Infighting has Wests on the brink

[Benjirific]

Do you think Wests wanting control, leadership, making firm decisions not wishy washy 50/50 decisions is them wanting whats best for them, or Wests Tigers?

I see their point of view….it CAN be whats best for WTs.

Do Balmain now only want the NRL in because they DONT want Wests to have control?
How long can that be sustained?

Exactly. Wests Ashfield has been in business for close to 60 years, they must have been doing something right to last that long. Their capital is tied to the success of Wests Tigers…....why would they not want the best for Wests Tigers?

I don't understand the drive for "independent" directors. The club could always get external consultants to provide independent views of the direction of the business. Further, if the NRL wants to push this type of structure, then **ALL** NRL clubs should have independent directors.

To be fair, running a Leagues Club isn't as hard when you've got the right demographics (which Ashfield has). At the moment all they have to do to run a profit is turn on the power at the start of the day and let the pokies do the work.

The reason Balmain couldn't do that is because of the Balmain area not having a gambling demographic, and because anyone that does can go 5min to Star City and do it.

 

[Gary_Bakerloo]

To be fair, running a Leagues Club isn't as hard when you've got the right demographics (which Ashfield has). At the moment all they have to do to run a profit is turn on the power at the start of the day and let the pokies do the work.

Sounds simple - anyone can do it.

Therefore, happy to officially announce the Bakerloo Leagues Club will be lodging for a license to operate in the demographic of its choice. Once the lights are turned on, the Bakerloo leagues club will start printing money.

 

[system]

To be fair, running a Leagues Club isn't as hard when you've got the right demographics (which Ashfield has). At the moment all they have to do to run a profit is turn on the power at the start of the day and let the pokies do the work.

Sounds simple - anyone can do it.

Therefore, happy to officially announce the Bakerloo Leagues Club will be lodging for a license to operate in the demographic of its choice. Once the lights are turned on, the Bakerloo leagues club will start printing money.

I will hire a coach and gather some high roller Chinese gamblers and head to your garage.

Lets kick this pig

 

[Yossarian]

To be fair, running a Leagues Club isn't as hard when you've got the right demographics (which Ashfield has). At the moment all they have to do to run a profit is turn on the power at the start of the day and let the pokies do the work.

Sounds simple - anyone can do it.

Therefore, happy to officially announce the Bakerloo Leagues Club will be lodging for a license to operate in the demographic of its choice. Once the lights are turned on, the Bakerloo leagues club will start printing money.

Well they (Balmain that is) tried to at Homebush but the government knocked them back. Your sarcasm notwithstanding, there are a few hurdles to jump through in getting licenses to open a club of any considerable size plus you have to build it. I doubt Balmain would be allowed to open up a club in say Strathfield but if they did (it is Balmain junior territory I believe) they'd be out of debt pretty fast!!

 

[innsaneink]

The Ashfield site is 4.61232 km from the Rozelle site

 

[Yossarian]

For me the question is not the independence or background of the board but who they are answerable to. Speaking as a Balmain Football Club member, the process for generating change at WT level is incredibly labourious and time consuming. WT should operate a common membership and that membership should elect the board. Then you have a board who needs to respond to what members want. At least then this Balmain-Wests hoo haa might prompt some more people to sign up as members…

 

[madunit]

Do you think Wests wanting control, leadership, making firm decisions not wishy washy 50/50 decisions is them wanting whats best for them, or Wests Tigers?

I guess it comes down to who benefits from those firm decisions which Balmain won't have much say on, which I dare say is the concern Balmain have. I agree though that having independant NRL board members involved only acts to continue with the current slow processes, maybe even make them slower.

I see their point of view….it CAN be whats best for WTs.

so long as the Wests and Balmain boards primary interests in Wests Tigers first and not themselves. I guess thats the issue. Neither board has been totally focussed on the Wests Tigers.

Do Balmain now only want the NRL in because they DONT want Wests to have control?

My guess would be yes.

How long can that be sustained?

Until the next TV rights deal. The NRL were pretty strict with the TV rights deal which essentially sees that no NRL team can be removed until the deal ends.

So If Balmain were to get their way, it'd be nothing more than a time saving ploy. Once the TV rights deal ends, I imagine the Wests Tigers licence could be bought by Wests (or Wests Ashfield) and it could see Balmain dead, in a similar death as that of Norths via the Northern Eagles.

Balmain are between a rock and a hard place with bugger all wiggle room. They can't finance their half of the JV and there's no real chance that they will in the future.

The writing could be on the wall.

Which is why I don't believe Balmain or Wests have the WT interests in their sites. They have their own seperate survival at stake. Balmain are doing what they can to remain relevant, almost to spite Wests.

Wests are trying to get more control of the club, almost to spite Balmain.

That's just my view though.

