Dees told 'face up to the crisis'

THE AFL has delivered a stunning broadside to the Melbourne Football Club, informing the Demons' board that its brand was meaningless and that it virtually stood for nothing in 2008, the club's 150th season...

Makes Sundays game a must win game or we are stuffed

That's no beat up. Sadly it's the truth we haven't been told about. Not always a fan of the Wilson pen,but i am glad she wrote this one. The Band aids that have held this club together for over 40 years have given way. We will either get strong again or die...stay tuned..

Maybe we need to almost die to save the club.

We have 10 000 members from last year that have not signed up, we still have not recovered from the years of mediocrity from 65 - 87, and there remain fractures from the merger business 12 years ago.

Hawthorn came together and we just became indifferent to the problems or ignored them.

I think we need a ratcheting up of pressure to make those that are ambivalent to realise that we need them to come back to the club.

We won't die, but we won't thrive until we get everyone back.

So if it gives some a kick up the arse, keep writing them Caro.

PS. The club should email this article to every 2007 member that didn't re-sign.

Maybe we need to almost die to save the club.

We have 10 000 members from last year that have not signed up, we still have not recovered from the years of mediocrity from 65 - 87, and there remain fractures from the merger business 12 years ago.

Hawthorn came together and we just became indifferent to the problems or ignored them.

I think we need a ratcheting up of pressure to make those that are ambivalent to realise that we need them to come back to the club.

We won't die, but we won't thrive until we get everyone back.

So if it gives some a kick up the arse, keep writing them Caro.

PS. The club should email this article to every 2007 member that didn't re-sign.

i agree these things need to be said. No more hiding the true sad facts. Get 'em out there and lets work it out

"We might have to take other matters into account like next year's draw. We might look at playing five games at Carrara. Who knows?

"We are having a lot of talks, regular talks with the AFL and the MCC and we'll look at anything the AFL puts to us."

Oh God. I understand desperate times call for desperate measures. However, unless we can somehow play enough games in Melb AND turn Carrara into a fortress, aren't we as good as dead anyway?

The Melbourne push to reach an agreement with the city of Casey looks likely to succeed with the club determined to find a training base in time for the 2008 spring.

Somewhat good news.

The article also states that the AFL has offered staff, expertise. Furthermore, they've offered to temporarily take the reins of the China project, while Team Melbourne is on hold.

We must start be reappointing a new board. We need a total clean out.

The current board got us in this predicament and now they must make way.

Get Jim Stynes on board....

We must start be reappointing a new board. We need a total clean out.

The current board got us in this predicament and now they must make way.

Get Jim Stynes on board....

Don't you love this quote from Gardner???????????

When we get down to looking at the budget for 2009 we might reassess that but at the moment we are concentrating on 2008," said Gardner. "We might have to take other matters into account like next year's draw. We might look at playing five games at Carrara. Who knows?

IF THE ABOVE IN BOLD HAPPENS - WE WILL BE RELOCATED.

http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/news/dees...8025287892.html

Thats the linky

Oh dear

Wilson's a good journalist and well respected but this is an easy article to write because it's so easy to kick a club when it's down and it's easier to write when you're simply following your master's voice. All she is doing is stating the bleedingly obvious and regurgitating what the AFL is telling her and, of course, there's a lot of fact in there mixed with some fiction and the wishful thinking of those at headquarters who would for example, gleefully solve the problems inherent in starting a club up on the Gold Coast from scratch by disembowling a club from Melbourne and sending its carcass up north.

That's the challenge that Paul McNamee is presented with early in his administration. Yes, the bland vision of Steve Harris with the melbournefc symbolism has helped us lose focus and yes, the team is playing football that matches the blandness and yes, the club's supporters couldn't be bothered supporting a team that bungles its way through quarters of football like the first against North Melbourne last week.

But where did Caroline get this from ... " its home-game attendances have been poor with a 0-4 win-loss ratio to date"?

Just for the record, Melbourne has had one home game this year - against the Western Bulldogs whose membership numbers are apparently as low as ours. The crowd that day was 27,821 which I suppose, you could describe as "poor" but it's an "attendance" not one of a multiple number of "attendances" and it matches our home attendances against the same club in recent years.

I thnak Caroline for indulging in the form of journalism that is far too common these days at Fairfax. She's telling us very little that we wouldn't know if we opened our eyes anyway. Our team is playing crap, our supporters (like most others are fickle) and our administration needs to lift its game. Thankfully, we don't have to look to her or her sources for any answers.

Jack,

You could draw that analysis on last year's attendances or the year before that. Our home ground attendances and support are crap.

A good bellwether is a home game against the Kangas. We would struggle to get 20,000. Indeed the North home game pulled 23,000 members from a Club with 30,000 members.

I think your nitpicking for the sake of it. Unfortunately very few supporters actually want to open their eyes. When Harris was sacked and when Wilson and Smith wrote an article that we were in crisis 3 months ago it was roundly scoffed at and those that defended that line attacked. It was a surprising response on this site from posters who would be more interested than average in the MFC situation.

