One-Eyed Richmond Forum
Football => Richmond Rant => Topic started by: one-eyed on April 23, 2009, 02:21:33 AM
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Tiger Balme just the remedy
Patrick Smith | April 23, 2009
THE Richmond Football Club could not be more shambolic if it hired Humphrey B. Bear as runner.
The declaration on Tuesday night that Terry Wallace's fate would be decided mid-season after an internal review of all things football only underlines what everyone knows.
The club has no idea how it got itself into this chaotic position and has absolutely no idea how to get out of it. Callous opposition clubs laugh at Richmond, the more sensitive just shake their heads in disbelief.
The grip on reality at Punt Rd is hardly strengthened when cheerleaders in the media write that the Gary March-led board has nothing to feel awkward or disappointed about. That a senior AFL official has felt compelled to offer advice suggests that the governing body is worried - but ultimately powerless - to save Richmond from itself.
The declaration from the club's general manager of football, Craig Cameron, that mid-season would be the time to re-evaluate Wallace's 2009 tenure will signify 12 months of bumbling and fumbling by the board. For it is a year since Richmond announced that former captain Tony Free would join the board as football director and begin a review of all things footy. If a review of an AFL club's football operations takes 12 months, then you can draw just a couple of conclusions - the wrong men are doing the job or that the football department must be turfed from head to toe.
When Geelong chief executive Brian Cook launched a review of Geelong after a disappointing 2006 season, it took six weeks. By the end critics said it was laboured and drawn out. But Cook did interview more than 50 people. If it had a weakness it was that the amount of people privy to the review meant information got out prematurely.
Suspicions that at least one board member wanted to move on coach Mark Thompson hampered the process. Nonetheless, Thompson was reappointed, personnel swapped and changed. In 2007, Geelong was the dominant team in the competition and won the premiership.
That a football department could be examined all over, changed and tweaked in six weeks makes Richmond's year-long considerations an unnecessary and counterproductive waste of time and effort. But if you have no real idea where to start or finish, reviews can prove eternal.
Critical to Cook's review was the acknowledgement that successful clubs needed the best football operations managers because they could pull everything together, knead the disillusioned, soothe the outraged and silence the barking mad. So Cook went out and hired Neil Balme. Along with Cook and Thompson, Balme restored confidence. Made common sense the mantra that drove every decision. No one was indulged. No truths untold. Egos managed not massaged.
Balme came to the club well qualified. A champion player with Richmond, a premiership coach in South Australia, who then took Melbourne to a preliminary final in 1994. He joined Collingwood as football general manager and within four years the Magpies had played in two grand finals. In his initial year at Geelong, the Cats won their first flag since 1963, last year played again in the grand final and this year is favourite to win another premiership.
The best thing that March and his board can wish for is that Geelong wins the title in September. It would make the poaching of Balme a much simpler task. For Balme is the only man who can make something, anything, of the mess that is Richmond. If the Cats can win their two premierships in the three years Balme has been at the club, it will make it much easier for the club to release him from the last year of his contract. And it would be less difficult for Balme to leave Geelong before his official time was up because the footy manager is a most loyal employee. Helpful, too, is Geelong's history of releasing people who have the opportunity to move on to greater challenges. And there is no challenge as great as the one that confronts Richmond.
The acquisition of Balme must become the major priority because a strong and influential lobby group within the Richmond community wants him at Punt Rd for next season so he can oversee the remaking of the football department. The plan is that Balme take complete control of all things football - he would be asked to lead the search for a new coach, assess football department personnel, review recruiting and list management as well as all other sections of the club's engine room.
Balme has been informally approached to consider the position but was noncommittal given that he remains under contract to Geelong. But if he does accept the offer then he will have the full support of the very strong past-players lobby that is determined to see the fate of the Tigers placed in the hands of Richmond people.
What has been made certain this season by the actions of the present administration is that the position cannot be filled from within. As well, only the clubs with the shrewdest list and recruiting managers will prosper over the next three years as drafts are compromised to allow the 17th and 18th franchises to build strong teams immediately.
