A-League threads [Merged]

[MD Jazz]

Grog Squad says hello.



WTF? lol.

When i go to a Richmond away game where supporters of both teams sit together, i see fights more often than not. Where the hell do you sit? I hate going to game with opposition fans nearby. Hate it. I have slowly been reducing my attendance at away games in recent years.

In fact i remember round 1 this season., Essendon v Geelong at the MCG. I was at the Cricketers Arms meeting up with Victory mates before a game. I left to meet my brother on Swan St and I see 20-25 police outside the cricketers twiddling their thumbs. At the same time my brother texts me to say there is a massive brawl outside the precinct hotel between Essendon and Geelong supporters.



Interesting to note that “SMFC Mike” (a South Melbourne fan known for being a critic of the A-League) has been retweeting a lot of my tweets this week. Former NSL bitters are eating this up.

The grog squad are just what I'm talking about - self-indulgent knobs. Essentially drunk Carlton victory active supporters.

Haven't been near a fight at the AFL in the last 20 years. Of course they happen but if you don't want a fight you're very unlikely to find one. Rarely see fights, usually involves drunks. Take my kids to games, never any trouble. Am yet to see opposition supporters bussed or escorted in and out of games.

I prefer to sit around opposition supporters, I love the banter. Its mostly good-natured. Sometimes funny. Sometimes crude. Rarely violent or dangerous. If anything, the biased nature of your own supporters can be annoying.

 

[Baloo]

What that post missed is that the APL came out and said it was an open tender process which NSW won. Then quickly had to backtrack when the other states said they were never approached by the APL.

To do this after the Socceroos goodwill is just mind blowingly stupid.

 

[Smoking Aces]

@Ian4 didnt your CEO agree to this change and now has backed down due to supporter backlash?

 

[Smoking Aces]

Peacock and Joey Lynch reporting that the deal was 12 mil over 3 years. Must have been desperate for the $. These franchise owners are all for themselves.

I’m a SMFC fan and know Mike personally he’s a great guy and means well.

Good to see another South fan on this forum.

Our club plus the likes of Melb Knights, Marconi, Heidelberg, Sydney United have been ostracised due to their ethnic heritage. But they A League fail to acknowledge that many other supporters who are not from that ethnic background follows these clubs. South in particular was heavily supported by the English and Scottish migrants.

And to add insult to the wound they are dangling this second division over our heads when we know full well it won’t happen.

 

[D85]

Unfortunately for me, itll be a long time before St George Cross get to that conversation

 

[AngryAnt]

Unfortunately for me, itll be a long time before St George Cross get to that conversation

Up the Georgies!!

 

[Ian4]

What that post missed is that the APL came out and said it was an open tender process which NSW won. Then quickly had to backtrack when the other states said they were never approached by the APL.

To do this after the Socceroos goodwill is just mind blowingly stupid.

To add flame to the fire, Townsend said he wanted to “start a new tradition,” then in the next sentence he said he hopes another state outbids NSW in 3 years time.

He’s not interested in tradition. He’s more interested in whoring off the showpiece game.

@Ian4 didnt your CEO agree to this change and now has backed down due to supporter backlash?

Yes, this is 100% accurate. ADP has rightly quit from the APL board as a result of this. I’m not happy about it, no Victory fan is. But we also have to acknowledge that he listened to us and did do the right thing in the end.

Some will argue that he is trying to absolve himself from the blame. And that’s a fair argument. But I think the ADP involvement is not a priority for us right now. We will be demanding an explanation/answers at some point down the line. I can't imagine this will be forgotten.

ADP had 2 fingers in the pie (Victory chairman and the APL board) and did the right thing by quitting. But Simon Pearce has 3 fingers in the pie (City board, APL board and Silver Lake).

On Wednesday, City finally released a statement (60 hours after the announcement) saying they supported the agreement with Destination NSW. This is despite City fans joining us in the walkout and boycott. This is appalling IMO.

For those who don’t know, Silver Lake bought a 30% equity stake in the APL 12 months ago in a $140 million investment deal. This means they are entitled to 30% of the money from Destination NSW. So its in their best interests to vote yes for this deal as they want to get a dividend on their investment.

