United's dreams crushed by clinical Gamba

Maybe that the Japs know where Adelaide is now, Toyota/Mazda/Honda might look at opening factories down there and helping out the local economy???

after the ACL final, I think we should buy shares in Cassio, Endo, Yasuda and Yamaguchies. Jimbo, Viddi has already got that covered with the money windfall coming from the FIFA world club championships... :D ~~~~~~~~ KB

KB, after the ACL final, I think we should buy shares in Cassio, Endo, Yasuda and Yamaguchies. Are you sure Oikee graduated from ABC? We've sold a heap of lamingtons at the AFL pre-season yard-ale drinking festival and got enough for a tank of diesel and we've loaded up the Coaster with all the gang. I'll pick you up at the Surfers' Pink Pussycat on the way and head off for Bahrain in the morning. Socceroos Oi Oi Oi.

Clever K.B Sure you did not make any money outta the down turn K.B. I had my money out of shares well before the down-turn, as a matter of fact will be putting it all back soon, no rush the market is not going anywhere fast, just had a look 3,750 and sinking, will wait untill after x-mas and then put it back. Must have some spending money for my retirement K.B i have lots of mass-gathering events to go to over the next 30 years. You just save your nickels for the roar, or who's that underdog you been backing lately. :) Cheers.

Norm, hmm I can see your conundrum .. My Broncos source has informed me that Okiee was a graduate of ABC (QLD) learning but I am not saying it was the cause of its inevitable demise. However, his exam results were less than encouraging... Dyslexia and ADHD I think was the problem... :D ~~~~~~~ KB

errr...KB...a certain pre school learning centre group...guaranteed by Kevin 2018...at least until Chrissy..:D

Norm, I have been keeping my eye on the ASX and some years ago I bought a great deal of Amcor Stock only to have hit rock bottom due to tricky Dicky Pratt's price fixing scam that led to my port folio to nose dive .. The same sort of trickery he did with Carlton Grooky Club... with tanking .. These Melburnians (except for our good friend DAVE) really can't be trusted.. But in saying that, I am always looking out for a bargain providing we do not have an AFTL CEO or any involvement from the Melbourne Sport Media involved. As the "Smell the Fear" syndrome interferes with their judgement.. So to sum up these shares you are wanting to sell me need to have ASIC backing before I would even consider looking at it in the screen. I think Pippinu has a number of Swiss Watch shares from the 60's he has tried to lumber off onto me... Luckily I saw thru his scam and bought a whole lot of Seiko (Japanese) shares instead... :D ~~~~~~~~~ KB Pip, you obvously need to read SJ post although the debate as swung out of your favour as always.. Author: Slippery Jim Comment: Pippu, repeating something (as I have said to you before) does not make it any more true, it just makes you appear ridiculously dogmatic. You keep saying, “I can only repeat that over a period of 150 years, the VFA/VFL/AFL have never received a cracker from any government” statement” but the facts say otherwise… Media Release 75/2007 27 September 2007 $5 million boost for SA’s AFL teams “The Federal Government will provide a total of $5 million to Port Adelaide Football Club and the Adelaide Crows to help fund redeveloped training and community facilities at Alberton Oval and AAMI Stadium, the Minister for Finance and Administration and Liberal Senator for South Australia, Senator Nick Minchin, announced today. The Power and the Crows will each receive $2.5 million from the Government to help improve community access to their facilities. The Federal Government grants have been made after due consideration of submissions made by both clubs." $10.5m funding for AFL clubs 17th March 2008, 12:30 WST “Melbourne-based AFL clubs will receive $10.5 million of state government funding to help upgrade their facilities. Premier John Brumby and AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou jointly announced the funding this afternoon at Richmond’s Punt Road headquarters. The Tigers will receive the biggest slice of the pie, a $2.5 million grant to help upgrade Punt Road Oval. The Kangaroos will receive $2 million towards the long-awaited development of a new football department headquarters at Arden Street. September 30th, 2008 THE AFL is lobbying the Federal Government to splash millions of dollars on a $200 million stadium for the new Gold Coast team. Backroom negotiations have taken place alongside similar talks with the State Government and the Gold Coast City Council. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has tentatively supported the exploration of a funding deal, which would be similar to the $14 million provided to build Geelong's Skilled Stadium.” AFL Australian Football League Submission to the Productivity Commission - Inquiry into Broadcasting December 1999 “The AFL receives $450.000 in Federal Government funding via the Australian Sports Commission. Of this amount, $250,000 is directed towards the AFL Australian Institute of Sport Under 16 academy program which is matched dollar for dollar by the AFL. The balance of $200,000 supports the AFL Auskick program for participation in primary schools, coaching, and umpiring development and education and the AFL draft camp which this year was held at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra. The State Government has committed $500,000 in funding and AFL Victoria has committed $200,000. The money is part of the Improving Community Access to VFL Grounds Initiative and will be used to make several improvements to the facilities at Chirnside Oval.” July 20, 2005 “THE AFL reluctantly fell into line with every other major sporting organisation in the country yesterday by agreeing to become compliant with a worldwide anti-doping code. The league had been prepared to forfeit millions of dollars of federal government funding contingent on the league signing up to the World Anti-Doping Agency code, choosing instead to control its own anti-doping code and illicit drugs policy. But it bowed to political and public pressure and a growing number of discontented club presidents, who accused the league of being too lenient on players taking illicit drugs. A clearly annoyed AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou refused to answer questions following yesterday's meeting in Melbourne with Sports Minister Rod Kemp. Representatives of the Australian Sports Commission and the Australian Sports Drug Agency were also present. Mr Demetriou stormed out of the media conference after a brief statement. "I endorse Senator Kemp's comments and, as you would appreciate, we'll consult with all our stakeholders, and I've got nothing further to add," he said. By not signing up to the WADA code, the AFL had faced losing its status as a national sporting organisation, $3million a year in Australian Sports Commission and government funding for development of indigenous programs as well as access to sports science, medicine, performance analysis and strength and conditioning regimes. Senator Kemp said he welcomed the AFL's announcement that it would comply with the WADA code and said federal funding to the AFL would resume.” The evidence is overwhelming, so let's move on from this argument shall we?

