well... much has changed in my absence today. many things said, many things learned.
firstly, i'd like to make a comment about the supposed "coup" at The Mark Hotel in Lambton. i rocked up expecting to find a legion of rabbid members looking for blood. sadly (and i say that ironically), not the case. after purchasing a beer and sitting myself down i got talking to one of the few blokes that had rocked up at this stage - around 5:40 - and we got speaking about the current situation. i wasn't shocked to find he had some very pro-Tinkler sentiments, but ultimately i talked him around to being a bit more skeptical and craving more information to make an informed opinion on the subject. that or he just couldn't refute me, so didn't bother. the rest of the "mob" filtered in over the next 30 minutes or so while i was having said conversation, the media were on the scene in force and probably made up about 15-20% of the accumulated total of people who ended up there (which wouldn't have topped 70 or 80 i wouldn't think, maybe a little more). one bloke, who i believe was from 2NUR was sort of joining in on the conversation and was completely, 100% for my line of thinking. needless to say, i was very impressed. i basically said hi to the guy because i noticed he was listening in and i was in the process of sh*tbagging the media. he took no offence, had a bit of a laugh and continued to muse over the absurdness of the Tinkler offer with me for a little while. he got a few quotes off me later, but our interview was cut short by old matey who was running the meeting deciding what he had to say was more important, which it ended up completely not being at all - but i'll get to that.
basically the general sentiment i tried to spread around was one of caution, and to ask more questions of both sides so we can get a proper, informed opinion. i spoke to some very interesting people possessed of interesting, thought provoking, revealing and occasionally radical notions. fortunately there were some like-minds around. there were many alarmists, though.
now onto the petition. for starters - it wasn't to sack the board... or anything of the sort. it was to demand that both proposals get put before the members in an extraordinary meeting - with all parties concerned present (knights admin and tinkler) to have their say. i felt this was a completely reasonable request, and good on him for trying to get the petition done. unfortunately, in between sounding the trumpet for the meeting at the Mark Hotel and the time the meeting took place, the Knights actually announced that such a meeting will be held at EAS (minus Tinkler) next Monday, so it sort of made the whole thing redundant, really. i got to have a few brews and leave work early, so that was cool and fine by me i guess.
so, i don't know what is going to be in the Herald tomorrow, but it wasn't the start of a coup by any definition i could see. it was a request for answers, to be certain, but it was just that and nothing more at this stage.
i'd also like to address Karma regarding the agendas and vendettas. i've also maintained that it's just so convenient that there are so many external pressures on the Knights. at the end of the day, i feel the current administration has done a good job in a lot of areas, but made some fatal flaws along the way. one of them being pissing off large chunks of the entire community bit by bit. whether it could have been avoided or not, well that's cause for a whole other debate. i'd prefer to treat this buyout on its own merit. i believe Burro to be an astute businessman, but probably not a likeable person, and probably not someone that is actually pleasant to do business with. probably the Brian Smith of CEO's, really (although outside of football, Smith comes up time and time again as a top bloke from first hand accounts i've heard). technically very good, but not so great with people - or he just truly doesn't give a f**k what others think. that is normally an attribute i very much admire - but there is a time and a place for it... or more accurately it probably isn't suited to all business positions, especially where PR and other human relations with sponsors and a total reliance on virtual handouts from your immediate community are concerned. this is an opinion developed through observation of the knowledge and opinions i have access to, not first hand information.
