Just following up on a thought i had.

We are in the red somewhere in the $6m-$7m region, after writing down assets that were overinflated on the books in the first place, and then devalued because of the move of home grounds.

The stands are still valued on the books at $3m, and I would expect further write downs there (depending on what happens redevelopment wise), but at $3m they can be probably written off a little more slowly.

I was thinking that our stated financial position probably pretty much reflects were we are right now, for the first time since at least the legends stand was built. The move is out of the way, we've paid the fines from the past administration and had time to sort out new sponsorship deals.

I think it's time to evaluate the Collins administration from now on. The next financial results should include at least a moderate operating profit and a small debt reduction. I suppose I'm trying to say that if we have a poor financial performance this year then Collo has run out of excuses from the position the club was in when he took over.

I just wanted to get other peoples thoughts on this, or am i missing something?

Dont know about the debt reduction but am absolutely certain that the current figures do show a positive operating profit not taking into account abnormals.

_________________
"Hence you will not say that Greeks fight like heroes but that heroes fight like Greeks"?

Winston Churchill

yeah they do, that's why I think there should also be an operating profit this year. And if there is an operating profit, you'd think at least some of it would be put towards paying debt.

Fair enough comments....Collo has outlined the financial position and appears to have been straight with the figures.
Its not pretty reading but at least he hasnt tried to fudge the books or make out its all rosy. The position he inherited was equivalent to being made captain of the Titanic as it was on the way down and I am prepared to cut him some slack while he tries to dig us out of the mess.
On field success should bring in some more members/sponsors etc and I think Collo needs to sign up Denis Pagan long term so the members we have can feel confident enough to keep signing up every year.

I'd like to know the alternatives to Collo??...I dont see any on the horizon...I agree he needs to be accountable and the we have to start rebuilding the finances but i think we need to have some faith in him for now......I'm sure Surrey will have an opinion on Collo's prowess in the money area

Elwood and others, contrary to public opinion, I think Collo is doing a good job, not an excellent job, but a good job and off field will lift Carlton back to where we belong.

This is where I felt he has been let down and have stated accordingly in the past;
1. Black Friday. He opened us up by going for a swim with Demefroot and the AFL sunk him in head first. He should have seen it coming and defended better.
2. Major Sponser in 2004. Big let down and no excuses.
3. Moving from OO. Handled extremely Elliott like and not in best interests of anyone. Won't go further.
4. Continuously speaking out about us being ready to close our doors and portraying the club in such a way through the media. How the hell did he expect to capture a major sponser.
5. Finally, home ground selection. Most know my thoughts on this and will not recap but unfortunately the truth will never be revealed, or will it?

Collo is the king of spin not Shane Warne.

Very harsh judgement on Collo.
I agree on point 1, the problem was that he got jarred on that one.

I wouldn't paint it as black as that Surrey, although I agree he's doing a good job not a great one. I guess my point of view is that he can't really use the past as an excuse now if the administration doesn't perform. Not really sure if I made myself clear on that one.

The massive write-downs are the result of the Boards decision to leave OO. Whatever the sins of the previous administration, the current Board must now be considered responsible for our financial position.

Most of those were outside his control.

Surreyblue, think you should point the finger at the AFL and not Collo for not securing a major sponsop in 2004. With the least amount of free to air coverage last year of all AFL clubs then you have very little to offer a potential sponsor in terms of exposure. The AFL used the fixture to force us away from Optus Oval by giving us very few Friday/Saturday night games and around half of our interstate games last year wer'ent even broadcast on free to air tv.

The AFL simply wanted us to move away from Optus and used the fixture to force our hand.

Collo is not solely responsible for capturing a major sponsor. The CEO, Finance/Marketing departments are responsible for this. Remember, Collo is in a voluntary role as Carlton President, his time is split with TD. Surely full-time employees of Carlton such as the CEO are more responsible for the day-to-day running of the club. This is no one man band.
Agree with above that the lack of FTA TV killed us. But thats because we had only won 7 games in 2 years and were playing day games at Optus.

Collo IMO has been super for the club in that he and Pagan are bringing a disciplined, professional and united culture back to the club.
THANK GOD FOR DENIS AND COLLO

This year is a big test for the administration:

1. Contracts - Pagan, Whitnall, Walker (and others) to be negotiated. These are very important and will impact on the teams future going forward. Collo has been very tough on the players, and uncompromising, with almost no losses (although Houligan's almost exit was a concern)

2.Operating profit - no excuses from here on in. Collo got all he wanted - new home ground, better draw, more exposure, and now some victories. Remember we are all ready $110k better off, and on Saturday could be $220k better off. An operating profit, of some magnitude,is a must.

3.No more bad news from Elliott. LIke the Liberal party, Collo has had the ability to point the bone at the former administration. But like the Liberals, this wears thin eventually. I think that this is year zero, and that excuse is no longer available. The administration must now stand on its own.

4.Collo's conflict on interest. Now that theDome is home, Collo must manage the move carefully. Members must not be disadvantaged and if there are matters that need to be argued, Collo must not shy away from it. If he can't do it, he must stand down.

We are starting the march back home, to where we belong, Victorious and playing Finals football, and Collo and this administration must now match the deeds of our own field heroes. No more excuses.

_________________
"Two roads diverged in a wood,
and I,
I took the one less travelled by,
and that has made all the difference."

Robert Frost

Personally I'm sick of Collo crying poor, I understand why he needs to do it, but I think it puts off as many people as it gains and it makes us look bad, not the proud club we should be.

How much did he and Stephen Gough leaving the club have to do with the Elliott regime losing the plot? He and Elliott made a pretty good outfit at some stage. Would we have still ended up where we were 2002-03 if Collo and Gough hadn't left the club?

_________________
"The ability to speak doesn't make you intelligent." Qui-Gon Jinn 15-05-2005

"there’s more chance of me becoming the full forward for the [Western Bulldogs] than there is of any change in the Labor Party." Julia Gillard 18-05-2010

Look, the debt that we have been saddled with is due to the development of the Legends Stand. Which if had of been left as originally planned would have increased the capacity of Optus Oval to 45,000.

This was planned well before Docklands was mooted. The Melbourne City Council then cut back the development so capacity was then reduced to 35,000 which made the ground a bit like Bob Cunis (neither one thing or another ).

If it had of been left at its original 45,000 there probably would have been less economic justification to build Docklands and if it was never built we would have been sitting pretty.

Stephen Gough was CEO during the time of its original building and Ian Collins during his tenure as our CEO before Gough always dreamed of developing Optus Oval into a fully seated stadium.

Once the AFL said they were going to participate in the Docklands Stadium Optus Oval was doomed and they were going to shaft us anyway they could to get us out of there.

All John Elliott was trying to do during his final days was to protect the investment the club made in their own stadium. This contributed to our poor financial position.

The poor list management issue whilst unforgiveable is unrelated.

_________________
"Hence you will not say that Greeks fight like heroes but that heroes fight like Greeks"?

Winston Churchill

I noticed from the games that were replayed on ff over summer from 2002-3 how often we were on FTA compared to 2004.