How can we ensure our Future

No problems. I'll send a letter off from me with no reference to this site or its contributors.

For the record my position on relocation is that I don't want it and importantly don't see it as a viable option for any Melbourne club, either at GC, ACT or Tasmania, within the next ten plus years. This I believe provides me with a strong logical and financial basis upon which to fight any relocation, rather than an emotional one.

My statement on the issue was "If our Victorian tenure became impossible, which is a situation that I cannot foresee within the life of this new Board, then I would favour relocation ahead of a merger or going out of existence. This doesn't mean that I'll accept relocation as a first option solution.

I accept that Mark, John and many others hold the view of no relocation at any cost and will not follow the club if it fully relocates. If it were to come to the crunch and I was on the board I would strongly and visibly request a poll of all adult members.

Mark, John K,
If you are successful in the election and a motion was put to the board to increase the number of games on the GC what would be your reaction?
 

Kimbo

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John,

I suggest the only reason you may be having people object to you putting your thoughts in writing on behalf of Big Footy posters is due to the fact that there are people on here who take glee in continually criticising our club and its people.

If they were true supporters of the club there would be support for you and other people who are looking to assist the club with ideas and be supportive but they choose to sit behind there false names on here and take pot shots at the Coach, players and Administrators on a regular basis.

BigFooty should be after credibility and in my opinion the credibility factor has been low to say the least until people like you and Mark Perkins have added there thoughts and backed them up. The negative influences on here should have the courage of there convictions to publicly state there real names and put there names to letters to Coach & Administrators rather than post on here and cause damage to our club.

I continually read about how bad Caroline Wilson & Dwayne Russell treat our club and i can assure you i have no love for them either but at least they dont hide behind a false name and be anonymous in there negativity towards our Club.

I wish you and Mark all the best in your efforts to gain election on to the board but the one thing i would say is not to write on behalf of Big Footy because there is an element here who do not deserve to be recognised with the efforts you and positive people have towards our Club.

Dear Rooruckle, (not sure of your real name),

Whilst I share your view that the BF Board has become more negative in recent times, I find it hard to accept that those posting messages critical of the club take glee in doing so. What evidence do you have for this?

I'm someone who posts critical posts at times, along with positive posts. I don't take glee in posting criticism, however. Some of it is venting, some of it considered opinion on areas I'd like the club to be doing better in. It causes me no joy to do so, trust me. I'm just concerned that we do better.

If I don't always back up my opinions with suggestions, it is only because I'm not necessarily familiar enough with current situation or background to know whether what I might suggest is worthwhile or hasn't already been tried etc. In most cases, it is a lack of time. I've got other priorities in my life and I don't think I shouldn't have the option to express a view just because it might be negative or fail to have the breadth of ideas.

Why should Big Footy be after credibility? I thought this was a public discussion board to enable people to express opinions? If it works for you, join in. If it doesn't, don't.

To denegrate those who express negative opinions which presumably you disagree with, as "not true supporters" is, in my humble opinion, not at all constructive. It can have the effect of disenfranchising 'true supporters' who could come to the view that a 'true supporter' must feel, think, speak and act in a certain way (in this case, the way YOU think they should). True supporters come in as many forms as humans do, each with their unique ways of expressing who they are.

That said, I too appreciate the recent 'lifting' of the tone which Limerick's posts have contributed to. (I also think Tas has been doing this for quite some time. albeit without the same degree of detail.) Limerick, keep up the good work, and whether or not your ambitions to play a more official role with the club come to fruition, I really do hope that the club takes notice of valuable feedback and ideas, a number of which come from the 'true supporters' on this Board.
 
No problems. I'll send a letter off from me with no reference to this site or its contributors.

For the record my position on relocation is that I don't want it and importantly don't see it as a viable option for any Melbourne club, either at GC, ACT or Tasmania, within the next ten plus years. This I believe provides me with a strong logical and financial basis upon which to fight any relocation, rather than an emotional one.

My statement on the issue was "If our Victorian tenure became impossible, which is a situation that I cannot foresee within the life of this new Board, then I would favour relocation ahead of a merger or going out of existence. This doesn't mean that I'll accept relocation as a first option solution.

I accept that Mark, John and many others hold the view of no relocation at any cost and will not follow the club if it fully relocates. If it were to come to the crunch and I was on the board I would strongly and visibly request a poll of all adult members.

