HELL'S HOLIDAY

[Rogue 585]

Eddie McGuire was quoted in the Age today as saying that he did not want to change the QBW away from MFC he just wants to reverse the order of who plays there to

"Collingwood vs Melbourne"

He feels the Pies kindness toward MFC has gone on too long. So we will still be there on QBW in the McGuire view of the future world, we just dont get a brass bean from it!

Interesting - I heard that he was supportive, but nothing about reversing the order

[Rhino Richards 1,467]

Interesting - I heard that he was supportive, but nothing about reversing the order

From Michael Gleeson's article:

A positive for the Demons yesterday was that Collingwood president Eddie McGuire said he was happy with Melbourne's participation in the Queen's Birthday clash. He said the Magpies supported the right for Melbourne to retain the match as a Melbourne home game so the struggling club could enjoy a major payday.

"Collingwood have supported this all the way, it has always been a Melbourne home game, we forfeited any right to home-and-away on that," McGuire said on 3AW before the Pies' 21-point win. "We continue to support Melbourne. They are a very important club in the AFL.

"Next year, we want it to be Collingwood-Melbourne, but today people will march with their feet."

[45HG 1,559]

I'm more than happy for this to be a Coll-Melb game next year.

For starters, its fair. But beyond this, it means hopefully they'll get +1 interstate game, and us hopefully one less

[Rhino Richards 1,467]

I'm more than happy for this to be a Coll-Melb game next year.

For starters, its fair. But beyond this, it means hopefully they'll get +1 interstate game, and us hopefully one less

In the AFL lets pass on the notion of "fair". The fixturing is not fair full stop.

I could not give a toss for where Collingwood play outside of QBW.

However how the hell is MFC going to cover the loss of a home game next year which pulls 70,000 and is our only marquee game of the year.

Amazing

[45HG 1,559]

There's a lot of work that we need to do to build our club, our brand and our suporter base.

If we do this, it should roll over to increase the importance to fans of each match we play, which we must do.

Perhaps this will force us to think of new ideas to build other games, against Ess, Haw or Rich (to get that back to the G).

We can't rely on QB every year to pull in our cash, hopefully this will push the club to make it happen

[Little Goffy 14,639]

25 reasons why Mich Malthouse was mystified that Melbourne players would lift for a big game with lots of history and emotion -

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[Rhino Richards 1,467]

We can't rely on QB every year to pull in our cash, hopefully this will push the club to make it happen

So why make it harder? <_<

[Rogue 585]

From Michael Gleeson's article:

Thanks. We're getting squeezed from all angles atm.

[45HG 1,559]

So why make it harder? <_<

That doesn't make sense.

My point is that if we are relying on one marquee game to draw in the crowd and the money, and we continue to do so, it will be completely shooting ourselves in the foot.

If making this match a dees home game only every second year forces us to heighten the attention around other games, then that must happen.

[deanox 9,989]

That doesn't make sense.

My point is that if we are relying on one marquee game to draw in the crowd and the money, and we continue to do so, it will be completely shooting ourselves in the foot.

If making this match a dees home game only every second year forces us to heighten the attention around other games, then that must happen.

i think you'll find that Paul Mac has already flagged this. his aim is to make a theme for every game ie kids on the ground, DN farewell, to try and drum up interest in every match, not just some.

[Rhino Richards 1,467]

My point is that if we are relying on one marquee game to draw in the crowd and the money, and we continue to do so, it will be completely shooting ourselves in the foot.

If making this match a dees home game only every second year forces us to heighten the attention around other games, then that must happen.

We arent solely relying on it and to imply that is off the mark.

No one at MFC is solely relying on this game to draw in the crowd and money. However it is an important source of money and exposure and the Club should fight tooth and nail to keep it as part of a lopsided and biased draw. There is alot of hard work and no low lying fruit to turn around MFC fortunes. Why give up an important one?

There is no evidence that taking the QBW as an MFC home game will arrest complacency nor increase spectator involvement. It could easily do the opposite. And we would have an additional hole in our finances where funding and income sources are hard to come by.

Make that shooting ourselves in both feet..twice.

[45HG 1,559]

Exactly, hence lowering the necessity for QB to be a 70 thou + crowd (which it wasn't this year anyway)

I was saying this in return to people saying we're now in financial trouble because it won't be a home game, but i see it as a positive in that the club will now move on other ideas to build each game we play.

