Fan Forum - Monday 2nd June 2014 - questions for absent fans

[Wombat]

I won't go to Brooky or NSO.
I will be buying at least 3 full memberships and 2 or 3 x 6 game memberships.
I will buy full membership for me but if there is not a 11 game membership.....the second two memberships I will probably downgrade to a 6 game membership.....therefore the club will lose money.

 

[Wombat]

Don't think Simon would be given the same opportunities as he did back in McKinna's time


Redmayne was good as well...and isn't doing too bad at Heart. Although admittedly the club couldn't offer him the chance to become number 1 at the time

Porter did a decent job in the early seasons...although I was glad when he retired


I think there are obvious benefits to putting a focus on young local talent...
Loyalty and connection with the fans
Think gerrard, wilshere etc.

And I am not saying to ignore players like Amini, caceres and kalik.

Gerrard and Wiltshire are top quality players. Cream always rises to the top and if Coastie juniors are good enough they will be picked up. I don't want to see a local kid with less talent take the spot of a better player from a different region.

We are only going to sell them after 1 or 2 years anyway.

 

[Wombat]

I you want 10,000 members buy a marquee and stop selling your best players every year.
Also play some attractive attacking Football.

 

[midfielder]

Midi

I hope your right. I am involved in a local club right now and what these guys fail to see is local clubs won't sell tickets on behalf of the mariners.. Not because they don't want to they are just so busy organising their own clubs with nets, BBQ's, players etc.

Also after last night I know personally of 12 people who will not renew because games are going to North Sydney. Especially as they were told the cost of memberships won't reduce for less games on the coast

I don't believe if given a choice between no team on the Coast and 11 out of 13 games ... you and your mates would choose let the club fold...

So my guess and please tell me if I am wrong is you think the business plan developed by MC & his CEO is totally flawed ... and maybe MC has an alternative motive to move the club totally ... so your decision or decisions are based on your collective knowledge on the clubs financial position and how much it cost to run... more over your knowledge is superior to the clubs owner and management...

Bilo have you ever been on a local club committee ... lets say for the sake of easy maths the club sells 500 memberships and gets $25.00 per membership sold ... thats $ 12, 500 which to a park club is huge... so I fail to see why when its an easy income stream why the committees of the park teams would not actively want to sell tickets ...

 

[scottmac]

Only 1 thing will bring the people they want to see.

A marquee.

Until that time, getting people up the freeway is a pipe dream. No amount of coaxing, no amount of marketing dollars, no amount of fa partnerships, no amount of school visits will do it.

Get a big name. Find someone to sponsor it. Find a way. It will work.

 

[nebakke]

And yet, I couldn't count the number of comments on here, over the years, agreeing with Arnie that a Marquee is something you sit under while drinking a beer
I don't really have a problem with us hiring a marquee, but say we had the money, before deciding, I think we'd need to work out what the future culture of the club (heh.... Kaaaaaarma kaaaarma kaaaaaarma chameeeeleeeeeooooooonnnnnn ) should look like.
If we are happy with the "little club that could" moniker, then a big name marquee could perhaps ruin more than it builds.

 

[Big Al]

I've said it before - The opposition played at BO & NSO are vital to the success & destruction of the attempt.

If they include any of the NSW teams there will be a riot & shit fight. If it's Welly no one will care & be happy with 11 games at BT as the reality has set in. Take a derby off BT & there will be trouble & that IMO will be a sign a move is on the cards

 

[Schnitzel VonKrumm]

As regards moving games to NSO and BO:
Stalder and MC are the guys with their eyes on the dollars and we, as fans, have no real say in how the owner's dollars are spent. We can let them know what we think are good or bad strategies, that is all.
If we were any good at running sustainable, successful football clubs, we'd be doing it as our day jobs.

1. We SHOULD be engaging the Hornsby/Upper North Shore football clubs (and the private school teams!), as they are less than 60 mins on the freeway or train from Gosford and have a relatively wealthy population.
2. The idea of allowing clubs to sell memberships on commission is a win/win. More memberships and engagement for CCM (over time) and an income stream for the clubs.
3. I know I hammer this point , but we are a very successful club on the field. From 9 seasons of HAL: 7 finals appearances, 4 GFs, 1 toilet seat, 2 plates, 4 ACL appearances and a chance for number 5 next season!
4. Game day experience is key as far as bums-on-seats is concerned.
5. The drought/flood scenario of derby games that we have currently (six WSW/Jets/SFC derbies one year and 3 the next) must be changed to 4/5 per year.
6. I couldn't afford it, but can CC Stadium support a small version of the Chairman's Club at Randwick racecourse (http://www.australianturfclub.com.au/pdf/0413_full-brochure.pdf)?

 

[Schnitzel VonKrumm]

Only 1 thing will bring the people they want to see.

A marquee.

