Macca

Very good point Gonzo ... doomed to making the same mistakes over and over again because of inherent thinking. Not being able to adapt is one thing but refusing to adapt is another. What North did in the 70's with regards to recruiting is something that we could have easily done if we had the willpower and the forward thinking. We get self satisfied with a taste of winning and then fall away. That's the pattern through the years. Happened again last season.

I'll keep an eye out for it Gonzo So you believe the club backs Norm and then goes to court alongside him in a libel case? A case they can't possibly win. Where the case will be settled out of court. Why would they do that? Doesn't make sense to me. Put the whole club at risk? Sorry, can't agree with that one. IMO if Smith doesn't call Don Blew a cheat then the board would never have sacked him. He gave them a reason to sack him. So if he didn't get sacked then what? Again, only my opinion but he would have simply carried on as coach (albeit with a bit of turmoil with the board) Business as usual. But because of our zones he would have had to find a way to entice talent to the club ... it's interesting that when Norm was Match Committee chairman at North (appointed along with Barassi at the end of 1972) they embarked on a recruiting drive exploiting the 10 year rule as well as raiding the interstate clubs for talent. Perhaps he could have done the same at Melbourne if the atmosphere was more convivial (more so the interstate talent as the 10 year rule didn't come into effect until 1972 into 1973) As it was, he coached through to the end of '67 with us and the list continued to decline. It was a sad end of course but that sad end could have been avoided.

What bird? Haha. Let's just say that that the board would have risked their own reputations (individually) and run the risk of a huge payout (again, as individuals) if they'd agreed to back Smith. Would you do such a thing if you were a board member at the time? The fact is that Don Blew took Smith to court for what can almost certainly be classed as libelous comments (or slander) and then Smith decided to settle out of court (probably on the advice from his legal representation) In effect, Smith ended up paying Blew an agreed amount to make the whole thing go away. I'm guessing he might have had a few sleepless nights wondering why he ever opened his mouth in the first place. Great coach though. Can you imagine if it were to happen now? It sort of did with James Hird (to a much lesser extent) but that cost dear old James a cool $20k Anyway, if you know your history the board decided to not stand by Smith and then in amongst the turmoil decided to sack Smith only to reinstate him a week later. And the board would have been taking a risk by standing by Smith as they'd be by default, agreeing with his slanderous comments. Would they then decide to settle out of court if they backed Smith ... they probably knew way in advance that they could never win a case like that unless they could actually prove that Don Blew was a cheat. I think it's you who doesn't know how to process new information. Smith calling Don Blew a cheat shouldn't be looked at as a flippant act. Quite the contrary actually ... and it turned out that way much to the chagrin of those who hate umpires. It was a huge story at the time as it would be now but again, I maintain that Smith contributed to his own downfall. Not the sort of stuff that suits the narrative but I couldn't care less. Umpires aren't cheats by the way. They don't hate us and they've never had it in for us. They are just trying their best to umpire a largely un-umpirable sport. All the more difficult these days as the sport is more like scramble-ball rather than football.

You sure Gonzo? Your take on it puts a ribbon on the box but all the supposed conflict beforehand didn't stop the club from having a truckload of success. A bit of infighting and conflict never hurt anyone (as long as it doesn't get out of out) To get things done, pats on the back never really works (IMO) Often people need to be challenged to extract the best results. Look at Barassi at Carlton & North ... went really hard at the best players and it worked. Smith coached the same. Didn't suffer fools so it stands to reason he'd be up against the Board. But the court case was the catalyst moment in my opinion. Those who lived through it may disagree but attitudes towards umpires has never been healthy ever since the game had umpires. It's that sort of sport. At a guess, I reckon most would prefer to agree with Smith's assertion of the umpire in question. And I don't. I reckon he was out of line no matter what his inner thoughts were. He should have never said what he said.

And if Smith didn't call Don Blew a cheat the conversation we're having right now may not exist. Smith almost certainly wouldn't have been sacked and who knows, he might have been able to sort out how to produce talent out of our zones. A sliding doors moment all revolving around one word - Cheat.