Themed rounds, history rounds, march to the g, kicking comps on Gosch's with some other players, beer drinking contests with past players, who knows.

I think the club understands this and is working towards it.

[45HG 1,559]

Rhino, i see what you mean, but we would still have the game every second year, and we would still keep a spot in the Blockbuster.

Does anyone care if it's Ess' or Coll's home ground on ANZAC day? The build up is the same, we can still show off our club in front of a large audience (possibly larger as more Coll would go)

Furthermore, it gives us one extra away game at the G, allowing us a chance at grabbing an extra one. If we do it properly, we can maintain the importance of our involvement in QB and build our name into something that will draw at least an extra 5000 to each game per year.

If we do that, it'll add at least 60,000 to our annual total, as well as building our reputation.

Alternating home matches makes sense, and could be the only way we can keep the game

[Rhino Richards 1,467]

Exactly, hence lowering the necessity for QB to be a 70 thou + crowd (which it wasn't this year anyway)

I was saying this in return to people saying we're now in financial trouble because it won't be a home game, but i see it as a positive in that the club will now move on other ideas to build each game we play.

Themed rounds, history rounds, march to the g, kicking comps on Gosch's with some other players, beer drinking contests with past players, who knows.

I think the club understands this and is working towards it.

If MFC had been in the 8 it would have drawn higher numbers from both Clubs. This year the proceeds from that match are more important than ever.

Unless people have been living in a cave for the past 10 years and certainly for the past 12 months, they will know MFC is financial trouble. We are in a financial hole with or without the QBW games. Without it the hole is bigger and deeper.

The review of the other games has been happening in the past with the Breast cancer initiative. The initiatives you speak can be investigated without needlessly sacrificing the QBW especially if we are going with such widely popular events as beer drinking contests given the current community concern about binge drinking. Guaranteed to bring them through the doors

[Rhino Richards 1,467]

Rhino, i see what you mean, but we would still have the game every second year, and we would still keep a spot in the Blockbuster.

Does anyone care if it's Ess' or Coll's home ground on ANZAC day? The build up is the same, we can still show off our club in front of a large audience (possibly larger as more Coll would go)

Furthermore, it gives us one extra away game at the G, allowing us a chance at grabbing an extra one. If we do it properly, we can maintain the importance of our involvement in QB and build our name into something that will draw at least an extra 5000 to each game per year.

If we do that, it'll add at least 60,000 to our annual total, as well as building our reputation.

Alternating home matches makes sense, and could be the only way we can keep the game

Great, so how do we make up the hole that the lack of gate takings results? As an away game we lose the right to market before the game, half time and the breaks at a marquee event in the AFL calendar.

The loss of the home game does not guarantee us anything from the AFL not another MCG game and not necessarily another crowd pulling game.

There is no evidence that alternating the home games is the only way. The AFL screws us on the draw and owes it to us to "support" us. Good knows they give so many fixture benefits to Collingwood already.

Gimmicks will not get us an extra 60,000 a year.

Please promise me you are not on Stynes ticket. With vision like that a financial train wreck beckons.

[45HG 1,559]

Clearly beer drinking contests were my business plan and you just ruined it...

QBW is not the be all and end all. It is an important money giver to the club on an annual basis, but even then we are in trouble as you say. A bigger problem i believe is that many supporters make this their "One game a year i'll go to" because it's our marquee game.

I wonder if this hurts the club at all, but it's an observation and obviously not statistically based.

Further to this though is the probable reality that if we don't do this, we may lose QBW altogether, so it makes much more sense to bargain.

We could probably pertition to the AFL for extra compensation due to the lost funds if this eventuates, and could even ask for a second Pies game in years where QB is their home game, thus lowering the blow.

I think switching home games is inevitable, and we may as well think of how the club can get around it, rather than sit around bemoaning its loss, telling the club to fight it against a team that doesn't care if it has it or not. I think we must be reasonable and negotiate well, but also look to how we can lesser the impact of this one match on our season

And no, i am not on the stynes ticket, genius comment though. I would hope that stynes does not solely put his hopes on the qb. How is it a financial wreck to build the reputation and stature of the club by making our name bigger?

