PAFC CEO Matthew Richardson

[GremioPower]

Moving the grand final to a US friendly timeslot

 

[GremioPower]

Kevin Foley was leading that charge from the sidelines wasn’t he?

I could never work out where this populist idea that Port being Port was the problem.

Alienating hundreds of thousands of Port people, in a bid to attract hundreds of neutrals who weren’t enamoured by the Crows state branding, but were seemingly clamouring to jump on the abject nothingness of ‘South Coast’?

It is only my personal experience, so take it for what it is, but by 2022 I won’t have a MLB team to support. The Indians will rebrand, and my feeling is that the team I support is being replaced by a new one.

The alienation is real.

 

[GremioPower]

I'll try not to labour the point, but 5 years or so ago when Richo told me why he did what he did back in 2007, he said the board was pushing the changes he thought were wrong ones.

As Ford said in the marketing focus group thread, we tended to take it out on John James but the strategy would have been set by the board and he would have had to carry it out.

Maybe having to do that was unpleasant for him and just as decisive for him wanting to leave, as getting sick of having all those sh*t fights with SANFL and returning to investment industry where he would have gone back to his previous salary or even higher than before joining Port. Your post confirms what Ford wrote and what Richo told me 5 years ago.

By the way, this post you made in May 2008 was spot on.

Port's marketing

Now there is an idea. It is something that we can do but the Crows cannot. I've often thought why the club doesn't do this; every week we'd have at least 5 or 10 thousand spare seats, why not give them to the young'uns? Maybe even give away 1000 each week to begin with (to, say 40 classes)...

www.bigfooty.com

Mate, how things have changed!

I know there are scars from that period, there are some wounds still healing!, but for someone who have arrived after 2013, it sounds like prehistoric records.

It is good to bring them up, so this never EVER happens again.

 

[TheFVK]

lol. No pressure.

You want the top job you gotta wear the big boy pants

 

[backtozero]

Richo should be visualising what he wants his legacy to be when he leaves.
Realistically his success will be measured against 5 objectives:

-Gaining an AFLW team
-Wearing Prison Bars on a regular basis
-Winning a 2nd AFL flag
-Building financial strength (China, sponsorship)
-Alberton Oval upgrade

Our financial strength needs to be built from being able to actually make money from playing football. The fact that we still can't do that is a massive concern.

China should be an added bonus, not a reason for survival.

 

[PA88]

Richo should be visualising what he wants his legacy to be when he leaves.
Realistically his success will be measured against 5 objectives:

-Gaining an AFLW team
-Wearing Prison Bars on a regular basis
-Winning a 2nd AFL flag
-Building financial strength (China, sponsorship)
-Alberton Oval upgrade

I won't measure him by the AFLW. That will happen with or without him.
PB and premierships yes. Financial success from being a serious finals contender, and how Hinkley's tenure is handled.
Sponsorship yes, not necessarily China.
Not being Koch's pawn.

 

[TheFVK]

Our financial strength needs to be built from being able to actually make money from playing football. The fact that we still can't do that is a massive concern.

China should be an added bonus, not a reason for survival.

That's why building financial strength is the goal; the means is up to Richo. China is a potential method to get there, but hey if he manages to renegotiate the stadium deal to something more equitable then all power to him.

I won't measure him by the AFLW. That will happen with or without him.
PB and premierships yes. Financial success from being a serious finals contender, and how Hinkley's tenure is handled.
Sponsorship yes, not necessarily China.
Not being Koch's pawn.

Am I the only one that doesn't give a flying fu** about aflw

No you are not the only one, its complete garbage, but the money gravy train that it provides the club is something we are missing out on. Government's are falling over themselves to do facility upgrades in the name of women's sport and the AFL have positioned themselves to take an uneven and undeserved chunk of it. Watch the Crows/SANFL further benefit from this in the upgrades of Thebarton Oval. For that reason it is a priority.

Never watched a minute of AFLW myself but without a team we risk alienating 50% of potential South Australians supporters and members; it's an enormous concern. The reasons given for not having an AFLW team were resource-based (all our resources were focussed on China, we didn't have the suitable setup at Alberton etc.).

If we have an AFLW team then it's a sign that we've partially fixed those issues so I'd still place it at the top of MR's agenda.

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

Richo should be visualising what he wants his legacy to be when he leaves.
Realistically his success will be measured against 5 objectives:

Richo will probably only be a 4 or 5 year CEO.

Bucky 1992-2004, John James 2004-08, Mark Haysman 2008-2011, KT 2011-2020.

-Gaining an AFLW team

Depends on when AFL wants to expand post covid red ink. 4 clubs don't have a team - Hawthorn, Essendon, Sydney and Port and the AFL probably rate that the order of importance to those side getting a team into the comp. 2022 an 2024. Reckon we wont get an AFLW team until very late in his tenure or after he has left.

