Is Wally Staying around in 2018?

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Hambone
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BC 1988 wrote:
Mon Sep 25, 2017 2:19 pm
don corleone wrote:
Mon Sep 25, 2017 2:03 pm
Good discussion guys. Very pertinent topic. #1 problem with the team.

Leadership starts at the top.

What about a community ownership similar to some of the other franchises?

Seems all you need is a politically correct board of directors and a big line of credit backed by the province and Bob's your uncle. Works for three of the most stable franchises in the league.

Vancouver is a huge part of the CFL. Getting it right is a must.

Good luck
As someone who moved to BC in 1988 (hence the handle), I'm curious about community ownership as well. It's my understanding that the Lions were. Long time fans (and there are quite a few on this board) can provide insight into what happened. Online searches don't provide much detail for that period, but there is plenty about the chaotic '90s of individual owners that followed.
Interesting the handle. 1988 was almost exactly when the Lions ceased to be a community owned club and was bought up by Murray Pezim. These days community ownership only works if a team has been community owned for decades. It would take an incredible set of circumstances for a team to start out community owned. Even if an owner were willing to part with his team for $1 "the community" would still have to come up with several million dollars in working capital, lines of credit and/or loans to operate the club moving forward. Teams now typically operate on annual budgets north of $20 million.
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Hambone
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Sir Purrcival wrote:
Mon Sep 25, 2017 3:03 pm
And maybe you could tap Trestman for GM
Trestman seems to be a career coach. There's very little if anything in his resume that hints of anything other than coaching roles. Evaluating players as part of his coaching responsibilities is probably as close as he's been to player personnel work. He's not a spring chicken either to start teething himself as a GM. He turns 62 in January.
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TheLionKing
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Attendance has been steadily declining since the passing of Bob Ackles. The sooner Braley sell the Lions the better as far as I'm concerned. The value of this team is going to continue to decline. Neil McEvoy would seem to be the purrfect candidate to the GM. He's done it all from ticket sales, scouting to running the Canadian draft.
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DanoT wrote:
Mon Sep 25, 2017 3:40 pm
Does La Police want to leave Winnipeg to become a HC or stay as a OC in Winnipeg, home of his wife and in-laws?
So nice to have the mother in law drop over.

Word was Lapo wants to be a head coach. O Shea doesn't give media access to the assistants during the season so it's not like a recent interview. Very progressive and well connected. Would be interesting to see what he could do with the Lion arsenal.

I like Ed Hervey as a man of action as well. No way he goes 6 games without a kicker.
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Hambone wrote:
Mon Sep 25, 2017 4:35 pm
1988 was almost exactly when the Lions ceased to be a community owned club and was bought up by Murray Pezim.
Thanks for the background on the ownership story Hambone.

I remember the Murray Pezim name but not much else. Rode in as a white knight to save the Lions and grab headlines for a brief time and then bailed is a story I would believe. Sad to think what was a good thing at the time may have ended up being a bad thing in the end.

Doesn't really seem like having two ownership structures can work in the long run. Fiscal responsibility being a must for one and a goal for the other. Winnipeg is incredibly financially irresponsible and the politically correct board of directors doesn't have a clue. It's a purrfect scenario for Miller and his boys. All in with the stadium deal Bombers probably owe $100 million or so. Banks make interest. Government gets the taxes. Someday the Bombers will win again and all will be happy.

Maybe the fact that it was once there can help to get it resurrected with the Lions. MIght have to talk to Da Vinci. Would be great to see it happen.

Enjoy the bye.
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The_Pauser wrote:
Mon Sep 25, 2017 2:36 pm
While we're on this topic...who would people here like to see as the next GM and next HC?
I am a fan of Rick Campbell and his approach; namely not flashy but forward thinking.

When the RedBlacks picked him and not the more flashy Chris Jones, I was a little surprised. But in retrospect, I think that was a very wise choice. I think his demeanour hides bit of a wiley streak but he doesn't draw attention to himself like Chris Jones (look at me, I'm all rogue), make mis-timed gambles like O'Shea has done from time to time or loss his sh*t like Maas. But he has been known to dip into the more obscure corners of the rule book to catch team's unawares and I like how the RedBlacks run their offence. Plus I think the Ottawa coaching staff showed up their Calgary counterparts in last year's Grey Cup.

But for him to come out west would probably take a combined GM/HC role. He might be up to the task.
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B.C.FAN
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Hambone wrote:
Mon Sep 25, 2017 4:35 pm
BC 1988 wrote:
Mon Sep 25, 2017 2:19 pm
don corleone wrote:
Mon Sep 25, 2017 2:03 pm
Good discussion guys. Very pertinent topic. #1 problem with the team.

Leadership starts at the top.

What about a community ownership similar to some of the other franchises?

Seems all you need is a politically correct board of directors and a big line of credit backed by the province and Bob's your uncle. Works for three of the most stable franchises in the league.

Vancouver is a huge part of the CFL. Getting it right is a must.

