Opinion Brian Cook

[Max Milburn]

And that is the point they left because they were not going to advance at the GFC because Cook was not leaving. And perhaps it would not have been abad thing for Fox to stay to get some new ideas in.

Nah, they left because great opportunities came up and they weren't prepared to wait until Cook pulled the plug. Simple as that.
Agree that if any of them do decide to come back, the new experience gained will be very beneficial.

 

[ATSAM]

Let me tell you ungrateful's if every one else at the Cats was as dedicated,professional and absolutely committed to the Cats as Brian Cook has been since his arrival at the Cattery we would have had 5 flags minimum in his time not 3.

So what did he do that any other CEO would not have done and what any CEO paid his salary would not have done. What has he done that the CEOs of Sydney, Collingwood,Hawthorn, Bulldogs, Richmond and West Coast- all premiership winners have not done

 

[Sparkle]

So what did he do that any other CEO would not have done and what any CEO paid his salary would not have done. What has he done that the CEOs of Sydney, Collingwood,Hawthorn, Bulldogs, Richmond and West Coast- all premiership winners have not done

People seem to have stuck in their heads how he 'saved' the club twenty years ago - I'm not doubting that he did a fantastic job flipping the place upside down and turning the club on it's head, but as I said earlier he hasn't done anything special since our last premiership in 2011. This doesn't discredit the work he did early on, but as a whole he hasn't really done that much for the club, especially of late

People need to realise that we've had eight season where Cook hasn't done anything real groundbreaking (two new stands were built, although those plans began in the early 2000's when Wayne Jackson wanted to shaft us to Colonial). A new CEO coming in (which would have happened if Kennett didn't woo Fox and Reeves to Hawthorn) will mean new ideas and a change of direction

 

[FredLeDeux]

People need to realise that we've had eight season where Cook hasn't done anything real groundbreaking (two new stands were built, although those plans began in the early 2000's when Wayne Jackson wanted to shaft us to Colonial). A new CEO coming in (which would have happened if Kennett didn't woo Fox and Reeves to Hawthorn) will mean new ideas and a change of direction

What new ideas, and what new direction?

 

[Sparkle]

What new ideas, and what new direction?

Finding a new source of revenue, re-engaging disenchanted members and fans, voicing an opinion about the football department, and turning the club away from old ideas and the 'Geelong' way and towards being sustainable into the future

 

[dazbroncos]

Finding a new source of revenue, re-engaging disenchanted members and fans, voicing an opinion about the football department, and turning the club away from old ideas and the 'Geelong' way and towards being sustainable into the future

sounds great...

Kinda like a would be artist talking about a painting... All great things but no substance on how to actually do it.

And I luv how the "nothing other than building 2 new stands" get washed over. Its only about 250 million of investment and fund raising. and clearing the club of any debt .....but yes lets find a new source of revenue

GO Catters

 

[Sparkle]

sounds great...

Kinda like a would be artist talking about a painting... All great things but no substance on how to actually do it.

And I luv how the "nothing other than building 2 new stands" get washed over. Its only about 250 million of investment and fund raising. and clearing the club of any debt .....but yes lets find a new source of revenue

GO Catters

The two stands aren't generating money though - if they were then the club wouldn't be in debt.

The new source of revenue could be anything really - whether it be better quality merchandise (at a much fairer price to the sub-par Cotton On merch which is an extraordinary price), add-ons to memberships (that are worth the extra cost, such as merch packs, guest tickets packs), holding fundraising events (that accept nominal donations - none of this 'minimum donation $250' stuff), wear another 'Our Ambition' jumper (with a different design and a lower cost to have your name featured), hold more auctions for jumpers (which have dried up over the last few years), host a moderately-priced event for members in the bye weekend (with a pub-style dinner, guest appearances, silent auction, live music) - the list really goes on. There is stuff the club can do, but for some reason no one in the head office has realised it

 

[dazbroncos]

The two stands aren't generating money though - if they were then the club wouldn't be in debt.

