Universal Love From The CEO's Desk (Cain Liddle)

[Wickzki]

The way I see it, Wick, that's possibly incorrect and probably irrelevant now.

Incorrect? Lots of speculation reported on the appointment. My best guess is MLG wanted Lethlean, the panel wanted Liddle. At worst Liddle was our second choice after Lethlean talks blew up. At best the panel thought he was better.

Irrelevant? A resume gets you a job. Your performance in that role is what keeps you employed. Imagine Bolts was our 2nd choice when we appointed him. 2 years in and he's seemingly everything we'd hoped for. We wouldn't care now if we had originally wanted someone else two years ago.

In a lot of ways, Liddle's appointment mirrors Bolts'. A young, impressive candidate who was 2IC at a successful club (Richmond off-field, Hawks on-field). Whereas Lethlean was a big name, with a big reputation but had no club experience and ultimately may not have been the right man for the job.

Not knowing Liddle, but going off what we do know about him, at this stage I'm quite happy with our 'booby prize'....

Really good post and appreciate that perspective. But am hearing that the board went over backwards not for Lethlean but for the guy from GWS who said no. There was also a rumor of a fourth name that also rejected the club outright.

As I said, I don't wish the guy ill will but too much being said for him to have been their clear cut choice.

 

[mediumsizered]

Baldness is usually a sign that someone has lost their hair.

EFA.

 

[passmark]

Really good post and appreciate that perspective. But am hearing that the board went over backwards not for Lethlean but for the guy from GWS who said no. There was also a rumor of a fourth name that also rejected the club outright.

As I said, I don't wish the guy ill will but too much being said for him to have been their clear cut choice.

Reminds me of the time I was the 4th best candidate and got the job. Really set me up for my career and I never looked back.

The company was left a complete train wreck however and folded shortly after but hey, every cloud has a silver lining, right?

 

[Metalcrusher]

Reminds me of the time I was the 4th best candidate and got the job. Really set me up for my career and I never looked back.

The company was left a complete train wreck however and folded shortly after but hey, every cloud has a silver lining, right?

Nothing quite like resume building

 

[ferrisb]

Dear ferrisb,

With the pre-season now behind us, I thought it was a good opportunity to provide an update to our members on key items that have been going on around the club.

With Round 1 just under a week away, our AFL players and coaches are excited to meet Richmond in what is looming as a record opening round crowd. Premierships are won and lost in front of crowds of this magnitude so we feel very privileged to be playing in the season opener and for the opportunity to test ourselves on the big stage in front of potentially 90,000 fans.

Our pre-season form would suggest that our synergy as a group is continuing to improve, and Stephen Silvagni and his team have once again added a number of talented and exciting players to the group via the 2017 drafts. There is no ceiling on what we can achieve in 2018 and like all Carlton members, I have a genuine excitement about what the future holds.

That future was made even more exciting today when Paddy Dow extended his contract with the club, committing through until the end of the 2022 season. Paddy has made a significant impression on everyone since he arrived at Ikon Park last November and he embodies the Carlton values, both on and off the field. We look forward to watching Paddy develop over the next five years and beyond.

Our AFLW season has not gone as we had hoped. For a number of reasons, many of which were beyond our control, we have not been able to get a level of continuity or consistency within that program. Leading into the inaugural VFLW season, which commences in April, we will re-group quickly, identify areas for improvement and work hard to put ourselves in a position to rise back up the AFLW ladder in 2019.

Carlton's involvement in the AFLW's first ever Pride Game, along with an ongoing commitment to our Carlton Respects program, also highlights our commitment to gender equality, diversity and inclusion, which are core to our purpose of ensuring that ALL Carlton people feel like they belong. Investment in elite programming and services ensures we remain committed to generating positive social impact.

Our membership numbers are well ahead of the same time last year, a good sign that members have confidence in the direction our club is headed. We have recently commenced a full product review across our membership and coterie packages, with a view to ensuring that we have the right mix of products, at the right price, with the right benefits.

As part of this review, we have already significantly reduced the price of general admission Family Memberships and expanded the number of children (under 15 years old) that we allow within this membership category. We now believe we have the AFL's very best value family membership offer for General Admission membership, and we would urge our members to consider adding their family members into their memberships for 2018. Equally, we would ask that all our members help us to identify other Carlton families who are not yet members and get them joined up for 2018.

From a partnerships perspective, we are thrilled to confirm that La Trobe University have increased their partnership with the club and extended the existing arrangement by a further five years. As part of this partnership elevation, La Trobe University will now feature on the AFL players shorts, which means that all of our three player apparel assets, which include the front of guernsey, the back of guernsey and the shorts, are all now secured for 5 years.