On a side note, i wonder if qb has been hurt by consistently been given as a home game for us. It sort of gives it a sense of charity that a blockbuster should not have. If it gets 80 thou next yeah i guarantee it'll be widely known as a blockbuster. It got 71 thou last year when we were rubbish.

I hope a new board would build the club in it's own right, and hopefully build up other games, like against the tigers, that are being left out

[Rogue 585]

i think you'll find that Paul Mac has already flagged this. his aim is to make a theme for every game ie kids on the ground, DN farewell, to try and drum up interest in every match, not just some.

Indeed.

Carlton v Melb was 'the rematch'

I guess it can be difficult to think of something stellar for each match =)

[Rhino Richards 1,467]

Clearly beer drinking contests were my business plan and you just ruined it...

QBW is not the be all and end all. It is an important money giver to the club on an annual basis, but even then we are in trouble as you say. A bigger problem i believe is that many supporters make this their "One game a year i'll go to" because it's our marquee game.I wonder if this hurts the club at all, but it's an observation and obviously not statistically based.

We are in financial trouble and the QBW game prevents it being worse. It is an important source of income that cant be easily replaced. Given the financial chasm we are in how could your observation be a bigger problem? Alternating the home games will do nothing to address the "issue" you spoke of. That issue can be dealt with separately

Further to this though is the probable reality that if we don't do this, we may lose QBW altogether, so it makes much more sense to bargain.

Lets cross that bridge when we come to it. Rather than rolling over and playing doggy, how about we outline the financial impacts upon us by taking that away. Alternation is a fall back position not a bargaining position. If we cannot save the QBW round for us, i would suggest our cards for the future are heavily marked by the AFL.

We could probably pertition to the AFL for extra compensation due to the lost funds if this eventuates, and could even ask for a second Pies game in years where QB is their home game, thus lowering the blow.

I have an idea. We could petition the AFL to provide us with the QBW home game as compensation for tossing us interstate so often. pitching games on Mothers Day and denying us Friday night. If they take away our QBW entitlements we are not in a driving seat to push anything.

I think switching home games is inevitable, and we may as well think of how the club can get around it, rather than sit around bemoaning its loss, telling the club to fight it against a team that doesn't care if it has it or not. I think we must be reasonable and negotiate well, but also look to how we can lesser the impact of this one match on our season

Roll over doggy! Here boy.

The Club has never sat on its laurels over the MFC QBW game. You must have been away for some time if you think the Club has not explored a wide array of options

There arent any easy fixes and easy ways around this. This is about the Club's survival and you dont want to fight for that. We have not lost the QBW game and the MFC administration should be fighting for that game and all other fixtures. The only one bemoaning the loss is your wet blanket self.

[45HG 1,559]

I really don't think this is getting very far, but oh well

We both know the AFL schedules games unfairly. You have stated it, and we all understand it. I don't think this can be changed while Vlad is in charge of the AFL with his arrogance and derogatory nature.

Therefore i think our club has to look at other options. I'd love to have the annual home game agaisnt Collingwood, but so would every club. Every club will be asking for a home game versus the filth (which, if the AFL had integrity they would ignore) and as such, we have been lucky to get the last 8.

But we cannot bury our head in the sand and hope that QB will stay with us forever. Whilst we may fight to keep it, and it does give us a lot of money, i don't see how losing it will be an unsurmountable outcome, and if it is, we'll surely go under anyway.

We are going to have to look at options that will get our numbers up at each and every game we play. I think QB is largely irrelevant to fans of other teams, and i think this is due in part to it being seen as a form of charity. Many people look and see that it is always a Melbourne game to give us the takings at the gate.

We need to establish a brand in our club that goes over and above QB. We should look at what the AFL could offer us from alternating the home game, if it's not enough, then we should rightly fight for it. But i don't see how we're in a position to be pig-headed and claim it annually.

I agree it'd be entirely fair for us to get it every year as a home game given their draw, but i also see that there's a posibility for growth if we alternate and find another route.

If our survival depends on keeping QB, one game a year, then our club is near over the cliff. We should establish ourself as a club that DESERVES blockbusters, not gets them handed out That would offer a lot more help to our club i believe, but yes obviously i don't think we should give it up unless we are able to grab some sort of advantage for our own club

[Rhino Richards 1,467]

......

