Ansett to meet Demetriou

[Matchu]

More bad news about shareholders selling to the AFL.

Source: Foxsports.com.au

Ansett to meet Demetriou

By Damian Barrett
April 20, 2007
THE man who saved North Melbourne from dying 20 years ago when he floated three million shares in the club will this weekend meet the man who wants to buy them.

Former Kangaroos chairman Bob Ansett, who still controls several hundred thousand of those shares, will meet AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou during the club's Carrara match against Brisbane Lions tomorrow night.
Ansett, who lives on the Sunshine Coast, said yesterday the complicated shares structure had protected the club since its introduction in 1986.
He said maintaining the shares system may yet prove the Roos' best hope for the future, despite some shareholders offering them to Demetriou during the week.

The Herald Sun on Wednesday exposed a secret meeting of Demetriou and club shareholders at Crown casino.
That meeting discussed an AFL buyout of the Roos and, by extension, the establishment of a permanent base for the club on the Gold Coast.
"Unless something looms as a much better system, it (the shares system) is good for the club," Ansett said yesterday.
"At this stage, no one is doing the research or planning for the future, so it is totally irresponsible to be jumping at the prospects of selling the club or going back to a membership-base club.

"Until we know what the future holds for the club, in my opinion no one can make decisions off the cuff. It has to be a long, thought-out process."
Ansett refused to divulge the amount of shares he controlled, but it is believed to be second only to former director Peter de Rauch. He said the meeting of club shareholders, who did not have the club board's permission, and Demetriou was questionable.
"I would have thought it was in breach of fiduciary requirements of a public company to do that," Ansett said.

"Normally when there is a suggestion of an acquisition or merger, it is put to a board and the board makes a recommendation to shareholders."
Ansett said a mooted meeting with Demetriou would provide him with detail on the AFL's plans for the club.
"I am going down to the game on Saturday and at this stage there is no definite meeting planned, but I was told he (Demetriou) would be up there and might want to talk to me," Ansett said.
"At this stage, there is nothing set in concrete. If he wants to meet with me, I am quite happy to do that.

"I want to understand as much as I possibly can, even though I am not active in any regard, as I have explained before.
"But I would like to form my own perspective, and being the president for 13 years and seeing the club through difficult times, I would like to get a feeling for what is going on and have some confidence about the club and its future."

Ansett said he had ideas for the club's future.
"I have a few thoughts but I don't want to discuss them publicly. I would just like things to settle down, for the club to focus on the task at hand and not have to defend itself in the media every day.

"I remain optimistic about the future of the club, but the new board needs time to settle in and formulate a plan for the future.
"I would like to hope there is a position that could certainly be set in train, a program for the future, and we have seven or eight months in which that can be done."

 

[Arden]

Damn, my seats are right in front of the pig pen where the big-wigs are wined and dined. Vlad won't want to walk past me tomorrow night, otherwise he will actually hear what the North Melbourne members really think about his shenanigans

 

[Lidge]

Damn, my seats are right in front of the pig pen where the big-wigs are wined and dined. Vlad won't want to walk past me tomorrow night, otherwise he will actually hear what the North Melbourne members really think about his shenanigans

A perfect opportunity for you to unfurl your banner again and stage another protest.

 

[Hearts to hearts]

Matchu is stirring - and needs to watch it's not trolling.

The article actually isn't that bad. Ansett sounds like a voice of reason compared with everything else that's been going on. No rush or off-the-cuff decisions, no change unless the new picture looks better than the existiing one, shareholders shouldn't be having dodgy meetings behind the board's back, and the new board should take the rest of 2007 to weigh up all the options carefully and get a clear plan in place. PLus this:

"Ansett said he had ideas for the club's future.
"I have a few thoughts but I don't want to discuss them publicly. I would just like things to settle down, for the club to focus on the task at hand and not have to defend itself in the media every day."" Amen.

Arden, you guys go ahead and give Andy a hip and shoulder, but if talk like this continues and he's genuine, maybe Bob can get a friendly wave and thumbs up?

 

[Arden]

A perfect opportunity for you to unfurl your banner again and stage another protest.

Maybe I will.....maybe I wiiiilllllllll.

 

[Zondor]

Maybe I will.....maybe I wiiiilllllllll.

You're the Man.

 

[pharro]

A perfect opportunity for you to unfurl your banner again and stage another protest.

Arden, bring out the banner.

 

[pharro]

He said the meeting of club shareholders, who did not have the club board's permission, and Demetriou was questionable.
"I would have thought it was in breach of fiduciary requirements of a public company to do that," Ansett said.



I assume he means the board members who went to the meeting were in breach of fiduciary responsibility as I wouldn't imagine a shareholder has a fiduciary responsibility to anyone.

 

[Lidge]

Arden, bring out the banner.

Pharro. Be careful, you chardonnay sipping & truffle eating corporate snobs are probably going to be seated in the same area as Vlad and Mayor Quimby - err Duffman.

Don't sit too close to Vlad or Arden is likely to take you out with friendly fire.

 

[RoyalBlue]

Hold the guns on Ansett, he's a North man at heart.

 

[Michele]

The body of the article is a little bit more positive than the headine implies.

Michele

GO THE MIGHTY ROOBOYS

 

[pharro]

Pharro. Be careful, you chardonnay sipping & truffle eating corporate snobs are probably going to be seated in the same area as Vlad and Mayor Quimby - err Duffman.

Don't sit too close to Vlad or Arden is likely to take you out with friendly fire.

Don't worry, I plan to strap a heap of cocktail frankfurters to my chest, osama fashion.

 

[Event Horizon]

Hold the guns on Ansett, he's a North man at heart.

That may be so, but personally I don't fully trust anyone who chose to move to Sunshine Coast. Does he honestly care like most of us?

 

[Woodson]

That may be so, but personally I don't fully trust anyone who chose to move to Sunshine Coast. Does he honestly care like most of us?

I agree with Vlad. Why? Not one of any shareholder has made any comment of defiance yet.

 

[Pres]

Surely Demetriou would not be that stupid to have another meeting directly with a shareholder behind the back of the Board? Even Ansett said in his article that is bad form.

The AFL should be meeting with the NM Board only. The shareholders should even be insisting this (however they won't as they are all on the power game). All this is just destabilising.

If Bob Ansett is passionate about having a say he should run for the Board. How long is Duff going to allow all this chaos to continue?

 

[RoyalBlue]

That may be so, but personally I don't fully trust anyone who chose to move to Sunshine Coast. Does he honestly care like most of us?

Ansett's decision to retire to the Sunshine Coast shouldn't be held against him.

I don't think it's wise for us to get too overheated over Ansett. He hasn't even said he'll meet Andy D in that article.

 

[BlueRoos]

Hold the guns on Ansett, he's a North man at heart.

agreed. It wasn't too bad an article at all, certainly a voice of reason IMHO.
Definately shouldn't drill him for his place of retirement either. lol

 

[The Other Dean]

Ansett's decision to retire to the Sunshine Coast shouldn't be held against him.

Old people feel the cold. (And are cr@p drivers. And wake up insanely early in the morning for some reason.) He should be commended on showing good taste in choosing the Sunshine Coast over the Gold Coast.

Anyhoo, I agree, RB. Ansett is a North man. I've heard he's not interested in selling, whatever the price. So, for the time being, I'm okay with him.

 

[gokangas]

Ansett saved the Roos in days gone past. I'm very appreciative of his vision. No reason to call him a traitor yet. We are only here today because of what he did.