Membership ladder

[stellation]

or even just having the ressies play at a decent ground in Sydney when the firsts are playing away, even if it means bringing up the opposition from the ACT on a bus...

[stellation]

and yes, that was just a stupid non-thought out emotional response! forgive me if it makes no sense

[swan_song]

I don't understand this business we keep hearing about games or lack of them in Melbourne. I'm not a Sydney person or a Melbourne one either, just a Sydney-living Swans fan. I think of Melbourne-based Swans supporters no differently from Melbourne-based Eagles, Dockers, LIons, Crows or Power supporters. It's just what you have to put up with when you're an interstate supporter of a team. I see it from a different perspective, that Melbourne teams, Richmond or Collingwood for example, get 18 or 19 "home games" a season at which their local-based supporters can see them (without having to pay an air-fare each week). I get 11, maybe 12. Whether Collingwood playing an "away" game at the dome is really an away game is very dubious logic in my book. As someone pointed out above, the whole draw is skewed...we do need to even things out, perhaps by (but unlikely) the losing of 2 further teams in Melbourne, and a straight draw where every team plays the other once at home and once away. Even though there are differences in the physicality of the games, a 22 round season is pretty small compared to say English football where a team such as Arsenal plays near 50 games a season -- Premiership, FA Cup, League Cup and Europe!
Just as I'm resigned to the fact of only seeing the Swannies 12 times a year, Melbourne based Swannies need to be resigned to to seeing their team less frequently...it's the nature of a national competition, where there are big bucks involved and an unfair draw! I'll shut up now on this subject and await your howls of derision.

[Tooth Fairy]

Originally posted by hammo
That was a Kangaroos home game played at Manuka and had nothing to do with the Swans. Good luck to the Kangas if they get a good crowd there.

"Get a good crowd there." BWAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH BWAHAHAHAHAH BWAHAHAHAHA! Stop it, you are making my tummy hurt I'm laughing so much. BWAAAHAHAHAHAHAH

Tell me how much the ground holds again? What were the percentages of the crowd support? And even more importantly... How many of those attendees supporting the Roos were actual members? Who's getting bummed in this deal again?

[Tooth Fairy]

Originally posted by Mark
I honestly wonder why people continue to support the Swans when the club continues with this conspiracy to shaft them at every possible opportunity.

Constantly offering interstate teams home games in an attempt to remove all games from Melbourne. If this is not enough they have the cheek to appoint a new Melbourne liason who we all know is just a pawn to appease the masses whilst secretly plotting to remove games, shut down after match functions and increase mebership fees !

You don't know much about how the system works do you Mark? It's been explained before in other threads. Maybe you will just have to do some digging. And just a tip... Have an open mind about it, else you will miss the explanation all together.

[Tooth Fairy]

Originally posted by Dpw
Charlie who said the Swans aren't getting what they want from there away games? to this point only you have and your hardly the club. I know you think your getting ripped off but like it or not Melbourne is a secondary surpporter base. You just have to move past it.

Oh yeah. that holds a lot of credence coming from a sandgroper

Hey we could be neighbors!

[Tooth Fairy]

Originally posted by Mark
"Oh piss off.

Mate - quit the sarcastic crap, and answer this... do you honestly believe that the Swans are doing everything in their power to get more games in Melbourne?

You've always been first in to attack the Melbourne fans here who simply want to see their team a bit more. Do you have a problem with their being a second supporter base? Is that it?"



You have found me out, i am part of the big conspiracy !

I hate anyone who lives, has visited or has even looked at a map of Melbourne !

It didn't take much brain power to work you out

[Tooth Fairy]

Originally posted by swan_song
I think of Melbourne-based Swans supporters no differently from Melbourne-based Eagles, Dockers, LIons, Crows or Power supporters.

Saying this shows me that you just DO NOT understand. Take the Lions and the Swans out of that equation and group them together. Then have another look at what you said. And maybe, just maybe you will see the flaws in your reckoning.

