Why hasnt there been more pressure on st kilda over the years?

[Mitchell Madness]

Sporadic finals appearances, few wins, a small supporter base, average attendance, and a region that has produced very few decent footballers.

What do they have on league officials that allows them to hide in the shadows when merger/relocation talks start? Being a foundation club should mean little, particularly when Fitzroy were taken over

 

[Tandy]

The bar is set very low for the Saints. Nobody expects much from a club like them, probably shouldn't be in the league really.

 

[AuntyBlindEye]

I've wondered this for a while.

Tradition? Didn't do much for Fitzroy or South Melbourne I suppose.

Some sort of thematic symmetry with the Demons? Doubt it.

I'm tipping blackmail.

 

[CH Jazz]

I thinks it’s as simple as they aren’t remotely relevant. Nobody cares enough about them to kick up a stink. Plus they are in Melb with plenty of big clubs hogging the attention. Need to get wound up.

 

[#gosaintas]

Plenty of good footballers come from bayside down to the peninsula so don't know why the OP would claim that. Don't Matthews and Brereton come from this area? Pretty odd for a Hawks supporter to be so wrong...

Also, Gil barracks for the Saints. Fitzroy and South were just another 2 inner suburban clubs of which there are still too many.
Saints are the only club covering the St Kilda to Peninsula area. Kill St Kilda and the AFL lose too many supporters.

But yeah - time for the Saints to head back up the ladder.

 

[beema limapep]

If the fall out from Fitzroy wasnt so bad a merger may have happened. Then again Stkilda were an ok team in the late 90s and again a decade later.

 

[00Stinger]

why does it give people satisfaction to try and get peoples teams to relocate/merge/fold?

Sent from my SM-A505YN using Tapatalk

 

[HairyO]

Outside of their off field antics, no-one really cares.

 

[Roaming Lou]

The difference between St. Kilda and Fitzroy/South Melb is that both at the time of their end were horribly in debt. South had been losing something like $150k for several years in a row. If St. Kilda can keep their books balanced they will continue to hide out of sight of the AFL grim reaper.
They are borderline, if they slip up once, well, the AFL will go marching in.

 

[projectv]

There is no pressure on us what are you talking about.

That's the one good thing about supporting St Kilda. Everyone thinks we will fail.

 

[HairyO]

The difference between St. Kilda and Fitzroy/South Melb is that both at the time of their end were horribly in debt. South had been losing something like $150k for several years in a row. If St. Kilda can keep their books balanced they will continue to hide out of sight of the AFL grim reaper.
They are borderline, if they slip up once, well, the AFL will go marching in.

The AFL chips in millions more for St Kilda than for WCE, Hawthorn, Collingwood, Richmond. That is how they keep their books mostly balanced.

 

[Milanista28]

The media create the narrative around pressure. I hope the Saints win a flag soon, would be great to see it.

 

[Colonial]

Distributions last year and in 2017.

 

[Mitchell Madness]

Plenty of good footballers come from bayside down to the peninsula so don't know why the OP would claim that. Don't Matthews and Brereton come from this area? Pretty odd for a Hawks supporter to be so wrong...

Also, Gil barracks for the Saints. Fitzroy and South were just another 2 inner suburban clubs of which there are still too many.
Saints are the only club covering the St Kilda to Peninsula area. Kill St Kilda and the AFL lose too many supporters.

But yeah - time for the Saints to head back up the ladder.

Matthews and Barker are pretty much the only names to have come from the "st kilda" region from south of the city into the city of Kingston.

The Frankston/peninsula area, despite technically being fringe saints region, has always been more spread for support.
I don't think losing st kilda would have a big impact, but again, it isn't about if they're sustainable or not, more about how they be escaped pressure

 

[Taylor]

It isn't fair to get on St Kilda's back over performance on field and off, they are not alone when it comes to the financials not matching it with the big clubs of the league or in regards to wins/losses.

The market is a nightmare for competition in Victoria. I think it's difficult marketing a second club in WA after the Eagles had established themselves, but Freo still brings in $20,000,000 a year in membership revenue a year, which includes reserved seating and merchandise. Compare that with St Kilda which is closer to $11,000,000. Nine million dollars is a lot of money when it comes to investing in "the brand". West Coast just dropped sixty million in cash on their new training base.

