Melbourne CEO Cameron Schwab expressed concerns in the Herald Sun and The Age on Tuesday that Fevola's presence on the forward line of its VFL partner, Casey, would stifle the development of youngsters like Lucas Cook, Jeremy Howe and Tom McDonald.
But Ayres, who unsuccessfully tried to secure Fevola for the Borough before he signed an in-principle agreement to play with Casey in 2011, told afl.com.au Schwab's concerns may be unfounded.
"The bottom line is 'Fev' is a great footballer when everything's going right for him," Ayres said.
"There are things off the field that don't tend to go as well for Brendan for one reason or another, but you would like to think that on the football field those sort of younger players can look and learn from how Brendan goes about his playing trade.
"It may not be as bad as Melbourne make it out to be."
As a former AFL coach with Geelong and Adelaide, Ayres said tensions between aligned AFL and VFL sides were inevitable, but backed Casey's decision to put its own needs before Melbourne's concerns.
"You've got two organisations that have got different charters," he said.
"Melbourne's is about bringing on young players as part of their list management. What Casey is wanting is to bring excellent players into their environment to win a flag. That's the bottom line.
"That's why it's interesting to see how these alignments work. And Casey has certainly been strong enough to say, 'No, this is what we want' and good luck to them if that's the case.
"And you'd would really like to think Melbourne have got to put up with it, or try and work in with it, otherwise their alignment won't go all that far."
Ayres also backed Fevola's decision to play in the VFL this year, saying it was the best avenue for him to pursue his desired return to the AFL in 2012.
"There's no doubt about the strength of the competition. You've only got to look at some of the VFL players who've been able to make the transition to the AFL recently, guys like Michael Barlow and Robin Nahas," he said.
"In Brendan's case, if it is Casey he plays with, there's also the bonus that he has family there and the infrastructure to feel really comfortable.
"If that all happens to fall into place for him, you'd like to think there'll be a positive result."
And as good as Ayres expects the VFL will be for Fevola, he expects the spearhead will return the favour by creating much-needed interest in the competition and drawing people through the gates.
"As a Coleman medallist and All-Australian, you would certainly think there's no doubt Brendan could do that," he said.
