On 14/03/2012 at 00:27, Thomo said:

If a sponsor was signed it would be announced, and would be on the jumper. Some of the clutching at straws and rose coloured glasses on this site are a joke.

The club is not being run well if we do not have a sponsor on the frount of the jumper during competitive matches, and whoever is responsible needs to get the sack and replaced with someone who is competent at their job..

You will be applying for the job Thomo?

  On 14/03/2012 at 00:40, why you little said:

You will be applying for the job Thomo?

No, I wouldn't be up to the job, so I would just be a clone of the incumbent.

  On 14/03/2012 at 00:27, Thomo said:

If a sponsor was signed it would be announced, and would be on the jumper. Some of the clutching at straws and rose coloured glasses on this site are a joke.

The club is not being run well if we do not have a sponsor on the frount of the jumper during competitive matches, and whoever is responsible needs to get the sack and replaced with someone who is competent at their job..

I am still waiting for you to tell me who should get the sack?

Is it Schwab? Poulakakis? And is that the only measure of their job?

And is getting a sponsor the only prerequisite for a new CEO or COO? Or is it the value of the sponsorship?

You make it sound so simple and easy - we don't have one yet, someone isn't doing their job. Fire them.

Nothing is ever that simple.

  On 14/03/2012 at 00:42, Thomo said:

No, I wouldn't be up to the job, so I would just be a clone of the incumbent.

Who are you actually pointing the finger at?

Do you have inside information on dealings?

  On 14/03/2012 at 00:44, rpfc said:

I am still waiting for you to tell me who should get the sack?

Is it Schwab? Poulakakis? And is that the only measure of their job?

And is getting a sponsor the only prerequisite for a new CEO or COO? Or is it the value of the sponsorship?

You make it sound so simple and easy - we don't have one yet, someone isn't doing their job. Fire them.

Nothing is ever that simple.

  On 14/03/2012 at 00:50, why you little said:

Who are you actually pointing the finger at?

Do you have inside information on dealings?

I have said several times that I don't know who is responsible for this mess. If it is the CEO the board should be taking action. If it is someone below the CEO he should be taking action.

This is a major problem at the club, much bigger than the Jurrah issue. Aside from the revenue that the club is missing out on, it is also a window into how the club is being run, and it looks very bad at this stage.

I know of three professional sporting clubs in the country that do not have their major sponsors sorted out; Port Adelaide, Cronulla (NRL) and Melbourne. Port and Cronulla are known as the worst run clubs in their respective leagues, so that is the company Melbourne is keeping.

RPFC you can continue to try and spin this make it look like I am jumping at shadows, you have a history of shouting down any argument that is not talking up the club, but there is no way that even you can be happy with the current situation.

It is a little disconcerting BUT maybe there is little damage if the spoonsor is big enough and happy with delay. There may even be better sales and promotion after a few wins on the feild.

Alternatively there may be merit in seeking a number of smaller sponsorships 5X100 =1x500

Melbourne BANK, MYER Melbourne and any other firm that includes Melbourne in their title could be worth pursuuing

I have spoken to the club re approaching Emu Australia (Sheepskin fashion)

and often think while watching international sports of the sponsorships of those round the ground or cycling teams who may have an interest in Australia

I think theres plenty of potential but its a bloody hard time to get money from anyone so I understand the difficulty of the club and dont think I would be putting anyone to the sword. Undoubtably we need some success on the field to help

we are well beyond panic mode on this link now, i personally need some reassurance from the club, something along the lines of 'we have a sponsor but we will annouce it the week before the first game'. If we go into the rd 1 clash without a front sponsor ill die from embarressment. My mates give me enough crap about melbourne without this happening.

come on MFC let your fans know whats going on PLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAASSSSSSEEEEEE

  On 14/03/2012 at 00:27, Thomo said:

If a sponsor was signed it would be announced, and would be on the jumper. Some of the clutching at straws and rose coloured glasses on this site are a joke.

The club is not being run well if we do not have a sponsor on the frount of the jumper during competitive matches, and whoever is responsible needs to get the sack and replaced with someone who is competent at their job..

I don't like it that it hasn't been announced, but I can sure as hell be patient when it's been stated that there are strategic components and negotiation and time are required.