 

[innsaneink]

For me the question is not the independence or background of the board but who they are answerable to. Speaking as a Balmain Football Club member, the process for generating change at WT level is incredibly labourious and time consuming. WT should operate a common membership and that membership should elect the board. Then you have a board who needs to respond to what members want. At least then this Balmain-Wests hoo haa might prompt some more people to sign up as members…

Dont you think members previous allegiances would come to the fore in some circumstances?
Not much different to the current set up.

It would be a start though…..eventually the majority of members will have no prior allegiances, if we survive that long

 

[system]

The current board will never allow a WT member vote on positions.

It is all about self preservation.

I have the misfortune of having a rotation of corporate boxes behind my seats at LO and the petty bleating over nothing issues from all stakeholders is staggering. Over the least important nonsense to boot

 

[Jerry_Seinfeld]

The current board will never allow a WT member vote on positions.

It is all about self preservation.

I have the misfortune of having a rotation of corporate boxes behind my seats at LO and the petty [automatically edited] over nothing issues from all stakeholders is staggering. Over the least important nonsense to boot

This.We need to remove this whole Wests/Balmain crap.

 

[GNR4LIFE]

I stopped reading when he started going on about loyalty. Yes they certainly were loyal when they allowed the Magpies NSW cup team to be raped of all the talent and just fed scraps resulting in 80 point thrashings every week, while BRET were competing for the premiership. Yeah real loyalty.

 

[Tigersmurf]

I understand your point GNR4LIFE, but wasn't that the Maggies choice? I was of the understanding that they chose to stand alone without players as they didn't want to merge the state cup sides.

I love the history of the game, but not if it is going to tear the club apart.

 

[madunit]

I stopped reading when he started going on about loyalty. Yes they certainly were loyal when they allowed the Magpies NSW cup team to be raped of all the talent and just fed scraps resulting in 80 point thrashings every week, while BRET were competing for the premiership. Yeah real loyalty.

Don't let the whole story get in the way there.

 

[system]

Point is it should have been a WT State Cup team years ago.

Funny thing is that the State Cup team is vital compared to the stuff the consistently have bleated about on both sides for years.

I sh#t you not in the corporate box behind me last year there was a full blown conspiracy theory that X was organising certain food at meetings because they knew that Y was lactose intolerant even though Y had never told anyone that X knows about it. But it was a ploy to make Y uncomfortable and was a form of white anting.

These are the pathetic childish simpletons running the club

 

[GNR4LIFE]

As Smeg said, should have been a merged NSW cup team yrs ago. Just seems a little suss that it happened when Balmain could no longer afford to fund a side. And never in a million yrs would they allow themselves to put in the position the Magpies put themselves in while allowing Wests to be the sole feeder club.

 

[jirskyr]

The Ashfield site is 4.61232 km from the Rozelle site

Ink that radius from Rozelle also includes Hunters Hill, Longueville, Greenwich, Wollstonecraft, North Sydney, Kirribilli, CBD, Wolloomooloo, Kings Cross, Darlinghurst, Surry Hills, Redfern, Newtown, Marrickville and Five Dock.

What point are you making?

 

[Coastie_Tiger]

The Ashfield site is 4.61232 km from the Rozelle site

Ink that radius from Rozelle also includes Hunters Hill, Longueville, Greenwich, Wollstonecraft, North Sydney, Kirribilli, CBD, Wolloomooloo, Kings Cross, Darlinghurst, Surry Hills, Redfern, Newtown, Marrickville and Five Dock.

What point are you making?

Think he's making the point it's 4.61232 Kms away I could be wrong though :stuck_out_tongue:

 

[Jerry_Seinfeld]

I stopped reading when he started going on about loyalty. Yes they certainly were loyal when they allowed the Magpies NSW cup team to be raped of all the talent and just fed scraps resulting in 80 point thrashings every week, while BRET were competing for the premiership. Yeah real loyalty.

Don't let the whole story get in the way there.

That pretty much is the whole story.

 

[Knuckles]

The reasons for an independant board are, as Dave Smith pointed out, to have the right skill sets in the decision making process. In the old days, a board could be made up of ex-players, players mates, friends of friends etc …..... but these days it is a professional multi million dollar business that needs quality people with a diverse range of skills. Sure you can still have people from Balmain and Magpies on there as they are by law the owners. But you need people who bring skills in Financial matters, Contract Law, Marketing etc etc. We dont have that at the moment. Bruno Cullen made a similiar point when he went to Cronulla on the way they manage their business ......... ie 20 years out of date. If I was Dave Smith, I would insist upon a board resturcuture as conditional before any future NRL handouts.

 

[Yossarian]

I stopped reading when he started going on about loyalty. Yes they certainly were loyal when they allowed the Magpies NSW cup team to be raped of all the talent and just fed scraps resulting in 80 point thrashings every week, while BRET were competing for the premiership. Yeah real loyalty.

Don't let the whole story get in the way there.

That pretty much is the whole story.

Except for the part where Wests Ashfield voted for it…