Kennett's Letter to Hawks Members

[Sir Why You Little 37,311]

3 minutes ago, Dees2014 said:

The fact is the AFL was originally a Victorian game, and Victoria is where the majority of supporter resides. The AFL has done a magnificent job in building a national competition, but the majority of AFL supporters are Victorian. My guess is that more than 50% of the Game’s revenue also comes from Victoria, so why can’t Victoria continue to support 10 clubs? 
 

After all, the AFL is by far the wealthiest and most powerful sporting body in the country. It will remain so, but only if it continues with its current structures. It is a winning formula, much to all other sporting bodies annoyance!

The Current Structures have to change because of Covid19. That was the main point of Jeff’s speal

 

[Dees2014 2,377]

3 minutes ago, Sir Why You Little said:

The Current Structures have to change because of Covid19. That was the main point of Jeff’s speal

 

I know it was - l just don’t agree with his “logic”!

[Sir Why You Little 37,311]

5 minutes ago, Dees2014 said:

I know it was - l just don’t agree with his “logic”!

Clubs that don’t improve cannot keep living on borrowed money...

That is the bottom line

[Dr. Gonzo 24,448]

13 minutes ago, Sir Why You Little said:

It all sounds nice, but it aint going to happen. Dr. you are talking perfect world scenarios, and after Covid19 that will be so far from reality. 
Winning teams will get the exposure for the next 2-3 years at least, the rest will struggle and fight the scraps

We have been forewarned....

I'm not saying they will change the draw. I'm saying they should change the financial distributions to clubs.

[pitmaster 3,589]

It's long past time that people in this state took Kennett seriously.

He squandered one of the great electoral victories and saw himself tossed out after two terms when he should have been guaranteed a decade.

So he is attached to a successful club. It's never been his doing. His opinions should count for next to nothing.

[Dr. Gonzo 24,448]

13 minutes ago, Sir Why You Little said:

The Current Structures have to change because of Covid19. That was the main point of Jeff’s speal

 

The current structures do not have to change due to covid. But those with agendas to push will never waste a crisis.

[Sir Why You Little 37,311]

1 minute ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

I'm not saying they will change the draw. I'm saying they should change the financial distributions to clubs.

Yes i know that, but it won’t happen, and there is even less chance of it happening now, because the AFL borrowed a bucketload of cash this year once Lockdown was in place. So the Winners will get looked after even moreso...

[pitmaster 3,589]

14 minutes ago, Sir Why You Little said:

The Current Structures have to change because of Covid19. That was the main point of Jeff’s speal

 

Spiel...but from Jeff it's always hot air.

[Dr. Gonzo 24,448]

Just now, Sir Why You Little said:

Yes i know that, but it won’t happen, and there is even less chance of it happening now, because the AFL borrowed a bucketload of cash this year once Lockdown was in place. So the Winners will get looked after even moreso...

They didn't borrow the $600m they were given a line of credit.

If the club does not agitate for a fairer go from the AFL when their very existence is being threatened then those in charge are being negligent and we are on borrowed time. There is no reason clubs like ours, north, Saints etc shouldn't be trying to drive the agenda but you never hear boo out of any of them on issues like this. Are they all too scared to rock the boat? This is why I loved Gutnick when he was in charge - not to open up that can of worms but for all his faults at least he spoke out for the club and gave us a public voice on issues like this.

[Sir Why You Little 37,311]

3 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

The current structures do not have to change due to covid. But those with agendas to push will never waste a crisis.

I think you are underestimating the hard whack all Clubs have endured. 
The agenda pushed has never been a Secret. 
The best clubs play in the highest rating time slots. 
How long can you keep giving perennial losing clubs free money as compensation?

That part is drying up

[Dr. Gonzo 24,448]

Just now, Sir Why You Little said:

I think you are underestimating the hard whack all Clubs have endured. 
The agenda pushed has never been a Secret. 
The best clubs play in the highest rating time slots. 
How long can you keep giving perennial losing clubs free money as compensation?

That part is drying up

It's not free money. It's the money they are entitled to as an equal member of the competition. How long have perennial losers Carlton been propped up with good draws? This isn't just about timeslots either, it's about who has home game rights when playing certain clubs. How often do we get to host Carlton or Essendon? That's as big an issue as who whether we play on Friday night or not.

[Sir Why You Little 37,311]

1 minute ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

They didn't borrow the $600m they were given a line of credit.

If the club does not agitate for a fairer go from the AFL when their very existence is being threatened then those in charge are being negligent and we are on borrowed time. There is no reason clubs like ours, north, Saints etc shouldn't be trying to drive the agenda but you never hear boo out of any of them on issues like this. Are they all too scared to rock the boat? This is why I loved Gutnick when he was in charge - not to open up that can of worms but for all his faults at least he spoke out for the club and gave us a public voice on issues like this.

