The Chinese thing will get us nowhere at all. Waste of time and money.

Im not sure why so many posters give it a chance.

RE the china thing, i think it probably costs us nothing (or close to nothing) to run, and if we get something out of it all the better. we are positioning ourselves to be the best club to get that market share, if it comes. man u is a global sporting club. collingwood are national (or at least they think they are). i think we are doing smart things to position ourselves to appeal to an international audience. i have no problem with the china project for these reasons.

RE the china thing, i think it probably costs us nothing (or close to nothing) to run, and if we get something out of it all the better. we are positioning ourselves to be the best club to get that market share, if it comes. man u is a global sporting club. collingwood are national (or at least they think they are). i think we are doing smart things to position ourselves to appeal to an international audience. i have no problem with the china project for these reasons.

Yes but the Chinese have no reasons to be interested in AFL or MFC. No players at the club, or in the AFL as far as I know, are of Chinese heritage. Using the example of Manchester United, they play a global sport hence the reason they're a 'global sporting club'.

Its hard enough getting Anglo-Australian Melbourne supporters to cough up money for membership, people who have grown up and followed the game for life. Why does anyone think the Chinese will look twice?

Yes but the Chinese have no reasons to be interested in AFL or MFC. No players at the club, or in the AFL as far as I know, are of Chinese heritage. Using the example of Manchester United, they play a global sport hence the reason they're a 'global sporting club'.

Its hard enough getting Anglo-Australian Melbourne supporters to cough up money for membership, people who have grown up and followed the game for life. Why does anyone think the Chinese will look twice?

i think its been mentioned above that china (and its people) have a habit of getting into random sports. i have no evidence to back this up. but i know heaps of chinese people who live in australia, and still speak chinese first. (well i dont know them, they just turned up at uni one day ) and regarding china itself, its population is soo massive, that you only need a few to like what they see regarding afl for the potential to be massive.

at the end of the day, i dont believe anyone expects the china initiative to be a short term success, i think it is planning for the future, putting the steps into place now to ensure we are at the forefront of that initiative if it eventuates.

for the record, does anyone have any connections with china? do they get any afl on cable tv?

Its hard enough getting Anglo-Australian Melbourne supporters to cough up money for membership, people who have grown up and followed the game for life. Why does anyone think the Chinese will look twice?

Because they are in a football environment now.

I have many many Chinese friends who now attend the football on a regular basis. Most of the kids my age chose Essendon because they were winning at the time...

I am amazed people cannot see the benefits of such an initiative. Inviting the Chinese community to be apart of the club could be a fantastic step. It only has to reach a small group, and then it spreads to a community...

I am amazed people cannot see the benefits of such an initiative.

You may be right. As with all things, time will tell, and we'll look back in judgement.

How come though, as reported by Caroline Wilson on radio a few weeks back, the AFL wish Melbourne would spend more time trying to get their house in order than things like the Chinese initiative. Apparently the AFL are very concerned about our direction, the CEO, and will "tell anyone who listens". Losing 20+ admin staff in 12 months is one more concern.

I'm told there are no demons in Chinese culture. Does that rule us out or in?

Or should we change our name to the Dragons? Did you know that the last three years we made the grand final (2000, 1988, 1964) were all the Year of the Dragon? The next is in 2012.

Does the MCG have good Feng Shui? Feng Shui translates as "wind, water", so the MCG is obviously better than Telstra Dome (which has no wind or water).

For lucky numbers, 8 is the luckiest (keep Frawley!), 9 is also very lucky (go Neita!), 7 signifies death (trade Miller!), 4 is the unluckiest (why did we get that draft pick? ).

Red is the colour of blood or life, and will bring happiness, wealth, fame, and good luck. Just as well one of our colours is red. And supporters should all wear red underwear to the game if they want the Dragons Demons to win.

Did you know that in China black is the colour of filth and white is the colour of sadness? All the more reasons why we should hate Collingwood.

seems to me we should be asking are they 'drug free'.

I'm told there are no demons in Chinese culture. Does that rule us out or in?

Or should we change our name to the Dragons? Did you know that the last three years we made the grand final (2000, 1988, 1964) were all the Year of the Dragon? The next is in 2012.

Does the MCG have good Feng Shui? Feng Shui translates as "wind, water", so the MCG is obviously better than Telstra Dome (which has no wind or water).

For lucky numbers, 8 is the luckiest (keep Frawley!), 9 is also very lucky (go Neita!), 7 signifies death (trade Miller!), 4 is the unluckiest (why did we get that draft pick? ).

Red is the colour of blood or life, and will bring happiness, wealth, fame, and good luck. Just as well one of our colours is red. And supporters should all wear red underwear to the game if they want the Dragons Demons to win.

Did you know that in China black is the colour of filth and white is the colour of sadness? All the more reasons why we should hate Collingwood.

Absolute gold ML.

You may be right. As with all things, time will tell, and we'll look back in judgement.

How come though, as reported by Caroline Wilson on radio a few weeks back, the AFL wish Melbourne would spend more time trying to get their house in order than things like the Chinese initiative. Apparently the AFL are very concerned about our direction, the CEO, and will "tell anyone who listens". Losing 20+ admin staff in 12 months is one more concern.

I agree to an extent H, but to be honest, the club can't win either way. Do nothing off-field and suffer the wrath of the supporters - change too much and the media and AFL hit you hard. I'd prefer to see the club have a massive restructure in the admin in order to get everything right. I admit, 20 members of staff is a very very large amount over just 12 months, however I believe if the club is the change culture, off-field is the place to start... Something happening is probably better than nothing where MFC is concerned at its current stage.

I agree to an extent H, but to be honest, the club can't win either way. Do nothing off-field and suffer the wrath of the supporters - change too much and the media and AFL hit you hard. I'd prefer to see the club have a massive restructure in the admin in order to get everything right. I admit, 20 members of staff is a very very large amount over just 12 months, however I believe if the club is the change culture, off-field is the place to start... Something happening is probably better than nothing where MFC is concerned at its current stage.

OK.

Thanks

How come though, as reported by Caroline Wilson on radio a few weeks back, the AFL wish Melbourne would spend more time trying to get their house in order than things like the Chinese initiative. Apparently the AFL are very concerned about our direction, the CEO, and will "tell anyone who listens". Losing 20+ admin staff in 12 months is one more concern.

How come though, as reported by Caroline Wilson on radio a few weeks back, the AFL wish Melbourne would spend more time trying to get their house in order than things like the Chinese initiative. Apparently the AFL are very concerned about our direction, the CEO, and will "tell anyone who listens". Losing 20+ admin staff in 12 months is one more concern.

Well if that's what the AFL thinks we're obviously on the right track. In fact, it's not the AFL, it's the paid executive who think that. There's a world of difference.

The AFL executive should be more concerned about a host of other pressing issues like the iniquity of the home and away draw, its drug/shrug policy and the priority pick debacle.

It was Vlad.

And love him, or hate him, no one is in a better position to know how well the respective 16 clubs are run. After all, he oversees the 'handouts'.