On the flip side, Melbourne City have unlimited money and do not need a share in whatever money is divided between up between the clubs over this deal. So there was no need for them to vote yes.

So why did Simon Pearce vote yes and deprive the fans of Melbourne City the chance of hosting the Grand Final? I think the answer is obvious, don’t you? He had to chose between Silver Lake and Melbourne City fans... and he chose Silver Lake.

How is this allowed to happen?

 

[Baloo]

Yes, this is 100% accurate. ADP has rightly quit from the APL board as a result of this. I’m not happy about it, no Victory fan is. But we also have to acknowledge that he listened to us and did do the right thing in the end.

Some will argue that he is trying to absolve himself from the blame. And that’s a fair argument. But I think the ADP involvement is not a priority for us right now. We will be demanding an explanation/answers at some point down the line. I can't imagine this will be forgotten.

ADP had 2 fingers in the pie (Victory chairman and the APL board) and did the right thing by quitting. But Simon Pearce has 3 fingers in the pie (City board, APL board and Silver Lake).

On Wednesday, City finally released a statement (60 hours after the announcement) saying they supported the agreement with Destination NSW. This is despite City fans joining us in the walkout and boycott. This is appalling IMO.

For those who don’t know, Silver Lake bought a 30% equity stake in the APL 12 months ago in a $140 million investment deal. This means they are entitled to 30% of the money from Destination NSW. So its in their best interests to vote yes for this deal as they want to get a dividend on their investment.

On the flip side, Melbourne City have unlimited money and do not need a share in whatever money is divided between up between the clubs over this deal. So there was no need for them to vote yes.

So why did Simon Pearce vote yes and deprive the fans of Melbourne City the chance of hosting the Grand Final? I think the answer is obvious, don’t you? He had to chose between Silver Lake and Melbourne City fans... and he chose Silver Lake.

How is this allowed to happen?

Going way too soft on ADP there BinMan. He booted for the shambles and you're cutting him some slack? You guys should be shouting as much for ADP's Victory resignation as you are about the Destination NSW shambles. Maybe even more.

 

[Ian4]

Going way too soft on ADP there BinMan. He booted for the shambles and you're cutting him some slack? You guys should be shouting as much for ADP's Victory resignation as you are about the Destination NSW shambles. Maybe even more.

You are probably right. FWIW, people have called for his resignation. But ADP is the majority owner. How can he resign?

We called for his resignation after we won the spoon 2 years ago. But again, how can you sack the owner?

I don’t think there is anything you can realistically do apart from handing in your membership… which is something I will do if this DNSW agreement is not dumped. I know a few who have done this already.

But I’m a shareholder as well, which ads another layer to it all.

 

[Baloo]

You are probably right. FWIW, people have called for his resignation. But ADP is the majority owner. How can he resign?

We called for his resignation after we won the spoon 2 years ago. But again, how can you sack the owner?

I don’t think there is anything you can realistically do apart from handing in your membership… which is something I will do if this DNSW agreement is not dumped. I know a few who have done this already.

But I’m a shareholder as well, which ads another layer to it all.

Keep being vocal about his need to step down, vocal enough that he has to act. Being an owner doesn't mean you're the best person to run the club.

 

[Smoking Aces]

To add flame to the fire, Townsend said he wanted to “start a new tradition,” then in the next sentence he said he hopes another state outbids NSW in 3 years time.

He’s not interested in tradition. He’s more interested in whoring off the showpiece game.



Yes, this is 100% accurate. ADP has rightly quit from the APL board as a result of this. I’m not happy about it, no Victory fan is. But we also have to acknowledge that he listened to us and did do the right thing in the end.

Some will argue that he is trying to absolve himself from the blame. And that’s a fair argument. But I think the ADP involvement is not a priority for us right now. We will be demanding an explanation/answers at some point down the line. I can't imagine this will be forgotten.

ADP had 2 fingers in the pie (Victory chairman and the APL board) and did the right thing by quitting. But Simon Pearce has 3 fingers in the pie (City board, APL board and Silver Lake).

