Wealthy St Kilda figure Gerry Ryan and former coach Grant Thomas endorse Larry Benge to join Saints board

[Devilhead]

"Murmurs of discontent have rumbled behind the scenes since midway through last season"

WTF?? .... do they just make this crap up

[meher baba]

I can't resist dipping my oar in on this issue.

If you go back to the end of the last millenium, St Kilda was in a dreadful state and - despite having survived the biggest existential threat in our history - we seemed to be steadily heading towards oblivion.

When Butterss and GT arrived on the scene, they had what was surely the only viable plan: to steadily transform a joke club into one of the feared leaders of the competition on an ongoing basis. While supporters were desperate for a premiership, Butterss and GT initially focused on making the club strong. I suspect that GT was always the key strategist behind the scenes, while Butterss performed excellently in the role of personable frontman. After a few years, Butterss seemed to stumble a bit: perhaps due to the widely-publicised personal issues (both his own and his falling out with GT), but also because GT seemed to have an insatiable urge to start hogging the limelight: which was a bad development given his quite abrasive personality.

But, in terms of developing a strong list, a distinctive playing style, and a winning culture both on- and off-field, it was all coming together brilliantly in the 2001-05 period. Many posters on here obsess with what went wrong: eg, our excessive injury toll (much of which was simply bad luck - eg Kosi in 2005 and Lenny in 2006, and some might also have been due to the dreadful playing surface on which we played most of our games) and GT's erratic media comments. But nothing in football ever goes perfectly and, taking a long-term perspective, our club built a base in 2001-05 which kept us going strong through to around 2011-12. I'm not as critical of Lyon as some on here, but I do think that under him, in combination with some sub-optimal performers in both the football department and the club administration, the club steadily lost sight of the clear goal established by Butterss and GT in favour of a short-term preoccupation with winning a premiership asap. And then things fell away even further from 2011 onwards, when the club was in the hands of numpties who I'm not even sure had a clear direction in which they were trying to head. Sadly, over the same period, we saw Geelong - which had taken a broadly similar approach to us (and were possibly even somewhat influenced by what we had done) - shrug off their status as a perennial joke and become a near-permanent fixture in September.

Things have undoubtedly improved at the club since our low point of the late 2010s. But, to me, the club's current playing list doesn't seem to be on the verge of anything special. So, if GT is really planning a coup (and it rather looks like it), then I reckon he's got a point.

But, I don't feel all that positive about the prospect. In the past, we have seen that GT has only been a team player to the extent that he gets to be the boss of the team and call all the shots. Given that opportunity, he did well. But the way football clubs are administered has changed a fair bit since 2006. I'm not sure that the old GT style will get results a second time around. Unless the man himself has changed. Has he? Perhaps we'll get to find out.

Anyway, if it does come to pass, it will be anything but dull.

[Teflon]

I can't resist dipping my oar in on this issue.

If you go back to the end of the last millenium, St Kilda was in a dreadful state and - despite having survived the biggest existential threat in our history - we seemed to be steadily heading towards oblivion.

When Butterss and GT arrived on the scene, they had what was surely the only viable plan: to steadily transform a joke club into one of the feared leaders of the competition on an ongoing basis. While supporters were desperate for a premiership, Butterss and GT initially focused on making the club strong. I suspect that GT was always the key strategist behind the scenes, while Butterss performed excellently in the role of personable frontman. After a few years, Butterss seemed to stumble a bit: perhaps due to the widely-publicised personal issues (both his own and his falling out with GT), but also because GT seemed to have an insatiable urge to start hogging the limelight: which was a bad development given his quite abrasive personality.

