Well done Geelong!

[Olmy]

Good to see the Catters have made a $1m turn-around on last year's financial efforts (posting an operating profit of $77k).

Hopefully you'll be around for many years to come (as I enjoyed the trip down to Petrol Park in Round 15 this season)!

Lions 128
Cats 59

 

[JUBJUB]

So you were that Lions supporter at Shell Stadium .Maybe next time there might be 2 Lions supporters.

------------------
"Hillbillies are people too"

 

[Olmy]

Yep. Didn't like your pies much (gotta be the worst pies in the league).

 

[Gonzo]

Originally posted by Olmy:
Yep. Didn't like your pies much (gotta be the worst pies in the league).

Now there is an opportunity for a smartar$e remark if ever I saw one, but I couldn't handle the flames from the Collingwood supporters

Cheers

Gonzo

 

[Pessimistic]

I love the trip to geelong too - but there don't seem to be any anymore.

And seeing as we always win, if we come again , can we have some of the seats this time ?

 

[ptw]

Olmy

I too wish the cats all the best...lived there for a while.

Can't help but think that it is a false dawn.

They merged the social club and football club which reduced debt...but you can only do this once.

They raised $400,000 by shaking tins, but you can't do this every year. They got an extra $200,000 or so in increased sponsorship.

At that rate the club is still not a viable going concern. The worst thing Cats members and staff can do is think that this year's result is good and it will all be OK. Whereas if you back out the one off's they still made several hundred thousand dollars loss.

To get $6M debt you are spending more than you earn on an ongoing basis. This is what they need to fix. Fixing the "spend" part would mean having a football operations group less than the major clubs, which would ultimately effect on field performances. Even with salary caps and drafts etc this is the area where money still counts.

Like I said, good luck to them.

ptw

 

[Shinboners]

Actually, the staff at Geelong are great with the pies. The last time I was there, I ordered a pie and the woman got it, gave it to me, then took it back saying it was....get this...."not hot enough"! She was very apologetic and went back to get me a hot one!

Are you reading this MCG and Colonial caterers??????

 

[Drakey]

A hot pie at the footy??????????????????????

I'd like to eat that

 

[Shinboners]

Don't hold your hopes up Drakey...good service AND a hot pie! It hasn't happened since then

or

Not too sure which expression I should be using.

 

[Olmy]

Nah Mate! What are you on? The pies at Geelong are terrible!

It's like as if to cut down on costs (ie: to wipe the $6m debt), they've combined drinks and pies in one, under the same crust!

Even the locals steer clear!

 

[Olmy]

Ptw - there was word at one stage that the Cats were looking to play out of Adelaide Oval, for a couple of games per year. The expected windfall was also mentioned - can't remember it exactly - but it sounded substantial enough to make up for some of those areas you mentioned as "on-off's".

Next season will be a bit of a gauge. The big issues will be for Geelong to continue to raise monies via fund raising (or other ventures), along with the decent membership (which is also linked to on-field performances).

Geelong did ok on the field this year. With a new coach, you could say that he was setting the ground work for years to come, and that making the finals in his first season (after they missed the previous 2 years), was an unexpected result. Similarly, they also fielded extremely well in the VFL.

If they can keep this up, along with the push for members, as well as keeping the cash coming in, then they are set.

2001 is really a litmus test isn't it?

Then again, how many litmus tests did the Roys pass in the 90's?! They got out of jail a few times . . .

 

[OldLion]

You've got to wonder about the Cats. They've had a lot of success in the last decade BUT also a lot of Collingwood-type disappointment so just being successful doesn't quite cut it - they want the flag. Even being in a GF sends shudders thru' the town - not ANOTHER tragic result !

I propose an additional element in the makeup of the ladder - a DESERVE TO column. No team should be able to have more than 1 flag ( like US presidents ) and clubs like Cats, Dogs, Saints, Tigers, Lions etc will be actively encouraged , beyond the salary cap. The catagory - good for football - will be included, so that if for example the Dogs beat the Bombers, they get 4 bonus points. In fact any win against the reigning premiers ( or the team that finished above you last season ) gets bonus points.

Let's get serious about equality !

 

[sainter]

Amen to that OldLion!

Olmy, I have to disagree with you on the pies as well. The pies in Geelong (Beaumont pies I think) are far better than Four and Twenty and the Great Southern pies that we usually have to put up with.

Although I think you are pretty spot on regarding Geelong's finances. Despite having a far better season in 2000, the club is still $3 million in debt and that is a precarious situation for any organisation.

Many people bought memberships because for the first time in quite a few years, they correctly felt like their club was in trouble and that they had to do their part. Now that their membership stands at 26 000, they will do very well to maintain this level, let alone increasing it. Obviously I hope they can.

The saints play there every single year and next year isn't any different. I enjoy the game every year.

------------------
Fortius Quo Fidelius

 

[Westy Boy]

Originally posted by OldLion:

I propose an additional element in the makeup of the ladder - a DESERVE TO column. No team should be able to have more than 1 flag ( like US presidents ) and clubs like Cats, Dogs, Saints, Tigers, Lions etc will be actively encouraged , beyond the salary cap. The catagory - good for football - will be included, so that if for example the Dogs beat the Bombers, they get 4 bonus points. In fact any win against the reigning premiers ( or the team that finished above you last season ) gets bonus points.

