Demons dump shocked McNamee

Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett has questioned whether Melbourne should continue to receive financial assistance from the AFL in light of the Demons dumping chief executive Paul McNamee after just four months in the job.

McNamee - the former chief executive of the Australian Tennis Open - confirmed on Melbourne radio station SEN on Wednesday morning that he had been dumped by the new Demons' board, led by former player Jim Stynes.

One of Australia's best known sports administrators, McNamee - who came to the job having never worked in the football industry - had been appointed by the previous board led by the man that Stynes ousted as chairman, Paul Gardner.

But the departure of McNamee means the Demons - who are already facing a $2 million loss this season and are $5 million in debt - now face another financial pay-out.

McNamee's departure means the Demons - who are last on the ladder with just two wins - have now been seen eight chief executives depart the club in just 12 years.

The former tennis star - who was criticised recently for attending Wimbledon during the middle of the football season and just months into his new job, told SEN he had been told by Stynes that he was not the right man to run the club.

"We had some pretty bold plans and with the new team coming in they are going in a different direction," McNamee said.

"They didn't want me to be a part of that direction so you move on."

"But it's disappointing because I haven't been there that long (but) they (the new board) have got an agenda and they don't see me as part of that agenda."

However, Kennett - whose club has recovered spectacularly both on and off the field since almost being 'swallowed up' by Melbourne in the proposed 1996 merger between the two clubs - was scathing of the Demons' off-field performance.

Kennett, also speaking on the Melbourne radio station, said it was 'a matter of principle' whether clubs should have the AFL bail them out financially from troubles of their own making.

"You can't, because of bad administration time and time again, keep asking to be saved," he said.

"I hope Melbourne under Jimmy Stynes is on the way back, they have enormous challenges but we need to work something out so we don't have these discussions again and again."

Kennett said McNamee should never have been appointed by the club's previous board in the first place given his lack of football experience.

"You've got to hold the (previous) board responsible for that," he said.

"Their (past) boards have consistently failed, they (Melbourne) have had a bad trot but at the end of the day you've got to blame the quality of their administrations."

"(But) hopefully now under Jimmy Stynes and the new board they will make some hard decisions and start to rebuild the club."

Kennett said McNamee was 'an inappropriate choice for a struggling club' and the Demons should have appointed the other leading contender for the job four months ago in Geelong's chief operating officer Stuart Fox.

Fox is second in charge to the highly successful Cats behind the AFL's No.1 administrator, Geelong chief executive Brian Cook.

With the highly-respected Cook just having knocked back a lucrative offer to take over the new Gold Coast club - leaving Fox with no chance of taking over