Gary March to step down as Prez at the end of this season (Age)

[Smokey]

I thought it was a very good heartfelt speech.  His voice seemed to waver a couple of times so you could tell it was important to him what he was saying.  He has done a fine job and left a very good legacy.   

[Hellenic Tiger]

Club is debt free so considering the perilous financial predicament the club was in when Clinton Casey left he has done a fine job. Shows off field how far back we really were financially compared to other clubs.

[Hard Roar Tiger]

Let's also remember that he was Clint Caseys Vice President. A fair amount of pooh he cleaned up had come from his own backside. Credit though as club is now looking great.

[Smokey]

Let's also remember that he was Clint Caseys Vice President. A fair amount of pooh he cleaned up had come from his own backside. Credit though as club is now looking great.

11 months as Vice president under Casey and 3 years total on the board prior to becoming President.  Yeah, would have been largely his fault the club was in the state it was at the end of '05.   

[WilliamPowell]

Let's also remember that he was Clint Caseys Vice President. A fair amount of pooh he cleaned up had come from his own backside. Credit though as club is now looking great.

11 months as Vice president under Casey and 3 years total on the board prior to becoming President.  Yeah, would have been largely his fault the club was in the state it was at the end of '05.   

Think all Directors whoever they are and at whatever point in time should always take responsibility for being part of a board when things go pear shaped, just like they should all take kudos when things get turned around.

Outside of Chadwick, Speed and Walsh all other Directors were part of the board when Casey was president, all ran on his ticket back in 2008

But that was then, it is done and over with

We are in a much better place because of a lot of hard work by alot of people, not just one or 2 individuals

[Smokey]

Let's also remember that he was Clint Caseys Vice President. A fair amount of pooh he cleaned up had come from his own backside. Credit though as club is now looking great.

11 months as Vice president under Casey and 3 years total on the board prior to becoming President.  Yeah, would have been largely his fault the club was in the state it was at the end of '05.   

Think all Directors whoever they are and at whatever point in time should always take responsibility for being part of a board when things go pear shaped, just like they should all take kudos when things get turned around.

Outside of Chadwick, Speed and Walsh all other Directors were part of the board when Casey was president, all ran on his ticket back in 2008

But that was then, it is done and over with

We are in a much better place because of a lot of hard work but alot of people, not just one or 2 individuals

Was not advocating he shouldn't take some responsibility but HRT's comment sounded to me like he was placing a large portion of blame on March and I didn't think it was fair (but if I've misread HRT's intent then I apologise).

I'm not sure what you are referring to with "Outside of Chadwick, Speed and Walsh all other Directors were part of the board when Casey was president, all ran on his ticket back in 2008 " but only March (3 years), O'Shannassy (2 years), Matthies (2 years) and Dalton (1 year) were on Casey's board and it would be very easy to mount an argument that it took this collective group a year or 2 to put things in place to effectively remove Casey from his position.  Casey had already caused enormous damage in his first couple of years and was not of an ego that was ever going to go quickly or reasonably until the numbers and sheer weight of evidence was insurmountable so to blame this group heavily is not (imho) fair or reasonable.  If they were indeed 'guilty' of the mismanagement that was a feature of Casey's regime and that plunged us into a deep morass of trouble then surely they would not have been capable of orchestrating and directing the huge turnaround in the club since '05?  I think we underestimate how hard it is to remove a president when he has the board filled (initially especially) with his own people and that it takes numbers, time and a certain amount of courage from the other directors to do so.  I would say with the benefit of hindsight that March et al saw the problems quite early on and were working as best they could to take control , even though to us we didn't see any tangible evidence until '05.

[WilliamPowell]

I'm not sure what you are referring to with "Outside of Chadwick, Speed and Walsh all other Directors were part of the board when Casey was president, all ran on his ticket back in 2008 " but only March (3 years), O'Shannassy (2 years), Matthies (2 years) and Dalton (1 year) were on Casey's board and it would be very easy to mount an argument that it took this collective group a year or 2 to put things in place to effectively remove Casey from his position. 