Mark, John K,
If you are successful in the election and a motion was put to the board to increase the number of games on the GC what would be your reaction?

I think our website should be used more than just an outgoing information site, it could be used to generate a lot of vital information for the club about the supporters.

Also, I understand your views re-relocation. As much as it pains me, I am aware that the club must have a contingency plan for it in case things do not go to plan but I just feel that it should not be such a major issues given that the AFL is having a massive involvement on the Gold Coast and nobody else is associated with the region.

If we do invest in the region, ie the social facilities with Broadbeach, then we will have to work hard on promoting the club there, I just feel our attention should be 90% Melbourne, 10% Gold Coast. At times it seems that it is vice versa.

We really need a solid plan to gain an additional 100k supporters/10k members in 3-5 years here in Melbourne and I don't see any signs of the work in progress, if I am looking for it and can't find it then it is obviously those we need to target and are not actively seeking it are not seeing it either and that is our number one issue which should be our major focus.
 
Mark, I really enjoy reading your posts and hope that you are successful in your efforts to be elected to the Board of the North Melbourne Football Club. In my opinion, we need someone with your attitude to get people thinking positively again regarding our future in Melbourne. I fully concur with your sentiments that a relocated club would no longer be the North Melbourne Football Club and hence would not be the club that I have supported, loved (and been a member of) for around 25 years. So to answer Mr Reliable's questions - (1) NO and (2) NO.
 
I am comfortable that the healthy debate that is being conducted here is a positive for the club.

Quote Kimbo "Limerick, keep up the good work, and whether or not your ambitions to play a more official role with the club come to fruition, I really do hope that the club takes notice of valuable feedback and ideas, a number of which come from the 'true supporters' on this Board. Today 17:27" Thanks for your comments, I intend to be an active NM supporter irrespective of the outcome of the election, an active contributor to the BFsite and an active volunteer down at Arden St.

Tas quote "We really need a solid plan to gain an additional 100k supporters/10k members in 3-5 years here in Melbourne and I don't see any signs of the work in progress, if I am looking for it and can't find it then it is obviously those we need to target and are not actively seeking it are not seeing it either and that is our number one issue which should be our major focus." I couldn't agree more. If we are to prosper in Melbourne and fight off a full relocation we need 300,000 supporters and 30,000+ members in 2007 and this need to grow by a minimum of 2.5% pa. This should be a visible strategy for 2007 and beyond.

Roosviews quote "Feel free to run with the logical and financial angle if you like John, but successful football clubs are also based on motivated, passionate environments- I've seen it first hand. One of Denis Pagan's most favourite sayings throughout the 90's to our players was "Desire is the greatest motivating force there is- if you want something bad enough you will achieve it." Denis created an environment throughout the entire football club, players and staff, to be passionate, proud, motivated and respectful of your club and the people you represent when you work there. I think that Denis would have also stated that desires will only come to fruition when back up with actions. Desires alone won't achieve.

Football clubs are not just like any other business John. Logic and finance have their place, but emotion is very important. I hope I'm misreading you when it appears that you're dismissing its importance. No I accept that emotions are important but hard facts will be required when we negotiate with the AFL, with the other 8 Melbourne teams looking on hoping that we go and remove the immediate pressure from 1-2 of them.

With regard to your quote that I would not follow the club if it fully relocates, this is where you and I have a fundamental difference of opinion. To put it simply, if the club relocates I no longer have a club to follow. Thats because its no longer my club. It would not be North Melbourne anymore, but a new AFL franchise based in Queensland. Wearing our colors doesn't make it us. If someone kills you and then wears your clothes, it doesn't make them you. It just makes it a greater insult. I accept and respect your position, but does it represent the view of the majority of adult NMFC members?

To answer your final question regarding increasing games at the Gold Coast, as I have stated earlier, I view the Gold Coast venture as an opportunity to cement our position in Melbourne. Thats the bottom line. It may be that more games in the Gold Coast can be a trade off for less games at other interstate venues for instance. If the AFL want the games there they can give us something in return. If that was the case you would look at it.

For example, instead of travelling 5 times to other states you may travel 3 times and have 2 additional games on the Gold Coast, which if the venture is developing well could provide us with greater returns. Victorian members are given entry rights to the Melbourne "away" games that would be created as a consequence of the interstate games being converted to Gold Coast home games, and there is no net loss of Victorian matches.
I have no problem with your approach.

