List Mgmt. Ben Amarfio - has resigned as our CEO - Thank you Ben

[Mav]

As we all very well know, it's a different environment and set of circumstances since the 1990s. Plus, I like to think we would have learned from our mistakes and learned the lessons of Hawthorn and co have had in marshaling and sustaining their success (pokies aside). We need the right operators now to mix with greater on-field success.

We need on field success but thinking it alone will bringing in new members is just the babblings of twerps. Saints, Freo, Melbourne, Carlton all have more members than us and I haven't seen them have any success. Even Essendon* added 5K last year and they are as unsuccessful as you could possibly image.

 

[Firestarter]

As we all very well know, it's a different environment and set of circumstances since the 1990s. Plus, I like to think we would have learned from our mistakes and learned the lessons of Hawthorn and co have had in marshaling and sustaining their success (pokies aside). We need the right operators now to mix with greater on-field success.

Best lessons we should've learned were everything on-field. We're way off.

 

[Kangaroos4eva]

We need on field success but thinking it alone will bringing in new members is just the babblings of twerps. Saints, Freo, Melbourne, Carlton all have more members than us and I haven't seen them have any success. Even Essendon* added 5K last year and they are as unsuccessful as you could possibly image.

I think some of it comes down to media and supporter/member expectations, as well as pre-existing supporter bases.

Freo, Carlton and * all had sizeable supporter bases to start with, so their fluctuating numbers are much larger than the likes of us or the Saints.

As for expectations, the Saints, Melbourne, and Carlton were all expected to rapidly rise up the ladder last year and that expectation is still there, even for Melbourne to a degree. These perceptions continue to affect membership numbers. The few times our membership numbers have jumped have been typically around the prelim final period of 2014-15 and the expectation that we would jump up the ladder the following year.

 

[Kangaroos4eva]

Best lessons we should've learned were everything on-field. We're way off.

We were dominating in the period where member numbers were still tiny for most clubs, that's what rooted us a lot.

 

[King Corey]

Such as.

Removing a strong part of your name in exchange for chasing transient $$ via a dilute identity (playing in Sydney as the "Aussie Roos")

Focusing on quick $ from on-sold home games in markets that weren't suitable to our location or identity (GC, Canberra, perhaps Tassie)

Entertaining patchwork strategies like thinking Melbourne, Hobart and Ballarat could've co-existed and thrived as home game venues while not dliuting our identity

 

[The Warlord]

Removing a strong part of your name in exchange for chasing transient $$ via a dilute identity (playing in Sydney as the "Aussie Roos")

Focusing on quick $ from on-sold home games in markets that weren't suitable to our location or identity (GC, Canberra, perhaps Tassie)

Entertaining patchwork strategies like thinking Melbourne, Hobart and Ballarat could've co-existed and thrived as home game venues while not dliuting our identity

Agree on all.

Well put.

 

[Snake_Baker]

The 90s showed that alone doesn't guarantee anything.

We need to win on-field and stop chasing leprechauns off it.

How?

There's 2 relevant examples for us, Hawthorn & Geelong.

Hawthorn: A long sustained run of success on the field (4 x eras) whilst steadying the ship off the field (Launceston). Hawthorn had 2 x eras of sustained success (79's & 80's) and STILL found themselves on the bones of their arse and within a whiff of extinction in 1996.

Geelong: An era of success backed up with never before seen political and AFL reinforcement. FFS, they only had 21,664 show up for a home match in their heartland on a Saturday night this year when they were on top of the ladder, and they STILL made a profit.

Which scenario do you believe is most viable for us?

 

[Snake_Baker]

We were dominating in the period where member numbers were still tiny for most clubs, that's what rooted us a lot.

This is a fact. The whole membership thing only clicked in to gear after our 90's era had ended and it has no contemporary relevance.

 

[King Corey]

As we all very well know, it's a different environment and set of circumstances since the 1990s. Plus, I like to think we would have learned from our mistakes and learned the lessons of Hawthorn and co have had in marshaling and sustaining their success (pokies aside). We need the right operators now to mix with greater on-field success.

If anything it's more challenging now. Less rusted on paid members league-side no matter how it's spun - ie clubs now counting 1 game memberships etc. Far more options for entertainment than 20+ years ago and other avenues for engagement such as online pursuits and other temptations.

Basically more clubs, more games, less passion.

In the 90s we were a top 4 side for 8 years straight and had the outright best player in history who happened to be marketable and recognisable by the general public. Along with a handful of other players who had claims to be in the upper reaches of the league.

Yet we were on life support then and for an extended period afterwards.