Sorry my typo it should have read 2005 or 2004 whenever we had the last big board dust up 

My point was/is all of these Directors stood with Casey on his ticket back in 2005 when challenged by the "Big 4 Group". They supported him. Garry Cameron was on that ticket and he had been on the board before Casey. The only real Casey stooge was Anthony Mithen and we know what happened to him 

I have read over time alot of people be very critical of the Casey and his board back then (rightly). However, the facts are all directors at that time need to take responsibility and be held accountable for mistakes of that time. Everyone seems to think Casey ran some sort of dictatorship and that every decision the board of that time took were solely Casey's my argument/point is that this is incorrect.

I am not quite sure how you've come up with the premise that these people somehow removed Casey from the position of President. Casey quit. He wasnt pushed, there was no coup he quit.

Casey had already caused enormous damage in his first couple of years and was not of an ego that was ever going to go quickly or reasonably until the numbers and sheer weight of evidence was insurmountable so to blame this group heavily is not (imho) fair or reasonable.  If they were indeed 'guilty' of the mismanagement that was a feature of Casey's regime and that plunged us into a deep morass of trouble then surely they would not have been capable of orchestrating and directing the huge turnaround in the club since '05?  I think we underestimate how hard it is to remove a president when he has the board filled (initially especially) with his own people and that it takes numbers, time and a certain amount of courage from the other directors to do so.  I would say with the benefit of hindsight that March et al saw the problems quite early on and were working as best they could to take control , even though to us we didn't see any tangible evidence until '05.

Again you say that Casey's board were filled with his own people an on this you are probably correct but my argument is that a number of these people still remain on the board today. Good example is Rob Dalton who is not only a tremendous operator in his field of expertise but a terrific bloke as well. He was hand picked by Casey to join the board because of his skills in corporate governance which was desperately needed at the time.

Again I am not sure how you can suggest that all the mistakes were solely the doing of Casey. Let me make it clear I am not defending the mistakes the club made during that time. But what I have issue with is the fact seem to think he somehow did it all on his own. Boards make decisions, they vote on things. Having sat on a board one of a footy club myself I can tell you one person simply doesn't have that much power.

I would argue strongly that there was never any power struggle to take control of things and remove Casey. I am actually slighlty bemused as to how you've come up with the idea to be honest

All I am trying to say is to blame just one person for the "ills" of the past is not fair or reasonable, collectively the directors on the board at the time are repsonsible 

[Rampstar]

its hard to tell exactly who was to blame and for what but for me 1) the greg miller onto the board was a disgrace and 2) iain campbell may have been a good bloke and a good ceo at a company like Nike but he didnt understand the nuances of running a football club imho (although thats how it seems to me and I may be wrong on that).

[gerkin greg]

Remember when Gary was Mr. Rent-a-quote

those were the days

[Smokey]

My point was/is all of these Directors stood with Casey on his ticket back in 2005 when challenged by the "Big 4 Group". They supported him. Garry Cameron was on that ticket and he had been on the board before Casey. The only real Casey stooge was Anthony Mithen and we know what happened to him 

The "Big 4" challenge was really in 2004 (lining up with the current trend of Dec AGM's) so the reality is that when the challenge of the "Big 4" occurred, March had only been on the board for 2 years, O'Shannassy 1 month, Matthies 1 year and Dalton 2 months so it was entirely reasonable that at least 3 of the 4 would not have had little or no time to form an opinion or become involved in any powerbloc move against Casey at that time and thus logical that they would have run under the Casey ticket, especially so given that at least 1 (Dalton) was a Casey appointee.  And let's not forget the role of Miller in that election also.  Interestingly, less than 12 months later Casey had been replaced by March so I am confident my take on the likely reasons for March etc not reacting immediately on election still stands up - he needed support to 'force' Casey out and he wasn't going to get that support immediately from at least 2 of the current members who had just sat down in their seats.

I have read over time alot of people be very critical of the Casey and his board back then (rightly). However, the facts are all directors at that time need to take responsibility and be held accountable for mistakes of that time. Everyone seems to think Casey ran some sort of dictatorship and that every decision the board of that time took were solely Casey's my argument/point is that this is incorrect.

