OK, I know the view most PREnders have of Patrick Smith but have a read, and a think, about this article of his in today's Australian:
THIS season the AFL made an unequivocal undertaking that 16 clubs would exist in the competition. It was putting polish on a previous position where the league said the competitive balance fund would ensure the immediate future of all clubs. It all may have proved a little premature unless Richmond acts quickly and intelligently.
The Tigers, by president Clinton Casey's own admission, are rabble. Pick a department - marketing, football, finance. All of them rabble.
They under-perform for various reasons. Finance is simply under-manned. Marketing might not even exist. The team scored one goal in a half of footy against Port Adelaide last round. The club backed the football department to turn around its fortunes so they robbed Peter to pay Paul. And Paul can't get a kick.
This is not a problem that can be tinkered with. Solutions won't be found fiddling around the edges. One idea won't fix it. Nor will one individual. The Tigers are not yet on their death bed but they have slipped on their best pyjamas.
Casey must learn from history. Other AFL clubs have faced these problems and prospered. And recently, too. In 1998 Geelong was a financial mess in 12th place on the ladder. The same year Collingwood finished last and was all but broke.
Now Collingwood has money in the bank, an extraordinary profile and $16million in sponsorships. The club has played in the past two grand finals. It will soon be in a state-of-the-art home at Olympic Park. Geelong is building a new stand and transforming its home ground, has wiped off $7m in debt and is in the top eight. While Geelong has to cope with less money to achieve its goals than Collingwood, there is a constant between the two clubs.
At their nadir, strong men at Geelong and Collingwood made brave decisions.
At Geelong Ron Hovey was president in late 1998. He decided that at the forthcoming election all board members must stand for re-election. After the voting was done Frank Costa and his ticket were running the club. Costa was made president.
By March 1999 Brian Cook was in charge as CEO. He had successfully run the West Coast Eagles for the previous nine years. His experience was a godsend, for Costa and his board were all but new to the caper. Only Costa and one other had been football directors.
Still Cook was in for a shock. The club debt was around $7m, his captain Leigh Colbert wanted to leave and soon his coach Gary Ayres wanted to renegotiate his contract.
A budgeted profit of $200,000 was actually headed for a $1.1m loss. More than 30 per cent of club revenue came from Ford. It was good to have such a generous benefactor but if Ford walked away Geelong would fall over. The new Cat Cook had been sold a pup.
He discovered the Geelong football club and the social club were independent bodies with different boards with dissimilar attitudes. There were supporter groups around Australia working to odd agendas. The culture of the place worshipped the individual. Ayres had tried to change it, introduce team values but it had been an all but fruitless fight.
However, Costa had given Cook a broad brief. He was to be an agent of change and he withheld nothing from the members. They were informed of the disastrous financial position. They were told the club would rebuild with youth. Board members put up $1m of their own money. Quickly staff were turned over. Around 30 per cent in his first year. Now it stands at 85 per cent.
Midway through his first year Ayres sought an extension of his contract. Geelong was not in a position to do a deal and coach and club mutually agreed to part at the end of 1999.
Cook, along with board members Doug Wade and Gareth Andrews, searched for a new coach. The pay packet was limited. At the same time the Cats were in the market place, so were Eddie McGuire and Collingwood. Mick Malthouse went for a lot of money to Collingwood, Mark Thompson with a lot of good wishes to Geelong.
Thompson was given an assurance that he had the time to build his team. The turnover would be dramatic. Not one player, father-son excepted, drafted between 1995-99 remains on the Geelong list. In his first year Thompson took the club to the finals but success has been limited since.
Despite the ladder positions the Geelong heavies could see improvements and believed that it took elite sportsmen five to six years to reach their peak. And there was an acknowledgment that because of limited finances Thompson did not have the resources and assistants available to richer clubs. Even now Geelong runs at just 94 per cent of the salary cap.
At Collingwood a similar scenario played out though on slightly grander scales. McGuire took over the presidency in 1999 and brought Greg Swann to the club a year later as CEO. With Malthouse they formed a formidable team. Swann walked into an operating loss of $1.5m from the previous year and a black hole of debt but along with the board and his president, Collingwood will have as much as $8m to bank come this season's end. Both clubs vowed to rebuild with kids and not trade away early picks for pre-used players.
Geelong does not have Collingwood's profile but it has that club's stability off the field and has its measure on the field. Most importantly it is respected.
Richmond will only continue to exist in the AFL if it follows the blueprint set down by Geelong and Collingwood. A new CEO alone is not enough. The Tigers have recognised that the football department must go though Greg Miller will be retained. A new board must be formed, marketing and finance departments revitalised and restocked. And they must find the very best coach that their money can buy.
Anything less than all of that and the Tigers' club song will be its dirge.
