All discussion to go in:
http://www.saintsational.com/forum/view ... hp?t=36803
Who is Greg Westaway?
Well, I am 61 years of age. I’ve been a member of St. Kilda FC for over 20 years, and have great memories of watching the team play, especially this bloke (gesturing to Burke). I have a trucking company which is very successful and I love this football club.
How do you respond to accusations from some members that you have resorted to mudslinging throughout the campaign, and hiding behind the legend of Nathan Burke?
Well I can answer that quite easily, there has been no mudslinging whatsoever from me with any of the campaign, so I flatly deny that one straight out. As for hiding behind Nathan, I don’t think it’s possible, given my head is considerably bigger than his (jokingly)! But seriously, I’ve stated numerous times, I’m just the one driving the group. I have been in the media many times over the last few weeks, print and radio, so that’s not a realistic suggestion.
Now you have been contacting some of the clubs supporter and coterie groups of late, have they given you strong support, and what sorts of concerns have they raised with either yourselves, or the current administration?
Basically they brought up a lot of the points we made earlier…supporters want to feel loved.
They feel they need more recognition from the club and more help in promoting what they are trying to do - and recently a lot of these groups feel the club has ignored them a little bit.
How do you envisage fixing this? Would you look at re-opening the big screen at the social club for away games, for example? We weren’t even able to watch Harves’ 350th at the club.
We feel strongly about communicating regularly with, and rewarding our members and supporters. I’m not sure exactly about the big screen or what happened there, but if it is financially viable then yes, definitely. There should be somewhere that supporters can congregate at the football club.
How long has this challenge been in the pipeline?
It’s fair to say this has been building up for a long while; we have had our concerns for quite some time now.
How did you and John Gdanski become affiliated? Did you contact him or did he get in touch with you?
I had heard some whispers about disenchantment at board level and at a game earlier in the year we happened to converse. Things moved on from there.
So that’s how the ticket was formed originally? Can you state categorically on the record that Grant Thomas has nothing to do with this challenge?
Correct. Grant is not involved in any way.
The incumbents claim you are destabilizing the club.
(Laughs) Well, that is rubbish. Five CEOs in six years. Four CFOs in six years. Revolving door of sponsors. What does that say about stability?
How do you react to some of the negative comments on radio by close mate and former club captain Danny Frawley?
NB: Well I’ve actually spoken to Spud three times now in a couple of weeks, and the things he says to me on the phone are very different to what gets projected in the media, so I am definitely going to trust Spud’s words to me personally on that. Obviously I won’t say anything as to what was said as it was in a private forum but I’m confident that Spud wants the best for the footy club.
On the football department / committee.
GW: "Ross Lyon is the senior coach. He will remain the senior coach He has our full support. The football subcommittee and the football department will not be directing Ross Lyon. He steers the ship and they will endeavor to support him in every way possible."
Have you spoken to Ross Lyon or anyone on the coaching / playing staff as of yet?
No, it’s not the right time for us to get involved with them yet. They all have jobs to do over the off season to prepare for 2008 and we want them to do that in the best way they can without distraction. They are not involved at this point.
FINANCIAL
Football Department spending…
Main emphasis was that you cannot give yourself the best chance of success by running the club on bare bones.
St. Kilda spent the least of any team in the competition on its football department last year, and Nathan Burke mentioned some of the ways the club had been tight with spending, some of this info is quite interesting….
NB: “When I was at the club, we couldn’t buy new footballs until Peter Maddern had sold our old ones to a local club,â€
NEW THREAD - WESTAWAY & BURKE ANSWERS: PARTS 1&2
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Re: NEW THREAD - WESTAWAY & BURKE ANSWERS: PART 2
How much has the public spat between RB and GT influenced you in your push for change?
GW: Well its just not good for the image of the club is it. Having all of this aired in a public forum, it just proves that the time for change is now.
Grant Thomas was and is a passionate St.Kilda man no doubt, but he needs to walk away from this as well.
How did SFF acquire our membership details?
GW: Through Director John Gdanski. Basically all board members have access to the membership list and they cannot really be denied that access. So that’s how that came about.