You cant make closed-ended statements on a question like that John, until you study all the angles. But the premise is always to maintain our base in Melbourne with everything we do. That's the difficulty for you, John & I in presenting ourselves as candidates in that there are many possiblities between being totally Melbourne based and fully relocated.

We don't have to fight the AFL, we just need to negotiate properly. And the stronger we make ourselves financially over the current 3 year agreement period, the better position we will be in to negotiate. How much we are prepared to work in the next 3 years, and how much we want it is up to us. As someone once said- Desire is the greatest motivating force there is.....
As I stated above I think we all share the desire, but the actions that result in us achieveing 300,000+ supporters and 30,000+ members in 2007 is what is going to count. Given that the member candidates don't have access to the business knowledge that presumably (hopefully) the board do, it is difficult for each of us to present a concrete plan to the electorate.
 
John

I request that my name be withdrawn from endorsing your letter.

I want to make it clear to everyone that I'm standing independently at the election, and not in conjunction with, or on a ticket with yourself and Jon Kenton. Its nothing personal, but I have strong views on a number of issues and I dont want to be misrepresented by someone elses take on those issues.

I think in principal that its an excellent idea to approach the club with your views. But they're yours.

You are on the record as saying that you support relocation under certain circumstances. I don't. Under any circumstances.

I support the North Melbourne Football Club playing a package of games in a secondary market, to provide additional revenue streams for ensuring our long term future in Melbourne. Not interested in relocation. At all.

If people on the board make statements to the AFL saying that under certain circumstances they will accept relocation, then we are finished.
Its a basic rule of negotiation. You never offer up your worst case scenario under any circumstances.

Its the North Melbourne Football Club for me, and I wont support a new franchise in Queensland, whether they wear our colors or not.

This whole discussion on how many games in Queensland reminds me of the house of cards. Keep pulling one card out at a time and nothing seems to happen, then all of a sudden the whole house comes down. The reasoning for the Gold Coast secondary market is to rebuild our house in Melbourne. Not have it completely fall away.

With the AFL assistance we currently receive, we are the renters of the AFL competition at the moment. We have this everpresent uncertainty hanging over our heads that the landlord will evict us at any time. We need to build our own house and become owners like other established AFL clubs. The trick, like anyone who rents, is to try to put some money away after meeting the rent payments every week. The Gold Coast revenue is one of our opportunities. Another is having the North Melbourne family come back and contribute to building our new home.

Don't listen to the supporters of other clubs, and various media people who keep saying what a good idea it is for us to relocate. The scenario for the Melbourne based clubs at the moment is being portrayed like a group of people stranded in a boat with limited water to go around. At the moment all the other clubs are saying what a great idea it would be for us to jump ship, because we would be going to a better place. In reality its not about us at all, they just want more water for themselves. And some of them are just as thirsty as we are.

If its such a great idea to jump, then they can jump themselves. We can survive on less water than them, as we always have. I'm not interested in how much water there is somewhere else either, no matter how hot the sun gets in the boat down here.

As I have said before, anyone who starts to loose their appetite for the fight should sit down with a copy of the North Story and read about the people who have fought for our club over the past 138 years. I'm sincere when I say that when you look at the old photos of people who have gone before us, and you read their stories about what they have done for our great club, their enterprise, their refusal to break when tested by poverty and challenged by defeat, we are a part of something that is very special.
We owe it to those people, and the next generation of our families to ensure that the club we know and love remains. Not another franchise wearing our colors.

If your heart beats faster whenever you see Daniel Wells break from a pack, when you see highlights of Carey ripping the opposition to pieces or you see footage of North Melbourne champions of the past, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

Its a new year, so here's a new years resolution (with apologies to Bruce Springsteen). No Retreat, No Surrender, NO RELOCATION.


As always Mark, you had me at hello.
 
Like many others here, I've stated my views in the past, in many different threads.

It's a clear No and No on both counts. AFL may not care how many North members/supporters would drop off if the club was to relocate. They just want a team there without having to issue 17th license.

But surely people who love the club and who have a say in the matter (board members) should know that a vast majority of us will drop off.

Through out the past 6 months or so since the Gold Coast relocation issue became a hot topic in the media, it astounds me how little positive comments and/or reassurances have come out from the club board or administration. This is the most puzzling thing of all.
 
I think that Denis would have also stated that desires will only come to fruition when back up with actions. Desires alone won't achieve.