The new source of revenue could be anything really - whether it be better quality merchandise (at a much fairer price to the sub-par Cotton On merch which is an extraordinary price), add-ons to memberships (that are worth the extra cost, such as merch packs, guest tickets packs), holding fundraising events (that accept nominal donations - none of this 'minimum donation $250' stuff), wear another 'Our Ambition' jumper (with a different design and a lower cost to have your name featured), hold more auctions for jumpers (which have dried up over the last few years), host a moderately-priced event for members in the bye weekend (with a pub-style dinner, guest appearances, silent auction, live music) - the list really goes on. There is stuff the club can do, but for some reason no one in the head office has realised it

The 2 stands arent generating money.

You mean like the GSS at the MCG doesn't generate money... other than better conditions for its users, better facilities and amenities as part of the build - whihc means the prices can go up to match the newer stands etc so the club makes more money.

And you want to get a new clothing manufacture not from the region. Perhaps the in situ one utilises local staff and materials and gets money back into the local economy.

As for new alternate jumpers - ive seen on here at least some mediocre reaction at best to "more" non traditional jumpers -partly as they are seen exactly as money grabs from an already tapped fan base.

Ive advocated add ons to memberships to create cash flow and get new VFL incentives but the general push back was that it wouldn't appeal to masses. The point being that getting Add ons that are going to be taken on by the membership in enough numbers to make it worthwhile is difficult - but I get your point.

Im not suggesting anything you have put forward is a bad idea - far from it - but the notion that its easy to squeeze more $$ from a fan base and membership thats already throwing $$ in is not as simple as just putting forward new ideas - and that it hasn't necessarily occurred a pit fall of Cook's time as CEO.

And i still suggest getting the club debt free in a new 70% new house is a fairly successful move.

Go Catters

 

[Sparkle]

The 2 stands arent generating money.

You mean like the GSS at the MCG doesn't generate money... other than better conditions for its users, better facilities and amenities as part of the build - whihc means the prices can go up to match the newer stands etc so the club makes more money.

And you want to get a new clothing manufacture not from the region. Perhaps the in situ one utilises local staff and materials and gets money back into the local economy.

As for new alternate jumpers - ive seen on here at least some mediocre reaction at best to "more" non traditional jumpers -partly as they are seen exactly as money grabs from an already tapped fan base.

Ive advocated add ons to memberships to create cash flow and get new VFL incentives but the general push back was that it wouldn't appeal to masses. The point being that getting Add ons that are going to be taken on by the membership in enough numbers to make it worthwhile is difficult - but I get your point.

Im not suggesting anything you have put forward is a bad idea - far from it - but the notion that its easy to squeeze more $$ from a fan base and membership thats already throwing $$ in is not as simple as just putting forward new ideas - and that it hasn't necessarily occurred a pit fall of Cook's time as CEO.

And i still suggest getting the club debt free in a new 70% new house is a fairly successful move.

Go Catters

That's a fair call, I understand that it is hard to squeeze money out of us, especially when you look at the demographic of our supporters and members (who tend to be either younger families or over 50's) - already this year as my jumper collection swells I've spent close to a thousand dollars on the Cats - any extra stuff would need to be worth the money.

At the moment I'm running through some ideas to boost the concept of 'Retro Round', which I believe would appeal to our demographic of attendees at matches. I'm thinking of sending the ideas to the club if I believe they're feasible enough to work. The ideas are involved with getting the crowd involved and turning a nice profit

I probably should have explained myself better when I spoke of the money being made - absolutely money is made off the stands, but I'm not sure whether that money turns a profit, especially since the club in debt.

 

[Landgraft]

The two stands aren't generating money though - if they were then the club wouldn't be in debt.