I think its a central challenge of McNamee's tenure...developing MFC to actually represent something that people and sponsor want to align with, associate with and be part of. At the moment we have no location base, no training centre, we dont represent an identifiable demographic (sorry ski lovers), at all levels, low acceptance or take up of the brand and from the experiences of other posters we do not do the little things well in the way the Club interacts with the public.

Harris was a continuation of the malaise that has inflicted MFC. Initially he did turn around some of the immediate financial shortfalls but was a disaster after that whose mark is still being felt.

McNamee's big challenge is to make MFC actually represent something to sponsors, members and supporters. Out of nearly all the other Victorian based clubs, I struggle to define a profile and its attributes of what MFC does stand for and who it actually represents.

Its generational lack of on field success has only complicated that process.

MFC does not have many more roles of the dice in its current form if it does not get things right.

Wilson's a good journalist and well respected but this is an easy article to write because it's so easy to kick a club when it's down and it's easier to write when you're simply following your master's voice. All she is doing is stating the bleedingly obvious and regurgitating what the AFL is telling her and, of course, there's a lot of fact in there mixed with some fiction and the wishful thinking of those at headquarters who would for example, gleefully solve the problems inherent in starting a club up on the Gold Coast from scratch by disembowling a club from Melbourne and sending its carcass up north.

That's the challenge that Paul McNamee is presented with early in his administration. Yes, the bland vision of Steve Harris with the melbournefc symbolism has helped us lose focus and yes, the team is playing football that matches the blandness and yes, the club's supporters couldn't be bothered supporting a team that bungles its way through quarters of football like the first against North Melbourne last week.

But where did Caroline get this from ... " its home-game attendances have been poor with a 0-4 win-loss ratio to date"?

Just for the record, Melbourne has had one home game this year - against the Western Bulldogs whose membership numbers are apparently as low as ours. The crowd that day was 27,821 which I suppose, you could describe as "poor" but it's an "attendance" not one of a multiple number of "attendances" and it matches our home attendances against the same club in recent years.

I thnak Caroline for indulging in the form of journalism that is far too common these days at Fairfax. She's telling us very little that we wouldn't know if we opened our eyes anyway. Our team is playing crap, our supporters (like most others are fickle) and our administration needs to lift its game. Thankfully, we don't have to look to her or her sources for any answers.

Spot on WJ! how can anyone caliming to be a serious journalist be so sloppy as to not check such a basic fact after only 4 rounds of footy!! It is another case of not letting the facts get in the way of a good story and bashing MFC is the flavour of the month!

Having seen several of the MFC administrations at close hand during the past 30 plus years I welcome and encourage frankness and acknowledgement of the clubs actual position and facing the facts is the only hope for our survival!

Well what does one say. This article was always lurkers somewhere waiting for its opportunity to surface. For me there are two essential elements for review. First is it matter of fact of tending to 'loudnes' and senasation. Secondly how does it stack up factually.

To the first..its media. Its written by a head journo who quite frahnkly has been a bit quiet in scoring any goals this year. Its Melbourne ( the football mad city ) and its Melbourne , the lacklustre basket case ( as the football world would have us ).. Its an easy kickem while there down thig for the most.

To the second. Strip away any mania over the situation and unfortunately there are no real lies amongst the text.

There is nothing there that we all havent covered somewhere in these forums. Persoanlly I agree.. we are Brandless. Have thought this for a long while. The retreat to a bland Melbourne FC nomenclature does us no service. The enthusiasm to embrace further afield type scenarios such as China and team Melb whilst having merit have been given unhelpful priority ahead of nuts and bolts efforts to maintain any identity and relevance. I have no concern with such ideals but they must be secondary to the prime aim of exisitng in the first place.

It concerns me that even a throwaway commnent by our Chairman would even entertain the notion of more games interstate. Do that and its the deathknell.. Im sure Paul MacNamee has coe into the job knowing all this... he's no bunny. I await with curiosity to the replies form the club.

It concerns me that even a throwaway commnent by our Chairman would even entertain the notion of more games interstate. Do that and its the deathknell..

We are short $1million. How do we make that up?

Isn't it one of the options? Doesn't highlight to all the unpalatable alternatives that confronts MFC?

Nobody likes to do that but we might not have much room to move.

Sorry Jack, I'm agreeing with Rhino on this one.

It's so blatantly obvious. Crowd numbers have never that great. Dont play interstate clubs at home. The numbers have been damning for years. Port vs Melb a few years ago on Mothers Day when Byron laid out Junior, crowd was bearly 10000.

Look at Geelong. They play down here (Geelong) against low drawing opposition because Cooky and Costa etc identified that they would still fill Kardinia Park with Geelong supporters. And play other home game at Docklands and get crowds of 40000+.

So, how does the club build itself to that level? Not up to me, I'm not on the Board

I am fully conversant with the notion that we are in a mess.

