Gordon Mckie has quit

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeessssssssssssssss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.scottishrugby.org/content/view/1949/2/

Apologies for the opening post but this is the best news I have seen in a while - this is massive news in fact!

Credit where credits due - he did cut the debt and make the SRU financially secure again but my god did he try his best to ruin the game at all levels!

Absolutely delighted, as I am sure a lot of other people on these boards will be.

Will this make much difference to scottish rugby? Who will the replacement be?

Well the vote of confidence was probably the confirmation.

Thought he was doing well at first getting the debt down and it seemed within 5 years we were going to be debt free and could then invest properly. The impression I'm getting though is we were being mislead and the debt was simply moving around the balance sheet (re-classification).

The financial constraints are still a major challenge (with falling spectator numbers maybe an even bigger challenge than 5 years ago), we need to be prudent but will have to invest to accumulate. Money into marketing, promotion, players, the spectating experience, all to improve spectator numbers, better sponsorship, higher advertising revenues, and maybe TV deals.

If we can find someone to get us out of the cycle then they should be well recompensed but would want it to be a large bonus for achievements after 3/5 years. I suspect we need a good team, not just a person, strong in Operations, Marketing and Finance and with the best interests of all levels of Scottish rugby in mind.

It will be good to get someone new in. preferably someone with a rugby background who wants to grow and develop the sport rather than just reduce debt.

Who would be the leading contendors for the role?

Absolutely Flip bloody fantastic - he demise of the bean counter! Haven't felt this good about Scottish rugby since Capt Haddock received his marching orders. 8)

And what's even better is that the temporary replacement has a degree in brewing:

Jock Millican

Jock played rugby for Earlston, Edinburgh University, Leicester, Newcastle Northern and Heriot's and earned three Scotland caps in 1973 while at University. He coached at Newcastle Northern and Heriot's. He has been President of Edinburgh University and more recently Heriot's, where he proposed the motion that brought about the Dunlop Committee in 2005. As part of that committee he played a central part in helping to change the governance of Scottish Rugby to its present, much-improved structure. Jock is a Scottish Rugby representative on the 6 Nations Rugby Committee.

Jock Millican was born and brought up in the Borders near Duns, attending Berwickshire High School. He studied Chemical Engineering at Edinburgh University, and then Brewing at the Heriot-Watt University before joining the brewing industry. He has been a successful Board member for 20 years with Scottish & Newcastle in various logistics and operational roles. Recently he has set up his own business, mentoring companies and their directors and providing management advice.


My round:

Feels wrong to be happy about a man losing his job, but this is fantastic news for all our friends in Scottish Rugby.

McKie just didn't understand the importance of the middle tier of rugby in Scotland; the professional teams. And while he can point to reducing Scottish Rugbys awful debt by sabotaging that middle tier he was undermining real future earning possibilities for Scottish rugby. Not to mention the slow on-field decline.

Fantastic news!!!

What with Scottish football getting it's act together and now potentially rugby as well, the future may well be bright indeed.

What an excellent end to the day!

Yes, a good day for Rugby. To be fair to McKie, his first major mission was to attack the debt which was strangling the SRU. But cutting costs is not the only way to reduce debt. And, without growing the base (player numbers across all levels) there were no real long term prospects. I think his big mistake was to miss that key point. And, therefore, he had to walk. Let's see who comes in next, and certainly hope for the best.

Its sunny outside, and Gordon Mckie has quit. can this day get any better?

Imperialbigdave wrote:Its sunny outside, and Gordon Mckie has quit. can this day get any better?

Yes you could close Reivers and Warriors and put Watsonians and Melrose in the robocop league instead?

AlynDavies wrote:

Imperialbigdave wrote:Its sunny outside, and Gordon Mckie has quit. can this day get any better?

Yes you could close Reivers and Warriors and put Watsonians and Melrose in the robocop league instead?

Reivers have been closed 4 years now, and watsonians are, well...

AD, your insightful knowledge of Scottish rugby never fails to leave me ... lost for words

McKie going is not going to save Scottish Rugby, maybe nothing can. But for us to have any chance he either had to change his attitude or go.

