Now pair Matthews' diktat with the old proverb: a fish rots from the head. At various times since its halcyon era, the club has been let down by its administrators, coaches and on-field leaders alike – sometimes all three at once. Season 2016 is a shining example.

And Matthews is the biggest fish. Lionised – pardon the pun – as a saviour when he returned to the club's board as football director in late 2013, Matthews appointed Justin Leppitsch to replace his former triple-premiership captain, Michael Voss, as coach. He extended Leppitsch's contract against AFL advice in the pre-season.

Such is Matthews' standing, both in the game and especially at the club, that no one has been prepared to challenge him. As the Lions flailed, so did Matthews, lashing the AFL at every opportunity over the introduction of the Gold Coast Suns to the competition. He may as well shake his fist at passing clouds.

There is no doubt that the Lions' fall under Voss in 2010, from a finals berth in 2009 to 13th on the ladder, came at the worst possible time for the club, when the Suns were about to enter the competition. But that was also the year Voss overestimated his list and imported Brendan Fevola, among others, in a premature premiership tilt.

It was a rookie error. But it's an error that can be traced back to Voss' appointment at the end of 2008, when the Lions' then-chairman Tony Kelly told the assembled media that the Lions had done their due diligence in appointing the untried Voss – only to admit in the next breath that the club had interviewed no other candidates for the job.

The Brisbane Lions have been a boy's club. At times, perhaps – certainly in the years before the tumultuous board split of 2013 – a fan boy's club. What's happened in the past decade is an old story, told at so many sporting organisations before them: heroes from the past are exalted as gods, only to be revealed as fallible human beings.

More mistakes followed. Though Fevola finished season 2010 in ignominious fashion, he hadn't yet been sacked by the club when it went to that year's draft. The Lions recruited Jared Polec with pick number five. They could have secured Tom Lynch, an All-Australian this year, who modelled his game on Jonathan Brown's.

Perhaps that's unfair, for any of West Coast, Richmond or Essendon could have had him too. But West Coast already had Josh Kennedy and Quinten Lynch, Richmond Jack Riewoldt and Ty Vickery, and Essendon picked a future captain in Dyson Heppell.

In recruiting Fevola, the Lions had their eyes on the prize when they needed it on the horizon. That meant a long-term replacement for Brown, not a sidekick – certainly not one with the baggage Fevola was carrying. This is not hindsight: there were more red flags surrounding Fev by then than at a Chinese-Russian diplomatic summit.

It's a sad truism that champion players who return to coach the clubs they served so well rarely leave on as good terms or with their reputations enhanced. James Hird is only the most tragic example. Kevin Bartlett, Tony Shaw and Wayne Schimmelbusch would all feel Voss and Leppitsch's pain, too.

But Voss and Leppitsch have also been failed by those around them. It was easy to stay at the Gabba, with its high rent and ageing facilities, in the fat times following the premierships, back when crowds hovered over or around the 30,000 mark. This year the Lions have struggled to pull half that number.

To be fair, they weren't helped by an awful draw, with the Lions playing home games against Fremantle, West Coast, Greater Western Sydney and Port Adelaide in a row. But against big Melbourne clubs like Collingwood and Hawthorn, Lions fans found themselves outnumbered, underlining the softness of AFL support in Queensland.

It didn't help that the club has at times done its best to alienate its own membership base, which wasn't consulted over the so-called "paddle pop lion" guernsey, a design that flew in the face of the club's own history. Thankfully the guernsey is now history too, but it was a pointless argument to pick in the first place.

Sometimes farce has turned into tragedy, no more so than in 2013, when former chair Angus Johnson (who succeeded Kelly) told his board he had Paul Roos over the line as coach. He didn't, but it was enough to convince them to sack Voss anyway, in a manner ill-befitting a club legend.

That pre-empted the split that saw Johnson ousted, Matthews brought back, and Greg Swann later installed by the AFL as CEO, replacing Malcolm Holmes. For a time, it seemed the club was finally getting its house in order. But there was trouble on field, too, which went beyond the wins and losses column.

At the end of that year, five first-round draft picks walked out of the club. Reports of disharmony were rife, and there have been persistent allegations of bullying which was central to the departure of at least two of those players – Elliot Yeo, now with West Coast, and Sam Docherty, who has had a career-best year at Carlton.

In an attempt to stabilise the situation, mediocrity was rewarded. Daniel Rich was given a five-year deal; Stefan Martin, 30 in November, got another four – a huge risk, even allowing for a career-best season in 2015. Pearce Hanley had his contract extended. All have had indifferent years.

Tom Rockliff, captain of the Lions since 2014, has been criticised for his leadership style and there are question marks over his future role at the club, if indeed he stays. Swann and chair Bob Sharpless made clear Rockliff's position was being reviewed (along with everyone else at the club) when Leppitsch's position was terminated.

Those premiership players who have plied their trade elsewhere have done well. The Scott brothers are both senior coaches. Chris Scott inherited a brilliant Geelong team from Mark Thompson in 2011, won a flag in his first year, and has since bravely turned over much of the list to stand on the brink of another premiership.

Brad Scott wasn't gifted with anything like the same embarrassment of riches at North Melbourne, but has led a team just short on class to successive preliminary finals. And like Chris, he's proven equally ruthless in his willingness to cut the club's greatest servants if he believes it to be in the Kangaroos' best interests.

Both served long apprenticeships before taking on senior jobs. Other former Lions are in assistant roles: Nigel Lappin is at Geelong; Luke Power at Greater Western Sydney. Voss, to his great credit, has returned to coaching ranks in a lesser role, working with Port Adelaide's midfielders.

Then there is Simon Black, the third Brownlow medallist in the Lions' celebrated "fab four". Black had been the Lions' midfield coach since his retirement in 2013 but has stepped away from the club to concentrate on his burgeoning football academy. Reports suggest Black has been unhappy at the club this year.

Needless to say, whoever coaches the Lions next year – and there are no obvious experienced candidates in waiting – has an enormous challenge ahead of him. If the rot started at the top, the rebuild will begin from the bottom. Josh Schache, Harris Andrews, Eric Hipwood, Rhys Mathieson and Ben Keays are the future of the club.

Regardless of whether the Lions deserve a priority pick or not, the AFL has indicated it will be considered. If it's granted, the club may look to trade it – or, if it's brave, the club captain – for an already established player on the rise with leadership qualities. Senior players will be on notice; the ranks of assistant coaches may be purged.

For too long, the Lions longed for quick fixes and looked to messiahs. There are none. Even the mooted new training and administration base near the airport will take a good two years to build. For the Lions' pride to be restored, it's going to have to pack up and start again.