In a nutshell the board members wouldn't have wanted to stand by Smith (and they didn't) as they themselves would have then been directly associated with Smith's comment that umpire Don Blew was a cheat. What do you think they should have done? Can you imagine any of the current board members standing by Goodwin if he made such a claim? And whatever the laws of the land were at the time doesn't change the fact that Smith was out of line. As it stands, he settled out of court so we could assume that the umpire was at least compensated in part. And by the way, if you remove all prejudice, you might see it my way. Just for a heads-up, I have never had a problem with any umpiring decision, ever. Hard to believe but it is true. I don't view the sport as many others do. For the most part, we've been a poor outfit in my time following the Demons so a few umpiring decisions here and there means diddly-squat to me (in the whole scheme of things)

The laws of libel & slander would have been the reason why the club didn't back Smith when he called the umpire a cheat. It was a silly thing for Norm to do anyway ... a man of his maturity reducing himself down to acting like a blinkered supporter. And why would the Board members hand themselves a criminal record all because a coach has lost the plot. Smith settled with the umpire (out of court) so there's your answer in a nutshell. Great coach all the same. But the truth is the team was becoming weaker because of the zones and Smith (IMO) turned his attention to the lowest common denominator. The umpires. We no longer had carte-blanche for the emerging talent (via the recruiting genius Jim Cardwell) and that continued on until drafting appeared.

I must say that studying the form and discovering new ways of punting is a lot of fun. The 'hope' attached does help of course Wadda. So I have plucked out a series of multi's at Sha Tin today - all with small outlays to win ok amounts. Was it HG who declared that you back the 2nd or 3rd favourite for the place? Multi 'em up to avoid large outlays though. Got a few favourites involved as well. If I can double my total outlay I'll be happy but there's a couple of big dividends in there if luck is on my side. Good luck to all those having a punt today!

Yes, you are right And I believe the club used a fitness advisor during the Smith era ... someone from Europe that was over here for the '56 games (?) Jim Cardwell was the ace recruiter with Ivor Warne-Smith as Norm's right hand man (a GM of sorts) So not much has changed in terms of the Pillars. Amateur to pro era being a major factor though.

Boards are often full of well-to-do-people who have nearly always done very well for themselves in the private sector or in public life. But they need to work well as a collective providing they know what their objective is and whether they have a chance of achieving that objective. As others have pointed out, we've often fallen short at board level but so have a number of other clubs (periodically) The 6 Pillars that are needed for our club emanate from the board ... and right now, if we were to grade our 6 pillars then it's hard to mark any one of those pillar's higher than 6.5 out of 10. And they are all around that mark. We're a bit beige. Maybe Gawn can go to an 8 and lift the others? He's just starting out but we need some strong leadership but that leadership has to be right across the board (so to speak) The home base arrives as a consequence.

All things happen for a reason ... McLean bleating about the tanking ultimately served a decent purpose. We were completely stagnant and going even further backwards in 2012/13 and the massive changes that happened once PJ arrived might not have happened unless we reached rock-bottom. The investigation saw to that. And massive change often only happens when the proverbial hits the fan (big time) But we're still behind a number of clubs with regards to professionalism & having a ruthless winning culture (IMO) The answer is to have top people filling the 6 Pillars required ... Pres, Footy Manager, Coach, Captain, CEO & Chief Recruiter. A top list of players therefore follows as a matter of course. And then you win (hopefully, win big)

Geez ya don't have to be dead to be stiff, Wadda That's a heartbreaker Might take your lead and go the place & win multis tomorrow at Sha Tin. Just a series of small outlays to win a bit. Moreira & Purton are sure to feature

2 winners so far but both have come from the ADATR team. Put the feet up and let my teamates come through with goods As previously stated, Go Santa! .

Well done lads! Got the early double for a very nice 3 figure collect! Come on Santa!

I had Ranier on top along with DZ's pick (Sikorsky) as well. A bit of luck today and we might come out on top. Fingers crossed Wadda! At work today so you blokes might want to give a bit of commentary on proceedings!

Best Bet (Saturday) Morphettville Race 8 No.1 Santa Ana Lane (Place) $2.45

Still a Hayes horse and in fact the horse has won 3 races since the gear change (so to speak) It's racing well and savaging the finishing line these days. A decent G3 horse and I was confident it could win Saturday. It's a striking looking animal and now has prizemoney in excess of $1.2Million. The Goodwood is coming up on Saturday Wadda ... a top field being assembled by the looks of it.