But, in terms of developing a strong list, a distinctive playing style, and a winning culture both on- and off-field, it was all coming together brilliantly in the 2001-05 period. Many posters on here obsess with what went wrong: eg, our excessive injury toll (much of which was simply bad luck - eg Kosi in 2005 and Lenny in 2006, and some might also have been due to the dreadful playing surface on which we played most of our games) and GT's erratic media comments. But nothing in football ever goes perfectly and, taking a long-term perspective, our club built a base in 2001-05 which kept us going strong through to around 2011-12. I'm not as critical of Lyon as some on here, but I do think that under him, in combination with some sub-optimal performers in both the football department and the club administration, the club steadily lost sight of the clear goal established by Butterss and GT in favour of a short-term preoccupation with winning a premiership asap. And then things fell away even further from 2011 onwards, when the club was in the hands of numpties who I'm not even sure had a clear direction in which they were trying to head. Sadly, over the same period, we saw Geelong - which had taken a broadly similar approach to us (and were possibly even somewhat influenced by what we had done) - shrug off their status as a perennial joke and become a near-permanent fixture in September.

Things have undoubtedly improved at the club since our low point of the late 2010s. But, to me, the club's current playing list doesn't seem to be on the verge of anything special. So, if GT is really planning a coup (and it rather looks like it), then I reckon he's got a point.

But, I don't feel all that positive about the prospect. In the past, we have seen that GT has only been a team player to the extent that he gets to be the boss of the team and call all the shots. Given that opportunity, he did well. But the way football clubs are administered has changed a fair bit since 2006. I'm not sure that the old GT style will get results a second time around. Unless the man himself has changed. Has he? Perhaps we'll get to find out.

Anyway, if it does come to pass, it will be anything but dull.

It’s truly sad that anyone could be so out of touch with where our club is at
Great young core coming together after 6 woeful years of playing and drafting (and stuffing up) picks under Richo regime
We finally play finals and win one first time in a decade
Had a year from hell with injuries and the hardest draw in AFL but still only just missed finals
Unearthed some great young talent off eff all picks (great work by Libba and Gags)
And GT screams “revolution” and the same merry band of muppets clamour at this megalomaniacs feet like some perverted messiah?
I now genuinely know why people say the clubs a rabble and we’ve won 1 flag in 140 years...
Gobsmacked.

[Teflon]

Quite remarkable how Grant Thomas generates so much spirited comment when he expresses thoughts and opinions about his old club.

I'm on record as saying that I considered GT's overall record when he coached St Kilda (and the manner in which he was appointed in 2001) as a failure, despite some really impressive winning streaks during his tenure.

Nonetheless I am happy to acknowledge that he is a very smart and successful businessman and respect his right to cast judgment on the way the club is managed when the team languishes, as it has in 2021. Like it or not, Thomas is very much a St Kilda person

His and Gerry Ryan's endorsement of Larry Benge to run for a place on the St Kilda Board is not a big deal, in fact it is quite a good thing for Boards in all fields of enterprise to have pressure applied to ensure success, and I would be surprised if Andrew Bassat considers that a malicious threat.

During my experience in a previous life as CEO of a large NGO, answerable to a board of directors, I have witnessed the dysfunctionality resulting from boards that become dormant and lazy when they fail to embrace renewal and fresh blood that can inject much needed energy, new ideas and benchmarks to achieve greater success.

It is incumbent on the Board of St Kilda FC to do everything in its power to acquire that evasive and long awaited 2nd premiership cup to Moorabbin.

One of the burning questions has to be: is the working relationship between current CEO Matt Finis and Chief Operating Officer Simon Lethlean successful, as I have sometimes wondered if it might be time for Finis to move on and be replaced by Lethlean, who clearly has ambitions to progress his career beyond the current level.

Sorry supposition and innuendo don’t equal facts
Where is the proof we have a problem at Board level?
Where is the CEO/Lethlean meltdown (unlike the fiasco of Grant and Butters..,,after GT milked him for a cool mill)

Record membership
Finals win in 2020 first time in 10 years
Moved back to Moorabbin
Women’s tram up and running
Danny Frawley Centre u der construction
Superb core of a young list coming through
Development now prioritised with an excellent appointment
NGA starting to bear fruit

....and cause Grant says “I just feel there’s something not right...,” we have to Shyte the bed????

Nonsense.

And if you’re a professionally run organisation you don’t do Board renewal via the media - that just drags the club down into the gutter and we’ve moved on from those days.

"Where is the proof we have a problem at Board level?"

I've not suggested there is a problem at Board level, I just believe it is a good thing to bring in fresh blood from time to time to keep the Board on its toes.

