Nick Columb - Stay away from the Club, we don't want you.

[Bornadog]

I just hope that this bloke isn't trying to get back on the board. He sold the club out back in 1989 when he voted to merge with Fitzroy. He basically gave up, had no solutions and thought the only way out was to merge.

Well Nick, if you are reading this, you have NOT been forgiven, please stay away from our beloved club, we don't need you in any capacity other than as a supporter in the outer.

[Missing-Dog]

Re: Nick Columb - Stay away from the Club, we don't want you.

I just hope that this bloke isn't trying to get back on the board. He sold the club out back in 1989 when he voted to merge with Fitzroy. He basically gave up, had no solutions and thought the only way out was to merge.

Well Nick, if you are reading this, you have NOT been forgiven, please stay away from our beloved club, we don't need you in any capacity other than as a supporter in the outer.

I don't even want him there as that. He can support from home.

[Rocco Jones]

Re: Nick Columb - Stay away from the Club, we don't want you.

Does he post on WOOF?

I am definitely not as strong as you and would be open minded if he could prove that he would add something to the club but boy does he start off from a dodgy position.

I was just a young boy back in 89 but having read a few things it seems like Columb had very little choice and if he didn't sign the papers we could have actually ended up in a 'worse' position with no control over our future. Is this right? Was it more about the time and circumstances than Columb?

Either way, signing off on a takeover dressed up as a merger isn't the greatest thing you can have on your CV when trying to get back on board (pardon the pun).

[Bornadog]

Re: Nick Columb - Stay away from the Club, we don't want you.

Does he post on WOOF?

I am definitely not as strong as you and would be open minded if he could prove that he would add something to the club but boy does he start off from a dodgy position.

I was just a young boy back in 89 but having read a few things it seems like Columb had very little choice and if he didn't sign the papers we could have actually ended up in a 'worse' position with no control over our future. Is this right? Was it more about the time and circumstances than Columb?

Either way, signing off on a takeover dressed up as a merger isn't the greatest thing you can have on your CV when trying to get back on board (pardon the pun).

RJ, you always have a choice besides the members were never consulted.

[LostDoggy]

Re: Nick Columb - Stay away from the Club, we don't want you.

Rocco - Columb could have done what Galimberti did therefore had a choice.

[Greystache]

Re: Nick Columb - Stay away from the Club, we don't want you.

You certainly feel strongly about the issue BAD

http://www.woof.net.au/forum/showthread.php?t=3849

[Bornadog]

Re: Nick Columb - Stay away from the Club, we don't want you.

You certainly feel strongly about the issue BAD

http://www.woof.net.au/forum/showthread.php?t=3849

oh yes, it was a terrible time in 1989, but thankfully it all worked out

[BulldogBelle]

Re: Nick Columb - Stay away from the Club, we don't want you.

Wasn't EJ kind of accepting the merger? Sure, from our point of view it would have been a disaster but I guess some others close to the club thought it was for the best.

[Bornadog]

Re: Nick Columb - Stay away from the Club, we don't want you.

Wasn't EJ kind of accepting the merger? Sure, from our point of view it would have been a disaster but I guess some others close to the club thought it was for the best.

and how wrong they were.

[Doc26]

Re: Nick Columb - Stay away from the Club, we don't want you.

I just hope that this bloke isn't trying to get back on the board. He sold the club out back in 1989 when he voted to merge with Fitzroy. He basically gave up, had no solutions and thought the only way out was to merge.

Well Nick, if you are reading this, you have NOT been forgiven, please stay away from our beloved club, we don't need you in any capacity other than as a supporter in the outer.

A cheap shot on Nick and must say I'm very surprised this was initiated by you Bornadog as I respect your stance of taking to task the frequent uncalled for 'snipes' put up on this forum. In a twist I'm going to put your hat on and defend Nick here.

If for one moment you believe Nick, as a passionate Bulldog supporter like yourself, was not busting a gut to find a solution to retain the Club in it's own right then you are mistaken.