My comment was of the flavour that move 5 games there and we are dead as Melbourne. It is indeed an option.

Its going to be PM's job to secure that ( monies) now...that what he's being paid to do.

Seems that Brayshaw might run out of money when his celebrity members dont re-new next year. We might be joint tenants at Carrara lol

Major Corporate sponsors (that's where the money comes from) want their brand to be seen. How many times have MFC been on free to air TV this year? How many players have appeared on Footy Show or Before the Game? Paul Mac's job has to be the hardest in town. Apologies to Glenn MacFarlane.

the article basically confirms what most of us have tried to deny...the Melbourne brand name isnt in itself going to save us.

If we dont get the house in order the AFL will be quite content with a national comp with no team called Melbourne

...

But where did Caroline get this from ... " its home-game attendances have been poor with a 0-4 win-loss ratio to date"?

Just for the record, Melbourne has had one home game this year - against the Western Bulldogs whose membership numbers are apparently as low as ours. The crowd that day was 27,821 which I suppose, you could describe as "poor" but it's an "attendance" not one of a multiple number of "attendances" and it matches our home attendances against the same club in recent years.

...

I think you miss the point and I think Rhino Richards got it - our home attendances have been poor for years. If you are happy to get 27,000 against the Dogs every year then you are happy to lose money on that game each year. I'd like to know what the break even point is at the MCG but i'm pretty sure the only ground in Victoria that makes a profit for a crowd that size is Skilled Stadium.

Have you seen the ad on page 4 that the article refers to? It is pathetic! I'm already intending to go to the game but if I was considering whether to go or not that ad would do nothing to convince me otherwise!

As for the notion that sponsors want to have their brand name seen and we don't get games on free to air TV - part of the reason we can't attract sponsors is addressed by the AFL in their comments to our board - we haven't attracted a new generation of support which means our games don't rate well on TV. Therefore, the networks don't want us. There's nothing in the AFL contract requiring equal coverage, and nor should there be.

I agree with Travis??'s point that we should be getting out there and promoting our club on TV, but remember, of course, if our players spent time promoting the club on shows like the footy show, before the game or (dare i say it) it takes two, then other supporters in this forum would come down on them like a tonne of bricks for not concentrating on footy!!

We need non footbal related streams of income.....

Secure our future outside of the football world.

i thought by the thread title nathan carrol was in trouble

my bad

I think you miss the point and I think Rhino Richards got it - our home attendances have been poor for years. If you are happy to get 27,000 against the Dogs every year then you are happy to lose money on that game each year. I'd like to know what the break even point is at the MCG but i'm pretty sure the only ground in Victoria that makes a profit for a crowd that size is Skilled Stadium.

Have you seen the ad on page 4 that the article refers to? It is pathetic! I'm already intending to go to the game but if I was considering whether to go or not that ad would do nothing to convince me otherwise!

As for the notion that sponsors want to have their brand name seen and we don't get games on free to air TV - part of the reason we can't attract sponsors is addressed by the AFL in their comments to our board - we haven't attracted a new generation of support which means our games don't rate well on TV. Therefore, the networks don't want us. There's nothing in the AFL contract requiring equal coverage, and nor should there be.

I agree with Travis??'s point that we should be getting out there and promoting our club on TV, but remember, of course, if our players spent time promoting the club on shows like the footy show, before the game or (dare i say it) it takes two, then other supporters in this forum would come down on them like a tonne of bricks for not concentrating on footy!!

That ad on page 4 is an absolutely embarrassing disgrace. It is creating some ridiculous artifical "grudge" match out of a game that last year was a farce between idiot and incompetent. I almost spat my weetbix out when I saw it. Truly, it is a worry.

No-one has picked up on the fact that Gardner, in the same article, has suggested that it may be that we play 5 games at Carrara from next year. Is he frigging joking? Is he seriously suggesting that after being in the presidency for this long, he is going to leave us a financial mess, an on-field mess, with no identity and 5 out of 11 home games at Carrara?

Paul Gardner has to stop the innuendo about his future and state whether he is intending to continue beyond this year. If not, then who is he trying to annoint? If yes, then at least we know so the coup can begin. He has to go.

No-one has picked up on the fact that Gardner, in the same article, has suggested that it may be that we play 5 games at Carrara from next year. Is he frigging joking? Is he seriously suggesting that after being in the presidency for this long, he is going to leave us a financial mess, an on-field mess, with no identity and 5 out of 11 home games at Carrara?

It was highlighted and discussed above. Do you care to consider what the alternatives are?

BTW, we have been a financial mess for a period longer than Gardiner's presidency. When he did come on board we were also an off field mess with a fractious fighting disunited board as well.

It was highlighted and discussed above. Do you care to consider what the alternatives are?

BTW, we have been a financial mess for a period longer than Gardiner's presidency. When he did come on board we were also an off field mess with a fractious fighting disunited board as well.

So you support 5 games at Carrara?