Au contraire, John. The power is in the thought. Thoughts emit energy, everything in the Universe is comprised of energy, energy attracts like energy, therefore by the forces of Universal law, what we think about we bring about. Actions are simply a function of actualising what we have already created through thought.

But don't take my word for it...

“You create your own universe as you go along.” Winston Churchill

“All that we are is the result of what we have thought.” Siddhartha Gauthama (Buddha)

“What this power is i cannot say. All I know is that it exists.” Alexander Graham Bell

“Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.” Albert Einstein

“Whatever the mind of a man can conceive it can achieve.” W. Clement Stone

“All power is from within and therefore under our control.” Robert Collier

“Whether you think you can or think you can’t, either way you are right.”
Henry Ford

“Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls.” Joseph Campbell



And if your mind is willing and able to contemplate these ideas, you've probably already arrived at the question - how have we created this relocation scenario when clearly we are hoping for anything but that. Well then, consider...

“What you resist persists.” Carl Jung
 
AFL may not care how many North members/supporters would drop off if the club was to relocate.

You may well be right but no administration wants the ugliness of rugby league's South Sydney Rabbitohs repeated in any shape or form. The AFL commissioners should know that any action taken against the interests of 20,000 passionate North Melbourne fans will haunt each of them into retirement. They need to know ahead of time that this would be the greatest regret of their careers.
 
Tas quote "We really need a solid plan to gain an additional 100k supporters/10k members in 3-5 years here in Melbourne and I don't see any signs of the work in progress, if I am looking for it and can't find it then it is obviously those we need to target and are not actively seeking it are not seeing it either and that is our number one issue which should be our major focus." I couldn't agree more. If we are to prosper in Melbourne and fight off a full relocation we need 300,000 supporters and 30,000+ members in 2007 and this need to grow by a minimum of 2.5% pa. This should be a visible strategy for 2007 and beyond.

I think it will be hard to achieve that in 2007 because the ground work you put in you usually does not bare any fruit for a few years, if not longer. We haven't done any of the work required to significantly boost our image, have programs to generate more supporters and had a very ordinary 2006 and the media will pick us to finish last again next year.

To be honest, I think it would be a good effort to reach 25k in 2007, given that 25k figure included the Canberra members and I have doubts the GC people will replace them in one year. I think if we can push to 27k for 2007 and have a good year on-field, play more attractive football and have a more positive outlook then that will give us a good platform to launch from.

We need to invest the time and money and go to the people to lure them as supporters rather than just sit back and wait for them to come to us. Collingwood and Essendon are very visible, they do not have to work as hard to get their members. We are all but invisible so we have to put the hard yards there to promote our young players and raise a high expectation for success and stability for the future.
 
John

I request that my name be withdrawn from endorsing your letter.

Its a new year, so here's a new years resolution (with apologies to Bruce Springsteen). No Retreat, No Surrender, NO RELOCATION.

I also do not in anyway support any letter that even for one moment suggests relocation.

I have lost one football club in the most hideous set of circumstances and I am not going to accept re-location as a solution for North. I would far prefer a Melbourne based merger with any club rather than relocation. I do not want to become a part time football attendee. If North goes north than I will find another club in Victoria or alternatively give the game away.
 

Lidge

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Like the Tri-Lambs and Omega-Moos from Adams College - we've gotta say no to this resolution.;)

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There is some good healthy debate going on here and it's also good to see the candidates make their views on the club's future made more accessible to our supporters/members.

In regards to this site, I'm glad that any letter to the club didn't go out under the BF name without approval from the site. The primary reason for this is that the club may choose to contact the site directly with any questions or concerns.

To date, I have been far from impressed from the level of communication coming from the club. The letters last year from Geoff Walsh responded to the members of this site in a sterotype manner imo and were insulting. Nothing more than a hit and run mission to appease his staff, but without due care for the members here who go some way to paying his salary. That's my personal opinion.

So to the candidates posting here and using this forum to get your message across, what level of communication can you guarantee to us after being elected if you are successful? Also, how will you respond if you're told not to have an involvement with this site by the club?

Don't get me wrong....I think that it's fantastic that you are sharing your thoughts with us and encouraging open communication. Your contributions will only serve to increase the awareness of the internal workings of the NMFC which will only make us stronger if handled dilligently. It is also an area that can separate us from the high profile clubs....something that would make us more of a viable alternative in the marketplace.
 
