AFL moves to bring 7 poor clubs including Richmond up to scratch (Herald-Sun)

[one-eyed]

AFL moves to bring poor clubs up to scratch

    Michael Warner and Jon Ralph
    From: Herald Sun
    August 09, 2011

THE AFL is stepping in to save up to seven clubs from falling behind in footy's arms race.

An audit of the health of all clubs is being led by league strategist Andrew Catterall.

The move will see the AFL pour money into the football departments and administrations of the strugglers.

"We are looking at - as part of the next five-year distribution strategy - looking after the clubs who really need it most," AFL football operations manager Adrian Anderson said last night.

"There are probably six or seven clubs that in some area across their club, it might not just be the footy department, that need to invest to bring them up, and leave them in a strong position.

"Another big part of it is doing what we can to make sure we help those clubs that have fallen behind financially, so they can afford to spend their full salary cap, and they can afford to invest appropriately in their footy departments."

Port Adelaide, Melbourne, North Melbourne, Richmond, Carlton, Sydney and the Western Bulldogs received special distributions totalling $7.1 million from the AFL last year.

Blues skipper Chris Judd raised the spectre of an NBA-style competition, where fans have to wait until the finals for even contests.

After his side's 138-point mauling of Port Adelaide on Saturday, Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse said the AFL needed to bring more evenness to the league.

Anderson said the AFL intervention would focus on all areas of club activities.

"Some clubs have done very well with less expenditure in their footy department, like the Bulldogs," he said. "So it's not really about (clubs) that are at the bottom.

"It's saying: Is there a level of investment, or minimum standards across footy, that clubs should be able to afford? And what strategies are required across the whole of the club to help them achieve that?"

Areas to be examined include membership, digital communications, fan development, fitness and medical staff, coaching numbers and recruitment.

AFL Players' Association executive Ian Prendergast said the gulf between clubs had been raised in collective bargaining agreement negotiations.

"In terms of the haves versus the have-nots, I think we're certainly seeing the AFL ladder reflecting a club's ability to spend within their football department like we've never seen before," Prendergast said.

"You look at clubs like Richmond and Melbourne who have been through long-term rebuilding phases and now unfortunately it looks like Port Adelaide players are subject to a similar fate.

"It's concerning those rebuilding phases are taking as long as they are. It does affect a player's ability to fully develop himself."

Judd said: "There is probably a widening gap this year ... and with more teams that will just increase.

"You look at the NBA and they play 70-odd games and a lot of those games are pretty average to watch, and then the playoffs come and it's a completely different game.

"It would be a shame if the AFL got to that stage."

The AFL has formed a working group to explore ways to balance the game's earnings.

It includes Catterall, Essendon chairman David Evans, St Kilda president Greg Westaway, Richmond chief executive Brendon Gale, Collingwood CEO Gary Pert, Fremantle chief Steve Rosich and AFL executive Ian Anderson.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/afl-moves-to-bring-poor-clubs-up-to-scratch/story-e6frf9jf-1226111272389

[RollsRoyce]

So the AFL wants to help Richmond eh? A great place to start would be to pay off the balance of our debt so that we don't have to sell off any more "home" games

[WilliamPowell]

So the AFL wants to help Richmond eh? A great place to start would be to pay off the balance of our debt so that we don't have to sell off any more "home" games

So they should pay off our $4mil debt and everyone else's too? Or just ours? 

[Owl]

Just ours WP! are you on drugs? 

[WilliamPowell]

Just ours WP! are you on drugs? 

 

I don't think they should pay off ours or anyone else "debt" as they are self inflicted. Borrowing money that you cannot or will struggle to pay off is stupid business practice, no business deserves a "free kick" for that

The one area that the AFL needs to help clubs with is in the inequities of Club's stadium deals. They've done some work on it but not enough IMHO. If the AFL are going to continue to "force" clubs to play home games at venues that are not the home grounds (read Etihad) then they need to do more.

Also, the AFL can fund Club's footy departments as much as they like but it still comes back to the Club's to get it right eg hiring the right people etc

[Owl]

fair calls.  Imho the money they AFL rakes in, in a large part belongs to the clubs, they are the product being sold, so they should benefit.

[RollsRoyce]

So the AFL wants to help Richmond eh? A great place to start would be to pay off the balance of our debt so that we don't have to sell off any more "home" games

So they should pay off our $4mil debt and everyone else's too? Or just ours? 

Just ours, and here's why: Unlike clubs like North and the Bulldogs, whom the AFL  bailing out is like throwing good money out to bad because of those clubs continuing inability to draw a decent crowd, the AFL should realize that a one-off investment in helping the Tigers become competitive again will be repaid many times over. We ARE a sleeping giant in terms of potential fans, but unfortunately our on-field stocks aren't just having a little nap, they are in a deep coma with no signs of brain activity. And selling home games is a gauranteed way to keep even more potential fans away in droves, particularly with the success we showed with the venture so far.  

[RollsRoyce]

And another thing WP. You like to blame Richmond for the mess that we're in on every level and absolve the AFL of any blame. But maybe if the League didn't create this inequity with rigged draws, and stadium deals that favour Collingwood, then clubs like Richmond wouldn't be compelled to take on loans they struggle to repay. The AFL has created this yawning chasm between the rich and the poor, and now they're thinking of applying a bandaid now that it's creating scoreboard blowouts on-field. Well guess what? I have no qualms in accepting their sudden benevolence.   

