Who do you believe? Good question. Wish I had the answer.
The only thing we have to go on is past history, as WP says.
Past history says that us going down this track where there are board room brawls gets us nowhere, long-term at least.
If we want to get ourselves out of this eternal merry-go-round we seem to be on then we can start by not allowing people to come in over the top of Boards and causing mayhem. If people want to get on the Board then go through the correct channels, instead of rail-roading the Club and sending us backwards.
Schwab, Welsh and Humphris have all been at the Club during unsuccessful times. They have had their time. Thank you for your contribution. Next.
Going on past history, Schwab is no President. After at least 7 months, he still couldn’t convince the Board of the dire situation the Club was in. After yet at least another 7 months, he finally puts together this alternative ticket. If that’s how quickly he moves and does business and it’s up to him to get this Club back on track then we will go nowhere. His track record tells us so.
In amongst the heavy weight AFL Clubs and Presidents, Schwab will be a lightweight and we will get pushed around on just about every issue. If those who are on this ticket nominated Schwab as their “leader” and potentially the next Richmond president then they have rocks in their head.
Apart from anything else, there is no guarantee of success whichever way we go. But we have to stop these ego driven board spills that seem to occur all too regularly and ultimately give a select few the right to make decisions on behalf of Richmond members, as is happening now. When do we ever get to have a real say on anything? We always seem to have situations forced upon us. Is it any wonder we’re stuffed?
On that basis, I’m on the side of sticking with what we have and, at the appropriate time, vote on who should and shouldn’t be on the Board.
As it stands:
AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou said yesterday he had no problem with the current Richmond board, describing it as being "upfront and transparent" with the league.
"Any club that suffers that sort of loss, you would be concerned about, but we haven't got any concerns about the long-term viability of the Richmond Football Club," Demetriou said.
The AFL has gone through financial issues with RFC and is comfortable with things. If they don’t have an issue then neither do I. Casey may not be the ideal President and has a few crosses next to his name, but he’s got more chance of getting this Club moving than Schwab and co. And seeing as he's put himself up for re-election in January 2005, members can have their say then.