Dingster Quote;In regards to this site, I'm glad that any letter to the club didn't go out under the BF name without approval from the site. The primary reason for this is that the club may choose to contact the site directly with any questions or concerns.

I accepted this once it was raised and discussed as an issue. I stated from the start that I was OK with sending the letter from myself. I hadn't considered that the club would respond back to this site as the letter was always going to be signed by me.

Dingster Quote; So to the candidates posting here and using this forum to get your message across, what level of communication can you guarantee to us after being elected if you are successful? Also, how will you respond if you're told not to have an involvement with this site by the club?

As I have previously stated "If elected I would move to put in place mechanisms by which membership communication could occur, e.g. ability for members to: (i) Register their thoughts on issues via the North Melbourne homepage; (ii) Contact me via e-mail and surface mail; and (iii) Contact me via telephone. ". My recent experiences with this site has only made me more passionate about point (i). If elected I would continue to be involved on this site. Realistically there would be boundaries and a level of confidentiality regarding issues being discussed within the board. It would be a process that would require careful management. I'd be extremely dissappointed if the board were to place blanket gags on its members.
 

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Limerick and Roosviews - your position and passion is admirable, as are your desires to join the Board and best of luck with threse pursuits come February. However as someone with an indepth knowledge of Club finances, our debt and forward Budget projections we must seriously consider a long term hybrid strategy of being a "two town" club. The AFL effectively are controlling the finances of several clubs and by a mere stroke of the pen as in fixturing can impact Gate Receipt incomes by up to a $million in a single season - these are facts.

We are best to work with the AFL in working up a way that the two town strategy can deliver the best of both worlds - and from a long term NMFC/Kangaroos member I am determined to ensure that we get the right outcome that may preserve our membership base in Melbourne AND provide the necessary income stream from Gold Coast games.

I know many of those shareholders who contributed many hundreds of thousands of dollars more than a decade ago , be they ex and current Board members and a more passionate group you wont find - however they are now accepting that a major position on the Gold Coast MUST be taken. Whilst there is some tension and division at Board level - there is consensus that this new strategy may be make or break.

Whilst I am sure that the Club can get better at various administrative, membership, marketing and PR aspects as are frequently suggested on BF - take it from someone who know the financial facts - this is merely nickel and diming and WILL NOT have a material impact on a sustainable business model.

It is time to accept the situation as it is, trust the Board and in particular the Chairman and lets not fight gravity.
 

Z_K

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It is time to accept the situation as it is, trust the Board and in particular the Chairman and lets not fight gravity.

A most depressing sentence.
 
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Limerick and Roosviews - your position and passion is admirable, as are your desires to join the Board and best of luck with threse pursuits come February. However as someone with an indepth knowledge of Club finances, our debt and forward Budget projections we must seriously consider a long term hybrid strategy of being a "two town" club. The AFL effectively are controlling the finances of several clubs and by a mere stroke of the pen as in fixturing can impact Gate Receipt incomes by up to a $million in a single season - these are facts.

We are best to work with the AFL in working up a way that the two town strategy can deliver the best of both worlds - and from a long term NMFC/Kangaroos member I am determined to ensure that we get the right outcome that may preserve our membership base in Melbourne AND provide the necessary income stream from Gold Coast games.

I know many of those shareholders who contributed many hundreds of thousands of dollars more than a decade ago , be they ex and current Board members and a more passionate group you wont find - however they are now accepting that a major position on the Gold Coast MUST be taken. Whilst there is some tension and division at Board level - there is consensus that this new strategy may be make or break.

Whilst I am sure that the Club can get better at various administrative, membership, marketing and PR aspects as are frequently suggested on BF - take it from someone who know the financial facts - this is merely nickel and diming and WILL NOT have a material impact on a sustainable business model.

It is time to accept the situation as it is, trust the Board and in particular the Chairman and lets not fight gravity.
Good of Rick Aylett to start posting on the board.

Also agree with Dingster, Walsh called BF posters hysterical and also inferred that few were members. He was wrong about the lack of membership at least.
 
I will never accept this.
Although I trust a person when they claim to have some inside knowledge about the club's finances, there a number of reasons why I won't accept it.

I am convinced that two town "hybrid" solution in sport will NOT work. It is against the logic of sport culture. People pay to support a club that they BELONG to. A club that doesn't understand that will simply fall on its sword.