We sincerely thank Virgin Australia, Hyundai and La Trobe University for their long-term commitment and we are incredibly proud to have them adorn the famous navy blue playing kit. We are equally proud to announce to our members the additions of Complete Dairy and Treasury Wine Estates, who will partner with us in 2018.

With La Trobe University now our official Higher Education partner, we turn our attention to leveraging our unique location in the heart of Melbourne's education district to develop a range of educational initiatives out of Ikon Park. La Trobe University is Australia's University of choice for sport and we are in the process of finalising a dual diploma course, to be run in partnership with La Trobe University.

This initiative will see students based at Ikon Park for 12 months combining their studies with elements of high performance training and coaching. The program is ideal for students looking for a career in sport and will include guaranteed pathways into La Trobe University's popular degree programs, in addition to a range of work experience opportunities across all departments of the Carlton Football Club. Potential students are encouraged to contact our Corporate Partnerships Manager, Will Hartnell via email at will.hartnell@carltonfc.com.au to register their interest.

The club recently hosted our first Carlton in Business Industry Leaders event for 2018, with almost all our 90 Carlton in Business partners present on the night. Carlton in Business provides the vehicle from which we can integrate our Carlton network, cultivating long-term mutually beneficial relationships that generate real business opportunities for Carlton in Business members.

In 2018, we have taken Carlton in Business a step further and appointed a designated business connector, whose sole responsibility at the club is to connect Carlton in Business members with each other. I would urge any member who has an interest in growing their business to contact our Carlton in Business Development Manager, Morten Webb on 0422 766 525 or via email at morten.webb@carltonfc.com.au

In closing, I would like to remind all Carlton members that there are very few tickets left for our season opening clash against Richmond. I would urge all members to upgrade to a reserved seat for the game to ensure that the navy blue is well represented. As of 2018, we have entered into a 10-year gate share arrangement with Richmond that will see both clubs share the proceeds of all matches in which the two clubs play against each other. The arrangement also sees both clubs collaborating on fan engagement and crowd build initiatives and we look forward to cementing our round one clash as one of the AFL's marquee home and away games each season.

Go Blues!


Cain Liddle
Chief Executive
Member ID: 21499500

 

[ferrisb]

Every time I see him, I see a bald Michael Fassbender.....

 

[HBF]

After reading that i'm ready to pull on the boots coach.

 

[AndyWalkersGirl]

I feel good knowing that for the first time in what seems like forever, out club is finally back in good hands.

 

[Blueballs38]

I will be renewing my membership this year and at least for the next 5 years .... I’m not a band Wagoner but until I was convinced the club was going to embrace change I stopped buying a membership around the 2 nd year of Mathouses appointment. Was just sick of the same shizzen, false dawns, in fighting etc.

I honestly thought I would never buy a membership again.

But the last 2 years the club has stayed firm with its new trajectory and I am loving what I am seeing .... and I mean loving!

Time to put my money where my mouth is once again.

Thank you Bolts, Thank you SOS and everyone else at CFC ... you have made me proud to be a Bluebagger again!

 

[blue healer]

Love the personal touch he shows by addressing you by name Ferris.

 

[ferrisb]

Love the personal touch he shows by addressing you by name Ferris.

Well clearly, I changed that. Obviously he didn't write Ferris in the email......




.......he wrote Mr Bueller. I mean he's not a savage.

 

[Slats]

Dear member,

In what is a very important week in the history of Carlton Football Club, there are a number of milestones I wanted to reach out to members and publicly acknowledge.

First of all, after nearly seven years as Head of Football at the Carlton Football Club, Andrew McKay has today informed staff and the playing group that 2018 will be his final season at Carlton.

Macca was appointed to the position in October 2011 after six years working with the AFL in various roles including AFL Game Analysis Manager and Chairman of the AFL Match Review Panel.

In his time at Ikon Park on the Executive Team, he has overseen the management of the football department with the coaching panel and playing groups as well as the High-Performance Department.

Macca first joined Carlton as a player in 1993 through to 2003 including the 1995 premiership and is a former captain and Life Member.

Amongst several significant achievements in his time as Head of Football, the Blues’ former premiership player also successfully managed the implementation and integration of the AFLW program at the Club through its historic inception in the AFL in 2016.

In my short time at Carlton, I have been lucky enough to see firsthand the great impact Macca has had on the club through his tireless work ethic, his strong relationships and his passion for Carlton. He is a Carlton person through and through.

His experience and measured approach will be missed, but we understand Andrew’s decision in wanting to explore other opportunities and after seven seasons in the Head of Football role, he departs with our very best wishes.

I'd like to thank Andrew, his wife Sam and children Charlie, Abby and Sophie for all that they have contributed to Carlton.

