Melbourne’s horrific 2019 has caused a lot of upheaval within the club, but coach Simon Goodwin’s job remains solid.
However, when asked whether Goodwin or recently sacked Fremantle coach Ross Lyon would produce a better win-loss record for the Dees in 2020, David King said the latter.
“If your life depended on results next year, and you said you can have one of these two guys coaching next year, I’m taking Ross Lyon because I’ve seen it,” King told SEN’s Crunch Time.
“I’ve seen him correct a club, bring standards, raise the bar with standards, attach players to become the driving force, empower them for every decision and deliver a game plan that, while some don’t like it, it wins home and away games.
“He hasn’t won the ultimate, but he does ring the rag dry on the players and maybe that has a lifespan, but in a one-off block, you’d say Ross.”
The Dees made the Preliminary Finals in 2018 and are hoping to return to their premiership window in 2020.
Dermott Brereton agrees that Lyon, in this hypothetical scenario, would get more out of the Melbourne players than Goodwin.
“I agree. What makes it interesting is Melbourne is looking at their football department and saying something is wrong,” Brereton said.
“They’ve gone for Alan Richardson who has proven over the years to be a very good person within your football department. He was very good at Port Adelaide in that regard.
“I think they’re looking at their list of coaches and want a change – not necessarily their senior coach.”
King feels it’s a matter of when and not if Lyon returns to a senior coaching job.
“I reckon it’s a certainty (that Lyon coaches again),” he said.