Hey, Andrew Demetriou, how does it feel to be a pushover? I know you earn a lot of money, and I think you’re actually entitled to most of it.
And at the risk of starting a code war, I’ll admit that I think the AFL is best-run league in Australia.
The television rights deal you and your buddies cooked up was incredible. Kudos for that one.
And while you’re starting to realise that your expansion projects on the Gold Coast and in Western Sydney are going to be a lot harder than maybe even you had anticipated, you’ve shown some pretty incredible vision to have built two brand new stadiums and two new clubs from scratch.
But you know what? Every time a football club walks all over you, like Carlton did on Friday night, you look ridiculous. And a little bit of your powerful mystique fades away with each avoidable jumper clash.
I’m not going to tell you the reasons why alternate guernseys should be compulsory, because they are so mind-numbingly obvious that it beggars belief some clubs and fans are yet to be convinced of their merits.
You know them anyway, Andrew. Some of those TV suits who gave you upwards of $1 billion probably reminded you. Nearly three out of every four viewers had a problem with Friday night, according to SuperFooty, by the way. Great game though.
And you already know the argument that wearing another design or colour is disrespectful to the heritage of any given club is ridiculous.
You need only two words – Manchester United – to destroy it. Actually, one will suffice – Liverpool. In fact, name almost any other sporting club outside of Australia and you win. You love the Premier League, Andrew, you know this. Branding is everything there.
Regardless, that should no longer be the debate. The AFL obviously thinks they are necessary. Gold star for AFL House. In fact, you’ve been demanding that each club has one for a while now. And they do – Carlton and Collingwood included.
But there is absolutely no point – zero, zip, nada – in having them if they’re not going to be used properly and forced down disobedient throats.
So why are you still wavering like a Deal or No Deal contestant on this issue?
Because every time you do, you spit in the face of a club like North Melbourne, who had to wear powder blue in their own home games just to please the Pies. I still can’t believe that happened.
Or a club like Port Adelaide, who had to abandon nearly a century of their very own tradition just because Collingwood thinks they own both the absence of all colours and the combination of all colours.
Now is a pretty good time to disclose that I’m a Port supporter. And I love our current guernsey. Both of them, actually. But I digress.
How can you decide that a match between Carlton and Collingwood is so significant and important that neither team has to wear something, y’know, different?
That is totally unfair and downright disrespectful to every other club in the league that plays by the rules.
What makes it even dumber is that the Pies used to wear a certain predominantly white design for close to 100 years that would have solved this trivial yet important issue. They have something dead similar to it, actually, stashed away in the Westpac Centre somewhere.
I know they were the home team. And I know you know that the home team, in any game, should always wear whatever they choose to be their home strip. And the away team should wear something that doesn’t clash. It’s pretty simple. And fair play to Eddie’s boys, their current set of jumpers solves all problems.
On Friday night, it was on Carlton to change. They didn’t. Understandable, too – I personally don’t much like that sky blue number they’ve got. Their old white one was much better. Even that Livestrong one was nicer. But they made their bed. It was their turn.
You either failed to ask the question, or the Blues told you to get stuffed when you did – and you let it slide. I’m not sure which is worse.
Still, if it was just so damn important for Carlton to wear navy, then why couldn’t you facilitate some sort of gentlemen’s agreement that would see the Pies wear that mostly white jumper every time they play their most fiercest of rivals. Like they used to. A bit of common sense. Wouldn’t Eddie be happy with that?
No? Okay then. By the way, you really messed up with that ugly grey top Essendon wore on Saturday. Grey doesn’t really stand out too much on the field. Particularly when the other team wears mostly black. I could have told you that.
Look, if Collingwood won’t wear white against Carlton when they’re the home team, and if Carlton won’t wear something that distinguishes them from Collingwood’s black guernsey, then you’ve just got to harden up.
The AFL is supposed to be a properly-run, well-organized, forward-thinking league. And most of the time it is. Except for when it comes to clash jumpers.
So you know what you have to do – send a memo to every club, telling them that if they do not obey your reasonable, sane guidelines to the letter that they will be fined an amount no less than five hundred thousand dollars. And mean it. And then enforce those guidelines with an iron fist.
Please, Andrew, this is 2012. You didn’t get to where you are by folding like a Hills Hoist. Rules for everybody or no rules. Can we just end this stupidity and move on?
mccartney
Guest
News flash for you Vince- this isn't England, it isn't Liverpool, it isn't Manchester United. I couldn't give a fig about what soccer people do overseas. It has no relevance to an AUSTRALIAN competition. The amount of people who say if it "is good enough for Manchester United to change their jumpers then it is good enough for Collingwood etc"...hello sunshine, it is a different sport, different tradition, different attitudes. Are we the little, pandering brother who looks up to the esteemed EPL? Is that what you are saying? That Australian football should copy everything soccer does as it has more money, more followers etc. The fact is the AFL doesn't just want clash jumpers - they want every away team to wear something that is 95% white. That is their end goal. Watch Hawthorn, GWS, Melbourne, Brisbane etc...they all wear horrendous "clash' jumpers which are in extreme poor taste and basically all-white. Forget clashes- think about tasteless and tacky jumpers. That should be your concern...not whether the lights are too bright for your eyes at the MCG.