Why do you need to misinterpret my posts about the QBW game to make a point? We are not solely dependent on the QBW game but it is important stream of revenue for the Club. Our survical depends upon a number of streams of income which if we lose one stream is not easily replaced by another. No one has their head in the sand about this...the Club has to fight for every benefit. So what are these other options that you seem to think are so readily available? What do you think this and successive administrations have been seeking to do?

Give you a clue...our Club is financially on the cliff's edge. How much closer are you happy to tip it by not fighting to retain that match and its proceeds?

I'd suggest you work on your beer drinking contests. You can say did something while you make up fantasies about what needs to be done at the MFC and tell all around the barrel how easy it is.

[45HG 1,559]

How much extra money does QB bring us? Is it around half a mil? What if the AFL said we'll give them next year as a home game, but will not decrease the amount of money being given to the MFC (which is happening next year), as well as giving us an extra home game at the G to make up for it, would you consider that?

[Rhino Richards 1,467]

How much extra money does QB bring us? Is it around half a mil? What if the AFL said we'll give them next year as a home game, but will not decrease the amount of money being given to the MFC (which is happening next year), as well as giving us an extra home game at the G to make up for it, would you consider that?

Obviously if the AFL proposed a financial alternative that was sensible MFC should consider at it.

However any financial accomodation that is dependent on the AFL is fraught with uncertainty of tenure and comes with strings attached.

Any compensation that is offered not only has to cover gate receipts but also the money lost because of lack of corporate entertainment and sponsorship exposure.

[Guest redandbluethruandthru]

Like Malthouse I find that I also speak rubbish when I am holding my pecker too tight.

[45HG 1,559]

Obviously if the AFL proposed a financial alternative that was sensible MFC should consider at it.

However any financial accomodation that is dependent on the AFL is fraught with uncertainty of tenure and comes with strings attached.

Any compensation that is offered not only has to cover gate receipts but also the money lost because of lack of corporate entertainment and sponsorship exposure.

Agreed.

I feel our club can make the most of splitting the home games (if it comes to that) if we are able to broker a deal. I think we can build the blockbuster into a bigger spectacle by allowing collingwood members free entry (whilst it hurts us, i think it would build the game) and i would only be happy if we were able to; be compensated, given an extra 'G match and promised the game would remain.

I think our club can benefit from whatever QB situation that arises, i just want us to be proactive, which i think we will be.

But we must present as a strong board that stands for a club deserving of such things.

But you're spot on, any help from the AFL must not be met with blind eyes

[Rhino Richards 1,467]

Agreed.

I feel our club can make the most of splitting the home games (if it comes to that) if we are able to broker a deal. I think we can build the blockbuster into a bigger spectacle by allowing collingwood members free entry (whilst it hurts us, i think it would build the game) and i would only be happy if we were able to; be compensated, given an extra 'G match and promised the game would remain.

Lets all buy them a Collingwood flag and a badge. Give them a cushion as well. You cant be serious.

I think the AFL will laugh in our face on this one. We cant get many members, we get poor supporter turnout to our games and you want to let opposition club members in free and the AFL to fund it???? And you expect the AFL to fund. Bugger that. Lets give Collingwood the QBW as home game ....period.

Not only do you p1$$ off your once a year supporters who you are trying to track down and to sign up as members but you also stick it up the MFC paying members who pay the $150 membership and who would ask quite reasonably we dont you give it people that actually support the team by funding free entry at an away game at Telstra.

And to top it off you build up crowd support for the opposition against us. Dean Bailey and the coaching team would love that.

I would expect our sponsors would have something to say about it to and it would not be positive or conducive to future relationships.

Your beer drinking contest looks a pearler compared with this clanger. Why dont you hold it before the start of the QBW game where the Collingwood members get free entry and lets give em a free beer as well. Its the least we can do before MFC disappears out of existence.

I think our club can benefit from whatever QB situation that arises, i just want us to be proactive, which i think we will be.

You have categorically disproven that above. Proactive is what the Board has been doing and the incoming Board will hopefully do. Just lets not be reckless about it.

But we must present as a strong board that stands for a club deserving of such things.

If the Club deserves suggestions like some you put forward we are deserving of very little indeed.