We might have smarter admin now (an unproven claim post-Dilena) but it's unlikely that we could hit the same heights as the 90s and it's unlikely to be with the same visibility and branding opportunities ("Wayne Carey is Rooboy").

Therefore I think the notion of "just winning" as if it's a silver bullet to any long-term survival issues is very idealistic.

 

[Snake_Baker]

Let's be frank KC, the game is a s**t spectacle these days compared when we were up & running in the 90's, so that adds another factor to the problems of growth.

 

[Kangaroos4eva]

If anything it's more challenging now. Less rusted on paid members league-side no matter how it's spun - ie clubs now counting 1 game memberships etc. Far more options for entertainment than 20+ years ago and other avenues for engagement such as online pursuits and other temptations.

Basically more clubs, more games, less passion.

In the 90s we were a top 4 side for 8 years straight and had the outright best player in history who happened to be marketable and recognisable by the general public. Along with a handful of other players who had claims to be in the upper reaches of the league.

Yet we were on life support then and for an extended period afterwards.

We might have smarter admin now (an unproven claim post-Dilena) but it's unlikely that we could hit the same heights as the 90s and it's unlikely to be with the same visibility and branding opportunities ("Wayne Carey is Rooboy").

Therefore I think the notion of "just winning" as if it's a silver bullet to any long-term survival issues is very idealistic.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think just winning is the silver bullet. You need smart operators, targeted community engagement, a strong media presence, media access and the whole heap of stuff that has been covered in this thread.

We all want to see our great club thriving.

 

[Snake_Baker]

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think just winning is the silver bullet. You need smart operators, targeted community engagement, a strong media presence, media access and the whole heap of stuff that has been covered in this thread.

We all want to see our great club thriving.

NONE of this stuff can flourish without.......................WINNING!

 

[King Corey]

To stick the neck out the leprechauns I hope we chase:

• If another large Victorian regional centre such as Ballarat ever gets back on our radar, we grab it and never let it go. If push came to shove I'd rather be tethered to Shepparaton or Bendigo than Cavill Avenue or the Spirit of Tasmania
• Put 99% of energies into consolidating and expanding North Melbourne land tenancy/possession
• Take that Tassie "passion" and shift it to north and west Melbourne and surrounding regions. Lobby the AFL to make it a given that any 1st generation kid with a modicum of ability in that region should end up nowhere but North Melbourne, the community club
• Put people who know what they're doing to work studying how to market to and capture the hearts of the fastest growing and best resourced new Victorians. Maybe that means making an aggressive play for those of Chinese background who Hawthorn have courted for 20 years, maybe it means grabbing Sydney siders moving south of the border to afford a home, whatever. I'm not a demographer. But work it and work it good.

 

[King Corey]

NONE of this stuff can flourish without.......................WINNING!

Winning is your job.

Off-field are your investments.

The club should be aiming to be recession proof, not reliant on a pay-packet.

 

[Kangaroos4eva]

To stick the neck out the leprechauns I hope we chase:

• If another large Victorian regional centre such as Ballarat ever gets back on our radar, we grab it and never let it go. If push came to shove I'd rather be tethered to Shepparaton or Bendigo than Cavill Avenue or the Spirit of Tasmania
• Put 99% of energies into consolidating and expanding North Melbourne land tenancy/possession
• Take that Tassie "passion" and shift it to north and west Melbourne and surrounding regions. Lobby the AFL to make it a given that any 1st generation kid with a modicum of ability in that region should end up nowhere but North Melbourne, the community club
• Put people who know what they're doing to work studying how to market to and capture the hearts of the fastest growing and best resourced new Victorians. Maybe that means making an aggressive play for those of Chinese background who Hawthorn have courted for 20 years, maybe it means grabbing Sydney siders moving south of the border to afford a home, whatever. I'm not a demographer. But work it and work it good.

Not as silly as you may think, there's untapped worth in demographic and targeted statistical analysis from an Australian sporting POV.

 

[Firestarter]

Have there been any more news up the Wyndham way?

 

[King Corey]

Not as silly as you may think, there's untapped worth in demographic and targeted statistical analysis from an Australian sporting POV.

It's come up before, but I'm still curious why no club has gone all-in trying to be the Indian migrant's team of choice.

You are talking predominately middle class, white collar educated people who already have a national obsession with sport and enjoy active involvement in their pursuits. Many are likely to improve in spending power and social status in the years after their arrival and will pass on their allegiance to their kids.

It beggars belief why you wouldn't exploit the Ponting factor, see which Bollywood stars require the least $ to put on a Hypertec Canterbury top and try a few drop punts to post on all social channels and work it over.

