Event Club Q&A - 17th June

[Moorabbin Ghost]

do you now if they are doing an internal review of everything Stewart66 ?

It’s already a couple of weeks old. Heads are already ready to roll in coming days/weeks. Unfortunately they’re not the right ones.

 

[stavro#4]

do you now if they are doing an internal review of everything Stewart66 ?

Bassat has been looking into everything for weeks.

 

[gringo2011]

It’s already a couple of weeks old. Heads are already ready to roll in coming days/weeks. Unfortunately they’re not the right ones.

So coaching staff?

 

[stavro#4]

So coaching staff?

Yes

 

[Stewart66]

do you now if they are doing an internal review of everything Stewart66 ?

Pretty clear they are , hate to say this but bring it on.
Got way ahead of ourselves, confident though we have right guy in charge with the President.

Little comments he made were interesting , about getting his feet under the desk.
Covid clearly impacted his business, but this guy is a winner , surrounds himself with winners .

In good hands.

 

[stavro#4]

Pretty clear they are , hate to say this but bring it on.
Got way ahead of ourselves, confident though we have right guy in charge with the President.

Little comments he made were interesting , about getting his feet under the desk.
Covid clearly impacted his business, but this guy is a winner , surrounds himself with winners .

In good hands.

Opinion.

Finnis Lethlean Ratten.

Right men or not?

 

[gringo2011]

Pretty clear they are , hate to say this but bring it on.
Got way ahead of ourselves, confident though we have right guy in charge with the President.

Little comments he made were interesting , about getting his feet under the desk.
Covid clearly impacted his business, but this guy is a winner , surrounds himself with winners .

In good hands.

We really need our Frank Costa that just focusses on the right areas and really drives standards and vision. It's amazing how a bit of energy at the top can move the whole organisation forward. Glad to hear we might finally have some quality at the top. Hard decisions need to be made and every appointment needs to be made with a long term strategy in mind. We need a narrow vision not running off everywhere with different ideas. Get the footy department and list management right and the rest can wait.

 

[Joffaboy]

You work for a big enough member industry. Imagine a sh*t show like that by your leaders. The show that the 3 fat middle aged blokes put on are the epitome of why your email got a response from the trainee receptionist.

This is a very salient point. We had a very public falling out with our members over the CEO's profile. Eventually we had to pay him out and the members revolted over the fact he was making chat shows and putting his face on billboards in time square.

The perception was that we had forgotten we were a membership organisation and not an ego booster for a narcissist.

Our AGM was a 3 hour marathon with the President answering questions from the floor for two hours straight. I wont go through the preparation our org went through but suffice to say the 4 thousand members who left our organisation have been recovered and so has the confidence in our organisation.

 

[Moorabbin Ghost]

Opinion.

Finnis Lethlean Ratten.

Right men or not?

It’s a lot more involved than yes or no but you’d imagine the three of them are under enormous pressure from above for the remainder of the season.

 

[stavro#4]

It’s a lot more involved than yes or no but you’d imagine the three of them are under enormous pressure from above for the remainder of the season.

I’m well aware of that - as you know.

But are they the right people in the right jobs. That’s what needs to come out.

I think Ratten is the right coach.
I think Finnis needs to go.
Lethlean I’m unsure.

 

[stavro#4]

This is a very salient point. We had a very public falling out with our members over the CEO's profile. Eventually we had to pay him out and the members revolted over the fact he was making chat shows and putting his face on billboards in time square.

The perception was that we had forgotten we were a membership organisation and not an ego booster for a narcissist.

Our AGM was a 3 hour marathon with the President answering questions from the floor for two hours straight. I wont go through the preparation our org went through but suffice to say the 4 thousand members who left our organisation have been recovered and so has the confidence in our organisation.

Same question I asked to Moorabbin Ghost Stewart66

Finnis Lethlean Ratten. Right men for the roles based off your experience as a member?

If they left at seasons end, do they leave you behind a legacy you are proud of?

 

[Moorabbin Ghost]

I’m well aware of that - as you know.

But are they the right people in the right jobs. That’s what needs to come out.

I think Ratten is the right coach.
I think Finnis needs to go.
Lethlean I’m unsure.

