How good was....Terry Wallace? And why the nickname "Plough"?

[Prince Imperial]

Re: How good was....Terry Wallace? And why the nickname "Plough"?

Let me shed a different light.



Correct



When Campbell came to the club, he found the finances in a mess and at the brink of folding. Gordon had tried to do as much as possible in the preceding years to keep the club afloat, but just didn't have the connections to try and get financial backing that was needed. It was time for a change.

Rose was not a popular CEO when he was appointed by Smorgo and knew he had to make some very unpopular decisions. The first thing he did was asked everyone to taken a pay cut, and Nathan Brown plus Wallace just decided they can do better elsewhere. I remember being invited to the Presidents lunch and we were sitting outside just before the third quarter and Rose came over and sat with us. We started talking about his plans and he was very impressive.

Eventually using his contacts he got things going as well as raising almost $30 million to develop the ground. I can understand from the outside he may have seemed like a person you may not like and think he can't run a club, but believe me, he is a truly professional CEO and a likeable guy when you get to know him.

I have known him for the past few years and he is a sharp operator with lots of connections and currently heads up VicTrack.

He is a bit if an unsung hero of the club and doesn't get the accolades like Smorgo or Gordon, but he did a great job to save the club.

I agree. Rose inherited a financial mess and he certainly helped stabilise the club by making difficult financial decisions (including us not having most of our rookie list in 2001-05). A staff member who I knew at the time, really liked him.

His biggest failure, however, was initiating the Edgewater disaster which wasted millions of dollars and no doubt vast amounts of staffing hours.

Of course post his CEO role, his VicTrack leadership has also assisted the club immensely.

[azabob]

Re: How good was....Terry Wallace? And why the nickname "Plough"?

I loved Terry Wallace.

As a nine year old in 1988 he was a shining light for me- not only was he close to our best player but to think a premiership superstar from the Hawks would come to my club. I was proud as punch he pulled on our jumper. As a nine year old I probably didn't grasp he was getting on in age and was banged up injury wise.

I remember I was shattered in 1994 when he missed out on the main coaching gig and it went to Allan Joyce - I really believed he should have got the gig.

Then when he finally got the main gig in 1996 & 1997 he made footy fun again. He made me believe we could be a good team that would match it with the best of them.

Those years at Princess Park as our home ground were some of my favourite footy memories - even though we had to drive from Seaford to get there.

He didn't leave in great circumstances and that left a bitter taste in my mouth but he could see the writing on the wall on field and off field financially.

Is it fair to say his departure was similar to Mick Malthouses (albeit not as smooth as he didn't get a job strait away)?

[Bornadog]

Re: How good was....Terry Wallace? And why the nickname "Plough"?

He didn't leave in great circumstances and that left a bitter taste in my mouth but he could see the writing on the wall on field and off field financially.

Is it fair to say his departure was similar to Mick Malthouses (albeit not as smooth as he didn't get a job strait away)?

Very similar in that financially we were down the drain. Malthouse of course was the coach when the merger was announced and he was off like a shot. Terry was very much wanted but thought he had stitched up a deal with the Swans, only to find they changed their minds and he had already resigned from us. He wasn't happy that the club didn't allow him to coach the last game.

[azabob]

Re: How good was....Terry Wallace? And why the nickname "Plough"?

Very similar in that financially we were down the drain. Malthouse of course was the coach when the merger was announced and he was off like a shot. Terry was very much wanted but thought he had stitched up a deal with the Swans, only to find they changed their minds and he had already resigned from us. He wasn't happy that the club didn't allow him to coach the last game.

I do recall that. As club captain Chris Grant from memory was the driving force behind it.