News Colin Carter and Geelong's "ugly" fans

Remove this Banner Ad

Mad_Hatter said:
You know what I would have liked to hear?
"We received some emotional letters over the last few days, we understand the fans are hurting, we all are, and we love the passion. That's the best thing about our fans, they are so passionate and emotionally invested. We are all bitterly disappointed and all I can say is we will do everything we can to better ourselves as a team and a club".
Simples.
Alienating your fans by putting the blame on them is so ignorant and arrogant I can't believe he'd say such a thing.
Click to expand...
I dont think anyone should be sending stuff to the clubs without engaging a degree of manners..frustration or not . The reaction , as you say , seems counter intuitive but it seems there are those at the clubs that have lost the pr war in how they play and what they are trying to achieve ..and they dont like it.

I feel when Costa and Thompson set out on their path of pain and development .. there was a clear embrace and take the fans along with us ..now more and more its seems the club sees the recalcitrant fans as impediments to doing their job. Like an episode of Yes Minister where they didnt want to open the hospital to patients cause the hospital was running so well without them... the fans really are a nuisance ..why cant they just be cows ..and lets us milk them with no more than a moo.. Why cant they just pay their money and come along and be happy with what we have done for them..don't they know how lucky they are to have us and the effort we have put in and the results we have achieved..

So instead of embracing , as your tactic would seem to try to smarty do .. they bunker down , they put the walls up , the entrench and fortify ..they hope for the result the want so they can say ...SEE we told you so ..but when the result has been disappointing so many years in a row.. their seems little credit in the bank for a lot of the paying members.

I wonder where it ends ,,no where good id have thought. Again..no one anyone should send letter as described but as you say.. there are things far worse than getting the letters.. one worse is ... people not caring , no passion .. while there is passion ..its only a matter of channelling it. Convince and explain why .. dont stand up on the high alter of knowledge superiority and shout down at the ignorant hungry masses that they should just eat cake.

 
Art Vandelay_ said:
Must be some massive faux pas to draw SJ out of BF hiding ;)


www.3aw.com.au

Geelong president slams 'disrespectful' comments from minority of Cats fans

Geelong president Colin Carter says he’s “amazed” with a minority of fans who have sent “foul” letters to players and officials in previous weeks. The Cats lost their third preliminary final in four years last night, going down to the Tigers by 19 points. And in the aftermath, Carter revealed to...
www.3aw.com.au www.3aw.com.au

And in the aftermath, Carter revealed to 3AW Football the extent of some of the vitriol directed at key people at the club.

“I’m amazed at how ugly a very small rump of the supporters are,” he said.

“I’ve had letters over the last couple of weeks which are actually quite foul and this isn’t social media, these are people who in some cases who sign their names.

“They’re talking about our people in a way that’s completely disrespectful and completely inconsistent with how Geelong holds itself.

“It’s a very, very small rump, we enjoy enormous support from the majority of our members but there is an ugly side out there that is pretty distressing.

“If I was in the firing line like our players and coaches, it would get me down.”




