It’s called a trade window, but it’s not really a window. It’s an opening with a blind pulled down over it, beneath which everyone inside keeps peeping out, and everyone outside keeps watching out for shadows. And so we end up with the Clayton Oliver debacle.

Unarguably, Melbourne’s leaders have handled the whole episode poorly, and it is not over yet. Nor has Oliver covered himself in glory. All of which left list manager Tim Lamb in an impossible position when he faced media on Monday. But the underlying problem is the system,........

© The Sydney Morning Herald