Collingwood board news: Francis Galbally hits back at director Peter Murphy as clock ticking on spill
Collingwood is facing a dire situation unless a peace deal can be reached, as tensions flare between a former club solicitor and a Magpies director.
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Collingwood is facing a total spill of its board at December’s annual general meeting unless a weekend peace deal can be reached with would-be president Jeff Browne.
Former Pies solicitor Francis Galbally told News Corp he would be in a position to lodge papers for a full-blown club election early next week.
The move would give about 12,000 Collingwood members the right to vote on all seven board positions at the December 16 AGM.
“Despite all our attempts to reach a peaceful resolution we have been unsuccessful in negotiating a transition to an appropriate new leadership and governance team at Collingwood,” Galbally said.
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The former Magpies solicitor and prominent businessman took aim at club director Peter Murphy, who questioned Galbally’s motives on Thursday.
Murphy accused Galbally of attempting to “destabilise” the club because of “personal ambition”.
But Galbally said he had nothing personal to gain in the board stoush and was motivated only by a desire to ensure Collingwood again became a properly governed and successful football club.
“The current board has presided over one of the most terrible governance failures I have seen in my corporate life,” Galbally said.
“Peter Murphy’s comments in relation to my motives are totally wrong and misleading.
“My motives have always been to ensure that the club had proper governance over all its activities. It has shown it has no governance.
“There was no transition plan when Eddie McGuire left and purporting to appoint two persons to the board who were ineligible (Bridie O’Donnell and Neil Wilson) was a farcical position.
“Of course the club has a strong financial position. But that was part of the problem.
“The board over the years spent more time on making profits than developing a competitive winning team.
“The club is a football club. Its mission is to win football games and premierships.
“My motives are very simple and transparent. I want Collingwood to be a winner on the football field. That is its raison d’etre. If it wins on the field everything else follows.
“Murphy ignores this. That is why he shouldn’t remain as a director. He has no idea of what Collingwood members want, which is to win.
“I am not destabilising the club. I am trying to rebuild the club - allowing members to have a say and finding board members that understand what the club is about and achieving it: winning football games. That is why I back Jeffrey Browne.”
Board member quits after ‘ill-advised’ posts
Bridie O’Donnell has sensationally quit as a Collingwood director, throwing the Magpies’ board into further turmoil.
O’Donnell, a former professional cyclist, had only joined the Pies board four months ago, despite queries over her eligibility to vote.
Wednesday night’s Footy Classified aired O’Donnell’s social media post from the weekend in support of the Western Bulldogs in their preliminary final clash against Port Adelaide.
Previous posts have showed O’Donnell supporting the Bulldogs’ AFLW team.
Former Collingwood president Eddie McGuire told Channel 9 the posts were “ill-advised”.
Collingwood said in a statement that O’Donnell had stepped down on Thursday for professional reasons.
“Last week I was appointed an Area of Operation Controller in the COVID-19 Outbreak Response Team in the Department of Health,” O’ DOnnell said.
“I’ve only been in the job for five days, but it’s clear that it will require 100% of my attention, energy and focus over the next four months as we aim to suppress the community spread of COVID-19 in Victoria.”
Collingwood confirmed on Thursday that it was exploring a plan for a third option as club president, but board member Peter Murphy insists it won’t be him.
Just hours after the Herald Sun revealed a plan to install Murphy over current Pies boss Mark Korda was discussed at a board meeting on Tuesday night, Murphy declared he would not be seeking the role.
The move for a third candidate is aimed at thwarting businessman Jeff Browne’s push to become Magpies president and install new directors on the board.
The Browne camp has been negotiating an arrangement to bring the former Channel 9 boss on to the board as early as next month, but all hopes of a breakthrough peace deal now appear doomed.
Murphy told Nine newspapers a Herald Sun report that he was in discussions with Korda about replacing him as president was “just not correct”.
“I am not a candidate for the presidency. I will not be a candidate for the presidency. It is factually incorrect to say otherwise,” said Murphy.
It was not disputed that the board had discussed the option on Tuesday night of the presidency being passed from Korda to Murphy – a proposal that had some support from fellow directors.
“Mark, to his credit, has been very open and honest that he is a transition president. Jeff (Browne) is an option (to be president next year) but maybe a third option is that in the interests of the Collingwood Football Club, Mark and Jeff could say let’s unite behind this other person instead. But I am not going to be that third option. It will not be me. It just will not be me …
“All the commentary in the media has come from people trying to destabilise the club, so it is hard to see anything other than personal ambition as the motivation. When I read things like me positioning to become the next president, I am not. I don’t think the question is who wants to be president, it should be who should be the president of the Collingwood Football Club? What type of person do we need? Not who wants it but who do we want? Who do we need?”
Agitator and former club solicitor Francis Galbally will almost certainly lodge papers for a spill of all seven Collingwood board positions early next week.