Whether March and his board are clever enough to get Balme to Richmond is another thing altogether, of course. It might be that before Balme can be secured, a new board and president must be in place. And that cannot be a bad thing.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25371939-7583,00.html
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I agree with most of the article. Richmond supporters have wanted Balme to take control of the football department down at Punt Road for as long as I can remember.
On another note- Craig Cameron came with big wraps from Melbourne, but he seems very under the pump, hes media performances so far - not that many mind you - need to be improved.
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No offence to Craig, but Carlton and us went out and got new people for the footy department.
Carlton got Greg Swan from successful club Collingwood who was highly regarded.
We get the guy from Wooden spoon team, Melbourne.
Getting Balme would be a big statement.
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No offence to Craig, but Carlton and us went out and got new people for the footy department.
Carlton got Greg Swan from successful club Collingwood who was highly regarded.
We get the guy from Wooden spoon team, Melbourne.
Getting Balme would be a big statement.
exactly!!
it says a lot about our club
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I knew it couldn't last forever. Poor old Patrick Smith - must have killed him last year when he couldn't write an article slagging his favourite whipping boy, Richmond. But never mind, he is back now with a vengeance, he has all the ammunition and justification he needs to launch into tirade after tirade of his smug self righteousness. 3 articles in 6 days - I'll bet there has been a larger number of tissues being passed down his toilet than normal. Trouble is, as usual with Patrick's 'buffoonic' attempts to ridicule, is that his short suit is always the reality and facts of what has occured and what is occuring.
The declaration on Tuesday night that Terry Wallace's fate would be decided mid-season after an internal review of all things football only underlines what everyone knows.
Yes, what EVERYONE has known since last year when the president stated openly and categorically that there would be a review of the coaching positions in mid 2009. Nothing has changed.
The club has no idea how it got itself into this chaotic position and has absolutely no idea how to get out of it.
The chaotic position of recovering from millions of $'s in debt to turning a profit every year coupled with losing 4 games in a row to start the season. Yes, chaotic beyond belief. Just as chaotic as Fremantle and Melbourne but where is the constant slagging articles on them?
The grip on reality at Punt Rd is hardly strengthened when cheerleaders in the media write that the Gary March-led board has nothing to feel awkward or disappointed about.
Pretty sure that the "cheerleader" was discussing the performance of the board and club as a whole, not singling out the on-field results, and yes Patrick, off field the club has performed admirably for many years now. Cheerleader 1 Patrick 0.
That a senior AFL official has felt compelled to offer advice suggests that the governing body is worried - but ultimately powerless - to save Richmond from itself.
It suggests nothing of the sort - YOU suggest that Patrick. AFL officials often respond to media questions by passing thoughts, opinions, advice etc. Hhhmm, let me see - Andrew Demetriou saying that Sydney would never succeed playing the type of football they did. Now if I recall, they tasted ultimate success that very year playing that very brand of football and went within a kick of repeating it the following year. An opinion or unsolicited advice doesn't count for crap, especially when given in an informal and uninformed manner.
The declaration from the club's general manager of football, Craig Cameron, that mid-season would be the time to re-evaluate Wallace's 2009 tenure will signify 12 months of bumbling and fumbling by the board. For it is a year since Richmond announced that former captain Tony Free would join the board as football director and begin a review of all things footy. If a review of an AFL club's football operations takes 12 months, then you can draw just a couple of conclusions - the wrong men are doing the job or that the football department must be turfed from head to toe.
