The Hydra ~ Caro rears her head again

[PyreneesPie]

On AFL 360 last night, the question was discussed as to whether the renewal of Bucks would become part of the board feud. Would the opinion of each faction regarding this affect how members voted?

It was concluded that the current board will remain in place long enough to make the decision on Bucks before any elections can take place.

[Dr Pie]

I supported an EGM but I now find myself with two Presidential candidates that I do not want to support. Both belong to the old regime. Korda because he has been on the Board since 2007 and was there when all the mistakes were made but not when Eddie was at his best in his first decade. Browne is backed by Eddie and Ned Kelly. He hasn't said much about his policies but it would be appear that he will be Eddie without Eddie's tendency to run off at the mouth but also without his creative thinking. It also appears that electing Browne will mean that we will lose Sizer, Licuria and Murphy from the Board who are the only Board members that I would vote for.

I personally would like a President like Peggy O'Neal at Richmond. Peggy does PR for the Club (with much more thought than Eddie before she opens her mouth). She raises money and balances the Board. She does not manage the club - she leaves that to Benny Gale, who is probably the best CEO in the AFL. She does not run the football department. She has a large staff for that. including a premiership winning coach.

I realise that Hardwick and Dusty Martin are the two biggest reasons for Richmond's three flags in four years, but having a President who does not think her job is to meddle in the football department certainly helped.

I have no idea how we find suitable candidates for the Board but I am sure that neither Korda or Browne is the answer to Collingwood's current problems.

[RudeBoy]

I would hope some well qualified, but independent voices get elected to the board, whenever an election is held. While it seems the the issue of most concern to members is our coaching position and on-field performance, to my mind there is a far more important issue at stake. That of integrity.

I was dismayed by the shabby treatment metered out to some of our players last year, particularly the manner in which Treloar's exit was handled and communicated. I was shocked we off-loaded one of our most talented (yet clearly troubled and troublesome) young players, Stephenson, in an admission that we (with all the resources of the CFC) could not help him grow up and develop. I was equally dismayed at the attempted suppression and eventual manner of release of the Do Better Report. I was also shocked to see our former President left holding the can and 'forced' to resign, with no apparent support from the other board members. Having said that, I believe Eddie should have resigned himself several years ago. Clearly he stayed on too long.

In all of these matters, what has been missing has been humility, openness, honesty and integrity. In its place has been an over emphasis on arrogance and media spin. The result has been serious damage to the culture and respect held by our club. And all this, in spite of the much good our club has done and continues to do. I hope good people can be elected to our board, to initiate a wide-ranging cultural change. If we get that right, it will create the right environment for our players to perform at their very best. Floreat Pica.

[The Boy Who Cried Wolf]

If neither of the two camps come out with solid transparent policies and agendas it would be foolish to place them in positions of power.

I know this sounds ridiculous but if they're not 100% crystal clear - how can you support them? We're at a major junction in the clubs history, and what happens could literally make or break the club.

I'd rather have a 'caretaker' board consisting of David Hatley and his mates then have either Browne or Korda with no clear and transparent policies and vision for the club going forward.

[BazBoy]

Fox article (in part)

“There will be more changes in the assistant coaching roll,s at Collingwood in 22 to
Robert Harvey is without a contract for 2022 and Brenton Sanderson prospects appear to hing on Buckley,s tenure given the two are joined at the hip”

Said this all along. Nepotism

[slangman]

I do not personally know Jeff Browne but from what i have heard and read he is a very strong minded person, more so than even Eddie.
The impression that i get is that Jeff is not the type of character that will be dictated to by Eddie.

As for Eddie, i believe him when he says that he is not meddling in this board saga. He had his 23 years and he quite easily could’ve stayed on as President if he so chose. But he chose to step down and hand the baton over.
I think that the appointments of Neil Wilson and Bridie O’Donnell are the main reasons behind this board challenge. When you have John Bertrand publicly stating that he would welcome a discussion about a board position but then haphazadly appoint an ineligible director puts into question the process and criteria for maximising the quality of board appointments.

[MatthewBoydFanClub]

I'm in total agreement with Dr Pie and RudeBoy. I have a fair inkling what's going to happen. If Korda thinks he doesn't have the numbers he'll sacrifice Nathan Buckley to appease the Collingwood members who want Buckley gone. I'm one who has said that Buckley should finish up at the end of the season. However I don't want him gone this way which is a similar way to the way Eddie McGuire was sacrificed by the current board for making innocent comments about the Do Better report.

[MatthewBoydFanClub]

If neither of the two camps come out with solid transparent policies and agendas it would be foolish to place them in positions of power.

I know this sounds ridiculous but if they're not 100% crystal clear - how can you support them? We're at a major junction in the clubs history, and what happens could literally make or break the club.

I'd rather have a 'caretaker' board consisting of David Hatley and his mates then have either Browne or Korda with no clear and transparent policies and vision for the club going forward.

Good luck then running a club with an 80 million turnover with David Hatley and his mates.

[WhyPhilWhy?]

Let's no pretend that David Hately has any pretensions about running the club - he just wants those who do to present their arguments.

[i hate carlton]

I don't want Bucks removed.

I want a competent management team at the business and football level

I'd like democracy at the board level.

I expect at a minimum that a board member have the right skillset AND be a member BEFORE they join the board.

I'd like new ideas on how to take the club forward, but I wont vote for a new board until I hear what those ideas are.

[RudeBoy]

I don't want Bucks removed.

I want a competent management team at the business and football level

I'd like democracy at the board level.

I expect at a minimum that a board member have the right skillset AND be a member BEFORE they join the board.

I'd like new ideas on how to take the club forward, but I wont vote for a new board until I hear what those ideas are.

