Jump to content

North Melbourne article

darkhorse72
darkhorse72
in Melbourne Demons

Featured Replies

Posted

A little off topic but I wonder why North Melbourne wasn't financial wound up at the turn of the century?

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/north-melbourne-should-have-been-afl-powerhouse-brent-harvey-20160720-gq9qer.html

The article goes on how harvey a times wasn't paid for 9 months and other financial problems with the club.  if you can't pay your employee's for that long as a company are you insolvent? Or odes it only become insolvent if someone complains or takes legal action?  Also I wonder how did the club keep its unity if Carey was being paid and other's weren't for long periods? 

 

 

 

  • Quote
    •  

    North have always been an enigma with how they are still towards the bottom of the food chain with crowds/members/fans. They had some seriously dominant and successful periods in the 90s and early 00s when AFL coverage was increasing more and more but never built on it. The most successful thing they did, marketing wise, was pushing for and building the success of the Friday night slot. The AFL eventually took that over spread it out and then of course gifted it to the big clubs (even when they aren't successful). 

    I really dislike Harvey as a player but respect his abilities and his longevity. He is still a cut above at times (ask the MfC squad from Hobart earlier this year), North are still very reliant on him which is a credit to him and a discredit the club because he can't hang around forever! 

    But for how long he's been playing he has seen so many changes to the competition and game styles. Would probably be a very good read his book. 

  • Quote
    5 hours ago, Pates said:

    North have always been an enigma with how they are still towards the bottom of the food chain with crowds/members/fans. They had some seriously dominant and successful periods in the 90s and early 00s when AFL coverage was increasing more and more but never built on it. The most successful thing they did, marketing wise, was pushing for and building the success of the Friday night slot. The AFL eventually took that over spread it out and then of course gifted it to the big clubs (even when they aren't successful). 

    I really dislike Harvey as a player but respect his abilities and his longevity. He is still a cut above at times (ask the MfC squad from Hobart earlier this year), North are still very reliant on him which is a credit to him and a discredit the club because he can't hang around forever! 

    But for how long he's been playing he has seen so many changes to the competition and game styles. Would probably be a very good read his book. 

    Brent Harvey's book:

    'Me by Brent Harvey

    Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me.

    The End.'

  • Quote
    •  
    1 hour ago, Undeeterred said:

    Brent Harvey's book:

    'Me by Brent Harvey

    Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me.

    The End.'

    lol...so true.

  • Quote

    There would've been many clubs which technically should've folded over the last 40 years. Call it trading whilst insolvent or simply going bust. Sth Melb and Fitzroy 'relocated' as a result, but Footscray, Norf, the Dees and St Kilda all have struggled to keep the doors open at various times. The VFL/AFL is not like any other business, it relies upon emotion and finances that aren't generated in the same way elsewhere (with the possible exception of religion). Before the massive TV rights came into play, many clubs had books that consistently didn't balance and could easily have died. Now the AFL keeps clubs afloat because it is contracted to. Don't the Brisbane Lions owe something like $15mill?

  • Quote

    Gordon Lewis was Commisioner for Corporate Affairs in the early/mid 80's

    He tells the story of how he called the VFL (as it was) into its office and said they had 14 days (I think) or perhaps a few months to fix up their finances or he would close football.

    The licence fee paid by the Brisbane Bears (Christopher Skase) saved the VFL.

    Those days many of the clubs were basket cases. Collingwood went almost bust a few times. Clubs mortgaged grand stands to banks. ( God knows how the bank would ever take possession.) Delayed player payments were not unusual. And of course it was payment by matches so no payment in the off season for training etc.

    The modern AFL under the AFL Commission is an altogether different corporate structure than the old VFL.

  • Quote

    It's fascinating that North weren't able to build a powerhouse from their 90s successes. Hawthorn's "success" was a little delayed because you had a lot of young kids in the 80s who grew up supporting them now latching onto an incredibly successful decade, and they have kids, who have kids, etc etc. North simply weren't good enough for long enough to build that generational support that a minnow club needs. Hawthorn have never been a heavily-supported club but now have the benefit of the "bandwagon" factor, the rise of social media, Tasmania, and its 80s success to rise up. That's ultimately what they've built their club out of. They've come good at the perfect time, in the same way Melbourne went bad at the worst time. 

    They had a boring brand and simply didn't utilise their immense successes of the 90s like they should have. They played home games in Sydney, dropped "North" and lost a bit of their identity when they should have been looking to expand it. They've made inroads in that regard the last few years.

    If Melbourne had actually been half-decent between 2007 and 2016, we'd have easily crossed 40k members and would probably be a far more "stable" club. We had a solid 8-9 seasons were we made finals enough to build a fanbase, but as soon as people started to jump on, we hit the ground with a thunderous CLUNK. 