I am not saying what is the sustainable working model or whether one definitely exists for us in Melbourne. I'd like to think that it does, but regardless of that fact - two bases will not work.

If the Bulldogs have example isn't enough then perhaps we need to give some others a go to see whether they can reinvent the club.

Melbourne Demons board has voted to merge. So did Hawthorn. Their reasons were similar - there is no long term future for them in the current form - or so they said.

The new people came in and the results are easy to see.

Our board has mostly remained unchanged for a long time. The people who contributed their own money have been there too long - they are simply tired and feel they're fighting a losing battle.

I say to them - Thank You, but please give others a go before you sell the club.

What would those same people say in 5 years after the increased GC presence when our Melbourne membership is down to 5k?
 

Z_K

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However as someone with an indepth knowledge of Club finances, our debt and forward Budget projections we must seriously consider a long term hybrid strategy of being a "two town" club

Which turns into being a "no town" club.

It won't work. It can't. This club has been dilluted and toyed with for so long that it almost ceases to mean much to anyone other than it's hardcore fanbase. We've had Sydney, Canberra and now the Gold Coast. For what? Are we better off now than our last year of North Melbourne and complete Melbourne based home games?


We are best to work with the AFL in working up a way that the two town strategy can deliver the best of both worlds - and from a long term NMFC/Kangaroos member I am determined to ensure that we get the right outcome that may preserve our membership base in Melbourne AND provide the necessary income stream from Gold Coast games.

'Preserve' our Melbourne membership base. The cynic in me suggests there is alot of meaning behind that comment. What about 'protect'? What about 'look after'?

Melbourne members can't deal with much more. The Gold Coast move will impact on this years membership. Any further move will further cut numbers. Enough is enough. The jumper changes, the name change, the change in focus of those in charge etc etc. At what point is it not the footy club you grew up with. Those in charge really need to get this worked out.

I know many of those shareholders who contributed many hundreds of thousands of dollars more than a decade ago , be they ex and current Board members and a more passionate group you wont find - however they are now accepting that a major position on the Gold Coast MUST be taken. Whilst there is some tension and division at Board level - there is consensus that this new strategy may be make or break.

I've heard this all before. Before Sydney and before Canberra. I heard it before the social club move and the home game move to Telstra Dome.

Whilst I am sure that the Club can get better at various administrative, membership, marketing and PR aspects as are frequently suggested on BF - take it from someone who know the financial facts - this is merely nickel and diming and WILL NOT have a material impact on a sustainable business model.

Take a drive down Footscray Road and go and talk to Campbell Rose about how improved Admin, Membership, marketing and PR aspects have changed that football club. They have smashed us to bits and started from a lower base.

If these are the views of those in charge, I am genuinely worried that I won't have a footy club to support in three years.
 
Great post NorthBhoy. Summed up perfectly.
I bought my faimily 4 membership with a heavy heart this year. I have decided that it was the last time I have done that unconditionaly. From now on the board decisions will influence my decisions.
 
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Well said Northbhoy. Really depressing to read but sums up how I feel (well mostly I clearly don't know what it's like to be a Melbourne supporter, but I do know how being ignored and confused by the club feels).

And as for this...

Originally Posted by step up

Whilst I am sure that the Club can get better at various administrative, membership, marketing and PR aspects as are frequently suggested on BF - take it from someone who know the financial facts - this is merely nickel and diming and WILL NOT have a material impact on a sustainable business model.

While I'm not disputing your financial expertise, I really honestly can't believe that these issues are purely "nickel and dime" stuff and I find treating it in such an emotionless manner somewhat disrespectful of us, those who do buy memberships, or who wish to support this club. It's come up so often from people (personally, I've had my membership screwed up every year I've been a member) - 5 years in a row) that's it's clearly an issue that concerns us, and does make us stop and pause when choosing to buy memberships etc.

The posters/members here are the die hards who love the club and buy memberships regardless of the difficulties we constantly face. There are many others who would not be bothered. Assuming I'll have difficulties signing up again, I've been in no hurry this year. I will join, but I don't know when.

Football for the administration may be about money, but for supporters it's deeply emotional, for us we like to feel that the club we love, loves us back.

