Readers will recall the stunningly prophetic vision for the Richmond Football Club released in 2010 that has proven to be eerily accurate.
It has galvanised action, bound the club together, and driven success.
The Collingwood Football Club needs something similar.
How about a vision of winning two AFL men’s premierships by the end of this decade, being in the top-four consistently from 2025 onwards, and making the finals regularly from 2023?
For the Collingwood AFLW team: what about winning a premiership by 2024?
Having 100,000 members by the end of this decade could also be part and parcel of this vision.
Of course, having a vague vision is not enough. It needs to be backed up by a strong, robust plan that covers the next ten years, with some clear markers.
For starters, such a plan could embody the following:
1. Sell hope, not hype
Be aspirational but realistic about where the club is at, and what a viable road map to success looks like.
2. Involve the members in the development of the vision
Develop a vision that involves significant and ongoing member and supporter input and report regularly to members on its progress, including honest appraisal of areas that are falling short.
3. Manage finances prudently
Included here is the need to manage the salary cap effectively by placing caps within caps – pay players for sustained performance, not on the back of one stellar season, or potential, or perceived market value or manager inflated guesses.
Stop the absurd practice of paying part salaries of departing players, which does not occur in any other industry. If players do not accept these parameters, then that is just the way it must be (see point four).
4. Strengthen the fabric
Do not make decisions that will endanger the morale of the playing group and the club more broadly.
To see Adam Treloar warmly embraced before, after and what appeared to be during the Round 1 clash with the Bulldogs told us exactly what we needed to know.
(Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
5. Stick to core business
Focus on winning premierships.
While commentary on all manner of social issues is well and good and important, they are not the core business of the club.
However, it is important to keep up automatically, through deeds, with community expectations on inclusion, respect and responsibility.
6. Be bold in recruitment and player development
Look for players with X-factor, backed up by strong support systems for player development. Recruit for need.
It is blatantly obvious that the pressing need is for outside run, an extractor in the middle, a key forward and crumbing goal kicker or two.
7. Be inclusive in all aspects
This is for both on-field and off-field, including recruitment of Indigenous players on-field, and off-field a more diverse representation in staff, management and board levels, commensurate with the general population.
8. Have fixed terms
Fixed terms and term limits for board members, directors and the President should be in place and seek a stronger mix on the board of corporate and non-corporate representatives: the grassroots need a direct voice.
9. Have positions filled on the basis of competitive selection
For all key positions at the club, including coaching staff, ensure that the best is selected following a rigorous, transparent, competitive process open to external and internal candidates.
Fresh ideas and perspectives from outside are important. Without having the statistics, a number of premierships, if not most, have been won by coaches who did not play for a particular club.
10. Enhance the club experience
Provide better streaming services, more useful injury reports (although this is getting better), timely and enhanced information, among some of the measures.
11. Learn from the best
If this is not already happening, then the club needs to learn from the best.
This means swallowing their pride and looking at the likes of what Richmond have done as a basis for emulation. Traditional thinking that this club is the best needs a strong reality check.
A clear-eyed, aspirational but realistic vision is what this club desperately needs.
While the review the club conducted a while back was possibly useful, apart from 2018, very little has changed, it appears.
Reviews are important when allied to sustained change and in the context of a broader vision.
bagley
Roar Rookie
Yes, I remember that article, agreed with many points made.
Thom Roker
Roar Guru
Hawthorn were utter crap until the late 50s. Have a read of my articles about Coaching Trees. It wasn’t luck. They professionalized in an era where the the comp was half amateur. They had money to burn too, so while their zone was prolific they poached players and brought them in from interstate. In the recent Premiership run, you can credit several years of poor performances, Alastair Clarkson and Graham Wright for putting together a winning list. Gary Ablett leaving Geelong also helped.
