Wests Tigers need quick $1m to survive

[Tiger_Watto]

I don't have an issue with Ashfield getting more votes. Im interested in what they think this will help. I am sure their members identify with being fans of WT and not Wests now anyway. They are a public club.

Im interested in fixing the root cause of the problem. The public sacking of Sheens last year. The leaks. The infighting. Giving Balmain board more control would be terrible. Giving Wests more control would be terrible. Both have proven they are not up to the standard to run an organisation our size.

Get independents in!

I agree… The debt the Tigers find themselves in is due to poor decisions by the board.

Last time I looked, Wests Group are 50% responsible for the state we find ourselves in.

All for greed, rather than sensible commercial decisions... Mind you, our board isn't the only NRL Franchise who has this same problem!

I find this hilarious. I agree that we are in this trouble due to poor decisions. The amazing thing is up until 6 months ago the balmain faction held sway on all decisions. hence sheens was resigned, Marshall was promised the world and fafita ended up killing it at the sharks farking us financially off the field and personnel wise on it. but now wests have a say and its their fault and we need an independent board. The wheel has turned and a few one eyes who have been ranting for years about diehards at the magpies etc are concerned for their own interests now. Good luck.

_Posted using RoarFEED 2013_

Wests aren't responsible or Balmains debt

not suggesting they are… But they are responsible for the debt the Wests Tigers have accrued.

Nothing will change. The same old monkeys will still be making these poor decisions in 10 years time unless they go broke. They are both too focused on winning premierships, rather than trying to make money out of an NRL Franchise.

I'm leaning towards the hope Balmain stick there heels in and the company which owns the Franchise Agreement does goes broke. The Wests Tigers will still exist, it will just belong to someone else?!

 

[hybrid_tiger]

Once again the weatherman and his band of incompetent fools have to play out club issues in the media. Absolute disgrace.

Explain how the board is incompetent?

I really don't see the any issues with the information in this article.

You don't think there is any issue with this being discussed through the media?

 

[crusader]

Balmain have had the balance of power on the Wests tigers board since the beginning of the franchise. They have made woeful decisions for balmain and disgraceful decisions for Wests tigers. They currently do not contribute to the franchise financially . The club is being kept afloat by Wests. Now Wests want a greater presence at board level. Considering how our club has been run and the poor decisions made, how could this be a bad thing. If You were to go into a partnership with either balmain or Wests , who would you choose???? For gods sake people take your balmain and Wests jerseys off. We are talking about the Wests tigers.
Just on another note, where is our billionaire sponsor Harry (Meriton ) in all this??? Does anyone know why he won't help? I do. Ask Benny Elias …..

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[jirskyr]

Whilst I agree that Wests deserve more representation if they give more money (and I'm an old Balmain supporter), the question I want to know is if Wests also want to follow through with the NRL for board-level reform?

It's easy for Balmain to support the reform, they have no cash and are poised to lose parity in the boardroom.

But will Wests similarly move towards reform and the introduction of independent members if they gain a boardroom advantage to match their financial position?

 

[TigerOfBankstown]

Does anyone have any financial information regarding the running of Wests Tigers, for example whats the yearly running costs? and much does the wests group contribute..?

Just wondering where was the Wests Group to save the mighty Maggies back in 1999? Waite hang on, wasn't it the Balmain Tigers who saved the Maggies? mind you at the time Balmain had met the criteria in order to participate in 2000 as a stand alone??

All the sudden Ashfield and the surrounding areas are full of hard working koreans who love to gamble, now Bailey and co are pumping their chests, lets take over the joint..

1) Go back to 99, if we followed the rules of survival of the fittest, the Maggies would have been long gone and so would have the Tigers later on

2) And for the attitude, he who has money has the power, get rid of the salary cap and watch the Bulldogs and the Broncos win the next 100 premierships in a row, what a crock of crap…

I can tell some maggie supporters are getting a little excited with the smell of Balmain Blood in the air.. I say fine, be done with the Tiger, obtain a government grant, redevelop Cambletown Oval, change your jersey, then you can enjoy adding another 30 spoons to your cabinet with your crowd averages of 6000

As a former Balmain Supporter, im not for a return of the status quo, nor do i feel that Balmain should dominate Wests.. But if Balmain are not financially feasible then so be it. If the Tigers were to go the way of the North Sydne Bears, then life must go on., but please lets not pretend..

