2 replies to this topic

[Caveman]

A rival club are North Melbourne but please look at their alternate fan site- the crusading 'We Are North Melbourne'

If you follow the team formerly known by nickname as the Shinboners- then give them some support, or if your a Footscray supporter, let North Melbourne fans that you know, become aware of the WANM group.

They have been around for 130+ years, at least give them some time to organise themselves to fight off relocation. If North Melbourne are shunted off to the Gold Coast, the possibilty of them having their name changed back to North Melbourne from the Kangaroos will be dead and buried- and there will be no exhumation.

Also from a Victorian fans perspective- that is at least 1 more game (possibly 2 as we played them in Melbourne twice in 2007) that you will miss out on seeing live. May as well invest in a good quality plasma television to see Footscray games. A Fremantle or California fan will see more games in Perth soon than Footscray fans do in Melbourne.

It will be a tall struggle for the North Melbourne true believers -but if you don't fight you don't succeed.

Good luck to the WANM group, their website has now been added today to the FNWB LINKS and their banner is in the FNWB PARTNERS, so go to them and you can find the WANM site.

[Lisbon]

When will the AFL stop trying to reduce the number of Melbourne clubs? Don't you get the feeling that they won't quit until they finally get someone to merge or to relocate or simply to fold? Could the League actually kick out a club because of financial troubles? It's done in Europe, but European soccer clubs always have the possibility of regaining their former status by be being promoted back to the league/ division they previously played in (like Napoli, Fiorentina or Bordeaux). In the AFL going out would surely mean staying out. Maybe the number of clubs should be expanded, unless that would lower the average quality of the players too much. I suppose that a lot of Melbourne clubs will go on being uncertain about their future, and I don't think that's good for anyone.

[Caveman]

Well they try and tell us that Melbourne isn't big enough for 10 clubs anymore. This is a city of near on 3 million people that is expanding and that population is increasing. Funny how Melbourne was big enough for 11 teams in 1925, but it sin't now 82 nearly 83 years later.

If they want to introduce a Gold Coast team then fine. While they are at it- introduce two Tasmanian teams- one in Hobart and one in the North of Tassie. Throw in a Canberra team and then a Cairns team- keep going to we get 20 or better still 24.

Have this scheduled for season 2015- then these new clubs enter the competition and they commence in a 2nd division with the last ranked teams in the current competition, who are banished from what is the new first division. So we have two divisions of either 10 or 12 with promotion and relegation- two come up and two are relegated-

Well that is a simplistic very rough draft but for me that is a better option than kicking teams like North Melbourne out. People who lose their clubs don't suddenly find another club- they give it away.