BrizzyBlue
27 May 2006, 03:27
What do we do if Plans A, B, C or D don’t come to fruition very soon? IE: (A) If the AFL doesn’t assist us, (B) Big Bruce doesn’t set up a legacy that we may earn from, (C) Carlton Memberships go through the roof & (D) Rick says “Here’s a lazy 10Mill. Pay me back when you can”. Let’s face facts. It is time to get our collective heads out of the sand. We are in more strife than Batman. The old saying about fish rings in my ears: “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, but teach a man to fish; you feed him for life” :eek:
I reckon that applies to our famous club right now. We are stuck in the mire of decision paralysis. We have been too proud to accept the gift of a fish, haven’t we? We have resisted wanting to learn how to fish, haven’t we? We need positive and proactive thinkers that will be courageous decision makers who will show the way forward. This all starts at the top. The President and Board have to stand up and do a deal that is Win-Win for all parties concerned. I believe there is a formula that if followed through may just resolve most of our financial issues. It will require a modicum of common sense from the AFL and plenty of support from Carlton lovers.
If implemented, this concept will assist us out of the mess that we are in, but will allow us to save face as well. We certainly won’t have to go on the drip from Doctor AFL and as such won’t have to toe the line like the Kangaroos, Bulldogs and Demons. Who knows it may even get a few thousand people fired up to become members instead of just passive supporters.
I am suggesting the continuation of the mighty Carlton Blues as an entity still based in Melbourne, still wearing our Old Dark Navy Blue strip with White CFC Monogram and still singing that famous Da Da Da Da! :cool:
Read on, I’m sure you will realise that it is time to compromise, but simply because this concept will be in our long term interests.
The concept requires an approach to the AFL to consider a number of fixture requests. There is no secret that Collingwood have a solid understanding that the more games they play in Melbourne the better the bottom line for them and the AFL. They don’t even know the way to Tullamarine as a result of this imbalance in the draw. We have been interstate on average 1.5 times more than the filth in the past 10 years. I believe we can do a deal to our financial advantage if this trend of so many interstate games was to continue. There is no doubt that we lose money playing the interstate clubs at the Telephone Dome or the MCG. Why not turn this disadvantage into a Cash Cow? I hate the idea of giving any other club an advantage, so maybe that’s why I think we need to be proactive and make some sensible decisions for our future. We could steal a march on the rest of the competition by:
(1) Being pioneers by taking the game to the people. This means playing some of our usual interstate games as our home games at an AFL sanctioned venue. I suggest 3 Home Interstate matches for a 3 year period. Wherever this is we could do a deal that would see us receiving about 900K backed by the AFL/Local or State Governments, rather than losing 500K by playing the interstaters in Melbourne. :p
(2) Because we are playing 3 games Interstate (even though they are home games), reduce the number of times we actually have to travel to only 3 more times a season. So total Interstate per season would be 6.
(3) Reduce our Melbourne home games to 8 (Split 4 at the MCG and 4 at the Dome), but do a deal that gives Members seating rights to 3 extra Melbourne games.
(4) That leaves our Melbourne away games which could also be Split 4 at the MCG and 4 at the Dome.
(5) To summarise we would be playing 16 times in Melbourne with 8 home and 8 away and equal splits at the MCG & the Dome. We would be playing 6 times Interstate with 3 home and 3 away.
In fact if this plan could come together we would not only resolve some of our financial woes, but satisfy the AFL push into their beloved northern market. You see there is a solid agreement struck with the Queensland Government when they paid for the Gabba redevelopment, that the AFL would fixture any further games in Queensland at the Gabba. Rather than be playing in what really amounts to the country circuit by playing at York Park, Manuka or Carrara, we could satisfy all parties by being bold and playing the three mentioned at the Gabba. We would draw huge crowds as the Blues are very popular in SEQ, where there is an estimated 300K Victorians. Both Sunshine Coasters and Gold Coasters would travel to the more central Brisbane to see their beloved Blueboys because they would be guaranteed a seat at the Gabba. This wouldn’t be the case at other venues. EG: Carrara has only seating capacity for 10K ATM. Footy tragics who support other clubs including the Brions would also start attending our games because they would be fixtured in the weeks that their mob are playing interstate. Who knows the AFL may just push a number of struggling clubs to do similar and secure some tenure at the Gabba. We gotta be the innovators here, not be pushed. I reckon we could get up to $500K per game if we are proactive rather than reactive. That’s $1.5 Mill in the tin rather than losing $500K as we are at the moment. That’s a turnaround of $2 Million to our bottom line! :cool: :cool:
Let’s look at a potential fixture draw that would accommodate this scenario, but before you pass judgement, it is important to note that we would be very well served with the traditional Blockbusters at the MCG where we play each of those rivals twice every season. We would be playing the less fashionable clubs at the Dome or interstate as the draw requires.
