Nightmare for Colless

[Damien]

Originally posted by Cheer Cheer
Why would we lose Roos ?

Well he has been asked many times about the Wallace issue and he has stated many times that all people involved with selecting the coach have looked at him right in the eye and told him there was no payout to Wallace and all he can do is believe that. But he said if there was information found to the contrary and wallace was selected first then paid out he would be very "disapointed" and really how do you expect a bloke to put in 100% for the team when he knows he wasnt first choice, his board have been lying to him etc Roos would be out of there quick smart mark my words.

Um, he would continue to coach and coach to the best of his ability because he is paid to. I don't think he would like his coaching reputation ruined just because the Swans board lied to him once.

If there was a payout to Wallace, I am sure many people at the swans are now aware of it, and I am sure Roos would know most of the facts. These type of secrets are hard to keep for a long time.

[JF_Bay22_SCG]

Originally posted by Beaussie
If ever there was a time for the Sydney public to get behind us by getting out to Telstra Stadium surely it is this week.

You have hit it on the head Brycey. The most tangible way Sydneysiders CAN help our club out of troubled waters is by turning up to Telstra Stadium on Saturday night.

Tell your friends, drag em all in. The club needs the extra 5-10000 bums on seats.

Together we CAN make a difference Sydney! Our great team deserves that!

JF

[Cheer Cheer]

I dont think his reputation would be tarnished at all, infact the only people to be tarnished would be the people involved if this is found to be true. Infact people would be more respectful of him if he stood up to them than just shrug it of as a "lie" as you so calmly understate it. And if this was true there wouldnt be one lie involved there would be a series of lies involved.
Money isnt everything and he would be snapped up quickly anyway.

[swansrock4eva]

This was my post on yahoogroups. I think most people who are in the "non stress" camp have said pretty much the same thing but here's my little non-stressy response:

"To be honest, I think the panic was completely media generated. there is no way in hell that we would be gone by season's end - look at the likes of fitzroy - down on their knees and still digging for pretty much a decade before the merger. Even in the early 90's WE were critical and are stil here to tell the tales. Plus the likes of the dogs and roos are still much more long-term critical than we are in the right here and now.

Also, the world cup is a HUGE thing - ask around and you'll find that it's not just the typical rugger buggers interested in the cup - it's pretty much anyone and his dog. It follows that companies would jump off our (at the start of the year) disintegrated bandwagon in preference of international exposure. If we can pull off some good games this year, and possibly a finals appearance that doesn't involve a preliminary whomping, you'll find those companies with money available for sponsorship will be back on board next year. Plus, throw in the increasing number of trendy supporters in that scenario and it's all peaches again.

It's not great that we're in this position, but I do agree with Colless' comments (and i never thought i'd say that!) regarding the infrastructure that's been built up - it was something the club desperately needed and got - if it hadn't been for some of the work done since 96, none of that would be there i'm guessing.

For now, I'm not stressing about this (prolly cos i don't have enough stress to spread round to football, given that exams are here argh!) - give it another 2 years and you might see me crying into my cruisers or schnapps, but for now, it's a blip."

[Bart]

Originally posted by Roscoe
Swans should have established licensed premises many years ago.

What about at Moore Park Bowling Club in 1993/4 when Barrassi
used to get up and speak about his plan for the future.

Now our after match functions with Luffy are at the SCG, with
crappy service and overpriced drinks.

I'd be happy to spend some of my $$ in a Swans Licensed club
at an after match function rather than being "clipped " again after paying for over priced food & drink and @@@@ srvice at the S.C.G

Licenced clubs survive on one thing and one thing only - Pokies.

Pokies subsidise everything; cheaper food and drink, running of the club and any community grants.

However, clubs land isn't like it used to be. With all the pubs now having pokies, the attraction of clubs has diminished, with many clubs basically insolvent. Massive clubs like Panthers are buying up the weaker ones, because they can run on massive economies of scale and central administrations.

So yes, a club house would be great after a match, but who would go there for the other 353 days of the year (except for a few club functions).

The key to a club house would be location.

But I ask how would this purchase be funded

[Jon]

Originally posted by Norris Lurker

Much as I hate pokies and the damage they do to people's lives, is there some way the Swans can get in on the act and get some of that money?

Opening a venue in this state is no mean feat. We're talking about millions and MILLIONS of dollars - and even THEN there's no guarrantee that patrons will show up.

Plus, simply operating a venue won't neccessarily lead to a financial boon. Look around the NRL league. Most clubs have premises, and most clubs are on the verge of extinction. Even the Penrith Panthers - who have their own little Vegas out there - haven't exactly created too many premierships.

Another factor overlooked is that TWENTY PERCENT OF THE WORLD'S POKIES ARE IN THE STATE OF NSW!!!!!!

Politically, it's a minefield.

[Sanecow]

Originally posted by Jon
TWENTY PERCENT OF THE WORLD'S POKIES ARE IN THE STATE OF NSW!!!!!!

Where did that statistic come from?

[nicko18]

Originally posted by Sanecow
Where did that statistic come from?

yes, i'd love a source with that. to think that there are towns such as las vegas!

(i think it was a figure pulled out of thin air to help prove his point... i'm happy to be proved wrong though)

[penga]

hmmmm, big call

[Beaussie]

Originally posted by Bart
Licenced clubs survive on one thing and one thing only - Pokies.

Pokies subsidise everything; cheaper food and drink, running of the club and any community grants.

