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Is it time to get rid of 'Western Bulldogs'?

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Kennel Master

Kennel Master

All Australian
Veteran
Sep 8, 2003
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East Fremantle
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
I know this has been a topic before but with the advent of Western (West) Sydney, along with having West Coast Eagles, is it time to get rid of the Western Bulldogs name.
With 3 "West" teams in the AFL has our clubs name lost identity?
Western where? West Coast refers to the West Coast of Australia, Western Sydney is the west of Sydney (der) but Western Bulldogs is west of what??
I know it is suppoosed to be the western suburbs of Melbourne but the name isn' obvious.

If we did change name the obvious one is to revert to Footscray, or Footscray Bulldogs. If not is there any other alternative?

Anyone got any thoughts about this??:confused:

KM
 
Kennel Master said:
I know this has been a topic before but with the advent of Western (West) Sydney, along with having West Coast Eagles, is it time to get rid of the Western Bulldogs name.
With 3 "West" teams in the AFL has our clubs name lost identity?
Western where? West Coast refers to the West Coast of Australia, Western Sydney is the west of Sydney (der) but Western Bulldogs is west of what??
I know it is suppoosed to be the western suburbs of Melbourne but the name isn' obvious.

If we did change name the obvious one is to revert to Footscray, or Footscray Bulldogs. If not is there any other alternative?

Anyone got any thoughts about this??:confused:

KM
Click to expand...

The name lost it's meaning when we became a direction and not a suburb.

Carn' the 'Scray.
 

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I much prefer "Footscray" or another more pertinent name than "Western Bulldogs".

I never refer to them as "Western" and hardly refer to them as 'Western Bulldogs'.

I only refer to them as "The Bulldogs" or "Footscray".

However I still follow them fanatically and don't mind if they stay as 'Western Bulldogs" as long as they win the bloody flag!!

But once Western Sydney or GWS enter the comp we must seriously look at a name change, not for nostalgic reasons, but to differentiate ourselves from the others in a marketing sense.

It's ludicrous that we have three teams in an 18 team comp that start with "West" or are associated to the direction West, its sounds very mundane and unimaginative and really represents nothing in particular.

Maybe the Victoria Bulldogs is a better choice!!
 
always right said:
Carn' the bulldogs.
Click to expand...

I know there are many passionate supporters who have never wanted to be Western Bulldogs, and many others who saw the name as part of saving the club from extinction. I probably prefer Footscray as the name.

My point is that now we will have 3 'West' teams in the AFL. Too many!
Has the name Western Bulldogs served its purpose and now the time has come to go back to Footscray.

We are all sons (and daughters) of the 'Scray.:thumbsu:

KM
 
Does Godwin Fot still post here?

Ine never supported the name change and i refuse to call them the western bulldogs, i called them Footscray, Bulldogs or Footscray Football Club trading as the Western Bulldogs!!
 
Kennel Master said:
I know there are many passionate supporters who have never wanted to be Western Bulldogs, and many others who saw the name as part of saving the club from extinction. I probably prefer Footscray as the name.

My point is that now we will have 3 'West' teams in the AFL. Too many!
Has the name Western Bulldogs served its purpose and now the time has come to go back to Footscray.

We are all sons (and daughters) of the 'Scray.:thumbsu:

KM
Click to expand...

I don't fall into either camp. It's not the most important factor in the success of our club yet there are some who would have you believe it is THE issue. (not you).

The thread is a valid one but to me the question is not whether we should revert to our old name but whether Western Bulldogs is still the best option. I'm open minded on this.
 
Nah....I say leave it as it is. I think Western Bulldogs is a great name and encompasses the whole Western side of Melbourne, not Just Footscray. I think that will help us long term with growing our supporter base and sponsorship.

The keys to our identity I think are the colors and the Bulldog logo, and the fact is that we are still the Footscray Football Club. I think that the image of the team started to change once we made the name change and so on (I think in 1997?) and I see no reason why our name should be adversly affected by Western Sydney coming into the comp. West Coast have been in for ages....what impact has that made to us?
 
always right said:
I don't fall into either camp. It's not the most important factor in the success of our club yet there are some who would have you believe it is THE issue. (not you).

The thread is a valid one but to me the question is not whether we should revert to our old name but whether Western Bulldogs is still the best option. I'm open minded on this.
Click to expand...

