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A Court in the crossfire: the syndrome threatening to derail Souths Patrick Smith | May 28, 2008
PEOPLE want to control football clubs for all manner of reasons.
Eddie McGuire heads Collingwood because it scraped at his soul that his beloved club was a mess on and off the field in the late 1990s. So he took matters into his own hands. Thank God he did for Collingwood's sake.
Cappuccino Kennett heads up Hawthorn because, in the AFL at least, presidency of a footy club can give you a bigger public profile than being state premier. And certainly substantially more than being a failed premier who was booted out by the voters.
Thus Cappuccino, conveniently for the media, froths at the very mention of a sound grab. But he is good for the club and his aggression empowers the supporters.
Rod Butterss took over at St Kilda in 2001, full of grand plans and outrageous confidence. He learnt quickly on the job, became a little less quotable and under his presidency the club reached two preliminary finals.
He resigned at the end of last year after deciding not to fight to the death a challenge from someone called Greg Westaway. Thus Westaway rode into power on the back of former players Nathan Burke and Andrew Thompson. Right now, St Kilda is in disarray and Westaway nowhere to be seen or heard.
Some decide to take over clubs to enhance their business profile. Others, such as David Smorgon at the Western Bulldogs, do it because there appears no other person is prepared to make the personal and financial sacrifice. Under Smorgon's administration the Bulldogs have been saved.
The Price Fixer runs the Sycophants at Carlton as though it were his private club. He once said that only he would decide when he left the club. So much for the members forking out their hard-earned. On the weekend the Price Fixer also made a unilateral declaration that Brendan Fevola should be signed for the next three years.
Wonder what the football committee thinks about that? Nonetheless, Richard Pratt can do no wrong at Carlton because he is filthy rich and Sycophants were broke.
Russell Crowe and Peter Holmes a Court saved South Sydney in the NRL. Poured millions into the all-but-defunct club. Saviours they were, and former glories beckoned. In 2007 the club was in the finals, this year in the doldrums. Best-dressed easybeats in the competition.
Thus critics are quick to point to private ownership in itself as the reason clubs fail. Like the Brisbane Bears at Carrara, like Geoff Edelsten's indulgent era with Sydney. North Melbourne's future remains in the balance because a small group of shareholders holds the balance of power at the club. Like Crowe and Holmes a Court.
But that is to miss the point. Private ownership is not the issue why clubs fall over or at least lose their way. It is lack of expertise. Both in business and in the sport itself. The history of football clubs is riddled with bad appointments. Men are put in charge of running the club because they could cut it in one business or another.
Holmes a Court is a businessman. That alone does not mean he can run a football club. Souths lost $4m in the first year of the Holmes a Court chairmanship. Footy clubs all over the land are quirky beasts.
Normal practices do not apply. For example: a simple equation that saw North Melbourne offered $50million to relocate to the Gold Coast was beaten down because of passion and loyalty. Not a skerrick of logic entered the debate. The result, inevitably, sees North no certainty to be part of the AFL beyond perhaps 2009.
The Price Fixer was smart enough to go and get the best chief executive he could when he consumed the Sycophants. Greg Swann is a savvy businessman and knows the rhythm of football intricately.
Nothing surprises him, there is nothing he cannot handle. At Footscray, Smorgon initially sought businessmen to run his club but they were not prepared for the peculiarities of the football industry. So they failed.
As they did at Melbourne and at Hawthorn. Some can be so infatuated with the heady atmosphere of club football and its profile that they reverse rational trends - they drop the BlackBerry and pick up the ball.
When Campbell Rose took over as chief executive at the Bulldogs he did not know a football from a donut. But he was inventive - eccentric if you like - and rebuilt the finances of the club in a manner not attempted before. He mostly left the football side of the club to the experts.
There is no reason South Sydney will not prosper but money and high-profile owners are not of themselves the answer. Left to their own devices they can prove disastrous. Football junkies, high on the rush and bubble of the changing rooms. It appears now that Crowe has tipped in more money. He is generous and loves his club.
But he should do no more than write the cheques and let the experts - former chief executive Shane Richardson has been recalled and respected coach John Lang brought in as a consultant - right the wrongs.
To safeguard clubs in the future we need a golden rule or two. Private owners must chip in money only, hold their tongues and resist the sporting-profile syndrome. Find versatile executives with the smarts to deal with the curious business animal that is football and find football managers who know the business of football mechanics.
Finally, a warning. Money guarantees nothing and private ownership can quickly lead to public humiliation.
