Ronnie wrote:I know a couple of long term South members/past officials who are about to walk away from the club.
I have heard much the same rumours in recent days, we were given the impression that a letter would be forthcomming to members this week to explain the situation. I have recieved nothing at all and I assume that is the case for the rest of the membership.
I feel very much at the cross roads at this point in time. For every year that I can remember we have had various positives at the start of the season and with a few exceptions every year has been largely a non competitive effort and various excuses are made.
We have sacked the coach several times and it makes no difference at all, likewise the board have been changed over several times and yet again it makes not a scrap of difference.
The club has tried specifically recruiting from the southern zone and has had other years where they have gone out and bought several high quality players and it makes no difference at all to the fortunes of the club.
I could go on and on here, yet I am tipping people familiar with the SANFL scene get the picture!
I am sad to say that if a merger vote was put to me at a meeting I would be voting yes at this stage assuming that it was a fair merger.
Years of a losing culture have simply decimated the South Adelaide Football Club. No doubt in 1990 people were discussing how the club would surely have to improve and be competetive in the future years, yet we all know how that has worked out so far.
The blunt fact is that I just do not feel that the club can be turned around, I feel that 15 years from now there will still be no difference at the club. Souths Admin tell us how proffessional they are and what they are doing to improve the club, yet it is my opinion that we are not the bootlace of some of the SANFL clubs administrations - Central being one glaring example. South are going to keep on trying to be competitive and the other SANFL clubs are only going to continue to keep on doing more of the same. South talk about how we are doing this that and the other that Central have done, yet its a pity then that we were not doing what Central are doing right now as you can live in the past shadow of another successful club and label it improvement.
If we merge with either Glenelg or Sturt our identy will soon become lost as it could only happen as an outright takeover. I strongly doubt any of the other SANFL sides would be even remotley interested in entering into merger discussions, so I cant really see a way forward for the club at this stage. People talk about the rich history of the SAFC, yet the blunt reality is that the last 44 years of that history have been somthing to be largely ashamed of, with the exceptions of some of the individual players that have made themselves legends of the SANFL by what they have put into the club - Mark Naley & John Schneebichler are a couple of good examples.
I would love to go barrack for another SANFL club, yet I once tried to change to my Grandfathers side - West Adelaide and lasted for three matches....
No matter how bad the club is, there is something about actually finally giving up on the club and its colours that you just cant make yourself do. I do think about signing on as a member to Westies and have thought about it a lot lately! Yet where to from here, I just really dont know!
Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2008 1:58 pm
http://www.glenelgfc.com.au/docs/2008%20Membership%20Brochure_FINAL.pdf
