2018 Pre-Season Games ...... yes they exist !!

[JoyfulPenguin]

When I read this bit last night, I resisted replying and thought maybe I'd feel better about it tomorrow. But you're still here.

Whatever your opinion, how do you presume to post on a public forum such a condescending reply addressed to a great champion, whose presence here has clearly brought much positivity to the team, the club and the region?

You speak as if he is some mythical deity who should be obeyed and revered. He is a successful sprinter, no more, right now his ability is below that of Dan Heffernan (the English Striker) and I don't hear people asking desperately for him to be addressed properly.

 

[scottmac]

You speak as if he is some mythical deity who should be obeyed and revered. He is a successful sprinter, no more, right now his ability is below that of Dan Heffernan (the English Striker) and I don't hear people asking desperately for him to be addressed properly.

Successful sprinter. You Muppet. He transcends athletics. He's much more than you think you euro snob.

 

[Coastalraider]

Successful sprinter. You Muppet. He transcends athletics. He's much more than you think you euro snob.

Agreed.

Whether people are pro bolt or not, you cannot argue that his sporting feats sits him at the big table with Pele, Ali, Jordan and co as the best sportsmen in history. No one will ever do a triple/triple again in history. The guy singlehanded made athletics relevant again.

 

[Ancient Mariner]

And has it brought positivity to the team, the club and the region? Watching last night Fox took every opportunity to cut away from us, it hasn't brought positivity to us just to his media profile.

You would not have seen CCM on Fox last night without him.

 

[Offsider]

Successful sprinter. You Muppet. He transcends athletics. He's much more than you think you euro snob.

Piss-off scottmac ............... stop saying shit I want to agree with

 

[Offsider]

He is not a "great champion" in this sport. He is a "great champion" in Athletics, if he wants a professional spot playing football he needs to be judged on his football not how much he was a "great champion" in sprinting.

He has a football background having played streetball from school etc ..... havan’t you been listening ....... he is a dedicated lifetime man u supporter and he has earned the right to crossover sports if he so chooses.

 

[Offsider]

Not all publicity is good publicity. Every single article after lastnight has a raving headline and making comparisons with the elite attackers in Europe who only have one goal.
It’s the biggest joke in football right now.

I come from the northern end of the coast. I have given up trying to engage peope up here these last few seasons .........nobody I had contact with cared about ccm.

This week everybody knows bolt is with the mariners and everybody is commenting about thinking of going to see him.
ALL PUBLICITY IS GOOD PUBLICITY ............ mc has done a lot to change the public perception of the community by indulging in the bolt sideshow.

 

[Capn Gus Bloodbeard]

Not all publicity is good publicity. Every single article after lastnight has a raving headline and making comparisons with the elite attackers in Europe who only have one goal.
It’s the biggest joke in football right now.

Oh what a load of horse shit. The only people who are saying it's a joke are the Aussie Eurosnobs. Even ACTUAL European football fans aren't being as precious/pretentious as the Aussies are. I'm so sick of hearing that rubbish.
If he ends up being good enough to be a squaddie, then there's no issue whatsoever. This 'it's a joke' nonsense doesn't even make sense. Get over it.

It's already brought in a lot of additional sponsor attention. While i don't know what the outcome of that all is, I anticipate that's been one of several factors influencing MC to open his wallet this season.
Not all publicity is good publicity? Bullshit. Our advertising reach has instantly become global. When the rights to a preseason nothing match can get sold overseas, you can't say 'it's bad publicity'. Again, that doesn't even make sense.

 

[JoyfulPenguin]

Successful sprinter. You Muppet. He transcends athletics. He's much more than you think you euro snob.