Until that time, getting people up the freeway is a pipe dream. No amount of coaxing, no amount of marketing dollars, no amount of fa partnerships, no amount of school visits will do it.

Get a big name. Find someone to sponsor it. Find a way. It will work.

This can only work if the marquee bandwagon bums-on-seats and sponsors buy into the true nature of "the little club that could" and stay rusted on to CCM after the marquee has gone.

 

[bilo]

I don't believe if given a choice between no team on the Coast and 11 out of 13 games ... you and your mates would choose let the club fold...

So my guess and please tell me if I am wrong is you think the business plan developed by MC & his CEO is totally flawed ... and maybe MC has an alternative motive to move the club totally ... so your decision or decisions are based on your collective knowledge on the clubs financial position and how much it cost to run... more over your knowledge is superior to the clubs owner and management...

Bilo have you ever been on a local club committee ... lets say for the sake of easy maths the club sells 500 memberships and gets $25.00 per membership sold ... thats $ 12, 500 which to a park club is huge... so I fail to see why when its an easy income stream why the committees of the park teams would not actively want to sell tickets ...

I have been (and still am) on a committee of a local Football club. I know for a fact that our club committee doesn't have time to do this and probably won't. One reason is we were involved in the Mariners Mates program from last year. Last year the mariners promised our club $5 from every membership we sold in the mariners mates program. To date we haven't seen a cent. We raised this with CCF as our local association and they said that they had raised it with the Mariners and the Mariners weren't even responding. So excuse me if I sound a little sceptical.

And yes I do think the clubs business plan is flawed in they have no were near tapped into the local football community yet. In fact I believe they have done a lot of damage there they need to repair. I spoke with the Chairman of CCF a week or so back and he said that CCF's relationship with the Mariners had broken down completely and CCF had moved on because the mariners always promised these things but never delivered. This is a common theme among people in the local clubs.

There is even an email I have seen from the Chairman of CCF to the local clubs last week regarding the above and the delivery of shirts promised to kids in the local clubs last year that still hasn't been done. It says that CCF can no longer help in anyway. It seemed quite clear they are not working with the Mariners in at all.

 

[pjennings]

Only 1 thing will bring the people they want to see.

A marquee.

Until that time, getting people up the freeway is a pipe dream. No amount of coaxing, no amount of marketing dollars, no amount of fa partnerships, no amount of school visits will do it.

Get a big name. Find someone to sponsor it. Find a way. It will work.

As others have said how does that sit with our continuing culture when he leaves. Getting the right person as well as the right footballer is important

Criteria would be

1) known by the average sports follower - not just football tragics. We need to attract people we don't already market to.
2) Prepared to promote the club in all ways
3) not a dickhead - the club will be here after he has left - he needs to add to the culture not tear it down
4) my preference would be for a family man - our demographic is families - not young testosterone-fueled males
5) he needs to fill a hole in our team. At this stage a prolific striker is the obvious hole.

Do you have any examples of the type of player you are talking about?

 

[eenfish]

Remember that movie from the 80's with Charlie Sheen, Major League. About the owner who gets the team and wants to run it into the ground so that they will have grounds to move it to sunnier pastures? Maybe Charlesworth is trying to do that?

 

[eenfish]

As others have said how does that sit with our continuing culture when he leaves. Getting the right person as well as the right footballer is important

Criteria would be

1) known by the average sports follower - not just football tragics. We need to attract people we don't already market to.
2) Prepared to promote the club in all ways
3) not a dickhead - the club will be here after he has left - he needs to add to the culture not tear it down
4) my preference would be for a family man - our demographic is families - not young testosterone-fueled males
5) he needs to fill a hole in our team. At this stage a prolific striker is the obvious hole.

Do you have any examples of the type of player you are talking about?

Tim Cahill

Seriously though, the only player that comes close to that description who is even vaguely slightly realistic is Josh Kennedy.

 

[pjennings]

I wouldn't say no. We may need to get TK to talk to Clarky about back problems. apparently Stewart Petrie credited Andrew with extending his playing career by at least 3 years after chronic back problems.

 

[Wombat]

Kennedy is not going to really put bums on seats, although he would be a good signing.

Someone like Micheal Owen or even Peter Crouch (Kennedy with ball control) would be the go.

 

[rbakersmith]

I have been (and still am) on a committee of a local Football club. I know for a fact that our club committee doesn't have time to do this and probably won't. One reason is we were involved in the Mariners Mates program from last year. Last year the mariners promised our club $5 from every membership we sold in the mariners mates program. To date we haven't seen a cent. We raised this with CCF as our local association and they said that they had raised it with the Mariners and the Mariners weren't even responding. So excuse me if I sound a little sceptical.