+2

[Jezza]

I want Buckley and his assistants gone.

I want us to seek out a new list manager replacing Ned Guy. Simon Dalrymple or Stephen Wells are two names that come to mind.

I'm genuinely undecided on the board. I want to hear a platform and vision from Korda and Browne before giving them my support.

Democracy at the club is ideal and should be encouraged.

[The Boy Who Cried Wolf]

2 points

1. No one expects David Hatley to 'go for control' but let's be honest, the whole reason this EGM might happen is because the powers that be are treating the Members (not me I'm a supporter) like mugs. Both camps need to state their agendas up front. This is a football club.... for football.

2. Would you prefer big shots with hidden agendas and back room shady treatment controlling your club or the members doing it for the members? pretty easy answer to that one imho.

[Jezza]

What we know about Korda, Browne and Murphy.

I will include Murphy as he was in the running for the presidency with Korda, and may still seek it out at a later date.

Mark Korda
- Current president and been involved with the club since 2007 as a board member, vice-president and now president.
- Represents the "stability" candidate.
- All board members are publicly behind him as yesterday's board statement to the members demonstrates.
- Familiar with the club and boardroom structure.
- Club is financially healthy, despite the recent board troubles.
- "Focused on governance and ensuring financial stability" - https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/sp...h ... 57lhq.html
- Seen as one of the forces that forced McGuire out of the club.
- Dithered with Murphy over who would succeed McGuire as President.
- Was at the club when much of the recent trouble started, with the salary cap, "Do Better" report, deterioration of on-field performance and the appointment of Bridie O'Donnell.
- Delegated on the future of the senior coach to Graham Wright who will table a recommendation to the board as to whether he stays or goes.
- Held a formal meeting with David Hatley before signatures for an EGM were gathered two days later at the Port Adelaide match.
- Rejected a "peaceful" transition of power offered by the Browne camp.


Jeff Browne
- No previous involvement with the club and viewed as the "change" candidate.
- Close friends with McGuire.
- Lawyer and closely worked with the AFL in the past.
- Had discussions with Korda to join the board and fill a board vacancy, but was rejected.
- Declared on Tuesday that he wants to become the new President of the club
- Wanted a "peaceful" transition of power with 4 new board members, and 3 existing members. This was rejected by Korda and the board.
- Hasn't formally announced a ticket or platform that he's running on.
- Received endorsements from Craig Kelly, Peter Moore and Paul Tuddenham.
- His stance on the senior coach is unclear.
- Accused of being a puppet for McGuire.
- “Collingwood is a great club and strong and united leadership is critical if we are to move beyond our current malaise. There is a growing wave of support from members for change and this change must begin with a refresh at board level.” - https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/te...s ... 4fb406d469


Peter Murphy
- Hasn't formally announced a challenge, and is a current board member (since early 2019). Publicly, he supports the status quo when it comes to the board arrangement.
- Previously rumoured that he would challenge McGuire to the Presidency in 2016, but this did not occur.
- Given the task to do a club-wide review in 2017.
- The recommendations of the '17 review which were mostly adopted led to the club's rise in 2018. Another significant component of the review recommended term limits which hasn't occurred.
- Viewed as the mastermind behind instigating the "Do Better" report.
- One of the key figures along with Licuria and Korda to force McGuire out of the club.
- Dithered with Korda over who would succeed McGuire as president.
- Reported that he backed out of the race to become president in April.
- Closely allied with Paul Licuria through shared business interests. Licuria apparently more inclined to not renew Buckley's coaching contract compared to Wright. Licuria and Murphy are working closely alongside Wright with respect to decisions being made in the football department, which includes list management as reported in April.
- "Murphy, who had presided over a largely successful review of Collingwood’s operations in 2017 and then served as interim chief executive, had the advantage of better rapport with staff and noteable past players and, as a more recent director, carried less baggage with supporters - many of whom expressed dissatisfaction with Korda on social media, due to his 14 years on the board" - https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl...i ... 57llv.html

Just putting out as much information as I can with what we know currently.

Need more information on Browne. Him and his camp are still vague about their plans despite Tuesday's declaration.

[swoop42]

Korda has already stated that he will defer to the recommendation of Wright on the coaching issue so we seemingly know where he stands.
If it's the latter does Browne really need to tiptoe around the issue of Buckley any longer?
To me it's pretty simple and Browne will either re-sign Buckley despite the coach heading towards his worst season on record or he will use it as the catalyst for change.
To those people I say, what if Browne has no intention of even deferring to Wright and is determined to re-sign Buckley?
Would that change your opinion of him and vote? Most likely it would for those who hope Buckley continues as coach.
To me it seems clear that the decision on Buckley (whether for or against) will be at the forefront of peoples mind before casting their vote and if Browne were to state his intention is to retain Buckley prior to any EGM then the outcome might be much closer than he thinks. Hell if another candidate like Murphy or Licuria were to emerge and declare an intention to move Buckley on they might well beat all comers.
Personally I just feel the members can only be truly informed on who they're voting for if the candidates declare their intention on a decision that will ultimately impact the clubs medium term future more than any other.
Is that really to much to ask?

I don’t think so, a fully informed choice before voting is the best way to go. I get the feeling that in the main, Nicksters are unaware or dismissing the support Bucks has among fans like me who believes that if he has a change of support staff and assistant coaches, he will be able to pull Collingwood out of the mire. I know that supporting Buckley is a very odd thing to do on this blog but it does exist and freedom of expression allows this to happen. I did a totally unofficial survey last night among my magpie mates and it was 5 - 3 supporting him if his assistants are changed. If not, it was 4 - 4 FWIW. Make of that what you will.

A coach shouldn't need better assistants to make them appear great.

A great coach should be the one making his assistants better.