Opinion Should Korda stand down?

[JB1975]

Come off it jackcass, you and JB1975 keep this line going, but it doesn't stand up for mine. You're basically saying that an experienced board member, a top accountant, had no knowledge of our potential salary cap problems, or, he did have knowledge, but wasn't really concerned because it wasn't really his business. If that is your position, then you will probably believe that Crown Casino didn't know about the money laundering taking place under its nose.

I'm not suggesting he should stand down, but I would have equally high expectations of any financial expert at my club to take more than a passing interest into the financials of the club. Jeff Browne would be a dope if he didn't make the most of Korda's apparent lack of interest or alarm.

On Crown, I'd like to see them lose their operating license.

On Korda, I've never doubted his awareness of at least some of the decisions which came back to bite us. What I've doubted is his ability, as one board member under the stewardship of Ed McGuire, to push back on those decisions.

He certainly didn't arrive at those decisions himself, and for all we know he may have been a dissenting voice. Korda's ultimate influence in pushing Ed out the door suggests to me that he wasn't enthralled by the chief, and it seems reasonable to say that his disaffection stretched beyond the 'Do Better' report.

Amidst these knowns and unknowns, we now have an opportunity to judge the performance of a post-Ed board upon its post-Ed decision-making, and so far I don't mind its work.

 

[jackcass]

Come off it jackcass, you and JB1975 keep this line going, but it doesn't stand up for mine. You're basically saying that an experienced board member, a top accountant, had no knowledge of our potential salary cap problems, or, he did have knowledge, but wasn't really concerned because it wasn't really his business. If that is your position, then you will probably believe that Crown Casino didn't know about the money laundering taking place under its nose.

I'm not suggesting he should stand down, but I would have equally high expectations of any financial expert at my club to take more than a passing interest into the financials of the club. Jeff Browne would be a dope if he didn't make the most of Korda's apparent lack of interest or alarm.

No worries. It's my experience of how boards work but if you've seen different practices in play then so be it. I'll leave it there.

 

[jackcass]

Did they not know the state of the salary cap heading into 2019 (Aish having to go at the end) and then 2020?

Is that what you are suggesting?

Because within 2 years we started to pull the list apart.

They knew the salary cap issues in 2017. I'll leave it there.

 

[jackcass]

Never has it been said that he wasn’t a good on-field player and someone we could have made the team better on game day.

The issue is with the price paid to bring him back.

So a top 10 midfielder for under $500k a year is too much to pay.... okay. I'll leave it there.

 

[jackcass]

He was turning 29. Injury prone background. Had a video of him speaking to a news channel about how meds were helping him. He wasnt a need. Dumbest thing the club has done even more so now we here the salary cap issues. Only way this would have been worth it was the 1st rounder for Quaynor. Not the 2nd one and if we could genuinely fit him in the cap. This was a decision lead outside the recruitment department and I also think Ned Guy. Has Eddie and the boards name all over it.

I'm on the record as saying I didn't want him, but the arguments like you've put together just don't stack up. Enjoy your rage, I'll leave it here.

 

[jmac70]

I'm on the record as saying I didn't want him, but the arguments like you've put together just don't stack up. Enjoy your rage, I'll leave it here.

Love your new sign off!
I’ll leave it there.

 

[AndrewShawble]

So a top 10 midfielder for under $500k a year is too much to pay.... okay. I'll leave it there.

If you have to restructure deals to bring in a player with significant off-field problems, whilst giving up 2 first rounders, you have paid too much.

It isn’t what the cost is, it’s what you can afford. We couldn’t afford him.

 

[AndrewShawble]

They knew the salary cap issues in 2017. I'll leave it there.

Great, and coming back to the initial posts about salary cap management, given members of the existing board were in place when this occurred, they have shown they aren’t the right people. IMO.

That’s the point here, if you can’t successfully manage a salary cap then AFL level isn’t for you. Go be a patron at your local grassroots footy club and the Pies need to get people up to scratch.

 

[76woodenspooners]

So a top 10 midfielder for under $500k a year is too much to pay.... okay. I'll leave it there.

I think folks who claim “we paid too much for Beams” need to separate out …

… the reported $500K/year (which doesn’t seem unreasonable, although it is relevant to our salary cap issues which is the topic here) …

… with the “two first round picks”, which was a high price to pay. Even given that, at the peak of his powers Beams was a better player than Sidebottom, and they’re both from the same draft year. If we had that version of Beams running around the field today then 2 late first rounders would seem like a fair price - but it was still a big risk given Dayne’s history of soft tissue injuries.

 

[76woodenspooners]

Great, and coming back to the initial posts about salary cap management, given members of the existing board were in place when this occurred, they have shown they aren’t the right people. IMO.

At the end of 2017 our board consisted of:

Ed (President) - no longer there
Waitslitz (Vice President) - no longer there
Korda (Head of Finance Committee) - now President
McMullen - no longer there
Camplin - no longer there
Leeds - no longer there
Holgate - remains on board today (since 2016)

During that period that board undertook a series of measures that dramatically improved our fortunes - we went bumbling around the bottom half of the ladder for around 3-4 years to playing finals for 3 years.

5 / 7ths of that board have since moved on (including the President).

I know that some folks (maybe including yourself?) think that’s not enough …

… maybe you think 7 / 7ths of the board who commissioned the Murphy / Walsh / Thomas reviews that took a 13th placed side to GF, PF and SF, who took measures to end the heartbreaking run of 3-4 ACL’s and a large pile of soft tissue injures every season, who expanded our club into female sports (one of those teams are strong favorites to win their second Premiership in the coming weeks) but I think smashing the current board for that, or 2 / 7ths of the 2017 board for that is unreasonable.

If our cap woes were as a result of malfeasance (eg: Adelaide and Kurt Tippett) then I’d be more militant than you about the need for Korda and maybe Holgate to stand down. But that’s not the case with Collingwood.

If our cap woes were part of a strategy that led to poor performances then I’d be on your side (eg: I think the Carlton board who appointed Malthouse who took them to a wooden spoon should have stood down, and Stephen Kernahan did). But that’s not the case with Collingwood either.

That’s the point here, if you can’t successfully manage a salary cap then AFL level isn’t for you. Go be a patron at your local grassroots footy club and the Pies need to get people up to scratch.

There are no silver bullets in this caper. Boards / Coaches / Recruiters need to take calculated risks that sometime do pay off and sometimes don’t. They need some freedom to make mistakes and learn from them so they know not to make them again. Continuity is a thing, Board continuity is important to help us learn from the past.

 

[jmac70]

Simple equation now.
Mr. Korda, If you want to remain President,
Deliver us Clarko.