    Had North or the Bulldogs gone through want we've as a club have gone through the past 10 season, I can assure you they simply wouldn't exist today. We've been on the brink a few times but the club's capacity to find a way out is pretty amazing. 

  • Quote
    7 hours ago, Undeeterred said:

    Brent Harvey's book:

    'Me by Brent Harvey

    Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me.

    The End.'

    That's often how an autobiography goes...

  • Quote
    •  
    14 hours ago, Darkhorse72 said:

    A little off topic but I wonder why North Melbourne wasn't financial wound up at the turn of the century?

    http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/north-melbourne-should-have-been-afl-powerhouse-brent-harvey-20160720-gq9qer.html

    The article goes on how harvey a times wasn't paid for 9 months and other financial problems with the club.  if you can't pay your employee's for that long as a company are you insolvent? Or odes it only become insolvent if someone complains or takes legal action?  Also I wonder how did the club keep its unity if Carey was being paid and other's weren't for long periods? 

     


    It was a club though, wasn't it?

  • Quote
    2 minutes ago, Django said:

    That's often how an autobiography goes...

    Except often there is a part about how 'it wasn't me, it wasn't me'.

  • Quote

    4 hours ago, Diamond_Jim said:

    Gordon Lewis was Commisioner for Corporate Affairs in the early/mid 80's

    He tells the story of how he called the VFL (as it was) into its office and said they had 14 days (I think) or perhaps a few months to fix up their finances or he would close football.

    The licence fee paid by the Brisbane Bears (Christopher Skase) saved the VFL.

    Those days many of the clubs were basket cases. Collingwood went almost bust a few times. Clubs mortgaged grand stands to banks. ( God knows how the bank would ever take possession.) Delayed player payments were not unusual. And of course it was payment by matches so no payment in the off season for training etc.

    The modern AFL under the AFL Commission is an altogether different corporate structure than the old VFL.

    Richmond also nearly went under a few times. When KB was coach he had to go and buy boxing equipment with his own money. Geelong were in some pretty serious trouble too at one stage. 

    Basically everyone except Carlton and Essendon!

    As well as the TV money, clubs rely on wealthy benefactors more than they would like to admit.

  • Quote
    8 hours ago, Undeeterred said:

    Brent Harvey's book:

    'Me by Brent Harvey

    Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me.

    The End.'

    My biography was knocked back by the publishers. That's the story of my life.

  • Quote
    1 hour ago, Mach5 said:


    It was a club though, wasn't it?

    Actually some were clubs (unincorporated associations)... some were companies albeit limited by guarantee

    As clubs the committee members faced liability much the same as company directors. Legally it was a mess

    And of course North Melbourne floated its shares on, if I remember correctly the Hobart Stock Exchange

  • Quote
    52 minutes ago, Ricky P said:

     

    As well as the TV money, clubs rely on wealthy benefactors more than they would like to admit.

    For under the table payments or over the salary cap payments? 

  • Quote

    9 minutes ago, america de cali said:

    For under the table payments or over the salary cap payments? 

    Just to keep them afloat, provide facilities etc. I'm not suggesting anything nefarious. Im just saying that fundraising off wealthy supporters is a big part of the business model of most clubs.

  • Quote
    20 hours ago, Darkhorse72 said:

    A little off topic but I wonder why North Melbourne wasn't financial wound up at the turn of the century?

    http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/north-melbourne-should-have-been-afl-powerhouse-brent-harvey-20160720-gq9qer.html

    The article goes on how harvey a times wasn't paid for 9 months and other financial problems with the club.  if you can't pay your employee's for that long as a company are you insolvent? Or odes it only become insolvent if someone complains or takes legal action?  Also I wonder how did the club keep its unity if Carey was being paid and other's weren't for long periods? 

     

     

     

    I guess unlike Fitzroy for example North 1) were successful and 2) had the loyalty of their players. If North saw an exodus like the Lions did in the early 90's they'd be up on the Gold Coast 10 years ago.

  • Quote
    6 hours ago, Mach5 said:


    It was a club though, wasn't it?

    They were floated and Carlton bought a number of shares as a means of trying to take them over so I don't know?

    Members only regained voting rights when Brayshaw took over? 

  • Quote

    • Archived

    This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

    Go to topic listing

    Featured Content

    • PREVIEW: Essendon

      As the focus of the AFL moves exclusively to South Australia for Gather Round, the question is raised as to what are we going to get from the  Melbourne Football Club this weekend? Will it be a repeat of the slop fest of the last three weeks that have seen the team score a measly 174 points and concede 310 or will a return to the City of Churches and the scene where they performed at their best in 2024 act as a wakeup call and bring them out of their early season reverie?  Or will the sleepy Dees treat their fans to a reenactment of their lazy effort from the first Gather Round of two years ago when they allowed the Bombers to trample all over them on a soggy and wet Adelaide Oval? The two examples from above tell us how fickle form can be in football. Last year, a committed group of players turned up in Adelaide with a businesslike mindset. They had a plan, went in confidently and hard for the football and kicked winning scores against both home teams in a difficult environment for visitors. And they repeated that sort of effort later in the season when they played Essendon at the MCG.