I agree some clubs are timid, but that is not the problem of the AFL. The MFC at least have stood our ground with our Block Busters ( we didn’t deserve QB for years, but we did keep it)

But that’s just survival, we have to grow the MFC and show some balls, not kowtow to the boss

[Sir Why You Little 37,311]

6 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

It's not free money. It's the money they are entitled to as an equal member of the competition. How long have perennial losers Carlton been propped up with good draws? This isn't just about timeslots either, it's about who has home game rights when playing certain clubs. How often do we get to host Carlton or Essendon? That's as big an issue as who whether we play on Friday night or not.

We keep losing big games. That is the bottom line answer  We fold under pressure to often to be trusted

Start Winning big games and we get noticed, it really is that simple. 

[Jack Russell 80]

1 hour ago, picket fence said:

Love Jeff Kennett

He would make a worthy State Premier or maybe sneak a job at MFC

Anyway I love what he has to say!!

 

What a sucker Ian Dicker set up Hawthorn not Kennett he just loves the sound of his own voice - thankfully he never came to Melbourne- he will be irrelevant in 12 months unless you want to believe what you read in papers - Peter Gordon please class action king and king of spin - we have more liquid assets than Footescray get online and check it out - Kennett is insane now and Gordon has small mans syndrome please how can people be so dumb MFC is going nowhere

[Diamond_Jim 12,692]

The TV companies have already said the ninth game is irrelevant.That probably means the 8th game is not that important.

Four teams are expendable therefore from a television viewpoint.

The TV revenues will fall. Foxtel who has been underwriting the past increases is haemoragghing on so many levels.

Crowd revenues are flaky and probably one third of all games are played at a loss. Memberships grow but many are low value memberships.

It's a tough world

But wait... there's China and California and...and

[Dr. Gonzo 24,448]

41 minutes ago, Sir Why You Little said:

We keep losing big games. That is the bottom line answer  We fold under pressure to often to be trusted

Start Winning big games and we get noticed, it really is that simple. 

We still have to play Carlton and Essendon so why are we the away team 9 times out of 10? You're conflating two separate issues, our onfield performance is unrelated to the inequities in the competition

[MyFavouriteMartian 572]

42 minutes ago, Sir Why You Little said:

We fold under pressure to often to be trusted

This IS Melbourne footy clubs main WeakNess, for decades.

We've been pushed around by the Mcc,  and then by all and sundry, since the 70's.

The fish goes soft, head first.

When we lost Smith and Barassi we were soft.

A hard committee/board would have backed them, and kept them.

But IMV,  the board didn't like the tough ways and tongue,  of Smithy's, in their face way.

 

I reckon,  that was when the committee was already becoming modern/soft.. politically correct.   And we still haven't grown a pair of our own.

.

[KLV 1,768]

3 hours ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

They had Kennett on SEN before to discuss the letter he had written to Hawks members this afternoon.

https://www.hawthornfc.com.au/news/704788/jeff-s-letter-to-members

The critical part of it was he has put the death of clubs back on the table;

This is the guy who tried to destroy the state and now he is trying to destroy the competition with his economic rationalist views.

I hope our club defends itself in no uncertain terms as it is clear we are one of 4 clubs (along with North, Saints and Dogs despite their current financial position) whose necks are on the chopping block.

You could say it's just a blowhard but the fact he is on the competitions coronavirus committee means his position holds more weight than most and it would be unlikely if he has gone out and said this publicly without similar discussions being had privately.

He has given clubs 3 years to get their finances in order. 3 years despite not knowing how the next season or two will play out. 3 years to try and overcome decades of financial inequities in the competition.

If the competition were serious and the clubs had a backbone they would demand a revenue sharing model as compensation for the AFL's crowd/revenue maximisation policies. Of course the AFL has crippled most clubs so that they are reliant on the AFL and dare not speak out against city hall lest they be punished with poor fixtures and stadium deals and any other decisions the AFL decides on a whim. Look at the way they punished Sydney for daring to steal Buddy Franklin from under the noses of the Giants! Could you imagine if Collingwood or Hawthorn were banned from trading for two trade periods?

Average supporters do not understand the long-term financial ramifications of competition policies over several decades dating back to the impact of the player zoning system and then over more recent decades revenue/crowd maximisation policies and ground rationalisation policies. Clubs need to start standing up for themselves otherwise at some point in the (near?) future the AFL and big clubs will decide it is no longer in their interest to keep clubs on life support and will let them fold despite being victims of AFL policies and the fact their weak financial position was manufactured to balloon the financial positions of the bigger clubs and the AFL executives.

