Whatever happened to supporting your team no matter what?

Randy Not sure what upset you , we were talking about previous clubs . Copper Cronk getting a degree, good for him , plenty of people do it . There was nothing in any comments about rugby league players study commitments.

Really? you're bringing up League teams that folded in the 1920s? the rest were victims of super league consolidation. Cooper Cronk will be studying at Harvard this year, plenty of other League playing getting degrees as well.

Whatever happened to just supporting your club?, The issues at Brisbane stends far worse than just turning up and supporting. We don’t care if we win, lose or draw. We care about our club putting on its best performance and its best players whilst also giving the young hopefuls a chance. We care about out club supporting us and we care about having the right to exercise our freedom of speech considering we are paying their wages. We want effort not championships, we want progression and support not being told to shut up because we are passionate. Some "plastic" fans leave early, it happens in Australia. But the solid 5,000+ fans that the Brisbane Roar have that are there week in and week out shows our commitment to supporting our great club When we don’t get support from the club and that they refuse to hold talks with us, provides how coward they truly are and makes us wonder what we chant for 90 minutes every week. This league is still very junior and small in comparison to every other professional league in Europe but they have true blooded supporters and they fill the seats, they sing what they want and celebrate with great passion. We are building a legacy with this Footballing Nation and if we want to grow, you need fans at the game. Showing a lack of support and refusing to "sort out the big issues" with our Den, is a cowards way of saying we don’t care about the Den. Many supporters at the club have stressed these issues for weeks but being told that they weren’t able to express our opinions and concerns in a manner that would have been professional and polite is an utter disgrace to our game. We don’t want to cause dramas with Brisbane, we looked like the countries joke with unpaid wages previously and when we used strapping tape to hold our numbers on the back of our jerseys. But if you won’t hear us out, we won’t Roar with you! It’s that simply. Without us, there will be no active supporters, there will be minimal atmosphere and if you annoy or piss off enough of us, there will be NO CLUB! Without Fans, Football doesn’t survive and We are all fans of the Beautiful game and to see this is just another hindrance that was not Johnny Warrens wish..

#Kangas I think the AFL had a couple of schools of thought - there were those absolutely determined to apply and economic rationalist approach. However - when the old VFL clubs in Melbourne - of whom the economic rationalists could safely tell you there were way too many - when they learned how to monetize their support (via paid up members) and attendances largely grew despite nationalizing the competition - well, suddenly a re-think was required. The model works - for now. Key point. Times change and even the 'bean counters' can be caught out by predicting the future purely on the past. By the way - poker money wasn't that big a deal, yes some clubs did it better than others. For me though - I meet kids who claim to be soccer fans, and they might watch West Ham at 11pm at night, and that's one of about 5 international soccer sides they 'support', along with NHL, NFL, NBA and NBL, and HAL. Who has monetized their support? The AFL has a benefit in being localized. To me in the Australian market the A-League should focus on localized support - but they've tried that. And the issue around the right fit of stadiums etc seems part of that debate. I tend to agree though with AR - too many 'plastic franchises'; the extension of that is private ownership models - which I don't like and perhaps billionaire owners are not seen as attractive in the Australian market for people budgeting what club membership to buy. I also look at Australia - the NRL is the TV powerhouse of the north - especially Sydney and they have saturation within that market. The AFL likewise in the south - with saturation in Vic and 2 teams each in Perth and Adelaide for effective saturation given that traditional WAFL/SANFL 2nd tiers. That's very strong core markets. The A-League went for dots on the map early days - but the strategy seemed odd. The one time expansion to 3 QLD teams fell in a heap; and running 'regional' sides seemed odd - why? Because Sydney and Northern NSW are the biggest soccer markets - play to your strengths - consolidate your (using a power generation concept) base load before worrying about 'renewables'. The whole strategy so far has flipped and flopped - the initial hoopla around "football but not as you know it" was aimed at who? And the BBL came along and stole the prime time evening slots for live sports outside of the Aust Open tennis.

jb, your last paragraph was on the money. Football is, and has been for a long time, an entertainment industry. Your "Play attractive, exciting ,winning football and fans will turn up..." is pretty close to the mark. I am in in the UK at the moment, so am able to watch A-League usually from about 8.00am, and EPL or Championship from mid-day onwards. The major difference is the lack of attacking play in our game as opposed to what is on view in the UK. To use an old Brazilian proverb, "If you don't shoot, you won't score!". Not familiar with the statistics, but the number of goals scored by deflections, rebounds (off players and woodwork) and incorrectly awarded hand ball offences is, to my mind, quite astounding. This style brings spectators to their feet. Regurgitating it from your opponent's byline back to your centrebacks or goalkeeper does not! Creativity is absent, thanks to trying to play possession football without the sufficiently skilled players, and even that idea did not work for many.

Funny, because if anything I'd say if there's a relationship to the diminishing union membership here it would be those people who just accept authority telling them how it's going to be without any avenues for appeal or communication, but, whatever. And if rain were an issue for wanderers fans the numbers would be lower than they are haha.

The results don't help - twas ever thus. However in WSW's case, the precinct is a huge killer. People are jack of it. I was jack of it after 1 season! It's not home. It's not in the west. Travel is a PITA, and once there, you're in a wasteland; a newsagency, gloria jeans and trustfund joggers arent a patch on parramatta. And the employees of the joint go out of their way to make things miserable/difficult. Kicking people out for sitting in a seat not theirs in an empty stadium. Handing out precinct bans for the littlest thing. Harrassing people at work who complain on social media! The police - mandated - discussing loudly how they are enjoying driving numbers down, as if it's a target. Etc etc. Why go? A club is more than 11 guys on the pitch. It's community, before and after. With that gone, there is far less reason to go. I don't live in Sydney anymore (that's my excuse!) but if I did I'd be questioning my sanity; winning is a bonus; but without the whole package it's not much really. Anecdotally I'm not alone in thinking this way. But everyone I know is still watching the games. I was away for a few weeks up and down the coast and saw more gear than I think I've seen in past years, had just as many chats with strangers wearing caps or shirts, followed as many cars with stickers. Everyone is just waiting for the club we love to come back. I've got my ticket to see babbel's babes first hit out in the new place. After the walk through the square to reminisce, the, only question will be, who will I catch up with and where will we eat before crossing the river?