The Pro teams may still die, as the CEO may quicken their death. Only the SRU would have been considering getting rid of their only two pro teams, many at the SRU would go that way. Now at least now if they are to go it may be a quick death for them, which for fans like myself would be far better than the slow painful death we are suffering at the moment.

On the flip side we might just get a CEO who understands that results on the pitch at Pro and International level is what get people through the gate. Stick out a losing team and very few people watch, no matter the promotions etc that you conjur up.

I do believe that the latest round of player cost cutting is what finally finished McKie off, when 20 years on less than £24k a year, are getting ditched midway through contracts because they have been injured for 6 months, when they were injured on duty for the SRU then things are getting seriously bad.

Over at Glasgow were in such a state that we are going to be lucky to have 24 full time pros available during the World Cup and just after it. From that 24, four or five are players with only a couple of Pro level apperances each.

McKie cut almost everything except his salary which doubled over his time in the job.

Dorothy_Mantooth wrote:McKie going is not going to save Scottish Rugby, maybe nothing can. But for us to have any chance he either had to change his attitude or go.

The Pro teams may still die, as the CEO may quicken their death. Only the SRU would have been considering getting rid of their only two pro teams, many at the SRU would go that way. Now at least now if they are to go it may be a quick death for them, which for fans like myself would be far better than the slow painful death we are suffering at the moment.

On the flip side we might just get a CEO who understands that results on the pitch at Pro and International level is what get people through the gate. Stick out a losing team and very few people watch, no matter the promotions etc that you conjur up.

I do believe that the latest round of player cost cutting is what finally finished McKie off, when 20 years on less than £24k a year, are getting ditched midway through contracts because they have been injured for 6 months, when they were injured on duty for the SRU then things are getting seriously bad.

Over at Glasgow were in such a state that we are going to be lucky to have 24 full time pros available during the World Cup and just after it. From that 24, four or five are players with only a couple of Pro level apperances each.

McKie cut almost everything except his salary which doubled over his time in the job.

Leave the realities till tommorow mantooth. For tonight, life is good.

Imperialbigdave wrote:

AlynDavies wrote:

Imperialbigdave wrote:Its sunny outside, and Gordon Mckie has quit. can this day get any better?

Yes you could close Reivers and Warriors and put Watsonians and Melrose in the robocop league instead?

Reivers have been closed 4 years now, and watsonians are, well...

Edinburugh Reivers?
Glasgow Caledonian?

Or have they rebranded again? I know Glasgow are now Glasgow Warriors. but imho having a Glasgow team is a waste of time an money.

Ive never understood why they made new entities when Watsonians and Melrose are your most famous clubs, why not use their prestige and heritage?

AD, I feel at last, with this post, I am coming to understand your tremendous sense of humour - stupidity is an art form after all! So Watsonians because you've heard of the Hastings brother and Melrose cos they invented 7s - ach, fair play to you, you got me there! Remind me, are you a Cardiff, Newport or Llanelli supporter?

AlynDavies wrote:

Imperialbigdave wrote:

AlynDavies wrote:

Imperialbigdave wrote:Its sunny outside, and Gordon Mckie has quit. can this day get any better?

Yes you could close Reivers and Warriors and put Watsonians and Melrose in the robocop league instead?

Reivers have been closed 4 years now, and watsonians are, well...

Edinburugh Reivers?
Glasgow Caledonian?

Or have they rebranded again? I know Glasgow are now Glasgow Warriors. but imho having a Glasgow team is a waste of time an money.

Ive never understood why they made new entities when Watsonians and Melrose are your most famous clubs, why not use their prestige and heritage?

They were rebranded years ago!!!!! And I say it again, Watsonians are not the power they once were. Melrose yes, but Ayr and Currie are now the other powerhouses of the club game. But going back to just them would be disastrous, our players need experience playing at the highest level possible.

AlynDavies wrote:

Imperialbigdave wrote:

AlynDavies wrote:

Imperialbigdave wrote:Its sunny outside, and Gordon Mckie has quit. can this day get any better?

Yes you could close Reivers and Warriors and put Watsonians and Melrose in the robocop league instead?

Reivers have been closed 4 years now, and watsonians are, well...

