that bit south of Wellington Road and west of Hoddle Street) includes Berry St. Is there still the old "Berry Street Babies Home" there? And if so, does the MFC still support it? If the Home is still there, now would be a very good time for the club to make sure that it does support it and if it has been all along, to get maximum kudos for it (in a way which doesn't seem superficial or self-serving.)

You might also want to distance Demonland from anyone being fined while using a device in a car.

We shouldn't have to worry about Yarra Council as Yarra Park is not within their boundary; it's within the City of Melbourne.

I would, too. But we'll likely play a team in Alice Springs that wouldn't draw 45,000 to the G anyway, such as Gold Coast, Fremantle or a poorly performing team, such as St Kilda is now.

To be fair, it was just a "sound grab" for the news, so I don't know everything she might have said. But the one line that made it to air was about Yarra Park being a park for the community to use.

Presumably you mean free-to-air TV coverage, preferably on a Friday or Saturday night. And I agree with that.

The local member for the State seat of Melbourne, in which Yarra Park resides, is Ellen Sandell (Greens party). She's already been on radio complaining about it. It would be good politics for Gosch's park to be restored as "proper" parkland when we leave. My suspicion (with no evidence to back it up) is that getting out of poker machines might have been a pre-condition to getting State and/or Federal funding for the project. The Western Bulldogs got federal money for the redevelopment of Whitten Oval on that condition. It's the perfect time to be seeking State and Federal support with both governments heading towards elections within the next 11 months (or sooner).

In that case, I'm impressed. While it's obvious to us that a solid, accountable board which can maintain confidentiality is beneficial, for him to actually say what he said means he has absolute faith in the ability of his Board members to keep a secret. If he had any doubts, he wouldn't have said it.

Did Bartlett actually say this or was it a comment from whoever he was speaking with at SEN?

Presumably that might affect the sponsorship dollars we get from the NT Government. Nevertheless, I'm in favour of extricating ourselves if we can afford it. And presumably we wouldn't be doing this unless we thought we could.

"...understood to have beaten" isn't quite the same as confirmation, though. It may be true...and it may not. The writers (Peter Ryan and Jake Niall) have clearly hedged their bets with that language. If they were certain, they would have written it with less ambiguity, such as "He beat a field of internal candidates..."

Sorry if this has been covered elsewhere, but do we know for sure that any or all of the internal candidates applied for the position? I would be pleased if they had the confidence to do so, but equally, not disappointed if any of them believed they were not ready for the job yet.

He was also a Director of Pacific Star Network (owners of SEN) for a while. Pert's job is to make sure Goodwin has the resources he needs and a stable back of house, both things denied to every coach from Norm Smith to Mark Neeld. If you think it's just the coach's responsibility to help us win games you haven't really been paying attention.

I know Pert's not taking over as CEO until October. But is it possible he may commence with the club in another role (let's just call it deputy CEO for now) which allows a smooth transition? And for the media know-it-alls who claim that this isn't a "succession plan", that's just bog-ignorance. A "succession plan" doesn't mean it has to be an internal appointment. It just means the CEO leaves with a new CEO already selected to take over. The alternative is what happens when the CEO leaves not at a time of his choosing or when a replacement CEO hasn't been selected before the CEO actually leaves, neither of which apply in this instance.

I genuinely no nothing about why Pert left Collingwood, but I could see that the review that Collingwood undertook came to the conclusion that there needed to be a change at the top which could have meant the President or the CEO...and the President made sure it wasn't him. Pert had spent a long time at Collingwood, so it was probably the right move for both him and that club for him to move on. And Mick Malthouse has apparently today slammed the appointment of Gary Pert as our new CEO. In my opinion, that just confirms the club has made the right decision!

Apart from improving his fitness levels, if he wants to be a midfielder he needs to have a reliable right foot. We already have two left footer midfielders with abominable right sides (Viney, Tyson). I'm keen on putting together a package of trades (players and picks) to get us up the draft order. He seems a good prospect for this purpose and could be a useful addition to other teams, such as Carlton, Brisbane , Freo and the Gold Coast. I don't like the disrespectful term "trade bait", but if he wants to move to enable better opportunities, I'm all for us assisting him to do so.

Excellent point. All coaches have to learn on the job and I hope yesterday was a useful learning experience for Goodwin.