why do melb based supporters always get stooged ???

[melb_swan012]

Hi Guys

I dont know about anyone else but i am absolutely FURIOUS at our so called club right now!

I went to the family day yesterday, as did a lot of people. And was sadly disappointed by the players that chose to bring to the family day. Im not taking anything away from ryan o'keefe, jude bolten, amon buchanon, luke ablett, paul chambers, heath grundy and paul roos and anyone else i may have missed but where were the rest of our players ????

As far as i was aware the family day is meant to be an opportunity to thank the fans for their suppor over the year. Why couldnt they bring some of the more senior players down ? Barry Hall is our captain he should have been there, Brett Kirk, Adam Goodes, Paul William, Michael O'Loughlin. Yes its expensive and probably not an option to bring all the players but why not fly some of the senior players down instead of some of the younger lesser known ones ? it wouldnt cost anymore to fly barry hall down then it would to fly heath grundy or jude bolton.

Does anyone remember the family day a few years ago ? We hired out (melbournes) luna park and all the players were there wandering around for you to have a chat with. Not stuck inside a tent for you to queue for an hour outside of before paying money because you have the audacity to want a photo with a player.

I just feel that as a melbourne based supporter, club member and cheer squad member we are getting royally screwed! We're lucky to see our team play 5 or 6 times a year, even then we usually get 2 maximum 3 after match functions where we can actually talk to our players live. IT JUST SUCKS !

I think its about time the club start paying attention to the melbourne based supporters. Were the ones that stayed true when they went to sydney. I had to laugh at the comment made on sports tonight last night - "the only club lucky enough to have 2 home states" if they keep alienating the melbourne based supporters they wont have a second state pretty soon.

I am staging a one woman protest and not joining the club or the cheersquad this year. I am really really angry !!

And now that i have got that off my chest - i am writing to paul roos!

[ItsAllGoodes]

I certainly didnt enjoy the family day as much as I have previous ones...having to queue up for photos or autographs meant that many people would have spent their whole time in a queue.... i chose to take a chance on getting the odd autograph as they moved between the tents and the interview area

As for the players who attended - I could suggest alot of reasons why more of the name players werent there

1. they have been doing several appearances since the GF and have more to come in the next few weeks. Players like Leo, Barry, Kirk, Goodesy etc would have been doing many of these and probably need some time off

2. most of the players who came down are VIC boys and combine the trip with a catch up with family

3. its a great way for new recruits such as Paul Chambers and Ted Richards to start to feel part of the club environment - both impressed me

4. Perhaps with debate/discussion still happening about the captaincy to bring one of the (probably) two main choices - Hall or Kirk down would have perhaps suggested something that hasnt yet been decided

Whilst i didnt enjoy the day as much as previous ones I dont feel ripped off. I appreciate the club has lots of responsibilities as the reigning premier and that they need to share this around so that they can also get back to the business of preparing for 2006

[melb_swan012]

i agree with all of that and i understand that all the boys have been doing a lot of travelling etc with premiership committments.
And i had a quick chat to ted richards, he seems lovely.

But the club honestly couldnt have bought ONE big name senior player down? Im not suggesting jude, amon, ryan or luke arent big names but i would have happily settled for a willo or goodesy ... still angry

[anne]

Agree Melb_Swan. I didn't enjoy the day much. If I hadn't have had my 8 year old nephew with me I would have left immediately after arriving. I guess it is the price of success but you can't help reflecting on previous family days which were much more personal and friendly. In fact I did even had a brief thought that if this is what it is going to be like perhaps next year is the year to go OS and actually miss some of the footy season (it is the bane of my husband's existence that I won't leave Australia during this time ). But then I thought we will just have to accept the increased support which is good for the club anyway. But I do agree they should have had some big name players present. As for the mingling that they did in previous years I suppose it wouldn't have worked as they would have been swamped as there were so few of them.

[Bleed Red Blood]

I didn't think it was bad at all. More players would have been useful, to spread the line load. And better water. The water they were selling was disgusting.

[j s]

Jude and Ryan - definitely in our top player group. Jude is part of the leadership group.

Luke A & Amon - two second tier regular selction players

Plus our two new trade acquisitions and a few up & coming players.

Whilst everyone would obviously have preferred more players the ones there were a good selection. Roos in his interview gave some reasons why there weren't more.

The coach and CEO were there. Perhaps melb_swan012 could have made her protest to Myles in person at the event.

BTE - It's also more players than turn up to a lot of Sydney events.

[melb_swan012]

if i had of known that myles was there i defiantly would have ...below is a copy of my letter


To Paul Roos, the Coaching Staff, Board of Directors and the Management Staff.

Yesterday I attended the Swans Melbourne Family Day. To say that I am disappointed would be an extreme understatement.

To the best of my knowledge, the family day is a day not only to draw support from the football clubs members and supporters but a chance to thank the fans for their continued support over the year. I believe that yesterday this did not happen.