Thom Roker
Roar Guru
Balme was at Geelong before he went to Collingwood. The man is a genius when it comes to organizing a footy department. He flipped the Cats from not even making finals to winning the Grand Final by a million goals.
bagley
Roar Rookie
Amazing how much luck Hawthorn have had over the last 50 years, must have been the zones before the draft was implemented, lucky luck luck luck!
bagley
Roar Rookie
The fortunes of Richmond and Collingwood seemed to change with the relocation of Neil Balme, it will be interesting to see if the Tigers can keep their stars on the park this year as their style of play is very demanding physically ,the shorter quarters were an advantage to them last year.
Maxy
Roar Rookie
The way he goes about talking about ex employers dont think he will ever get a job anywhere else,think he wants to drive a few more daggers in the back of Bucks before he goes out
Charlie Keegan
Roar Guru
Merrett won’t sign to Collingwood. He’s more likely to stay at Essendon than sign for Collingwood haha
Charlie Keegan
Roar Guru
Well they start by going down to the local dentures clinic and see if they can cut a deal.
Kevo
Roar Rookie
Great vision there Chip, founded on solid ground. Like all your points, but hope over hype really grabbed me, although I would also say that about the AFL as a whole. I would also like to see a priority placed on having the very best medical and psychological facilities in the league. I think both are connected to losing too many players to injury, and psychologically and culturally we need to be better than just to discard loyal sons like Treloar to the scrap heap, better than not being able to mentor and handle Stevenson's behavioral and immaturity issues, and better than having star quality like DeGoey playing like a sook.
Kevo
Roar Rookie
Also haven't seen Richmond or West Coast in the headlines for having racial or cultural issues
Kevo
Roar Rookie
Recruiting Indigenous players is bringing the best talent to the club and enhancing culture. The best teams have a healthy percentage of elite indigenous talent, and their type of skill is exactly what Collingwood need to bring our game plan out of the defensive dark ages. Take the Indigenous fellas out of Richmond and West Coast and the last 4 grand final would look very different. Also the writer seems to be suggesting an administrative change as well.
Kevo
Roar Rookie
I've been concerned since day 1 of the decrease in the Indigenous presence under Buck's tenure. Felt this was the opposite under Mick and was a real positive indicator for the club. Surprising as Buckley had a lot of Indigenous connection from his years in Darwin.
Kevo
Roar Rookie
Haven't read the articles but very salient points you mention, particularly the creative thinking. A distorted imbalance of fat egos and yes men.
Thom Roker
Roar Guru
Well, let's look at the three eras in isolation. After Collingwood's flag, they changed coaches, got worse every year, traded away half their best players, got good for 3 seasons and now they are where they are. Hawthorn were rubbish for ages, got some concessions and a heap of high draft picks, managed to luck onto a generational coach, then went on to win 4 flags in 8 seasons. Yet even then they had to sell Buddy to afford to keep everyone together to go 3 straight. The selloff of Mitchell and Lewis was for different reasons, with Sam looking for an assistant position and Jordan went for more money. Richmond have gone in a third direction, moving out fringe players and replacing them at the draft. So far so good. I don't know that there is much else to compare. Sidey and Pendles just don't see like trade bait to me.
Mooty
Roar Rookie
“Pendles and Sidey aren’t going anywhere they have their flags” Is that more Collingwood attitude that they are champions with nothing left to prove. Compare that to the three peating Hawthorn team and the current Richmond team who keep on achieving
Greg Moran
Guest
And change the line in the theme song that says 'the premiership's a cakewalk for the good old Collingwood'. Its an anachronism, extremely arrogant, out of touch and frankly an embarrassment. History has shown that we lose GFs, we don't win them, by a factor of 2 to 1. I think we should change it too 'the premiership is calling to the good old Collingwood'. It would better reflect our culture and
Bangkokpussey
Roar Rookie
Recruit Brian Cook for 2022.
Peter the Scribe
Roar Guru
Open your version of Excel 96 and then accidentally hide one column with Dayne Beams salary. Whoops. How did I miss that column? Ned, update your Excel.
Sneed
Guest
Am I the only one who thinks points five and seven are mutually exclusive? You can recruit to fill a hole in the squad or you can recruit to fit your diversity quotas. You'd have to be extremely lucky to find players that fit both.
J.T. Delacroix
Guest
How do you become a ‘list boss’ in the first place?