Does Ratts have the fire in his belly still? If yes then I want him to stay.
He needs to answer that question in the next couple of months.

 

[Stewart66]

Opinion.

Finnis Lethlean Ratten.

Right men or not?

Personally like Lethlean really understands club land , hope we can keep him .

Finnis been critic of some of the direction we’ve been taken at times , but the facility at RSEA
is world class , very good legacy to leave behind you.

Ratten. Has a year for mine , to really honestly review the year that was and learn from it

 

[stavro#4]

Personally like Lethlean really understands club land , hope we can keep him .

Finnis been critic of some of the direction we’ve been taken at times , but the facility at RSEA
is world class , very good legacy to leave behind you.

Ratten. Has a year for mine , to really honestly review the year that was and learn from it

You can’t give Finnis all the credit for Moorabbin and whilst that is monumental in our history his legacy also shows….

The debt hasn’t reduced. We are AFL hand our reliant still.

He is the bloke who backed and backed Richo.

1 finals series in his 7 years.

Effectively 2 rebuilds 14-18 then the Lethers assisted 18 - 20.

Comparison to similar clubs in North and the Dogs doesn’t read great.

 

[Stewart66]

You can’t give Finnis all the credit for Moorabbin and whilst that is monumental in our history his legacy also shows….

The debt hasn’t reduced. We are AFL hand our reliant still.

He is the bloke who backed and backed Richo.

1 finals series in his 7 years.

Effectively 2 rebuilds 14-18 then the Lethers assisted 18 - 20.

Comparison to similar clubs in North and the Dogs doesn’t read great.

As said wasn’t happy the direction Matt took us at times , think his involvement is done .

Certainly not giving him all the credit either.

 

[Joffaboy]

Same question I asked to Moorabbin Ghost Stewart66

Finnis Lethlean Ratten. Right men for the roles based off your experience as a member?

If they left at seasons end, do they leave you behind a legacy you are proud of?

Really difficult question from my limited experience of their organisation.

Ratten - yes I think he is the right coach. I believe that the players have gotten off much too lightly this year and the emphasis has been too much on Ratten. He is not without blame of course but I personally feel it has been a bit unbalanced.

Leathlean - thought he was a hired gun. Wanted to go to Carlton and was knocked. Took Saints as a last resort. Has had the messiah syndrome attached to him. Looks to be on the move to Geelong anyway.

Finnis - another who had to be convinced to come to the Saints. Has overseen the move back to Moorabbin which, if he achieves nothing else is a major accomplishment.
A football clubs OKR's revolve around winning games. While I think the social leadership of things like Danny Frawley match, Maddies match and the Pride match are all worthy to make football inclusive, does it distract from the clubs mission and core competencies?

I think Finnis's response to things such as the Robbie Muir article and the clubs stance on racism towards our current players is a template for the AFL. It has been magnificient.

The point is that those three and every other person involved in the organisation from the president down is vunerable and under pressure to perform.

So while i sit on the fence, we all thought that the club was heading in the right drection last year, nobody thought Ratten or Lethlean were duds. Some didn't like Finnis but results meant that we were all pretty chuffed.

Unfirtunately that complacency wasn't just in the fans but the players and staff. the injuries have been devestating but the effort in some games has beena real shock not just to the supporter but the coaching staff and admin as well. Seems they are struggling to understand why and it is not a simple answer.

The review is a good start, it needs to be done and it needs to be done properly. Jobs will be lost, who and if they are correct is a matter of opinion.

As long it is not the trainee receptionist, as she is my only contact at the club

 

[Saints43]

I don't buy the fact it's purely effort in the sense of not chasing etc.

I think it's something in their head though, maybe the instructions are not clear or they are unable to maintain concentration and stick to the game plan.

I reckon it's two things:

Effort: The determination to be competitive *all* the time. Mental/cultural issue.

Quality: For most of the season we've been putting four or five blokes out there who are not AFL standard. That's 20 percent of the team. Historical drafting issue that only a better injury run and/or time can solve.

 

[Ricmel]

Opinion.

Finnis Lethlean Ratten.

Right men or not?

Not.