Hell, stump up the cash to get Kohli and Sachin to do a training session at Arden Street and we can probably buy ourselves out of Hobart.

 

[Snake_Baker]

Winning is your job.

Off-field are your investments.

The club should be aiming to be recession proof, not reliant on a pay-packet.

Of course, but it's not as easy as many think mate. It's taken Hawthorn the best part of 50 years, their birth place, AND a stint in Tassie.

There's only 4 x recession proof clubs in Victoria and 8 x recession proof clubs in the competition.

 

[Kangaroos4eva]

It's come up before, but I'm still curious why no club has gone all-in trying to be the Indian migrant's team of choice.

You are talking predominately middle class, white collar educated people who already have a national obsession with sport and enjoy active involvement in their pursuits. Many are likely to improve in spending power and social status in the years after their arrival and will pass on their allegiance to their kids.

It beggars belief why you wouldn't exploit the Ponting factor, see which Bollywood stars require the least $ to put on a Hypertec Canterbury top and try a few drop punts to post on all social channels and work it over.

Hell, stump up the cash to get Kohli and Sachin to do a training session at Arden Street and we can probably buy ourselves out of Hobart.

Limited resources and too many other necessary short-term projects.

What we are talking about is a long-term targeted investment, rather than isolated publicity stunts, i.e. Richmond with Kohli.

That's why I think the Huddle is a good start in terms of engaging with new demographics to the wider Melbourne area, but you guys would know the demographics of Melbourne better than I ever would. Any demographic centric program would have to involve community engagement programs like the Huddle.

 

[Snake_Baker]

People need to clear the bullshit out of their heads.

We need a ruthless head kicker at the helm who is unimpeded by social "nicety" politics.

Frank Costa, Ron Cook and Jeff Kennett didn't give two stuffs about being "nice", and they succeeded.

 

[The Warlord]

People need to clear the bullshit out of their heads.

We need a ruthless head kicker at the helm who is unimpeded by social "nicety" politics.

Frank Costa, Ron Cook and Jeff Kennett didn't give two stuffs about being "nice", and they succeeded.

That's what we've got in Amarfio.

 

[King Corey]

People need to clear the bullshit out of their heads.

We need a ruthless head kicker at the helm who is unimpeded by social "nicety" politics.

Frank Costa, Ron Cook and Jeff Kennett didn't give two stuffs about being "nice", and they succeeded.

Keep in mind those 3 were are/were presidents.

From that perspective it's Buckley who should be front and centre driving our message and identity.

 

[King Corey]

Limited resources and too many other necessary short-term projects.

What we are talking about is a long-term targeted investment, rather than isolated publicity stunts, i.e. Richmond with Kohli.

That's why I think the Huddle is a good start in terms of engaging with new demographics to the wider Melbourne area, but you guys would know the demographics of Melbourne better than I ever would. Any demographic centric program would have to involve community engagement programs like the Huddle.

Putting aside the altruistic worth of the Huddle, my interest is in what selfish measures the club planned for how this program might funnel into more North support.

Was it just osmosis, ie kids being around North Melbourne facilities, staff or players? Or handing out free tickets? Or was there a more strategic plan?

Repeat - this is not about the merits of the Huddle or of the club engaging in community programs. It's purely of how much this pursuit can parlay into any increase in club support.

 

[Kangaroos4eva]

Putting aside the altruistic worth of the Huddle, my interest is in what selfish measures the club planned for how this program might funnel into more North support.

Was it just osmosis, ie kids being around North Melbourne facilities, staff or players? Or handing out free tickets? Or was there a more strategic plan?

Repeat - this is not about the merits of the Huddle or of the club engaging in community programs. It's purely of how much this pursuit can parlay into any increase in club support.

It’s a question that needs to be tabled at the new administration, alongside other pressing concerns and plans.

 

[Snake_Baker]

Putting aside the altruistic worth of the Huddle, my interest is in what selfish measures the club planned for how this program might funnel into more North support.

Was it just osmosis, ie kids being around North Melbourne facilities, staff or players? Or handing out free tickets? Or was there a more strategic plan?

Repeat - this is not about the merits of the Huddle or of the club engaging in community programs. It's purely of how much this pursuit can parlay into any increase in club support.

THIS! What aims do things like this serve to benefit the club? It's not a matter of whether it's a good thing or not, because for all intents and purposes it is.

The question is how does it serve the footy club in any tangible way, and whether we are better off putting resources elsewhere.

Of course, you do realise that there's an extremist element around here who will automatically think you're an arsehole for even raising the question.