The players that attended that family day were extremely friendly, happily signing autographs or posing for photos with fans. I was disappointed that the club did not choose to bring any of the more senior players to the event. Taking nothing away from players such as Jude Bolton, Amon Buchanon and Ryan O?Keefe, I feel the fans, myself included would have loved to have seen more senior players in attendance as well, players such as Barry Hall, Brett Kirk, Michael O?Loughlin Paul Williams or Adam Goodes.

I feel that the Melbourne based Swans members and supporters are missing out. We consider ourselves lucky to see our team play 5 or 6 times a year. We are extremely thankful if we have 3 player attended after match functions per year. In short, we hardly ever see ?our boys.? The family day is regarded by most as the one day per year we can genuinely spend time with our heroes.

I understand that there are commitments that must be met, following the Swans wonderful grand final win. But do these commitments have to be met at the expense of the Melbourne supporters missing out? Yes it is expensive and unreasonable for the fans to expect every player to come to the family day. We can accept this. What we can?t accept is that the club, players and or management don?t feel the need to give back to the supporters what we give to the club. The Melbourne fans stuck by the club when the club moved to Sydney. Twenty three years on we are still sticking by the club. I question, however, how


much longer this unwavering support will last if the club continues to ignore the Melbourne based fans. I can recall a swans family day a few years ago when the club hired out Melbourne?s Luna Park. Entry was charged at around $10 or $15 each, the players wandered around the park, happily mingling with the fans and it truly was a spectacular day. It is a shame days like this are gone.

I have been overseas for quite some time, returning this year halfway through the season. I was quite excited by the prospect of rejoining the swans in 2006 and also renewing my cheer squad membership. I am so disappointed with the way that the Melbourne based supporters are treated that I have decided not to renew either membership. After hearing comments at the family day yesterday I know others are following suit.

I wish the Sydney Swans Football Club the utmost success in 2006 and years following. Its disappointing this success must come with the loss of fans.

[desredandwhite]

Hopefully you get a positive response, MS.

FWIW, I also think that the Melbourne after-match functions are a hell of a lot better than the Sydney ones! You usually get the whole travelling squad, plus the attendence is a lot better too. Not sure about the Kings Cross venue, but the Noble Stand aftermatch only gets 2-3 senior players for a short interview each game.

Keep giving the club feedback anyway, otherwise they won't know if people are disappointed.

[dimelb]

We didn't anticipate we'd be talking to players, and in fact I still don't know what the new trade acquisitions look like. But it was nice to circulate in the goodwill, pick up a bit of merchandise, a bit of memorabilia, chat with people in the queues to get food, photos etc. We had an enjoyable couple of hours and it all helped us to feel (such a difficult task as a Swan!) like the Premiership club.

[liz]

Not quite sure about Melbourne fans getting stooged. That implies that you get treated worse than Sydney fans. We haven't had such a family day in Sydney since the end of the season.

Maybe just think of it as an added bonus - rather than you being robbed of anything.

[AussieAnge]

Originally posted by liz
Not quite sure about Melbourne fans getting stooged. That implies that you get treated worse than Sydney fans. We haven't had such a family day in Sydney since the end of the season.

Maybe just think of it as an added bonus - rather than you being robbed of anything.

I presume that the one you are referring to was the one on 25th September when the team returned to Sydney with the cup?
I can't remember when the last family day was in Sydney. I know we sometimes have a training session mid-week where fans can go and watch the team train and have a sausage sizzle and the boys will sign autographs if you catch them whilst they are headed to the Paul kelly race but I certainly can't remember one being held on a weekend for the Sydney fans.

[Lucky Knickers]

The Melbourne club have done a really good and improved job in recent years and there are family days post game during the season where you get to see ALL the players, whereas Sydney have no such luck.

Don't join if you feel that strongly - why not give the club a chance in 2006 considering you have been away.

[Doctor J.]

The title of this email just proves the old saying, you can't please all the people all the time.

Thought Roos gave a more than adequate explanation as to why there was "only" 7 or eight players there.

In my opinion, this club, considering it is a Sydney based club, never forget that, does more for its Melbourne based supporters than any Victorian club.

One or two aftermatches a year, so what. There are a lot of Vic based clubs where the only access to players you get is if you are a coterie group member or at the annual family day. Such days become an absolute @@@@ fight as thousands of fans attempt to gain the sig of the star players. Essendon supporters had to pay $25 to get a photo standing alongside the 2000 cup, and don't even try to touch the thing.

As for the Melbourne supporters "sticking by the club" um no you/we/us did not. Prior to '96, membership was less than 1,000. Its now above 6,000. The stats certainly give the impression that, as you are chosing to do now, many people had the sooks up big time for 15 years.

[Bleed Red Blood]

How about a one captain per family day rotation?

[j s]

Originally posted by melb_swan012
if i had of known that myles was there i defiantly would have

He was interviewed on stage by Grubby - that's how I knew he was there.


If the pattern of prevuous seasons is followed (Melbourne AM's only after day games) then there will only be TWO AM's in Melbourne this season - R7 & R19. Although R20 is also a day game an AM in Geelong with players seems unlikely.