With severe pressure being placed on the Club by Oakley and his charges, the perilous state of our finances with the banks closing in on us and the lack of any significant commercial backing at the time, in pure balance sheet terms we were insolvent.

It was not through Nick or through any lack of effort or desire that lead to many within the hierarchy reluctantly agreeing to the merger proposal. It was what appeared to many the commercial reality at the time, a period that pre dated billion dollar media rights deals, a period where more than today we were very much on our own.

Yes it's fantastic that the period lead to an uprising of sorts, an awakening of the reality of our plight, that indifference was no longer going to keep our Club afloat.

Prior to this point there were many at the Club including Nick who were working every angle they knew through significant commercial pressure to save the Club from folding entirely.

As Peter Gordon has re-entered the fold I would welcome Nick, his work ethic and business acumen, back to the Club to provide commercial support and guidance to the few commercial resources we have at our disposal. Hopefully all this can be achieved in a consolidated manner rather than through division as it might appear.

[LostDoggy]

Re: Nick Columb - Stay away from the Club, we don't want you.

Perhaps we can have Ross Oakley as president, we could change he bumper stickers to "Upwards with Oakley". Sorry but I can not view it in any other way than Nick sold OUR club out, not HIS club. I have no doubt he tried his best, but in MY opinion his best was not good enough.

[Doc26]

Re: Nick Columb - Stay away from the Club, we don't want you.

I see it as unfair and not in our best interest that the prevailing sentiment from the supporter base is one of contempt for those that during the mid to late 80s were working under insurmountable odds to keep the Club alive.

As unpalatable as the 'merger' option was and is, when the banks were seeking foreclosure and the VFL wouldn't back us, when one of few major financial backers was Nick himself our survival until the 'awakening' was more than bleak, bleak to the point that the merger did have the support of EJ and Charlie.

1996 again saw a similar scenario. Should we hold Peter Gordon in such disregard as well for the very real threat of having to hand the keys in, I don't think so. These are great supporters of our Club who put their hands up where most wouldnt and where the odds are stacked against them and where failure in the eyes of the supporters means they should be banished as some form of penance.

[Bornadog]

Re: Nick Columb - Stay away from the Club, we don't want you.

A cheap shot on Nick and must say I'm very surprised this was initiated by you Bornadog .

Doc26 - I cannot agree with you, I don't believe Nick tried his hardest or exhausted every possible avenue. Why didn't he ask the supporters to help, why didn't he tell us what was going on. The first I knew the club was insolvent was when I heard on the radio we were being taken over, not merged taken over.

PS: Please don't accuse me of a cheap shot, because its not, many supporters from that era will agree with me.

Perhaps we can have Ross Oakley as president, we could change he bumper stickers to "Upwards with Oakley". Sorry but I can not view it in any other way than Nick sold OUR club out, not HIS club. I have no doubt he tried his best, but in MY opinion his best was not good enough.

Totally agree OldBulldog.

[Doc26]

Re: Nick Columb - Stay away from the Club, we don't want you.

PS: Please don't accuse me of a cheap shot, because its not, many supporters from that era will agree with me.

Doesn't make it right. Many supporters believe Akermanis was hardly done by.

[Bornadog]

Re: Nick Columb - Stay away from the Club, we don't want you.

Doesn't make it right. Many supporters believe Akermanis was hardly done by.

Bit different to Aker shooting his mouth off, we are talking about the demise of the club.

I for one will never ever forgive that man, it was a miracle the club survived in the end. A court injunction allowed the supporters to pay the debt. You can try and convince me all you want, but at the end of the day, no matter what pressure from the AFL, Nick should have stood up like Peter Gordon did. Nick was (or is) a so called businessman and he couldn't work it out, yet Peter a 30 year old lawyer, with virtually no business skllis, but a passionate bulldog man, fought it out.

Thank you Peter Gordon.