[Charlie]

Originally posted by Dpw
Charlie who said the Swans aren't getting what they want from there away games? to this point only you have and your hardly the club. I know you think your getting ripped off but like it or not Melbourne is a secondary surpporter base. You just have to move past it.

SYDNEY?S REQUESTS
? Prefer first home game Round 2.
? Play Melbourne at Telstra Stadium Saturday night ANZAC weekend.
? Play Collingwood and Essendon at Telstra Stadium.
? Nine games at SCG.
? Six games in Melbourne.

Source:

http://sydneyswans.com.au/default.asp?pg=fixture

This sums up precisely why this is the fault of both the AFL and the Swans. The AFL for not giving us the request, but also the Swans for making it their LOWEST PRIORITY request. Apparently, it's more important that we play at home in round 2 and play Melbourne on a Saturday night than getting six games in Melbourne.

[Charlie]

Originally posted by lizz
It's not just that Collingwood are able to choose where they play their away games, it's that every other team in Melbourne wants to play a home game against them. Sure, the Swans may have a few thousand Melbourne members, maybe even 15,000 or so supporters but that pales into insignificance compared to the 40,000 paid up members that the Pies can boast, most of whom will live in Melbourne.

You're not realising the potential of the Melbourne supporter base.

Fact: the Swans have the lowest membership of all clubs.

Fact: Swans' crowds in Sydney are highly volatile and subject to factors outside core support.

Fact: We have a huge potential for a large, stable membeship base from what is a large, loyal and resilient supporter base that has survived despite 15 years of being ignored, piss poor performances and a continued reduction in access to live matches.

Fact: If those 15,000 supporters could be enticed to become members, with 7 matches in Victoria and prices set accordingly, the Melbourne supporter base could be worth in excess of $1m to the club. This is based on 2/3 of those 15,000 being adults, with a Vic membership priced at $100 (it's something like that for adult membership at the moment, I think). Are you telling me that $1m 'pales into insignificance' TO THE SWANS?

I don't see why other clubs wanting to play a home game AGAINST them prevents us from playing AWAY games against Collingwood??? Or, for that matter, against Carlton, Essendon, Geelong, Hawthorn, the Kangaroos, Melbourne, Richmond and St Kilda??

[Charlie]

Originally posted by Mark



You have found me out, i am part of the big conspiracy !

I hate anyone who lives, has visited or has even looked at a map of Melbourne !

There you go using sarcasm instead of arguments, ONCE AGAIN.

Tell me why 7 games in Melbourne (hell, even going back to SIX would be better than what we have) is unreasonable, considering a) the size of our supporter base here and b) the number of Victorian based clubs.

By the way, here's how it would work if we were allocated away matches on a proportional basis...

Considering Bulldogs as a Victorian team:
15 opposition sides, ten in Victoria = 2/3 of away games in Victoria.
2/3 of 11 ~ 7.34.

Rounds off to seven games in Victoria.

Considering Bulldogs as a Sydney side:
15 opposition sides, nine in Victoria = 3/5 of away games in Victoria.
3/5 of 11 = 6.6.

Again, rounds off to seven games in Victoria. You would expect to have just 6 occasionally, and I have proposed a regimen of 20 games over 3 years here before... it wasn't considered fair. So, I watered it down further and suggested 13 games over two years. Still, not considered fair.

I'm not asking for any more than what is fair.

[Charlie]

Originally posted by swan_song
I don't understand this business we keep hearing about games or lack of them in Melbourne. I'm not a Sydney person or a Melbourne one either, just a Sydney-living Swans fan. I think of Melbourne-based Swans supporters no differently from Melbourne-based Eagles, Dockers, LIons, Crows or Power supporters. It's just what you have to put up with when you're an interstate supporter of a team. I see it from a different perspective, that Melbourne teams, Richmond or Collingwood for example, get 18 or 19 "home games" a season at which their local-based supporters can see them (without having to pay an air-fare each week). I get 11, maybe 12. Whether Collingwood playing an "away" game at the dome is really an away game is very dubious logic in my book. As someone pointed out above, the whole draw is skewed...we do need to even things out, perhaps by (but unlikely) the losing of 2 further teams in Melbourne, and a straight draw where every team plays the other once at home and once away. Even though there are differences in the physicality of the games, a 22 round season is pretty small compared to say English football where a team such as Arsenal plays near 50 games a season -- Premiership, FA Cup, League Cup and Europe!
Just as I'm resigned to the fact of only seeing the Swannies 12 times a year, Melbourne based Swannies need to be resigned to to seeing their team less frequently...it's the nature of a national competition, where there are big bucks involved and an unfair draw! I'll shut up now on this subject and await your howls of derision.