Richmond need blueprint for success
May 28, 2004
THIS season the AFL made an unequivocal undertaking that 16 clubs would exist in the competition. It was putting polish on a previous position where the league said the competitive balance fund would ensure the immediate future of all clubs. It all may have proved a little premature unless Richmond acts quickly and intelligently.
The Tigers, by president Clinton Casey's own admission, are rabble. Pick a department - marketing, football, finance. All of them rabble.
They under-perform for various reasons. Finance is simply under-manned. Marketing might not even exist. The team scored one goal in a half of footy against Port Adelaide last round. The club backed the football department to turn around its fortunes so they robbed Peter to pay Paul. And Paul can't get a kick.
This is not a problem that can be tinkered with. Solutions won't be found fiddling around the edges. One idea won't fix it. Nor will one individual. The Tigers are not yet on their death bed but they have slipped on their best pyjamas.
Casey must learn from history. Other AFL clubs have faced these problems and prospered. And recently, too. In 1998 Geelong was a financial mess in 12th place on the ladder. The same year Collingwood finished last and was all but broke.
Now Collingwood has money in the bank, an extraordinary profile and $16million in sponsorships. The club has played in the past two grand finals. It will soon be in a state-of-the-art home at Olympic Park. Geelong is building a new stand and transforming its home ground, has wiped off $7m in debt and is in the top eight. While Geelong has to cope with less money to achieve its goals than Collingwood, there is a constant between the two clubs.
At their nadir, strong men at Geelong and Collingwood made brave decisions.
At Geelong Ron Hovey was president in late 1998. He decided that at the forthcoming election all board members must stand for re-election. After the voting was done Frank Costa and his ticket were running the club. Costa was made president.
By March 1999 Brian Cook was in charge as CEO. He had successfully run the West Coast Eagles for the previous nine years. His experience was a godsend, for Costa and his board were all but new to the caper. Only Costa and one other had been football directors.
Still Cook was in for a shock. The club debt was around $7m, his captain Leigh Colbert wanted to leave and soon his coach Gary Ayres wanted to renegotiate his contract.
A budgeted profit of $200,000 was actually headed for a $1.1m loss. More than 30 per cent of club revenue came from Ford. It was good to have such a generous benefactor but if Ford walked away Geelong would fall over. The new Cat Cook had been sold a pup.
He discovered the Geelong football club and the social club were independent bodies with different boards with dissimilar attitudes. There were supporter groups around Australia working to odd agendas. The culture of the place worshipped the individual. Ayres had tried to change it, introduce team values but it had been an all but fruitless fight.
However, Costa had given Cook a broad brief. He was to be an agent of change and he withheld nothing from the members. They were informed of the disastrous financial position. They were told the club would rebuild with youth. Board members put up $1m of their own money. Quickly staff were turned over. Around 30 per cent in his first year. Now it stands at 85 per cent.
Midway through his first year Ayres sought an extension of his contract. Geelong was not in a position to do a deal and coach and club mutually agreed to part at the end of 1999.
Cook, along with board members Doug Wade and Gareth Andrews, searched for a new coach. The pay packet was limited. At the same time the Cats were in the market place, so were Eddie McGuire and Collingwood. Mick Malthouse went for a lot of money to Collingwood, Mark Thompson with a lot of good wishes to Geelong.
Thompson was given an assurance that he had the time to build his team. The turnover would be dramatic. Not one player, father-son excepted, drafted between 1995-99 remains on the Geelong list. In his first year Thompson took the club to the finals but success has been limited since.
Despite the ladder positions the Geelong heavies could see improvements and believed that it took elite sportsmen five to six years to reach their peak. And there was an acknowledgment that because of limited finances Thompson did not have the resources and assistants available to richer clubs. Even now Geelong runs at just 94 per cent of the salary cap.
At Collingwood a similar scenario played out though on slightly grander scales. McGuire took over the presidency in 1999 and brought Greg Swann to the club a year later as CEO. With Malthouse they formed a formidable team. Swann walked into an operating loss of $1.5m from the previous year and a black hole of debt but along with the board and his president, Collingwood will have as much as $8m to bank come this season's end. Both clubs vowed to rebuild with kids and not trade away early picks for pre-used players.
Geelong does not have Collingwood's profile but it has that club's stability off the field and has its measure on the field. Most importantly it is respected.
Richmond will only continue to exist in the AFL if it follows the blueprint set down by Geelong and Collingwood. A new CEO alone is not enough. The Tigers have recognised that the football department must go though Greg Miller will be retained. A new board must be formed, marketing and finance departments revitalised and restocked. And they must find the very best coach that their money can buy.
Anything less than all of that and the Tigers' club song will be its dirge.