The reality is that if there were four clubs in Victoria, let's call them the Wombats, Bats, Koalas and the Dingoes, they could all be drawing the membership of the financial powerhouses of the AFL. The competition would be very different though, it would have all the history brushed aside and every single club at AFL level would be a new franchise - and I think that will cost more than people really want to pay.

I wonder if the total number of memberships in Victoria has a theoretical cap (outside inflation) and whichever clubs are doing well at the time tend to attract a rolling mass of football supporters who aren't particularly tied to one club, but I expect it's more of an artifact of there being two levels of supporter where some are rusted on regardless of performance and others aren't as motivated unless the team is playing well.

If the AFL was contrived then we'd have a situation where struggling clubs start winning flags for that membership boost to save the AFL cash.

 

[joop]

Meh, every club nearly folded or merged in the 90's. Doggies had the longest premiership drought for many years, Richmond were a laughing stock for ages and are now a powerhouse, Brisbane lost numerous players every year and are now looking like a great young side.
We get laughed at for being ambitious and failing, and also for being "irrelevant". We get laughed at for chasing big name players, and then for 'overpaying' when we do. You're damned if you do and damned if you don't.
If you look at major sporting competitions around the world, we'd have to be right up there as one of the least successful. But our supporters are still loyal and when our time comes we'll bloody enjoy it.
And plus, we're not Fremantle so that's a positive.

 

[Truckosaurus]

It'd feel like picking on a disabled kid. You know they're trying and doing the best they can so you don't want to act like a dick. Plus they were very unlucky not to win a flag or two not that long ago.

 

[boncer34]

Meh, every club nearly folded or merged in the 90's.

Uh. Nope.

 

[Engimal v3]

Distributions last year and in 2017.View attachment 772920View attachment 772921

Bulldogs won a premiership 3 years ago and still receive more AFL money than North. Would love to see a breakdown of the 2018 numbers.

 

[The Warlord]

Sporadic finals appearances, few wins, a small supporter base, average attendance, and a region that has produced very few decent footballers.

What do they have on league officials that allows them to hide in the shadows when merger/relocation talks start? Being a foundation club should mean little, particularly when Fitzroy were taken over

Because there haven't been any merger/relocation talks since North killed that idea once and for all in 2007.

 

[The Warlord]

Uh. Nope.

True, it was a few years ago that Essendon nearly folded/were closed down/deregistered, not the 90s.

 

[Mitchell Madness]

Because there haven't been any merger/relocation talks since North killed that idea once and for all in 2007.

And what about before that?

 

[boncer34]

True, it was a few years ago that Essendon nearly folded/were closed down/deregistered, not the 90s.

Oh yay it's my stalker.

 

[The Warlord]

If the AFL was contrived then we'd have a situation where struggling clubs start winning flags for that membership boost to save the AFL cash.

Ahhhhhhh ... 2016.

Over the course of the home and away season, the Bulldogs received 451 free kicks, while they gave away only 370. That left them with 81 net free kicks, the biggest differential of any team.

Who won the free kick race in 2016?

Over the course of the home and away season, the Bulldogs received 451 free kicks, while they gave away only 370. That left them with 81 net free kicks, the biggest differential of any team. The Ka…

thearcfooty.com

The umpiring caused a bit of a stir on grand final day.

Statistically speaking, it was the most one-sided free kick count in grand final history.

The Western Bulldogs recorded 20 free kicks to Sydney's eight, which by percentage is the largest chunk of free kicks ever received in a grand final.

The Bulldogs recorded 71.4% of free kicks given out on the day, which bests the 2012 grand final, when premiers Hawthorn recorded 21 of the 31 free kicks (67.7%) - also against Sydney.

2016 Grand Final Sets Free Kick Records

2016 Grand Final Sets Free Kick Records

www.triplem.com.au

Since then the Dogs have paid off their crippling eight figure debt and bounced their membership hard.

 

[The Warlord]

And what about before that?

Well, we were the weakest club thus in the gun.