What other issues do you have in regards to the way the club has related with supporters? You mentioned this as one of your areas of focus?
GW: Just a lot about making the supporters feel important. I mean we traveled to Perth twice this year and didn’t have an organized function at either of them. Things like that.
Speaking with supporter groups who run buses into the ground every week to watch the club, and provide great support for St. Kilda, they deserve a bit of recognition.
A lot of groups have held days in the past where they have got players down for clinics, or for golf days or this and that and that has started to drop off of late.
I think if the players were aware of things like this, then they might then be more open to traveling around to visit these local groups.
Groups like these should be recognised and rewarded. I mean they should be represented properly at the Best & Fairest nights, but they are not. That to me is disappointing.
NB: Just on the Perth point that Greg mentioned, of all the Victorian sides in the competition, only Carlton have more supporters then us in Western Australia so its important to make sure you keep encouraging these people.
We can also go back to Georgie Fidge, she always got on very well with all the players and coaching staff and through that good relationship players were prepared to help her out a bit, by visiting certain areas and things like that, if you have a good working relationship with everyone then it makes life easier, and I’m not sure that’s possible when you try to run the club with basically a skeleton crew.
What do you think of the Casey Scorpions relationship, and should it be persevered with?
NB: I think it certainly has potential. If managed properly I think it can work very well for us. I thought Peter was pretty good in recent years, I mean he would play Maguire for half a game if we asked him too as an example, but at the same time they have to do what they need to do as well so its about finding that balance but its probably wise for us to stick with that.
So you wouldn’t consider fielding a stand alone side?
NB: I think the case would have to be very strong for us to consider that. You have to field a team every week from 40 players, then if you have ten injuries it becomes very difficult trying to field two teams and you end up needing to pull players from different clubs all over the place, and to be honest their was a reason why most clubs did away with the stand alone format a few years back, so I can’t see many clubs wanting to take that option to be honest. We would have to financially become like Collingwood, to be able to afford a stand alone VFL club. It an expensive avenue.
Would you look at making the away strip more recognisably 'St. Kilda', than a faded washed white guernsey?
(GW & NB laugh)
GW: Yes, definitely.
NB: DEFINITELY!
Did you see the move away from playing home games in Tasmania as a good thing?
NB: Look, we left Tassie because we werent winning games of footy. Thats the bottom line. The revenue generated by the games over there was great, and it certainly helped our membership drive when we sorely needed it, but the fact is we didnt win enough games there.
Recruiting
What are your thoughts on the clubs recruiting department?
NB: It’s one of the many areas that have been neglected over the years, I mean take Collingwood for example, they have a full time team of recruiters set up in Western Australia just to scout. Up until now we have had Johnny Beveridge driving all over the countryside in his car every weekend, and he has ‘a few mates’ interstate who he rings if he wants to find out about a certain player, its not the most ideal situation.
GW: It proves a little bit about what we are getting it. It’s all right being focused on the profit side of things, but the problem is Rod has now become single minded, and it appears solely focused on that bottom line, and it probably means the club can’t possibly be given the best chance at success.
NB: Also our run of injuries in recent years and the turnover in fitness staff within the club. I still believe even now that our best 22 can beat anytime in the competition. It can beat Geelong, it can beat anybody, but the injury situation is another we simply have to get right.
Do you feel this has cost us a flag?
NB: That’s always very hard to say because you never clearly say this would have happened, or that would have happened but it is definitely fair to say that we probably didn’t give ourselves the best chance at it, and we didn’t give ourselves the best chance to remain in the mix.
Do you have any plans to repay the former players who took 22c out of a dollar in the 80s?
GW: No, look to be honest we havent planned to do that. Its not something we've thought about. What we do intent to do, however, is increase the recognition that our club legends get. We dont think its right that theres nowhere at the club where past players can get together and have a drink and a laugh. We dont think its right that these players get no credit or recognition from the Club itself. These are the people who have contributed to us greatly and we would like them to be remembered in the history of the Club.
GW: Well its just not good for the image of the club is it. Having all of this aired in a public forum, it just proves that the time for change is now.
Grant Thomas was and is a passionate St.Kilda man no doubt, but he needs to walk away from this as well.
