This was published 7 years ago
'Shattered' Eddie McGuire considered quitting as Collingwood president
By Jon Pierik
UPDATE A billionaire, a leading chief executive and a former player could be among the mix to replace Eddie McGuire as president – should he decide to step down as Collingwood president.
A "completely shattered" McGuire opened the door for the first time in 18 years on Monday to ceding the top role, revealing he had considered this move after a deflating loss to Carlton.
McGuire said on Monday he had not been as dejected for a long time as he had been in wake of the three-goal loss to the Blues at the MCG on Saturday, and even suggested coach Nathan Buckley must revamp his game plan if the Magpies are to break out of their funk in the opening seven rounds.
These comments came after another heated week off the field where he had been under fire from Swans chairman Andrew Pridham and Giants counterpart Tony Shepherd over the controversial zones and academies systems.
A disappointed Eddie McGuire after the Pies' loss to Carlton.Credit: Getty Images
But a pep talk from his two boys, Xander (Alexander) and Joseph, on Sunday convinced him to change his mind and "fight on".
"I was actually in the rooms – I haven't been that laid low from the footy for a long, long time. I was completely shattered, as were our supporters, who were giving me their honest and frank opinion," McGuire said.
On his breakfast radio show on Triple M, McGuire later added: "You question yourself. You have done this for 18 years, can you go through it again? Have you got any more ideas and I look at myself and I go - a lot of the things that I brought to Collingwood when I first came in, have been taken away from me now with equalisation.
"I don't know if I could impact on the club - I question myself ... and you agonise and you are standing there and your family is around and you look across at people who are killing themselves, the players, the coaches, all those people, and you do, you go away, you drive away and you have a tear in your eye. Is it frustration - what do you do?
Eddie McGuire, Collingwood Football Club President watches the Magpies leave the field after losing the round seven AFL match.Credit: Getty Images
"Then my wife told me on Sunday morning, my two boys — I had to do Fox Footy — my two boys had got home and one was going to see the Bulldogs game that night, they are mad on the footy, and the other, Xander, was going down to a mate's place. Mum said: 'C'mon, put some gear on', and both of them refused to take their (Collingwood) jumpers off.
"They said: 'No, this is the tough time', and they got me on Sunday and gave me the pointy pointy and said: 'We don't quit. This is it. We have to tough it out.'
"It was the best thing in my life I have ever had from them."
McGuire added that if he was "not good enough or can't contribute" he would consider stepping down.
Should McGuire decide soon his time is up, the Magpies would have options from their board. Alex Waislitz, a billionaire Melbourne investor who made his fortune from investing in small and mid-sized companies, is vice-president but Fairfax Media understands at this stage the Pratt family investor would not be keen on replacing McGuire.
Blackmores vitamins boss Christine Holgate has been a Collingwood tragic since shifting from Britain in 2003, while Mark Korda, of restructuring firm KordaMentha, would also have the qualifications.
Former player Ian McMullin, who has been on the board since 1998, could also be a candidate.
However, one man who is not on the board, 1990 premiership defender and prominent player manager, Craig Kelly, has long been mooted as McGuire's successor – should his business interests permit.
Such is the pressure on the Magpies that, with only the two wins this season, McGuire has all but declared Buckley needs to revise his game plan.
Only Essendon has had fewer shots at goal, while the Pies continue to leak goals, winning just nine of 28 quarters played this season.
McGuire felt the game plan was built on the Pies having their best team on the field – not the current model struggling, in part, through injury. He said strategy would be the subject of "very strong discussions" this week.
"Injuries have been there all the way through. Forget the injuries, though, forget that, that's part and parcel. Every team has injuries. I am not hanging my hat on that," he said.
"I look at it as a reason and when we go through and make decisions, you take that into effect. But we need to play a four-quarter effort. Whether or not our game plan is predicated on everyone being there, and having everyone going – that's not the case (because of the injuries).
"Forward line - the ball is not staying in. We haven't got Swan up there, we haven't got Jamie Elliott back - bad luck, it happens to everybody. (Travis) Varcoe falls over ... what we have to do is we have to play according to what we have got because we need to win.
"I suppose that is the balance between what the coaches might be trying to do as far as build a long-term plan that everyone adheres to and we get it right and there are probably some young players in there at the moment who can't execute that plan, or whether we have to adjust our cloth.
"That will be the topic of very strong discussions this week amongst the coaching group and we have to turn it around. We have Brisbane next week and it is a big game, obviously, for us."
The Magpies have won only four of their past 18 home-and-away matches, the third-worst record in this time behind only Essendon and the Brisbane Lions. This has intensified the pressure on Buckley and his coaching group. Since replacing Mick Malthouse after the 2011 grand final, Buckley's year-by-year winning percentage has dipped from 68 per cent to 61, 50, 45 and this season, 28.5.
McGuire said he understood the frustration of supporters.
"There are reasons – the injuries are killing us. However, it is very hard watching Collingwood play at the moment. There is no doubt about that. Don't worry, to all the supporters out there, I am sitting there, I am thinking the same things, I am watching the same things and I go down to the rooms after the game and I go, OK, and then I hear Nathan Buckley and (football-department chief) Neil Balme and the players going through it in an honest manner and they are saying exactly the same things," he said.
The Magpies have used 36 players this season – three more than any side. They have also had only eight players take to the field in every game. This compares to unbeaten North Melbourne, who have had 17 players feature in every game.