Best of Barrett '07

[Manbearpig]

There's a double page spread in the HS today by our man Damo, titled "Thank God Its Friday" (here) with his summation of AFL on and off field 2007. There are some dot point summaries, which are unfortunately, not in the online version. Here are the highlights:

GOLD STARS
Dean Laidley: Forget the finals thumpings and remember this: the Roos, minus Nathan Thompson and with a list people still don't rate, finished third. Laidley somehow procured this result despite a dysfunctional board and administration, and with the AFL trying to move the club north.

Ron Joseph/James Brayshaw: For standing up to AFL bullying and fighting to save something dear to them - the North Melbourne Football Club. Sure, they've taken on an almost impossible cause. But had they not stood up, the club would by now be totally controlled by the AFL, which of course wanted to send it to the Gold Coast where, strangely, there was no stadium deal.

MUST TRY HARDER
The AFL: For embarrassingly botching the attempted railroading of the Roos to the Gold Coast. Remember, it tried to secretly buy the Roos in April. Remember, on October 31 it set a 30-day dealine for the club to make a decision to relocate, then tried to deny it had set that deadline. Also remember, it said the entire Gold Coast offer was predicated on a stadium deal, and then failed to deliver on that stadium deal.


Indeed, the pen is mightier than the sword. Thanks for keeping it real in 2007 Damian.

 

[Ghostwriter]

I hope the AFL don't punish Damian, for his stance on the North saga, he has made a few enemies down at AFL house.

 

[Arden]

Brilliant. Love the way he keeps sticking the boots into the AFL.

Has almost guaranteed he won't get an invite to Vlad's birthday party. Absolute champion, keep up the stellar work.

I think BigFooty should sponsor Damo in 2008.

 

[GoNorth]

I liked most of Barrett's comments but I didn't like the bit where he said that JB and RJ have taken on an 'almost impossible cause'.

 

[The Hippie]

MUST TRY HARDER
The AFL: For embarrassingly botching the attempted railroading of the Roos to the Gold Coast. Remember, it tried to secretly buy the Roos in April. Remember, on October 31 it set a 30-day dealine for the club to make a decision to relocate, then tried to deny it had set that deadline. Also remember, it said the entire Gold Coast offer was predicated on a stadium deal, and then failed to deliver on that stadium deal.

He could have also slipped "the AFL wants a team on the Gold Coast by 2015" all of a sudden turns into 2010 quotes, just to further embarrass the fat git.

 

[NICK_ROOBOY83]

I liked most of Barrett's comments but I didn't like the bit where he said that JB and RJ have taken on an 'almost impossible cause'.

Other then that little comment which also annoys me It was good reading.

 

[Ausgard]

I liked most of Barrett's comments but I didn't like the bit where he said that JB and RJ have taken on an 'almost impossible cause'.

why ?

Would you prefer for him to say "Now that North have said 'No' to relocation, if you were 50/50 about buying a membership then it doesn't really matter one way or the other because North are perfectly safe"

 

[GoNorth]

why ?

Would you prefer for him to say "Now that North have said 'No' to relocation, if you were 50/50 about buying a membership then it doesn't really matter one way or the other because North are perfectly safe"

Are you serious? You think that by Damian Barrett saying that JB and RJ have taken on an 'almost impossible' cause, that people who are 50/50 about buying a membership will suddenly sign up? Well, if that's all it takes, then by all means, go for it, Damian. I'm sorry I underestimated you.

BTW, I never said that he had to write that North were perfectly safe, either. I just didn't like that one negative comment he made. He has been sensational for our Keep North South fight throughout the year, but I don't have to like everything he writes.

 

[Manbearpig]

I just take that "almost impossible cause" as a mighty compliment to RJ and JB, cause its a hard job and they can make it work.

 

[bigtuna]

Barrett deserves nothing but praise for his work this year. He has stuck it to the AFL not only about what they tried to do to us but also about the holes in their drug code and general arrogance about everything.

His articles on the relocation push were brilliant. He was the only one in the media who used facts and didn't just rely on emotion in his support of us staying put.

Someone should give Barrett an award for his excellent work in fighting the good fight. He has shown again and again that he is not scared to stand up to the AFL and expose their incompetence. If the rest of the media were like him, we'd have a much better competition.

 

[Shinboners]

Are you serious? You think that by Damian Barrett saying that JB and RJ have taken on an 'almost impossible' cause, that people who are 50/50 about buying a membership will suddenly sign up? Well, if that's all it takes, then by all means, go for it, Damian. I'm sorry I underestimated you.

To many outside of the North Melbourne family, it does look like an "almost impossible cause". If anything, by noting how difficult the task is, it makes the efforts of Brayshaw, Joseph, and all of those who have fought to keep the club in Melbourne look even more impressive.

 

[Ausgard]

Are you serious? You think that by Damian Barrett saying that JB and RJ have taken on an 'almost impossible' cause, that people who are 50/50 about buying a membership will suddenly sign up? Well, if that's all it takes, then by all means, go for it, Damian. I'm sorry I underestimated you.

BTW, I never said that he had to write that North were perfectly safe, either. I just didn't like that one negative comment he made. He has been sensational for our Keep North South fight throughout the year, but I don't have to like everything he writes.

sorry if I appeared to be having a go at you - not my intention.

However the steps we have taken do not hide the fact that its going to be extremely difficult to survive in Melbourne and stressing the difficulty of it is (in my opinion) more likely get people to sign up than not.

Do not be afraid of reporters saying things like "Mission Impossible".

We are not safe.

We are far from safe.

Thinking that we are is more likely to end us than the odd piece of reporting stating the difficulty of the task.

I don't mind optimism but sometimes I find that alot of people on Bigfooty seem to think the battle is already won - and that scares me.

 

[GoNorth]

sorry if I appeared to be having a go at you - not my intention.

However the steps we have taken do not hide the fact that its going to be extremely difficult to survive in Melbourne and stressing the difficulty of it is (in my opinion) more likely get people to sign up than not.

Do not be afraid of reporters saying things like "Mission Impossible".

We are not safe.

We are far from safe.

Thinking that we are is more likely to end us than the odd piece of reporting stating the difficulty of the task.

I don't mind optimism but sometimes I find that alot of people on Bigfooty seem to think the battle is already won - and that scares me.

No offence taken. I am under no illusions as to the enormity of the challenge to make North Melbourne into a thriving AFL club based in Melbourne, and I am ready and willing to help out wherever I can. I, like many others, have bought extra memberships, in addition to my own, in an effort to help the club, and I will continue to do so every year. I know it's going to take a lot more than just getting the membership numbers up though (although that will definitely help).