The Club will commence its recruitment process for a replacement immediately.

I'd also like to congratulate Kade Simpson on his wonderful career, a career that will this week see "Simmo" become just the fifth Carlton player to play 300 games. He joins some of the greatest players in Carlton's history in John Nicholls, Bruce Doull, Craig Bradley and Stephen Silvagni as the only players to reach the 300-game milestone. I would urge all Carlton members to make an extra special effort to get along to the MCG on Saturday to support Simmo and his teammates in what is a very important day for our football club.

First year player, Paddy Dow, who has been dubbed Paddy ‘Wow’ by his teammates, was yesterday recognised with a Rising Star nomination and we couldn’t be prouder. Hailing from a fruit farm near Swan Hill, Paddy amassed 20-possessions in the game against Collingwood on the weekend and there’s no doubt we’ll come to see more of this action from our number three draft pick.

Members were also the first to hear on Thursday afternoon that Charlie Curnow has put pen to paper on a contract extension and will remain at Carlton for at least the next five years. Charlie is one of the most exciting young talents in the AFL and we look forward to watching his continued development in the navy blue. We were also excited to confirm the re-signing's of AFLW players, including our captain Bri Davey, Darcy Vescio, Jess and Sarah Hosking, Tayla Harris and Nicola Stevens.

After a long search that spanned the entire country, we also announced in the last few days the appointment of Nicole Graves into the newly created role of General Manager – Women’s Football. That appointment rounds out a complete re-structure of the women's football program with Nicole now overseeing Daniel Harford (AFLW) and Shannon McFerran (VFLW), our two new coaches in the women's program.

Nicole will sit on the Club’s Executive team, as will Daniel Giese, the Club’s new General Manager of Consumer Business. Daniel spent five years at Richmond as their Membership Manager, where he was instrumental in their membership growth, overseeing five consecutive club membership records. More recently, he has been the Consumer Director at the Melbourne Storm, where he has helped grow membership by about 60% in his three years there.

From an AFL on-field perspective, we would like to have won more games in 2018. We are however buoyed by the continued improvement and emergence of the likes of Charlie Curnow, Paddy Dow, Lochie O'Brien, Harry McKay and Zac Fischer, who have all shown improvement throughout the first half of the season. It's exciting to think about the potential of these players once they have another couple of pre-seasons under their belt. A number of our younger players are also coming off severely interrupted pre-seasons and we are confident the likes of Sam Petrevski Seton, Caleb Marchbank, Matthew Kennedy and Darcy Lang will all show improvement in the second half of the year.

We are currently experiencing the compounding effect of three years of significant list change and we will now look to take a more balanced approach to list management, particularly over the next two years as we look to attract players from other clubs as well as continuing to bring in the best available young talent at the draft.

I think it's also important to note the contribution of some of our injured players, who whilst injured for the majority of the season, have continued to drive a strong culture around the Club both on and off the field. Sam Docherty and Marc Murphy have been particularly influential. Marc Murphy's contract situation is obviously important to our members and what I can assure all our members of is that we want Marc to stay - he is the Captain of our Club and a very important leader both on and off the field. We do however understand and accept the fact that free agency provides players with options, so we will continue to give Marc the time he needs to consider such an important decision.

Off the field, our Board and administration continue to build the foundations of a strong sustainable football club. Additional investments into coaching, development, recruiting and list management have been made possible by an all-time Club membership record of almost 54,000 members. We sincerely thank each and every one of our members. We exist for, and because of, our members and we will never take your support for granted.

Our Carlton in Business program now has more than 100 businesses involved and is the envy of other clubs. Carlton in Business provides the vehicle from which we can integrate our Carlton network, cultivating long-term mutually beneficial relationships that generate real business opportunities for Carlton in Business members.

The additional investments into recruiting and list management will become even more important in light of the likelihood that the AFL will introduce a range of new innovations around trading of live picks on draft night. We are confident that our significantly bolstered recruiting and list management team are well placed to take advantage of the changing landscape.

We also continue discussions with the Federal Government, highlighting to them the exciting opportunity that exists to turn Ikon Park into the home of AFLW. With $20m already generously provided by the State Government, we are now looking for the necessary federal support to finalise the plans for the re-development of the existing Pratt Stand, adding a range of facilities that will ensure our female athletes have facilities equivalent to their male counterparts. We are confident that the Federal Government will also see the benefit that a re-developed Ikon Park can provide to gender equality and female sport in general.