Key tidbits in order

- Bitterly disappointed but well done to Richmond
- Thought we were a real show at HT, well done to Richmond for coming back, even thought we were a real show in the last.
- Wondered whether being run over was running out of legs, but no post mortem done yet.
- Robbo queries about changes afoot. Lists ruckman, Taylor among other factors
- Carter responds by stating that every year during his tenure the media ponder these questions and write us off. Coming 3rd is a good year.
- Baffled as to how coming 3rd out of 18 is seen as a failure. Good platform to attack next year, the summit is hard to reach.
- will always be changes to the list but no more drastic than other years. Only 2 2011 premiership players played on Friday and we're rebuilding on the run since then CC: catempire analysis. Remain in contention and again baffled as how that's seen as failure.
- There will be a review and changes to the list will be made to ensure that we can have a crack again next year.
- Robbo questions about Ablett's intentions. Carter says he has no idea what he intends to do. Hope he plays on.
- Paul Roos asks about how Carter handles his role. Connecting fans, sponsors, the club and understanding all facets whilst being external to the day to day operations to gain an outside the bubble view. Especially the day after losing a final.
- Carter defends Scott's record as coach highlighting his W/L % record.
- He's reached out to leaders, and key players to state they have the clubs support.
- States we're successful on and off the field.
- His focus as an external director is to make sure all key footy department personnel sync ideas, they're well discussed and use expert opinions when needed.
- Involve numerous people in the footy dept so it's not one voice making all the decisions.
- Roos questions about the footy fan side of things. Carter then launches the defence that is in the OP of this thread.
- Does not condone abusive behaviour.
- Robbo then gives anecdote of fans sending him messages stating Scott needs to go and ask Carter how he accepts that criticism.
- Doesn't accept it, those that know him (Scott) have a completely different view. Terrific human being and coach.
- Doesn't know why in some quarters he attracts some flak and queries if Scott is too thoughtful for some fringe group of fans.
- He doesn't buy the criticism at all.
- Lloyd asks about Blicavs on the wing. Carter responds by not caring about the decision itself but as per above is interested in whether that decision is well syndicated and thought out by the coaching group.
- Doesn't care about what decisions are made by the coaching group with regards to match strategy but whether the half a dozen to a dozen in the footy department who are meant to know about this stuff reached an informed decision.
- Asked about Kelly. Let it go through to the keeper.

I agreed with a lot of what he had to say. His criticism of a small subsection of fans doesn't faze me, I too don't see eye to eye with that small minority.
They are the ugly side of the fan base and are disrespectful to the club. Well said Colin.
Click to expand...

Thanks for this

So he deflected by redirecting criticism to keyboard warriors who send abuse. Then he says that fan concerns are wrong. Great job ‘connecting fans’ carter.
 

Log in to remove this ad.

www.theage.com.au

Carter pushes for new ideals

FC Barcelona visit prompts Geelong president to consider possible new directions for AFL.
www.theage.com.au www.theage.com.au

A RECENT visit to FC Barcelona by Geelong president Colin Carter has prompted the lateral thinker to consider possible new directions for AFL football.

One is for quantum growth in membership - 100,000 for Geelong, for instance - but without the inherent expectation of discount admittance to games. Another is that everyone who appears for a premiership-winning team should get a medal, not just the 22 who play on the day.
Carter, an AFL commissioner for 15 years who devised the draft and salary cap that have underpinned the growth of the game into a robust national competition, also said that the importance of the draft in building success had been overstated.

''The difference between being top and bottom is really only one pick now - the No.1 pick,'' he said. ''Beyond that, being top or bottom makes no difference.''

Carter was in Barcelona in the week of the Champions League final. He learned that Barcelona had 190,000 members, who mostly did not expect to get to games, but were happy to pay €150 to be part of the Barca phenomenon. Carter, noting that most people watched football on television, and that from next season every match would be live, envisaged something similar for the AFL.

''I think one of our challenges is to wean people off this idea that membership means discount admission,'' he said. ''Geelong ought to have 100,000 members. They get a hell of a ride. I'd like to move in the direction where you have a membership and then some people - who are lucky, or live locally - will be sold admission tickets to games.''
Click to expand...

Writing on the wall in 2011.
 
Mad_Hatter said:
You know what I would have liked to hear?
"We received some emotional letters over the last few days, we understand the fans are hurting, we all are, and we love the passion. That's the best thing about our fans, they are so passionate and emotionally invested. We are all bitterly disappointed and all I can say is we will do everything we can to better ourselves as a team and a club".
Simples.
Alienating your fans by putting the blame on them is so ignorant and arrogant I can't believe he'd say such a thing.
Click to expand...
He sort of did this.
Stated in 2 or 3 separate passages that they will being doing things, and making changes to try and better themselves.
He just didn't indulge in the smoke up fans arse like the first part.

What you say is emotionally invested may come across as insulting and abusive to the club.
I see what people on here with aliases instead of names write about this club and its players. I certainly believe there'd be a small few who'd cross the line with their correspondence with the club.