I am not quite sure how you've come up with the premise that these people somehow removed Casey from the position of President. Casey quit. He wasnt pushed, there was no coup he quit.

It was common knowledge at the time that Richmond were in a precarious position that was getting worse by the month and if you believe that Casey simply walked without a silent nudge or push then I would class you as naive at best.  From your own archives:

Casey offers to quit
By Michael Stevens and Jon Pierik
The Australian/Herald Sun
December 10, 2004

BESEIGED Richmond president Clinton Casey is believed to have offered to resign in 12 months if the club's financial position does not improve.

The offer is the latest development in an increasingly nasty election campaign which has had more twists and turns than a mystery novel.

Casey has come under intense fire from past Tiger champions for what is perceived as a dictatorial leadership style.

And the confirmation of a $2.2 million loss for season 2004 has flamed the voices of discontent.

Casey's threat of legal action against past club stalwarts Bryan Wood and Peter Welsh - both members of the rival Charles Macek-led rebel ticket - has also not endeared him to past players.

http://oneeyed-richmond.com/forum/index.php?topic=1130.110;wap2

Again you say that Casey's board were filled with his own people an on this you are probably correct but my argument is that a number of these people still remain on the board today. Good example is Rob Dalton who is not only a tremendous operator in his field of expertise but a terrific bloke as well. He was hand picked by Casey to join the board because of his skills in corporate governance which was desperately needed at the time.

Again I am not sure how you can suggest that all the mistakes were solely the doing of Casey. Let me make it clear I am not defending the mistakes the club made during that time. But what I have issue with is the fact seem to think he somehow did it all on his own. Boards make decisions, they vote on things. Having sat on a board one of a footy club myself I can tell you one person simply doesn't have that much power.

I would argue strongly that there was never any power struggle to take control of things and remove Casey. I am actually slighlty bemused as to how you've come up with the idea to be honest

All I am trying to say is to blame just one person for the "ills" of the past is not fair or reasonable, collectively the directors on the board at the time are repsonsible

I re-iterate - only March (and stretching it Matthies) can be even remotely classed as responsible for any of the havoc wrought during the Casey years - Dalton and O'Shannassy were brand new and this existing group saw off Casey less than 12 months later from which point our club has improved (off-field first and then on-field) in every single year since.  That's not a coincidence.

[Hard Roar Tiger]

I reckon the speech would've been more heart felt if he acknowledged he was part of a board which left a massive stain on our club 10 years ago. To his credit, which I acknowledged in a prior post, we are in a much healthier position on and off field.
I find it amazing those revisionists can see only the good he has done.
I find it more amazing he didn't have the balls to admit his stuff ups at the beginning of his time on the board.

[tony_montana]

Remember when Gary was Mr. Rent-a-quote

those were the days

massive facepalm moments - nearly all of them

 

[WilliamPowell]

The "Big 4" challenge was really in 2004 (lining up with the current trend of Dec AGM's) so the reality is that when the challenge of the "Big 4" occurred, March had only been on the board for 2 years, O'Shannassy 1 month, Matthies 1 year and Dalton 2 months so it was entirely reasonable that at least 3 of the 4 would not have had little or no time to form an opinion or become involved in any powerbloc move against Casey at that time and thus logical that they would have run under the Casey ticket, especially so given that at least 1 (Dalton) was a Casey appointee.  And let's not forget the role of Miller in that election also.  Interestingly, less than 12 months later Casey had been replaced by March so I am confident my take on the likely reasons for March etc not reacting immediately on election still stands up - he needed support to 'force' Casey out and he wasn't going to get that support immediately from at least 2 of the current members who had just sat down in their seats.

O'Shannessy was bought onto the board Casey, you will find they are long time friends.

Obviously we are going to have to agree to disagree on the issue of them forcing out Casey. 

I know that it wasn't the case, there was no coup and that Casey quit for business reason. Running multi million dollar empires can be timing consuming 

You clearly hold a very different view and that's OK 

I am certainly not naive on this particular issue. 

