As a bewildered and blindsided Paul Guerra can now attest after his stunning sacking as Melbourne’s chief executive, there is a reason the cliche about a week being a long time in football exists.
It is impossible to imagine the ousted club boss had any inkling of what was to come as the Demons celebrated a stirring triumph over the double-defending premiers Brisbane at the MCG just ten days ago. But by then, he was effectively gone.
Watch every match of every round of the Premiership Season LIVE and ad-break free during play on FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.
In announcing streaming executive Dan Taylor, who has served as a non-executive director on the Melbourne board since December, as his replacement, it was revealed the behind the scenes plotting, a dark art so familiar in footy, had been going on for a fortnight prior to Guerra being removed on Tuesday.
“We think we just got this one wrong, and it is time to move on,” Melbourne president Steven Smith said on Wednesday.
The sun is shining on the Demons on the field under new coach Steven King, the former Geelong and St Kilda ruckman who was appointed to the role in the infancy of Guerra’s brief stewardship, with Melbourne playing with pleasing dash and dare.
Max Gawn is the premier ruckman in the competition and has claims to being the best captain as well. Kozzie Pickett aspires to be the game’s best player and is building a CV that suggests he will challenge for the role. And younger Demons are firing.
Big decisions have been made during Guerra’s stint in charge, though admittedly on the football front. Christian Petracca is on the Gold Coast. Clayton Oliver is at the Giants. And Steven May, amid a scandal, is now having a kick at suburban level.
READ MORE
Paul Guerra shock: Demons move swiftly to appoint new leader
Lyon’s reveal: Melbourne great reveals target as ‘blindsided’ CEO breaks silence
As Melbourne great Garry Lyon said in his role as co-host of Fox Footy’s AFL 360, life is good between the big sticks, which explains why the bewilderment went beyond Guerra, with Smith conceding players and staff were also puzzled by the call.
“When your footy club’s 5-2 against all odds and expectations, things appear on the surface to be going well on field (but) I guess you never know what’s going (on) off field,” Lyon said.
“I’m told (there was) a loss in confidence in Paul. There was a genuine breakdown with the board. In the end, it was a unanimous board decision.
“They’re standing on the fact they haven’t shied away from making hard decisions in recent times – and that includes the sacking of Simon Goodwin, the trading of Christian Petracca and the appointment of Steven King out of nowhere.”
It is said Guerra, a charismatic figure who had previously run the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, was liked by the players and received messages from several Demons after his axing.
But the clouds had been gathering behind the scenes on several fronts, according to Smith, which prompted the brutal call.
Guerra sacking adds to Dees’ payout list | 01:46
WHAT HAPPENED?
When it comes to famous sackings, Melbourne has form. This is the club that axed legendary coach Norm Smith, who led them to six flags including the 1964 premiership, midway through the following season amid a dispute with the board.
There are also questions as to whether the removal of an off-field executive has any impact on the form on the field – the Demons will be hoping that is not the case as they prepare for a clash with the ladder-leading Swans at the SCG on Sunday.
The average fan, too, tends to care more about whether their team is performing, who is getting a kick, how warm their pie is and what the cost of a beer is rather than caring too much about off-field matters. They barrack for the jumper, not the suits.
But the upheaval, and the timing and intrigue surrounding it, has heightened interest in the swift culling of Guerra.
Given Guerra is consulting with lawyers and was offered little clarity as to why he had been sacked, Smith said he was restrained in what he could say about the matter. Rather than offering specifics, he focused on the vibe on Wednesday.
“There was no one particular thing,” he said.
“It was a difficult decision for us to make … we had to go through the information that was available to us and we were unanimous in deciding it was time to move Paul on.”
THE HURDLES
While the detail is lacking, the murmurs are not. Among the points of contention is Melbourne’s long-running search to establish a new headquarters, with the relatively recent push to find a home at the Caulfield racecourse in contention.
Smith said the Demons were “quite close” to an announcement in regards to Caulfield, but that appears at odds with reporting over several weeks from the specialist racing website Betsy on the partnership, which has said any deal is more distant.
The discussions have been complicated by the fact that Guerra is also a Racing Victoria board member, which presents a conflict, though Smith denied this was a factor in the axing on Wednesday.
