Opinion That's it - I'm done!!!

[Scorpus]

I wouldn't care so much about loyalty if the system allowed you to replace talent with other talent.

As it stands, some clubs are at a massive disadvantage due to the Victorian centric spread of teams and rules that are far too heavily in favor of players.

 

[Roovolution]

I'm hanging on by a thread to be honest and it's because the way the AFL goes about things is so pathetic that it's difficult to keep my enthusiasm. The AFL makes policy on the run and leaks info to the public to gauge how it will be accepted and basically tries to run the competition as a popularity contest.

The Collingwood's of the world don't even need to come up with an away jumper as the AFL are too pissweak to just enforce the rules on them. There is so much hypocrisy it's laughable.

The game hasn't been administered properly since Wayne Jackson. They constantly screw with the rules to the point now that throwing is accepted and holding the ball doesn't exist. All because they're desperate to make the game as 'entertaining' as possible because it's about the money rather than the integrity of the game.

Free agency is an absolute joke and the fact that players can't be traded against their will is laughable. Players have all the power now and clubs are ****ed. Sydney and Melbourne based teams get a huge advantage because of where they are and the AFL couldn't give a stuff about their non rugby based teams. We are a football heartland so they know we'll always support the game so we don't deserve s**t, unless you know we're a crap club like Port and constantly struggling to stay afloat in which case the AFL will give whatever they want.

Rather than create a set of rules that is the standard for everyone they bend the rules for the Geelong's of the world and the Carlton Chris Judd Visy contracts while cracking down on the Crows for a side contract that didn't breach the salary cap as we were sick of losing players and desperately tried to do something to keep the flog.

Gill is a knob just like Vlad before him and the next jobs for mates Head of the AFL will be a flog too. Things won't get better. Bring on the NFL.

 

[Geoffa32]

The last few years have destroyed any centimentality I have towards our players. I no longer give a s**t who leaves the club, all I care about is getting a fair deal. I can stand losing guys like Danger but what really kills me is getting nothing of value for him.

The current Free Agency system asbolutely sucks because it's fully tailored to suit the needs of the players with no thought of protecting the clubs. They should immediately change the rules to allow clubs to trade players regardless of their own will (like in American sports). This would allow clubs to auction off leaving players to the highest bidder, as it should be.

I agree. Player movement needs to be a two way street.


At the moment it is heavily weighted in their favour.

The players union have cherry picked all of the good stuff from US sports without taking the mechanisms that protect the clubs/franchises.

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[Punchy Bassett]

People say the players should have loyalty.

Why?

It is a draft system. These guys were picked as 18 year old kids to play at a club they most likely have no personal affiliation with other than being picked by that club by the recruiters. If club x did not pick them, club y would.

Why do they need to show loyalty in such a system?

In the case of say Lever where we picked him up where others wouldn't cause of worries about his knee, then yes they should show some loyalty.

 

[Heafy83]

Not sure there is anything that would stop me from supporting the Crows. Maybe I would not renew my membership if I came in financial difficulties, but that's about it.

I feel a lot of supporters have no idea what real hardship is as a footy club. We are bitching and moaning because we haven't won a flag in 20 years, but in that same time have played finals regularly, had an above 50% winning record, highly profitable, seen some legendary footballers play for our club etc. A lot of clubs have been brought to their knees and gone almost bust. Haven't played finals for a decade+. Took 40+ years to win their 2nd/next flag.

Every time I am feeling down about our club I remind myself about these things once in a while. It helps.... it really does.

Maybe it makes me a bit softer towards the club, but hey its a leisure/luxury item being involved in a footy team. No one is forcing you to do so. Why stress about things that are out of your control.

 

[Pugsley]

Not sure there is anything that would stop me from supporting the Crows. Maybe I would not renew my membership if I came in financial difficulties, but that's about it.

I feel a lot of supporters have no idea what real hardship is as a footy club. We are bitching and moaning because we haven't won a flag in 20 years, but in that same time have played finals regularly, had an above 50% winning record, highly profitable, seen some legendary footballers play for our club etc. A lot of clubs have been brought to their knees and gone almost bust. Haven't played finals for a decade+. Took 40+ years to win their 2nd/next flag.