A recent report on the path that brought success to Melbourne FC this year listed Board renewal and changes in senior management as key to this process.

Richmond's success in recent years leading to their 3 premierships came after a long and acrimonious public campaign by high profile supporters demanding change.

Whilst I agree that the club has made some major improvements in recent years, the move back to Moorabbin especially, and that the quality of the playing list is reasonable, in my "heart of hearts" I still have doubts that my footy team is on the cusp of winning another premiership followed by a period of sustained success.

What is patently obvious is that 2022 looms as a make or break year for St Kilda because failure to make finals is likely to bring immense pressure on the Board, senior management and coaches....

Ofcourse 2022 is make it break - with Clarkson there I think it’s critical for Ratten especially to have a good year
Ofcourse it’s good corporate practice to update your board with talent
Question for you is;
1. Larry the dentist appears to have eff all credentials other than big mouth piece backers
2. Do you think dragging the club through the media gutter is the “professional Board” member material we need ???
Good clubs don’t do that.
We are headed straight back to the days of the club being run by “white knight” individuals....it’s 80’s stuff and when these so called “fixers” have had their play we’ll be left to pick up the pieces ....only this time from Tasmania where perhaps (if we allow this trash into our club) we deserve to be.

[Teflon]

"Murmurs of discontent have rumbled behind the scenes since midway through last season"

WTF?? .... do they just make this crap up

They do when they’re being fed false information in exchange for writing a nothing “puff piece” trying to trump up “GT” credentials
Let’s face it the media don’t give a Shyte about St Kilda - they love a coupe and a blood bath and everyone will sit ba k and laugh at “good ole Saints....imploding again..”
And the so called messiah who just loves the club so much it hurts him to stay away (?) will happily feed them and drag us into the gutter AS LONG AS he gets his power back into AFL land .....St Kilda is just the vehicle to do it ....if you truly cared the last thing you’d do is try and muck rake up issues where there are none.
And WTF does the moron GT mean by questioning Gallagher????? the guy is super astute, has our list finally headed in the right direction (off some terrible years under Richo/Trout) .....and Grant thinks he’s a problem??? Absolutely know nothing ass flown
Oh and reading that article what’s “GT” trotting out again?? Yep, his same old boring “we need a culture fix” at the club ??? WTF???
First time in decades we don’t leak to media (we do now cause it suits Grant) and he’s dusting of the old “need a corporate culture fix”
It’s the same BS he pulled last time - tired corporate cliches like “belief clouds” or “training services” with a trip to the movies about fixing culture....
We ain’t an 80’s bank you dumb muppet we are an AFL club
The fix here is simple for Bassat - take it to the members but be clear: if the vote is we don’t want upheaval for the sake of it , we don’t want to return to the days of airing our business in the media so all can laugh at us, we don’t want to return to the “culture” of white knight saviours and we WANT to be seen as a credible well run club IF the members vote to reject this coup then it ought to be endorsed that the cancer that is Grant Thomas and his parasite friends are banished from our club forever.
It’s terribly sad we have to defend ourselves from this type of attack ...but we need to put an end to this once and got all
I truly hope Bassat and Board stand strong and kick this egotistical vulture to the kerb where he belongs once and for all.

[Teflon]

Infact scrap all above
Remove Finnis
Bring Lethlean in as CEO as he has a fair amount of mongrel we clearly need and he’ll simply tell Grant to far cough.
I’d like to see that.

[Teflon]

Below sums up our list from BF and Grant now wants a coupe...,why??? He wants in and can see it

No thanks

*******€*********

I’m excited by our list, for the first time in a long time.

King will be the best forward in the comp. With Marshall/Ryder, Membrey, Sharman, Butler, Higgins we will be dangerous… add Gresham and dare I say Ben King next year, we’re looking deadly.

I look forward to Battle cementing a spot down back alongside Howard, Wilkie, Paton, Sincs… who takes the remaining spots out of Connelly, Highmore and Coffield? A good problem to have.

Another pre season into Bytel, Byrnes, Clark - hopefully leads to more consistent midfield minutes and performances. Steele, Jones, Crouch and Ryder as a combo will only improve every time they run out together.