What erks me the most is the public display, arrogance, disprespect and blackmail.. hence this is giving the impression of an aggressive take over by the Korean Magpies.. oooops sorry meant the "western Suburbs"

 

[system]

The cynic in me said each sides positioning is more about ensuring their own survival then anything to do with WT.

Oh and please don't let this descend into a Balmain V Wests thing.

The entire Wests Tigers board has failed in it's duties and responsibilities in terms of proper management and governance

 

[andrew 474]

VIRGIN , Mr Branson , that would help

 

[900large]

The wests magpies board run one of the most profitable and successful clubs in the country, including business property gaming and liquour. They would be as clued up as any independent, and would probably turn the fortunes of the club around very quickly. I don't think the balmain guys are as accomplished.
The problem is that the WT board is deadlocked so every decision is a compromise, and neither side will give for fear it will dilute the legacy of their great clubs.
Compromise is not a way to run a business because it is always following the path of least resistance.
Give control to ashfield, the sky won't fall in, but we will see some real changes. Perhaps the real issue is one of the Balmain board members won't get their $50k kick each year.

_Posted using RoarFEED 2013_

 

[tigermaniac]

Reduce the board to 7.

1 Balmain, 3 West Ashfield, 3 NRL appointees.

Because realistically the NRL puts in the majority of our income

Makes sense!

Nonsense, why give some a say that offers nothing.

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[system]

Nonsense, why give some a say that offers nothing.

_Posted using RoarFEED 2013_

In regard to which party?

 

[balmain boy]

5 independent board members and one from each of Balmain and Wests = the way forward.

The entire current board to be removed. New board members to have no prior board involvement with the WT.

The current mob are incompetent and they must all be held responsible for their decisions.

A clean slate is required.

 

[Coastie_Tiger]

Look I'm a die hard Balmain boy before the merger but this is 13 years on and I love the wests tigers as its own entity when they merged I didn't think it would be possible for me but it was.
Balmain did have the money and power to begin with but it's quite clear they don't now, if wests want and can keep us afloat they deserve the balance of power, providing that when and if Balmain sort themselves they can regain equal footing.
But what is clearly obvious is there needs to be more wests tigers unbiased orientated board members,why can it not be something like 5 in dependant 3 wests and 2 Balmain or something along those lines so we can move forward along with that the head also being in dependant.
We need to move on from all this rubbish and realise we are one club not 3 because mark my words never will there be another Balmain tigers or western suburbs magpies in the NRL only wests tigers so its either that or nothin IMO.

 

[Yossarian]

The wests magpies board run one of the most profitable and successful clubs in the country, including business property gaming and liquour. They would be as clued up as any independent, and would probably turn the fortunes of the club around very quickly. I don't think the balmain guys are as accomplished.
The problem is that the WT board is deadlocked so every decision is a compromise, and neither side will give for fear it will dilute the legacy of their great clubs.
Compromise is not a way to run a business because it is always following the path of least resistance.
Give control to ashfield, the sky won't fall in, but we will see some real changes. Perhaps the real issue is one of the Balmain board members won't get their $50k kick each year.

_Posted using RoarFEED 2013_

Maybe Ashfield is. Not sure you can say the same about Campbelltown. You've made some pretty generalised statements about what has gone on. I can't vouch for whether the Ashfield club is well run or not - being in an area with hordes of Asians with gambling addiction certainly helps. To suggest the Balmain board (and we're talking about the Leagues Club rather than the Football Club) are to blame for everything that went wrong over simplifies things. They could certainly not have foreseen the GFC coming on the day they were going to sign the building agreement…

Anyway as I've said many times in this forum:

1 - Control of the club shouldn't be some Dutch auction where the biggest contributor buys control. The structure in place is supposedly there to run the club for the benefit of its underlying membership. Having a situation where neither Balmain nor Campbelltown are the majority on the board hardly does this.

2 - The club needs to move on from a model propped up by clubs funneling the hard-earned of desperates at a poker machine throwing away their money.

As an added comment I'd support a move towards a structure where Wests Tigers members directly elected the board and the board acted accordingly. If decisions are to be taken its the actual supporters who part with their money who should be listened to - not board members of league's clubs on ego trips.

 

[Gary_Bakerloo]

You don't think there is any issue with this being discussed through the media?

Not at all.

