While the Melbourne Football Club’s 186-point loss to Geelong was disgraceful, what was more sickening was how Dean Bailey was treated, with Demons’ management axing the coach as it looks toward the future.
Dean Bailey paid the ultimate price for his players’ woeful attitude on Saturday afternoon and the board, led by club legend Jim Stynes, took the easy option to fix the club.
Stynes stressed that the result against Geelong was a one off, and not a sign of where the club heading. If this is so, why couldn’t Dean Bailey keep his job?
Surely he deserved a chance like the players to make up for the horror loss against Carlton this Saturday afternoon.
If Stynes believes that the result is not a reflection of the club, it cannot be a reflection of Bailey’s coaching, as he is, or was, a part of the club.
But of course the coach pays the price, and the Melbourne board knew this when cutting the coach loose.
No-one at board level wants to take any responsibility for what happened; they all want Dean Bailey forgotten quickly.
Remember, the Herald Sun reported on Saturday that Bailey was going to get a contract extension. But the loss ensured that scenario disappeared as quickly as the day becomes night in winter.
Melbourne senior management will point to Bailey’s coaching record as being poor (25 percent winning ratio), however that has to be taken into context.
Melbourne was rebuilding, and needed draft picks to become a competitive premiership contender. Now while there have been denials, there is no doubt that the coach was under instruction to finish low enough to gain draft picks.
Bailey copped a lot of criticism for this, while the board and management escaped any scrutiny over the allegations.
But when the tough times have arrived, the board made the easy decision, forgetting how much criticism Bailey took for their recruiting policy.
As much as I respect Jim Stynes, I am very disappointed with his leadership over this whole scenario. Bailey deserved a chance to correct the horrors of Skilled Stadium and Stynes should have let him at least see out the season.
When Melbourne becomes a powerhouse in the next few years, people will praise the premiership winning coach but forget the man who did the hard yards to build the team.
No-one will remember the work of Dean Bailey, which will be the ultimate sadness to come out of his sacking.
Shame on the Melbourne Football Club for their pathetic attempt to rectify a horror loss. They still have not learnt how to deal with a coach since the sacking of Norm Smith.