On the topic of gender equality, we were proud to recently announce MC Labour as the Major Partner of Carlton Respects, our nationally recognised community program. Some members may have already noticed MC Labour's support of the Carlton Respects program, through the advertising that appears on the Club's media backdrop. We thank Marc and Cath Lunedei who are long term supporters of the Carlton Football Club, for the support they have provided our Carlton Respects program.

In closing I would like to take the opportunity to once again thank our members for their unwavering loyalty and support. We are a proud football club with a rich history and a very exciting future, a future that we are in complete control of. I look forward to seeing you all at the footy this week to celebrate one of Carlton's all-time greats as Simmo plays his 300th.

Go Blues!

Cain Liddle
Chief Executive
Member ID: 21499500

 

[ferrisb]

Dear member,

In what is a very important week in the history of Carlton Football Club, there are a number of milestones I wanted to reach out to members and publicly acknowledge.

First of all, after nearly seven years as Head of Football at the Carlton Football Club, Andrew McKay has today informed staff and the playing group that 2018 will be his final season at Carlton.

Macca was appointed to the position in October 2011 after six years working with the AFL in various roles including AFL Game Analysis Manager and Chairman of the AFL Match Review Panel.

In his time at Ikon Park on the Executive Team, he has overseen the management of the football department with the coaching panel and playing groups as well as the High-Performance Department.

Macca first joined Carlton as a player in 1993 through to 2003 including the 1995 premiership and is a former captain and Life Member.

Amongst several significant achievements in his time as Head of Football, the Blues’ former premiership player also successfully managed the implementation and integration of the AFLW program at the Club through its historic inception in the AFL in 2016.

In my short time at Carlton, I have been lucky enough to see firsthand the great impact Macca has had on the club through his tireless work ethic, his strong relationships and his passion for Carlton. He is a Carlton person through and through.

His experience and measured approach will be missed, but we understand Andrew’s decision in wanting to explore other opportunities and after seven seasons in the Head of Football role, he departs with our very best wishes.

I'd like to thank Andrew, his wife Sam and children Charlie, Abby and Sophie for all that they have contributed to Carlton.

The Club will commence its recruitment process for a replacement immediately.

I'd also like to congratulate Kade Simpson on his wonderful career, a career that will this week see "Simmo" become just the fifth Carlton player to play 300 games. He joins some of the greatest players in Carlton's history in John Nicholls, Bruce Doull, Craig Bradley and Stephen Silvagni as the only players to reach the 300-game milestone. I would urge all Carlton members to make an extra special effort to get along to the MCG on Saturday to support Simmo and his teammates in what is a very important day for our football club.

First year player, Paddy Dow, who has been dubbed Paddy ‘Wow’ by his teammates, was yesterday recognised with a Rising Star nomination and we couldn’t be prouder. Hailing from a fruit farm near Swan Hill, Paddy amassed 20-possessions in the game against Collingwood on the weekend and there’s no doubt we’ll come to see more of this action from our number three draft pick.

Members were also the first to hear on Thursday afternoon that Charlie Curnow has put pen to paper on a contract extension and will remain at Carlton for at least the next five years. Charlie is one of the most exciting young talents in the AFL and we look forward to watching his continued development in the navy blue. We were also excited to confirm the re-signing's of AFLW players, including our captain Bri Davey, Darcy Vescio, Jess and Sarah Hosking, Tayla Harris and Nicola Stevens.

After a long search that spanned the entire country, we also announced in the last few days the appointment of Nicole Graves into the newly created role of General Manager – Women’s Football. That appointment rounds out a complete re-structure of the women's football program with Nicole now overseeing Daniel Harford (AFLW) and Shannon McFerran (VFLW), our two new coaches in the women's program.

Nicole will sit on the Club’s Executive team, as will Daniel Giese, the Club’s new General Manager of Consumer Business. Daniel spent five years at Richmond as their Membership Manager, where he was instrumental in their membership growth, overseeing five consecutive club membership records. More recently, he has been the Consumer Director at the Melbourne Storm, where he has helped grow membership by about 60% in his three years there.

From an AFL on-field perspective, we would like to have won more games in 2018. We are however buoyed by the continued improvement and emergence of the likes of Charlie Curnow, Paddy Dow, Lochie O'Brien, Harry McKay and Zac Fischer, who have all shown improvement throughout the first half of the season. It's exciting to think about the potential of these players once they have another couple of pre-seasons under their belt. A number of our younger players are also coming off severely interrupted pre-seasons and we are confident the likes of Sam Petrevski Seton, Caleb Marchbank, Matthew Kennedy and Darcy Lang will all show improvement in the second half of the year.

We are currently experiencing the compounding effect of three years of significant list change and we will now look to take a more balanced approach to list management, particularly over the next two years as we look to attract players from other clubs as well as continuing to bring in the best available young talent at the draft.

