Being Relevant Again - What Success Looks Like

[Lucifers Hero 40,328]

Lots of topics covered in this article. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/afl/resurgent-demons-ready-to-reap-1million-windfall/news-story/4a719b44c0f14d07e32d2677749ff2a9

Our (off field) success In a nutshell:

• a healthy $1 million profit within reach this year.  (Prior to Peter Jackson we had made a $1.7m loss)
• record membership figure of 41,500
• average home attendances at the MCG are up by 23 per cent.
• NT deal worth almost $1m per annum. 
• should also qualify for more Friday night action next year
• ANZAC Eve now a 'blockbuster' and will be our home game next year.
• Melbourne appear certain to not be disadvantaged again as they were recently by being dealt a harsh draw with four games in 18 days.

Not a 'power' club yet but a far cry from the pre PJ era of a rabble, irrelevant club. 

I particularly like the predictions for next year's fixture; it bodes well.  And with the NT deal expiring at the end of next year we may be financially strong enough to give it up.  (But I doubt we will - Essendon tried to pinch it off us last year and part of NT is in our multicultural zone).

On field, in 2013 we ended the year 17th with a percent of 54.1.  Now we are pushing for finals with a percent over 100.  An incredible turnaround in the 4 years of PJ's reign.  Its hard to believe he arrived a mere 4 years ago. 

Lots of people have had a hand in the turnaround but it was PJ who laid out a plan for the Board and implemented it.  It was PJ who hired the right people to hire the right people and empowered them do their job.

As others have said before:  we are in very good hands and thank God for PJ.

 

And, when the likes of scathing Demon critics: Greg Denham, Damian Barrett and David King hop on the Demon wagon it is a sure sign we are relevant again!

 

 

 

Edited July 13, 2017 by Lucifer's Hero

[DemonLad5 1,642]

We have the 4th biggest attendance numbers in the league. Ahead of Carlton, Hawthorn and both SA clubs!

 

[praha 11,240]

Good stuff.

I'm not sure the 4 weeks of pain has to do with us being "disadvantaged" purposefully, just the nature of the draw and our QB match falling right in the middle. Just bad scheduling that the AFL has probably learnt a lesson from. Unfortunately we were the guinea pigs.

I remember seeing a presentation by Brendan Gale at Richmond, where he revealed his plan for success. There was an image shown, a circle that showed how tough the league is, and what it takes to be "successful" in all facets: to make money you need to attract fans and sponsors; to attract fans and sponsors you need to win games; to win games you need to make money, and so on and so on. It's a chicken-egg scenario that highlights the challenges of modern football administrations. That PJ and co. have dragged a club on the brink to one of the league's most appealing and popular brands shows just how important his vision has been for the club. 

Compare this to 2008-2011. We had an administration that applied evolutionary change to the system: quick turnover of players, new brand only a few years after the previous rebranding, and no real plan b. When erratic change works, it works really well, but if it fails, you crash so, so hard. I've worked in m&a and I've seen corporations try to move past mergers and changes really quickly, and what happens 99% of the time is that they end up in a worse place than they were before the merger. People simply don't think fast enough to be able to adjust to such erratic change, and the whole system breaks down. You need to give people the opportunity to adjust, and realistic expectation is a key element: people need to know where they are, where they were, and where they're going.

With PJ and also Roos, it has been a (very) slow grind: come in, test the waters, see what works, see what doesn't. Fail quickly, but change slowly: if you're not on a constant rise from your lowest point, you end up in a nasty spiral. You may rise temporarily but once one piece is removed, it all crashes down. We saw this in 2011. I think James McDonald's sacking (let's be honest, that's what it was) is a symbol of the club's broader dysfunction.

It's very difficult to get people to "buy in" to a vision. It's about more than being a "people person". Toxicity and "cancers" can drag a vision down. 

We are still on the way "up". We may be on the verge of something special but it's important that people have "realistic expectations": we're not entitled to success as fans, and the club isn't entitled to success. Some of it is luck, some of it is hard work, but a lot of it is actually being able to learn from your mistakes and knowing when and how to apply change. We see this in team selection as well. It's trivial in the broader scheme of club management, but we see players given opportunities over multiple weeks. The club is still trying to find a groove, it's close, but once it settles we could be one of the all-time great teams.

It's such a tough league now but I do truly believe our down years have made us a stronger club. As the old cliche goes, you need to fail before you succeed. We've had bad periods, but it wasn't until the start of the decade that we were given an ultimatum about what it takes to be a *professional* football club. We've struggled more than any other club in the transition from amateur to professional team imo. It's taken a very long time. We absolutely can't forget about where we've come from. Remembering how crap it felt to get belted and pushed around every week will make victories that little bit sweeter.