        • Thanks
        • Like
      • 0 replies
      Demonland
      Demonland

    • PREGAME: Essendon

      Facing the very real and daunting prospect of starting the season with five straight losses, the Demons head to South Australia for the annual Gather Round, where they’ll take on the Bombers in search of their first win of the year. Who comes in, and who comes out?

        • Thanks
      • 418 replies
      Demonland
      Demonland

    • NON-MFC: Round 05

      Gather Round is here, kicking off with a Thursday night blockbuster as Adelaide faces Geelong. The Crows will be out for redemption after a controversial loss last week. Saturday starts with the Magpies taking on the Swans. Collingwood will be eager to cement their spot in the top eight, while Sydney is hot on their heels. In the Barossa Valley, two rising sides go head-to-head in a fascinating battle to prove they're the real deal. Later, Carlton and West Coast face off at Adelaide Oval, both desperate to notch their first win of the season. The action then shifts to Norwood, where the undefeated Lions will aim to keep their streak alive against the Bulldogs. Sunday’s games begin in the Barossa with Richmond up against Fremantle. In Norwood, the Saints will be looking to take a scalp when they come up against the Giants. The round concludes with a fiery rematch of last year's semi-final, as the Hawks seek revenge for their narrow loss to Port Adelaide. Who are you tipping this week and what are the best results for the Demons besides us winning?

        • Thanks
      • 111 replies
      Demonland
      Demonland

    • CASEY: Geelong

      There was a time in the second quarter of the game at the Cattery on Friday afternoon when the Casey Demons threatened to take the game apart against the Cats. The Demons had been well on top early but were struggling to convert their ascendancy over the ground until Tom Fullarton’s burst of three goals in the space of eight minutes on the way to a five goal haul and his best game for the club since arriving from Brisbane at the end of 2023. He was leading, marking and otherwise giving his opponents a merry dance as Casey grabbed a three goal lead in the blink of an eye. Fullarton has now kicked ten goals in Casey’s three matches and, with Melbourne’s forward conversion woes, he is definitely in with a chance to get his first game with the club in next week’s Gather Round in Adelaide. Despite the tall forward’s efforts - he finished with 19 disposals and eight marks and had four hit outs as back up to Will Verrall in the second half - it wasn’t enough as Geelong reigned in the lead through persistent attacks and eventually clawed their way to the lead early in the last and held it till they achieved the end aim of victory.

        • Like
      • 0 replies
      Demonland
      Demonland

    • REPORT: Geelong

      I was disappointed to hear Goody say at his post match presser after the team’s 39 point defeat against Geelong that "we're getting high quality entry, just poor execution" because Melbourne’s problems extend far beyond that after its 0 - 4 start to the 2025 football season. There are clearly problems with poor execution, some of which were evident well before the current season and were in play when the Demons met the Cats in early May last year and beat them in a near top-of-the-table clash that saw both sides sitting comfortably in the top four after round eight. Since that game, the Demons’ performances have been positively Third World with only five wins in 19 games with a no longer majestic midfield and a dysfunctional forward line that has become too easy for opposing coaches to counter. This is an area of their game that is currently being played out as if they were all completely panic-stricken.

        • Thanks
        • Like
      • 0 replies
      Demonland
      Demonland

    • NON-MFC: Round 04

      Round 4 kicks off with a blockbuster on Thursday night as traditional rivals Collingwood and Carlton clash at the MCG, with the Magpies looking to assert themselves as early-season contenders and the Blues seeking their first win of the season. Saturday opens with Gold Coast hosting Adelaide, a key test for the Suns as they aim to back up their big win last week, while the Crows will be looking to keep their perfect record intact. Reigning wooden spooners Richmond have the daunting task of facing reigning premiers Brisbane at the ‘G and the Lions will be eager to reaffirm their premiership credentials after a patchy start. Saturday night sees North Melbourne take on Sydney at Marvel Stadium, with the Swans looking to build on their first win of the season last week against a rebuilding Roos outfit. Sunday’s action begins with GWS hosting West Coast at ENGIE Stadium, a game that could get ugly very early for the visitors. Port Adelaide vs St Kilda at Adelaide Oval looms as a interesting clash, with both clubs form being very hard to read. The round wraps up with Fremantle taking on the Western Bulldogs at Optus Stadium in what could be a fierce contest between two sides with top-eight ambitions. Who are you tipping this week and what are the best results for the Demons besides us winning?

        • Thanks
      • 273 replies
      Demonland
      Demonland
    View All