What's interesting BV is that you state in one post you are sceptical of anything the media posts yet will believe the club is in $6 million debt? Where, other than the media, has it been stated we are currently in that much debt? Additionally, from the media, is the TPA figures - yet again, you believe that without question.
As Giboz says, it's somewhere in between and we, as supporters, aren't privy to all of the facts - and rightly so.
I suggest this has been years in the making as had been alluded to by Millward in his much maligned (at least by some on these forums) statement "...supporters looking for a quick fix."
To clarify - I'm sceptical of 'talk show' type media, where the likes of Kent and Ikin give their opinions on things. It's no more credible than this forum.
The $6m debt has been mentioned several times over the course of the years, and while this may not be the exact figure (over or under) the club has admitted to making large interest payments to the NRL, which indicates that there is a significant debt. And fair enough re: TPAs, I dont actually believe those figures anyway.
There are many other measures of failure within our management that are fact, specifically promises that have been broken. Doust claimed early in 2015 (publically) that there was a business plan in place to remove debt and make us profitable by the end of last year - didnt come to pass (as we were still making debt repayments last year). We were told there was a 'Governance Review' taking place and that the club was aiming for suitable board members with corporate skills to provide balance to the board room - nek minnit, Craig Young. Our COO claimed that we aimed to double our membership from 2013 by the year 2017, which was a monumental failure. And of course, the RGRV 'Strategy', which we were told was targeting increasing our home game attendance and membership over the 4 year deal that failed, was abandoned and swept under the rug.
The whole 'we arent privy to the facts' crap is not a good enough excuse, there are a number of identifiers of our managements failure hiding in plain sight. Hell, the fact that members of the Leagues Clubs (who's board make up the football club) aren't privy to any facts, arent given a say on who makes up the footy club board and arent informed of anything that happens at management level contradicts the very reason that the club exists!!*
Sure, the answer lies 'somewhere in the middle' but the evidence that we do have indicates its closer to the 'fail' end. And no, I'm not after a quick fix at all, I'd love a complete cultural shift in our back room where people are held accountable for their failures and celebrated for their success, where our board is made up of business-minded individuals from different backgrounds who bring diverse and fresh ideas to enhance our club and allow it to thrive, and where actual past experience and success is more important than 'bleeds red and white' when it comes to recruitment.
*again, I recognise that our football department is thriving at the moment.
