- Dec 7, 2016
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You are attempting to distract the issue by introducing North Melbourne into the discussion and I am not buying into it. North Melbourne FC have absolutely no relevance to this thread. Money is not going to fix the issues that prevail at North Melbourne in the present or the future. Their issues lay in player management and coaching and relocation will not fix that. Financially they are sound - in fact one of only a handful of clubs not carrying debt, they have brand new and expanding facilities at Arden Street and a membership base of 46,500. Contrast that to their position back in 2008 when the AFL was trying to relocate them to the Gold Coast. In 2008 the club carried $8 million in debt, membership was 18,000, and Arden Street was a dilapidated dump. So North Melbourne FC are not going anywhere! I rest my case Your Honour!No, he's the opposite. He's a very astute operator who knows how to articulate his position, and then use his accumulated clout to get what he wants...
His North Melbourne proposal is a very good one if you're thinking like a suit or a mainlander. Suits want rationalisation so North has to go, and they want the TV product to appeal to Victorians. Mainlanders have no clue as to what Tasmanians think or their ability to spend, and don't gaf as to their footy legacy even though a disproportionate four members of their Team of the Century come from Tassie. Eddie has thought through a proposal that appeals to the boardroom, and benefits Collingwood...
And this is what the Tassie bid is up against.
Consider that Richmond endured 15 years in the football wilderness (remember their supporters spitting on their coach and players as they left the field after games (only eight years ago)) and hadn't won a Premiership since 1980 yet nobody suggested that they move and become the Tassie Tigers did they?
Consider that Carlton has only started winning after 20 years between 2001-2020 of being the AFL easy beats, yet nobody suggested that they relocate to Woop Woop did they?
When Hawthorn originally started playing in Launceston back in 1999 they couldn't win a raffle, membership was in the toilet and they used to get flogged mercilessly by teams like Essendon for several years before finally getting back on the winning list under Alistair Clarkson in the late 2000s. Yet nobody suggested over their years in the wilderness that they relocate to Launceston did they? GEEZ as a Hawthorn supporter your memory is short!
Consider Melbourne, no GF victory in 57 years, declining membership, bailed out by the AFL who almost called in the administrators at one point several years ago. They were flogged most rounds for decades until only the last three years. Yet nobody suggested that they relocate to Tasmania to become the Tassie Devils did they?
SO WHAT IS YOU GRIPE AGAINST NORTH MELBOURNE? Team fortunes ebb and flow with time - or perhaps you are not old enough to have witnessed that yet? No AFL team has stayed down forever ... nor has any AFL team consistently sat at the top forever.
Now, back on point of discussion - I am discussing in this thread how Tasmania proposes to fund not just the construction of a proposed $750 mil stadium, but how they intend to keep it financially viable for just several AFL games per year? Nobody in this thread has answered that - Nobody, and certainly not Eddie (Spend bucket loads of tax-payer money without a justified business case) Maguire. Please keep the discussion relevant and on point
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