Edinburugh Reivers?
Glasgow Caledonian?

Or have they rebranded again? I know Glasgow are now Glasgow Warriors. but imho having a Glasgow team is a waste of time an money.

Ive never understood why they made new entities when Watsonians and Melrose are your most famous clubs, why not use their prestige and heritage?

First proper WUM on here, such a shame

How the papers see it this morning:
Herald 1
Herald 2
Scotsman 1
Scotsman 2

John Steele as a potential longer-term replacement? He's got Scottish roots, links to London Scottish, is looking for a job, and we have a decent record with English cast-offs!!!

AsLongAsBut100ofUs wrote:My round:

I'm a little miffed I missed As's round! But absolutely delighted that he is gone. As already indicated not nice when someone loses their job, but the man earned plenty of cash while he was employed. With even half his Salary players like Alex Blair would not have been paid off!

It would be optimistic even for me to think that McKie leaving will change overnight the way Scottish rugby is run, but "a Journey of a thousand Miles begin with a single step"

I do wonder what McKie's replacement will focus on, personally what needs to be done is an astute marketing campeign to drum up suppoert and interest in the professional game here, perhaps capitalizing on the rapidly deteriorating football behaviour.

Get round the Uni's in the Burgh and Glasgow and have a free Pint available when purchasing a student ticket scheme or something similar to get people through the gates to raise awareness of Pro12 Rugby (Feel's weird not calling it magners league rugby though).

And As, just ignore AlynDavies, his knowlege of rugby up north is wanting to say the least.

Just saw this on espn and thought it might cheer up a few scotsmen today!!!

http://www.espnscrum.com/scotland/rugby/story/141592.html

dubh_linn wrote:
Just saw this on espn and thought it might cheer up a few scotsmen today!!!

http://www.espnscrum.com/scotland/rugby/story/141592.html

just seen same story below

Sorry, but McKie is just a scapegoat. He came in and did what any sensible manager should do, and try to get the SRU back in the black.

Sadly, Scottish rugby is in decline, lowest ever numbers of active players, empty stadiums, there is just no money flowing in. The Sevens at Murrayfield was an embarassment, with barely 10,000 there!! Compare that to the week previous at Twickenham....

going to merge this with the other McKie thread now, just so you know....

bathmad wrote:Sorry, but McKie is just a scapegoat. He came in and did what any sensible manager should do, and try to get the SRU back in the black.

Sadly, Scottish rugby is in decline, lowest ever numbers of active players, empty stadiums, there is just no money flowing in. The Sevens at Murrayfield was an embarassment, with barely 10,000 there!! Compare that to the week previous at Twickenham....

ok so what they need is someone to come in bring investment, raise the profile of the game and maybe in time revive a borders team to increase the number of pro scottish rugby players playing in scotland.

It wont be easy thats for sure but you'd imagine they'd have to be key targets.

But who would invest in Scottish rugby? The brand just isn't there!

Sorry, don't mean to bash scottish rugby, but we need to be realistic.

The game of rugby has been straved for 6 years of proper funding and investment.

Money is needed but money will come itself once fans start coming back.

Whoever takes over needs to raise awareness and get people interested again, easily achivable with good PR.

While this is obviously a good thing, let's be realistic. We don't know who is going to come in on a permanent basis and the SRU are not known for making good decisions in the interest of the scottish game. Call me pessimistic but i do not expect this decision to be any different...

Nah, I'm going for glass half full on this one - with McLauchlan and Lockhead being influential in the decision, F Calder, Jeffries and Irvine making appropriate noises in the wings, reckon we'll get someone decent

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/13768960.stm

Good news, but need to get someone who actually cares about Rugby

Who are the on the short list for you

Moving this one into the existing McKie thread

The logical choice for me is someone like: Alastair Cranston - here's some chat about some of his initiatives: Cranston rings changes. As former players turned successful businessmen, Jim Aitken or Norrie Rowan would make decent options.

Alternatively I would consider John Steele, Dean Richards or Nigel Melville - we have a good record with English rejects!

Contenders listed in today's Scotsman: Contenders

Jim Calder or Jim Aitken would be my picks AS