The new source of revenue could be anything really - whether it be better quality merchandise (at a much fairer price to the sub-par Cotton On merch which is an extraordinary price), add-ons to memberships (that are worth the extra cost, such as merch packs, guest tickets packs), holding fundraising events (that accept nominal donations - none of this 'minimum donation $250' stuff), wear another 'Our Ambition' jumper (with a different design and a lower cost to have your name featured), hold more auctions for jumpers (which have dried up over the last few years), host a moderately-priced event for members in the bye weekend (with a pub-style dinner, guest appearances, silent auction, live music) - the list really goes on. There is stuff the club can do, but for some reason no one in the head office has realised it

Not sure what your complaint with the Cotton On stuff is, but imo it's a pretty big improvement over the ISC stuff we had previously.

 

[Sparkle]

Not sure what your complaint with the Cotton On stuff is, but imo it's a pretty big improvement over the ISC stuff we had previously.

Nah, I reckon the Cotton On stuff is pretty lousy. Comparing the 2016 and 2018 hoodies (which I've worn), the 2016 hoodie is a much better fit, and the sewn-on logos are much better quality to the 2018 ironed-on logos



As a jumper collector, I've noticed a change in our jumpers, for the worse, both in-game (as seen in the photos below) and in person. The nice, tight fit of the ISC jumpers in 2016 has gone to a baggy, stretched and a basketball-style template for Cotton On in 2019. In person, the quality of the stitching and the fit of the ISC jumpers is far superior to the Cotton On jumpers



Also, the price of the Cotton On apparel is hard to justify as well. Items such as the ISC Squad Hoody were about $85 in 2016 from The Cats Shop, the equivalent Cotton On hoodie in 2018 was $100 (and as I described earlier, it was worse than the ISC hoodie). The range of Cotton On jumpers (specifically, the Indigenous, Retro and Country jumpers) were overpriced as well, which explains the lack of sales and the eventual reductions in price. These jumpers should have been $100-$110, pricing them at $130 was a mistake as it turned away many casual fans and wasn't easy on the hip pocket of collectors

Overall, I would take ISC back in a heartbeat. All well and good that the Cats have gone with a local manufacturer, but when the merchandise doesn't cut it, something needs to change

 

[cats_09]

Nah, I reckon the Cotton On stuff is pretty lousy. Comparing the 2016 and 2018 hoodies (which I've worn), the 2016 hoodie is a much better fit, and the sewn-on logos are much better quality to the 2018 ironed-on logos

View attachment 582307

As a jumper collector, I've noticed a change in our jumpers, for the worse, both in-game (as seen in the photos below) and in person. The nice, tight fit of the ISC jumpers in 2016 has gone to a baggy, stretched and a basketball-style template for Cotton On in 2019. In person, the quality of the stitching and the fit of the ISC jumpers is far superior to the Cotton On jumpers

View attachment 582309

Also, the price of the Cotton On apparel is hard to justify as well. Items such as the ISC Squad Hoody were about $85 in 2016 from The Cats Shop, the equivalent Cotton On hoodie in 2018 was $100 (and as I described earlier, it was worse than the ISC hoodie). The range of Cotton On jumpers (specifically, the Indigenous, Retro and Country jumpers) were overpriced as well, which explains the lack of sales and the eventual reductions in price. These jumpers should have been $100-$110, pricing them at $130 was a mistake as it turned away many casual fans and wasn't easy on the hip pocket of collectors

Overall, I would take ISC back in a heartbeat. All well and good that the Cats have gone with a local manufacturer, but when the merchandise doesn't cut it, something needs to change

I'm the complete opposite and much prefer the fit of the Cotton On range of items.

Commenting as a female, but I've found the cut & fit of Cotton On womens range preferable over what was available by ISC. ISC was a much tighter fit & their t-shirts were shorter, where as with Cotton On I find I have a bit more room in their gear, their is more length to their t-shirts which is nice and I can't complain about the quality.

The ISC media polo I had, the ISC logo actually fell off the front of the shirt, so there's this weird little patch on the front where you can tell something is missing.