I think it's also important to note the contribution of some of our injured players, who whilst injured for the majority of the season, have continued to drive a strong culture around the Club both on and off the field. Sam Docherty and Marc Murphy have been particularly influential. Marc Murphy's contract situation is obviously important to our members and what I can assure all our members of is that we want Marc to stay - he is the Captain of our Club and a very important leader both on and off the field. We do however understand and accept the fact that free agency provides players with options, so we will continue to give Marc the time he needs to consider such an important decision.

Off the field, our Board and administration continue to build the foundations of a strong sustainable football club. Additional investments into coaching, development, recruiting and list management have been made possible by an all-time Club membership record of almost 54,000 members. We sincerely thank each and every one of our members. We exist for, and because of, our members and we will never take your support for granted.

Our Carlton in Business program now has more than 100 businesses involved and is the envy of other clubs. Carlton in Business provides the vehicle from which we can integrate our Carlton network, cultivating long-term mutually beneficial relationships that generate real business opportunities for Carlton in Business members.

The additional investments into recruiting and list management will become even more important in light of the likelihood that the AFL will introduce a range of new innovations around trading of live picks on draft night. We are confident that our significantly bolstered recruiting and list management team are well placed to take advantage of the changing landscape.

We also continue discussions with the Federal Government, highlighting to them the exciting opportunity that exists to turn Ikon Park into the home of AFLW. With $20m already generously provided by the State Government, we are now looking for the necessary federal support to finalise the plans for the re-development of the existing Pratt Stand, adding a range of facilities that will ensure our female athletes have facilities equivalent to their male counterparts. We are confident that the Federal Government will also see the benefit that a re-developed Ikon Park can provide to gender equality and female sport in general.

On the topic of gender equality, we were proud to recently announce MC Labour as the Major Partner of Carlton Respects, our nationally recognised community program. Some members may have already noticed MC Labour's support of the Carlton Respects program, through the advertising that appears on the Club's media backdrop. We thank Marc and Cath Lunedei who are long term supporters of the Carlton Football Club, for the support they have provided our Carlton Respects program.

In closing I would like to take the opportunity to once again thank our members for their unwavering loyalty and support. We are a proud football club with a rich history and a very exciting future, a future that we are in complete control of. I look forward to seeing you all at the footy this week to celebrate one of Carlton's all-time greats as Simmo plays his 300th.

Go Blues!

Cain Liddle
Chief Executive
Member ID: 21499500

Is Windy ghost-writing for Cain Liddle?

 

[Accidental genius]

liddle by liddle our fortunes turn round.....

 

[euphegenia]

Dear member,

In what is a very important week in the history of Carlton Football Club, there are a number of milestones I wanted to reach out to members and publicly acknowledge.

First of all, after nearly seven years as Head of Football at the Carlton Football Club, Andrew McKay has today informed staff and the playing group that 2018 will be his final season at Carlton.

Macca was appointed to the position in October 2011 after six years working with the AFL in various roles including AFL Game Analysis Manager and Chairman of the AFL Match Review Panel.

In his time at Ikon Park on the Executive Team, he has overseen the management of the football department with the coaching panel and playing groups as well as the High-Performance Department.

Macca first joined Carlton as a player in 1993 through to 2003 including the 1995 premiership and is a former captain and Life Member.

Amongst several significant achievements in his time as Head of Football, the Blues’ former premiership player also successfully managed the implementation and integration of the AFLW program at the Club through its historic inception in the AFL in 2016.

In my short time at Carlton, I have been lucky enough to see firsthand the great impact Macca has had on the club through his tireless work ethic, his strong relationships and his passion for Carlton. He is a Carlton person through and through.

His experience and measured approach will be missed, but we understand Andrew’s decision in wanting to explore other opportunities and after seven seasons in the Head of Football role, he departs with our very best wishes.

I'd like to thank Andrew, his wife Sam and children Charlie, Abby and Sophie for all that they have contributed to Carlton.

The Club will commence its recruitment process for a replacement immediately.

I'd also like to congratulate Kade Simpson on his wonderful career, a career that will this week see "Simmo" become just the fifth Carlton player to play 300 games. He joins some of the greatest players in Carlton's history in John Nicholls, Bruce Doull, Craig Bradley and Stephen Silvagni as the only players to reach the 300-game milestone. I would urge all Carlton members to make an extra special effort to get along to the MCG on Saturday to support Simmo and his teammates in what is a very important day for our football club.

First year player, Paddy Dow, who has been dubbed Paddy ‘Wow’ by his teammates, was yesterday recognised with a Rising Star nomination and we couldn’t be prouder. Hailing from a fruit farm near Swan Hill, Paddy amassed 20-possessions in the game against Collingwood on the weekend and there’s no doubt we’ll come to see more of this action from our number three draft pick.