Now, if we could finally beat North, that'd be great.

Edited July 13, 2017 by praha

[Willmoy1947 4,140]

28 minutes ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

Lots of topics covered in this article. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/afl/resurgent-demons-ready-to-reap-1million-windfall/news-story/4a719b44c0f14d07e32d2677749ff2a9

Our (off field) success In a nutshell:

• a healthy $1 million profit within reach this year.  (Prior to Peter Jackson we had made a $1.7m loss)
• record membership figure of 41,500
• average home attendances at the MCG are up by 23 per cent.
• Darwin deal worth almost $1m per annum. 
• should also qualify for more Friday night action next year
• ANZAC Eve now a 'blockbuster' and will be our home game next year.
• Melbourne appear certain to not be disadvantaged again as they were recently by being dealt a harsh draw with four games in 18 days.

Not a 'power' club yet but a far cry from the pre PJ era of a rabble, irrelevant club. 

I particularly like the predictions for next year's fixture; it bodes well.  And with the NT deal expiring at the end of next year we may be financially strong enough to give it up.  (But I doubt we will - Essendon tried to pinch it off us last year and part of NT is in our multicultural zone).

On field, in 2013 we ended the year 17th with a percent of 54.1.  Now we are pushing for finals with a percent over 100.  An incredible turnaround in the 4 years of PJ's reign.  Its hard to believe he arrived a mere 4 years ago. 

Lots of people have had a hand in the turnaround but it was PJ who laid out a plan for the Board and implemented it.  It was PJ who hired the right people to hire the right people and empowered them do their job.

As others have said before:  we are in very good hands and thank God for PJ.

 

And, when the likes of scathing Demon critics: Greg Denham, Damian Barrett and David King hop on the Demon wagon it is a sure sign we are relevant again!

 

 

 

Thanks Luci for that information, and the Demon Gods are smiling again after so many years. Next year's draw will be of vital importance to this young team, who i fear, with fingers crossed, might just peter off somewhat, towards the business end of the current year.

However, i do feel there is a void there to be,being, filled by "this new melbourne kid up the ladder". I hope i'm right ....

[La Dee-vina Comedia 16,908]

I'm grateful to Lucifer for referencing this story, I can't access the link. Just to clarify, is it "almost $1 million" a year for just the Darwin game or for both NT games? I presume the latter, but can't read the source. 

I can recall PJ initially signing on for a much shorter period. Was it 6 month? or 18 months? Either way, some kudos for the Board who have provided the environment which has encouraged PJ to lengthen his term to our great advantage.

[Vogon Poetry 2,095]

1 hour ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

Lots of people have had a hand in the turnaround but it was PJ who laid out a plan for the Board and implemented it.  It was PJ who hired the right people to hire the right people and empowered them do their job.

 

And it was the AFL who handed us PJ and financially backed him and the Club.

 

[Lucifers Hero 40,328]

14 minutes ago, La Dee-vina Comedia said:

I'm grateful to Lucifer for referencing this story, I can't access the link. Just to clarify, is it "almost $1 million" a year for just the Darwin game or for both NT games? I presume the latter, but can't read the source. 

I can recall PJ initially signing on for a much shorter period. Was it 6 month? or 18 months? Either way, some kudos for the Board who have provided the environment which has encouraged PJ to lengthen his term to our great advantage.

A pleasure LaDvC.  The ~$1m is for both the NT games - I'll go back an edit, thanks.

If the link doesn't work maybe go directly to The Australian website - AFL.  Re accessing behind the paywall:  I find that The Australian allows 2 articles a day before the 'subscriber only' flag comes up.  My browser is Firefox.  I copy the article heading from The Australian website into the Firefox search box and click 'paste and search'.  After the search click on the article title and it appears.  It usually has a 'film' over it and a large 'subscriber box' on the screen.  Click the x in the top right corner of that box and it and the 'film' disappear.

Edited July 13, 2017 by Lucifer's Hero

[Jaded No More 68,972]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, the single biggest factor in our resurgence is Peter Jackson.

We owe that man our next flag!

[BigFez 1,462]

1 hour ago, praha said:

Now, if we could finally beat North, that'd be great.

Amen.  PLEASE can we beat them.  I cannot stand that team.  The entire club to be honest.

[Deemented Are Go! 3,684]

26 minutes ago, La Dee-vina Comedia said:

I'm grateful to Lucifer for referencing this story, I can't access the link. Just to clarify, is it "almost $1 million" a year for just the Darwin game or for both NT games? I presume the latter, but can't read the source. 

I can recall PJ initially signing on for a much shorter period. Was it 6 month? or 18 months? Either way, some kudos for the Board who have provided the environment which has encouraged PJ to lengthen his term to our great advantage.

