SA Footy

I agree with Eddie for once

8:57 PM Fri 1 June, 2007 | Back

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COLLINGWOOD president Eddie McGuire has urged the AFL not to make any major changes to remedy the status of most Victorian clubs as the poor relations of their interstate competitors.

AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou said earlier this week that the rise of non-Victorian clubs at the expense of those in Victoria in recent years appeared to be more than cyclical and the league would investigate the factors involved.

But McGuire said the AFL had erred by giving too much assistance - such as recruiting zone and salary cap concessions - to some non-Victorian clubs in the past and it would be making another mistake if it now provided similar assistance to Victorian clubs. He said that if clubs were left to their own devices, within the constraints of an uncompromised draft and salary cap, the competition would right itself.

"The horse has bolted, forget about locking the door, because I think in fact the horse is about to return," he told Collingwood's club function ahead of Friday night's match against Fremantle at the MCG. "The secret to the future of football, we believe at Collingwood, is for the AFL to just keep doing what they're doing and don't do too much else and don't tinker with some of the major machinations in our competition.

"Their job is to make sure that no-one cheats, that no club gets an unfair advantage and that everyone gets a chance to do the best they possibly can."

McGuire said he had told then-AFL chairman Ron Evans after Brisbane won the 2001 grand final that the league was creating a "monster" by giving assistance to non-Victorian clubs, such as zone and salary cap concessions to the Lions. He said he had since been proved right.

"When the Commission quite rightly decided that the game would wither and die unless the non-Victorian clubs were given a chance, they imposed artificial advantages and gave them that chance to compete fair and well," he said.

"The only trouble is, I think the AFL got caught up in the missionary zeal and drunk on the northern success ... suddenly the hangover has hit and everyone's looking for football's equivalent of the (cure). "Like all hangover cures, you can ease the symptoms, but really you have to ride it out and that's what I'm talking about tonight.

"While Collingwood called the trend six years ago, I believe we're almost through the worst of it."

McGuire said AFL-imposed salary cap concessions for Brisbane were the equivalent of Carlton, Essendon and Melbourne having cheated on the cap.

"The only difference was one was sanctioned and one wasn't," he said.

He warned the league to be "very careful now with people screaming from Victoria to come up with another artificial action that will influence the game."

McGuire criticised a call by some Victorian clubs for a cap on football department spending to achieve greater balance between rich and poor clubs, arguing it would lead to "mediocrity".

He said the Magpies had worked their way into a position of strength on and off the field, through strategic planning and passion, after being "broke, on the bottom of the ladder and almost gone in 1999".

He said other Victorian clubs could do likewise, although he acknowledged the need of financial assistance to allow some of them to survive, saying the Magpies supported a 16-team competition.

"We have to make sure that we don't go silly in trying to find a panacea for Victorian football, when in fact I don't think there's necessarily a major problem," he said. "Yes, support the teams financially that need it, but let's not go silly about it."

Yes for once myself and Eddie are on the one side rightly so too, He has seen this coming and tried to put Collingwood in the best position he can. Perhaps this is why he has quit from ch9 to focus on getting this right.

He's basically for free enterprise so that every comp is on an even platform and not getting unfair concessions like the Lions and Swans have over the years.
I too agree with him.
But lets face it, he's looking after his own club, he knows that if Brissy and Sydney stop getting concessions that they'll be out of the race, he also knows that if other Victorian clubs don't get any help like the Bulldogs, Kangaroos, Melbourne, etc there will be at least 3 or 4 more out of the way. It basically leaves Collingwood with about 6 other clubs to compete with for the flag eventually when things work themselves out.

Eddie will advise the AFL to do whatever he feels will get the best outcome for Collingwood! The sooner some of the minnows are out of Melbourne, the sooner he can get on with his job of making Collingwood the most successfull team in Vic, which he seems to be making some headway towards achieving, the club is cashed up, his venture with the Lexus centre is paying huge dividends and they are on a buying spree of different venues to promote their club. Look at what an NRL leagues club is like now and that will give you a fair idea of where they are going!

What crap....how easy would it be to be president of Collingwood?....

So the AFL can help Sydney and Brisbane but not look after other clubs..

Dutchy wrote:What crap....how easy would it be to be president of Collingwood?....

So the AFL can help Sydney and Brisbane but not look after other clubs..

I wouldn't compare the "help" Sydney and Brisbane have had with that some Melbourne clubs have had.
Sydney and Melbourne have had "help" to put a great team on the park where some Melbourne clubs have had "help" to stay alive.

Good bloke is Sam Lienert too.
I'd trust what he reports.

Wedgie wrote:

Dutchy wrote:What crap....how easy would it be to be president of Collingwood?....

So the AFL can help Sydney and Brisbane but not look after other clubs..

I wouldn't compare the "help" Sydney and Brisbane have had with that some Melbourne clubs have had.
Sydney and Melbourne have had "help" to put a great team on the park where some Melbourne clubs have had "help" to stay alive.

I presume you mean Brisbane....and yes you hit the nail on the head...extra funds in the Salary Cap and look what happens?...on field success and the cash that somes from that being a one team state...a genuine free kick

Dutchy wrote:I presume you mean Brisbane....and yes you hit the nail on the head...extra funds in the Salary Cap and look what happens?...on field success and the cash that somes from that being a one team state...a genuine free kick

Whoops, yes I did mean Brissy in that 2nd sentence and yes that's my point.
If Collingwood get rid of their advantage (which I think they already have done with Brisbane) whilst keeping the other Melbourne clubs on an even keel they only have to compete with about 6 clubs to win a 16 side competition.

Ahhhh we'd make a bloody grand final and lose it anyway!

I don't expect to win another GF in my time...now matter how many Melbourne teams are in the comp.

Bloody pessimist I am.