It signifies nothing of the sort. When Free came on board last year HE made the declaration he was going to take some board responsibility for the football side of things and that as part of this he would initially be talking to everyone involved to get his knowledge of this area up to speed. He did this, making some naive blunders along the way, but doing what he said he would. It was all the rumour mongering in the press and on football forums that had him coming in to shake things up and do complete reviews. Not one quote from either Free, March or the club said otherwise but Patrick does. Here is one quote from one article in the Australian at the time - "He is, categorically not conducting a review of the footy department," March clarified in The Australian. "He is learning about the department, though, because he’s new to the board.". There are many more quotes like this but I won't bother - how could Patrick misunderstand this simple English statement unless he has a bitter agenda? But, March is well quoted in many articles from early 2008 that the board was already doing a review on football department resourcing and what changes, if any, were needed in that area. As a result of that review (started and completed in early 2008 Patrick) we saw Cameron come, Miller go, more recruiters come and more assistants come. And again last year the club stated it would do a coaches review mid 2009 - different review, different timeframe. But what's 12 months between friends hey Patrick?
That a football department could be examined all over, changed and tweaked in six weeks makes Richmond's year-long considerations an unnecessary and counterproductive waste of time and effort. But if you have no real idea where to start or finish, reviews can prove eternal.
"But if you have no real idea..." - hold that thought Patrick.
For Balme is the only man who can make something, anything, of the mess that is Richmond.
Patrick's 'piece d'resistance' of foolish comments. To suggest that there is only one man alive that can make the changes he perceives necessary at a club is the single most ludicrous junk statement I think I have ever read in the media. Makes it pointless even going on really, if Balme doesn't come back. Hopefully the advice-giving senior AFL official will take legal steps to ensure Balme is forced out of his contract with Geelong and made to join Richmond - for the only hope of survival of the club of course.
And it would be less difficult for Balme to leave Geelong before his official time was up because the footy manager is a most loyal employee.
Does anyone else see the complete contradicton in this one sentence?
It might be that before Balme can be secured, a new board and president must be in place. And that cannot be a bad thing.
Yes Patrick, the club can go to a corporate heavyweight with real business acumen that can make the hard decisions and get the now profitable club running ship shape. I'll just give Clinton a ring, after all, that was the worst thing the club ever did - replacing him with a president that has turned the club from a financial basket case to a much much more financially secure off field entity. Aaaaahhh, what a shame it now has profits to spend on things that a review of the football department acknowledges were sub-standard like recruiters, assistant coaches, football managers, rookies and facilities. Who really needs all that crap - Geelong didn't - did they? I must apologise here - I may have left out one tiny little fact to enhance my point - Geelong was a financial basket case a few years prior to becoming a football success and the first thing they did was got there off field house in order - then went chasing the Balmes of the world. Sorry, that has no bearing in this does it Patrick?
And all this because we have lost 4 games of football. If Patrick really truly believed all this to be the case then where was his article pointing it all out 3 months ago? Just one article Patrick, just one, if all this has been painfully obvious to you since the club began it's 12 months review last year. Or are you really just one of those p***ant, free lunch eating, rumour starting, pompous, inadequate, failed as a footballer, media morons that write to satisfy their physical and mental shortcomings? Opinions are like behindholes Patrick - everyone has them - the only difference is that your opinion smells worse.
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GET BALME TO RICHMOND PLEASE! :thumbsup
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GET BALME TO RICHMOND PLEASE! :thumbsup
The new Kevin Sheedy? While we remain fixated on the belief that there is a messiah out there wearing an old moth eaten RFC jumper and waiting to ride in on his trusty steed to lead us to the Promised Land then we will never fix what ails us.
Patience and process - worked for the Brisbane basket case, worked for the Geelong basket case, worked for the Hawthorn basket case, will work for us as long as we have the TEAM in place to manage it from start to finish.
Team = board, officials, administrators, volunteers, coaches and players.
We will find it necessary to make some changes in the team from time to time on our journey but if we keep tearing up our ticket and starting the trip again then we will never ever get there.
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Balme is one of the few Richmond people that I'd be happy to see back at the club... why?
Primarily because he falls under the catagory of "best man for the job", not just "best Richmond person who is available"
Also because he's from a successful era, just like Malthouse & Sheedy, not like Campbell & Free
Plus success follows him where he goes, that should be a prerequisite for all our appointments off field.
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Didnt we sack Miller to get Balme last year?
Didnt Balme say no after we sacked Miller?
What's changed?
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No offence to Craig, but Carlton and us went out and got new people for the footy department.