Lethlean was obviously parked at St Kilda. He had/has bigger ambitions and his connections mean that this is just a serve time placement - not prove yourself. Seems less effective without his AFL mates around him.

Finnis is low profile, low influence, low connections - I'm not sure how he has skated through the last 5 years. His roadmap to 2018 was an abject failure and his roadmap to 2023 looks like being the same. Need someone with a bit of dynamism about them to come into this role. I'd like to see them try and get Ameet Bains back.

Ratten - I like the guy and think he can probably coach. But honestly, two "nice" guy coaches in a row. Players are taking advantage of them. I wanted to see a c#nt in the role - a la Ross Lyon. For me, we'd be starting a long way behind but throw everything at Sam Mitchell.

 

[George]

Opinion.

Finnis Lethlean Ratten.

Right men or not?

Yes Yes No

 

[stavro#4]

Yes Yes No

Are you going to elaborate?

 

[Saints43]

I’m well aware of that - as you know.

But are they the right people in the right jobs. That’s what needs to come out.

I think Ratten is the right coach.
I think Finnis needs to go.
Lethlean I’m unsure.

Just on Finnis:
We have reached agreement with the AFL that they will dollar match repayments of our debt to them.
I'm not 100% sure but I believe around half of our debt is owed to the AFL. If that's right then he has effectively negotiated away a quarter of our debt.
This puts us closer to funding the football department the way it needs to be.
Along with the ongoing facility improvements and membership increases, now that he doesn't need to (needed to due to lack of funds) run the football department as well as the off-field business, I can't see what he could be doing better.

On Lethlean:
We haven't had a decent starting 18 for about a decade. He has started to solve an issue that was ten years in the making. The list turnover in the last two years has been extensive, and is what we needed to happen. With a better run with injury (Marshall alone) we'd still be in the hunt for finals and the focus would be on Crouch arriving, not Hanners being here. But results form the narrative.

 

[pebblesofsand]

It’s already a couple of weeks old. Heads are already ready to roll in coming days/weeks. Unfortunately they’re not the right ones.

So who's getting the sack and which ones are staying?

 

[Mat Mann]

Opinion.

Finnis Lethlean Ratten.

Right men or not?

Finnis - yes but needs a footy operator who sits next to him as an equal, and if that's not doable then no.
Lethlean - I know many have doubts but I think he's done ok since arriving, some will have issues with jobs for mates, that only an issue for me if mates are s**t at their jobs. Rath, O'Shaughnessy have been quality hirings.

Ratten - after 18months I think the jury is still out Last year was positive but we still had the same lapses as we've had this year, which is sad

 

[flyingmagic]

Just say something like "we have had this season ruined by injury and a whole lot of factors out of our control, we see the rest of this season as an opportunity that clubs don't often get. We will use the remaining games to try to develop a few of our younger players and sort the list out, realistically we'll get access to a great player in the draft, This might be the step back that allows us to take a huge leap forward in the future blah blah".

Isn't that what they effectively said?

 

[stavro#4]

Just on Finnis:
We have reached agreement with the AFL that they will dollar match repayments of our debt to them.
I'm not 100% sure but I believe around half of our debt is owed to the AFL. If that's right then he has effectively negotiated away a quarter of our debt.
This puts us closer to funding the football department the way it needs to be.
Along with the ongoing facility improvements and membership increases, now that he doesn't need to (needed to due to lack of funds) run the football department as well as the off-field business, I can't see what he could be doing better.

On Lethlean:
We haven't had a decent starting 18 for about a decade. He has started to solve an issue that was ten years in the making. The list turnover in the last two years has been extensive, and is what we needed to happen. With a better run with injury (Marshall alone) we'd still be in the hunt for finals and the focus would be on Crouch arriving, not Hanners being here. But results form the narrative.

Yes but that doesn’t take away that it’s taken 7 years of his leadership to get here.

Compare that to the Dogs and North and their leadership, it makes us look like a bunch of kindergarten kids.

The fact is also that in this time, the AFL has done a tremendous amount of work in propping us up, providing staff and giving us prime time opportunities only for us to s**t the bed and role in it. Now they are effectively encouraging us to repay the debt because we can’t do it on our own.