Every time I am feeling down about our club I remind myself about these things once in a while. It helps.... it really does.

Maybe it makes me a bit softer towards the club, but hey its a leisure/luxury item being involved in a footy team. No one is forcing you to do so. Why stress about things that are out of your control.

Underdog is a great movie.

 

[Red mist]

Interest ebbs and flows. On the plateau ATM.

 

[Smoooothy]

damn, i opened this thread hoping for tears, not to feel

 

[I Lost My Keays]

This club breaks my heart as we constantly lose young talent or key pieces of the team and get bent over in the deals.

 

[Crow54]

Thursday night's game was a tipping point for me. There had been games leading up to it, but that was the last straw. The fact that the team lost in front of a home crowd, against a side so much below it, while showing all the attributes of the previous losses this year, was the deal breaker. I can't see them improving unless they acknowledge the mistakes they're making, rather than say "we need to play harder" or "we need to just play 'our' way", and stop refusing to listen to any outside criticism.

I'll still barrack for the Crows, and watch some matches on TV, but I'm seriously considering giving up my membership. Going to the games isn't enjoyable for me any more.

 

[Donkey Magoo]

I don't think that there is much that could do it for me.

One of the reasons that I found the Dangerfields comments about it being a hobby so galling was his complete lack of understanding in a supporters emotional identity with a club.
I still remember being an 8 yo kid at the dining table in Salisbury North, drawing Claude the Crow before we had even played a game.
I remember my late Dad telling me how important that Adelaide having a team in the National competition was, I remember him telling me that Port had tried to sell out the rest of SA footy but the Crows had beat them off.

Some of the best times as a kid, watching footy in the lounge room with my Dad. I was 10 in the halcyon days of Modra kicking bags, Watching out for Dunstall, Gaz Sr and Plugger for who was going better in the Coleman.

When I moved to Darwin 20 years ago, the Crows were a link to my home; winning premierships in those two years became a bedrock of my identity.

In my late teens as my Dad and I drifted apart, it was often the Crows who brought us in contact, that broke the ice, When he passed, although gone his passion remained. When I first seriously introduced my wife to the Crows, it was around 2010-11, we sucked, she asked me why I even supported them. Last year we left the G together after the Hawthorn game, she was singing the song loud and proud, as she felt that we were robbed.
Every week, we gather the family at my house, Brothers, Cousins new wifes and kids.

The strength of the story of AFL footy is deeper than any one player, coach , cleaner or supporter. It's the glue that binds so much of our communities together.

With every player loss I feel it deep, but I also feel resolve. What has happened to our club since the expansion teams arrived has been extraordinary. It would of decimated some; loosing 5 top level players, a dud coach, no top draft picks for years, coping the suspension for another teams tanking, losing an assistant coach to cancer and then a murdered coach.

To come out on the other side with a team that arguably plays the best football on any given day is remarkable. There are going to be tough times to come. We are in a season defining form slum now, we we fade away, or will we recover. I'm backing us in. What else is there to do?
Go Crows.

 

[Pugsley]

I don't think that there is much that could do it for me.

One of the reasons that I found the Dangerfields comments about it being a hobby so galling was his complete lack of understanding in a supporters emotional identity with a club.
I still remember being an 8 yo kid at the dining table in Salisbury North, drawing Claude the Crow before we had even played a game.
I remember my late Dad telling me how important that Adelaide having a team in the National competition was, I remember him telling me that Port had tried to sell out the rest of SA footy but the Crows had beat them off.

Some of the best times as a kid, watching footy in the lounge room with my Dad. I was 10 in the halcyon days of Modra kicking bags, Watching out for Dunstall, Gaz Sr and Plugger for who was going better in the Coleman.

When I moved to Darwin 20 years ago, the Crows were a link to my home; winning premierships in those to years became a bedrock of my identity.