An even bigger joke would be to call for a sacking during an apparent negotiation phase with a FOJ sponsor.

  On 14/03/2012 at 01:05, Thomo said:

I have said several times that I don't know who is responsible for this mess. If it is the CEO the board should be taking action. If it is someone below the CEO he should be taking action.

This is a major problem at the club, much bigger than the Jurrah issue. Aside from the revenue that the club is missing out on, it is also a window into how the club is being run, and it looks very bad at this stage.

I know of three professional sporting clubs in the country that do not have their major sponsors sorted out; Port Adelaide, Cronulla (NRL) and Melbourne. Port and Cronulla are known as the worst run clubs in their respective leagues, so that is the company Melbourne is keeping.

RPFC you can continue to try and spin this make it look like I am jumping at shadows, you have a history of shouting down any argument that is not talking up the club, but there is no way that even you can be happy with the current situation.

Look Thomo i would prefer a sponsor too, and i would prefer the club to say something. But i am not going to lose sleep over it or sack the board.

It is a tough market out there..that is the reality.

I haven't given up on the asian market.

  On 14/03/2012 at 01:05, Thomo said:

RPFC you can continue to try and spin this make it look like I am jumping at shadows, you have a history of shouting down any argument that is not talking up the club, but there is no way that even you can be happy with the current situation.

Do I have that history?

A few months ago I was accused of being overtly desiring the dismissal of Schwab.

Now I am his spin doctor?

I think there are many posts in this thread in which I point out my impatience with the FOJ sponsorship situation, and with people's insistence that The Demon Shop knows anything at all, and that the announcement is being kept under wraps to coincide with whatever pointless date is on the horizon.

I don't, however, see the situation as dire as you do. And I don't continually harp on this 'someone has to be fired' meme that you have proliferated.

Someone(s) at the club did an amazing job to double the back-of-the-jumper sponsorship value (EnergyWatch $2m) and you wish to remove this unkown person(s) because the FOJ sponsorship has stalled.

Forgive me if I see that as an overreaction...

well, we can offer up as much conjecture and conspiracy theories as we like in here, but I suggest we be a little more proactive and put social media to the test. I have no doubt quite a few have already done this, but I just tweeted the following to @Melbournefc (the link is to this thread):

http://tinyurl.com/6rexvt7 Please show your members enough respect to at least provide some sort of FOJ sponsor status update!

Sure, they might ignore my single tweet, but if enough people do likewise, then perhaps they may see some merit in providing us with some sort of update - Cam Schwab posts occasionally on these forums (as do MelbourneFC), so who knows...

  On 14/03/2012 at 01:58, Jonesbag said:

If we go into the rd 1 clash without a front sponsor ill die from embarressment.

"Not for Resuscitation"?

FOJ Update as of March 14: We don't have one...

Honestly, the only answer is the same platitude we always hear: we are working our way through the process and we hope to announce soon.

Maybe we had one in the mix and since Eddie and Cam blew up at eachother, Eddie has stolen our sponsor's, just as he promised he would. Just a theory!

  On 14/03/2012 at 02:20, hardtack said:

well, we can offer up as much conjecture and conspiracy theories as we like in here, but I suggest we be a little more proactive and put social media to the test. I have no doubt quite a few have already done this, but I just tweeted the following to @Melbournefc (the link is to this thread):

http://tinyurl.com/6rexvt7 Please show your members enough respect to at least provide some sort of FOJ sponsor status update!

Sure, they might ignore my single tweet, but if enough people do likewise, then perhaps they may see some merit in providing us with some sort of update - Cam Schwab posts occasionally on these forums (as do MelbourneFC), so who knows...

Totally agree with your post/tweet to the club Hardtack. I have long held the view that the club doesn't treat its members with the amount of respect i would expect of a club aspiring to become 'elite'. If there is any news about the MFC, melbournefc.com.au is just about the last source to inform people, abhorrent. On top of this, injury updates continually seem to be wildly inaccurate. We are not a big club, and we are getting smaller it seems (with our membership numbers seriously staggering), yet the club seems to want to test the loyalty of many of its supporters.