-Wearing Prison Bars on a regular basis

Once a year is a minimum. More than once a year is a win. Getting it for ANZAC round would be a massive win.

-Winning a 2nd AFL flag

A must given what the club has put in place the last 4 years or so. Richo didn't drive those changes but he backed them. Ken's contract term will be a key indicator. Given we will receive funds from AFL, any coaches contract termination only means a 6 months payout, pulling the trigger on poor performance will be another key indicator.

-Building financial strength (China, sponsorship)

3 major sponsors GFG - unknown term, MG 5 seasons 2020-24 and KFC 5 seasons 2021-25 is a bloody good base to start from. Selling all hospitality packages at AO will be a good indicator, tapping into defence businesses moving into Port Adelaide / Lefevre Peninsula is another. China - what will Gui do given he has signed up until 2023 but that's mainly to support an annual China game. Tony Shang in Shanghai becomes the key man not Richo on the China front.

-Alberton Oval upgrade

Might be the hardest of the lot to achieve.

 

[PA88]

Might be the hardest of the lot to achieve.

Re - Alberton upgrade. An early entry of a woman's team may accelerate this?

 

[backtozero]

We dropped the ball on AFLW no matter if the club wants to admit it or not, especially for an organisation that changed our core philosophy to include making the community proud. To be one of four clubs not to have a team is not something to be proud of. Hopefully with China out of the way it happens sooner rather than later.

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

Re - Alberton upgrade. An early entry of a woman's team may accelerate this?

If the government largess for women's sports doesn't clam up by the time we get a team.

The Sports Rorts affair isn't fully over. Funding will be harder to get and will be scrutinised more than before.

 

[OneGreatClub]

His latest letter is really good
.
Makes me realise how tired KT was towards the end.

 

[afl2004]

Are we doing a number of premierships by 2020 something , I read it that way in the ceo letter

 

[Ford Fairlane]

We didn't ask Matty about the AFLW team at the focus group meeting but it is clearly a strategic focus for the club moving forward to build its supporter base and engage fully with all fans.

Our entry into the AFLW competition is strategically important, from a football perspective as an AFL Club and also as we build the next generation of Port Adelaide fans and members, we have to accelerate our participation in this competition. Young girls and families are critical to our growth ambitions as we chase our vision of being the biggest team in town. We are making good progress on a planning front also with funding partners and I hope to have more to share on this in the new year.

 

[bringbackbucky]

His latest letter is really good
.
Makes me realise how tired KT was towards the end.

It's pretty clear that Richo is writing his own updates. Definitely not polished by a communications expert.

KT's updates were wrtitten by a senior staff member, until said staff member was let go. From that point on the CE messages attempted to stay on brand and in KT's established voice, but whoever was tasked with job didn't the same punch in their communications (even if at the end it may have been KT himself lol).

 

[Macca19]

Very detailed letter. Hes going to be a great CEO

 

[Duck Farmer]

Not so sure about the Chasing Greatness slogan.

OTOH, a prison bar stonehenge made from 160 y.o. wharf pylons sounds awesome.

 

[Enviable Tradition]

Not so sure about the Chasing Greatness slogan.

OTOH, a prison bar stonehenge made from 160 y.o. wharf pylons sounds awesome.

TBH the chasing greatness slogan was the one thing that me excited.

I'll wait for the detail but to me that symbolizes a return to the club ethos and a booting of the making finals is a success mentality.

On SM-G960F using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[Jonts]

I don't see any scenario where we regularly wear the prison bars in an AFL reserves comp.

If the prison bars are the home jumper for the 1s

 

[Tibbs]

Not so sure about the Chasing Greatness slogan.

OTOH, a prison bar stonehenge made from 160 y.o. wharf pylons sounds awesome.

What's your alternative?

"Maintaining Mediocrity" has a ring to it.

 

[El Zorro]

Chasing Greatness was mentioned at the last focus group. We were asked to keep it confidential but got a good explanation of its meaning. It might have come up when I had a bit of a go at the club about continuing to regularly wheel out "we almost folded in 2010, etc., etc." To me, it means that from now on, we'll stop the excuses and we will strive for greatness, as it is our place as the greatest Australian rules club in the country.

 

[Duck Farmer]

What's your alternative?

"Maintaining Mediocrity" has a ring to it.

Surviving Shitfulness

 

[VineValerian]

Not so sure about the Chasing Greatness slogan.

Achieving Greatness?
Committed to Greatness?
Driving to Greatness?

 

[Duck Farmer]

Achieving Greatness?
Committed to Greatness?
Driving to Greatness?

Actually, Achieving Greatness has a much better ring to it than Chasing Greatness.

 

[HinkleysHeroes]

Actually, Achieving Greatness has a much better ring to it than Chasing Greatness.

We need to chase it before we have achieved it, Achieving greatness will be the slogan in 3 years after our 3-peat.