Gardner it's time

[Redlegs2011]

Gardner: Help is normal
10 December 2007 Herald Sun
Jon Ralph

MELBOURNE president Paul Gardner says it is unrealistic to expect the AFL's poorer clubs - including the Demons - to ever be free of financial help from the league.

The Demons are one of three clubs that receive the AFL's annual special distribution.
While new Kangaroos chairman James Brayshaw hopes his club will soon be off the annual stipend, Gardner expects Melbourne, which receives $1 million a year, will always need funding from the AFL.
"Melbourne will always be in that situation," he said.
"It drives me crazy when people say there are three clubs on welfare. Every club relies on the AFL to survive in some way.
"Our home games are at a stadium that has 90,000 seats. You are never compelled to buy a reserved seat. We have a stadium where we can't sell the naming rights like Skilled Stadium.
"To pick out one part of the distribution (from the AFL) is a furphy. We are financially disadvantaged, and the special distribution is about making sides competitive."
While interstate clubs reap huge figures from reserved seating and high-profile clubs attract sponsors by regularly playing Friday night, Gardner said not all clubs were as lucky.
"Every club gets some form of distribution. It may well be in a better draw. It may be in allowing them to play four home games in Tasmania. It may well be a living-away allowance," he said.


Interesting what Gardner had to say. I cannot support Gardner's defeatist attitude. What he is saying about reserved seating and naming rights at the MCG does not sit with me. Collingwood plays home games at MCG and makes a bloody fortune. Melbourne loses money. Time to go Paul Gardner. However Gardner is correct about the financial advantages West coast has playing at Subiaco. They make a fortune which will only increase when stadium capacity at subiaco is increased which is in the pipeline to happen.I don't know the answers but Gardner should be upbeat and positive and talking up Melbourne and having a real go like Daniher did as coach the last few years. Daniher inspired me to get off my backside and get to more games. Gardner opened his mouth mid year and had a crack at Melbourne supporters and now he has had a second crack.Get rid of him.Good on the dogs for having a red hot crack at being financially independent.that's what Melbourne should be doing.

 

[master bate]

I think he is right though, to survive we have to take one of the following options
1. Get a pay out from the AFL
2. Increase members and supporters (impossible, China?)
3. Sell games/Move interstate (which is like taking a handout but its from a government and or AFL)
4. Get more revenue from other interests (which is what the roos are looking at but Collingwood can already do by owning a stackload of pubs)

Obviously we would prefer option 2 but whilst remaining in Melbourne I can't see us getting another 10k members and another 10k to every game that we need. I'd love us to be financially saved by option 4 but you need people to give you the cash in the first place to buy the business, unless someone wants to donate us the next big internet company just before its worth 100mil. Obviously I dont want to see the club move but if we did a 3 game deal like Hawthorn with Canberra I'd support it if the money was right and we could be looking at some long supporters in the region. In the mean time $1 mil a year when TV rights are worth 260mil or whatever isn't going to hurt the AFL, but whilst they have the power to pull the pin it is like receiving welfare, and I'd encourage Gardiner to try harder but I wouldn't give him the flick at the moment (I can't see any billionaires lining up to take over).

 

[Supermercado]

Farcial calls to dump him. Absolutely amazing some of the slop you read on this forum.

 

[Redlegs2011]

I do not think he is the right person for the job. We need an active president with a vision for the future and a plan to get their. I am more convinced than ever that high profile identities add value to clubs. EG Eddie. It will be interesting to see how James Brayshaw goes.
Also Costa at Geelong has had a big impact.

Maybe Gary Lyon could put his hand up.

 

[FOOOOTY]

I think he is right though, to survive we have to take one of the following options
1. Get a pay out from the AFL
2. Increase members and supporters (impossible, China?)
3. Sell games/Move interstate (which is like taking a handout but its from a government and or AFL)
4. Get more revenue from other interests (which is what the roos are looking at but Collingwood can already do by owning a stackload of pubs)

Obviously we would prefer option 2 but whilst remaining in Melbourne I can't see us getting another 10k members and another 10k to every game that we need. I'd love us to be financially saved by option 4 but you need people to give you the cash in the first place to buy the business, unless someone wants to donate us the next big internet company just before its worth 100mil. Obviously I dont want to see the club move but if we did a 3 game deal like Hawthorn with Canberra I'd support it if the money was right and we could be looking at some long supporters in the region. In the mean time $1 mil a year when TV rights are worth 260mil or whatever isn't going to hurt the AFL, but whilst they have the power to pull the pin it is like receiving welfare, and I'd encourage Gardiner to try harder but I wouldn't give him the flick at the moment (I can't see any billionaires lining up to take over).

Id rather cut football spending, then sell home games. Honestly, move 3 games to another market, and we will be going through what the Kangaroos just went through in 2-3 years.. guarantee it. Journalists dropping innuendo about relocation being inevitable, continually damaging our brand hurting us further, until the only thing the whole football world thinks,(including our supporters) is that we are a lost cause.

The worst thing we could do, is be reliant on a another state for our money, the AFL will play the same 'oh we will help you with a nice relocation package' but if you don't take it we remove the games trick.

What we need to do, is fight and fight & then fight some more in Melbourne, with other teams moving away from their heartland we should be promoting the message that 'We embrace Melbourne, while other clubs step on their supporters for money'.

We shouldn't be talking about ASD and funding, we should be making public friendly comments, like 'We will never relocate' 'We will never merge' 'We will never move from Melbourne'. What does upset me is how we seemed to just give up chasing Chris Judd so easily, forget how good he is on the field, he was essential for us to get off the field.

Moving games interstate, to survive, is giving up.. and puts us in a helluva lot more dangerous position then we are now.

And Gardner is right, there are a lot of inequities in the AFL, a flat same payment to all clubs will never ever happen, christ Essendon receive ASD because they play at Telstra Dome, (whos decision was it to go there?), yet we would never hear about them being on 'welfare' or getting 'handouts'. And we don't see them giving the money back either.

I didn't like the message 'we will always receive assistance'.. though, that is a very very bad image for the club, and it wasn't necessary to say to get his point across.

 

[FOOOOTY]

I do not think he is the right person for the job. We need an active president with a vision for the future and a plan to get their. I am more convinced than ever that high profile identities add value to clubs. EG Eddie. It will be interesting to see how James Brayshaw goes.

Also Costa at Geelong has had a big impact.


Maybe Gary Lyon could put his hand up.

This does no good if there isn't someone better willing to replace him, and as much as i would like it, i don't think Garry wants to be president of a football club right now.

 

[Deenamite]

This does no good if there isn't someone better willing to replace him, and as much as i would like it, i don't think Garry wants to be president of a football club right now.

Niether do I except i would still like him to have a bigger role at the club. Gardner will stay. On-field success would fix many of these problems.

 

[Redlegs2011]

Is it no one better or no one wants it?

 

[Pat Magroine]

Gardner is a realist. There is its reason its called a fixture and not a draw, it does appear however as him being quite negative. Its is a very uneven playing field but we have to make the best with what we have. Band together and urge other Demon SUPPORTERS to become MEMBERS........

 

[eliasd82]

Gardner is a realist. There is its reason its called a fixture and not a draw, it does appear however as him being quite negative. Its is a very uneven playing field but we have to make the best with what we have. Band together and urge other Demon SUPPORTERS to become MEMBERS........

Agreed with all of the above.