The NRL club needs a $1m cash injection, an amount that can be provided by one of the stakeholders. It's not that big a deal.

 

[Tigersmurf]

Would any of you be happy to go back to either a Balmain team or a Magpies team in the NRL competition? I was as die hard Balmain as the next guy but I have realised that I don't want to go back to supporting Balmain Tigers. I follow Wests Tigers.

Fact is, none of us would be having this conversation if the team was winning. The constant release of inside information can be nothing less than a ploy by some to destabilise the club.

If Wests Ashfield provide most of the cash then they should get most of the say over how it is spent. If Balmain cannot govern their own finances then why should they have a say over how to govern finances supplied by Wests Ashfield?

This does not help to attract sponsors or players to our great club. Such a shame!

 

[Gary_Bakerloo]

Fact is, none of us would be having this conversation if the team was winning. The constant release of inside information can be nothing less than a ploy by some to destabilise the club.

If Wests Ashfield provide most of the cash then they should get most of the say over how it is spent. If Balmain cannot govern their own finances then why should they have a say over how to govern finances supplied by Wests Ashfield

_"Only when the tide goes out do you discover who's been swimming naked."_

 

[Jerry_Seinfeld]

This seems like a cheap ploy from the Wests side to get control of the board. The NRL won't let Wests Tigers fold and the Magpies while seeming blackmailing Balmain since they have the funds, the Magpies won't do anything to upset the balance and force the lose of their NRL license.

What a dumbass grubby thing to say. Take your blunders off fool

_Posted using RoarFEED 2013_

Agree totally crusader.Cant believe after 14 years we still have people taking cheap shots like this.Time to take the Balmain undies off now aszporta.we are wests tigers.

 

[LaT]

We need an independent board, plain and simple.

Wests want to leverage themselves to power, fine.

But there should be conditions, there should be a concrete time limit set for the powerplay, once the time it up we revert to a truly independent board with assistance/advice on structure from the NRL.

Maybe then we will finally get on the same page and stop the BS. Time these dinosaurs died out.

 

[system]

If we are going to go down that road then the honest truth is Balmain Football club and Wests Magpies football club shouldn't have any seats on the board and Balmain Leagues Club should only hold a few seats in correlation with their input. The NRL should also have a few seats in recognition of their investment and the shambles we have become.

Also it should be put in the constitution that numpty fossils like Dawn should never be allowed on WT board

 

[Abraham]

The wests magpies board run one of the most profitable and successful clubs in the country, including business property gaming and liquour. They would be as clued up as any independent, and would probably turn the fortunes of the club around very quickly. I don't think the balmain guys are as accomplished.
The problem is that the WT board is deadlocked so every decision is a compromise, and neither side will give for fear it will dilute the legacy of their great clubs.
Compromise is not a way to run a business because it is always following the path of least resistance.
Give control to ashfield, the sky won't fall in, but we will see some real changes. Perhaps the real issue is one of the Balmain board members won't get their $50k kick each year.

_Posted using RoarFEED 2013_

I have gone on record as saying I am an old Balmain boy, who does not have a fundamental problem with Wests Ashfield taking an additional board seat in return for additional funding.

However I have raised some points in another thread concerning Ashfield which I feel are valid, and need to be explained to all of the WT fans.

1\. What was Ashfield's role in the 1990's when the Magpies were on the verge of financial ruin?

2\. Are they the great financial operators everyone talks them up to be, or is it simply a matter of Ashfield's demographic change bringing in masses of gamblers which have lined the pockets of the club?

3\. What credentials do they have to run an NRL Franchise, as opposed to a social club which takes the majority of its revenue from poker machines?

I think all Wests Tigers fans, regardless of ancient loyalties, should be asking these questions. Funding is only one smaller part of our dilemma, the other being responsible governance. While Ashfield can help solve the first part, what new aspects do they bring to the table in regards to the proper management of the Wests Tigers, that they haven't been able to raise thus far (which in itself would relieve the financial aspect anyway)?

Another option, rather than a board room takeover, may be to look at commercial incentives for Ashfield to pump in more doe. Make them the 'official' leagues club where post-match functions and official Wests Tigers events are held, give them Jersey or Ground sponsorship, additional space on club affiliated websites etc., rather than forge ahead with a takeover at board level which could create even more Magpies v Balmain dilemmas, especially if they can't improve the clubs fortunes like many are prophesising.