All things considered for 2021 I’m amazed we still almost made finals!

got my membership renewal in the post today and re-signed, pumped for what 2022 will bring.

time to end the drought

[asiu]

Anyway, if it does come to pass, it will be anything but dull.

i'd offer ... it's already not dull

[asiu]

the best move GT could make at the moment
is hustle a million dollar contribution
from enough 'big boys'
that when added to his own
clears the clubs debt


then take three steps backwards

[asiu]

imo fwtw blah blah blah

[saynta]

"only this time from Tasmania where perhaps (if we allow this trash into our club) we deserve to be."


This, from a guy who hero worships a lying scumbag. You gotta laugh.

[bigcarl]

He’s coming Teffers

[asiu]

He’s coming Teffers

[asiu]

... and that 'hustle' by GT
needs to advance with the first contribution
coming from current leadership within the Club

if 'changing' the culture/connection/commitment/creation
paradigm of our Club

is the goal

that exercise would achieve it


we'd be world wide news
we'd be momentum
we'd be positioned
we'd be in the race
n
then we get the job done
and keep going until we get the job done


regardless of
excuses
curses
umpires
afl house
figments of the imagination
or
cheating opposition


its not that hard
ay.

[Teflon]

"only this time from Tasmania where perhaps (if we allow this trash into our club) we deserve to be."


This, from a guy who hero worships a lying scumbag. You gotta laugh.

Lying scumbag got us to a gf at least
You’re hero lying scumbag is all hot air and bagging the club still
Only 1 muppet still her worshiping on here ...

[Teflon]

He’s coming Teffers

Saints might be going Carl...
We’ll see whose laughing then..

[Teflon]

the best move GT could make at the moment
is hustle a million dollar contribution
from enough 'big boys'
that when added to his own
clears the clubs debt


then take three steps backwards

Yep can’t argue with that
Put all your “big corporate payday” where your mouth is Grant
Want to help the club ??
Do something genuinely selfless - ask for nothing back then people might start to believe you’re nothing more than a divisive “look at me” wannabe
Pony up GT ....you’re now a self made squillionaire ???

[Josh Battle]

Nah…let’s wait and see what happens.

We’re gonna win the flag in 2022 or if not 2022….most likely 2023 is our year


Just you wait and see…



Finnis and Lethlean will be sought after from other AFL clubs…you’ve heard of the dynamic duo right?

St kilda’s own Matt and Simon will be called the ‘marvellous duo’ at Marvel … the Dream Team at RSEA

Just give them a chance and a few more years. We’re on the cusp…seriously!!

[Josh Battle]

……

the club steadily lost sight of the clear goal established by Butterss and GT in favour of a short-term preoccupation with winning a premiership asap


…..

And the short term preoccupation by Lethlean and co has been to try and make us middle of the road asap

Quick fixes and turning over the list with a handful of players (who are closer to the end of their careers rather than being close to their peak form) is ONLY ok for a short term boost to membership. It doesn’t set you up for a premiership

What is likely to happen over the next 3-4 years is a strategy to continue to strive to be middle of the road… because that is most likely going to save people’s jobs at St Kilda

How long should Finnis and Lethlean stay in the same roles? Were they under review when Richo and the assistant coaches and other staff were under review?

[meher baba]

I will stick to my earlier comment. I think we are evolving into a good, competitive side. But I cannot see us winning a premiership with our current list, even if you add Ben King to it (not a move of which I'm particularly in favour, anyway).

Teams that have won premierships have a Formula One engine room: Gawn and Petracca perhaps providing the most stunning illustration of that we have ever seen in a GF.

Teflon, you seem to be hailing Ryder/Marshall and Gresham - and perhaps Jones as the key attacking cogs in the centre, with Steele and Crouch providing a ball-winning, tackling spine. But Ryder has only a couple of years left at best, and, while Gresham appears to have everything that he needs to be a powerful force in the midfield, a question mark remains over his ability to recover from/avoid injury (and, to a lesser extent, the same applies with Jones).

I think we have enough grunt to make finals one or more times in the next few years, but we'd need to have an enormous amount of luck with injuries (no key ones for us, and some key ones for our main rivals) even to make the GF, let alone win it.