Good luck
As someone who moved to BC in 1988 (hence the handle), I'm curious about community ownership as well. It's my understanding that the Lions were. Long time fans (and there are quite a few on this board) can provide insight into what happened. Online searches don't provide much detail for that period, but there is plenty about the chaotic '90s of individual owners that followed.
Interesting the handle. 1988 was almost exactly when the Lions ceased to be a community owned club and was bought up by Murray Pezim. These days community ownership only works if a team has been community owned for decades. It would take an incredible set of circumstances for a team to start out community owned. Even if an owner were willing to part with his team for $1 "the community" would still have to come up with several million dollars in working capital, lines of credit and/or loans to operate the club moving forward. Teams now typically operate on annual budgets north of $20 million.
West Division teams used to all be community owned. Bob Ackles tells stories in his book, The Water Boy, about the team running out of money and having to cut deals with creditors in the early 1970s when the rainy-day fund from a decade-earlier was exhausted and attendance had dwindled. They managed to keep the team afloat until B.C. Place opened, the team became a powerhouse and fans flocked back for several years, but attendance and revenue throughout the league dwindled again in the late 1980s, and the Lions were one of many teams that suffered.

I knew some directors in the days of community ownership. Being on the board of the Lions was a prestigious position but to my knowledge board members didn't dig into their own pockets to pay the bills. It took private owners to keep the team afloat for the past 30 years, through good times and bad. Braley has done that himself for 20 years. A broad-based private ownership group might have success with the Lions but ideally there should be one principal owner with deep pockets and community roots who will remain standing when the team's fate is on the line.
TheLionKing
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I lived through the community owned teams. I recall the team selling "memberships" in the Lions. Members have the right to vote at the Annual Lions General Meetings which was held at the old Georgia Hotel. The club would sell debentures to help finance the running of the club.
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WestCoastJoe
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It's David Braley's ship. He is the Owner, President, and CFL Governor.

Wally Buono is the Captain of that ship. He is Vice President, GM, Head Coach and Alternate Governor.

With these two CFL men in charge of the Lions in B.C., it is a long-running saga, of 15 years. More chapters to be written.

Churchill said: "This is not the end, it is not even the beginning of the end, but it is perhaps the end of the beginning."



Playing around with that famous quotation, it is not the beginning of an era, not even the middle of an era, but it is perhaps near the end of an era.

This fan would support Neil McEvoy as GM, when that time comes. And Geroy has to be part of the mix, IMO. It might not appear that way, but there are worthy candidates out there for Head Coach, when the end of an era comes, as it inevitably will.

Of course, a new owner could clean house.

2018? Stay tuned.

Just IMO ...
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don corleone
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Strong points and good discussion.

It will be what it will be in the end.

Lions have a good team that has not been winning. Frustration is high.

Thanks for the enlightenment.
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Hambone
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TheLionKing wrote:
Mon Sep 25, 2017 11:04 pm
I lived through the community owned teams. I recall the team selling "memberships" in the Lions. Members have the right to vote at the Annual Lions General Meetings which was held at the old Georgia Hotel. The club would sell debentures to help finance the running of the club.
Ah yes. The debentures. I remember them now. Memberships too. I don't recall if I bought one of those memberships in the mid 80s but do recall receiving copies of their financial statements. If I recall the annual operating costs at the time were somewhere in the $4 million range??
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Honour Dewalt
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It's a bit of a careful what I wish for type of scenario. I think we need some fresh ideas at the top. Strong leadership is not and has not been at the top since Ackles left us. Skulsky doesn't even have a twitter account. I used to get responses directly from Bob Ackles if I had a concern. Not always, but that was impressive. He was everywhere, and you knew he was doing everything he could for the better of the team. I know Skulsky is there now only in title, but that was never my impression of him. Maybe he thought so, and did have good intentions, but I just heard lots of excuses. I talk about this a lot, but it even shows in the game day experience. If they wanted to change the image of Lions games, they have had a great opportunity with the roof. Imagine brisk fall games, even cold games, weather elements. That's football! We could have it. People would learn to treat games as an outdoor environment and dress appropriately. Then, in the worst case days where it's a downpour, they have the safety net of being able to close it. Nowadays they close it every chance they get. Any hint of cloud let's them do it. And that's Wally being short sighted, only thinking game by game. If they had a leader that thought big picture, maybe the Lions would be bragging about the best game day experience in BC.
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BC 1988
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Thanks to all who provided a peek into what was actually happening in the day-to-day running of the Lions as a community owned team. Being from the East, the concept was foreign to me. I'll go read The Water Boy (VPL has it) to complete my education. I figured there must have been some financial difficulties that resulted in the Pezim circus. This article was very good in providing background on that.
https://www.si.com/vault/1991/10/14/125 ... roud-of-it
I remember going to BC Place on the free fan day in June(?) 1990 (after moving to Vancouver from Victoria, it was my first time in the building). Mark Gastineau was on display and of course we know how his CFL career ended up. Hard to believe a Doug Flutie team ended up 6-11-1.
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Honour Dewalt
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The careful what you wish for part is that you never know what the next group is going to do. We've been there before with past ownership groups. It has to be right.
maxlion
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Although I have generally been supportive of Wally as coach and GM, and certainly don't hold him responsible for the declining attendance, I don't feel that himstaying on for another year in any capacity would be beneficial to anyone. It's time for Braley to make a move and get this franchise in the hands of someone with longer term vision and planning. Part of the new ownership's job should be bringing in new staff and management. Dragging this on year after year is very detrimental to the team.
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