I still have a crushers jersey Gold Coast seagulls Illawarra Steelers merger with stgeirge West magpies / Balmain tigers merger North Sydney bears

Not to mention terrible traffic with westconnex, light rail etc, it's not a good time to get around in Sydney

Kangas - that's only the tip of the iceberg for league - there's also Annandale, Cumberland, Glebe, University (an oxymoron for a league side!), Adelaide, Gold Coast chargers, Hunder mariners, South Qld Crushers, Western Reds and that's before we even get to mergers and takeovers!

There is not enough defenders now. This is shown by the fact that a 19 years of age has to play a very important position, centre back.

The a league has some major and issues to be resolved. Major issues are ticket pricing, lack of real long term strategy, loss of trust between ffa and fans. I think that the keague could have an amazing long term future if expansion is outlined with clear goals from the ffa. I think the ling term goal has to be relegation/promotion. Maybe 20 years time to get a 10 team bottom and 12 team top division. Here's how it could look. I would move melb city to Dandenong to build their own stadium and engage fans in that growing region. Bring in old south melbourne as they own their stadium and could potentially fill it regularly. Canberra and the gong are a must for next round of expansion. In the long term maybe teams playing out of 10k capacity stadiums like tassie, freo, gold coast, sunshine coast etc. But this won't happen unless the ffa can be creative with their ideas on community engagement and begin to generate a positive image of the league. It is clubs who need to engage their communities but the ffa are responsible for bringing it all together.

Fascinating story AR! We on the football tab love hearing these quirky tales about our indigenous game. Especially in the northern states where AR is a bit of a novelty. Keep the stories coming.

If they're from the West they should support WSW, the only club that represents the area.

We could likewise bring up your humiliation at Kogarah to the Phoenix, or we could just use your reply as a perfect example of my first comment.

Replacing an established club, with a solid supporter base and with a financially stable and committed ownership structure with a team with no name, no supporters, no players and a questionable stadium plan is an interesting business model.

#Nemesis It's a neat point you make there - Footscray had won the GF 2 years earlier and returned in 1956 to the finals after just missing in '55. The home ground was the "Western Oval" in the heart of Footscray. Now - relegated to a training venue and hosting 2nd tier matches. The Western Bulldogs of 2018 just 2 years out from their 2nd only premiership - however, finished 13th in an 22 round 18 team national comp compared to an 18 round 12 team city(+ Geelong) based comp as it was in the 50s. Perth Glory back in '98/99, the NSL was a 28 round 15 team comp - Glory finished 3rd winning 16 but getting knocked out in the Prelim. (the Greek West Adelaide disbanded at the end of the season). Perth Glory in 2017/18, the A-League was a 27 round 10 team comp - Glory finished 8th winning 10 but importantly losing 15. There's interesting tales being told there. I guess the main one is that Perth Glory have not had a 'local derby' unlike the WA AFL sides. So, '98 or '2018, it's all hosting interstaters. For the Dogs in the AFL - in 1956 it was all local derbies and even against Geelong - the Dogs were the location most suited to a drive up and down the highway to the Pivot. Project forward to 2018 and the Dogs home crowds included 2 matches in Ballarat with an average attendance of 6642 (hosting Gold Coast and Port Adelaide). That leaves an average of 29,534 for the other 9 'home games'. The 'below' average (29.5K) home games included hosting West Coast (22.6K), Sydney (28K), Brisbane (20.9K), Melbourne (28.5K) and Geelong (29.5K). At Docklands stadium instead of the heart of Footscray. So - out of those - we can see in 1956 that Footscray v Fitzroy (now Brisbane) drew 26,617; vs Melbourne drew 33,265; vs South Melbourne (now Sydney) only 18,134 and hosting Geelong drew 35,909. Make of that as you will!!! Obviously much has changed 62 years on.

Just in terms of all this “getting a point for missing”... I’ll explain to those bemused by this. Al sports have different scoring. When Australian Football was in its infancy in the 1840s & 50s, it was played on cricket ovals, partly as a means to keep cricketers active and fit in winter. Thus, a big score (through the big sticks) got you 6 points (as in cricket a big shot got you 6 runs). A minor score got you 1. Most early games had only one or two 6-pointers per match. This was due largely to the odd shape of the ball. Nowadays, professional players can kick more accurately, but not always. Basketball has 1, 2 and 3 pointers. Rugby has multiple methods of scoring for 2, 3 and 5 points. Cricket has anything between 1 and 6. Tennis points aggregate from 15, 30 and then to 40. Different scoring for different sports..?? Crazy!!!

“Only in Australia could a state government redevelop a stadium for a rugby franchise that no longer exists and practically price the other tenant out of the venue.” err..yeah..OK…Western Force crowds last year were around the 15,000 mark over 8 games, GRR starts in a couple of months. so the Force is definitely still around!

Trouble is Mike, I getthe impression, particularly at WSW that the club thinks things are good and they are heading in the right direction. Even Babel was espousing the corporate line last week. I did look to see if anyone had their arm up his back and working his lips but there was no sign so I guess that he’s been hypnotized as well. They should try hypnosis on the team, might be more of a laugh at least.