Members were also the first to hear on Thursday afternoon that Charlie Curnow has put pen to paper on a contract extension and will remain at Carlton for at least the next five years. Charlie is one of the most exciting young talents in the AFL and we look forward to watching his continued development in the navy blue. We were also excited to confirm the re-signing's of AFLW players, including our captain Bri Davey, Darcy Vescio, Jess and Sarah Hosking, Tayla Harris and Nicola Stevens.

After a long search that spanned the entire country, we also announced in the last few days the appointment of Nicole Graves into the newly created role of General Manager – Women’s Football. That appointment rounds out a complete re-structure of the women's football program with Nicole now overseeing Daniel Harford (AFLW) and Shannon McFerran (VFLW), our two new coaches in the women's program.

Nicole will sit on the Club’s Executive team, as will Daniel Giese, the Club’s new General Manager of Consumer Business. Daniel spent five years at Richmond as their Membership Manager, where he was instrumental in their membership growth, overseeing five consecutive club membership records. More recently, he has been the Consumer Director at the Melbourne Storm, where he has helped grow membership by about 60% in his three years there.

From an AFL on-field perspective, we would like to have won more games in 2018. We are however buoyed by the continued improvement and emergence of the likes of Charlie Curnow, Paddy Dow, Lochie O'Brien, Harry McKay and Zac Fischer, who have all shown improvement throughout the first half of the season. It's exciting to think about the potential of these players once they have another couple of pre-seasons under their belt. A number of our younger players are also coming off severely interrupted pre-seasons and we are confident the likes of Sam Petrevski Seton, Caleb Marchbank, Matthew Kennedy and Darcy Lang will all show improvement in the second half of the year.

We are currently experiencing the compounding effect of three years of significant list change and we will now look to take a more balanced approach to list management, particularly over the next two years as we look to attract players from other clubs as well as continuing to bring in the best available young talent at the draft.

I think it's also important to note the contribution of some of our injured players, who whilst injured for the majority of the season, have continued to drive a strong culture around the Club both on and off the field. Sam Docherty and Marc Murphy have been particularly influential. Marc Murphy's contract situation is obviously important to our members and what I can assure all our members of is that we want Marc to stay - he is the Captain of our Club and a very important leader both on and off the field. We do however understand and accept the fact that free agency provides players with options, so we will continue to give Marc the time he needs to consider such an important decision.

Off the field, our Board and administration continue to build the foundations of a strong sustainable football club. Additional investments into coaching, development, recruiting and list management have been made possible by an all-time Club membership record of almost 54,000 members. We sincerely thank each and every one of our members. We exist for, and because of, our members and we will never take your support for granted.

Our Carlton in Business program now has more than 100 businesses involved and is the envy of other clubs. Carlton in Business provides the vehicle from which we can integrate our Carlton network, cultivating long-term mutually beneficial relationships that generate real business opportunities for Carlton in Business members.

The additional investments into recruiting and list management will become even more important in light of the likelihood that the AFL will introduce a range of new innovations around trading of live picks on draft night. We are confident that our significantly bolstered recruiting and list management team are well placed to take advantage of the changing landscape.

We also continue discussions with the Federal Government, highlighting to them the exciting opportunity that exists to turn Ikon Park into the home of AFLW. With $20m already generously provided by the State Government, we are now looking for the necessary federal support to finalise the plans for the re-development of the existing Pratt Stand, adding a range of facilities that will ensure our female athletes have facilities equivalent to their male counterparts. We are confident that the Federal Government will also see the benefit that a re-developed Ikon Park can provide to gender equality and female sport in general.

On the topic of gender equality, we were proud to recently announce MC Labour as the Major Partner of Carlton Respects, our nationally recognised community program. Some members may have already noticed MC Labour's support of the Carlton Respects program, through the advertising that appears on the Club's media backdrop. We thank Marc and Cath Lunedei who are long term supporters of the Carlton Football Club, for the support they have provided our Carlton Respects program.

In closing I would like to take the opportunity to once again thank our members for their unwavering loyalty and support. We are a proud football club with a rich history and a very exciting future, a future that we are in complete control of. I look forward to seeing you all at the footy this week to celebrate one of Carlton's all-time greats as Simmo plays his 300th.

Go Blues!

Cain Liddle
Chief Executive
Member ID: 21499500

Just doesn’t feel right when there’s no mention of Cripps in that email. Should have at least added “Cripps is a beast” at the beginning or end.

 

[RoyalParade]

The appointment of giese has been low key, but seems a very good get on face value.