Had a similar day on Saturday Wadda but backed a few winners today to make up for it. And I'm with you with regards to Russian Camelot ... looks a real good stayer in the making. If not already. There were a number of impressive winners at Caulfield on Saturday ... had backed a few of them previously and probably should have stuck with them. News Girl, Shot of Irish & Oasis Girl especially! But I was on So Si Bon at least ... oh the irony!

Best Bet Caulfield Race 4 No.3 Something Silver (Win) $6

You're full of winners today Wadda. The Sunday Specialist I'm reliably told! Multiple nicknames never hurt anyone! Demons Rock indeed ... that's a good start to the day and Zac is 2 from 2. But watch for Moreira in the middle of the meeting ... races 6, 7 & 8.

The odds for all the races are tight to begin with Wadda ... better to wait around until the race you're betting on comes around. Especially the last few races where the odds will drift quite a bit ... and what I'm talking about is not necessarily relatable to racing anywhere else. It's just perculiar to HK racing. I bet there every Sunday and that's the trend. So it's best to wait and if your pick does tighten then that can be looked upon as a good thing as the market often tells the true story I had 'Demon Rocks' picked out as well but not because of any sort of omen bet but because it looks the winner. Currently $4 which might in fact be overs for this particular race. Horses for courses haha

Laddies don't put up the races in Sha Tin until tomorrow Wadda ... and the odds aren't up until 12noon sometimes Go to Racenet.com and then click on Sunday then Sha Tin. Mig Energy is in Race 5 but it has drawn barrier 14. Former Australian galloper. But that race is a wide open affair with any number of chances ... exotics (?) I've done the form for Sha Tin and my best bet is R6 No.4 - Excel Delight (Moreira) ... currently $3.50 on one of the HK betting markets but bound to shorten.

The players get 28% of 'Budgeted' income (or thereabouts) ... not actual income. And the money is guaranteed. The only way for that to change is for the players to give some leeway or ... not pay them and let the whole thing play out in the courts. It's highly unlikely that the latter option would happen but some of the clubs may go to the wall unless they start getting some real income in. As it stands, the clubs are forking out at least a half a million dollars and up to a million dollars per month - ongoing. Coaching staff salaries & FD costs included. As well as Admin costs, CEO salary etc etc. And they are going broke in the process as the income has slowed to a trickle. Ongoing contracts are guaranteed as well. So we pay the players & coaches but the clubs go broke. It's any wonder that they want to play the games asap. But take away the guaranteed salaries and there's no such haste. A money decision disguised as a goodwill measure. But why wouldn't the AFL take out some sort of insurance or have an 'Act of God' clause. Why wouldn't they protect themselves? Looking ahead they will but that ship has sailed for now and now the AFL has had to take out a $600Million loan. Which will need to be paid back. And the next broadcast rights contract may not be as lucrative as previous broadcast rights. So considering the league and clubs are not-for-profit organisations, it seems a bit odd that extreme amounts of outgoing monies are 'Guaranteed'.

I've got a very nice Giclee print of Dali's 'Christ of Saint John of the Cross' Quite a striking portrayal. And 'Money Heist' looks very interesting DZ ... there's some more decent lockdown viewing! There's a lot of great European Drama about ... I especially liked 'The Bridge' (Bron/Broen) A joint Swedish/Danish production. Modern day 'Noir' But I've come across about 20 drama series out of Europe that are worth looking at.

Ancestry has come into $2 for the place but I reckon it's a very good chance to win ... so much so that I'm on the horse @ 8.50 (Wed early odds) Likes the wet too. And James Jordan has picked Garner & Away Game. The latter choice will almost certainly lead and you can just see the horse scooting away on the turn with that light weight. Garner is a good horse. JJ has also selected November Dreaming (R5 No.13) & Toffee Tongue (R7 No.9) Those 4 saluting will pay very well in a multi ... worth a coffee outlay! Expresso please! I picked all 4 choices myself on Wed night so I'm all in on JJ's 4 selections. Jungle Edge in the last (?) ... it's at least a place chance on an (expected) heavy track. Good luck Wadda & Salvador!