THE blueprint for repairing the battered and tattered Western Bulldogs starts with the removal of Ryan Griffen from the club.

Agreements are agreements, but contracts in football involve not just a piece of paper, but an emotional covenant as well - and Griffen's actions on Thursday, which triggered the departure of coach Brendan McCartney, broke that covenant.

How can Griffen come back? He would play 2015 under an enormous microscope. Every missed target, every injury, every utterance will be intensely scrutinised. Is his heart still in it? Does he really want to be there?

You don't want malcontents at your football club, particularly the captain - even though in hindsight Griffen was ill-suited for the position in the first place.

Keeping Griffen around the club will serve no purpose for the incoming coach, either. Club president Peter Gordon is a wise man, but he's wrong on the question of player power. It is alive, well and out of control at the Whitten Oval and if you are the new coach of the Western Bulldogs, your job is harder from the start knowing the part Griffen played in the departure of your predecessor.

The very first thing a new coach would demand is the knowledge that every player on the list is happy at the club and committed to remaining a Bulldog. 

From a footballing perspective, trading Griffen now is a no-brainer. He is a great player coming off an average season, but it is a seller's market. If the Bulldogs can extract two first-round picks or an early pick and an experienced player, it is a trade they should make every day of the week.

These are difficult times. And again, with the greatest of respect, we disagree with another sentiment of Gordon's. This is not just another "tough week at the office"; this is indeed a crisis and a full-blown one at that.

Gordon needs to bring the players to heel. It is one thing for Geelong, the Sydney Swans and Hawthorn to empower their players and entrust them with a say in critical decisions for the club. A collective eight premierships in 10 years will do that. These Bulldogs players have delivered just 20 wins in the last three years.

It is a distasteful term in footy, but Gordon could ‘draw a line in the sand’ and invite those who, along with Griffen, had an issue with the coach to declare their hand once and for all. But the risk there is that others may choose to follow Griffen out the door and the Dogs would be left with a playing list resembling that of an expansion club.

In any event, Gordon has to take charge and make sure that the remainder of the trade period continues smoothly and that the coaching search reaps the best result.  

But he also needs to watch his words. The whispers over McCartney's future became a roar from the moment Gordon admitted on Tuesday that the coach had shortcomings he needed to address. 

And his fate was sealed with Gordon’s pregnant pause when asked whether the coach's future was in jeopardy. 

It is an easy, but necessary, comparison to draw when we say that the leadership at the Hawks and the Swans would not be as forthcoming about the internal affairs at their headquarters. The great clubs close ranks around their leaders in tough times and their issues are sorted out away from prying eyes and behind closed doors.