Notably, Green moved to sack Goodwin with three games remaining and days before Smith returned to the country. Smith and Goodwin had not spoken for four months and still haven’t.

There was no doubt in Goodwin’s mind that Green led the decision to axe him, a move that will cost the club about $1 million because the premiership coach was contracted for next year. Green and fellow director Angela Williams remained in the Goodwin kitchen for only a matter of minutes before being asked to leave by the sacked coach, who had sent his children to their bedrooms to avoid any awkward scenes.

Football director Alan Richardson and acting chief executive David Chippindall stayed around a little longer before Goodwin asked to be left alone with his family.

Green and fellow director Angela Williams remained in the Goodwin kitchen for only a matter of minutes before being asked to leave by the sacked coach.

Now Richardson, whose name was absent from the list of leaders Goodwin said had helped establish the club’s success, and whose position had looked precarious all season, has been named on the committee to select Goodwin’s replacement. And Chippindall continues as interim chief executive, as he has since April, paving the way for the incoming boss Paul Guerra.

It was Guerra who pushed for Jobe Watson to join the coach-search panel, where he will sit alongside Melbourne Storm’s Frank Ponissi with Richardson, the only member boasting coaching experience.

Still, should the favourite Nathan Buckley accept the position, the make-up of that panel – which also includes Smith and Green – will prove academic.

The red flags flying in the face of the Melbourne coaching role include the ongoing and still uncertain search for a permanent central training and administration facility.

Goodwin’s departing clip about the geographically unattractive Casey Fields struck a chord. That and the ongoing debate over the football direction of the club given that Green stated after sacking Goodwin that he believes the club remains in premiership contention.

One week ago, Leigh Matthews stated that Melbourne, for him, remained a coaching no-go zone unless the candidate was absolutely desperate to become a senior coach. Matthews’ reason was that the club badly needed a football chief executive like Carlton’s incoming Graham Wright and that Guerra had no football experience.

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Add to those red flags the lack of clarity over the presidential handover and the strange decision from Green to delay it and push to remain at the helm after working so hard late last year to recruit Smith. This at a time when so many key and crucial football decisions loom.

Whether or not you agree with the decision to sack Simon Goodwin, it cannot be disputed that he coached in often challenging and occasionally untenable conditions. Board discord has punctuated the past six seasons, including 2021 when Goodwin coached the club to its first flag in almost six decades. Surely the next coach will be spared that distraction.

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