Dr. Gonzo

No one will really care that much but when you see the dedication some people have to the club (even attending pre-season training and writing up detailed reports) of course people will want to go and watch the first hitout in months, especially with a new coach, new players and this will be the last time most have the chance to watch us play a game against a "real" opponent live until round 1. It is a Mickey Mouse game and most won't be to fussed if they can't attend but for those who want to go, or who at least pay up their yearly membership fee, it is pathetic that they have to fork out another $18 per person (plus booking fee) on top of that just for a GA ticket (even more for reserved seat)!

In fairness to WYL I think he may have been misquoting Bill Hicks who had a bit that talked about humanity being a "virus with shoes". Hicks was a comedian and was having a go at all the "back-slapping, aren't humans neat" opinions. I don't want to speak for him but I seriously doubt he would've meant to offend anyone who has been impacted by cancer (is there anyone who hasn't?)

So will I but it is pathetic that members who pay anywhere from about $200-$800 dont get access to these Mickey Mouse games. A farce.

With regards to the 1990 R20 game against WCE I have that on video and at the end of the game (after we blew them away by 6 goals in the last quarter) Grinter seemed to be getting into some heated words with a radio interviewer on the ground and as the players walked off singing It's A Grand Old Flag Grinter, Bennet & possibly Wilson were giving the finger to the crowd who were giving them plenty.

We were always May/June/July premiers. Couldn't maintain consistency throughout the year and lost gimme matches (like 2006 vs Carlton x2, 2004 vs Carlton etc) that cost us dearly. Getting back to the article, the thing that I liked the most was the mention of Clark (when he does return) being pencilled in for ruck duties. With Hogan, Dawes and Howe hopefully holding up the forward line, a fit Clark in the middle would be a huge win for us as he is a 4th midfielder once the ball hits the deck and around the ground, something our other rucks just can't give us.

I liked the article and agree with what Roos says, I just wonder if the players constantly hearing how destroyed and mentally fragile they were/are will have an impact? Hopefully they're not reading this press and/or the message internally is completely different (which I am confident it would be).

It is an absolute joke that they charge basically the same as a normal game - in previous years members haven't even got in on membership cards is it the same this year?

Brilliantly put CBF.

At least no one can accuse him of not smiling!

I agree personally and I have been a member for 25 years but I can understand where others are coming from - not necessarily in on-field results but off-field management, I can understand someone not joining up over the last 2 years. Especially when people have other considerations like paying for mortgage/rent, bills, essentials etc a footy membership may be a luxury that can be easily rationalised away especially if it's not something you will get entertainment from that year. As PJ said at the AGM the club has lost those members/supporters and it is up to the club to win them back.

AFL members with club support (pretty much all of them, some are Competition Members only) get counted towards their clubs membership tally and $140 of the AFL membership goes to the club.

Signed up my wife over the weekend as a first time member (AFL with MFC club support) so you can add another one to the list - she barracks for the Cats and doesn't know I've signed her up yet so will be a surprise for her.

Just as important as their expertise and leadership is the club having off-field stability with great leaders at the helm. Getting them both to sign longer term contracts will remain our two biggest priorities over the next year or so bigger than securing the signatures of Hogan and Frawley.

Did you learn nothing from the year of "will he?, won't he?" Scully put us through? I'm not sayin he's gone but trying to justify every decision/article is fruitless so why bother?

We should win round 1 and if we don't I will be [censored] off. We should also be aiming to make finals and after that reassess our goals. It's the same every season.

Yeah but the approaches are worlds apart - Roos is no BS but also respects the players so it's more a cooperative no BS whereas Neeld was no BS but his approach was confrontational pitting himself against the playing group as a typical old-school taskmaster.

Back to the AGM it's a shame it's on the night of the SuperBowl as again I won't be able to attend. Last year I had a heavily pregnant wife at home and the year before it was the same night as the Soundgarden concert. Bad timing all round.

The problem is if you take out all emotion and look at it from a purely detached, logical point of view every decent player we have would do what a sensible person would do and leave to go to a better club. Professional sports can't be void of emotion from the supporters or the players otherwise you will not succeed. We need to create an environment where players love the club and don't just love playing professional football - some clubs have this and while it is generally related to success or the possibility of success that is not always the case.

Pretty sure they've done this the last 2-3 years.

Relax... Seriously though even being at Docklands, Saints (who will be competing heavily for the spoon this year) minus Dal Santo, McEvoy and Milne should be a good first up hit out for us.

Surely SURELY everyone who visits here is already a member...

Really? Before Chip came along I'd been waiting close to 2 decades for a decent full back since Danny Hughes left for the Crows. Chip is one of, if not my outright, favourite player. I'll be shattered if he leaves but am not sweating bullets just yet. I've thought he'd go for more than a year now so a walkout wouldn't surprise me it would still [censored] me off though. Having said that I could understand it in his position, no one would want to spend potentially their whole career anchored to the bottom not playing finals or GF's.

Yes but the point is debt incurred to purchase a revenue producing asset is different to debt incurred because you're losing money on gameday/paying out contracts.

There is good debt and bad debt. We have bad debt that has been accumulated due to a lack of revenue and paying out contracts. It is not debt that has been accrued to be reinvested in profitable business (some of it maybe but not all). The analogy with Collingwood is OK as you are right we need to leverage our strengths however I think if we're looking at a club to emulate we should be looking at Hawthorn who have capitalised on their Tassie deal and strong on ground performance over the last 7 years. They came from a prett lowly position (crowds similar to ours) to be one the strongest clubs going around. Now we'll have to see how they go once the teams performance drops off but I think they've done it right this time.

Get your tips in! Surely it's Jones although at Sydney Roos did have a triumvirate of captains so perhaps Grimes and someone like Dawes or Frawley as well?