there is no fault.
RB had to do the hard thing which was tighten the belt, it was that or get the receivers in.
Plympton I believe was emotionally exhausted after being forced to waverley and then barely a few years later forced to TD.
he had haul assed st kilda out of crippling debt and we were plunging back there again with terrifying speed as the S, E, and SE suburb fans abandoned st kilda in droves with the move to TD, massive teething problems with TD, and the general obnoxious behaviour of the AFL and TD mgt, in conjunction with a crippling plummet in form.
RB took over, seduced some big names to join us, and started rebuilding the finances of the club.
GT stepped into as the temp coach after MB didn't show sufficient dedication, lets be honest, for MB this was a cash job, he saw the saints list and thought easy run, but our facilities weren't up to scratch, money was tight, and injuries decimated the side in his first year and his dreams of early success started looking like a painful rebuilding process which he couldn't be assed with.
GT then coached st kilda for a 5 years, earned some praise, earned some criticism, some long for his return, some thanked him for his contribution and wished him well, some loathed him, some obsessed about him and hated him with a passion.
RL was appointed coach, and immediately earned criticism as well all accolades.
the management changed after RB I believe saw that he let his emotions interfere with effective management of the club, RB slipped into the shadows quietly to go about his business. GT took up jobs as a radio and print journalist with mixed success, however his comments regarding st kilda and subsequent legal action lost him many of the existing supporters , with only a few pathetically clinging on to the hope that he would return brandishing excalibur on thors winged mount to lead st kilda to success.
the constraints imposed by RB were done to get the club out of trouble with creditors, the AFL without going to the AFL cap in hand.
Now retrospect would suggest we might have been able to access 2 or 3 million dollars a la north, carlton, richmond, footscray, melbourne, freo, sydney etc during this time, however we did it by our own bootstraps, and for folks like RB we can say we aren't the beggers we were 20 years ago.
now with a decent list, slow and responsible investment, st kilda is building a long term off field structure that would ensure success for years to come.
Our management off field are a mix of hard nosed, successful business folks, passionate fans and former players, I think the glitz and glamor of RB that haul assed us out of the fire richard branson lite style, has been replaced by slow progressive planned growth and success for the future.
there is no point in pointing blame, the ideas that somehow some coach is perfect is a joke, each one made mistake, couldn't hold on to players etc.
leigh matthews himself acknowledges he made plenty of mistakes and without a doubt he is one of the best coaches and players of all time.
GT made mistakes, however, Like RB with st kilda's finances, i believe he left the list is a much better situation than when he inherited it.
the thing is we chose many years ago to barrack for a club run on the smell of an oil rag. we are the privateers running a 22 million dollar ship in a competition with 50 million dollar ships. Heck if we didn't merge the social club, we'd be running on a 10 million dollar ship.
I don't blame RB or GT for the mistakes of the past, whats the point? in all honesty each did their best, as they perceived it at the time, to progress st kilda.
I believe they all made mistakes but then who hasn't?
even RL who I have been a critic off, is fighting for his job, his credibility, his livelyhood and his vision. time may come when I criticise RL no person is above criticism.
er, I forgot what his was about now...
![Confused :?](./images/smilies/icon_confused.gif)