The Spornstar
12 Apr 2002, 16:16
I was thinking of sending this as an email to Tim Lane, and whoever else in the media (or past player) who has an interest in the topic. I know that I don't exactly bring up anything new/particularly interesting, but plenty of people have jumped on Elliot's bandwagon in the last week, and I wanted to voice my concern about John Elliot and what he has done for our club. I am much more anti-Elliot than anti Brittain. IMO Elliot is the primary reason for us handing over the title as no.1 Victorian club to Essendon. Feel free to disagree with me and support Elliot, I'm interested in your opinions.
Dear Tim,
Everyone is talking about Carlton’s on-field crisis, but of even greater concern is their off-field crisis. In the past twenty years, during John Elliot’s presidency:
1)Carlton has won only 2 premierships and with little prospect of another in the foreseeable future.
(2) Carlton has seen its membership and supporter base stagnate in comparison to other clubs. At one stage in the 1980s it had the largest membership of the Victorian clubs – now it is among the strugglers.
(3) Princes Park has become Optus Oval, with millions of dollars spent on white elephants such as the Legends Stand and the electronic “scoreboard”. Quite probably, AFL football will cease to be played there soon.
John Elliot says he is there for as long as he is needed. What “is needed” for the good of the club is that he goes. He has created an image for the club which is most unattractive, particularly to young people and to potential female supporters. This is a major reason for the membership problem outlined above. In addition, Elliot does not set a good example to the players as far as alcohol consumption and smoking is concerned.
With best wishes,
James O’Neill.
Dear Tim,
Everyone is talking about Carlton’s on-field crisis, but of even greater concern is their off-field crisis. In the past twenty years, during John Elliot’s presidency:
1)Carlton has won only 2 premierships and with little prospect of another in the foreseeable future.
(2) Carlton has seen its membership and supporter base stagnate in comparison to other clubs. At one stage in the 1980s it had the largest membership of the Victorian clubs – now it is among the strugglers.
(3) Princes Park has become Optus Oval, with millions of dollars spent on white elephants such as the Legends Stand and the electronic “scoreboard”. Quite probably, AFL football will cease to be played there soon.
John Elliot says he is there for as long as he is needed. What “is needed” for the good of the club is that he goes. He has created an image for the club which is most unattractive, particularly to young people and to potential female supporters. This is a major reason for the membership problem outlined above. In addition, Elliot does not set a good example to the players as far as alcohol consumption and smoking is concerned.
With best wishes,
James O’Neill.