But everyone is going to be different as they look for different things in their merchandise - for some the Cotton On range will suit better than the ISC range but for others it won't.

 

[Landgraft]

Nah, I reckon the Cotton On stuff is pretty lousy. Comparing the 2016 and 2018 hoodies (which I've worn), the 2016 hoodie is a much better fit, and the sewn-on logos are much better quality to the 2018 ironed-on logos

View attachment 582307

As a jumper collector, I've noticed a change in our jumpers, for the worse, both in-game (as seen in the photos below) and in person. The nice, tight fit of the ISC jumpers in 2016 has gone to a baggy, stretched and a basketball-style template for Cotton On in 2019. In person, the quality of the stitching and the fit of the ISC jumpers is far superior to the Cotton On jumpers

View attachment 582309

Also, the price of the Cotton On apparel is hard to justify as well. Items such as the ISC Squad Hoody were about $85 in 2016 from The Cats Shop, the equivalent Cotton On hoodie in 2018 was $100 (and as I described earlier, it was worse than the ISC hoodie). The range of Cotton On jumpers (specifically, the Indigenous, Retro and Country jumpers) were overpriced as well, which explains the lack of sales and the eventual reductions in price. These jumpers should have been $100-$110, pricing them at $130 was a mistake as it turned away many casual fans and wasn't easy on the hip pocket of collectors

Overall, I would take ISC back in a heartbeat. All well and good that the Cats have gone with a local manufacturer, but when the merchandise doesn't cut it, something needs to change

I definitely find the fit and stitching of the Cotton On deeply preferable to ISC. Is your ISC from a particular year? I think mine was either 2015 or 2016, definitely later on and I have a sneaking suspicion they got worse over time.

Either way I bought the media polo while the ink was still wet on the announcement and have worn it to squash, exercise, work, etc. pretty often since then - it's been awesome. My 2018 guernsey I think is much nicer and its more comfortable to wear. I haven't touched the hoodies etc. outside of a 'retro' design that I think is Cotton On era but I'm not 100%. Either way its quite good and was a nice price but isn't amazing.

Also the collars on the ISC guernseys were really ugly. In my opinion, anyway. Yet in spite of all this when I went to my one game of the year I eschewed both for the ~2005 long sleeve clash strip I have. It's much worse in many of these 'technical' ways but I enjoy wearing it more. That's the human mind for you...

 

[Sparkle]

I definitely find the fit and stitching of the Cotton On deeply preferable to ISC. Is your ISC from a particular year? I think mine was either 2015 or 2016, definitely later on and I have a sneaking suspicion they got worse over time.

Either way I bought the media polo while the ink was still wet on the announcement and have worn it to squash, exercise, work, etc. pretty often since then - it's been awesome. My 2018 guernsey I think is much nicer and its more comfortable to wear. I haven't touched the hoodies etc. outside of a 'retro' design that I think is Cotton On era but I'm not 100%. Either way its quite good and was a nice price but isn't amazing.

Also the collars on the ISC guernseys were really ugly. In my opinion, anyway. Yet in spite of all this when I went to my one game of the year I eschewed both for the ~2005 long sleeve clash strip I have. It's much worse in many of these 'technical' ways but I enjoy wearing it more. That's the human mind for you...

I own ISC jumpers from 2008, 2011, 2014 (x2) and 2016, COAR from 2017 and Cotton On from 2018 and 2019. The ISC stitching and composition is much thicker early on, then gets thinner towards 2016. The COAR and Cotton On jumpers aren't the best jumpers for wearing, they are a good quality but compared to ISC, ISC are much better.

In terms of collars, my favourites are ISC 2010-12 and ISC 2016. They both allowed for traditional fits of our jumpers, fit the logos in nicely, and in the case of the former, a straight navy hoop above the collar. The latter also retains a traditional 'V' shape, with added stitching and a nice, chunky fit.