Google 'the australian' and the headline (as shown in Lucifers' link) and select the first option. This will take you to the article around the paywall.

[Engorged Onion 10,223]

Relevance = meaningless pieces that are churned out...

here is something from the herald sun  - so THIS is what relevance looks like

Kate1 hour ago

 

 

GAWN BURSTS MCDONALD'S BUBBLE

By Gilbert Gardiner

TOM McDonald for making hay while the sun shines?

A revelation since going forward, McDonald has booted 14 goals in the past five games.

But All-Australian ruckman Max Gawn, set to play his third game abck from a serious hamstring injury, has given the newly-minted swingman a clip.

"I'll tell you where he is, he's up int he clouds to be honest," Gawn told RSN 927.

Gawn revealed the reliable defender's garage and wardrobe have enjoyed drastic makeovers since he has become a goalkicker.

"So he drives a Mercedes which is good, he does that the whole time, but he's upgraded... to another level with his car," Gawn said.

"He's well known as the worst dresser at the club and he's actually looking good at the moment."

 

Edited July 13, 2017 by Danelska

[Wrecker45 3,378]

51 minutes ago, Vogon Poetry said:

And it was the AFL who handed us PJ and financially backed him and the Club.

 

I'll begrudgingly give them that. We were essentially in administration. 

It's funny how things work we seem to get the rough end of the stick so often but forcing us to take PJ has been more influential than any bad fixturing or MRP decisions that have gone against us.

[Dee Zephyr 19,268]

There's a video on the AFL website today called the grill, where coaches get asked various questions.

One of the questions posed to Goodwin was, " Favourite quote or mantra?"

Goodwin, " Failure can not compete with perseverance."

I like it!

[Lucifers Hero 40,328]

1 hour ago, Vogon Poetry said:

And it was the AFL who handed us PJ and financially backed him and the Club.

I thought about PJ being an AFL appointment (but not sure how much money they actually put in) and whether to credit them in my op. But.

The AFL helped us but only after they crushed what little 'brand' we had with the 'guilty of not tanking' verdict.  That verdict was the last straw that dropped us into the abyss.  The least the AFL could do was give us a step ladder to get out.  PJ and a few $ were that step ladder.

Sure, I appreciate what they did but on balance the AFL have given us peanuts when compared to the favourable FTA time slots and big Vic teams opp at Home MCG games that Rich, Ess, Carl and Coll get.  They have achieved nothing for years but still get fixture favouritism that brings millions into their clubs each year.  And, lets not mention the favoured franchise clubs. 

The AFL put up some coin but its PJ et al that have dug us out of the abyss and now we are standing on our own two feet.  I find it hard to give too much credit to the AFL.

[Sir Why You Little 37,121]

I will be fascinatedd to see what crowd numbers turn up to The MCG in September if we make finals this year. 

I believe the numbers will shock even the AFL. 

MFC Supporters have had enough of being kicked around by any and everyone. 

When we can walk away from Northern Territory Contracts and bring those 2 games home to crowds of 40,000+ then we can be totally confident we have turned the elusive corner and built a solid base. 

At present we are looking a lot more healthy, but we are still vulnerable. 

[Vogon Poetry 2,095]

28 minutes ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

I thought about PJ being an AFL appointment (but not sure how much money they actually put in) and whether to credit them in my op.

Without wanting to open old wounds:

The AFL gave us the money to pay out the contract extension given to Schwab by McLardy shortly before the finding of bringing the game into disrepute.  I think they also gave us enough money to pay out Connolly and Neeld.  If you recall we were running deficits despite the generosity of the Foundation Heroes.

The AFL decided to punish us by way of fine rather than draft picks (which have been applied to most other clubs who have done wrong - Adelaide and Essendon of recent times.  Oh, and if you think we didn't tank I admire your loyalty.  Two years of draft pick penalty and we'd still be bottom 4.

They gave us PJ who I think in reality has done much more for us than they thought possible.  He's been magnificent.  He would never have taken the job if the AFL hadn't backed us financially because without the money and draft picks which would normally have been taken away from us we had no chance of recovery.

The AFL gave us the benefit of the doubt on the FA compensation for Frawley.  It could easily have been an end of first rounder.

Look, the AFL gave us a pretty ordinary draw this year.  We've been on the wrong end of MRP decisions (although Viney might have been lucky given the decision in Zeibell's case).  But until this year we haven't earned Friday night slots.  But we do get two marquee games - ANZAC eve and Queen's Birthday.  None of the "lesser" clubs get 2.  And frankly when it comes to Friday nights when we were terrible I didn't want them.  PJ has made us into a good club and we will now get a more favourable commercial draw.

