- Banned
- #1
One of the biggest myths in footy is that North can't finish near the bottom of the ladder for any extended period of time.
The reasons given for this are the club's crowds will decline to a point where it hurts the bottom line, and if this happens the AFL will fold, merge or relocate the club.
The 'small 4' clubs in Victoria are Melbourne, St Kilda, Western Bulldogs and of course, North Melbourne.
You would think that none of these clubs could afford a period near the bottom of the ladder, given the reasons that are always cited for North.
Melbourne have sat near the foot of the ladder for the best part of a decade, and the club is finally looking like heading back towards playing finals in the near future. The club was never in any danger of being folded, merged or relocated by the AFL during this period.
St Kilda and the Bulldogs have both recently had consecutive bottom 4 finishes and gone through a traditional rebuild. The Dogs are back playing finals and the Saints will be playing finals again within the next 2-3 years.
Did either of these clubs face being folded, merged or relocated by the AFL while bottoming out? No.
So why should North be seen as any different to the Demons, Saints and Dogs?
Has the club become paranoid because of the proposed Gold Coast relocation in 2007?
That proposal is ancient history now, just like the proposed Melbourne Hawks merger.
The reasons given for this are the club's crowds will decline to a point where it hurts the bottom line, and if this happens the AFL will fold, merge or relocate the club.
The 'small 4' clubs in Victoria are Melbourne, St Kilda, Western Bulldogs and of course, North Melbourne.
You would think that none of these clubs could afford a period near the bottom of the ladder, given the reasons that are always cited for North.
Melbourne have sat near the foot of the ladder for the best part of a decade, and the club is finally looking like heading back towards playing finals in the near future. The club was never in any danger of being folded, merged or relocated by the AFL during this period.
St Kilda and the Bulldogs have both recently had consecutive bottom 4 finishes and gone through a traditional rebuild. The Dogs are back playing finals and the Saints will be playing finals again within the next 2-3 years.
Did either of these clubs face being folded, merged or relocated by the AFL while bottoming out? No.
So why should North be seen as any different to the Demons, Saints and Dogs?
Has the club become paranoid because of the proposed Gold Coast relocation in 2007?
That proposal is ancient history now, just like the proposed Melbourne Hawks merger.