Galbally revealed he had met with Murphy for a coffee in Domain Rd, South Yarra two months ago to discuss the state of the club.
“He did not give me the courtesy of a reply but he told me at that meeting that he did not want to be president and that for the benefit of the club he would be prepared to resign as a director,” Galbally said.
“I am gobsmacked and am left with no choice but to now call for a spill of all director positions at Collingwood.
“This board continually demonstrates an inability to listen to the members and to have appropriate corporate governance.”
Korda, Murphy and the club’s five other directors held a scheduled board meeting on Tuesday night.
The view amongst Browne’s supporters is that the club has been double dealing and that a democratic vote of members to elect a fresh board is the only resolution left in the long-running saga.
The chairman of investment bank MA Financial Group, Browne was the AFL’s external lawyer for almost two decades and is a close friend of McGuire.
He was managing director of the Nine network from 2006-2013 and is well connected at league headquarters.
Collingwood legend Tony Shaw last week declared that the club’s boardroom brawl had become “embarrassing” and needed to be “sorted out immediately”.
It followed revelations a second Magpies director – Victoria Racing Club chairman Neil Wilson – was ineligible to sit on the board.
It was discovered that Wilson was not a qualified voting member of the club but rather a Melbourne Cricket Club member who nominates Collingwood as his AFL club of choice.
Questions over Wilson’s status surfaced after the club reluctantly surrendered its register of voting members to long-time former club solicitor Francis Galbally, who is backing Browne’s push to take control of the board.
Shaw said the club could not wait until the AGM to address the Browne-Korda dispute.
“My commitment to my community and my skills as a senior government executive and medical practitioner are paramount in providing assistance to my colleagues in the Department of Health to support Victorians’ health outcomes in these difficult circumstances,” O’Donnell said.
“When I had the privilege of accepting a position on the Board of Collingwood Football Club four months ago, I had no comprehension that I would be taking on a task of this magnitude in September.
“ I considered over the last few days that I might request a period of leave from the Board, but I’m aware that there are so many important pieces of work underway which require the group’s full commitment.
“Consequently, I will step down from my role as ex officio board Director, effective immediately.
“I will continue to remain a fan and member of the Club I admire and love, and will of course follow the progress of the football and netball teams in the 2022 season and beyond.
“It’s been an absolute pleasure to use my knowledge and skills to contribute to the work being done at the Collingwood Football Club.
“I wish you all the best.”
SHOCK CONTENDER EMERGES TO THWART BROWNE BID
The race for the Collingwood presidency has taken a dramatic twist with board member Peter Murphy in discussions to replace Mark Korda as club boss.
Under a deal being hatched between the two Pies directors, Murphy will take over as president from Korda, who will remain as a club director until the end of next year.
The shock move is aimed at thwarting businessman Jeff Browne’s push to become Collingwood president and install some new directors on the board.
The Browne camp were negotiating an arrangement to bring the former Channel 9 boss on to the board as early as next month, but the latest development appears to have blown up any hopes of a peace deal.
Agitator and former club solicitor Francis Galbally will almost certainly lodge papers for a spill of all seven Collingwood board positions early next week.
Korda, Murphy and the club’s five other directors held a scheduled board meeting on Tuesday night.
The view among Browne’s supporters is that the club has been double dealing and that a democratic vote of members to elect a fresh board is the only resolution left in the long-running saga.
Galbally on Wednesday night revealed he had met with Murphy for a coffee in Domain Rd, South Yarra two months ago to discuss the state of the club.
“He did not give me the courtesy of a reply but he told me at that meeting that he did not want to be president and that for the benefit of the club he would be prepared to resign as a director,” Galbally said.
“I am gobsmacked at this and left with no choice but to now call for a spill of all director positions at Collingwood.
“This board continually demonstrates an inability to listen to the members and to have appropriate corporate governance.”
Korda and Murphy were locked in a fight for the presidency after Eddie McGuire was forced to step down following the release of the Do Better report.
The chairman of investment bank MA Financial Group, Browne was the AFL’s external lawyer for almost two decades and is a close friend of former president Eddie McGuire.
He was managing director of the Nine network from 2006-2013 and is well connected at league headquarters.
Collingwood legend Tony Shaw last week declared that the club’s boardroom brawl had become “embarrassing” and needed to be “sorted out immediately”.
It followed revelations a second Magpies director – Victoria Racing Club chairman Neil Wilson – was ineligible to sit on the board.
It was discovered that Wilson was not a qualified voting member of the club but rather a Melbourne Cricket Club member who nominates Collingwood as his AFL club of choice.
Questions over Wilson’s status surfaced after the club reluctantly surrendered its register of voting members to long-time former club solicitor Francis Galbally, who is backing Browne’s push to take control of the board.
Shaw said the club could not wait until the AGM to address the Browne-Korda dispute.
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