COAR started okay, probably a little thin and loose (in terms of whole jumper fit), then made it much more full in 2018 as Cotton On, opting for a tighter fit. There was probably no need to change again, but in 2019 we will see half-blue, half-white cuffs and a stitched-in patch with a sublimated 'G' in the collar. The COAR/Cotton On jumpers have also stretched the logos tremendously, compared to ISC where they were much more relaxed

 

[Max Milburn]

I have it on good authority that Brian Cook personally sews together each and every piece of Cotton On merchandise on his mum's Janome.

 

[Spazz Cat]

I have it on good authority that Brian Cook personally sews together each and every piece of Cotton On merchandise on his mum's Janome.

Since we're so hard up for cash we should start a sweatshop with the rehab boys.

 

[Vdubs]

People seem to have stuck in their heads how he 'saved' the club twenty years ago - I'm not doubting that he did a fantastic job flipping the place upside down and turning the club on it's head, but as I said earlier he hasn't done anything special since our last premiership in 2011. This doesn't discredit the work he did early on, but as a whole he hasn't really done that much for the club, especially of late

People need to realise that we've had eight season where Cook hasn't done anything real groundbreaking (two new stands were built, although those plans began in the early 2000's when Wayne Jackson wanted to shaft us to Colonial). A new CEO coming in (which would have happened if Kennett didn't woo Fox and Reeves to Hawthorn) will mean new ideas and a change of direction

His current priorities are based around keeping us afloat.
He has set a standard for the club to aspire to, but you sound like you expect something magic or groundbreaking. It sounds as if you think he has become complacent.
Imho, on field success or lack of should not be equated with Cook being sub-par in his roles.

 

[Sparkle]

His current priorities are based around keeping us afloat.
He has set a standard for the club to aspire to, but you sound like you expect something magic or groundbreaking. It sounds as if you think he has become complacent.
Imho, on field success or lack of should not be equated with Cook being sub-par in his roles.

I think he is becoming complacent - taking members for granted. Members are starting to become disenchanted with the club, Cook needs to take action. Sitting back and hoping we all just turn up so we can be 'The Greatest Team Of All' isn't working. When we're losing the money and the members aren't happy, shouldn't the CEO be trying to fix the mess? Why isn't he out cleaning up and winning back members? Too little, too late in Round 6 when our membership and attendances are falling. Action needs to happen now

We're stagnating off the field, we have ridiculous liabilities (mostly to do with renting the stadium and running a cafe and bistro) and are not making money (we lost $300,000 last year despite having record membership numbers). We need a new CEO to come in and clean up the mess and start fresh. Start by winning back members - maybe make the memberships value for money and stop taking the members who sit in the cold, rain, turn up every week for granted

 

[David the Cat]

Too little, too late in Round 6 when our membership and attendances are falling. Action needs to happen now

We're stagnating off the field, we have ridiculous liabilities (mostly to do with renting the stadium and running a cafe and bistro) and are not making money (we lost $300,000 last year despite having record membership numbers). We need a new CEO to come in and clean up the mess and start fresh. Start by winning back members - maybe make the memberships value for money and stop taking the members who sit in the cold, rain, turn up every week for granted

Interesting perspective...I wonder if the Club sees it that way.....

Are our attendances falling?

I doubt very much there will be a call for Cook to resign at this years AGM....


EDIT: Geelong average attendance for last season was the highest the club has had since its Premiership year in 2011.

 

[Sparkle]

EDIT: Geelong average attendance for last season was the highest the club has had since its Premiership year in 2011.

I'd say it's only the highest since 2011 because the new stand means 28,000-30,000 can go to our games, compared to the 24,000 in 2011. Also, the home game against Hawthorn on Easter Monday (which was 73,189) drags up the average. And if finals are included, then the 90k from the EF also drags up the average

I'm no financial planner or accountant (and I'm not amazing at maths either) but if we're setting record membership numbers, shouldn't we be turning a profit?

