Miller threatens to quit
By Caroline Wilson
realfooty.theage.com.au
July 27, 2004
A Brendan Schwab-led revolution at Richmond could cost the club the services of football boss Greg Miller along with Terry Wallace, who is believed to be Miller's preferred choice of senior coach.
Miller has threatened as much in an emotional email forwarded two nights ago to rebel member Michael Pahoff and last night reiterated to The Age: "If a ticket of people are going to come in who I don't think can take the club forward, then I don't want to be a part of it."
Former vice-president Schwab launched his assault upon Clinton Casey, calling for a clean sweep of the board and for Miller to include former premiership players Bryan Wood and Peter Welsh in the process of selecting Danny Frawley's replacement.
Schwab hit back at claims he was destabilising the club by challenging now, saying: "The cause of the instability, of course, is that we have huge financial problems. If Clinton doesn't resign, it's ultimately a matter for the members."
Schwab said his board would set about a complete audit of the club's finances, along with a review of all the club's contracts "in conjunction with the AFL". "But the most urgent issue is the coaching issue."
Schwab said he had no problem with Wallace as a potential coach but that he wanted Wood and Welsh to be a part of the decision-making process along with Miller and his consultant David Parkin - whose home has been the stage for all the club's coaching interviews to date.
Wallace, who said on Sunday, "You really don't want to be in a situation where you are negotiating with one group and then find out down the track that that's not the group you are going to be working with", turned off his mobile telephone yesterday and did not appear on his regular 3AW spot last night.
While Casey confirmed he had received a call from Welsh, whom he would meet this week along with Schwab, he reiterated that he would not resign and that he would continue to support Miller, whom he said should sue Pahoff for leaking a private email.
But Miller did not appear overly concerned at Pahoff's breach of his private correspondence in which the former Kangaroos powerbroker strongly hinted that he had identified the new Tigers coach. Casey described Pahoff, who has offered to take over the club's recruiting, as "delusional."
While Pahoff's 100 signatures are in no way linked to the Schwab challenge, Miller has used the Pahoff challenge to subtly threaten the withdrawal of Wallace, who has not yet officially been offered the job.
". . . Should this continue," Miller wrote, "we will miss out on the best coach again . . . The best wants a fair go at the very key first three months. He will not join a club involved in a brawl. He will not join if I throw up my hands and resign."
Rodney Eade, who also has been interviewed by the Tigers, has made no such provisos regarding the club's political situation.
Upon learning of the Schwab challenge late yesterday, Miller added: "I work for Clinton Casey and I support him and I want to be a part of something that's going to be successful. I haven't had a close look at the new ticket and maybe once I do, I won't want to be a part of it. Maybe they won't want me."
Wood and Welsh have joined former Tiger director and treasurer Michael Humphris, company director Trevor Barrot, Transport Accident Commission executive Colin Radford and Royal Bank of Scotland Asia-Pacific region managing director Robert Edgley on Schwab's seven-man ticket, which will try to take control of the club in a matter of weeks.
Schwab's challenge has been mounted with the strong support of recently retired ruckman and Schwab said he would go into an election with two further alternative directors as a nine-person ticket. "We want to give others the opportunity of joining us."
Schwab said that while both he and Welsh accepted some responsibility for the club's poor performance in recent years, "I can say with a very clear conscience that I only decided to stand down when I had exhausted my ability to change the club from within".
He confirmed that one major issue for both directors had been Casey's refusal to consult the board upon key issues, including the outsourcing of the club's marketing work to Elite Sports Properties and the details of Miller's financial arrangement with the club.
Schwab said he would not accept Casey's compromise offer to stand for election next January because of the crucial nature of setting club budgets between September and January. "We have to stop the bleeding now," said Schwab. "Waiting until January would mean a setback of not six months but 18 months."
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