http://afl.com.au/default.asp?pg=news&s ... eid=282178


500,000 grant
1.5M loan to be repaid by Oct 2008 (tight timeline!) and Fitzy as AFL's independent obsever....mehopes "contributor"

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“Every single element of the Club has to be the best in the league, meticulously and methodically, and only by doing this will we be elite and challenge for number 17.”
Greg Lee

I like this bit 'The AFL will provide independent financial advisors to work with the club, while AFL commissioner Mike Fitzpatrick – a former Carlton premiership skipper – will attend board meetings as an independent observer.'

Fitzy can get a real feel for who contributes and who doesn't before deciding on who goes in his ticket

Could have been az lot worse - they could have put Ron Evans in there

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I'm shocked to be sitting here

Well, that's one way to get Fitzy back to the club

Pay back the $1.5million - what $1.5million.

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

Winston Churchill

My feelings exactly, I think that's been a real good result...win for us really

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“Every single element of the Club has to be the best in the league, meticulously and methodically, and only by doing this will we be elite and challenge for number 17.”
Greg Lee

Long time coming after what happened to him last go around Kenny.

Good news all round. At least they where smart enough to put at Carlton person on the board.

Now we have the handout it is time for the current board to pull there finger out and show some improvement at the club. I would like to see what the future will be.

So let me get this right, they are giving us $500,000 - but get use of our ground pretty much when they want it - that's worth $500,000 anyway isn't it? Then they loan us $1.5m while giving other clubs the same amount of money without having to pay it back. Yep, pretty level playing field to me.

I guess the main thing is that we get out of this and move up, don't get me wrong on that point. But lets hope a generous benefactor appears soon?

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Between our dreams and actions lies this world

Two real pluses are the $500k grant and the interest free nature of the $1.5m. That's about $600k cash for us over a year that we wouldn't otherwise have.

Didn't someone say something about the Board trying to tip in some money last night? Hope that came up with something. Get the $7m down to $3m or so and its a lot easier to manage.

But the best bit is Fitzpatrick - on a free loan from Big Andy. Good ideas, and most welcome down at the Club. perhaps his directorship at the AFL was on ly a secondment from us to start with!?

pretty good news all round.

most happy with the fitzy news, good to have him involved

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SMFC 1959 : ONE LIFE, ONE LOVE, ONE CLUB

Not sure how this will work conflict of interests all round here. Fitzpatrick as an AFL Commissioner will only have the AFL best interests as his primary driving objective - he is a pretty straight up and down guy, I wouldnt think he would work as a 'double agent' - interesting times ahead, last time the AFL did something like this was when Allan Schwab was sent in to the Sydney Swans in the late 80s early 90s and they were a basket case.

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

Winston Churchill

yes, Agro, that's a problem, and the idea of a creditor being on the Board normally means its all over before you begin....

But we'd have to trust that Fitzpatrick would have just as much vested in the Blues as he would his Directorship? I'm sure his Directorial responsibilities must, and will, take priority, however, his nomination tells me they're serious about helping us out. He would have been everyone's first or second choice, surely? And further, he wouldn't have accepted the nomination if he didn't want to do it.

I think its a good start. I can see Fitzpatrick staring down the nobodies and being very supportive to the idea generators. Greg lee must be erect at the moment.

M

He can wind up being a bit of a lone gunman can our Mike.

I can't understand what/why these nobodies are doing on the board!!!

We voted them in.

M

So should we get onto the hookers and druggiess Agro?

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“Every single element of the Club has to be the best in the league, meticulously and methodically, and only by doing this will we be elite and challenge for number 17.”
Greg Lee

Its been a long time since I took Company Law - but Fitzy is only an independent observer not an actual member of the board - he would not have any fiduciary or financial duty as normal directors of a board. But in any case we should hope as a former premiership captain and player that he will have the best interest of the club at heart regardless of ulterior motives of "The Spew" and Co.

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

Winston Churchill

Agreed. And if the board is functional, Fitzy can contribute ideas, and if it's not warn the AFL so that appropriate action is taken. This deal seems to me like an honest attempt by the AFL at helping the club without pissing other clubs off.

The AFL wants us to be viable, and that has to be a good thing. And if the current board aren't up to it then bad luck. I hope they are, but have no evidence to base that on over the past 4 years.

Interesting to note that the AFL is calling it a "financial and management assistance package".

Looks like they have concerns about the board too.