INTERIM Melbourne CEO Peter Jackson doesn't mince words.



That's the impression he has given Melbourne staff since joining the club and nothing changed when he did the media rounds this weekend.



"I'm not here to tell the supporters and members to be patient. If I do that they will throw a brick at me," Jackson told AFL.com.au.



It's a wise choice of words because there is no group of members more fatigued with change and promises and patience than Melbourne supporters.



After the 10-goal shellacking at the hands of Gold Coast on Sunday they are now empty, almost devoid of emotion.



As Jackson told radio pre-game "a lot of Melbourne supporters are wondering what the hell is going on with their footy club".



Sunday's performance only made them yell the question louder.



That won't worry Jackson if he stands by what he told AFL.com.au on Friday. "The noise [in football] is a constant. If you let it drive your agenda then you don't get anything done. You're reacting all of the time," Jackson said.



But it won't stop him from asking hard questions.



The first area Jackson should examine is list management.



Melbourne's drafting was terrible for five years up until 2011.



Along came early picks and along came the same types of players: Jack Watts, Jack Trengove, Tom Scully, Matthew Bate, Lynden Dunn, Cale Morton, Sam Blease, Jamie Bennell, Jordan Gysberts and Lucas Cook.



Nine of those 11 remain on AFL lists yet just four with Melbourne. Only Scully and Dunn played on the weekend. All have question marks over their resilience and performance.



It's also worth noting that of the 11 players Melbourne offloaded at the end of 2012 only Brent Moloney played senior football at the weekend. The rest were injured, retired or playing seconds football.



Despite all the outrage, no club seems to be making a better fist of developing those offloaded than Melbourne did.



Perhaps many of Melbourne's picks from 2004 onwards were the wrong choices all along: the equivalent of one club picking 15 Richard Tamblings.



For all the doom and gloom, Matt Jones and Jack Viney were its best performers on Sunday. Dean Terlich is battling hard and Dean Kent has shown signs. Good judges still rate Jimmy Toumpas highly. Jesse Hogan can play.



Even Jackson told members pre-game he thought recent recruiting didn't look too bad.



The reality is that mature-aged recruits Cameron Pedersen and David Rodan have not started well. Chris Dawes needs time to jell with the group and Shannon Byrnes has battled hard.



Is there something wrong with the leadership?



That the club has led itself into that position boils down to a lack of leadership at all levels.



Anyone who thinks it is solely a Mark Neeld problem is delusional. It is a whole of club problem.



Since the turn of the century CEOs never quite worked: John Anderson, Ray Ellis, Steve Harris, Paul McNamee and Cameron Schwab all rode in and carried their saddles out.



If Jackson doesn't want to remain CEO – he has not entertained that option – then the club needs an experienced administrator who can take up the baton at pace. That means a CEO with football in his blood, such as an Andrew Ireland or Trevor Nisbett type.



The presidents since Joseph Gutnick have been Gabriel Szondy, Paul Gardner, the unfortunate Jim Stynes and incumbent Don McLardy.



Apart from Stynes, they represent uncertainty or false bravado.



The board needs to look around to ensure the people sitting on it have what it takes to move the football club forward.



The coaches since Neale ,Daniher have been stand-ins or inexperienced with Dean Bailey, Mark Riley, Todd Viney and now Mark Neeld not exactly Hall of Famers.



Bailey was stuck in a dysfunctional football department and with players who could not rise above it.



Neeld was given a licence to be tough and he delivered.



But the hammering has created some cracks, particularly when he did not have the brand to make those who complained fade away.



How to assess the coach and what good would change do now?



Neeld recognised the problems when he arrived from a club used to bruising (Collingwood) to a club that was bruised (Melbourne).



The only problem was the club he came from had spent years getting used to taking the hits.



Inexperience is likely to have led to Neeld making some mistakes in communicating his message. His honesty might have stopped him using players merely to get the group from point A to point B.



Colin Garland, Jeremy Howe, Jack Grimes, Nathan Jones and Colin Sylvia have improved under Neeld. Mark Jamar played his best football under Bailey's more conciliatory approach. James Frawley appears to be hampered.



Then you're down to mainly youngsters.



As Jackson said, assessing Neeld's performance is made tougher because of the drama surrounding the club during his tenure.



But that is what Jackson will have to do, in a noisy environment that love to see heads roll.



In reality all the gnashing of teeth and tears and folded arms that have followed each loss matters little now.



Being systematic, clinical, precise and focused in decision making in the next four months does.



Then a course can be set for 2014.

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