The article you quote was pre the election. And to be honest I didn't put much credence in what the past players back had to say back then. Unfortunatley their actions of undermining boards of the RFC over the years has never been in question. Who could forget their continual pushes to get Sheedy back to the Club. There have even been rumblings from them during the last 4 years (just go back to Dimma's 1st & 2nd years  ). It seems they have only subsided since Benny Gale has been at the Club.

I have great admiration for what Gary March has done, what has been achieved on his watch. Being a Footy Club president is a bloody tough gig and he has done an outstanding job. That cannot be disputed because he leaves with the Club being in a better place than it was when he got there and that is IMV the job of a club director. 

But I'd also guarantee you he wouldn't take the kudos for all the achievmeents because that's not his style. He would demand all his co-directors and the Clubs management team receive the kudos too.

But if you are going to take the kudos you can't ignore the mistakes not matter how long the your tenure. And to his and the boards credit they have rectified the mistakes

[Willy]

Know the Oshan' fam. Good folks. Tigers to the core.

[Smokey]

O'Shannessy was bought onto the board Casey, you will find they are long time friends.

Obviously we are going to have to agree to disagree on the issue of them forcing out Casey. 

I know that it wasn't the case, there was no coup and that Casey quit for business reason. Running multi million dollar empires can be timing consuming 

You clearly hold a very different view and that's OK 

I am certainly not naive on this particular issue. 

The article you quote was pre the election. And to be honest I didn't put much credence in what the past players back had to say back then. Unfortunatley their actions of undermining boards of the RFC over the years has never been in question. Who could forget their continual pushes to get Sheedy back to the Club. There have even been rumblings from them during the last 4 years (just go back to Dimma's 1st & 2nd years  ). It seems they have only subsided since Benny Gale has been at the Club.

I have great admiration for what Gary March has done, what has been achieved on his watch. Being a Footy Club president is a bloody tough gig and he has done an outstanding job. That cannot be disputed because he leaves with the Club being in a better place than it was when he got there and that is IMV the job of a club director. 

But I'd also guarantee you he wouldn't take the kudos for all the achievmeents because that's not his style. He would demand all his co-directors and the Clubs management team receive the kudos too.

But if you are going to take the kudos you can't ignore the mistakes not matter how long the your tenure. And to his and the boards credit they have rectified the mistakes

I certainly won't dispute that O'Shannassy, Dalton and probably some others were 'Casey' men and looking back it is probably one of the (very) few good moves Casey made in his 5 years getting them onto the board because they have proven themselves now to be excellent board members.  My main gripe right from the start was the level of blame I felt was being directed at March and I still stand by that 100% as it is not fair or reasonable to inordinately blame 1 non-executive director of 2 years tenure for the poor position of the club then that took Casey and the whole board 5 years to reach.  Take his whack yes, but not "A fair amount of pooh he cleaned up had come from his own backside", imho that wasn't fair or valid.

As for the past players, I didn't state I thought they were blameless or correct in their role but I did use the mention of them in that article to highlight how Casey had everyone offside at the time and it seemed to me (as a club outsider but a passionate interested party) that Casey would not acknowledge the position the club was in, the failure over many seasons in all areas of the club, and the need to change what was going seriously (and terminally if left unchecked) wrong. His arrogance was easily perceived and I believe it would not have been far from the truth/reality.  Going back to the 'past players', I believe a group of them to be as destructive an influence as anyone else in the club then and now (as soon as things don't go peachy) and I'm certainly not a fan or devotee! 

I will defer to your opinion that Casey left entirely of his own will because of his own business pressures (and acknowledge you aren't/weren't naive in the matter  ) but I still remember the groundswell of opinion around the club at the time that the guy was an egotistical failure as a club president who was going to drag the whole club into oblivion if left run unchecked.  Surely where there was smoke, there was some fire?    This is why I have formed the view that it was the 'new' board that was the catalyst for Casey leaving less than 12 months after winning the election and it will be hard for me to change that view.  Even if some of them were 'Casey' men they have proved themselves capable of recognising failure and acting appropriately and accordingly to correct it - something that Casey himself appeared incapable of doing.

I remain comfortable with my opinion of Casey's legacy to our club and where the real blame for the ills of his tenure lies but I acknowledge your view and place in and around it all.