I know it's not politically correct to like the AFL here (or most other places for that matter) but they deserve recognition for keeping us afloat when it would have been easy to let us go under and making a large number of macro decisions which have helped us greatly.

 

[Cards13 9,117]

3 hours ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

Lots of topics covered in this article. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/afl/resurgent-demons-ready-to-reap-1million-windfall/news-story/4a719b44c0f14d07e32d2677749ff2a9

Our (off field) success In a nutshell:

• a healthy $1 million profit within reach this year.  (Prior to Peter Jackson we had made a $1.7m loss)
• record membership figure of 41,500
• average home attendances at the MCG are up by 23 per cent.
• NT deal worth almost $1m per annum. 
• should also qualify for more Friday night action next year
• ANZAC Eve now a 'blockbuster' and will be our home game next year.
• Melbourne appear certain to not be disadvantaged again as they were recently by being dealt a harsh draw with four games in 18 days.

Not a 'power' club yet but a far cry from the pre PJ era of a rabble, irrelevant club. 

I particularly like the predictions for next year's fixture; it bodes well.  And with the NT deal expiring at the end of next year we may be financially strong enough to give it up.  (But I doubt we will - Essendon tried to pinch it off us last year and part of NT is in our multicultural zone).

On field, in 2013 we ended the year 17th with a percent of 54.1.  Now we are pushing for finals with a percent over 100.  An incredible turnaround in the 4 years of PJ's reign.  Its hard to believe he arrived a mere 4 years ago. 

Lots of people have had a hand in the turnaround but it was PJ who laid out a plan for the Board and implemented it.  It was PJ who hired the right people to hire the right people and empowered them do their job.

As others have said before:  we are in very good hands and thank God for PJ.

 

And, when the likes of scathing Demon critics: Greg Denham, Damian Barrett and David King hop on the Demon wagon it is a sure sign we are relevant again!

 

 

 

I used to get my back up about them... but then I realised they weren't wrong, they were right to be scathing/questioning (beside Purple, he can go eat a bag of d's).

[sue 9,132]

The trouble with all that VP is that some of the help may have not been necessary if they hadn't sunk the boot into us over tanking when they seem to have misplaced their footwear where other tanking clubs were concerned. 

Inconsistent umpiring is painful but forgivable given the difficulty of the job.  The other inconsistencies that the AFL engages in are not forgivable (though sadly explainable in terms of the pursuit of $).  Though perhaps the MRP is totally inexplicable.

Edited July 13, 2017 by sue

[leave it to deever 17,517]

To look forward to the next game each week with the feeling we may win is awesome. To see the boot on the other foot of Carlton hawthorn and the like is so sweet. We have been so bad for so long I had forgotten how good it is to be winning again.

[Vogon Poetry 2,095]

33 minutes ago, sue said:

The trouble with all that VP is that some of the help may have not been necessary if they hadn't sunk the boot into us over tanking when they seem to have misplaced their footwear where other tanking clubs were concerned. 

Inconsistent umpiring is painful but forgivable given the difficulty of the job.  The other inconsistencies that the AFL engages in are not forgivable (though sadly explainable in terms of the pursuit of $).  Though perhaps the MRP is totally inexplicable.

Heaven help us Sue if the AFL had found us not guilty.  We'd still be fumbling around with Schwab and Connolly and most likely have had 2 or 3 coaches since.

No, they did us a big favour.

[Uncle Fester 2,848]

4 hours ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

And, when the likes of scathing Demon critics: Greg Denham, Damian Barrett and David King hop on the Demon wagon it is a sure sign we are relevant again!

With 41,000 of us don't you think we can give them a big enough shove to push them off? 

[Willmoy1947 4,140]

What we did is NOTHING compared to what they did out of GREED and AVARICE as well

[sue 9,132]

17 minutes ago, Vogon Poetry said:

Heaven help us Sue if the AFL had found us not guilty.  We'd still be fumbling around with Schwab and Connolly and most likely have had 2 or 3 coaches since.

No, they did us a big favour.

Possibly. Doesn't change my whinge about how the amateur way the AFL operates.

[Vogon Poetry 2,095]

1 minute ago, sue said:

Possibly. Doesn't change my whinge about how the amateur way the AFL operates.

And I doubt it ever will.  But in this instance the AFL did us a huge favour and left you and me with a team to support.

I'd sweat the big stuff if I was you but I think that suggestion will fall on barren ground.

[Straight Sets Simon 23,113]

4 minutes ago, Vogon Poetry said:

And I doubt it ever will.  But in this instance the AFL did us a huge favour and left you and me with a team to support.

I'd sweat the big stuff if I was you but I think that suggestion will fall on barren ground.

It's easy to say we wouldn't have a team but we have the fourth highest attendances this year so far, that's a lot of people who would have been lost to the game if we folded.