“We are getting very close on Caulfield. We are confident on Caulfield, subject to …” Smith said, trailing off and changing to a different topic mid-answer without providing further detail.
Subject to what remains a key question and in a detailed piece in late February, which the Demons and Guerra opted against providing comment for, the website raised several points of contention between the Melbourne football and racing clubs.
Chief among the concerns was the prospect Caulfield would need to stop racing for 12 months in order for a pedestrian tunnel to be built that would connect Melbourne’s mooted training complex with a new administrative building at the site.
“The Victorian Government and the MRC are aligned that racing remains the primary and protected use of Caulfield. Any proposal must ensure there is no disruption to racing operations, track integrity, member access, or urban amenity and impact on the local community arising from any planned development,” the Melbourne Racing Club told Betsy.
In the interim, the Demons and Richmond are in a race to secure a move to Waverley Park, which was most recently occupied by Hawthorn, temporarily. While the Demons are seeking a permanent home, the Tigers need to relocate from Punt Rd for a period to allow for further development of their home ground, chiefly the build of a high-class training facility.
Smith also refused to discuss whether Guerra’s connection to Sy Gian Nguyen through a part-ownership in horses owned by the businessman, an association reported on at length by the Herald Sun last month, played any role.
Nguyen, who was formerly a sponsor of Geelong, is under investigation over his dealings and lavish spending at Crown, according to the paper.
“I can’t comment on that. All I can say is that it is something I will not provide any specific dealings on,” Smith said.
Another matter that caused unrest was a meeting the Demons chaired with players and wives related to a domestic matter involving May in late January which drew police involvement. The matter involving May is now resolved, Victoria Police said.
But at least one person on the call was upset the confidentiality of the premiership defender, who retired from the AFL in February, and his partner had been breached, which prompted a public apology from the Demons earlier this month.
STUNNING! Sacked CEO to be replaced asap | 04:09
IS FOOTY EXPERIENCE A NECESSITY?
Renowned chief executive Brian Cook, who endured successful tenures at West Coast and Geelong, had been mentoring Guerra, though he said he had nothing to do with the decision made by the Melbourne board.
“I have been through a fair bit over the years, over 40 years,” he said.
“This one is a bit unfortunate. I feel for Paul. He is a good man. But footy has a strange way of working sometimes.”
He will serve as an interim chief executive as Taylor serves out his contract as an executive director with streaming service StanAustralia, with Fox understanding Cook’s time in charge will finish before an August break in Western Australia.
Adding intrigue to the sacking of Guerra is Cook’s statement that chief executives without football experience tend to struggle in the role given its intricacies, though Smith said his lack of experience in footy “was not a concern” when he was appointed.
“Experience and knowledge in the football area (was against him) but he did have some very good traits around the commercial world, in particular, and stakeholder engagement, so he had his strengths and he had his weaknesses, like most of us,” Cook said.
“What I would say is that there are very few CEOs who come from outside football and into football who become successful CEOs. Very few. If I asked you now ‘Who are they?’, you probably couldn’t tell me.
“It is a difficult task to understand the footy culture. That is why I was brought in, to try to help that progression.”
Cook’s challenge, once his interim tenure is over, is to mentor Taylor. While a lifelong Melbourne fan who now has four months of experience on the board, it could be argued the incoming boss is not steeped in “footy culture” either.
But the Demons stressed Taylor’s experience in media, sport and business strategy as a strength and Smith is confident that this time around Melbourne has the right man for the job.
The Melbourne president is also confident the change will have no detrimental impact on their form.
“He has got some great traits. He is smart, super smart. He has got great vision. He has got great leadership style and with Brian’s support, we think he will quickly adapt to bing a successful CEO,” Smith said.
“(The players and staff) were puzzled, but they are a very resilient group. They will get through this. Footy clubs move on and Steven King was comfortable with this.”
Cook, in the meantime, will get his head around the inner-workings of Melbourne, but likes what he is seeing on the field.
“My priority is to ensure there is stability but also to make the decisions that need to be made and ensure the handover to Dan is an effective one,” he said.
Discussion about this post