Home @ MCG:...................Away @ MCG:
Collingwood........................Collingwood.....This Block of Matches against
Essendon...........................Essendon...........our Traditional Rivals would
Richmond...........................Richmond..............be Fixed for 3 Seasons.
Hawthorn...........................Hawthorn
Home @ The Dome:...........Away @ The Dome:
Melbourne..........................St Kilda..........This Block of Matches against
Adelaide............................Bulldogs...........our former VFL rivals would
Sydney.............................Geelong................. Rotate for 3 Seasons.
Brisbane............................Kangaroos
Home @ Gabba:...............Away Interstate:
Fremantle.........................Adelaide...........This Block of Matches against
West Coast.......................Sydney...............the Interstate Clubs would
Port Adelaide.....................Brisbane.................Rotate for 3 Seasons.
Season Venues:
Home MCG:.....4................Away MCG:.....4............Total MCG:......8
Home Dome:...4.................Away Dome:...4............Total Dome:.....8
Home Gabba:..3.................Away Inters:..3............Total Inters:.....6
Home Total:...11................Away Total:...11...........Total Games:...22
I reckon that the AFL would go for this because it means they have a way of helping us without upsetting the other clubs by giving us a handout and it gets them more games in Queensland. Carlton should do whatever it can to play less away games Interstate and push the envelope to reduce those financial disasters in Melbourne, particularly at the Dome. Members are not disadvantaged because there will be a guaranteed 8 home & 8 away games (16) in Melbourne each season. Supporters will get to see the Blues 3 more times per season as all these games would be beamed back live to Victoria. Finally with larger crowds in attendance at our Gabba Home games and the extra TV exposure, our profile will be raised for Members and Sponsors alike. In 3 years we should once again be a Power Club both off-field and on-field and be in a position to dictate terms rather than the restricted submissive position that we have found ourselves in. If we want to survive as a club in our own right and not be merged/taken over/relocated, then this is one way to restore the pride in our great club. Let’s for once do something positive and bring that 17th that much closer. If we all pull together, we can do amazing things. Da Da Da Da…. :D
I reckon that applies to our famous club right now. We are stuck in the mire of decision paralysis. We have been too proud to accept the gift of a fish, haven’t we? We have resisted wanting to learn how to fish, haven’t we? We need positive and proactive thinkers that will be courageous decision makers who will show the way forward. This all starts at the top. The President and Board have to stand up and do a deal that is Win-Win for all parties concerned. I believe there is a formula that if followed through may just resolve most of our financial issues. It will require a modicum of common sense from the AFL and plenty of support from Carlton lovers.
If implemented, this concept will assist us out of the mess that we are in, but will allow us to save face as well. We certainly won’t have to go on the drip from Doctor AFL and as such won’t have to toe the line like the Kangaroos, Bulldogs and Demons. Who knows it may even get a few thousand people fired up to become members instead of just passive supporters.
I am suggesting the continuation of the mighty Carlton Blues as an entity still based in Melbourne, still wearing our Old Dark Navy Blue strip with White CFC Monogram and still singing that famous Da Da Da Da! :cool:
Read on, I’m sure you will realise that it is time to compromise, but simply because this concept will be in our long term interests.
The concept requires an approach to the AFL to consider a number of fixture requests. There is no secret that Collingwood have a solid understanding that the more games they play in Melbourne the better the bottom line for them and the AFL. They don’t even know the way to Tullamarine as a result of this imbalance in the draw. We have been interstate on average 1.5 times more than the filth in the past 10 years. I believe we can do a deal to our financial advantage if this trend of so many interstate games was to continue. There is no doubt that we lose money playing the interstate clubs at the Telephone Dome or the MCG. Why not turn this disadvantage into a Cash Cow? I hate the idea of giving any other club an advantage, so maybe that’s why I think we need to be proactive and make some sensible decisions for our future. We could steal a march on the rest of the competition by:
(1) Being pioneers by taking the game to the people. This means playing some of our usual interstate games as our home games at an AFL sanctioned venue. I suggest 3 Home Interstate matches for a 3 year period. Wherever this is we could do a deal that would see us receiving about 900K backed by the AFL/Local or State Governments, rather than losing 500K by playing the interstaters in Melbourne. :p
(2) Because we are playing 3 games Interstate (even though they are home games), reduce the number of times we actually have to travel to only 3 more times a season. So total Interstate per season would be 6.