This is not the first time I've seen you complain about only seeing 12 games.

Before you get all preachy, mate, how about you come down here? Before our second game here for the season in round 14, we will have seen our club playing for premiership points live just once in 10 months. Now, how does 12 games a year sound?

Pisses me off to see how much people here take seeing their club for granted.

[Bart]

Originally posted by Charlie
SYDNEY?S REQUESTS
? Prefer first home game Round 2.
? Play Melbourne at Telstra Stadium Saturday night ANZAC weekend.
? Play Collingwood and Essendon at Telstra Stadium.
? Nine games at SCG.
? Six games in Melbourne.

Source:

http://sydneyswans.com.au/default.asp?pg=fixture

This sums up precisely why this is the fault of both the AFL and the Swans. The AFL for not giving us the request, but also the Swans for making it their LOWEST PRIORITY request. Apparently, it's more important that we play at home in round 2 and play Melbourne on a Saturday night than getting six games in Melbourne.

Where does it priortise ? They are bullet points, no particular order. To say "Prefer first home game Round 2 "takes priority over "Play Collingwood and Essendon at Telstra Stadium" is crap

I also suggest that this topic be given its own forum, because it is sliced and diced on a monthly basis, but the reality is you are preaching to the converted. Us Sydneysiders sympathise with you, but this topic has been done to death. Pick up the phone and ring Myles Byron-Bay and have it out with him.

[liz]

Originally posted by Charlie
SYDNEY?S REQUESTS
? Prefer first home game Round 2.
? Play Melbourne at Telstra Stadium Saturday night ANZAC weekend.
? Play Collingwood and Essendon at Telstra Stadium.
? Nine games at SCG.
? Six games in Melbourne.

Source:

http://sydneyswans.com.au/default.asp?pg=fixture

This sums up precisely why this is the fault of both the AFL and the Swans. The AFL for not giving us the request, but also the Swans for making it their LOWEST PRIORITY request. Apparently, it's more important that we play at home in round 2 and play Melbourne on a Saturday night than getting six games in Melbourne.

I'd suggest that the request to play a first home game in round 2 is linked to the very restricted access the Swans have to the SCG before the season starts. Seems entirely reasonable to me.

The ANZAC arrangement is a joint initiative with Melbourne and seems entirely reasonable that supporting this would be a high priority.

Home games at Telstra against the likes of Essendon and Collingwood seems entirely reasonable given the financial contribution these fixtures should make and the still parlous financial condition of the Swans.

The Swans clearly have a committment to their Melbourne supporters (as evidenced by getting Morwood on board) and have talked about discontinuing the arrangement with the Bulldogs from next year.

But their primary goal surely has to be to do everything to ensure the financial stability and growth of support in its home city.

[Charlie]

Originally posted by Bart
Where does it priortise ? They are bullet points, no particular order. To say "Prefer first home game Round 2 "takes priority over "Play Collingwood and Essendon at Telstra Stadium is crap"

I also suggest that this topic be given its own forum, because it is sliced and diced on a monthly basis, but the reality is you are preaching to the converted. Us Sydneysiders sympathise with you, but this topic has been done to death. Pick up the phone and ring Myles Byron-Bay and have it out with him.

You give me a number where I can talk to someone in power - an MBH or a board member or SOMEONE who can do something, and I'll do it right now.

By the way, I believe that the requests ARE in order, as the first two requests are guaranteed, then the rest are given priority according to their place on the list. I may be wrong on this, but that's how I understand the request system works.