However, clubs land isn't like it used to be. With all the pubs now having pokies, the attraction of clubs has diminished, with many clubs basically insolvent. Massive clubs like Panthers are buying up the weaker ones, because they can run on massive economies of scale and central administrations.

So yes, a club house would be great after a match, but who would go there for the other 353 days of the year (except for a few club functions).

The key to a club house would be location.

But I ask how would this purchase be funded

Who says we have to we have to fund a purchase in the short term? Why not a something similar to the East leagues deal with the Sydney Aussie Rules Club in Kings X as happened in the past. Our memberships could gain us access to all the club facilities already on offer. Perhaps even having our membership cards scanned when any of our members play pokies with a percentage of pokie profits provided to the Swans. Personally, I would prefer such a deal as opposed to the current situation where we are all sent a free Easts leagues membership yet have nothing provided for us at the club besides one little tv in the corner of the sports bar. As someone who works for the NSW Dept. of Gaming and Racing monitoring club profits from pokies, trust me when I say pokie profits in NSW are very impressive and most desierable for those in or interested in the business. Oh and the 20% of world pokies in NSW stat is absolutely untrue it's much more closer to 10%

[Jon]

Originally posted by Sanecow
Where did that statistic come from?

I know it sounds crazy...and in fact, that figure may well have dropped substatially since I first read it.....but as recently as about 5yrs ago that statistic was A LOCK.

Victoria is a late starter in the pokie stakes, so I understand the disbelief. You had very agressive anti-gambling restrictions before Kennett opened the way for his Casino (probably after seeing the billions our State treasury had been raking in).

In NSW, however, it was almost seen as a human right for every pub to have one. We used to have a tourism industry based solely on busing your senior citizens over the border into Albury to spend their pensions.

The 20% figure is based on a series of articles I read during the build up to the Olympics. It was funny watching all these foreign journalists writing in amazement about the unfettered gambling and prostitution in this city. It had all seemed so normal until they pointed out we had some kind of weird experiment going on in this country.

Aristocrat isn't the world's biggest pokie machine maker for nothing you know.

Sure...things might have changed....maybe NSW has only 16% of them now

[Charlie]

I don't like the thought of having pokies.

This is a club. Not a corporation. Yeah, I know... it has to be a business... but we measure success in premierships, not profits.

If we lost the grand final, we'd be mourning on here for weeks. We'd analyse every single possession until we could recite where it all went wrong.

If we lost half a mil, it'd be a 5-post thread. There'd be something along the lines of 'nasty. Hope it doesn't happen next year.' The next post would be 'what effect do you think it'll have on recruiting? I hope it doesn't stop us getting such-and-such. He could make a big difference next year.'

We don't need pokies. Simply some more sensible promotion and an end to live-against-the-gate telecasts. That's simply unheard of in Victoria, because it would send about 4 clubs broke.

[Beaussie]

Originally posted by Charlie
I don't like the thought of having pokies.

This is a club. Not a corporation. Yeah, I know... it has to be a business... but we measure success in premierships, not profits.

If we lost the grand final, we'd be mourning on here for weeks. We'd analyse every single possession until we could recite where it all went wrong.

If we lost half a mil, it'd be a 5-post thread. There'd be something along the lines of 'nasty. Hope it doesn't happen next year.' The next post would be 'what effect do you think it'll have on recruiting? I hope it doesn't stop us getting such-and-such. He could make a big difference next year.'

We don't need pokies. Simply some more sensible promotion and an end to live-against-the-gate telecasts. That's simply unheard of in Victoria, because it would send about 4 clubs broke.

I can understand where your coming from Charlie but premierships and more importantly survival don't come without finances, which in addition to what we have now with memership sponsors, gate receipts etc, pokies could add to.

The developing NSW market is very different to VIC and live telecasts against the gate aren't too bad when the opportunity to have our games live in peoples lougerooms is on offer. Opportunities for more sponsors and additional interest can't be overlooked in a developing marketplace. I don't necessarily think that the live broadcasts have affected our crowds. Personally, I think it has a lot more to do with on field performance.

[Charlie]

But why LIVE? You can have as much people watching the game as you like... doesn't do us one little bit of good if the dollars aren't coming through the turnstiles. And why would they bother going to the game, if it they can sit in front of the TV, with the heater on, nice and dry, and eat and drink whatever they like from their own fridge?

As for pokies, I really just don't think we need to go THAT far for our revenue. It really is sleazy, in my opinion, to rip off people in the name of financial stability. With some COMMON SENSE and good performances, revenue will look after itself.

[Jon]

I think it's true that live coverage has been important for Sydneysiders to get a squizz at the game. Frankly any coverage AT ALL is pure gold...even now.

Slowly...and I emphasize SLOWLY people are coming around to the idea that this is a serious sport.

It might sound weird, but don't understimate the impact of Ch 10's Sports Tonight. Before that, in Sydney, AFL was hidden away on Sat arvo tv on ch 7, and behind a long list of "tight shorts" jokes. Even the host broadcaster usually didn't show the AFL results unless the Swans won...and if then, usually didn't show any of the other games at all.

Suddenly all that changed and you had a show 5 times a week spending equal amounts of time on both codes, with respectful interviews, and footage. AFL suddenly started looking like a professional, genuine sport.

....shows how far we've come in the last few years, really.

Try explaining THAT to Eddie - and all those people that thought all you had to do was bung South Melbourne up here and then everything would just "happen".