South's New Coach - Ron Fuller

[Choccies]

Hopefully having the same group of players together again will bear fruit also... There has been a pretty busy revolving door over the last few years so some consolidation here can only help. I'll be behind them in 2010 in hope once again !!

[Browny25]

They'd be keen to start pre season now i'd think!

[pale ale]

I have been one of the unhappy supporters at South but I agree this is a good appointment.
5 years and full time is a great decision.
I hope Ron is strong enough to realise that he needs to bring in all new blood to the coaching panel and the Club supports him, just like Jack did but this time leave him alone to get on with the job and if any of the Players are unhappy then move them on, plenty of good players out there and not many good coaches....

And a message to the Board and Committee - LEAVE RUNNING THE FOOTBALL TO HIM and honour his contract for 5 years no matter what happens in the short term...
Rant finished

[Barto]

And a message to the Board and Committee - LEAVE RUNNING THE FOOTBALL TO HIM and honour his contract

South have far from been alone in the past in that regard. Never understood why some football clubs boards meddle in the on field operations.

[Jackal]

Good appointment for South...I wonder how many Eagles players will follow him to Noarlunga?

[MightyEagles]

Good appointment for South...I wonder how many Eagles players will follow him to Noarlunga?

A couple maybe.

[southee]

What a fantastic appointment for the SAFC!!!

At last a bit of positive news for the year.

Now - the club, board, officals, sponsors and supporters need to get right behind Ron. He has one hell of a task to get South competitive again.....lets hope he goes in there and shakes it up a bit. Not committed to South????....theres the door!!!

Can the board now please, please , please....stay out of the coaching business. Let Ron do his job and keep your bloody noses out of it!!!! Let Ron do his job without interference.

Hope we can gain a few more quality players for 2010 and mould in a tight, competitive unit.

Patience is needed Southee's......

"It wont happen overnight......but it will happen"

Well done Ron and looking forward to the future at South for the next 5 years......

[Lunchbox Legend]

This appears to be a good appointment. The ex football operations committee members are probably p!ssed off that Ron isn't a south boy thou!
Will the club continue with the current theme of local talent?
This is the right way to go but it will take time.
If this is the case much more work must be put into the local leagues.
The club must realise this and do things properly. Unfortunately I don't think that they have any idea how to do so.
I still can't see south going to the top with some of the people that they currently have in crucial positions.
I hope that south members don't sit back and think that all is fixed. Remember that the same CEO and board members are still there. Demand performance from them. If they aren't doing the right thing get rid of them - do not tolerate substandard performance.

[Choccies]

This appears to be a good appointment. The ex football operations committee members are probably p!ssed off that Ron isn't a south boy thou!
Will the club continue with the current theme of local talent?
This is the right way to go but it will take time.
If this is the case much more work must be put into the local leagues.
The club must realise this and do things properly. Unfortunately I don't think that they have any idea how to do so.
I still can't see south going to the top with some of the people that they currently have in crucial positions.
I hope that south members don't sit back and think that all is fixed. Remember that the same CEO and board members are still there. Demand performance from them. If they aren't doing the right thing get rid of them - do not tolerate substandard performance.

Something about Dave Flanagan at the helm worries me.....

[southee]

This appears to be a good appointment. The ex football operations committee members are probably p!ssed off that Ron isn't a south boy thou!
Will the club continue with the current theme of local talent?
This is the right way to go but it will take time.
If this is the case much more work must be put into the local leagues.
The club must realise this and do things properly. Unfortunately I don't think that they have any idea how to do so.
I still can't see south going to the top with some of the people that they currently have in crucial positions.
I hope that south members don't sit back and think that all is fixed. Remember that the same CEO and board members are still there. Demand performance from them. If they aren't doing the right thing get rid of them - do not tolerate substandard performance.

Something about Dave Flanagan at the helm worries me.....

Agree with that comment......

[mighty_tiger_79]

Q & A with Panthers CEO Ben Kavenagh
sportAustralian Rules/Footy29 Sep 09 @ 08:04am by Jai Bednall

HOT SEAT: Ben Kavenagh says the Panthers are moving forward
AFTER another tumultuous week at the Panthers, South CEO Ben Kavenagh speaks to Jai Bednall about where the
club is heading.

JB: Why did the club sack Clay Sampson?

BK: ``We instigated a review with Clay a few months ago. The early stages of that review brought to light a couple of areas Clay still had room for growth in. They formed the KPI’s (key performance indicators) we’ve been using over the last six to eight weeks. Clay’s been presenting on those to the board every couple of weeks and last Thursday gave his final presentation on how he planned to take the club forward. We met with Clay Wednesday morning to advise him that we didn’t feel he was the best man for the job taking us forward. And that was based on the fact he couldn’t display to us a really clear plan on how he was going to take the club forward.’’