Fair enough Kennett, but give us all a decade or 2 of an uncompromised draw ; every team playing each once, with home venue alternated each year. 
The rationale behind the current inequitable draw, is that the huge cash that results from it, will in part be distributed to the clubs that that are disadvantaged by the draw. 
It’s illogical to suddenly draw a line under this era and suddenly evict clubs that have systematically been unable to build financially. 

[Diamond_Jim 12,692]

9 minutes ago, KLV said:

It’s illogical to suddenly draw a line under this era and suddenly evict clubs that have systematically been unable to build financiall

why not.... we supped with the devil

we took the benefits and the new licence fees and now we reap the whirlwind

Somebody had to be left without a seat when the music stopped

I could go on but few will have sympathy for us

Edited June 12, 2020 by Diamond_Jim

[Jack Russell 80]

24 minutes ago, MyFavouriteMartian said:

This IS Melbourne footy clubs main WeakNess, for decades.

We've been pushed around by the Mcc,  and then by all and sundry, since the 70's.

The fish goes soft, head first.

When we lost Smith and Barassi we were soft.

A hard committee/board would have backed them, and kept them.

But IMV,  the board didn't like the tough ways and tongue,  of Smithy's, in their face way.

 

I reckon,  that was when the committee was already becoming modern/soft.. politically correct.   And we still haven't grown a pair of our own.

.

I think you’re speaking for yourself why don’t you go to an AGM or Chairman’s and say that Bartlett would probably knock you out! This board over last 5 years overseen some tough decisions you just can’t compare it to Smiths board or dare I say it the Stynes board - we are on the right track you will see if you’re not too scared to open your eyes 

[Sir Why You Little 37,311]

32 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

We still have to play Carlton and Essendon so why are we the away team 9 times out of 10? You're conflating two separate issues, our onfield performance is unrelated to the inequities in the competition

Over the last 50 years Carton and Essendon have built up huge TV Audiences because of Grand Final Successes and big game wins throughout the Home and Away Seasons. They are still living off that, meanwhile the MFC can never be fully trusted in Big Games

Our onfield performance is the direct reason we are overlooked and are given what you consider inequalities. 
I say we get what we deserve. We were once THE Club and it is entirely our own problem, that we find ourselves pushed out of the way. 

[DeeGee 177]

I think one of the problems is that the entire AFL industry has assumed that the broadcast rights would keep on expanding exponentially. This has lead to a massive blowout in costs to run clubs. 
 

But even aside from COVID I think we are getting close to saturation in the Australian market. Ultimately all the money comes from the punters - in the form of tickets, memberships or advertising (companies only advertise if they can get people to buy their product).

i think they need to wind back costs but have to keep the old guard clubs. Melbourne has 50,000 odd members but about 250,000 supporters. If we fold, I would bet many of these would be lost to the game. At least I would. Same for the other clubs I reckon. Why dilute your loyal fan base and cut the ultimate source of revenue. 
 

Even the rich clubs need someone to play against ( preferably a decent competitor to make it attractive).

[Sir Why You Little 37,311]

18 minutes ago, DeeGee said:

I think one of the problems is that the entire AFL industry has assumed that the broadcast rights would keep on expanding exponentially. This has lead to a massive blowout in costs to run clubs. 
 

This is now the Core Problem. Most Clubs were running at a loss or close to the bone before Covid19 hit. It hit so fast there was no plan B

The Draw will now be revenue driven so much harder

Edited June 12, 2020 by Sir Why You Little

[Bring-Back-Powell 15,262]

2 hours ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

Peter Gordon's current stance is disappointing. I've thought for a long time the weaker clubs should be forming a bloc to support each other and fight the AFLs inequitable policies. Doesn't have to be solely Vic teams either, Port and Freo could easily be included.

Peter Gordon’s current stance is a disgrace and hypocrisy at its worst if you ask me.

This is the club that has rattled tins on and off since the late 80’s, almost got taken over by a now perished club, accidentally won a flag way before their time and are now leveraging that 5 minutes of success  to look down at a few VIC clubs that have a slightly weaker balance sheet than his mob.

 

[MyFavouriteMartian 572]

45 minutes ago, Jack Russell said:

I think you’re speaking for yourself why don’t you go to an AGM or Chairman’s and say that Bartlett would probably knock you out! This board over last 5 years overseen some tough decisions you just can’t compare it to Smiths board or dare I say it the Stynes board - we are on the right track you will see if you’re not too scared to open your eyes 

I think I might knock one of them out if they tried, JR.  and at 130Kgs, JR,  I could.

 

And I'm not referring about this current board JR,  simply no one can,  because they haven't had enough time yet to gauge them, other than to say the time since Roosy's entry has seemed to have been very sound.

So far so good, it seems.

We as a club have been to the position we are in, before,  under Richard Seddon.

That also went disappointingly flat,  after promising much.