Crawford Report

[shane]

If anyone would like to read the Crawford Report and thye can bear to spend 30 seconds on a Fremantle site - this is the place to go.

http://fremantle.rivals.net/default.asp?sid=1502&p=2&stid=8168703

Shane
www.dockerland.com

 

[Frodo]

The report is pretty much what I expected.....a soft whitewash.

I have argued for a long time that the WAFC should be abolished along with all government involvement with footy. WCE and Freo should stand on their own feet as individual corporate entities.

The WAFL too should be an independant competition management company.

The two WA AFL clubs and the WAFL together are far more suited to working together for the development of footy from grass roots level in WA as it is to the common benefit.

Get the politicians out of WA footy!!!

 

[Captain Random]

It was nice of the WAFC to advertise dockerland.com in their report

 

[Mr Eagle]

Don't suppose Mr Crawford had any thoughts on a new coach for either AFL side?

 

[Voice of Reason]

ordinary

Well, I've read it - all 18 pages including front cover and appendices.

Ordinary and disappointing. I hope he's disclosed his fee because whatever it was, it was wasted - wrong person writing the wrong report on the wrong issues.

Pros

Some democratisation of the arrangements in the WAFC

Emphasis on financial accountability

Freedom in operational terms for the 2 AFL clubs, so long as they get within 15% of their budgets and provide a business plan

The fact that it recommends so little means that most stakeholders will cooperate to implement its few recommendations.

Endorsing the key principles of the Fong Report (though many people including Frodo would argue with number 1 - the WAFC's continued existence)

Cons

The ludicrouosly narrow scope of a "Constitutional Review".

If it's a constitutional review, get a lawyer to do it, not an accountant.

Extensive consultation process of all the people who are the problem, zero consultation of supporters followed by a paper that says virtually nothing.

Mentioning really important issues in passing then not discussing them properly (eg what's the point of the WAFC? - surely part of his brief, even as so narrowly defined. who should own the AFL clubs? what's the development of football in WA going forward?).

Scoping out just about all the important issues that need to be addressed. He was supposed to look at objects, powers, relationships with special members/other leagues, governance of itself & subsidiary organisations and related matters of importance. Even on his own scope, he misses the mark.

Explicit Scope Limitations:
- Financial health of the AFL and WAFL clubs
- Structure of WA AFL clubs
- Financing of Subiaco Oval
- The Development of Football in WA (yes, really that was scoped out! I mean, hello? Why have a report at all?)

Implicit Scope Limitations:
- Relationship between the AFL Commission and the WAFC or lack of it (in fact any appreciation of the national or global context of AFL)
- Any comparative analysis of comparable leagues elsewhere - even SANFL, which would be easy
- the Peel issue, mergers, shape of footy in this State
- Marketing of footy and the WAFL

Assertions about the relative development of WCE & FFC (as he calls the Dockers) with NO quantitative data to support them (and this from an accountant!)

Failure to define the future revenue stream arrangements between WCE , FFC & the WAFC - he says they've got to separately agree that.

Failure to define what he agrees with in the Fong Report - it implies everything - then suggesting WAFC & WAFL get together and discuss how to implement it.

Recommending they pay more money to a lawyer to redraft the constitution. After this waste, no doubt Crawford will propose that KPMG Legal come in get paid more to do what he should've done in the first place if that's his focus - which it shouldn't have been.

Gratuitous fluff throughout about how helpful everyone's been to him.

In conclusion, a lemon - and an expensive one at that.

And yes, I do have a conflict of interest - I could've done a better job for half the price - and so could most of you.