[Jackstar is back again]

on field performance means alot
totally agree with WP here, our debts are self inflicted

[blaisee]

the afl will end up helping the struggling clubs eliminate debt. They will double the money clubs put into retiring debt

if we put $2 million into reducing our debt the afl will double it and we will be debt free.

Just watch it happen

[WilliamPowell]

And another thing WP. You like to blame Richmond for the mess that we're in on every level and absolve the AFL of any blame. But maybe if the League didn't create this inequity with rigged draws, and stadium deals that favour Collingwood, then clubs like Richmond wouldn't be compelled to take on loans they struggle to repay. The AFL has created this yawning chasm between the rich and the poor, and now they're thinking of applying a bandaid now that it's creating scoreboard blowouts on-field. Well guess what? I have no qualms in accepting their sudden benevolence.   

With all due respect RR - I don't "absolve the AFL of any blame" - I suggest you re-read my post replying to Owl as I highlighted the draw and forcing Clubs to play at venues that are not their home grounds (READ ETIHAD) to ensure the AFL meet the contracutual obligations with Docklands. Hence, why I beleive they need to bwetter delivery n the compo they hand out to clubs on that issue

The debt however was not of the making of the AFL - it was the Club's. I would even go as far as to say that most people here haven't got a clue as to what the original origins of the current bank debt the RFC has actually are. And here's a hint it originally it had nothing to do with draws or financing general operations. The fact that we have been unsucessful on field has a direct impact on the revenues we raise and our ablility to pay off the debt again this is not the fault of the AFL even though it may appear to easy to blame them.

I will repeat what i've said in the past it is not the fault of the AFL that we've have made bad list management decisions - they are our fault and solely our fault

However, while you accuse me liking to "blame Richmond for the mess that we're in on every level" you at the same time seem unwilling to point any sort of blame towards the RFC for the mess it finds itself in.

The reality of things whether we want to admit it or not is we are dealing with a business here and on a business level there have been some bad decisions made and those decisions have directly impacted on the "mess" we find ourselves in.

Said it before will say it again - start winning games CONSISTENTLY and the draw will take care of itself.

[RFC_Official]

In the past the AFL has given money to clubs by essentially writing a cheque and said do with it what you wish.

Now they are coming in and working on particular areas highlighted by the clubs where they feel the money could help, and with us its football department spending.

Debt retirement is the responsibility of the football club, no the AFL.

[WilliamPowell]

In the past the AFL has given money to clubs by essentially writing a cheque and said do with it what you wish.

Now they are coming in and working on particular areas highlighted by the clubs where they feel the money could help, and with us its football department spending.

Debt retirement is the responsibility of the football club, no the AFL.

Thanks Mr RFC_O 

[dizza]

Isn't it just humiliating that we have to rely on the AFL for assistance?

[RollsRoyce]

With all due respect RR - I don't "absolve the AFL of any blame" - I suggest you re-read my post replying to Owl as I highlighted the draw and forcing Clubs to play at venues that are not their home grounds (READ ETIHAD) to ensure the AFL meet the contracutual obligations with Docklands. Hence, why I beleive they need to bwetter delivery n the compo they hand out to clubs on that issue

The debt however was not of the making of the AFL - it was the Club's. I would even go as far as to say that most people here haven't got a clue as to what the original origins of the current bank debt the RFC has actually are.
I will repeat what i've said in the past it is not the fault of the AFL that we've have made bad list management decisions - they are our fault and solely our fault

However, while you accuse me liking to "blame Richmond for the mess that we're in on every level" you at the same time seem unwilling to point any sort of blame towards the RFC for the mess it finds itself in.

The reality of things whether we want to admit it or not is we are dealing with a business here and on a business level there have been some bad decisions made and those decisions have directly impacted on the "mess" we find ourselves in.

Said it before will say it again - start winning games CONSISTENTLY and the draw will take care of itself.

Oh, I do blame the club for list management decisions they've made. As I've said in many other threads, the 04 and 05 drafts in particular were an absolute nightmare. We could have set our club up for years with those two drafts alone, instead of condemning us to more years of failure, which is in effect what they did. I also remember pleading with Greg Miller til I was blue in the face that we needed more key position players, and being told point blank that we needed mids, mids and more mids.
But Miller and Wallace are long gone, and we have been recruiting a lot smarter since they left. But as I've also said many times, the AFL hasn't exactly helped us since by gifting Carlton our rightful no.1 pick in 07, and all the concessions to GC17 and GWS more recently.

And you're right, I don't have a clue as to what our current bank debt is. There was a time when I used to believe that just buying my membership,going to the matches, and screaming for my team was where my responsibility to the club began and ended. Now it seems we as supporters have to understand every single facet of the organization and how it runs. What is even more confusing is, I go to the AGM every year, and for the past 7 years at least the club has announced an operating profit of varying amounts. So where the hell does this $4m debt come from? And again, I ask, instead of selling off our home games, why can't we just ask the AFL to underwrite our debt as a one-off payment? Unlike NM and the Dogs we are a club with a huge supporter base potential to create huge revenue for them comparable to their 2 pets Carlton and Collingwood, who they bend over backwards for on every conceivable occasion. It just does my head in that they consistently fail to recognize this, and just continue to give us the thin end of the wedge on so many issues.