Carlton got Greg Swan from successful club Collingwood who was highly regarded.
We get the guy from Wooden spoon team, Melbourne.
Getting Balme would be a big statement.
Sorry wayne but you are not comparing apples with apples as they say
Greg Swan is the CEO at Carlton, the equivalent of Steven Wright at the RFC.
Swan is not the head of the Carlton footy dept.
Craig Cameron is the head of our footy department. His equivalent at the Blues is Stephen Icke, who might have been there before Swan came along (not sure on that)
Balme would be a great for any footy club but he is contracted to Geelong and I don't reckon Balmey is one to break contracts
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Didnt we sack Miller to get Balme last year?
Didnt Balme say no after we sacked Miller?
What's changed?
yep, that was my understanding, he was the big fish we went after, knowing he was out of contract...Id Cats win a flag, there could be a chance...has a great CV :pray
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Sorry wayne but you are not comparing apples with apples as they say
Greg Swan is the CEO at Carlton, the equivalent of Steven Wright at the RFC.
Swan is not the head of the Carlton footy dept.
Craig Cameron is the head of our footy department. His equivalent at the Blues is Stephen Icke, who might have been there before Swan came along (not sure on that)
Thanks WP.
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Didnt we sack Miller to get Balme last year?
Didnt Balme say no after we sacked Miller?
What's changed?
yep, that was my understanding, he was the big fish we went after, knowing he was out of contract...Id Cats win a flag, there could be a chance...has a great CV :pray
I'd love to have him. But he'll come when he's no longer at the peak of his career. Just like Sheedy
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Tigers must act quickly to get Balme
Patrick Smith | April 24, 2009
IT is important now to give praise where it is due. AFL chief Andrew Demetriou met Richmond officials, football department staff and players yesterday and boasts that he did not refer to the coaching fiasco, something that has made the club the joke of first resort at the comedy festival.
"No, it wasn't mentioned," Demetriou said. "In fact, the atmosphere was good, no gloom or doom."
That's a bit like meeting the Elephant Man and telling him he has never looked better. It can't be done. But the AFL boss reckons he did and was not only oblivious to the Elephant Man's addiction to botox but also did not talk about the elephant in the Richmond boardroom - Terry Wallace. How the Tigers continue to mis-handle that issue was not mentioned yesterday, according to Demetriou, but it has been the topic of other conversations between the AFL and the club.
Demetriou said that even when he met the club's chief executive Steven Wright yesterday to discuss the progress of redevelopment plans of Punt Rd, the future of the coach was not touched upon. Still, not all was lost because Demetriou was able to provide the Missing Persons Bureau with an identikit of Wright that could help the Richmond president and other board members, media and sponsors put a face to the name in the near future.
However, Demetriou did hint that Richmond's unofficial push to sign up Neil Balme as football supremo for next year and beyond could prove difficult if the club does not act quickly. Demetriou suggested other clubs had their eyes on Balme but would not name them. However, he did give Balme an AFL rubber stamp of the highest order. "Neil is a very good operator," he said.
Richmond aside, the Gold Coast franchise - due to come into the competition in 2011 - is the club that will push the Tigers the hardest to secure Balme. While the Tigers' football department has to be rebuilt and its football philosophy identified and cultivated, the Gold Coast club must be established from scratch. It is obvious the AFL thinks there is probably no better man than Balme for that involved and critical work, and is encouraging the Gold Coast to pursue him.
An advantage for Gold Coast is that Balme worked closely and well with the new club's coach, Guy McKenna, when both were involved at Collingwood. It would also be very tough for Brian Cook, the Geelong chief executive, to stand in Balme's way given that Cook himself was wooed and nearly won over by the new northern club.
Balme has been sounded out by a high-profile official from the Tigers' golden era which saw it win five premierships in 14 years. He acted as a representative of a powerful lobby group within the Richmond club community.
Certainly, had Balme been in charge at Richmond these past 12 months he would not have allowed Wallace's coaching tenure to become such an unnecessary and unwanted distraction to the playing group that had been bolstered pre-season with the acquisition of Brownlow medallist and All-Australian Ben Cousins.