In my late teens as my Dad and I drifted apart, it was often the Crows who brought us in contact, that broke the ice, When he passed, although gone his passion remained. When I first seriously introduced my wife to the Crows, it was around 2010-11, we sucked, she asked me why I even supported them. Last year we left the G together after the Hawthorn game, she was singing the song loud and proud, as she felt that we were robbed.
Every week, we gather the family at my house, Brothers, Cousins new wifes and kids.

The strength of the story of AFL footy is deeper than any one player, coach , cleaner or supporter. It's the glue that binds so much of our communities together.

With every player loss I feel it deep, but I also feel resolve. What has happened to our club since the expansion teams arrived has been extraordinary. It would of decimated some; loosing 5 top level players, a dud coach, no top draft picks for years, coping the suspension for another teams tanking, losing an assistant coach to cancer and then a murdered coach.

To come out on the other side with a team that arguably plays the best football on any given day is remarkable. There are going to be tough times to come. We are in a season defining form slum now, we we fade away, or will we recover. I'm backing us in. What else is there to do?
Go Crows.

Patrick is a detached unit unless he wants to make it his business and most of the time it isn't.

 

[Geoffa32]

In the case of say Lever where we picked him up where others wouldn't cause of worries about his knee, then yes they should show some loyalty.

There is no way he would have gone undrafted...

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[Red mist]

I don't think that there is much that could do it for me.

One of the reasons that I found the Dangerfields comments about it being a hobby so galling was his complete lack of understanding in a supporters emotional identity with a club.
I still remember being an 8 yo kid at the dining table in Salisbury North, drawing Claude the Crow before we had even played a game.
I remember my late Dad telling me how important that Adelaide having a team in the National competition was, I remember him telling me that Port had tried to sell out the rest of SA footy but the Crows had beat them off.

Some of the best times as a kid, watching footy in the lounge room with my Dad. I was 10 in the halcyon days of Modra kicking bags, Watching out for Dunstall, Gaz Sr and Plugger for who was going better in the Coleman.

When I moved to Darwin 20 years ago, the Crows were a link to my home; winning premierships in those to years became a bedrock of my identity.

In my late teens as my Dad and I drifted apart, it was often the Crows who brought us in contact, that broke the ice, When he passed, although gone his passion remained. When I first seriously introduced my wife to the Crows, it was around 2010-11, we sucked, she asked me why I even supported them. Last year we left the G together after the Hawthorn game, she was singing the song loud and proud, as she felt that we were robbed.
Every week, we gather the family at my house, Brothers, Cousins new wifes and kids.

The strength of the story of AFL footy is deeper than any one player, coach , cleaner or supporter. It's the glue that binds so much of our communities together.

With every player loss I feel it deep, but I also feel resolve. What has happened to our club since the expansion teams arrived has been extraordinary. It would of decimated some; loosing 5 top level players, a dud coach, no top draft picks for years, coping the suspension for another teams tanking, losing an assistant coach to cancer and then a murdered coach.

To come out on the other side with a team that arguably plays the best football on any given day is remarkable. There are going to be tough times to come. We are in a season defining form slum now, we we fade away, or will we recover. I'm backing us in. What else is there to do?
Go Crows.

 

[Rabman]

I can't understand why people would abandon ship, how would it feel to have the title of a plastic fan, fair weather supporter? How do you think Richmond fans, St.kilda fans and Melbourne fans feel about their club when it comes to success. s**t happens but ride the bumps and get back on the bike and go again. Nothing would stop me supporting the team because i know the pain is well worth it when the success comes around, the hope kills you but you just have to take it on the chin and get on with it. We take the piss out of port power with their fans, be very hypocritical of us to start acting like them.

 

[Geoffa32]

I don't think that there is much that could do it for me.

One of the reasons that I found the Dangerfields comments about it being a hobby so galling was his complete lack of understanding in a supporters emotional identity with a club.
I still remember being an 8 yo kid at the dining table in Salisbury North, drawing Claude the Crow before we had even played a game.
I remember my late Dad telling me how important that Adelaide having a team in the National competition was, I remember him telling me that Port had tried to sell out the rest of SA footy but the Crows had beat them off.

