Massive losses in AFL

[westdog54]

Pretty sure it is this guy

Wow, that guy will never be out of popular culture will he?

[Sedat]

http://wwos.ninemsn.com.au/blog.aspx...wcomments=true

Grant Thomas is almost the lone voice in the media that takes the AFL to task on their questionable decision-making. He has totally nailed the problems currently festering in our game in this article.

[Mantis]

^^^

GT is on the money.

It begs the question how the hell do we and the other battlers compete with the power clubs??

We are struggling to get 30,000 members a year when the likes of Collingwood, Essendon & Hawthorn have over 50,000. Add in off field turnover and it seems at some point it is going to all get just a little too hard... As Port are finding out.

[The Underdog]

http://wwos.ninemsn.com.au/blog.aspx...wcomments=true

Grant Thomas is almost the lone voice in the media that takes the AFL to task on their questionable decision-making. He has totally nailed the problems currently festering in our game in this article.

Christ that's the 2nd time in two weeks I've agreed with Grant Thomas, I'm going out and I may be quite some time.

[Desipura]

^^^

GT is on the money.

It begs the question how the hell do we and the other battlers compete with the power clubs??

We are struggling to get 30,000 members a year when the likes of Collingwood, Essendon & Hawthorn have over 50,000. Add in off field turnover and it seems at some point it is going to all get just a little too hard... As Port are finding out.

I think the supporters are thinking the same hence why they don't sign up

[Ghost Dog]

I think the supporters are thinking the same hence why they don't sign up

I think the club needs to look into that. Why did we suddenly loose so many members at the start of the season, or get off to such a slow start?
Has a kind of dysthemia set in at Port? maybe so and us too.

I have noticed it being very quiet at our games at Etihad. Others at the game have commented too. It seems to take the supporters a while to rev up. Has anyone else noticed this?

[LostDoggy]

... Biased draws, ignorant administrators, expansion clubs, my teams crappy performance, the ever-present threat of players leaving, free-agency looming like a storm on the horizon, media over-exposure of the game, all seem to whittle away at the passion I once felt.

Sums it up for me. I have fallen out of love with the game this year. Still a FFC member and will remain so, but am really dissatisfied with how the whole landscape is changing. I have my regular seats waiting for me at docklands tonight, but can't seem to generate much (any) enthusiasm to go. Sigh.

[AndrewP6]

Sums it up for me. I have fallen out of love with the game this year. Still a FFC member and will remain so, but am really dissatisfied with how the whole landscape is changing. I have my regular seats waiting for me at docklands tonight, but can't seem to generate much (any) enthusiasm to go. Sigh.

Could that be due to the fact our season has not gone to plan, and is basically shot?

[LostDoggy]

Could that be due to the fact our season has not gone to plan, and is basically shot?

Nope. Have always enjoyed going to the footy no matter how our season has been on field, including watching neutral games. Footy has also been a helpful distraction from life's curve balls. This year I've become disenchanted. Started with the obligatory annual rule change and the introduction of another interstate team and has gone down hill from there.

[AndrewP6]

Nope. Have always enjoyed going to the footy no matter how our season has been on field, including watching neutral games. Footy has also been a helpful distraction from life's curve balls. This year I've become disenchanted. Started with the obligatory annual rule change and the introduction of another interstate team and has gone down hill from there.

Fair enough. Unless the Dogs are playing, I don't go, and won't often watch.

[Desipura]

Sums it up for me. I have fallen out of love with the game this year. Still a FFC member and will remain so, but am really dissatisfied with how the whole landscape is changing. I have my regular seats waiting for me at docklands tonight, but can't seem to generate much (any) enthusiasm to go. Sigh.

I'm the same, I had very little interest last night, the 3 rd quarter thanks to Dahlhaus sparks some interest back in me.
I'm sure he does that to his teammates.
I hope one or two players show something over the next 3 weeks and hope if we lose Ward we address our midfield pace issue and foot skills by trading those picks away in a weak draft.
That said, I am not confident we have an immediate replacement for Hall

[BulldogBelle]

^^^

GT is on the money.

It begs the question how the hell do we and the other battlers compete with the power clubs??

We are struggling to get 30,000 members a year when the likes of Collingwood, Essendon & Hawthorn have over 50,000. Add in off field turnover and it seems at some point it is going to all get just a little too hard... As Port are finding out.

Simple - we beg, borrow and steal - actually mainly beg the AFL for further subsidies.

Unless we are given handouts by the AFL to increase our spending in our football department we arent going to compete with the power clubs - we arent going to be playing finals with this list in 2012, and 2013 looks doubtful also - hence increased revenue from sponsorships and memberships will be difficult to grow from our 2011 results...

If you have the best facilities, best resources, best people, best coaches, best sports science, best preparation, best planning, best games, best crowds, best balance sheet and best prospects the decision is made for players.

[LostDoggy]

What bothers me most about the power clubs is not so much that they have more financial resources than us — they made better business decisions decades ago and good on 'em — but their general attitude towards the poorer clubs. The likes of Kennett, Eddie, etc. (and their supporters with them) cry to anybody who'll listen about how the AFL has to keep propping up the poor teams and how it's not sustainable, etc.

Let's divert into an alternative universe for a moment. We folded along with Fitzroy, the Brisbane Bears and Sydney in 1996. Port didn't last long, came and went, the two new franchises in GWS and GC didn't happen because there is no AFL at all in those states, Melbourne and North went belly up and the competition now consists of 10 or 11 teams and is still primarily the VFL. That's 5 games on TV instead of 9. That billion dollar TV deal is now closer to $300-400 million. Match day takings, merchandise, etc. are halved. The league is in dire straits.

Back to this reality. The fact is that the power clubs need us in the competition. It is just as important to the survival of Collingwood as the Bulldogs or North. All the muppet supporters from the big clubs need a bloody good lesson in basic economics before they mouth off at us to “go rattle our tins”. (I even heard this crap from North supporters some weeks back. Replied to them to shut up, I had more money in the bank last October than their whole club, but was still shocked by it).

Somebody at the AFL needs to pull their head out of the sand and do something, and quickly, before half the competition see their supporters get bored and walk away, taking bread from the table of every club.

[immortalmike]

I'm the same, I had very little interest last night, the 3 rd quarter thanks to Dahlhaus sparks some interest back in me.
I'm sure he does that to his teammates.
I hope one or two players show something over the next 3 weeks and hope if we lose Ward we address our midfield pace issue and foot skills by trading those picks away in a weak draft.
That said, I am not confident we have an immediate replacement for Hall

Why would we do that rather than holding on to them and drafting better kids in an uncompromised draft?

[Go_Dogs]

Can we pencil in another big one for Port this week? Please!!