How did SFF acquire our membership details?
GW: Through Director John Gdanski. Basically all board members have access to the membership list and they cannot really be denied that access. So that’s how that came about.
What other issues do you have in regards to the way the club has related with supporters? You mentioned this as one of your areas of focus?
GW: Just a lot about making the supporters feel important. I mean we traveled to Perth twice this year and didn’t have an organized function at either of them. Things like that.
Speaking with supporter groups who run buses into the ground every week to watch the club, and provide great support for St. Kilda, they deserve a bit of recognition.
A lot of groups have held days in the past where they have got players down for clinics, or for golf days or this and that and that has started to drop off of late.
I think if the players were aware of things like this, then they might then be more open to traveling around to visit these local groups.
Groups like these should be recognised and rewarded. I mean they should be represented properly at the Best & Fairest nights, but they are not. That to me is disappointing.
NB: Just on the Perth point that Greg mentioned, of all the Victorian sides in the competition, only Carlton have more supporters then us in Western Australia so its important to make sure you keep encouraging these people.
We can also go back to Georgie Fidge, she always got on very well with all the players and coaching staff and through that good relationship players were prepared to help her out a bit, by visiting certain areas and things like that, if you have a good working relationship with everyone then it makes life easier, and I’m not sure that’s possible when you try to run the club with basically a skeleton crew.
What do you think of the Casey Scorpions relationship, and should it be persevered with?
NB: I think it certainly has potential. If managed properly I think it can work very well for us. I thought Peter was pretty good in recent years, I mean he would play Maguire for half a game if we asked him too as an example, but at the same time they have to do what they need to do as well so its about finding that balance but its probably wise for us to stick with that.
So you wouldn’t consider fielding a stand alone side?
NB: I think the case would have to be very strong for us to consider that. You have to field a team every week from 40 players, then if you have ten injuries it becomes very difficult trying to field two teams and you end up needing to pull players from different clubs all over the place, and to be honest their was a reason why most clubs did away with the stand alone format a few years back, so I can’t see many clubs wanting to take that option to be honest. We would have to financially become like Collingwood, to be able to afford a stand alone VFL club. It an expensive avenue.
Would you look at making the away strip more recognisably 'St. Kilda', than a faded washed white guernsey?
(GW & NB laugh)
GW: Yes, definitely.
NB: DEFINITELY!
Did you see the move away from playing home games in Tasmania as a good thing?
NB: Look, we left Tassie because we werent winning games of footy. Thats the bottom line. The revenue generated by the games over there was great, and it certainly helped our membership drive when we sorely needed it, but the fact is we didnt win enough games there.
Recruiting
What are your thoughts on the clubs recruiting department?
NB: It’s one of the many areas that have been neglected over the years, I mean take Collingwood for example, they have a full time team of recruiters set up in Western Australia just to scout. Up until now we have had Johnny Beveridge driving all over the countryside in his car every weekend, and he has ‘a few mates’ interstate who he rings if he wants to find out about a certain player, its not the most ideal situation.
GW: It proves a little bit about what we are getting it. It’s all right being focused on the profit side of things, but the problem is Rod has now become single minded, and it appears solely focused on that bottom line, and it probably means the club can’t possibly be given the best chance at success.
NB: Also our run of injuries in recent years and the turnover in fitness staff within the club. I still believe even now that our best 22 can beat anytime in the competition. It can beat Geelong, it can beat anybody, but the injury situation is another we simply have to get right.
Do you feel this has cost us a flag?
NB: That’s always very hard to say because you never clearly say this would have happened, or that would have happened but it is definitely fair to say that we probably didn’t give ourselves the best chance at it, and we didn’t give ourselves the best chance to remain in the mix.
Do you have any plans to repay the former players who took 22c out of a dollar in the 80s?
GW: No, look to be honest we havent planned to do that. Its not something we've thought about. What we do intent to do, however, is increase the recognition that our club legends get. We dont think its right that theres nowhere at the club where past players can get together and have a drink and a laugh. We dont think its right that these players get no credit or recognition from the Club itself. These are the people who have contributed to us greatly and we would like them to be remembered in the history of the Club.