I know they pumped squillions of dollars into the club - they were also architects of a certain player payment policy that landed us into a giant shitter.

I would welcome there involvement back to the club, but I am sure that a couple of C%$TS over at the AFL would take a dim view of it.

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"Hence you will not say that Greeks fight like heroes but that heroes fight like Greeks"?

Winston Churchill

Well, when there is absolutely no money in the bank, what f do you do?





Thats all fine, but is "talent" enough when there is nothing but dust in the cash registry and the sherif is knocking on the door? I think you need a combination. You need some new people with new (but realistic) ideas and good business nous and you need people who can raise some money short term to actually implement some new ideas.

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Yes but Collo was also part of that policy while he was at the club and probably would have been part of it if he had not have left the club(debatable but one can assume if youve been complicit in it you would still be doing it./.. just an ssumption and not an accusation)...
And regardless of what the AFL thinks.. im sure the AFL understands its still Carlton and Carlton people and dont underestimate they mean thousands of people and contacts.
People and contacts that we need right now...

Because i dont see the cavalry just over that hill charging to save us from anywhere else....

What i think should happen is this board should slowly begin getting weened out and replaced by clearskin , modern day thinkers/ busineespeople have not been tarred by whats happened over the last 8 or so years.

That would make the corporate world more sympathetic.. it will bring in invigorating vibe and will allow those on the otter to return.

Thats where this club must be heading .. now!!TODAY!!![/url]

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Due to recent budget cuts and the rising cost of electricity, gas, and oil....... the Light at the End of the Tunnel has been turned off. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Listen mate when things are bad and getting worse you make change....

You might know how to read rubbery accounts but nothing beats common sense and a plan.. does it???

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Due to recent budget cuts and the rising cost of electricity, gas, and oil....... the Light at the End of the Tunnel has been turned off. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Time to call in Jacque from Xenium Mortgages???

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"Who discovered we could get milk from cows, and what did he think he was doing at the time?" Billy Connolly

Yes and it is common sense that when you have no cash and a huge debt it is actually difficult to implement "change" and new "ideas". Who ever "new" gets on the Board needs to be very good and creative to be able to make a difference in this situation. I hope we can find somebody with the abilities.

For Christs sake mikky.. what you dont do is allow a club with a 19 million dollar turnover to become a club of 18 million dollar turnover and no new revenue streams sourced and no plan.. and no marketing face to just continue and grind us into the dirt.

I bet youre an accountant.

Look at a set of figures and conduct your business with those . what we need is getting up off our fat arses .. wear down some kleather shoers and find sponsors.

It wasnt long ago Collingwood and StKilda and Geelong were [REDACTED]!@!!!!

If this board cant do it and contioniue to make excuses they should just piss off and allow us to try something different.!!!!

If you walk down Swanston street every morong to Collins street and half way down each morning at nine am im there to bitch slap you.. sooner or later wont you take another route????

Of course you would!!!.. you dont know if ill be waiting for you there too .. to continue my bitchslappin session but you will try .. yes?????

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Due to recent budget cuts and the rising cost of electricity, gas, and oil....... the Light at the End of the Tunnel has been turned off. We apologize for the inconvenience.

I think it is the lack of an obvious and well communicated plan - other than pay down debt and blame the past - that is causing me the most angst.

Collo might have done a reasonable job managing the debt etc, but we need a frontman. I thought Malouf might have been the one when he was appointed but he's not.

Has Greg Lee got charisma, can he sell the dream?

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This might sound extreme in the context of alleged sexual assault, drunken violence and a drug trafficking charge...

I think we will all find out more about Greg Lee soon.

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Due to recent budget cuts and the rising cost of electricity, gas, and oil....... the Light at the End of the Tunnel has been turned off. We apologize for the inconvenience.

The "old" school of corporate like Pratt will NOT support this board. That is the crux of it.

I can see you standing there bitch slapping the Board. Me an accountant? ... no....actually a marketing consultant who also has run some business'.

Look I am not disagreeing with you, - yes we need more revenue, yes we need more sponsors and YES we need major improvements in the area of membership and corporate /sponsor marketing (we are absolutely crap in these areas and we have a damaged brand).

However, making changes and improvements cost money and money we dont have. So what I am saying is we need to improve the cash position quickly and then we need some creative people who can improve the marketing side so we can improve revenue. The key problem is that we probably can not even borrow more money.

So, in order to make money you need to invest in these areas and if we e.g. ask for money from the balance fund the AFL might say we are not allowed to increase our cost.

So, it is a steep hill to climb - let's hope we can get some people on the board who know how to do it.

I understand that Pratt's pullback has nothing to do with this Board, but more to do with his general pullback from public life. Many of his former causes now have to do with less interest from Mr.Pratt.

As far as I understand it other former supporters are of that mind though.

Valmorbida is a very big contributor to the Club and is up for re-election.

Good point.


I remember reading about the fracture in the club with the Ken Hands/Jim Francis coaching conflict at Carlton in the late 50's early 60's.



They were at each other and within the club people took sides - instead of focusing on the common enemy - beating Essenscum, Collingwood, hawthorn and all those other crapola clubs.


We have to learn from history - we need a new start so that the club can come together... right now .. over me.. (beatles quote there)


RE- SPONSORSHIP


I just can't understand - even with our poor performances - why we can't get sponsorship.

Every supporter has got to write into the club and tell them that they shop at Dan Murphy's etc/ are on optus etc... so that sponsors can see they are getting value for money.

THAT IS WORTH TEN TIMES MORE THAN JUST TAKING OUT MEMBERSHIP... big deal...