The indelible sign that the Richmond board had lost control and was unable to contain the damage its handling of Wallace had done to the club, came when it held its board meeting in secret on Tuesday night. The board was on the run. Hiding.
If Demetriou is right - no gloom or doom - then the Tigers have a distinct chance of upsetting North Melbourne tomorrow.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25376746-5013459,00.html
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there is no way that balme will come to rfc if mathouse is coach or in the picture. they have bad blood and issues unresolved.
sheedy on the other may entice balme over if he is coach
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We apparently sounded Balme out but he's re-signed with Geelong....
The Cats ... have retained highly respected general manager of football operations Neil Balme for another two years.
Balme, who had been sounded out for roles at Richmond and Gold Coast, agreed this week to extend his contract.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,26132958-5013406,00.html
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Pretty sure his contract still had a year to run as well, so this means he's signed up until end of 2012 now.
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Pretty sure his contract still had a year to run as well, so this means he's signed up until end of 2012 now.
No he was out of contract.
No matter, what was he going to do at Richmond?
We have Craig Cameron.
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Pretty sure his contract still had a year to run as well, so this means he's signed up until end of 2012 now.
No he was out of contract.
No matter, what was he going to do at Richmond?
We have Craig Cameron.
Well there were articles earlier in the year about him coming to Richmond saying that he had a year to go on his contract however Geelong may release him from if they were to win another flag and he wanted to leave.
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Pretty sure his contract still had a year to run as well, so this means he's signed up until end of 2012 now.
No he was out of contract.
No matter, what was he going to do at Richmond?
We have Craig Cameron.
Actually it was funny when you think about it. If Balme was to come to richmond what exactly would he have doen? First up he'd be reporting to Craing Cameron - couldn't see that happening - could anyone? Seriously the media really need to think before they write sometimes ;D
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Considering we were chasing Director of Football to replace Greg Miller and ended up not having anyone who'd go near us and had to promote internally, why assume Craig Cameron would be Balme's boss? Balme's credentials are much better than Cameron's.
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Considering we were chasing Director of Football to replace Greg Miller and ended up not having anyone who'd go near us and had to promote internally, why assume Craig Cameron would be Balme's boss? Balme's credentials are much better than Cameron's.
Because Cameron holds the same position that Balme does at Geelong.
As I said what would have Balmey done at Richmond?
I cannot see him leaving Geelong for a lesser position and Cameron is in charge of the Footy dept. So if Balme was to come to Richmond, logic says Cameron would be his boss. And Cameron isn't going anywhere ;D
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Balme has signed on with the Cats again so don't worry about it. I will post the story when I find it, it's a one liner in another story and I can't track it down at the moment.
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Here it is, last couple of lines.
Geelong face battle to hold on to star players
By Greg Denham
September 28, 2009 Geelong chief executive Brian Cook's biggest headache on Sunday was not self-inflicted.
Although his celebrations started in the winning rooms after the match with a Crown Lager and finished with a glass of 1996 Grange Hermitage well after 3am, Cook's only premiership hangover hinged on concerns about retaining his core of premiership players.
Most notably the brilliant Gary Ablett is about to enter the final year of a five-year contract, and Joel Selwood also comes out of contract at the end of next year.
At the end of next season the Gold Coast will enter the players' market with an open cheque book and both Ablett and Selwood will be high on their agenda.
"Reality bites, and unfortunately for everyone at the club, if they want to remain together they will have to accept something like 20 per cent less than market value, on average," Cook said.
"To a person, that has happened in the past. It wasn't just the management that said this is it, it was facilitated by the leadership group. The player leadership group has been quite dynamic in trying to keep the same team together."
Cook has a gut feel that none of his club's stars will move for money.
"I'm remaining really positive about it," Cook said.
"I believe Gary and Joel will both stay. They are both fantastic and loyal men, and they are both very Geelong."