(3) Reduce our Melbourne home games to 8 (Split 4 at the MCG and 4 at the Dome), but do a deal that gives Members seating rights to 3 extra Melbourne games.
(4) That leaves our Melbourne away games which could also be Split 4 at the MCG and 4 at the Dome.
(5) To summarise we would be playing 16 times in Melbourne with 8 home and 8 away and equal splits at the MCG & the Dome. We would be playing 6 times Interstate with 3 home and 3 away.
In fact if this plan could come together we would not only resolve some of our financial woes, but satisfy the AFL push into their beloved northern market. You see there is a solid agreement struck with the Queensland Government when they paid for the Gabba redevelopment, that the AFL would fixture any further games in Queensland at the Gabba. Rather than be playing in what really amounts to the country circuit by playing at York Park, Manuka or Carrara, we could satisfy all parties by being bold and playing the three mentioned at the Gabba. We would draw huge crowds as the Blues are very popular in SEQ, where there is an estimated 300K Victorians. Both Sunshine Coasters and Gold Coasters would travel to the more central Brisbane to see their beloved Blueboys because they would be guaranteed a seat at the Gabba. This wouldn’t be the case at other venues. EG: Carrara has only seating capacity for 10K ATM. Footy tragics who support other clubs including the Brions would also start attending our games because they would be fixtured in the weeks that their mob are playing interstate. Who knows the AFL may just push a number of struggling clubs to do similar and secure some tenure at the Gabba. We gotta be the innovators here, not be pushed. I reckon we could get up to $500K per game if we are proactive rather than reactive. That’s $1.5 Mill in the tin rather than losing $500K as we are at the moment. That’s a turnaround of $2 Million to our bottom line! :cool: :cool:
Let’s look at a potential fixture draw that would accommodate this scenario, but before you pass judgement, it is important to note that we would be very well served with the traditional Blockbusters at the MCG where we play each of those rivals twice every season. We would be playing the less fashionable clubs at the Dome or interstate as the draw requires.
Home @ MCG:...................Away @ MCG:
Collingwood........................Collingwood.....This Block of Matches against
Essendon...........................Essendon...........our Traditional Rivals would
Richmond...........................Richmond..............be Fixed for 3 Seasons.
Hawthorn...........................Hawthorn
Home @ The Dome:...........Away @ The Dome:
Melbourne..........................St Kilda..........This Block of Matches against
Adelaide............................Bulldogs...........our former VFL rivals would
Sydney.............................Geelong................. Rotate for 3 Seasons.
Brisbane............................Kangaroos
Home @ Gabba:...............Away Interstate:
Fremantle.........................Adelaide...........This Block of Matches against
West Coast.......................Sydney...............the Interstate Clubs would
Port Adelaide.....................Brisbane.................Rotate for 3 Seasons.
Season Venues:
Home MCG:.....4................Away MCG:.....4............Total MCG:......8
Home Dome:...4.................Away Dome:...4............Total Dome:.....8
Home Gabba:..3.................Away Inters:..3............Total Inters:.....6
Home Total:...11................Away Total:...11...........Total Games:...22
I reckon that the AFL would go for this because it means they have a way of helping us without upsetting the other clubs by giving us a handout and it gets them more games in Queensland. Carlton should do whatever it can to play less away games Interstate and push the envelope to reduce those financial disasters in Melbourne, particularly at the Dome. Members are not disadvantaged because there will be a guaranteed 8 home & 8 away games (16) in Melbourne each season. Supporters will get to see the Blues 3 more times per season as all these games would be beamed back live to Victoria. Finally with larger crowds in attendance at our Gabba Home games and the extra TV exposure, our profile will be raised for Members and Sponsors alike. In 3 years we should once again be a Power Club both off-field and on-field and be in a position to dictate terms rather than the restricted submissive position that we have found ourselves in. If we want to survive as a club in our own right and not be merged/taken over/relocated, then this is one way to restore the pride in our great club. Let’s for once do something positive and bring that 17th that much closer. If we all pull together, we can do amazing things. Da Da Da Da…. :D