Some of the best times as a kid, watching footy in the lounge room with my Dad. I was 10 in the halcyon days of Modra kicking bags, Watching out for Dunstall, Gaz Sr and Plugger for who was going better in the Coleman.

When I moved to Darwin 20 years ago, the Crows were a link to my home; winning premierships in those to years became a bedrock of my identity.

In my late teens as my Dad and I drifted apart, it was often the Crows who brought us in contact, that broke the ice, When he passed, although gone his passion remained. When I first seriously introduced my wife to the Crows, it was around 2010-11, we sucked, she asked me why I even supported them. Last year we left the G together after the Hawthorn game, she was singing the song loud and proud, as she felt that we were robbed.
Every week, we gather the family at my house, Brothers, Cousins new wifes and kids.

The strength of the story of AFL footy is deeper than any one player, coach , cleaner or supporter. It's the glue that binds so much of our communities together.

With every player loss I feel it deep, but I also feel resolve. What has happened to our club since the expansion teams arrived has been extraordinary. It would of decimated some; loosing 5 top level players, a dud coach, no top draft picks for years, coping the suspension for another teams tanking, losing an assistant coach to cancer and then a murdered coach.

To come out on the other side with a team that arguably plays the best football on any given day is remarkable. There are going to be tough times to come. We are in a season defining form slum now, we we fade away, or will we recover. I'm backing us in. What else is there to do?
Go Crows.

The way I see it, love the club not the players.

Some players are an intrinsic part if the club. Macca, Mods, Roo, Robran and even Tex.
Tex was a Crows supporter as a kid who got to live his dream.

Heck Smart is a club man as well. Even if most of us are unsure what good he does.

But players will come and go. The club remains.

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[mattymac]

I said I would do it if we didn't bring in a midfielder after last season.

So I can't trust myself

 

[baldandbroke]

Allow clubs to trade it's contracted players - the players have the security of the contract, not which club it is with.

It needs to be evened up.

As far as my connection, I think I'm stuck with the Crows ... having said that, when the Crows came in and I joined to go see AFL live, it took about 5 years to realise that I was now an AFC Supporter after being born into the Redlegs. That was because Norwood weren't in the top level of competition, there was no conflict for me.

I cannot see myself supporting another AFL club ever in my lifetime, although a Tassie team would get my second tier support

 

[baldandbroke]

 

[Jarman3]

You had me at PD winning the flag ......



I think I would be physically ill

It's easy to top that, and it almost happened last year.

I am, of course, talking about Kurt Tippett winning a flag.

 

[Pugsley]

It's easy to top that, and it almost happened winning a flag.

I am, of course, talking about Kurt Tippett winning a flag.

He's cooked now Kurtly.

 

[Jarman3]

Allow clubs to trade it's contracted players - the players have the security of the contract, not which club it is with.

It needs to be evened up.

As far as my connection, I think I'm stuck with the Crows ... having said that, when the Crows came in and I joined to go see AFL live, it took about 5 years to realise that I was now an AFC Supporter after being born into the Redlegs. That was because Norwood weren't in the top level of competition, there was no conflict for me.

I cannot see myself supporting another AFL club ever in my lifetime, although a Tassie team would get my second tier support

Yeah, I really think the next change to player movement rules has to be introducing the trading of contracted players regardless of whether they agree to it or not. Other professional sports all over the world have it, I don't see why AFL players should be allowed to avoid it while reaping the benefits of other concepts imported from overseas like free agency, etc.

I say have every player become a free agent after 8 (or even 6) years in the league (regardless of how many clubs that's with), and allow clubs to trade contracted players wherever and whenever they want.

 

[Iron]

I don't know how anyone can just abandon the club or the sport. That's not a criticism, I just really don't think I could.

Tell a Saints fan how you feel. Ask a Footscray fan how it felt to break the drought.

It would take the club folding for me to give it up I reckon.

 

[Jarman3]

He's cooked now Kurtly.

Yeah, but last year he played in a grand final.

Just think how close we came... he was one 50/50 game away from getting a premiership medal.

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

I don't think I could abandon footy