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Mark Neeld has been sacked. It is 100% the right decision. He mustn’t be the last.
Cameron Schwab. Don McLardy. Mark Neeld. The three men holding the most powerful postions at the club, all gone within the space of weeks. Not only is this right, they must also only be the tip of the iceberg.
As has been my long held view, dating all the way back to Melbourne’s 186 point defeat down at Geelong in 2011, there is a deep cancer that has existed at this football club, infiltrating the entire organisation.
Freshly installed CEO Peter Jackson is by now aware of this. Promisingly for Melbourne fans who are now numb to their clubs patheticness, he is acting swiftly, and rightly calling on AFL assistance.
For too long the tail has wagged the dog. The playing group seemed to have way too much power for a collective group whose on-field achievements amounted to little more than the ability to do up the laces on their boots.
The football department has too often seemed rudderless. I’ve heard members walk out after being invited to special pre-game talks by assistant coaches and wonder if a team of under 12’s isn’t led with more sophistication.
All of them must be terminated.
The board and executive members of staff were too often lured by shortcuts, and there can’t be a single person left in football that didn’t think Melbourne were coaching to lose under Dean Bailey.
Whether the right men were sanctioned after the AFL’s investigation is up for debate, but Bailey and Chris Connolly wore the blame for a club-wide direction.
Each board member and person in a position of off-field influence must step down or be removed. Perhaps the receptionist can keep their job.
Jim Stynes was the off-field saviour, but can’t remain blameless despite all the good he did. It’s beyond doubt that he gave of himself more than any man could have. Don McLardy was his right-hand man and trusted colleague, and only took on the position of president under duress. He led the Demons further into decline.
The cancer was deeply embedded before Mark Neeld walked through the doors, but having come from a powerful, well-run Collingwood organization, he must have sensed it upon arrival.
The players were soft. The players weren’t fit. The players had no comprehension of what was required to succeed at AFL level.
The players were mentally fragile. The players didn’t have the stomach for hard work. The senior players possessed no leadership qualities.
As usual in situations like this, people get hung up on the timing, motivations and past words.
There is no doubt that Neeld thought all these things. What has also become clear is that he delivered these messages to the players in no uncertain terms, with little care about damaging egos along the way.
I thought it was the right move at the time, because this was a playing group that needed to harden up and quickly.
I’ve got no doubt Neeld had the right message, but it was delivered in the wrong way. Maybe there was no right way to get across to these pampered prima donnas who have never delivered anything remotely close to acceptable on the football field.
Their weakness is what sickens people the most. But then perhaps they too walked into a cancerous club that wasn’t just conditioned to lose, it embraced it.
At this point, too many people get hung up on the timing and messiness of a coaches sacking. Can anyone recall one that was actually nicely wrapped up and delivered neat and clean with a ribbon on top?
There’s no way that sacking a coach ends nicely, so the only thing left is to do it quickly.
Mark Neeld was a dead man coaching from the minute his players delivered an inept, lacklustre performance in round one against Port Adelaide. Looking back now, he was probably dead in the water long before that and never stood a chance.
Either way, getting rid of him is the right move. But it had better be followed by a mass exodus, or the cancer at Melbourne will only be partially removed.
The cancer needs to be all cut the way out. Right now.