Hell, one bloke on here is on board ban for threatening to stab a fellow user for calling him out for wishing injury on Cam Guthrie.
We have sewer rats among our fan base and I for one am glad for the president to condemn them and call them out for what they are.

Brendon Gale did similar at Richmond a few years back. The year they were shot then stormed back to scrape into finals he received abusive messages from fans, and when one fan cut up his membership and abused the club, players, coaches and board in a letter to Gale he kept it. Then late in the year when that member wanted a new membership card for finals... Gale sent him back the cut up membership.

Abusive behaviour towards the club should be called out and I say well done to Mr Carter for shedding a light on the s**t he, and many others at the club put up with. Think of the poor girl/guy first year out of Uni that probably has to handle a club social media account. The s**t they'd cop from crazed malcontents.

* em.
 
thecatattack said:
If anyone takes time to send something of abuse to anyone within the club then I hope they get called out.
Click to expand...
Nothing wrong with sending something critical or raising questions as to what happened - but do so in a controlled matter

If a letter is abusive I doubt it's going to get through to the intended person in the first place, and secondly it's not going to achieve anything
 
Art Vandelay_ said:
Abusive behaviour towards the club should be called out and I say well done to Mr Carter for shedding a light on the s**t he, and many others at the club put up with. Think of the poor girl/guy first year out of Uni that probably has to handle a club social media account. The s**t they'd cop from crazed malcontents.
Click to expand...

I don't know, would be good for a laugh before you deleted and blocked them. A good melt always lightens up the day at work.
 
I don't think letters or social media posts, abusive or even controlled and reasonable, do anything. The only things Carter and the club cares about with respect to their members is their money. The only thing that will make them stop and think is if there's a significant drop in membership revenue. If there's no drop, there will be no incentive within the club to do anything differently - the normal case of 'everything is fine, nothing to see here'.

I'm not advocating for people to cancel or not renew memberships for next year because of post-finals emotional reactions, we're all disappointed. But for those who do feel particularly strongly about needing change, it's probably the only way to actually make a difference.
 

(Log in to remove this ad.)

Spazz Cat said:
Yeah actually with all that information it's not really that bad.
Judging by the things people were saying about Kelly's missus last year I'd say some of those letters he's got could of crossed the line.
Click to expand...
I can only imagine the s**t they'd have copped about that.
Even Kelly's missus was the target of abuse last year, and having met her she's delightful in person actually.
 
Gogeelong said:
Fans are entitled to complain.
Even the media are saying the coach made obvious errors.
Everybody could see it.

Are we now being censored?
Click to expand...
No one is saying people can't complain, be angry & frustrated, what some have said it's to draw the line when that becomes abusive

Sending a letter to Scott or the club that says something like, "Are you going to take responsibility for not playing Stanley against the Pies and then not playing our best 1-on-1 defender in defence during the finals - these issues need to be addressed... Blah blah blah"

Is a lot different to, "* you Chris Scott. This is all your fault, I hope you (insert bad word). You are useless and need to (insert more bad words). Blah blah blah"

Never a need for blatant abuse which it sounds like is some of the correspondence being received
 
Art Vandelay_ said:
I can only imagine the s**t they'd have copped about that.
Even Kelly's missus was the target of abuse last year, and having met her she's delightful in person actually.
Click to expand...
The abuse from fans directed at her was over the top, however some of the vitriol directed towards her was due to her bagging the club on social media in the second half of last year and was always going to elicit a pretty negative reaction.
 
cats_09 said:
Nothing wrong with sending something critical or raising questions as to what happened - but do so in a controlled matter

If a letter is abusive I doubt it's going to get through to the intended person in the first place, and secondly it's not going to achieve anything
Click to expand...

As Art said just a minute before your post

"Think of the poor girl/guy first year out of Uni that probably has to handle a club social media account. The s**t they'd cop from crazed malcontents. "
 
Kingsfoil said:
The abuse from fans directed at her was over the top, however some of the vitriol directed towards her was due to her bagging the club on social media in the second half of last year and was always going to elicit a pretty negative reaction.
Click to expand...
Put yourself in her shoes though.
3 kids pre-school age. Twins. One has autism.

