Fringe GWS/NEAFL players who like SOS and want to play in front of more than 30 people for a few more dollars… Yep, that was a coup, I’ll grant the Blues that.

Can’t argue with that summation Ryan. The only ones saying Carlton have had a good trade period are the irreversibly deluded and the club’s spokespeople who are duty bound to say that.

If you think they were bad this year, you ain’t seen nothing yet.

It doesn’t help their cause that they simply can’t trade for any players because no one of sound mind and body wants to play for them. Even a potential father-son opted for the Saints. This year’s crop of draft nominees will be praying ‘sweet Lord, don’t call my number SOS’. Worse still, they face a Giant-like exodus of any good young players as soon as their first contracts are up.

So bad has SOS’s list management efforts already been one might be mistaken for thinking he wants to ensure SOSOS gets a game sooner rather than later. Jeannie and Geoffrey may as well suit up (any professional football club with them still on their board in the year 2015 is bereft of ideas and hope). Like a punch drunk boxer Carlton haven’t been able to think straight for years and just lurch from one belting to the next.

Yet such is the way of the AFL these days they will be given priority picks going forward despite the fact they have only themselves to blame for their many mistakes which have caused this club to career off a cliff.

Vince, isn’t Andrew Demetriou on 4 weeks leave plus a 2 week Olympic junket I mean research project? I’m pretty sure it’s Adrian Anderson who mishandles the clash strip shambles. Making AD the headlne & target here is perhaps a little unfair.

That said, it was very difficult at the game to distinguish, particularly from the behind the goals. Along the lines of RedB, the nature of the game with a huge bunch of players scrambling for the ball much of the time doesn’t help. Hawthorn having to wear white with an Owl on the front the previous week v Carlton made the Coll/Carl mess even more farcicle.

Apart from the Bombers gear looking like kids pyjamas, it didn’t help one iota. Had they worn the wide red sash with red shorts, it would have been easier.

Every week I see at least one game where I either can’t see the need for a clash strip or I have to look twice to determine what side I’m actually watching.

Even the teams that saw a quick buck in this seem to be having second thoughts. North have come up with a simple alternative that looks far stronger and in keeping with the traditional blue & white stripes. Carlton hated its white alternative and hates its light blue even more. Looking at the vintage style tops worn by the Bulldogs this year it would appear to me that clubs are realising, as Collingwood and Essendon did from the get go, that heritage and a strong brand is worth something more substantial in the long run.

So Nathan, you reckon clubs in the level below will attract the players and resources they need to be remotely competitve when they’re promoted? And the also rans in the 2nd division, how long do you reckon they’ll survive? Yes the gap is considerable now, how big do you think it will be in a divisional structure in 5 years time?

We’re talking about the AFL as it exists today. There’s no winding back the clocks to the good old days – and the good old days weren’t exactly that flash for a lot of clubs in any case. TV wants the big ticket games to show, Div 2 would get minimal exposure and therefore minimal corporate support.

Not saying this is right or wrong, it’s just the Darwinian reality of football survival.

Promotion & relegation will just kill off clubs very quickly. It’s hard enough to stay above water. Can you imagine some clubs trying to get decent sponsorship, membership etc in a 2nd grade comp?

It ain’t gonna happen, no point even talking about it.

Reality is, at this time of year the actual worthwhile AFL news happening only fills about 20% of the football editorial space available. So we get boring tripe like ‘x player is training really well and is set for a big year’ and a big pretty picture with their shirt off.

I wouldn’t wipe my ar$e with the Herald Sun – I’m surprised Heath Shaw & Alan Didak weren’t referenced somewhere, somehow. But by the same token, surely Arocca & Brayshaw have been around AFL clubland long enough, and the media, to know what would happen next after such an ambiguous release. They could have just kept it all inhouse and no one would know. A cynic might suggest it was a ploy to get attention… any attention.

They should have just got a straight shooter like Brad Scott to handle it from the start.

Big difference is last time Matthews left Shaw a very ordinary list that was about to get a lot worse – and a poorly run club that was heading south just as quick.

A club without a team formed by residents… Was there a president/secretary, constitution, MoU etc? I think we probably need to defer to Richard Stremski’s ‘Kill for Collingwood’ – unless that is where you actually found that Andrew. I must admit, I thought the club was formed at the Grace Darling Hotel. Perhaps that’s what you’re referring to.

In any case, it’s not surprising CFC have lumped for the date they have, the other is a bit of a hard sell.

Look, to be the best you have to beat the best – I agree to some extent with what you’re saying Ian.