Pip - great minds think alike - we were coming to the same conclusion at the same time.

To be fair I have to also say that I have the luxury of living outsode of Melbourne (though I love that city). Whatever the logic, the theory and the debate here about AFL, whatever its triumphs and its failings and its validity or lack thereof as a competition, it is inarguable that a person cannot function socially in Victoria without following that sport. I am sure that if I lived down there, even while not discarding my reservations, I'd be a lot more into it.

Millster I should add - there is no use over-rationalising any support for any sport - it's a cultural thing, and more often than not, there is very little logic attached to it.

Millster of course I'm following what you're saying. It's the reason why the Socceroos will always get massive support (and rightly so). I guess I also use a similar reasoning for not caring too much for things like swimming - where 90% of the world (or more) is basically shut out of it (although that becomes more a question of first world vs 3rd world resourcing).

Oikee I'm in Bris on Monday - we should have a beer :-)

Pip - at least I know you follow football a bit too so you'll know the flip-side of what I'm going on about. While I go on about external references for standards, sometimes in the A-League I wish there weren't :-) Last Friday seeing Sydney V Wellington might have been that touch less dismal and depressing in a code where we didn't know any better than what we get locally...

KB an astute observation as usual. BTW you don't want to buy some shares do you?

Norm, well said (One of our valued CRSL ALL STAR players) I too enjoy my Rugby League, but Okiee is indeed an embarrassment .. But of course he lives in Brisbane.. Thank God I can cross the border into NSW with only a short 5 min drive... :D ~~~~~~~~ KB

Millster putting yourself in the other's shoes? a bit like Friedman putting himself in Keyne's shoes! like walking on a bed of nails! I would never ask so much of you!

Get that up ya, see how you like it. Okiee, Such vulgarity laddie, tho it does have a certain familiarity that I have herd on rare occasions coming out of the small back end of the men's bar at the CRSL from a small number of Bronco beanie wearing sombreros; over hanging their Kingaroy peanut size skulls, with matching footy shorts and thongs.. The time is near Okiee, and when the dust has settled on the Aluminum cup providing there was enough dust stirred up from the Aluminium RL tournament .. Wonderful to see you now wanting to shift camps to the Rugby lads and give the Broncos the flick. Now that Wayne Bennett has departed for greener pastures down to the premier Sydney City (St George)... Hmm I can just see it now the entire Bronco squad behind bars protesting their innocents.. as per usual... :D ~~~~~~~~ KB

I have to always say this but once again I am not fundamentally against league or AFL and in fact I enjoy both games (league a bit more than AFL these days admittedly). But every time this kind of debate comes up I try and put myself in the other sides shoes and I simply cannot come to any other conclusion than one of absolute discomfort were I to support such closed codes. I would always, forever, be asking myself how on earth to know whether what I was watching was of any quality. With the A-League, even though sometimes my conclusion is that sometimes its pretty shit, at least I have a whole heap of external reference points (numerous other leagues spread all over the world, plus international games between genuinely competitive countries) to base a judgement on. To oikee, I actually mean League well and maybe yes in 100 years the mass gathering might mean something. Whether it will or not depends totally on how you manage your code to make it more open and more competitive. The Kangas are a laughing stock now because their games are effectively bullying efforts and like an NRL team taking on an under-12s. But it doesn't have to stay that way. AFL?... I just don't know... at least in League a couple of other countries try to pretend to play the game...

oikee I like my rugby league, but you're becoming an embarrassment. jimbo I've got some shares I want to sell you...

Oikee I accept your last post .......... but then wonder at it's logic regarding relative standings ........... Football until recently received only limited and then normally bad media ...... more recently the media coverage has increased and there are often good things said. With so little media and that media so poor ....... how did football grow, I mean given the mass coverage of RL why / how does football have even in RL heart lands 3 to 4 times the players ........ Now jump forward with Dr Who in his time machine and assume at some stage the media pages will be more evenly shared what will happen then ........can you imagine a Courier mail with more football than RL ......... how will RL prepare for that can RL maintain its current position without the support of the media it is an interesting question you have raised .