Look Sybad I know your views on the current board and marketing and I'm not going to get into an arguement with you over it, but suffice to say I don't see the value in misrepresenting our financial position to attract sponsors. As Caro has said, if anything the doom and gloom from Collo is still putting a positive spin on things.

If we can find another 1m a year in revenue, be it from membership, gate receipts, sponsorship, kouta's expring contract, monies owed from the AFL for the relocation, whatever, then that 7 million can turn around in 3-5 years. If we only have to roll 3 million of that AFL dividend over to the bank next year then there's 1 million left to pay off debt, which reduces interest payments, which in turn increase revenue.

At this point, what I think we really need is to get out there and win 4 or 5 of our first 11 matches so that at the halfway point of the season, we're plucky Carlton having a dip, rather than tanky Carlton lying down for picks. Then the fans will come out, and the sponership will be easier to get. If we fall away in the second half of the season, so be it, but we need a good start.

Although the early signs aren't good, there's no point putting too much stock in pre-season form - we need to remain positive. There are always wins available at the start of the season while all the teams are shaking down. We need to take our window of opportunity. We need the guys who showed a bit at the end of last year to keep showing it, we need Fev to step up and win a few games off his own boot, we need T-bird circa 2003 to come back, and Hartlett to win the rising star from the backline. Most of all we need a bloody great does of luck this season cause I don't think we got much last year. Anytime one of our games is decided by less than two goals we need to be on the right side of the ledger.

tap it is a HUGE deal for everyone to get memberships. it is the lifeblood of the Club. Please don't demean how important this is.

good idea re: sponsorships though. Just one suggestion - send your letters to the sponsors head offices, not to the Club. The Club's admin just wouldn't have the resources to do that.

Valmorbida gives some money to the club but so does DeLutis it doesnt mean he has to be on the boarto give.
Youre on the board to be a useful tool to the club. You must be capable of delivering something positive on the day to day running of the club.
This board just isnt performing.

Surrey?Was Pratt giving to Elliot in the last years?

nightcrawler.We wont win many games... believe me... its fanciful to think were a team that can switch it on and off.
I want to be positive too... but im a realist. Having watched us from close up over the last 3 years... were miles away!
anything telling you otherwise has a big nose .


I have a couple of mates who were at one of those Fitzroy meetings at the town hall there directed by Hoare-Lacey right near the end.. it was we will merge on OUR TERMS!!!.. with North.. we will wear the Lions colours and have the Lions song.. blah blah blah.. " Then he said....Were a 3 million dollar business and we have a pub... if every member buys a slab at the pub only ONCE a year we will get out of trouble"

My friends left the meeting and around them Lions supporters/ members were pumping their fists.. "We will be around for ever they cried!!!".. were not going down" they said!!!

My mates looked at each other and said... "Theyre [REDACTED]!!!" nodded and got into their car...

The problem is if you dont get realistic .. and you dont change something and youre hoping that if your members buy beer from your hotel thats enough.... well its not enough... whatever weve been doing till now is not enough to run a 25 million dollar business.. Cos thats what it costs to run a succeful club.. and were 5 million off that... which is a huge gap to bridge.

Valmorbidas few thousand means bugger all if they are not capable of going out there and expanding a line of revenue that will take us to 25 mill...

Simple as that!!!!

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Due to recent budget cuts and the rising cost of electricity, gas, and oil....... the Light at the End of the Tunnel has been turned off. We apologize for the inconvenience.

No big time sponsorship means NO SOLUTION, membership wont fix the problem...I see sponsorship as the key...this board cant attract sponsors, get a new board or board members who can...white knights dont work...
Its a game being built around TV viewing not live viewing..sponsors want the TV coverage....that means Carlton Football club having plenty of free to air games/foxtel which means we have to start winning games....its going to be a game designed for armchair watchers ...we went down the tubes when we lost our major sponsors those are the facts...

Get some pros in who know the Roger Corbetts of the world who have the companies making the big dollars with the share pricees that keep going up...

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"When you have the attitude of a champion, you see adversity as your
training partner."
- Conor Gillen

baby steps Elwood. Sponsors follow markets and viewers and if Carlton turns to face the season with 25000 members sponsors will think they are Club no .9 in Melbourne - who will sponsor that? Add some Board upheavals in the background and we become very lucky to have our joint major sponsors.

There are very few people in the world who can assist the Club on the large scale sponsorships issue and I doubt anyone who subscribes here. The message at grass-roots level has to be for all to push for memberships. That is within everyone's grasp here.

Synbad I mention Fitzroy because that it how our balance sheet looks. Unlike your claims that it is rubbery I trust the numbers more than words and it wreaks of Fitzroy to me. I don't want to be like my buddies or your buddies. We may all have different views as to how to turn things around and very few of us have real information but I don't think anyone would disagree with the gravity of that fear.

Oh i agree theyre very Fitzroyesque molesy you get no arguiment from me the.. i just think there is alot of spin spun ...

And not alot of sponsors found...


So there is more spin spun...

and not many sponsors found...

and more spin

and not many sponsors.

i dont want spin i want them to go out and announce more sponsors.

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Due to recent budget cuts and the rising cost of electricity, gas, and oil....... the Light at the End of the Tunnel has been turned off. We apologize for the inconvenience.

You want the club to survive then you need sponsors.....big ones....some comapinies in certain business areas employ others to get sponsorships...the film industry is one area where it happens....
Sponsors want TV Coverage...our 25000-35000 members isnt what its about...they want 1 million viewers....not just football viewers not just our club..they want the company logo on the box for 30 secs in prime time.....you dont win games then you dont get coverage..you dont get coverage then you dont get sponsors......

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"When you have the attitude of a champion, you see adversity as your
training partner."
- Conor Gillen