I think the storm have the highest membership in the Nrl now, and obviously did good things at Richmond.

 

[ShanDog]

Spelt Fisher's name wrong. Sakc.

Didn't notice the GM of women's footy announced - good news there. Hopefully they pick up the momentum we had at its inception and reverse the turd of a season we had this year.

 

[slashin_velvet]

Hearing Cain will announce that he misspoke about the pp. He said "we would not apply for a priority pick", but what he meant to say was that "we wouldn't not apply for a priority pick".

 

[sosos]

#FakeNews

 

[Aphrodite]

31st August 2018:-

Dear Aph,

There’s no doubting 2018 has been a tough year for our members. Our club embarked on a complete rebuild three years ago, the size of which has never been seen at Carlton. Whilst we all accepted that there would be challenges along the way, a combination of a significant list turnover, our predominantly young list profile and an unprecedented number of injuries, created the perfect storm for a disappointing outcome of only two wins for the year.

However, it’s equally important to highlight a number of positives to come out of the 2018 season. Our future looks exciting with the likes of Patrick Cripps, Charlie Curnow, Zac Fisher and Harry McKay all taking huge steps forward in 2018.

After a slow start with injury and form, Jacob Weitering, in only his third year, finished the season well and in that group of five young players, we believe we have the makings of a very strong spine for the future. Carlton members would also have liked what they saw of our first year players in Paddy Dow, Lochie O’Brien and Tom De Koning.

While not an excuse, injury cruelled the years of emerging players Lochie Plowman, Caleb Marchbank, Darcy Lang, Matthew Kennedy, Jarrod Pickett and Ciaran Byrne and the likes of David Cuningham, Tom Williamson and Harrison Macreadie, all of whom were unsighted on-field for the entire season. Our core group of senior players, including Matthew Kreuzer and Marc Murphy were also significantly hampered with injury, while All-Australian Sam Docherty did not play a single game after sustaining an ACL injury early in the 2018 pre-season.

Importantly, throughout the course of the year we were also able to extend the contracts of all our priority players, with our captain Marc Murphy, Patrick Cripps, Charlie Curnow, Tom De Koning, Paddy Dow, Zac Fisher, Patrick Kerr and Lochie O’Brien all confirming their long-term commitment to the Club. This is a real show of faith by the players in our strategy and vision for the football club.

The unprecedented spate of injuries prompted a complete review of our High Performance Department and we appointed Ernst and Young’s Graham Lowe to undertake this review in August. Graham has been a High Performance Manager across multiple sports and most recently, was the Western Bulldogs’ Head of Football in their Premiership year, giving him a solid understanding of the mechanics of a successful football department. In his expertise, Graham put forward a number of recommendations that we believe will comprehensively strengthen our High Performance department, all of which will be implemented immediately.

Recently we welcomed Brad Lloyd to Carlton as our new Head of Football. Brad’s most recent position has been as General Manager of List Management at Fremantle Football Club, where he sat on the club executive and the football sub-committee. Prior to that, he was a Player Manager with TLA for eight years. Brad also has a strong playing background, having played 11 senior games with Hawthorn Football Club and 167 senior VFL games. In addition to implementing the recommendations of our High Performance review, Brad will also thoroughly review all areas of the football department, ensuring alignment to our vision of high performance on and off the field to ultimately deliver our members sustained success.

Our players, coaches, staff and members were extremely proud of Patrick Cripps who earned his first All-Australian blazer this week. Under difficult circumstances, you could mount a case that his year was one of the great individual seasons ever by a Carlton player. He broke an all-time competition record for contested possessions and provided an outstanding example to our young on-ball brigade. We congratulate Patrick and his family on his All-Australian honour.

We farewelled four players who this week were advised their contracts will not be renewed for the 2019 season. Aaron Mullett and Cameron O’Shea alongside rookie-listed players Matthew Shaw and Jesse Glass-McCasker will depart Ikon Park, and we thank them for their contributions to the Carlton Football Club. The delistings take the Club’s initial post-season list changes to five, after veteran defender Alex Silvagni announced his retirement from AFL football last week.

I’d also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge departing Football Department staff Andrew McKay (Head of Football), Tim Clarke (Midfield Coach) and Joel Hocking (Physical Preparation Manager), all of whom have made a significant contribution to the Carlton Football Club in their own rights. We wish them all the best in their future endeavours.

President Mark LoGiudice and I also met with the AFL Commission this week. The meeting had been scheduled in for a number of months, with the Commission cycling through all 18 clubs over each 2-3 year period. The presentation focussed largely on three key areas of the business, those being; football, members and our masterplan. As is the case with all clubs, we were asked by the AFL what they could do to help us and we discussed a number of opportunities across these areas. It was agreed that the AFL would come back to us with more questions over the upcoming weeks and we will update our members about these conversations once some firm decisions have been made by the AFL.