(is it obvious I've been drinking?)

BTW - as far as presidents go. I love Eddie.
In fact, he's a role model.

I'm off for a spa now.

Dutchy wrote:What crap....how easy would it be to be president of Collingwood?....

So the AFL can help Sydney and Brisbane but not look after other clubs..

They have been this last few years .... special assistace in the $m's

I'll stand corrected but I think Bulldogs, Carlton, Melbourne & Kangaroos are all recipients so far

Eddie is saying that's enough ... other clubs want more it seems

You know what I hate about Victoria is that they bring clubs from interstate in like WCE, Adelaide and the like, then when these sides get a little successful, they jump up and down saying that it's not fair, when they only have themselves to blame by bringing them in to the league in the first place.

MightyEagles wrote:You know what I hate about Victoria is that they bring clubs from interstate in like WCE, Adelaide and the like, then when these sides get a little successful, they jump up and down saying that it's not fair, when they only have themselves to blame by bringing them in to the league in the first place.

I don't think they're jumping up and down at West Coast or Adelaide, they're jumping up and down at the clubs north of their border who got unfair advantages.

hondo71 wrote:

Dutchy wrote:What crap....how easy would it be to be president of Collingwood?....

So the AFL can help Sydney and Brisbane but not look after other clubs..

They have been this last few years .... special assistace in the $m's

I'll stand corrected but I think Bulldogs, Carlton, Melbourne & Kangaroos are all recipients so far

Eddie is saying that's enough ... other clubs want more it seems

So do Adelaide and Collingwood want to give back the $6m they got from the AFL last year??????

Dutchy wrote:

hondo71 wrote:

Dutchy wrote:What crap....how easy would it be to be president of Collingwood?....

So the AFL can help Sydney and Brisbane but not look after other clubs..

They have been this last few years .... special assistace in the $m's

I'll stand corrected but I think Bulldogs, Carlton, Melbourne & Kangaroos are all recipients so far

Eddie is saying that's enough ... other clubs want more it seems

So do Adelaide and Collingwood want to give back the $6m they got from the AFL last year??????

Dutchy be careful with selective quoting of facts .....

It's $6m over 5 years starting 2007 ($1.2m per year) and EVERY club receives it. For anyone out there wondering it's from the proceeds of the new TV deal.

In fact:

Mr Demetriou said the strategy also recognised that some AFL clubs needed more financial assistance than others. As a result, in 2007 total distributions to clubs will range from $9.7 million to the Kangaroos, $9.1 million to the Western Bulldogs to $6.2 million to clubs including the West Coast Eagles, Collingwood, Fremantle, Adelaide and the Brisbane Lions.

Kangaroos and Bulldogs get an extra $3m

He said the AFL would also create an $82 million Future Fund ..... Some of the initiatives included in the Next Generation – Securing the Future of Australian Football strategy include:
- The biggest financial distribution ever to clubs with a total of $650 million to be shared by the 16 AFL clubs over the next five years. This includes $449 million as a base distribution which covers all increases in Total Player Payments plus a bonus distribution of $96 million ($6 million per club).
- More money for those clubs who need it most, with the Annual Special Distribution policy to provide $6.2 million per year or $31 million over five years for clubs with long term financial difficulties primarily due to the small size of their supporter base and to other clubs currently receiving poor returns from their stadium agreements.

And the Victorian clubs want more???? I think that's the real issue here ..

we have had this arguement before, Im not going there again......

That's fine ... I just don't want there to be any misconceptions that Brisbance & Sydney are the only clubs to have ever received assistance from the AFL and that Victorian clubs have been hard-done-by in comparison.

We both know which Victorian clubs have probably been the biggest financial drain on the AFL in recent times and yet, when presented with an option of finding new markets and the POTENTIAL to solve their financial problems, prefer to stay in Melbourne and continue to take money off the other clubs .... The extra $6.7m (minimum) going to the Bulldogs and the Roos is money that could have gone to grass-roots football.

hondo71 wrote:That's fine ... I just don't want there to be any misconceptions that Brisbance & Sydney are the only clubs to have ever received assistance from the AFL and that Victorian clubs have been hard-done-by in comparison.

We both know which Victorian clubs have probably been the biggest financial drain on the AFL in recent times and yet, when presented with an option of finding new markets and the POTENTIAL to solve their financial problems, prefer to stay in Melbourne and continue to take money off the other clubs .... The extra $6.7m (minimum) going to the Bulldogs and the Roos is money that could have gone to grass-roots football.

fair dinkum if the Roos and Bullies didnt exist they would have that money to give them anyway

Brisbane and Sydney are the only teams to have received on-field assistance from the AFL...big difference

Dutchy wrote:

hondo71 wrote:That's fine ... I just don't want there to be any misconceptions that Brisbance & Sydney are the only clubs to have ever received assistance from the AFL and that Victorian clubs have been hard-done-by in comparison.

We both know which Victorian clubs have probably been the biggest financial drain on the AFL in recent times and yet, when presented with an option of finding new markets and the POTENTIAL to solve their financial problems, prefer to stay in Melbourne and continue to take money off the other clubs .... The extra $6.7m (minimum) going to the Bulldogs and the Roos is money that could have gone to grass-roots football.

fair dinkum if the Roos and Bullies didnt exist they would have that money to give them anyway

Brisbane and Sydney are the only teams to have received on-field assistance from the AFL...big difference

I am not sure about your theory about the Roos & Bullies not existing, we could debate that for hours. But I agree the assistance the Bulldogs & Roos are getting is not the same as what Sydney & Brisbane got. I would have to agree the AFL created a couple of power-houses by tinkering with the natural order of things 5-10 years ago. Just trying to make sure people realise Victorian clubs are already getting SOME $ assistance because this current debate often forgets that.