I never have nor ever will be a Euro snob, I have supported solely Heart and the Mariners. My introduction to football was through the A-League and Socceroos, I have never once in my life gotten up to watch a stupid f**king game on the other side of the world unless the Soceroos or another Australian was playing. I attend the NPL and watch as many live streams of the NPL as I possibly can, I have f**king commentated NPL matches, how bloody dare you call me a Euro snob you muppet. I champion Australian football at every turn I have been a member of the Mariners every year since I became a fan, I have written f**king reports on our former academy players and how they are going in the NPL. Do not f**king call me a Eurosnob you pretentious assumption making prick. I want us to pick our own players, our players in the NPL, like f**king Jordan Murray or Themba Muata-Marlow. We need our own stars not pathetic transplants from codes desperately trying to still be relevant when they can't run anymore. If Bolt had been trailing in the year Jedinak was here would he have ever gotten a contract? Read McKinna's interview, he never would of if we're to give opportunities to celebrities and we would of lost our own great Australian sportsman. We do not need Bolt, we do not need his fake celebrity status to be a good football club.

 

[JoyfulPenguin]

How much has Bolt's celebrity exposure gotten us? Less members than last year, for all the talk of how great it is we have not been successful in the one metric that is supposed to matter.

 

[Insertnamehere]

How much has Bolt's celebrity exposure gotten us? Less members than last year, for all the talk of how great it is we have not been successful in the one metric that is supposed to matter.

Nah. That was four years of abject football.

 

[JoyfulPenguin]

Nah. That was four years of abject football.

But according to everyone it shouldn't matter because of all the magical exposure we have gotten? It should all be fixed because of Bolt's magical journey and the $2 million in advertising we are getting. If you get more out of having a good team then having a celebrity then why are we persisting with this charade?

 

[priorpeter]

I never have nor ever will be a Euro snob, I have supported solely Heart and the Mariners. My introduction to football was through the A-League and Socceroos, I have never once in my life gotten up to watch a stupid f**king game on the other side of the world unless the Soceroos or another Australian was playing. I attend the NPL and watch as many live streams of the NPL as I possibly can, I have f**king commentated NPL matches, how bloody dare you call me a Euro snob you muppet. I champion Australian football at every turn I have been a member of the Mariners every year since I became a fan, I have written f**king reports on our former academy players and how they are going in the NPL. Do not f**king call me a Eurosnob you pretentious assumption making prick. I want us to pick our own players, our players in the NPL, like f**king Jordan Murray or Themba Muata-Marlow. We need our own stars not pathetic transplants from codes desperately trying to still be relevant when they can't run anymore. If Bolt had been trailing in the year Jedinak was here would he have ever gotten a contract? Read McKinna's interview, he never would of if we're to give opportunities to celebrities and we would of lost our own great Australian sportsman. We do not need Bolt, we do not need his fake celebrity status to be a good football club.

Well, that escalated quickly

 

[yellowcake]

You're not a very joyful penguin are you?

We do not need Bolt, we do not need his fake celebrity status to be a good football club.

Here's the thing. They're not mutually exclusive. I agree that Bolt has nothing to do with whether we are a great football club (again). More than anything I'm looking forward to seeing good football from our revamped squad and hopefully a successful campaign (like we almost got to take for granted for a while there). Bolt is an intriguing parallel story, except that there's the suggestion that somehow him being here lead to the acquisition of the likes of Ross McCormack, who definitely lifts out chance of that success.
Once again though, it's stuff like "fake celebrity status", "a successful sprinter", for arguably the best know person globally to ever reside on the Central Coast rather minimises that plot.
In spite of our poor membership numbers (on the back of four dismal seasons), I suspect the 'Bolt effect' (even unsigned) has lifted that from where it would have been.

 

[Antlion]

Bolt = aquiring Oar and McCormack
= better overall squad = greater chance of improved performances and results

BUT, if Bolt gets a contract in the short term he'll want game time. The weight of expectation to play him and at $3m it would be hard to justify benching him and only playing him on merit - which would otherwise be rarely.
Potentially = reduced performances and results.

Kicking this thing down the road to January would be best for all parties.

 

[Michael]

Bolt is an intriguing parallel story, except that there's the suggestion that somehow him being here lead to the acquisition of the likes of Ross McCormack, who definitely lifts out chance of that success.

