The AFL are all talk at the moment about equalisation of the clubs,but how can they make it work?
Will they want to take from the rich to pay the poor or will they give them hand outs again to keep them solvent.
Will the elite and rich clubs allow the AFL to take money from them to prop up the weaker clubs?Maybe that should be weaker and poorer clubs as both seem to run hand in hand.
Is it just a thing for the Fatman to keep the Melbourne clubs viable?
The AFL already “takes” from the rich if you consider they give money to struggling clubs from the tv money pot.
Equalisation is a joke - it dumbs down the better clubs rather than seeks to improve the league as a whole.
The only real solution is to deal with the struggling clubs - force them to merge or relocate to a market where they might thrive.
I don’t know if it would work - but a Melbourne based club should probably relocate to Tasmania - just don’t know if the population/economy is large enough there for it.
This I agree with,but do you really think that they would make any more attempts to make clubs merge!!The last time it was a real bun fight.Think it was Melbourne and Hawthorn.Was a shamble.
The Vics all agree that there are too many sides in Melbourne and some should merge or move,but that is as long as it isn’t their team.
Its quite simple - stop giving them money and they’d have no choice.
Not another dollar to NM or Footscray. They can play in the vfl or if they like merge with GC and West Sydney. Again only if they don’t want to go back to the vfl. Though I don’t see why they would be so ashamed of this. Not another $.
We know it is simple,but can you see the Fatman telling them that!!!
That will never be the answer for them.
Do they do the same with Power?
Well put Dave, agree 101%. As for the Tassie deal, they prop up the 2 new teams and the FFC & NMFC’s of the world - just redirect some of the money to the team that go to Tassie.
We know that that is the correct soltion,but remember the schmozzle that happened with Melbourne/Hawthorn merger.Do you think that the AFL want that to happen again!!Do you think they would allow it to happen again!!!
Remember the angst hat occurred when they dangled the carrot in front of the Kangaroos.
People from Melbourne will now allow their clubs to move merge or fold.It is as simple as that.
As I have said before the Victorians attitude is that they know there are too many teams in Melbourne but move somebody elses not mine.
The merging moving or folding of Melbourne based teams will NEVER EVER happen.
They will try everything before forcing teams into those situations.
Its not so much about merging teams as such. FOXTEL want 9 games a weekend they pay a BILLION dollars for the coverage , and what THEY want goes. Its really that simple. Thats why the Afl pump money into poor clubs.
Sweeten the deal to foxtell by playing 2 more home and away rounds for the 16 remaining teams. That would be 16 extra games.
Foxtell would prefer 8 blockbusters than the 5 blockbusters and 4 ordinary games they get at present.
Sweeten the deal to foxtell by playing 2 more home and away rounds for the 16 remaining teams. That would be 16 extra games.
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No that wont work as the players assoc etc, fixtures etc would all be stuffed.
Fixtures would improve immensely
Which of the clubs would you all see as being the clubs to merge or move.
I think there are three clubs that have real financial troubles.Melbourne,North Melbourne and Footscray.
I think a few of the clubs that have had financial trouble before have turned things around a bit.Clubs like Saints,Richmond,Hawthorn seem to have been able to settle their financial troubles.
It would take four clubs to merge to make the less teams work.
So who are they?
I recognise the money foxtel provides allows the AFL to support dead clubs, but still they’d be better off if those dead clubs could thrive.
Although I personally think 2 teams should be chopped - the reality is Foxtel wants the number of games a round it gets and the AFL would have to renegotiate or convince foxtel they’d be better off with one or two less games a round to see the merge scenario take effect.
This is why a relocation to Tasmania should be seriously considered to at least breathe life into one of them. A good carrot could be giving the new club first access to Tasmanian talent each year before the draft takes place so that the club can get a grip on a Tassie identity.
(BTW, how many players get drafted from there each year anyway?)
Dave nominate the two teams to go.I think it has to involove four teams and I named them.I think that mergers are more likely than re location.
I think the bait for Tassie was dangled similar to what it was for the Roos at gold Coast.The Roos are one of the clubs who are constantly under pressure for failure to perform both on and off the field.They must lift in both ways.But even when they were successful way back when,they couldn’t get a good memeber ship.Big troule for them in the future I think.
Tassie has always been fertile ground for the VFL/AFL.Go back over the hall of famers and legend that the Vics claim as theirs.
Also the fewer team the more even the draw becomes.
Less teams in Melbourne yes, But just not…
Tassie has always been fertile ground for the VFL/AFL.Go back over the hall of famers and legend that the Vics claim as theirs.
They (the tassie players) were quite free to go to either the WAFL or SANFL i would have assumed…hmm wonder if they would be claimed in the WAFL hall of fame if they had decided to come here for thier careers??
That they were Unk,but the lure of the pound or dollar got them back in then thar days.
It is the reason why so many from out side Victoria decided to go there.
On the hall of fame thing I am not sure.Maybe you would have to look at the football hall of fame here and see who is in it.
I am not sure but didn’t big Bog Johnson enter the hall of fame here in WA?
ok anchorman, i’d start by moving NM to TAS and seeing what happens - I don’t believe too much change at once is a good thing. See how NM go, and see if opening up the Melbourne market slightly improves the lot of others.
Footscray to West Sydney
North Melbourne to Gold Coast
St Kilda to Melbourne (Still Melbourne Demons but with Saints jumper)
Port to fold (no supporters, will be propping them up for eternity)
That’s 14 teams playing the other 13 teams twice for a 26 round comp. Once at each others home deck.
Hawthorn to Hobart
Essendon for 5 games a year at Canberra
Lets not forget I am not saying these clubs should be forced to do this. Simply that they don’t receive another dollar and decide to either go back to the vfl/snafl or fold.