But when the difference between a home final (2nd v 3rd), or double chance (4th v 5th) can be a couple points or percentage, then the relative fixture is kinda important don’t you think? To a large extent it undoes the objectives of the salary cap & draft.

Or are we just following the Gina Rinehart philosophy now where the end game is simply to make as much money as possible?

Ha, it is a tempting ploy to avoid the game but I find the not knowing is just as gut wrenching. I count myself lucky to have been young enough not to be too scarred by ’79-81 (though I did rip up KB’s footy card into a hundred pieces after the 1980 GF in a 6yo rage). The circumstances of the 2002 loss still upset me though.

The thing with CFC is they’ve been a sucker for punishment, making too many Grand Finals with teams clearly out of their weight division. So whilst it’s a source of derision, to be in amongst it at the pointy end so regularly has to be worthy of some respect – or envy for fans of several clubs.

I think Ed’s legacy has been to drag the club into the future whilst superbly harnessing its enormous inherent resource being the fan base. At the same time the club’s immense history has also been respected and incorporated. In an era where clubs all play out of the same grounds (when they’re not playing ‘home’ games interstate), there’s a melting pot of players (i.e. the draft) and there’s no longer U19s or reserves (for most) – there are certainly fewer points of difference and potentially a diluted connection between the supporters & club.

Ed had a vision of what the club could and should become. And whilst others bemoaned his stance on clash jumpers etc, being steadfast on the black & white stripes and staying true to the brand (as godawful as that sounds) has paid dividends. Black & white stripes – doesn’t get any simpler or recognisable than that. Meanwhile you can flick the TV on to other games and it can sometimes be a struggle to work out who’s playing.

It’s time to do away with all these sweetheart deals around derbies, supposed rivalries, CollvCarlvEss twice etc.

If this is a serious comp it needs to be treated that way, with a fair draw for all. No other decent football comp in the world would stand for what the AFL fixture has degenerated into.

No problem with the 3 conference concept for the purposes of the draw, as long as it’s based on the previous year’s ladder or final finishing order. That way all clubs play the same number of good, average & indifferent sides the following year (of course some clubs will improve or trail off – but generally speaking this is as equitable as you can get).

I am assuming we are running one ladder with a final 8? Because 6 or 9 club final series models are a joke.

According to the club (and my understanding from other references) it was officially created at a public meeting held at the Collingwood Town Hall on 12 February 1892.

Don’t know where the 1889 part comes in, perhaps being something to do with Britannia which played at Vic Park before CFC.

“As a young supporter myself, I escaped the full impact of the 1977 – 1981 grand finals by riding my bike during them. I remember always noticing magpies on such rides; a good omen you would think.”

Don’t think the author is jealous of Collingwood’s success – given he is, or at very least was a Pie supporter.

Well, I went to Phuket recently and didn’t get any runs – so perhaps that one did slip through to the keeper!

Without wanting to stir up the whole Big Bash debate once again, that the competition took place at the same time as the test series really didn’t help matters. Luckily for the selectors some outstanding individual efforts have enabled the Khawaja/Marsh curiosity to escape greater scrutiny.

And to be fair to the selectors, I reckon the Warner & Hilfenhaus inclusions put them in credit. Not many would have seen those two playing, let alone thriving, just a few months ago.

No worries Vas, it was my bad in the first place.

Once again I apologise for such an obvious blue – unfortunately it wasn’t so obvious to me at 1.30 this morning! Perhaps you can be my sub-editor next time Vas 😉

Right you are, sorry. Yes – Shaun as in Shaun of the Dead…

Thanks Rob, appreciate your response. As Lucan comments below, sadly it is the perceived need of the masses to devour the trash that drives the media, and consequently the widespread acceptance that privacy is dead. As you allude to Rob, social media has taken it to another level.

It’s funny how many justify the intrusions because athletes are taking the big dollars and are therefore accepting of, and beneficiaries of their fame. Which is patently wrong because the greater proportion of athletes are not on big money and in fact struggle on comparable, if not less earnings than the average worker.

Or the Tasmanian star recruit Geoff Hayward (played by a half his current size John Howard) and his shocking, incestuous sob story about his legless sister and his mum…

Apart from that part (obviously), The Club actually has a lot to say about the way football clubs operate and the game itself. Superb performances by Graham Kennedy, Howard, Frank Wilson and the recently deceased Harold Hopkins. Directed by Bruce Beresford no less.

Screamer, you’re very keen to make generalisations yourself about my article yet if you read it properly, and various other replies, I am not barracking for the death of North Melbourne.

