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Garry Lyon, the Melbourne Demons need you!

2nd August, 2011
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Roar Guru
2nd August, 2011
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1497 Reads
Garry Lyon answers questions from journalists. AAP Image/Julian Smith

Garry Lyon takes questions from journalists. AAP Image/Julian Smith

He’s a charismatic media personality, a wonderful ambassador for the game and an insightful footy analyst. But above all, Garry Lyon is a legend of the Melbourne Football Club. And it desperately needs him back – now.

If you hadn’t heard yet, the Demons have hit rock bottom over the past few days.

The board sensationally sacked senior coach Dean Bailey on Sunday following the team’s unacceptable 31-goal loss to Geelong the day before. Whether it was the right decision to sack Bailey or not is an entirely different argument.

But it’s happened and the club must push forward.

Barring Saturday’s insipid performance, there are no doubts the Demons are heading in the right direction from an on-field perspective. The talent and potential is there.

Remarkably, they’re every chance to finish 2011 with double figure wins, meaning they’ll still be a strong chance to play in the finals come the end of the home-and-away season.

Off the field though, they’re all over the place. There’s obvious tension between the administration and football department, while Bailey’s sacking proves the current board is a reactive one, not a proactive one.

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Still, contrary to what most media outlets have reported, the Dees are not in crisis. But something needs to change before they hit one.

They’re desperate for leadership. They need an influential figure to unite the club and close the obvious chasms between key parties.

Cue Lyon. The saviour. The perfect resolution.

Since retiring, the former Demon captain has distanced himself from any official role with Melbourne. Instead, he’s enjoyed a successful career in the media, giving astute and engaging opinions across a variety of platforms.

But the time has come for him to dump his media commitments and return to where it all began.

The Dees need him.

Lyon would bring a plethora of positive traits to Melbourne.

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Perhaps his most valuable asset would be his leadership – something the Demons need both in and off the field.

Lyon oozes the stuff. Ex-teammate Jeff White, who played a fair chunk of his career alongside the Dees’ 1990 Best and Fairest winner, told the Herald Sun on Tuesday that Lyon ‘is a leader in the media, he was a leader on the ground and he’s been a leader outside the footy club’.

When Lyon talks about Melbourne in the media, everyone listens. So when he spoke about his beloved club on Saturday, many took notice.

‘It disgusts me to see that score line,’ Lyon said on Triple M after the Demons’ recent loss. ‘I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. It was demoralising [to watch] that real lack of pressure and intensity.’

‘That’s not a loss, that’s a destruction of a club.

It was emotive and persuasive language. It was language that Melbourne sponsors and supporters would’ve been swayed by.

Most importantly, it was blunt language, the kind of language the club needs to hear – now and in the long term.

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Lyon would also bring an incredible amount of passion.

Damien Barrett and James Brayshaw, two of Lyon’s closest colleagues in the media, said they’d never seen their workmate so shattered and miserable on Saturday.

‘I need to have a conversation with big Jimmy [Stynes]. I will sit down and have a chat to him,’ Lyon said.

‘But right now they have got to hold up, stay together and not blow up, because you know what happens in times like this – the club needs to close ranks and work through all the issues.’

It didn’t sound like an impartial commentator giving constructive criticism. It sounded more like a Melbourne supporter – a passionate one.

He bleeds red and blue and loves the club more than anyone else in the country. That sort of passion is needed at Dee land.

So if Lyon were to return to Melbourne, what could he do?

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Yes he’s denied it countless times, but he’d make an outstanding coach. He’s passionate, articulate and knows the game back to front. Yes he’s had limited coaching experience and has been out of the inner sanctum for a while, but he’s watched and analysed so much footy over the past decade. Surely a man of his knowledge wouldn’t take long to settle into the caper.

If he ever changed his mind and decided to coach, there wouldn’t be too many people who’d stand in his way.

However Lyon doesn’t have to become the coach to make an impact at Melbourne. He could always be an influential member of the football department, a more visual ambassador of the club or even a close mentor to players and coaches.

Lyon could walk straight into Stynes’ role.

Unfortunately, cancer-stricken Stynes is far from well and, with no disrespect to the great man, isn’t healthy enough to be a president of an AFL club. But Lyon would be an adequate replacement. He understands the club’s needs and would promote the club’s brand with pure class.

Whatever the role, Lyon’s presence would undoubtedly lift the club tremendously, both internally and externally.

Baby steps were made during Footy Classified on Monday night, when Lyon admitted to feeling ‘guilty’ after watching Stynes – one of his best mates – struggle to get through a press conference on Monday. He’s now expected to meet with Stynes in the coming days to flag his interest about a potential role with the club. What that role will be remains to be seen, but apparently any role would be temporary.

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But this role can’t be temporary. It needs to be all or nothing.

Lyon must show full commitment to the club. Otherwise he, and the club, shouldn’t bother.

Leader? Tick. Passionate? Tick. Good footy brain? Tick.

What more else could you ask for?

It’s time for Lyon to get his hands dirty. Melbourne needs him.

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