Peter Jackson is Melbourne's cool and calculating Mr Wolf

THE EXECUTIONER: SO precise, so detached, so clinical, Peter Jackson yesterday was football's equivalent of Mr Wolf.

AAMI Park

SO precise, so detached, so clinical, Peter Jackson yesterday was football's equivalent of Mr Wolf.

You might've heard of Mr Wolf.

He was the character Harvey Keitel played in Pulp Fiction, the cool and calculated cleaner-upperer who was summoned to fix the mess John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson found themselves in.

A blood and gore masterpiece, Mr Wolf's opening line was: "I'm Mr Wolf, I solve problems."

And so does Mr Jackson.

Summoned by the AFL to solve the ever-growing problem which is Melbourne, Mr Jackson is there to solve a bundle of problems.

Neeld never won over the players
Demons two years in hell
Moneyball was a joke

Yesterday's dismissal of Mark Neeld was methodical.

Told at 8am by Mr Jackson, the staff and players were called to a meeting at 9.15am, Neeld spoke to the players about 9.30am, the presser was at 10.30, and the office was cleared and he was gone by 1.30pm.

Mr Jackson, who was in Keitel suit and tie, was decisive in listing the reasons why the coach had to go.

He said the on-field results were unacceptable and below expectations, and the scale of the losses could not be ignored.

There was the fear of a player exodus at the end of the season.

There was also the fans to consider.

There was the fact the club was being hurt financially, at the gate and at corporate level, as were opposition clubs whose plans for 50,000 fans through the turnstiles were burnt when only 35,000 turned up.

And in a brutal assessment, Mr Jackson said the club was an "impediment" on the competition, and he said it with a cool matter of factness, as if he was describing the weather outside. It was difficult to disagree with anything he said.

It's why chief executive Cameron Schwab was sacked, it's why president Don McLardy has departed and it's why Neeld was sacked.

In the end, Neeld lost his job because he couldn't coach his team to be competitive, which affected every aspect of the club.

Mr Jackson probably knew this day would come the moment he walked through the door.

The events of the past two weeks - the board meeting, the soft support for the coach, the AFL Commission meeting, the chairman's resignation, the $3 million from the AFL, the second board meeting and the sacking yesterday - smacked of a well-orchestrated cull, led by Mr Jackson and what's left of their board, namely a bloke named Mr Freeman.

Clearly, all of it was given the nod by the AFL.

The coaching position, however, is now on the backburner. Neil Craig won't get the job next year, although an experienced coach is required and the pickings are slim.

Paul Roos won't scoff at the dollars on offer, Rodney Eade will be interested, so will Mark Williams, and names like Brett Ratten, Mark Harvey and Dean Laidley will be discussed.

Actually, Harvey and Jackson have history at Essendon so Harvey's out.

No, the immediate issue is the board composition, which the AFL also is keenly interested in.

It would appear Jeff Kennett's combative campaign has failed - who were his unseen and unheard of cohorts? - which means insurance heavyweight Geoff Freeman is the frontrunner to be chairman. However, another name emerged yesterday, managing director of finance firm IOOF, Christopher Kelaher, who is being approached by a group of former players including David Neitz, Paul Hopgood, Anthony McDonald, David Schwarz, Anthony Ingerson and Andrew Leoncelli, a former Demons director.

MCC committeeman Will Fowles has also been involved in talks.

Group members have had discussions with McLardy and Mr Jackson, and are keen on securing at least two board positions, one for Kelaher and one for either Neitz or Hopgood.

The former players want to help the club and Mr Jackson will give them an audience.

As Mr Wolf said and Mr Jackson would attest: "Let's get down to brass tacks gentleman ... the clock is ticking."