On Wednesday, City finally released a statement (60 hours after the announcement) saying they supported the agreement with Destination NSW. This is despite City fans joining us in the walkout and boycott. This is appalling IMO.

For those who don’t know, Silver Lake bought a 30% equity stake in the APL 12 months ago in a $140 million investment deal. This means they are entitled to 30% of the money from Destination NSW. So its in their best interests to vote yes for this deal as they want to get a dividend on their investment.

On the flip side, Melbourne City have unlimited money and do not need a share in whatever money is divided between up between the clubs over this deal. So there was no need for them to vote yes.

So why did Simon Pearce vote yes and deprive the fans of Melbourne City the chance of hosting the Grand Final? I think the answer is obvious, don’t you? He had to chose between Silver Lake and Melbourne City fans... and he chose Silver Lake.

How is this allowed to happen?

What I want to know is where the $140million has been spent on and who has lined their pockets?

 

[Smoking Aces]

Going way too soft on ADP there BinMan. He booted for the shambles and you're cutting him some slack? You guys should be shouting as much for ADP's Victory resignation as you are about the Destination NSW shambles. Maybe even more.

Agree. He sold them out to start with.

 

[Ian4]

What I want to know is where the $140million has been spent on and who has lined their pockets?

We’re all asking these questions as well. We all know they have spent $30 million on the KeepUp app. Some of it goes to marquee players as well.

It has also come to light today that Paramount Plus short changed the APL last season as they didn’t meet subscription KPI’s. This is disappointing considering Paramount Plus didn’t meet their side of the bargain with their functionality (there is no pause or “play from start” option yet)… so they are primarily to blame for this IMO.

So anyway, we are now questioning if this P+ issue is the reason for the DNSW deal??

The sad thing is that Paramount Plus also announced today subscriptions for this AL season are exceeding expectations (up by 60%), are well above agreed KPI’s and is comfortably their number 1 show for under 50’s.

But that’s all going to change with the mass exodus of subscriptions as part of the boycott.

 

[azzatiger]

Good to see another South fan on this forum.

Our club plus the likes of Melb Knights, Marconi, Heidelberg, Sydney United have been ostracised due to their ethnic heritage. But they A League fail to acknowledge that many other supporters who are not from that ethnic background follows these clubs. South in particular was heavily supported by the English and Scottish migrants.

And to add insult to the wound they are dangling this second division over our heads when we know full well it won’t happen.

It sounds like the second division will happen. The FA board just approved it last week and they will send EOI to clubs in January or February next year with a plan for it to start in March 2024. I know we’ve had so many different timelines over the years, but it feels like it’s as close as it’s ever been to starting.

South have been the main drivers behind this along with Melbourne Knights pushing the AAFC and FA to get this done.

 

[jb03]

Crowd at the Melbourne derby carrying on like efwits. Be upset all you want but involving players and the referee is ridiculous.

 

[Ricemagic]

Get your eyes on 12BOLD NOW!!

Fans from victory jumped the fence at Melbourne City - Melbourne Victory.

Victory fans literally smacked the City goalkeeper in the face with what I thought was a can?

He is on the medical table in the changing rooms.

Disgusting!!

 

[Ricemagic]

Crowd at the Melbourne derby carrying on like efwits. Be upset all you want but involving players and the referee is ridiculous.

I cannot believe over this is about finals being played interstate!!

Weak excuse and stupid fans!!

It'd be like W.A. and S.A. crowds rioting at a West Coast - Richmond game!!

 

[mrposhman]

Get your eyes on 12BOLD NOW!!

Fans from victory jumped the fence at Melbourne City - Melbourne Victory.

Victory fans literally smacked the City goalkeeper in the face with what I thought was a can?

He is on the medical table in the changing rooms.

Disgusting!!

Looked to be bigger than a can.

They might be angry, but jeez thats hardly the way to go about making your point. Talk about being counter productive.

 

[Baloo]

Victory Active Supporters always thought they were bigger than the game itself. They put a lot of people off Victory

 

[Baloo]