JB: Do you expect any back lash from the players following the decision?

BK: ``We met with the players last (Thursday) night. Most of the guys have been very accepting of it. There’s some that have expressed some disappointment. But the players have accepted it. Any issues they had they raised last night and they’ve made a pact as a group that from this point on they move on.’’

JB: What about members?

BK: ``I don’t think so. In the discussions we’ve had so far people have been accepting of it. I think when we can display to the members that we are bringing in a good coach, some recruits, I think they’ll look forward to next year with a fair bit of enthusiasm.

JB: Do you think the time it has taken to make a decision on Sampson’s future has left the club at a disadvantage, given several other SANFL clubs have already been through the process of interviewing and appointing new coaches?

BK: ``We don’t. There’s a pretty big merry-go-round going on with AFL assistant coaches at the moment and some of those might miss out, so we may be just a little bit opportune as to what pops up at this point.’’

JB: You’ve enlisted John Reid and Ron Fuller to help find Sampson’s successor. How did you go about getting them involved?

BK: ``We’ve been dealing with John Reid for a couple of months now. We were desperately hoping that Clay would work out and looked at having John Reid as a support for him. And similarly with Ron Fuller, we approached him about a month ago as well, to see if Clay was reappointed whether he would’ve been willing to help Clay along as well. Once we came to a decision after the board meeting on Monday night that he wouldn’t be the best person to take us forward, we immediately contacted those two guys to see if they would still be willing to help us.’’

JB: Could Reid and Fuller stay involved in some capacity after the new coach is named?

BK: ``It’s possible. Ideally we’d like to think we could bring in somebody with the experience and the plan to drive the place forward on his own accord. If we were to bring in an inexperienced coach then we would like to think those two guys might make themselves available, if that coach so desired, to be involved as well. So we haven’t ruled it out, but at the moment the focus is on finding the best possible coach.’’

JB: Would the club consider Ron Fuller if he put his hand up?

BK: ``Ron Fuller has categorically ruled himself out. He’s made a commitment to his partner that he is going on an extended overseas trip next year and we respect that.’’

JB: When do you hope to select the new coach?

BK: ``Applications close Monday. We’re hoping to get some applications in as soon as (this) week and we’ll get on with interviewing those guys straight away. We want to make this call within the next three to four weeks tops and really get on with things.’’

JB: Will there be pressure on the new coach to lead the side in to a finals series by 2011, as outlined in the club’s newly-released strategic plan?

BK: ``All applicants for our job will be getting a copy of our strategic plan and they’ll get an understanding of what it is we are striving to deliver. As a part of their presentations we would be looking for them to display to us how they can ensure that we do play finals no later than 2011.’’

JB: Do you think you’ve created a situation at South where players, coaches and support staff won’t want to come to the club anymore?

BK: ``I don’t think so. I think the fact we’ve retained pretty much every player on our list this year and the fact we’ve already brought in two recruits by the end of September suggests it still is an attractive place to come. We acknowledge we’re on the bottom of the ladder, we acknowledge we’ve still got a hell of a lot of work to do but we’re also buoyed by a few of those positives that are going on at the moment.

JB: You don’t think the reason most of your list has re-signed is because they would struggle to get a game at any other SANFL club?

BK: ``I don’t think that at all. We acknowledge that we’ve got a long way to go but I’m sure there would be a number of players that would get games at other clubs. I can tell you a number of our players have been approached by other clubs, but because of that bond between them and their belief in where we’re going, that’s probably been the biggest driver in why they’re still there.

JB: Will the board, and you as CEO, fall on your sword if the goals in the strategic plan aren’t met?

BK: ``We actually think they’re realistic goals. And what we’ve got to do as a board is continually challenge ourselves and challenge the club… Every now and then external factors might come in to some (aims) that might make them difficult, but we’ll deal with those things when they pop up. The fact we’re putting these things in writing to the greater public, only puts all the more pressure on us to ensure that we deliver them.’’

JB: How are you travelling personally? Are you still happy in the job?

BK: ``I signed a three-year deal 12 months ago so I’ve got two years to run on that. It’s certainly had its challenges but I’ve just got such a strong belief about where we’re going. I’m very buoyed about the things we’ve outlined in the strategic plan and really look forward to delivering those. Assuming we can deliver those we really set ourselves up to be a really strong club that would certainly give our members and me personally enormous satisfaction.