With respect, you were presented with the perfect opportunity to put your concerns direct to Mike Charlesworth and Bruce Stalder on Monday yet for whatever reason you didn't. It's all well and good complaining about relations between CCF/local clubs and the Mariners here, but if you don't press hard and put your complaints to the people who are actually in a position to do something about it then your inaction is just as bad as theirs.

 

[bilo]

With respect, you were presented with the perfect opportunity to put your concerns direct to Mike Charlesworth and Bruce Stalder on Monday yet for whatever reason you didn't. It's all well and good complaining about relations between CCF/local clubs and the Mariners here, but if you don't press hard and put your complaints to the people who are actually in a position to do something about it then your inaction is just as bad as theirs.

I am simply pointing out that they have lost a lot of people on the Central Coast and especially in the Football Community through false promises. They gave not exhausted the Central Coast market and are intact running from it because there are people in the CC community that now won't go because of the NSO and Brookvale thing and the assertion that running packages for local clubs will assist is a wrong. But you can believe what you want. Let's check back in 6 months and see if the plan was successful. I hope I am wrong but I am pretty sure I won't be

 

[Bladesman]

As I have said before the problem is that we all want the mariners to be run and behave like a club, problem is it is a franchise and is run that way so the $ will always come before the fans. The problems all started once Mccabe became involved and got the club into the property business, this was meant to provide be the revenue stream to ensure the clubs future. It didn't work at Sheffield United does seem to have worked here if anything seems has weakened the clubs financial position given our need to chase the $ just like at United. The big difference was Sheffield United is a club not a franchise so moving it or games is not an option.

As with a lot of business one of the hardest things to do is acquire new customers but it is very easy to lose existing ones if you don't treat them right. The club lost 6 memberships from my side after the Canberra experiment, I will support a club no matter what but a franchise has to deliver me a product and treat me right!

They got the memberships back after the fans forum the following season where it appeared they had listened and last seasons NSO game was a booking clash (or so it was positioned or even a community round) that I could live with. Next year moving games purely to chase $ offered by desperate stadium owners which are not aimed at helping the mariners grow but filing their coffers and utilising their white elephants (Gosford council might want to take note as without the Mariners it will have the biggest white elephant of the lot).

The club need to have a very serious think if moving the games is going to result in an overall increase or decrease in memberships or if at least the $ they get are going to be more than the $ they lose.

 

[bilo]

As I have said before the problem is that we all want the mariners to be run and behave like a club, problem is it is a franchise and is run that way so the $ will always come before the fans. The problems all started once Mccabe became involved and got the club into the property business, this was meant to provide be the revenue stream to ensure the clubs future. It didn't work at Sheffield United does seem to have worked here if anything seems has weakened the clubs financial position given our need to chase the $ just like at United. The big difference was Sheffield United is a club not a franchise so moving it or games is not an option.

As with a lot of business one of the hardest things to do is acquire new customers but it is very easy to lose existing ones if you don't treat them right. The club lost 6 memberships from my side after the Canberra experiment, I will support a club no matter what but a franchise has to deliver me a product and treat me right!

They got the memberships back after the fans forum the following season where it appeared they had listened and last seasons NSO game was a booking clash (or so it was positioned or even a community round) that I could live with. Next year moving games purely to chase $ offered by desperate stadium owners which are not aimed at helping the mariners grow but filing their coffers and utilising their white elephants (Gosford council might want to take note as without the Mariners it will have the biggest white elephant of the lot).

The club need to have a very serious think if moving the games is going to result in an overall increase or decrease in memberships or if at least the $ they get are going to be more than the $ they lose.

Excellent post

What people tend to forget is this isn't a "club" more a private business. People are not Members they are season ticket holders . Members would actually have a vote

 

[sydmariner]

As I have said before the problem is that we all want the mariners to be run and behave like a club, problem is it is a franchise and is run that way so the $ will always come before the fans. The problems all started once Mccabe became involved and got the club into the property business, this was meant to provide be the revenue stream to ensure the clubs future. It didn't work at Sheffield United does seem to have worked here if anything seems has weakened the clubs financial position given our need to chase the $ just like at United. The big difference was Sheffield United is a club not a franchise so moving it or games is not an option.

As with a lot of business one of the hardest things to do is acquire new customers but it is very easy to lose existing ones if you don't treat them right. The club lost 6 memberships from my side after the Canberra experiment, I will support a club no matter what but a franchise has to deliver me a product and treat me right!

They got the memberships back after the fans forum the following season where it appeared they had listened and last seasons NSO game was a booking clash (or so it was positioned or even a community round) that I could live with. Next year moving games purely to chase $ offered by desperate stadium owners which are not aimed at helping the mariners grow but filing their coffers and utilising their white elephants (Gosford council might want to take note as without the Mariners it will have the biggest white elephant of the lot).

The club need to have a very serious think if moving the games is going to result in an overall increase or decrease in memberships or if at least the $ they get are going to be more than the $ they lose.