And as for relocation:

I'm a supporter who's lived in Adelaide my whole life, I see one Roos game a year if I'm lucky, yet I will never support this club again if it relocates. For starters, now my wedding's paid off, I can get to Melbourne for a few games a year, there's no way I can go to the Gold Coast regularly, but most importantly, I recognise the tradition and the heart of my club lives at Arden Street and if we move, than that heart will stop beating for me.
 

Wrath

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North Melbourne Kangaroos
Having been involved in the club at a sub committee level over the past couple of years, l have a little knowledge of how hard our club find it to make ends meat year in year out. So l can sympathise with the guys involved at the cold face and the challenges ahead.

l no longer am part of any sub committees and am not really sure how it is all set up for the coming year. But one of the areas l would love the club to consider establishing is a comittee that looks at coming up with ideas and strategies on how the club can make money from non-football sources and income generators. There are many ways to make money in this country, just look around, heaps of examples. Just because we are a football club, doesnt not mean we have to have all our income based from football, and old traditional methods, such as raffles, pie nights, etc.

Time for a group of loyal north guys who will volunteer their time and networks to help the club achieve new and exciting income streams. The times of us surviving purely on football income are over, but imagine if we could extract $2-$3mil profit per year from other activities, it would mean no Gold Coast, it would mean no AFL intevention. The other benefit is that the revenue is not reliant on onfield performance. Just look at Essendon as a perfect example of how you can achieve financially with good ideas and excellent management.

If anyone involved would like to take this further, just drop me a message and l'd be happy to meet up with you and discuss it further.

Wrath
 

Kanga70

Rookie
Dec 30, 2006
28
0
AFL Club
North Melbourne
I have read with admiration the passion of everyone expressing their views. some of the issues raised are extremely valid and most of us are probably making assumptions on very little data. The GC issue obviously raises a great deal of emotion.

My credentials to comment. A member for 25 years, I am now a VP member, have my own successful business and have even dabbled in raising money for the club.

In my opinion the club has to address the following and we need solutions not just the problems:
  • An effective board, filled with people which promotes healthy debate and consequently delivers quality decisions. The shenanigans pre Xmas was embarrassing
  • A slick marketing,admin and finance dept. I would love to know the payroll details by dept. We seem to have myriads of people in high flying marketing roles looking after corporates. Is that spend relative to that on the membership dept and revenue driven by the fan base. Are any of these people effective ? I got my scarf, key ring and something else for my VP membership in October 06, problem it was for season 06. You pay peanuts you get monkeys. Hopefully Rick Aylett is the start of an investment in quality people to drive the business and brand. We need qulaity at all levels.
  • A mouthpiece - none of our previous coaches, CEOs or Chairman have been great media people willing to attract attention. Previously we have put that in the same sentence as "hard-working" "get the job done", "business of football"......we want to grow our revenue, we need to build the brand and that involves getting us out there. At least one preferrably two of the captain, coach, CEO or Chairman needs to be on media street every week.
If we can put ticks next to these boxes, the decision making processes and actual decisions will be a lot different to the problems we face right now. If we can achieve these outcomes within 2 years and have a 1 year decision making process before the GC re-negotiation comes around, I think we will find a much better platform to talk with the AFL.

If we don't tick boxes.......GC is inevitable
 
Which turns into being a "no town" club.

It won't work. It can't. This club has been dilluted and toyed with for so long that it almost ceases to mean much to anyone other than it's hardcore fanbase. We've had Sydney, Canberra and now the Gold Coast. For what? Are we better off now than our last year of North Melbourne and complete Melbourne based home games?




'Preserve' our Melbourne membership base. The cynic in me suggests there is alot of meaning behind that comment. What about 'protect'? What about 'look after'?

Melbourne members can't deal with much more. The Gold Coast move will impact on this years membership. Any further move will further cut numbers. Enough is enough. The jumper changes, the name change, the change in focus of those in charge etc etc. At what point is it not the footy club you grew up with. Those in charge really need to get this worked out.



I've heard this all before. Before Sydney and before Canberra. I heard it before the social club move and the home game move to Telstra Dome.



Take a drive down Footscray Road and go and talk to Campbell Rose about how improved Admin, Membership, marketing and PR aspects have changed that football club. They have smashed us to bits and started from a lower base.

If these are the views of those in charge, I am genuinely worried that I won't have a footy club to support in three years.

Perfect. This should be emailed to the club, and titled "Thoughts of a Disillusioned Member (x 25,000)".

I never thought I could be so depressed about footy in January :(
 
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