Would the Roys have survived if...

[Mr Ripper]

...the VFL (as it was then) hadn't abolished transfer fees in the late 80s?

The League, in its infinite wisdom, ridded (rade?) the game of this practice in 1988 in order to put the breaks on clubs paying OTT prices for players and pushing themselves ever closer to extinction.

Not 100% sure, but I think the Roys picked up something like $270,000 for the sale of Scott McIvor to the Bears.

Using that figure as a guideline, and taking into account the hyper-inflation that afflicts football, just how much of the folding stuff might the Roys have made if we'd been able to flog for a price, some of those star players that walked out on the club during the early 90s?

My guesstimates:
Gary Pert (wonky knees) - $225,000
Darren Kappler - $200,000
Richard Osborne - $350,000
Paul Broderick - $325,000
Michael Gale - $300,000
Matthew Dundas - $200,000
Jamie Elliott - $225,000
Peter Caven - $200,000
Alastair Lynch - $750,000
Matthew Armstrong - $350,000
Paul Roos - $600,000
Ross Lyon - $300,000
Marcus Seecamp - $250,000

Those players were lost to the Roys over a 3 year period from late '91 to late '94, and, if my ball-park figures are anywhere near accurate, could have netted the club 4 to 4.5 million bucks in transfer fees. Very handy!

Now...to rebuild the side!

 

[Satay Mat]

minus all those fees the Roys would have paid out of course Rip !!!!

Satay Mat

 

[Stocka]

I definitely think it would have been a short term answer to the club's problems, and possibly, if we'd been able to do it, we'd still be around today.

Consider, at the start of the 90's, we still had a lot of very good players. During 1991, the club went public regarding the state of its finances. At that stage, I seriously would have considering 'selling' some of those stars who were about to move on anyway.

For instance, we lost the likes of Pert, Kappler, Osborne, Blakey, and one or two others (all good players, who left the Roys for one reason or another), who all would have had other clubs keen to pay a price for them.

(I would possibly also have considered 'selling' Lyon - who, although was a fantastic player and a true Royboy, did have the tendency to be hot and cold - which may have made him a line-ball case in such a situation. Likewise, the same could be said of 'Doc' Wheildon).

Even after you let these guys go, we still had a good side, which, with the likes of Armstrong, Roos, Lynch, Broderick, Gale, Lyon, Wynd, as well as the younger brigage of Boyd, Elliott, Baldwin, Paxman, Seecamp etc., looked like being a future finals combination.

Take for instance:

Kappler $250,000 - $300,000
Blakey $250,000 - $300,000
Pert $300 000 - $400,000
Osborne $500,000 - $600,000

And possibly throw in one or two other players, say, either Lyon or Wheildon at around $300,000, and perhaps Dundas for around $200,000 - $250,000.

So, to take a rough figure out of that, we could have netted ourselves at least $1.5m, if not more (depending on how well the club bargained). That certainly would have been enough to tide over the club's immediate debts, with a considerable cash injection over a number of years.

While it wouldn't have been a long term option, the 'selling' of a few star players to begin with would have bought us time, and most likely have allowed us to keep our finances in better order, as well as keep guys like Lynch, Broderick, Armstrong, Gale, Roos, etc. With the list we had at the end of 1993, along with the draft selections of Johnson, Molloy, Barker, Cummings, etc., I think we certainly could have had a finals unit in the following years.

Take for instance, the 93 list, including the draft recruits for next season, and having sold the likes of Wheildon, Lyon and Dundas(harsh, I know, but it might have been necessary under the circumstances), our side in 1994 'could' have looked like the following:

B: Wynd, Paxman, Hawking
HB: Gale, Roos, Seecamp
C: Baldwin, Armstrong, Dunstan
HF: Molloy, McCarthy, Boyd
F: Johnson, Lynch, Caven
Foll: Sartori, Elliott, Broderick
Inter: Zanotti, Barker, Cummings, Manson, Dent

Considering the majority of that team contributed to a reasonably solid, and at times spectacular season in 1993, there would have been every chance, that with continued and improved form from our stars, along with the younger brigade stepping up, that we could have made the finals in 1994, and continued to develop a very competitive unit.

There still would have been the issues, regarding long-term cash flow, attracting star players and keeping our own star players as well, however, IMO, the greatest hurdle that Fitzroy encountered was the inability to in the short-term, free itself up financially in order to maintain stability. Had it been able to do this, and keep the key, star players in its side, and forge a successful on-field unit capable of making, and winning finals, this would have gone a long way to helping out the long-term situation. For instance, you would have had a lot of supporters coming out of the closet, and back to the games, increased membership, increased sponsorship and marketability of the club/team. All of this would have contributed to making the Roys more stable, and financially viable in the long-term (especially when coupled with ventures such as the club's hotel, and financing from a suitable agency).