Let's get serious about equality !

Finally, some logic on big footy!!!!

Doggies will still manage to 'choke' though, no matter the circumstances

 

[lioness]

Hey Olmy I agree with ya - here's to Petrol Park stayin around for a while, it's been a happy hunting ground for our boys in recent years hehehehe

 

[ptw]

Olmy

yep. I thnk that is the real risk...if you bump along, surviving on one-offs and tin rattles and huge "lets save the club" membership drives I think you are doomed. The Adelaide Oval idea was a good one, scuttled in the end by the SANFL.

I admire clubs like North & the Bulldogs who are actively pursuing new ideas to ensure the future of their club. Geelong will need to do the same.

I have often thought that a merger with say Nth Ballarat (or just an alliance) with a couple of home games a year up there would work. It would not disenfrancise any of the Geelong people as it is closer than MLB, nor the MLB people as it is about the same as GLG, and you potentially get another supporter base. We all talk about Canberra and Southport, but there are a million people in country Victoria, already supporters of the game, and that is a market.

The game could be beemed live into MLB and GLG.

The Vic Country Cats ?

ptw

 

[ptw]

sorry to go on...

if they played 2 games a year in Ballarat against the crows and Port then you would get more people from Adelaide come, and you would not need a huge ground as there would not be more than 20,000 people there anyway.

???

ptw

 

[Olmy]

I reckon Geelong would have tonnes of supporters in the country. I know of a few myself, who are supporters because they see the club as a regional team, rather than a Melbourne team (I guess it's the closest representation they'll have).

 

[Olmy]

The problem is harnessing those areas.

 

[gocatsgo]

I was going to sit here and observe everyone's opinions, but I feel propelled to reply.

Agreed Sainter, Beaumonts are far better pies than those crappy cold things you get from the MCG and CS.

Now to a few other points. Geelong is the preferred club of supporters right throughout the western district and a membership dirve is currently being set up to cover the whole western district, from Colac to Mt Gambier, players, coaching staff and officials are all going on trips during the preseason to drum up membership support for the club in the offseason. This will be helped by the fact that we play 13 Sunday games next season and 6 of our 7 at KP are also on Sunday, which should draw bigger crowds from the western district which in the past has been lacking due to morning sport on Saturdays etc.

Like North and the Bulldogs, Geelong is trying new things to increase its supporter range, hence the 4 homegames in Melbourne each year. Next year 2 at the MCG and 2 at Colonial. While not travelling interstate, like the others, Geelong is actively seeking new supporters.

According to a recent survey, there are 380,000 Geelong supporters throughout the country. If only 1/10th of those became members, then the club would profit every year.

There is no-doubt that a $77,000 dollar profit is encouraging, you have to remember this was a transitional year for the club under the BEST CEO in the land Brian Cook. Next year he has budgeted for $200,000 profit with a membership increase of just 4%, which would give us 27,500 members. Brian Cook knows what he is doing and knows his club finances better than anyone.

Geelong unlike other teams in the competition is a protected species, let's make no debate on that, the AFL want Geelong, but they could do without a couple of other clubs in Melbourne. Geelong also doesn't have a problem with sponsorship. The Ford motor company will bail out the club if it became totally necessary. They have the longest running sponsorship of any club in the league and the money is equivalent to that of Essendons new deal with Orange. Geelong is also in the position that most local businesses sponsor the club, all they have to do is ask and sponsors come on board from the local area, other clubs aren't so fortunate.

 

[ptw]

gocatsgo

not trying to be a wet blanket but why then did they have $6M debt (now $3M thanks to the social club) ? They must spend more than they earn, which is not sustainable.

ptw

 

[Frodo]

The basic rule of a good pie.

If it needs sauce it doent taste good

 

[Paws]

ptw

not trying to be a wet blanket but why then did they have $6M debt (now $3M thanks to the social club) ? They must spend more than they earn, which is not sustainable.
-------

Then don't be a wet blanket, maybe the upgrade of the ground and Hickey stand etc, you know things most other clubs don't have to do, because they don't have a home ground with any history or meaning, may have had something to do with money owed. I'm sure if we agreed to play on the moon each week the AFL would reward us just as it has other clubs to go where they are told, but oddly enough you have to actually consider Geelong and the country supporters as well as Melbourne to where they might like to see their team play. Amazing that isn't it, after all we are Geelong, and I'm sure all those people in Ballarat would prefer to travel down to Geelong than the trip to Melbourne.

So the club is actually trying to keep their ground in a suitable condition so we can stage games there, as the AFL would want, what a shock. No matter how much you might want to get rid of us, two clubs from Melbourne will go first, just accept it.

 

[ptw]

Paws

you mistake my inqusitiveness for distain.

Don't be so sensative. Just because I post something on Geelong's debt (which is a fact) does not mean I want them out.

Quite the opposite in fact.

I like Geelong, lived there for 2 years, went to see them play often at KP.

ptw

 

[Olmy]

I hope Geelong stay at KP as well. It's a fantastic place to watch footy at, and certainly has the 'community football' feel to it.

I'll buy a membership if that's what it takes (and comes down to), to help keep your lot there. (Bearing in mind I'm a Lions/Fitzroy supporter - so I won't be cheering for you!).