In AFLW news, we were excited that Carlton’s inaugural father-daughter prospect, Abbie McKay, officially pulled on the Old Dark Navy Blue for the first time last weekend. The eldest daughter of 1995 premiership player and recently departed Head of Football Andrew McKay, Abbie was named in the Club’s Round 16 VFLW team.

The 17-year-old recently represented Vic Metro in the under-18 national championships on the Gold Coast and has been invited to participate in the upcoming AFLW draft combine in October. Abbie will also be playing in the under-18 exhibition match at Adelaide Oval showcasing the country’s best young talent.

We were delighted to have recently announced Chloe Dalton and Brooke Walker who will transition to the AFLW list, after signing on as rookies for the 2019 season. The talented duo has been playing for the Blues’ VFLW side this season since crossing codes from women’s rugby sevens earlier this year. A member of Australia’s history-making gold medal team at the Rio Olympics, Dalton has applied the same level of professionalism to her newfound Aussie Rules career.

Having also represented her country in the same code, Walker moved from Sydney to Melbourne in order to pursue her ambition of playing in the AFLW. We are thrilled to have both these players in the Navy Blue and look forward to watching their AFL careers develop.

Off the field, our membership broke an all-time Club record of 56,005 paid up members and I want to take this opportunity to say thank you to each and every one of you for your support of the Club. Our members are the life blood of the Club and your commitment is another true reflection of the belief in what we are doing and working towards at this Football Club.

To show our appreciation, every 2018 member who renews for season 2019 will receive a complimentary upgrade through our Biggest #BoundByBlue Thank You campaign*. We look forward to providing more detail of this upgrade campaign in the coming weeks.

Internally, we have also re-structured our membership department and have created a custom built call centre, where we are confident the team will deliver a higher level of service and continue to grow our membership number.

We are also excited to announce the launch of a new entry level coterie package in 2019 – “Legends Lounge”. The new product will offer the best reserved seats on level 2 at both the MCG and Marvel Stadium. Legends Lounge members will have access to glass-fronted rooms overlooking the ground, with an ability to purchase meals and access to private bars. Prior to each game, interviews will also be conducted with injured players, assistant coaches and key Carlton staff. A Legend of the Carlton Football Club will also join members each week in the Legends Lounge, where they will be interviewed and available for photos and autographs.

Those currently seated on level 2 (Captains Club Premium and Captains Club Reserved members) will be upgraded into this new package for free in 2019. For more information or if you are interested in this package, please call our membership team on 1300 227 586 during business hours or email membership@carltonfc.com.au.

Of equal importance has been the ongoing commitment and support from our joint AFL major partners Hyundai and Virgin Australia, who have each committed to the Club for five years, along with joint major partner of AFLW MC Labour, University Partner La Trobe University (five years) and Venue Partner Ikon Services. Finally, after their first year as a Platinum Partner, we thank CUA (Credit Union Australia) who backed the Club at a really important time and have started to resonate with our supporter base.

In more exciting off field news, we are very proud to have launched the Carlton College of Sports today. Our partnership with La Trobe University will see students spend a year at Ikon Park, studying for a higher education diploma. Practical work experiences will be offered within the existing business and students will work across football, membership, events and other areas of the Club within an elite sports environment. More information can be found at www.carltoncollege.com.au and I would highly recommend those students looking for a career in sport to consider applying for the program.

Our Masterplan for the re-development of Ikon Park is also coming along well. We continue to work with the Federal Government in the hope they will match the state government’s support for our plans to significantly improve the facilities available here at Ikon Park, the home of women’s football. We will continue to keep our members abreast of any news relating to this important initiative.

The Board and Management are also putting the final touches on the Club’s new strategic plan. It is likely that this document will be completed by the end of the year and we look forward to sharing the Club’s strategic priorities and key targets with our members.

On behalf of President Mark LoGiudice and I, we once again thank you for your ongoing support of the Blues.

Kind regards,


Cain Liddle
Chief Executive

Member ID: 21499500

 

[Navara79]

Written and authorised by Windhover. Spoken by Cain Liddle

 

[Aphrodite]

Written and authorised by Windhover. Spoken by Cain Liddle

:tldr

 

[Salt Lake Cities]

Written and authorised by Windhover. Spoken by Cain Liddle

Classic

 

[RudyBlue]

Joel Hocking gawn

 

[James_Blues]

We're getting to see a bit more of why we brought Cain in with the restructuring of the membership department. Hopefully this translates to increased membership numbers over the next few years along with a rise in football performance