Carlton have more debt but they would appear to have a far greater capacity to wipe that off in the next few years, do they not? Yet I am sure their debt figure is still of some concern. And the Bulldogs likewise. There’s too many clubs in a precarious position imo. But Screamer, my frustration pertaining to North in not going to the Gold Coast is that it would have assured their future and ended this speculation which you and other North advocates here are so tired of. Even if there is an element of AFL spin attached to the $100m figure, the League would have ensured the club thrived up there. Yet the administration which rejected the opportunity is still reliant on $1.4m AFL special assistance per year.

Comparing North to clubs in other codes is like comparing apples with oranges. You can keep using ‘my employer’ if you like as some kind of conspiracy angle, but it has no relevance to my opinion.

If you are happy with North’s current direction, that’s fine. Personally, I think they are on the same path as Fitzroy, which by the end lost everyone’s patience. It’s one thing to exist, another to truly compete. Obviously the administration know they have to look at other options, that’s what they are doing. Like other clubs they’re being screwed by Etihad. I don’t see the growth potential in Melbourne – but I do see potential in Ballarat and surrounding districts. So I’d rather see the club be bold and get serious about plans there. A couple practice matches and footy clinics is a waste of time.

Screamer, my FT role has little to do with promoting clubs of other codes – that is their gig, but thanks for taking the time to Google me. I have no more interest in those entities than the 2 AFL clubs residing at M&OP which you forgot to mention.

Not sure how having to promote an extra 80 players to senior ranks doesn’t equate to the standard being weaker… if it’s a weak argument you might need to draw a picture for me.

If you think the comp is hunky dory then good luck to you. I do try and enjoy the game as much as I can but I have grave reservations as well. But I could well be proved wrong, we’ll see. Some pretty sick clubs atm and a lot of uncompetitive games.

Screamer, my job has nothing to do with my comments – just the reality that it is a very saturated market. You neglect to mention my precinct also lists two AFL clubs as tenants. I have and will always be an AFL head!

I do not share Stu’s wish to see any club euthanised. I am frustrated that a scenario that would have alleviated ongoing issues for North and other Melbourne clubs, whilst fulfilling the objective of growing the game, was not enacted.

It would seem the current administration’s platform was always going to win favour at the ballot, but they have only seen the club’s financial situation get worse as they have not been able to deliver a clear direction as to where the club is headed or what North represents.

Equalisation of attendance fees and merchandise and 1.4m per year special assistance packages to clubs in need is fine to a point. But how much is too much? Sooner or later clubs have to stand on their own two feet and come to a business plan that works.

I don’t mind the idea of North becoming the ‘rural’ Melbourne club for want of a better description. Finding a niche is key to success in any business. And I don’t begrudge Ballarat Council wanting to upgrade facilities (though ratepayers might have other priorities). But North need to make it the plan and be serious about it. Or alternatively, make Tassie the plan – and commit to at least 5-6 games a year down there.

MagicalR, the point was more to the AFL giving North a considerable incentive to take a step that would have guaranteed the club’s long term future, the AFL making it a ‘final offer’, and the new administration coming in on the basis they would stand up as North or accept the consequences. Now the AFL are expected to help broker deals for North to play games in Tassie whilst the club also sets up some kind of base in Ballarat.

Now I fully understand the club doing whatever it takes – the reference to sinking ships is that who wants to have on their CV they were in charge when a 130 year old club goes under? Likewise, and this is in North’s favour, who in the AFL wants to play Ross Oakley? So this whole scenario drags on and on with no proper fix.

The difference is the Hawks are playing more games in Tassie so are at least presenting Tasmania as something more permanent. Given North’s history, if I was from Hobart I wouldn’t be too confident of the 2 game per year deal lasting beyond the 3 years.

If North had committed properly to Tassie frst – or now committed to making Ballarat their alternate home – then I would be more understanding of the direction. What’s going on is basically a return to the previous model of a couple games in Canberra / Sydney a year to stave off the liquidators.

If you look at the final years of Fitzroy as an AFL club, all their ground hopping succeeded in doing was delaying the inevitable whilst more supporters lost confidence in the club and interest in going to games. Whereas South Melbourne, amid much heartache, made the tough call. They’re still here 30 years later and will never be allowed to fall over.

Sorry if you think this is downright ugly and lazy journalism. It’s an opinion piece, it’s your right to disagree. And in my opinion North’s current administration made a big mistake and are fumbling the ball as they try and solve the same inherent problems the club faced when it was offered a chance to be a real contender.