Ousted Melbourne chief executive Cameron Schwab yesterday at the press conference announcing his departure. Picture: Michael Klein Source: Herald Sun
JUST two games into the new season, Melbourne yesterday reacted to its appalling start by sacking chief executive Cameron Schwab.
Schwab, who has twice been chief executive at Melbourne and has had stints in the same role with Richmond and Fremantle with minimal success, said he took full responsibility for the Demons' huge losses to Port Adelaide and Essendon in the opening two rounds.
President Don McLardy said supporter backlash was the chief reason for seeking Schwab's resignation following a meeting - described by Schwab as a very full and frank discussion - between the pair earlier in the day. Schwab conceded his working relationship with McLardy had broken down.
Schwab, 49, who remarkably escaped punishment from the AFL at the conclusion of the "tanking" investigation earlier in the year, said it was his preference to remain in the position, but understood the reasons for his dismissal.
"Don put it to me that he felt that it was in the best interest of the Melbourne Football Club that I resign," Schwab said. "From my own perspective I was certainly up for the fight. I wasn't going to back away from where the club sits at the moment."
Melbourne directors will meet this week to form a strategy on Schwab's replacement, a role that will be filled in the interim by board member Paul Spargo.
McLardy said: "We have a divided supporter base, we've got a lot of issues with our members and supporters who are looking at us and saying what is the pathway forward and we must offer them hope and change.
"And we need clear eyes to have a look at where we're at.
"Clearly, our football performance is not acceptable and that is part of the role of the CEO as the head of the organisation."
Asked if he was a scapegoat, Schwab said: "I know how the system works ... the ultimate objective is to win games of footy and I'm four years in and we've lost by over 200 points in the last two games and that's an unforgiving situation."
During Schwab's latest tenure, Melbourne has won just 24 of 90 games. In a farcical situation, he was dismissed and reinstated within two days towards the end of the 2011 season, then reappointed for a further three years by the current board two-thirds of the way through last year.
"For lots of reasons there's issues surrounding Cameron and the last four years that we need to put behind us and move forward," McLardy said.
"We have to work out as a board how do we go forward and give our supporters the hope and the desire to stay with our football club and see us succeed."
Of the Demons' 148-point thrashing by Essendon on Saturday night, McLardy said: "We can't let that continue and we would be derelict in our duty if we didn't try and address that in some way and we now want to look with a fresh set of eyes on that side of our football club.
"The unity of our club is absolutely vital and at the moment we have a divided supporter base. Cameron, for whatever reason is fair or unfair, polarises that."
McLardy denied any outside pressure from the AFL to dismiss Schwab. "We make our own decisions on our football club," he said.
The football structure established by Schwab, particularly over the past seven months in relation to player list management, has been woeful.
Schwab oversaw the appointment of current coach Mark Neeld at the end of 2011 and approved the spending of $1.3 million a season to secure both Mitch Clark from Brisbane and Chris Dawes from Collingwood, on long-term deals.
Neeld has won just four of 24 games.
No comments:
Post a Comment