DirtyDees DDC

It's the mighty Green Bay Packers verses the Pittsburgh Steelers in this years Superbowl, to be played on Monday Morning feb 7 (our time). Both sides dominated their respective first halfs in the division championships, yet fell away in the second half. Pittsburgh will probably start as raging favourites - they won 3 years ago and were the second ranked team, whereas this is the Packers first Superbowl since 1997 and they came in to the playoffs as wildcards. The Steelers have a very good running game; a good defence; and seem to come up with big plays at the right time. The Packers have multiple options in attack and an excellent quarterback in Aaron Rogers. I think the Packers will be more desperate, but i'm concerned with their poor form in the second half. They looked a bit tired and they also have a poor special team. Now I'm not an expert, but I thought that if 'Team A' kicks off after a score, or punts the ball, then isn't 'Team B' supposed to catch the ball and return it?. Not the Packers. They run away from the ball and hope they get a nice bounce!! Good grief. I've barracked for the Packers for years. I believe they are the only club that is owned by the supporters (about 120,000 of them)rather than a multi-millionaire, and now they are in their grand final. I hope it's an omen for the Dees.

Rams out - Seattle thru to the playoffs with an amazing 7-9 win loss record - the worst in NFL playoff history. Go Packers!!!

Just watching the replay of the Eagles vs Minnesota game. Michael Vick - hit 4 times in the first 5 plays by the Vikings defence. He's a fabulous quarterback but please give him some protection Eagles.

Just watched Vick against Houston. Great athlete with a terrific arm, and he can run. Sometimes he doesn't make the right decisions, and he needs more protection from his offensive line. It seems like a very even season with no standout teams. I'm a packers fan but the steelers look strong again. I have a digital tv, 22 channels and a dual tuner dvd. Life is bliss.

We now have our new training facilities at AAMI stadium; we have our summer base at Casey; and we have an estimated $2 million profit for this year. The next stage seems to be the redevelopment of the Bentleigh and Leighoak clubs. I wonder if this includes a relocation to Casey - one of the fastest growing areas in Melbourne.

Yes it costs a packet to fit out a new gaming club. The worry is if turns into another Collingwood hotels fiasco. Hope we get this right.

The Board of the Bentleigh Club has received a proposal from the Melbourne Football Club for the Bentleigh Club to merge into its operation with the MFC. Reasons include the Bentleigh Club’s spiralling downward profitability trend, the challenging post 2012 new gaming regulations and the future capital expenditure projections required to maintain an attractive and viable venue. The proposals include relocating to an alternative commercially viable location, in close proximity to the existing site, but in any case remaining at Yawla St until at least until 30 June 2012. Key issues include: · The substantial profitability decline of the Bentleigh club, over the past 5 years · The ongoing and increasing reliance of gaming to fund our existing operations, and facilities. · The ongoing reliance on The Melbourne Football Club for survival · An ageing venue that will require extensive capital expenditure, to meet regulatory requirements, and to try to maintain an attractive and competitive venue. · The uncertainty but inevitability of ongoing and substantial changes in regulations and taxes of clubs and gaming venues in the future. · The certainty of an even greater substantial investment in other venues, which will create even more competition and pressure on our finances. (This has already begun with the upgrade to the Bentleigh RSL, and will escalate as 2012 approaches) and · The ongoing difficulty and inability to attract new and young membership numbers. The board approached many consultants who have all come to the conclusion that the current location is a significant impediment to its commercial success. The Board has reviewed the proposal in detail is giving an ‘In Principal’ recommendation to further investigate the proposal. This proposal can be found and downloaded from the Bentleigh Club website front page from Friday 23 July after 12 noon, at www.thebentleighclub.com.au Be interesting to see the affect of this merger proposal on the MFC's bottom line in 2012 and beyond.