Defender Andrew Mackie said on Sunday Geelong's playing group were well aware of the problems facing the club's administration, acknowledging that several players had accepted below-market contracts for the opportunity to be part of a premiership side.
He hopes that will continue.
"I think the last couple of years the boys have been taking pay cuts, but you can't buy premierships," Mackie said.
"To be a part of this is just priceless. I can't talk for everyone, but it is great to be playing in a great side with great players."
Geelong has up to a dozen players out of contract, but of their better performers only ruckman Mark Blake, defender David Wojcinski and Mathew Stokes, who narrowly missed selection for a third straight grand final appearance, are off contract.
"They've had offers on the table for a while, but we stopped negotiating before the finals," Cook said.
"In October we hope we'll come to finalisation on all those three. It's possible they will all stay if they accept the offers, but it's going to be difficult to keep everyone, to be honest."
Cook admitted managing his star-studded playing group's total player payments throughout this year, was tough going.
"I think we're about $500,000 over in injury payments this year," Cook said.
The Cats received special consideration from the AFL because of an unusally large run of injuries.
"We're actually over the salary cap now, but it's because we spent so much money on injuries," Cook said.
"We budgeted on our recent average, which has been about 60 (additional) match payments over the last three years. But we've had about 130 (match payments) this season."
Over the past two years players that have been "squeezed out" due to Geelong's salary cap pressure include Steven King, Charlie Gardiner and Brent Prismall.
"Our aim, however, is to keep the team together, but if not, we hope to minimise our losses," Cook said.
Total player payments per club increase marginally from $7.69 million this year to $7.95m next year, so some Geelong players will have to accept substantial pay cuts or risk being delisted or offered for trade.
Unlike their precarious situation a decade ago when Cook joined an almost insolvent Geelong from the riches of West Coast, the Cats are now financially secure and about to post their ninth straight profit.
That is despite, among other investments, several long and costly projects to transform dilapidated Skilled Stadium into a modern AFL venue. Stages one and two of the ground redevelopment, at a cost of $56 million, are scheduled to be ready to host a game by round four next year, when capacity will increase to 30,000.
Stage three, scheduled for completion by 2012 or 2013 and will increase Skilled Stadium's capacity to 34,000.
After initially budgeting for a profit of $250,000 this year, Cook said the associated benefits of another premiership could lift the figure to close to $1 million.
That's without most of Geelong's AFL premiership purse of $1.1m, which will mostly be absorbed by their players, bonuses to coaching staff and the cost of Sunday's celebration at Kardinia Park.
For the second year in a row Geelong spent an additional $1.4m on their football department, with a special investment in introducing and staffing an academy for their younger players.
Last year they had the league's sixth biggest football department spender, outlaying $15.1m, about $600,000 above the club average.
Under Cook, at the helm of the Eagles in their 1992 and 1994 premiership years, Geelong has made remarkable off-field progress, as turnover improved from $16m to almost $45m this year.
The Cats have lost their chief operating officer Stuart Fox, who crosses to Hawthorn in November, but have retained highly respected general manager of football operations Neil Balme for another two years.
Balme, who had been sounded out for roles at Richmond and Gold Coast, agreed this week to extend his contract.
http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,26133623-5018851,00.html
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Considering we were chasing Director of Football to replace Greg Miller and ended up not having anyone who'd go near us and had to promote internally, why assume Craig Cameron would be Balme's boss? Balme's credentials are much better than Cameron's.
Because Cameron holds the same position that Balme does at Geelong.
As I said what would have Balmey done at Richmond?
I cannot see him leaving Geelong for a lesser position and Cameron is in charge of the Footy dept. So if Balme was to come to Richmond, logic says Cameron would be his boss. And Cameron isn't going anywhere ;D
Cameron could have gone back to his original position, he only got the new one by default
Cameron's legacy is the Melbourne list, Balme's is repeated success
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Cameron could have gone back to his original position, he only got the new one by default
Cameron's legacy is the Melbourne list, Balme's is repeated success
I agree with all that but once Cameron was made head of footy they aren't/weren't going to change it