Therefore, I think it is reasonable for supporters of the club to take a critical look at the current management and the direction they are taking it. Although, as I have posted earlier, I do not think that GT is necessarily the answer.

[shanegrambeau]

As I always say…it’s all relative.

If other teams around us implode…we go up, if not we miss out.

Someone needs to convince me how a team with so few stars can be that good.

We’ve got a workhorse in Steele.

We’ve got some class in Hill.

Let’s be real…the others are workers who occasionally shine, or shiners who often don’t work because they are broken, injured physically, mentally or have family commitments.

It’s isn’t a strong unit.

And I agree, there was something amiss in our team last year mentally. The frame isn’t a strong one.

Maybe I’m wrong and 2022 will be different. We just resigned Kent and Joyce…that is where we are at. We are carrying Hannebury and we’re forced to buy him…that is also where we are at.

[Josh Battle]

And when you get a thread that asks people to name their ‘best 22’…most people name Hannas in their team

He won’t play more than 10 games and even if we make finals, he might not get up at seasons end

The potential is there for St Kilda to make finals but if we assume that we play to our best over the course of the Home and Away season and we have minimal injuries at the pointy end, then we should assume that other top 8 teams and other top 8 contenders like Richmond/ Freo / Carlton and West Coast could ALSO have minimal injuries.

If they play to their best (especially Dogs, Dees, Port, Geelong, Brisbane and Essendon) and if we play to our best…who has shown they are the stronger teams? I left out the Giants and I reckon they’ll also make top 8 next year.

We can take short cuts and go for the Tahlia’s and the ready made recycled players, but we need to focus on developing our own. We must recruit the very best young talent and build a TEAM that aims to win the Bloody Thing in 3-4 years! If it happens early…like in 2023, then that’s fantastic (but last time I looked, we didn’t have players the caliber of Cyril, Lance, Jordan Lewis, Sam Mitchell, Luke Hodge, Bruest, Shiels, etc..)

[Sanctorum]

Ofcourse 2022 is make it break - with Clarkson there I think it’s critical for Ratten especially to have a good year
Ofcourse it’s good corporate practice to update your board with talent
Question for you is;
1. Larry the dentist appears to have eff all credentials other than big mouth piece backers
2. Do you think dragging the club through the media gutter is the “professional Board” member material we need ???
Good clubs don’t do that.
We are headed straight back to the days of the club being run by “white knight” individuals....it’s 80’s stuff and when these so called “fixers” have had their play we’ll be left to pick up the pieces ....only this time from Tasmania where perhaps (if we allow this trash into our club) we deserve to be.

Living in Brisbane Teflon I wouldn't know Larry the Dentist from a tube of toothpaste or a string of dental floss, nor is that particularly relevant, he'll need to flash his pearly whites and enumerate his credentials so that we can decide whether or not to vote for him, assuming there's a contest for seats on the board.

As for Grant Thomas' interview last week on radio and published in the Hun, "dragging the the club through the media gutter" as you call it, I refer again to the upheavals in recent years at Richmond and Melbourne, when both episodes were widely debated in the media. I doubt that there's a single supporter of these two clubs that looks back to the manner in which change was achieved with an ounce of regret....

Given the 11 years since St Kilda were last in a Grand Final, and most expert commentators openly predicting that our team is unlikely to feature in a GF again in the foreseeable future, I don't mind the slightest that Thomas has "lifted the scab" and questioned the direction that the club is on at present. I'll go even further and express my support for what he is doing because I'm fed up with my footy team just making up the numbers in the AFL year after year.

Finally, I take comfort from the knowledge that Grant Thomas has the backing of Gerry Ryan, a genuine St Kilda man not known for s***-stirring, and who in turn moves in the same circle as some other corporate heavy lifters like billionaire Lindsay Fox.

[Josh Battle]

Sanctorum,

You forget something



This is Saintsational

Do these heavy lifters you speak of measure up to the very high standards of barks4ever and Teflon?

[Teflon]

Sanctorum,

You forget something



This is Saintsational

Do these heavy lifters you speak of measure up to the very high standards of barks4ever and Teflon?

Or Johnny come lately Josh Battles...