I understand the club wants to keep sponsorship dealings hush hush until they are signed off on, but given that we have been given the same response from the club for near on 7 months about our next joint-major sponsor, members are well in their rights to ask questions of the club. I don't give a stuff if the Chinese take longer to come to terms, what i care about is the financial security of our club, and those who are in charge of it. It is now 2 consecutive vacant sponsorship times that within 2 weeks of the season start, we still haven't sorted out our sponsorship dealings. Only one word can describe this, amateurish. I don't care if Schwab comes out tomorrow announcing a $2m+ per year sponsor, because the questions will still remain over our ability to land sponsors.

It was in a recent post where i read that lapsed members from last year had not even received a renewal notice for the upcoming season. True supporters don't need a reminder to sign up, but that is irrelevant. The question must be asked, how competent is our membership department? It was reported by the club that we still had roughly 10-15,000 members yet to renew from last year, and yet renewal notices hadn't been sent to some, if not many of these people. Pathetic.

This club seems to want to achieve 'elite' status. Might i suggest that the MFC start treating its most valuable commodity in a manner that is befitting of an 'elite' organisation.

  On 14/03/2012 at 03:40, Demon Disciple said:

Totally agree with your post/tweet to the club Hardtack. I have long held the view that the club doesn't treat its members with the amount of respect i would expect of a club aspiring to become 'elite'. If there is any news about the MFC, melbournefc.com.au is just about the last source to inform people, abhorrent. On top of this, injury updates continually seem to be wildly inaccurate. We are not a big club, and we are getting smaller it seems (with our membership numbers seriously staggering), yet the club seems to want to test the loyalty of many of its supporters.

I understand the club wants to keep sponsorship dealings hush hush until they are signed off on, but given that we have been given the same response from the club for near on 7 months about our next joint-major sponsor, members are well in their rights to ask questions of the club. I don't give a stuff if the Chinese take longer to come to terms, what i care about is the financial security of our club, and those who are in charge of it. It is now 2 consecutive vacant sponsorship times that within 2 weeks of the season start, we still haven't sorted out our sponsorship dealings. Only one word can describe this, amateurish. I don't care if Schwab comes out tomorrow announcing a $2m+ per year sponsor, because the questions will still remain over our ability to land sponsors.

It was in a recent post where i read that lapsed members from last year had not even received a renewal notice for the upcoming season. True supporters don't need a reminder to sign up, but that is irrelevant. The question must be asked, how competent is our membership department? It was reported by the club that we still had roughly 10-15,000 members yet to renew from last year, and yet renewal notices hadn't been sent to some, if not many of these people. Pathetic.

This club seems to want to achieve 'elite' status. Might i suggest that the MFC start treating its most valuable commodity in a manner that is befitting of an 'elite' organisation.

Terrific post and extremely well said. I have thought the same thing for quite a while. 100% spot on!

I must say the 10-15,000 elapsed members from 2011 is fascinating.

Get onto it MFC. that is good solid coin there.

Contact people. NOW!!

I remember 6 or 7 years ago when we got to this stage and i hadn't signed up yet. David Neitz called me and asked if I could sign up there on the spot and I think i was just in shock. There was no reason why I hadn't signed up at that stage, but I couldn't have been more happy to do it there and then. Can't remember if it was something that had been organised by the club or I think Deb from the QLD demons might have even organised it for interstate members?! I just think something like that at this stage could be great. If you were someone who hadn't signed up yet and got a call from Jack Trengove - what would you say?

  On 14/03/2012 at 04:24, Demonator said:

If you were someone who hadn't signed up yet and got a call from Jack Trengove - what would you say?

I would probably say "you're Alan Funt, now where's the camera?"

  On 14/03/2012 at 04:24, Demonator said:

I remember 6 or 7 years ago when we got to this stage and i hadn't signed up yet. David Neitz called me and asked if I could sign up there on the spot and I think i was just in shock. There was no reason why I hadn't signed up at that stage, but I couldn't have been more happy to do it there and then. Can't remember if it was something that had been organised by the club or I think Deb from the QLD demons might have even organised it for interstate members?! I just think something like that at this stage could be great. If you were someone who hadn't signed up yet and got a call from Jack Trengove - what would you say?