A player of Ross’s experience and quality did not for one f**king second look at our offer and think “well Usain Bolt is undertaking a trial with this club, so if he’s doing that there, I should 100% go there to score goals”

He came here because he’ll be the big dog guaranteed 90mins every week and expects to score atleast 20 in a full season in a league he’s obviously levels above. And because intelligent football people like Phelan, Mulvey and Monty convinced him about the quality of the squad.
Charlesworth didn’t even confirm that sponsorship $$ from Bolt helped fund Ross and Tommy, more that he just dipped into the pocket.

The strongest rumours are that we’ve paid bolt more than we’ve received in this circus period.
The club have been smart in using his image to get our brand in peoples faces. But memberships are still way down...
So the circus hasn’t worked. You can’t argue that, it hasn’t helped the club regain hurt former members who are more embarrassed by this and clearly not gaining new members.
It’s at the point where it’s going to have to be atleast a couple seasons of atleast finals football and a team challenging to get people back, which given when we won the comp we never repeatedly sold out the stadium. So that’s how hard the task will forever be for our club.
Australian sports fans in general are just bagwagoners who love fighting spirit and teams on a winning run.
It’s the truth people need to accept. You can’t argue, the proof in crowd and membership numbers is there to see.
WE HAVE TO RELY ON BEING COMPETITIVE AND GETTING RESULTS TO REGAIN OLD MEMBERS AND GAINING NEW ONES AND KEEP THEM.
Bolt won’t help us achieve those crunch 3pts running into the finals. At very best he’ll be a passenger and a liability. Don’t dare use the comparison of matt Simon not scoring in his first season..
He was barely 20 and had the basics and framework for a decent pro. And he’s polarised opinion down the years but has made a good career for a kid from east Gosford.
Bolt is 32 going on 33 in the fantasy 12months he thinks he’ll be ready by. He doesn’t know the basics and has no awareness of his surroundings.

And has anyone considered, once he real matches start what football minutes is going to get? Join a local terrigal All Age team? Can’t play youth games as he’s not contracted, no senior friendlies will be arranged. If he plays in any pre season youth game then he’s taking minutes away from a prospect. Our club imperiatively needs to breed high quality young players to sell on when they develop well enough. Which we haven’t really done since maty, Bernie, Sains etc’s era. But we seem to have some real gems in the current group who have serious ability.
The millions of social media views count for nothing. Where has it been confirmed that there’s been extra income from sponsors in this period? Who cares if someone in Iceland knows what a central coast Mariner is.

“ oh he’s a sporting icon of history give him respect, commend him for trying so hard “
Get over yourself and face reality, he ain’t upto this, it’s too late.

Just our luck to finally after 4 years of embarrassment and hell we get a great squad with solid depth and have a f**king circus follow it.

 

[JoyfulPenguin]

You're not a very joyful penguin are you?
Here's the thing. They're not mutually exclusive. I agree that Bolt has nothing to do with whether we are a great football club (again). More than anything I'm looking forward to seeing good football from our revamped squad and hopefully a successful campaign (like we almost got to take for granted for a while there). Bolt is an intriguing parallel story, except that there's the suggestion that somehow him being here lead to the acquisition of the likes of Ross McCormack, who definitely lifts out chance of that success.
Once again though, it's stuff like "fake celebrity status", "a successful sprinter", for arguably the best know person globally to ever reside on the Central Coast rather minimises that plot.
In spite of our poor membership numbers (on the back of four dismal seasons), I suspect the 'Bolt effect' (even unsigned) has lifted that from where it would have been.

What lead to our acquisition of Ross McCormack was Mike Charlesworth actually willing to invest in our squad, clubs around the country invest in their squads without the need for someone like Bolt, we shouldn't need someone like Bolt here to justify spending the salary cap that the FFA hands to us each year via the TV deal. I just think that Bolt will never be a good footballing acquisition, and as a football club, that is what we should be focused on, not how big his media profile is. I became a Mariners member and fan in Tony Walmsley's first pre-season, on the day that Roy O'Donovan signed for this club, I didn't experience any of the premierships or championships we have won nor as I live in Melbourne have I seen us win live. I have watched us get beaten by an NPL side in the FFA Cup, being one of around ten Mariners fans at that match I got pushed into mud after the match and told to get a real team. Shaun has repeatedly promised us that things will only get better, that we only had to cut debt for a few years and then we would be paying the full salary cap with potential for marquees, why did it require Bolt for Charlesworth to actually invest anything? I just want us to be an actual community driven football team without the focus on celebrity and achieve higher than eighth in a ten team league. I don't think giving a visa spot to someone, who at the very zenith of his ability will be a squaddie who demands constant game time, is helpful to our footballing team.

