Inability to win over Melbourne players leads to Mark Neeld's downfall

ANALYSIS: MARK Neeld was the last to know his senior coaching career was over, never to be resuscitated.

Neeld never won over players

MARK Neeld was the last to know his senior coaching career was over, never to be resuscitated.

His own board had made the philosophical decision to sack him weeks ago, and agreed upon it as far back as Friday.

Only when Peter Jackson called at 7.55am yesterday to request a meeting did he realise his number was up.

Defiant to the end, Neeld admitted “I don’t know” when asked what had gone wrong with his coaching tenure.

And that is the problem for Neeld, after a coaching career with just five wins in 33 games.

Was it the fact he went in with a sledgehammer rather than a chisel, determined to crack through decades of poor culture but instead meeting huge resistance from a stubborn playing group?

Was it that his coaching tactics were supposed to mirror the style of Collingwood — down the line, no-risk, little adventure — but changed only a few weeks into 2012 when he realised his list had no chance of pulling that game plan off? 

Neeld: Hard decisions had to be made

Was it that he never had a great relationship with his players — adequate, but not rock-solid — so in turn they never went to war for him on-field?

Or was it the massive list changes that saw an influx of young kids brought into the system last year but also recycled players like David Rodan, Shannon Byrnes, Cam Pedersen and Tom Gillies that created a perception problem that he had no real plan? 

What went wrong: Nine reasons Neeld lost his job

In truth it was parts of all of them, which only identifies again just how hard it is to be a culture-changer in AFL, but also a senior coach of renown. 

Mark Neeld leaves the Melbourne press conference after losing his job.

That is the truth, but it is also the problem going forward for Melbourne.

Because save for Paul Roos — clearly the Demons’ No. 1 target — there aren’t exactly a million elite senior coaches with premiership experience banging down the door to coach the Demons.

So given Neeld spectacularly failed to change the culture, and the game plan, and the continued on-field failure, how will the next bloke do any better? 

Timeline: Demons’ two years from hell

Roos will probably say no, but as we have said before, why wouldn’t he at least consider the AFL’s ultimate challenge?

He is rested, has kids who are now finishing school, is a master coach, is a super commentator, but surely at just 49 must still have a fire that burns within.

As the Sydney coach that broke a hoodoo dating more than seven decades, his legacy is secure.

But imagine if he could turn around the AFL’s biggest basket case.

Not even win them a flag, just do enough to ensure they become a competitor in coming seasons. 

Former Swans coach Paul Roos speaks to the media with GWS Giants coach Kevin Sheedy.

For Roos, that would be his premiership given Melbourne’s parlous state.

If it is not Roos, the Demons will turn to the likes of Rodney Eade, Mark Williams, Dean Laidley and perhaps even Matthew Knights.

They all come highly recommended, but it is not exactly a buyers’ market.

Now interim coach Neil Craig will come in and surely give this side some sort of respect.

The list has too much talent not to improve significantly in the second half of the season.

That will at least give the Demons a chance to showcase some of the potential on their list to any senior coach considering the position.

Mark Neeld pushed too hard, too early, and as a result the friction between himself and the senior players led to his downfall.

But while he will mourn the loss of his only shot at the big time, he will not mourn too long.

Once shunned senior coaches were banished to oblivion.

Now he will quickly be absorbed back into the lucrative market for senior assistants and media performers, content with a $600,000 payout from Melbourne.

He will be shattered man for some time, but the only thing worse than being a failure as a senior coach is never having a crack at the title.

He came up well short, but so have hundreds of failed coaches before him.

There is no shame in that.