Spot on mate, Every Member should be contacted in the next 3 weeks...over the years i have signed up at 2 or 3 times because a player (one year it was Hassa Mann during the 90's) has personally rung me and said "How 'bout it?"...Paid it on the spot each time.

It Works.

  On 14/03/2012 at 04:42, why you little said:

Spot on mate, Every Member should be contacted in the next 3 weeks...over the years i have signed up at 2 or 3 times because a player (one year it was Hassa Mann during the 90's) has personally rung me and said "How 'bout it?"...Paid it on the spot each time.

It Works.

How do we know it is not happening?

If we are all members!

they would not ring us.

Anyone out there had a call?

  On 14/03/2012 at 04:44, old dee said:

How do we know it is not happening?

If we are all members!

they would not ring us.

Anyone out there had a call?

i would think most of Demonland are members...But 10-15,000 is a lot of untapped business

Should be the same priority as the FOJ Sponsor...

Every year just before that season starts they do a membership drive to pull in the ones that have lapsed. Quite some members deliberately wait until the drive, where as stated many players and staff do the ring around. I wish people on here would quit with the sky is falling attitudes. The club is finally in a financially strong position, albeit less one major sponsor, said sponsor may or may not be in the bag, but in the overall scheme of things is really quite minor compared to say 10 years ago. I've already said it it about 5 pages ago - the FOJ sponsor at the absolute maximum would make up 5% of the total turnover, much more likely to be about 2 to 3 %. The only real setbacks are us supporters who can't get this years up to date jumper yet, and the ribbing we may cop from [censored] opposition supporters who think that not having a FOJ sponsor all of a sudden means 30 to 40 odd million dollars of turnover has disappeared in an instant. Calm down people it'll happen when it happens, if that is prior to season start fantastic, if not the sun will still rise tomorrow and the Dee's will still be playing at the MCG thanks to all the hard work of Jimmy, Don, Cam et al. Oh and the 1 billion dollar tv rights deal....

  On 14/03/2012 at 00:27, Thomo said:

If a sponsor was signed it would be announced, and would be on the jumper. Some of the clutching at straws and rose coloured glasses on this site are a joke.

The club is not being run well if we do not have a sponsor on the frount of the jumper during competitive matches, and whoever is responsible needs to get the sack and replaced with someone who is competent at their job..

I agree, but that sort of rationality around here won't get you far.

Don't you realise that this is the magical, amazing, can-do-no-wrong Melbourne Football Club?

They're trying oh-so-hard to sign a sponsor. It's hard work, it is. How can you be so mean! You're a mean, mean man...

Seriously, it's a joke we don't have a sponsor for competitive matches.

If we don't have a sponsor by round 1 someone should be held accountable. It should be the CEO.

If we don't announce something at the season launch tonight, it's worrying times ahead.

Ten bucks we get the, "Any day now" rubbish.

  On 14/03/2012 at 05:25, jako13 said:

Every year just before that season starts they do a membership drive to pull in the ones that have lapsed. Quite some members deliberately wait until the drive, where as stated many players and staff do the ring around. I wish people on here would quit with the sky is falling attitudes. The club is finally in a financially strong position, albeit less one major sponsor, said sponsor may or may not be in the bag, but in the overall scheme of things is really quite minor compared to say 10 years ago. I've already said it it about 5 pages ago - the FOJ sponsor at the absolute maximum would make up 5% of the total turnover, much more likely to be about 2 to 3 %. The only real setbacks are us supporters who can't get this years up to date jumper yet, and the ribbing we may cop from [censored] opposition supporters who think that not having a FOJ sponsor all of a sudden means 30 to 40 odd million dollars of turnover has disappeared in an instant. Calm down people it'll happen when it happens, if that is prior to season start fantastic, if not the sun will still rise tomorrow and the Dee's will still be playing at the MCG thanks to all the hard work of Jimmy, Don, Cam et al. Oh and the 1 billion dollar tv rights deal....

Jako - good post. Just for my interest, what do you value the FoJ sponsorship at?

Everyone else - anyone going to the season launch tonight? Any chance of some updates throughout the night? Cheers in advance.