It needs a name. Call it the Holmes a Court syndrome.
PEOPLE want to control football clubs for all manner of reasons.
Eddie McGuire heads Collingwood because it scraped at his soul that his beloved club was a mess on and off the field in the late 1990s. So he took matters into his own hands. Thank God he did for Collingwood's sake.
Cappuccino Kennett heads up Hawthorn because, in the AFL at least, presidency of a footy club can give you a bigger public profile than being state premier. And certainly substantially more than being a failed premier who was booted out by the voters.
Thus Cappuccino, conveniently for the media, froths at the very mention of a sound grab. But he is good for the club and his aggression empowers the supporters.
Rod Butterss took over at St Kilda in 2001, full of grand plans and outrageous confidence. He learnt quickly on the job, became a little less quotable and under his presidency the club reached two preliminary finals.
He resigned at the end of last year after deciding not to fight to the death a challenge from someone called Greg Westaway. Thus Westaway rode into power on the back of former players Nathan Burke and Andrew Thompson. Right now, St Kilda is in disarray and Westaway nowhere to be seen or heard.
Some decide to take over clubs to enhance their business profile. Others, such as David Smorgon at the Western Bulldogs, do it because there appears no other person is prepared to make the personal and financial sacrifice. Under Smorgon's administration the Bulldogs have been saved.
The Price Fixer runs the Sycophants at Carlton as though it were his private club. He once said that only he would decide when he left the club. So much for the members forking out their hard-earned. On the weekend the Price Fixer also made a unilateral declaration that Brendan Fevola should be signed for the next three years.
Wonder what the football committee thinks about that? Nonetheless, Richard Pratt can do no wrong at Carlton because he is filthy rich and Sycophants were broke.
Russell Crowe and Peter Holmes a Court saved South Sydney in the NRL. Poured millions into the all-but-defunct club. Saviours they were, and former glories beckoned. In 2007 the club was in the finals, this year in the doldrums. Best-dressed easybeats in the competition.
Thus critics are quick to point to private ownership in itself as the reason clubs fail. Like the Brisbane Bears at Carrara, like Geoff Edelsten's indulgent era with Sydney. North Melbourne's future remains in the balance because a small group of shareholders holds the balance of power at the club. Like Crowe and Holmes a Court.
But that is to miss the point. Private ownership is not the issue why clubs fall over or at least lose their way. It is lack of expertise. Both in business and in the sport itself. The history of football clubs is riddled with bad appointments. Men are put in charge of running the club because they could cut it in one business or another.
Holmes a Court is a businessman. That alone does not mean he can run a football club. Souths lost $4m in the first year of the Holmes a Court chairmanship. Footy clubs all over the land are quirky beasts.
Normal practices do not apply. For example: a simple equation that saw North Melbourne offered $50million to relocate to the Gold Coast was beaten down because of passion and loyalty. Not a skerrick of logic entered the debate. The result, inevitably, sees North no certainty to be part of the AFL beyond perhaps 2009.
The Price Fixer was smart enough to go and get the best chief executive he could when he consumed the Sycophants. Greg Swann is a savvy businessman and knows the rhythm of football intricately.
Nothing surprises him, there is nothing he cannot handle. At Footscray, Smorgon initially sought businessmen to run his club but they were not prepared for the peculiarities of the football industry. So they failed.
As they did at Melbourne and at Hawthorn. Some can be so infatuated with the heady atmosphere of club football and its profile that they reverse rational trends - they drop the BlackBerry and pick up the ball.
When Campbell Rose took over as chief executive at the Bulldogs he did not know a football from a donut. But he was inventive - eccentric if you like - and rebuilt the finances of the club in a manner not attempted before. He mostly left the football side of the club to the experts.
There is no reason South Sydney will not prosper but money and high-profile owners are not of themselves the answer. Left to their own devices they can prove disastrous. Football junkies, high on the rush and bubble of the changing rooms. It appears now that Crowe has tipped in more money. He is generous and loves his club.
But he should do no more than write the cheques and let the experts - former chief executive Shane Richardson has been recalled and respected coach John Lang brought in as a consultant - right the wrongs.
To safeguard clubs in the future we need a golden rule or two. Private owners must chip in money only, hold their tongues and resist the sporting-profile syndrome. Find versatile executives with the smarts to deal with the curious business animal that is football and find football managers who know the business of football mechanics.
Finally, a warning. Money guarantees nothing and private ownership can quickly lead to public humiliation.
It needs a name. Call it the Holmes a Court syndrome.
Love it - you're right - he has given us an extra year.