 

[JoyfulPenguin]

I never have nor ever will be a Euro snob, I have supported solely Heart and the Mariners. My introduction to football was through the A-League and Socceroos, I have never once in my life gotten up to watch a stupid f**king game on the other side of the world unless the Soceroos or another Australian was playing. I attend the NPL and watch as many live streams of the NPL as I possibly can, I have f**king commentated NPL matches, how bloody dare you call me a Euro snob you muppet. I champion Australian football at every turn I have been a member of the Mariners every year since I became a fan, I have written f**king reports on our former academy players and how they are going in the NPL. Do not f**king call me a Eurosnob you pretentious assumption making prick. I want us to pick our own players, our players in the NPL, like f**king Jordan Murray or Themba Muata-Marlow. We need our own stars not pathetic transplants from codes desperately trying to still be relevant when they can't run anymore. If Bolt had been trailing in the year Jedinak was here would he have ever gotten a contract? Read McKinna's interview, he never would of if we're to give opportunities to celebrities and we would of lost our own great Australian sportsman. We do not need Bolt, we do not need his fake celebrity status to be a good football club.

My apologies for this post @scottmac , have had a rough week with exams coming up my language and aggression towards you was not acceptable. Just being called a Eurosnob drove me insane as I have invested a huge chunk of time and money into supporting Australian football, and even tried to create content of my own to supplement what was available because I believe in our young players especially those produced here at the Mariners.

 

[Michael]

Oh what a load of horse shit. The only people who are saying it's a joke are the Aussie Eurosnobs. Even ACTUAL European football fans aren't being as precious/pretentious as the Aussies are. I'm so sick of hearing that rubbish.
If he ends up being good enough to be a squaddie, then there's no issue whatsoever. This 'it's a joke' nonsense doesn't even make sense. Get over it.

It's already brought in a lot of additional sponsor attention. While i don't know what the outcome of that all is, I anticipate that's been one of several factors influencing MC to open his wallet this season.
Not all publicity is good publicity? Bullshit. Our advertising reach has instantly become global. When the rights to a preseason nothing match can get sold overseas, you can't say 'it's bad publicity'. Again, that doesn't even make sense.

A squaddie on a rumour $3mill a season, there’s a lot of f**king issues with that. The players may put the smile on for the media but I guarantee they’d have more than an issue with that.
It’s got nothing to do with being a euro snob and everything to do with being a person that loves the nuts and bolts of football, excuse the pun darl. And believing the part timers who barely get by and do everything possible to even get a trial deserve way more than what bolt does. And would be so much more likely to take the chance given to them. IE, players like Jordan Murray, had a clearer chance than his lovely headed goal, in the second half when bolt decided he didn’t want to pull up on chasing a ball that if he had any kind of football awareness would’ve realised was perfect for Murray to have a free shot on his favoured foot in side the box and could’ve had 2 goals. But no bolt runs in front of him and almost into him and kills the clear chance. Not to mention the other ones when he just plainly got in the way.
Mike Phelan convinced Charlesworth to unlock the wallet.

 

[Forum Phoenix]

And has it brought positivity to the team, the club and the region? Watching last night Fox took every opportunity to cut away from us, it hasn't brought positivity to us just to his media profile.

There's a huge amount of positivity and excitement about him in the local community here JP. And his trialling alone helped me personally attach 3 new gold members this season. The other players and coaching staff all seem to have great relations with him too. Everyone looks excited and the vibe looks very positive from what I can tell. And honestly, it should be.