 

[Vdubs]

I'd say it's only the highest since 2011 because the new stand means 28,000-30,000 can go to our games, compared to the 24,000 in 2011. Also, the home game against Hawthorn on Easter Monday (which was 73,189) drags up the average. And if finals are included, then the 90k from the EF also drags up the average

I'm no financial planner or accountant (and I'm not amazing at maths either) but if we're setting record membership numbers, shouldn't we be turning a profit?

It seems that when we've set such a high standard, that when it falls, every part of the setup is fair game for blame.
Again, our on-field situation does not necessarily reflect the MC, Coach or Cook.
They want success more than we do.
Their roles do not include being psychologists for all the non-copers at the supporter level when things don't go our way.

 

[Spazz Cat]

I'd say it's only the highest since 2011 because the new stand means 28,000-30,000 can go to our games, compared to the 24,000 in 2011. Also, the home game against Hawthorn on Easter Monday (which was 73,189) drags up the average. And if finals are included, then the 90k from the EF also drags up the average

I'm no financial planner or accountant (and I'm not amazing at maths either) but if we're setting record membership numbers, shouldn't we be turning a profit?

Not sure how we're just a break even club TBH.
Even Norf can make a slight profit with no fans and pokies.
We have the best stadium deal in the country with 85%+ paid seats, decent membership and have pokies.
Also the club is nearly debt free thanks to benefactors.
Not going over on the soft cap either.
Something doesn't seem right not to be making a profit.

 

[Vdubs]

Not sure how we're just a break even club TBH.
Even Norf can make a slight profit with no fans and pokies.
We have the best stadium deal in the country with 85%+ paid seats, decent membership and have pokies.
Also the club is nearly debt free thanks to benefactors.
Not going over on the soft cap either.
Something doesn't seem right not to be making a profit.

The reports come out every year. They are accountable, literally.

 

[Sparkle]

It seems that when we've set such a high standard, that when it falls, every part of the setup is fair game for blame.
Again, our on-field situation does not necessarily reflect the MC, Coach or Cook.
They want success more than we do.
Their roles do not include being psychologists for all the non-copers at the supporter level when things don't go our way.

I don't remember ever mentioning the on-field performances, which has nothing to do with management. It does concern the football department, however

Not sure how we're just a break even club TBH.
Even Norf can make a slight profit with no fans and pokies.
We have the best stadium deal in the country with 85%+ paid seats, decent membership and have pokies.
Also the club is nearly debt free thanks to benefactors.
Not going over on the soft cap either.
Something doesn't seem right not to be making a profit.

Yeah this is what I don't understand. I think it may have to do with the rent the club pays for the stadium. And it's on record that the club has removed half of it's pokies and plan to remove them all. This from an AFL.com.au article published in May 2018:

GEELONG intends to follow the lead of North Melbourne and Melbourne by withdrawing from pokies.

The Kangaroos cut ties with the gaming machines in 2008 while the Demons intend to have removed themselves from the industry by 2022.

Cats president Colin Carter told News Corp his club would eventually follow suit, although he couldn't say when that would happen.

"What we can be public about is we have sold more than half of them (pokies). The other part is all bound up in commercial stuff we would prefer not to talk about," Carter said.

"But the intention is to get out. The question is when and how. We are not fully in control of that process.

"There is a desire for all sorts of reasons. It doesn't quite fit where we want to be as a club, so we are on the way, half out, but not fully there yet."

Adelaide, Fremantle, Gold Coast, West Coast, Sydney and Greater Western Sydney are the other teams not involved in pokies.

Carter says in the article that the club is looking for other revenue streams - and I don't think we've found one (well, if you count jacking up membership prices as a revenue stream, then we have one).

According to the most recent published financial report, the club has $28,000,000 in liabilities (I have no idea what it means in a financial sense - school doesn't teach me that) but I would say that it relates to how much money we owe people.

 

[Spazz Cat]

The reports come out every year. They are accountable, literally.

I agree. Just strange we aren't making money.