Agree. I guess this is the point I'm making, is the name Western Bulldogs still the best option, considering the points already mentioned.

If it's not the best option are there really any alternatives other than Footscray?

KM
 
Just an old traditionalist I guess. But they will always be Footscray to me, just so long as they wear the tri colours, have the bulldog as their emblem [in some form- and I do love the present form of the logo]. And so long as the letters FFC continue to reside with pride on our gurnsey I will be happy. When ever anybody asks me who or which club I support, my reply is always Footscray [ That is unless they are talking soccer, then it is Liverpool, and it is amazing how often that combination (Doggies/Liverpool seems to appear on this site)].
 

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Libba39 said:
The club has moved on.

Time you guys did as well.

Going back to being Footscray would be marketing suicide.
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Agreed, let's be realistic and think about how many 6 - 15 year olds, know anything about Footscray, it's the Western Bulldogs for them, and they relate to the Bulldogs not the "Western" part of the name.

I have a 9 year old and a 7 year old who would not know what I was talking about if i said they followed Footscray, they would say Nah dad it's the Bulldogs and with full of pride.

I also have a 9 year old Nephew who who lives in Mt. Martha and barracks for the Bulldogs. Imagine me telling him now were called Footscray..........I dont think so! And as Libba 39 rightly suggested, it would be marketing suicide!

Go DOGGIES!!
 
Libba39 said:
The club has moved on.

Time you guys did as well.

Going back to being Footscray would be marketing suicide.
Click to expand...
Marketing suicide???? That is a tad melodramatic fellas!!!
The team was never flushed down the toilet when it has made other changes over its LONG and VARIED history, and there have been plenty. And I would be surprised if there had not been Doom sayers aplenty every time it has made each and every one of those changes in the past.
In the modern era businesses, corporations even government departments see it as not just desirable, but dare I suggest necessary to retitle, redesign and rebadge themselves to stay relevent in an ever changing world on quite a regular basis in order to be seen as fresh.
I am not pushing a 'return to Footscray' barrow, merely stating that I personally am more comfortable with that. For me the only part of Western Bulldogs that is either important or relavent is the BULLDOGS bit. The rest is simply redundent.
 
Tortilla said:
No, but this bloke has plenty of thoughts


http://www.fnwb.com.au/
Click to expand...

Ahh yes, my old mate Rufus Caveman. Those who have been around long enough will remember that the Caveman did post here for a short time before he fell out of favour due to his strong opinions. A good bloke is Rufus and a more passionate supporter you will never find.

For the record, it`s Footscray Bulldogs for mine.
 

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I think the name change from Footscray to the Western Bulldogs was a good idea at the time for several reasons and I still think it's the best option. I doubt that most young football supporters would now embrace the name Footscray. Further, we've moved on, we want to attract a wider supporter base that represents the west not just a particular suburb. (And this from someone who grew up in Footscray!)
Let Western Sydney worry about their name - they'll have more trouble attracting allegiance to that concept than we will to an association with our western suburbs!
 
Any serious discussion about reverting to Footscray is insane.

I'm in Sydney and I get the odd, oh western bulldogs are they a WA team?? but seriously they'd have NFI where Footscray is either.

The educated football public know who we are and our history.

The concept isn't hard to understand, we are the western suburbs of melbourne, a better concept and one that is inclusive of a large and growing part of melbourne.
 
Half the members now would have been born after or around the name change anyway, i prefer western bulldogs as i do not live in footscray and feel like it includes me more, a succesful name change saved our club why jepadise it again?
 
Hi guys,

It's been ages since I checked BigFooty...and longer still since posting.

An interesting question this. With three "Wests" how are we differentiated?

FWIW whenever i talk to anyone over here (UK) who has a vague understanding of AFL, they think I am talking about West Coast when I mention Western Bulldogs:eek:.

However I am also reminded of Manchester United and Manchester City, two very (currently) successful clubs with similar names.

I think our club is more than just a name, its as much about our history and legacy of passion and survival, the characters (EJ, Grant, Dougie, Libba, Johnno) and the turning around of its fortunes more than anything else. That is a differential advantage we have over Western Sydney, who start with nothing. As long as we know who we are and we succeed, thats whats important.
 

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Is it time to get rid of 'Western Bulldogs'?

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