Thousands of Km's away from family.
I'm more surprised she didn't snap more often or earlier than she did.

I gave her a pass for all that.
 
Gogeelong said:
Fans are entitled to complain.
Even the media are saying the coach made obvious errors.
Everybody could see it.

Are we now being censored?
Click to expand...
No one should be abusive to anyone who is going about their normal business. If people feel strongly enough get together, elect a leader and have them run for a board position.
 
Gogeelong said:
Fans are entitled to complain.
Even the media are saying the coach made obvious errors.
Everybody could see it.

Are we now being censored?
Click to expand...
tenor.gif
 
Art Vandelay_ said:
Put yourself in her shoes though.
3 kids pre-school age. Twins. One has autism.

Thousands of Km's away from family.
I'm more surprised she didn't snap more often or earlier than she did.

I gave her a pass for all that.
Click to expand...
I've got no issues with any of the Kellys.

Tim's been phenomenal for us on field, despite desperately wanting to be in WA so as long as we get fair compensation i wish them all the best.
 
Mad_Hatter said:
Hysterical response?
Yeah how dare our supporters be heartbroken and emotional after a tough prelim final loss...
How dare they not throw roses and send chocolates to the club for again failing to make a Grand Final.
Click to expand...

Fair point but I sincerely doubt said letters would have contained constructive feedback or criticism- Carter intimated as such.
In times of grief which any finals loss is we need to celebrate what’s been achieved and also focus on how we can get better - in a logical and unemotional manner.
Knee jerk bullshit borne out of anger won’t get us farIMHO
 
cats_09 said:
No one is saying people can't complain, be angry it to frustrated, where some have said to draw the line of when that becomes abusive

Sending a letter to Scott or the club that says something like, "Are you going to take responsibility for not playing Stanley against the Pies and then not playing our best 1-on-1 defender in defence during the finals - these issues need to be addressed... Blah blah blah"

Is a lot different to, "fu** you Chris Scott. This is all your fault, I hope you (insert bad word). You are useless and need to (insert more bad words). Blah blah blah"

Never a need for blatant abuse which it sounds like is some of the correspondence being received
Click to expand...

Seems pointless to me sending anything to the club in either format. They are not going to listen. No big organisation does until it is too late. I mean look at AMP, they were always campaigners to deal with, and are now getting their just desserts.
 
Farmer2Goggin said:
Fair point but I sincerely doubt said letters would have contained constructive feedback or criticism- Carter intimated as such.
In times of grief which any finals loss is we need to celebrate what’s been achieved and also focus on how we can get better - in a logical and unemotional manner.
Knee jerk bulls**t borne out of anger won’t get us farIMHO
Click to expand...
Thank * trade period doesn't start the day after H&A season or a cutthroat final.
Emotional knee jerk trades would be rife.

That's why we're fans, and they're paid to run the club.
They demonstrate an ability to be unemotional with decisions.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

T
Strategy Geelong 2024 best 22/23
2
Replies
47
Views
1K
iameviljez
iameviljez
dazbroncos
Review Geelong defeats Saints by 8 points
15 16 17 18 19
Replies
466
Views
14K
you pick one
you pick one
cats_09
VFLW VFLW 2024 - Geelong & the greater league
2
Replies
29
Views
979
winty
winty
The rabbi
Injury 2024 Season Geelong Cats Injury Thread
6 7 8 9 10
Replies
227
Views
12K
CHAWKTS
C
dazbroncos
  • Locked
Game Day Geelong V Hawks Mon Apr1 2024 @MCG 320pm
34 35 36 37 38
Replies
942
Views
13K
dazbroncos
dazbroncos
dazbroncos
  • Locked
Preview Geelong V Hawks Mon Apr1 2024 @MCG 320pm
25 26 27 28 29
Replies
718
Views
22K
dazbroncos
dazbroncos
dazbroncos
Preview Rd 8 Geelong v Melbourne Sat May 4th 730pm @ MCG
4 5 6 7 8
Replies
198
Views
4K
Goggin Our Best
G

Remove this Banner Ad

Back
Top