Gutnick said his problem with Stockdale was purely a personality clash. The two of us seem to clash, so it is me or you, Alan. While the football department will attempt to steer clear of the issue, it is understood Demons senior coach Neale Daniher has serious misgivings about such board machinations being played out in the middle of a season. Gutnick predicted the issue would not be a distraction for the players, who find themselves delicately positioned on the ladder with four wins and four losses. Democracy is rejuvenating, envigorating and positive.
Individuals come and go but the real loser out of it is the club.
Sean White, a former player who resigned from the board in the wake of Gutnick's decision to sack former coach Neil Balme midway through the 1997 season, told the Seven network that constant boardroom bickering could have an effect on sponsors. Gutnick's boardroom purge may also be met with resistance by the Melbourne Cricket Club, which has the right to appoint two directors to the football club board. Both Stockdale and Guest are MCC appointees although, in the case of Stockdale, it was an appointment made at the suggestion of the football club. Gutnick denied he was seeking to remove all dissenting voices on the board. But as one former director explained, Stockdale is not alone is his view that Gutnick is seeking to run the club as one of his private companies.