G'day everyone. This is my first post here. I am the most passionate Saints man you could find, I bleed red, white and black. However I'd like to put up a few points for consideration if I may.
First off, I believe Rod Butterss is always going to cop his share of flak even when it's not deserved because of his style. Ray Charles can see he doesn't fit your usual AFL president stereotype and thus people always criticise something that is different. That's not to say he hasn't brought the flak on himself, I totally agree that his handling of the Grant Thomas issue was poor.
My next point is that how come when the Saints came from the bottom of the table in 2001, to a kick away from a Grand Final in 2004, Rod and his board never got any credit for that? All of a sudden we've fallen short of our expectations and it's on Rod's head? A tad unfair.
Let's also keep in mind that unlike the Roos, Demons and Dogs we are able to play all 11 of our home games in Melbourne because we have our finances in a strong position to do so. I'm sure we'd all agree that selling a home game to Brisbane as Melbourne does is not the way to operate.
I received my "footy first" information in the mail today. I thought it quite funny that there were a few punctuation errors and pretty ordinary formatting all across it and I read with great interest about all of the grand plans this group has, but failed to see any information about the specific steps that will be undertaken to achieve this success. This group says it's all about premierships and I agree as a supporter that's what I want. The question I raise is how do we judge if this group is successful? What if we were to finish runner up next year and post a loss of around $400,000. We've improved on field, gone backwards financially and still don't have that premiership? Is that successful? How long do we give this group to achieve the ultimate goal?
I am also surprised by Andrew Thompson's involvement in this group. I loved Thommo as a player, but he has probably been one of the players who has enjoyed sustained success as a Saint. As far as I can tell he first played in 1997 and retired this year. I tally he played in 5 finals campaigns, 97, 98, 2004, 2005, 2006. I have a hard time understanding that he thinks we're that far off the pace with our current situation. Particularly as I think we're mostly in agreeance that our 2004 outfit was better than our 1997 outfit which played off in a Grand Final.
My final point is that bigger is not always better. I think we'd agree that our recruiting has been sensational over the last few years and yet we haven't had to spend the big bucks. Sam Gilbert's 2007 season was a real highlight for me and indicates we are still finding a great talent. All the players out of contract have re-signed and Sam Fisher even took the step of extending his current contract. The players are in for the long haul and believe they are on the right path. I believe this decision should be made on what is going best help them, not out with the old and in with the new.
I just feel it's very easy to take shots at a board that has yet to achieve a premiership, given that the club has racked up a solo cup in its tenure. I am all for debate and having the club's best interests at heart, but let's not can Rod Butterss and his board just because we want to see if the grass is greener on the other side.
Let me know your thoughts Sainters!!!!!!