[Lunchbox Legend]

This appears to be a good appointment. The ex football operations committee members are probably p!ssed off that Ron isn't a south boy thou!
Will the club continue with the current theme of local talent?
This is the right way to go but it will take time.
If this is the case much more work must be put into the local leagues.
The club must realise this and do things properly. Unfortunately I don't think that they have any idea how to do so.
I still can't see south going to the top with some of the people that they currently have in crucial positions.
I hope that south members don't sit back and think that all is fixed. Remember that the same CEO and board members are still there. Demand performance from them. If they aren't doing the right thing get rid of them - do not tolerate substandard performance.

Something about Dave Flanagan at the helm worries me.....

Agree with that comment......

Col Francis is a bigger worry. How long has he been a part of all the stuff ups down there?

[southee]

This appears to be a good appointment. The ex football operations committee members are probably p!ssed off that Ron isn't a south boy thou!
Will the club continue with the current theme of local talent?
This is the right way to go but it will take time.
If this is the case much more work must be put into the local leagues.
The club must realise this and do things properly. Unfortunately I don't think that they have any idea how to do so.
I still can't see south going to the top with some of the people that they currently have in crucial positions.
I hope that south members don't sit back and think that all is fixed. Remember that the same CEO and board members are still there. Demand performance from them. If they aren't doing the right thing get rid of them - do not tolerate substandard performance.

Something about Dave Flanagan at the helm worries me.....

Agree with that comment......

Col Francis is a bigger worry. How long has he been a part of all the stuff ups down there?

Even when Colin Francis is gone they will stuff him and put him in the foyer at the club.....and we will still have problems!!!!

[Lunchbox Legend]

Q & A with Panthers CEO Ben Kavenagh
sportAustralian Rules/Footy29 Sep 09 @ 08:04am by Jai Bednall

JB: Will the board, and you as CEO, fall on your sword if the goals in the strategic plan aren’t met?

BK: ``We actually think they’re realistic goals. And what we’ve got to do as a board is continually challenge ourselves and challenge the club… Every now and then external factors might come in to some (aims) that might make them difficult, but we’ll deal with those things when they pop up. The fact we’re putting these things in writing to the greater public, only puts all the more pressure on us to ensure that we deliver them.’’

Please note that BK didn't answer the question.
He and the board are still not accountable for their actions!
Say no more.
Good luck south fans.

[Mickyj]

Good appointment for South...I wonder how many Eagles players will follow him to Noarlunga?

A couple maybe.

That could make Holden 78 happy if they are all Fullers Favourites that follow him down south.
Ron works well with juniors senior players may well be a different matter.
I just wonder who'll be trying more to win the first game between Eagles and South .

More of interest would be which of his assistants will follow him down to Panther Land ?

[southee]

Be interested hearing Eagles supporters thoughts of Ron....

They had him for a while.....Pro's/ Con's ?????

[ferret]

Lets hope the fat t__d with the clip board and thinks he runs the joint follows Ron down south and keeps going.

[Mickyj]

Be interested hearing Eagles supporters thoughts of Ron....

They had him for a while.....Pro's/ Con's ?????

If I answer this will I get crucified ?
oh well why not
To slow to make moves
No plan B
Gets pissed off with players leaves them in the seconds
Plays his favourites even if they are out of form.
Will promote juniors who are not ready to play SANFL league football.For all the ones who have made the grade there are many who have fallen by the way side.
Lets not forget he wanted Biagi to play for the eagles and chased him .he went home with a large chunk of Eagles money in his pocket after round 4.
there u go

[mighty_tiger_79]

when does pre-season start?

[Dirko]

The Interview process;

RF "So Reidy, what say we just pretend to be looking, and I apply for the job"
JR "Yeah great work Ronny, that'll save us looking won't it"
RF "Yeah sure will Reidy, and besides all the people we've had a look at are tossers anyhow"
JR "Do it, call the Comedy Cellars and get Flanigan on the phone pronto"

ring ring ring ring

DF "Comedy Cellars, Flanigan the funny fart speaking"
JR "Yeah Flanno, you're not that funny, but guess what"
DF "What Rediy"
JR "Ronny has said he'll take the job, and that'll save us doing all the work we meant to do in the first place"
DF "Fantastic, ******* fantastic, Ronny is in"
JR "Don't forget to post the cheque though Flano"
DF "Yeah no worries...**** I've got some more ideas for my routine now"

JR "Ronny, Flano said you're in !
RF "Ahh good, now to tell the missus the holiday can wait......"