Brian
Guest
Interesting point. The reason alternative strips were so easily embraced in codes such as soccer was because so many were watching on balck and white TV. What is amazing is that in the days of B&W TV say the 1966 GF no one thought of forcing an alternative strip
Kev
Guest
Yawn. Are we still whining about the merits of clash strips in the 21st century? If you want to whine about a specific design of a clash strip that's one thing but to be petulant and childish about it because you think an alternate jumper diminishes the prestige of your club is rubbish. It's quite simple, home team gets to wear what they want which will usually be their traditional strip and the away team wears an alternate jumper if there's going to be a clash. If there's no chance of a clash then the away team just wears their traditional jumper. I don't know why some people are carrying on like it's so difficult.
Mark Young
Roar Guru
Spot on Brett, hit the nail on the head I can't understand why all the Aussie football competitions don't follow the NFL example of having two strips, one white and the other coloured. Home team wears colours, away white. End of story. Great article Vince! Strongly agree.
BigAl
Guest
HD telecasts involving more diatance/wide angle camera work, which would require greater differentiation between playing strips is a must for the game.
Whack
Guest
Definite colour clash re: Collingwood/Carlton or the game is getting quicker or my eye's are getting dimmer.
Jack Russell
Roar Guru
The problem with grey is that it makes it hard to distinguish from the crowd background. I didn't have a problem identifying each team but I did notice that Essendon players were harder to spot. But that's Essendon's problem, not the AFL's.
swannies05
Roar Pro
Superb article Vince. I was appalled when North had to wear that terrible "powder blue" strip as well, just to appease those bloody Pies. On the Essendon clash jersey I actually think it is a great design and looks really good BUT watching their game on the weekend against the Saints I thought it quite difficult to distinguish the two sides so not too sure if it actually achieves its purpose. I like your idea of the red jersey with black slash, would look good. It beats me how the AFL deems red as a "dark colour" but allows for the grey to be used in their game against the Saints.
sheek
Guest
Vince, I hate this multiple strip idea, plus wearing a "special" jersey to commemorate breast cancer or indigenous people, or whatever. It's not that I'm against charities, or recognising the people who first occupied this land. But let's stop pretending here - the marketeers are treating us for fools, & ripping us off with the idea of charities & 'spreading the love'. It's like sports-bet/tab-bet/whatever-bet. They tell us to bet responsibly. AS IF!!!!! What they want is for us to hand over our money without thinking too clearly about how we would like to lose it. Back in the old days of black & white TV, few people had problems telling the teams apart. But now, even if two teams are wearing blue, one navy & the other sky, that's apparently sufficient reason for one of them to change into some garish, marketeer designed, alternate outfit. What I don't understand, don't understand at all, is why we, the general public, put up with this rubbish..........
Vince Rugari
Expert
A ridiculous rule for mine.
turbodewd
Guest
Clash!? why do people keep saying clash?! Dont they mean blend?! These 2 jerseys blend together. Or they dont contrast. In the NFL the visitors contrast with the home team coz the visitors almost always wear a white jersey, home wears a color jersey. Now the AFL just needs to tweak things so Collingwood and Geelong can be easily distinguished :^)
p.Tah
Guest
What's with the Bombers strip? Looks like a wine bottle label. Like the Cats and the Hawks jumpers
Oracle
Guest
"What makes it even dumber is that the Pies used to wear a certain predominantly white design for close to 100 years that would have solved this trivial yet important issue. They have something dead similar to it, actually, stashed away in the Westpac Centre somewhere." Collingwood's VFL side wears the traditional white with black striped guernsey, and did on Sunday. As for Hawthorn wearing a clash jumper against Carlton, when has the toilet colours ever clashed with dark navy blue???? Melbourne, Essendon and Richmond, WCE, should just reverse their original jumpers in the event of a clash, or is that just too logical? How good was the old Fitzroy guernsey two weeks ago!!!!
damo
Guest
Sorry should say esendon.
damo
Guest
Too many of you are getting caught up in a pissing contest over who can see the jumper better. enough on tradition and matketing. Home teams where what they want, the away team wears a clsh strip. done. Well done vince great article. this crap of arrogant clubs (mainly the victorian 'big 4' lets be honest) getting away with wearing what they want has been going on for too long. collingwood had port wearing their training strip at footy park, then north had to change, and even this year both WA clubs wore away shorts against carlton and freo respectively. ENOUGH. man up and wear a white strip.
Timmuh
Roar Guru
I read somewhere that the AFL has decided red is a "dark colour" and therefore not suitable for a clash with black. Strange ruling if correct. A black sash on red would be perfect in my view.
Wat
Guest
Maybe they should stop being cheap bastards and broadcast in HD?
Vince Rugari
Expert
They've never done it.
JD
Guest
It's an operational matter Vince. The football operations manager is AA so if on a weekly basis there's errors of judgement... Perhaps in this instance Carlton took advantage of the big boss being away to apply pressure and get their way, depends how far in advance clubs are directed what they should wear. Maybe the AFL needs Roland Rocchicelli as a consultant. The rest of your response I 100% agree with.
Macca
Guest
So vince you are saying that you can't tell the difference between an all blue jumper and a black and white striped one but can tell the difference between blue with white stripes and black with white stripes? "Hawthorn clash with nobody, and as I state before, they’re probably the only team who don’t need one but have one anyway for commercial reasons." As I said "avoiding clashes isn't the priority.