Tiger - I guess somebody has to keep you honest - might as well be me 
ps - I'm not necessarily supporting the Schwab group - just like to see some balance
Ok then RonB. I’m up for the challenge. Let me put it to you this way and feel free to let me know if my views are unbalanced.
The RFC constitution, without going into it too much, you would think, was put in place to give the Club workable guidelines by which to operate, regardless of its administrators and in fairness to its members. In this way, those with the privilege of being appointed to the Board, by the Members, could make decisions for and on behalf of them.
However, for a number of years now, and for whatever reason, our footy club seems to have all but ignored that constitution and way of running things. Two or three elections in two decades perhaps points to how undemocratic this footy Club has become. The reason for that seems to be that we members don’t have any trust in the system put in place to do its job, or just don’t understand why it is there. And just seem content to allow rebels to dictate terms for us and have our say for us.
Even though, if followed, we can ensure that our Board is run democratically, whereby the Club’s members, each year, have the opportunity to nominate for the Board and/or vote others on and off the Board.
Instead of following these simple and effective guidelines that take away the ego factor associated with rebel groups and others, members have unwittingly allowed such people, to take matters into their own hands. On members’ behalf, so they tell us, because they weren’t elected by us, they decide they know what we want and can do better, far more quickly than any guidelines can allow. The fact that none of them has ever had any success doesn’t seem to deter them or us from following them.
The reason people take this course of action and allow it is because they lack trust and if we wake up and realise why we continue to make the same mistakes, time and again, then we can finally put a stop to it. Because by having people who lack trust run our footy Club, we invite more of the same people to it. And so we will never attract the sort of people we want on the Board. Before dismissing any of this as just aimless ramble, be assured that, without trust, our footy Club can achieve nothing of significance. As evidenced by our recent past. And if we give these people credence then we only have ourselves to blame for the situation we continually find ourselves in.
One way to change that is to ignore the calls from any alternative tickets, rebel groups and whatever else out there wanting to intervene and make decisions without going through the proper procedures and should be treated with the contempt they deserve. Because these people, driven by ego and a lack of trust represent everything we don’t want in the people running our footy Club.
They think they know and can do better. But, simply because they have taken this course of action and without them needing to do anything, we know that they cannot do what they say they will do. Because, first and foremost, they lack trust. They can preach and hot gospel all they like. The simple fact is that their lack of faith gives them 0% chance of bringing meaningful, significant and sustained success to this Club.
This is merely stating a fact of life that, without trust, there are no solid foundations upon which success or anything can be built. (Upon the foundations of trust you can build anything and all it takes to destroy it is ego. Just ask the Brisbane Lions).
If we revert to running things as they should be and as they are at other well run clubs then we can easily straighten things up and ensure that, in the future, people will nominate for the Richmond Board for all the right reasons, so that we can have an even chance at success.
We have a choice as to how we want the future to be. And it is very easy to predict that future. All we need do is see what we are doing now to change things, because that determines what the future will be like.
If we continue to allow RFC to be ruled by people in the background and those who think they know better, but only serve to continually railroad the Club and further mire it where it is then we can be assured of more of the mediocrity we have become associated with.
The only real alternative is to put our faith in the system, however boring, dull, uninspiring and simple that seems. That system is there for a very good reason. And those who put it there knew what they were doing and had the faith in it that we need to regain, before we can achieve anything to be proud of.
If anyone has the opportunity, read Miller’s letter to Pahoff, it will make the point better than I can and might mean a bit more.
