0 3 e u s is ber 10 octo
NEW FOOTBALL
FAILS The Newcastle Jets survive. Just as Perth and Adelaide did not long ago. Just as Queensland/Brisbane did before that and North Queensland too. Need I bring back the New Zealand Knights? Have I mentioned the Gold Coast yet? Well they had a scare, but it seems so common that it's almost expected these days.
The fact that only Melbourne Victory and Central Coast have managed to stay out of off-field struggles suggests the FFA is really lacking in the area they claimed they would be far better then the NSL. Even Sydney FC, the glamour club has gone through it's fair share of trouble and some would say is still struggling as they fail to draw a crowd above 10,00. Craig Foster recently discussed Newcastles struggles in his blog on The World Game website. The blog entitled "Harness the passion, or else" speaks about how the Jets got into the predicament they did and the
vital role the relationship between club and supporters is. Not in the way most of us in Melbourne have had to deal with, but in the way that most clubs at grassroots operate. A way that sees countless numbers of volunteers around the country giving up their time and money for a club that perhaps only a handful of people know about. If these small clubs are able to be successful, why can't the 10 biggest clubs in the country be just as successful? The following quote is a classic example of how the FFA seem to operate at the moment:
"We need to get away from the argument that a football club’s mere existence is a service to the community with an expectation that the community will reciprocate through attendances. Rather, it is time for every club to prove itself as vital component of the family." The diehard football fans simply want to be apart of the club, not a customer of the club, not a patron of the stadium, not a client of a franchise. Central Coast is one of the leagues smaller clubs, but has been successful off the pitch due to its close ties with the community. Melbourne's success on the pitch has contributed to the clubs offfield success no doubt, but in it's first season the club was amongst the leagues best despite being the countries worst performed team. A major problem with the FFA and the A-League is the people at the top do not seem to care about anything other than filling their accounts with money. Their ad campaigns are a clear case of trying to cash in on something they know little or nothing about, some would even argue they are against it! The FFA needs to start encouraging and maybe even forcing clubs to engage their communities. Get the clubs involved in all levels of the game, give the kids at grassroots clubs a reason to keep playing and supporting the game. Give back to
the parents and families who spend hours on end getting their kids to training and to matches. Give them a reason to love a club and support it, not just a reason to turn up at home matches every couple weeks. Later on in the article Fossie stresses this point: " The secret is to harness the passion of football people, because there is nothing like the feelings this game invokes, and all who truly know football understand how much the community will give. H undreds of hours every week are dedicated by lovers of football to the survival and growth of the game. J ust imagine how much more they would give if they felt as connected to their A-League club as they are to other parts of their football existence."
As has been said many times before, if the A-League and its bosses don't smarten up, the A-League will be nothing more than an expensive version of the NSL. Something that football may never recover from.
...AGAIN!
we are melbourne. An orchestrated campaign for MVFC fans in readiness for the inaugural Melbourne derby on October 8th.
The first Melbourne derby is fast approaching. It’s the first on-field encounter between the two Melbourne entities and the first A-League game ever between two clubs from the same city. This is historic. It’s also a turf war. And let’s face it, the way Heart have handled the ticketing arrangements for this particular fixture has been an active, considered and planned attack on the strength of MVFC’s fans. Their fear has been that their home fixture, backed by their paltry 4000 members will be transformed into a sea of blue accompanied with a wall of MVFC noise. Well this is about making sure that we do exactly that. In the pre-season Heart and those behind the club argued that they will be the club for the “purist”. Wrong. We are the purists. For Heart to suggest that they are the club for the football purist in this city reminds us of when Uruguay arrogantly suggest that
they have a divine right to be at the World Cup ahead of Australia back in 2005. They claim that AAMI Park is their home ground. Wrong. It is our home ground. It was built off the back of MVFC fans. We should never be made to feel like visitors in our own home.
On that Friday night, it’s up to us to remind Heart, the A-League and Australia at large that we are the premier football club in this country. We are Melbourne, not them. To do this, let’s make sure we all do the following on October 8th:
• Make no mistake - this is the most
important game on our calendar. More so than any Grand Final. If you haven’t already got a ticket for this game, get one. The first Melbourne derby won’t happen again.
• If you’re a merchandise wearing person, deck yourself out in navy blue. The true colour of this city, this state.
• When the Heart team is announced
before kick-off, make our presence felt. Boo them as they are called out.
• When OUR team is read out, sing, clap and cheer them. Let’s make sure they know it’s a home game for us.
• As there will only be one designated
active support area; South and North ends need to unite. Join in songs that you perhaps normally wouldn’t. The more fans we have singing in unison – the more we drown out the sound of our opposition and demoralise them.
• If you’re not an active supporter
usually; be one for THIS game. Sing, chant, clap and cheer.
The A-League has been struggling this season. The FFA have taken their eye off the ball and despite their ‘fan-made’ proclamations this season – the fans have been notably absent and relatively silent in comparison to previous seasons. We encourage all MVFC members to bring back all their friends who have drifted these last 2-3 years. We used to average 25-30 thousand per game but now we’re down to 15 thousand.
Let’s get back to the glory days. Despite the FFA abandoning the league and doing everything in their power to go against a "Fan-made" competition (having to use 3 year old footage) it is our duty as fans of the A-League to kick start the competition and get it back to growth, starting with the Derby. With Rugby and AFL over we need to take control of the sports pages before the Ashes start. This has to be fan driven by all of us, we need to be bold, we need to take back the stands and return them to the glory of season 2 and 3. October 8th is a turning point for our team and the A-League, let’s show the FFA what ‘fan-made’ can be all about. Let’s also remind them why we are the greatest fans in this league, this nation.
Regards, Adam ‘Tunna’ Tennenini (BWB), John McGuaran (M7C) & Dave Srhoj (SDC)
03
Fixtures - 2010 / 11 NOVEMBER MENS
The A-League Season So Far
Sat 6, 7:00 PM
Gold Coast United
Docklands, Melbourne
Sun 14, 4:00 PM
Perth Glory FC
ME Bank Stadium, Perth
Thu 18, 7:30 PM
CCM FC
Swan St Stadium, Melbourne
Sat 27, 6:00 PM
Wellington Phoenix FC
Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Sun 7, 2:00 PM
CCM FC
John Cain Memorial Park, Thornbury
Sat 13, 3:00 PM
Perth Glory FC
6PR Stadium, Perth
Sun 28, 5:00 PM
Newcastle Jets FC
Adamstown Oval, Newcastle
Rd1 Rd2 Rd3 Rd4 Rd5 Rd6 Rd7 Rd8 Rd9
Sat 13, 7:00 PM
Sydney FC
Latrobe City Stadium, Morwell
LADDER
Sat 20, 3:00 PM
Canberra United
McKellar Park, Canberra
Fri 26, 3:45 PM
Adelaide United
Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide
YOUTH
3-3 3-3 2-2 0-1 2-0 3-0 0-0 0-0 0-0
vs Sydney vs Brisbane vs North Qld vs Gold Coast vs Central Coast vs Brisbane vs Wellington vs North Qld vs Newcastle
Away Home Home Away Away Home Home Away Away
12106 20358 13318 3624 6829 13792 11513 4922 8652
Broxham, Dugandzic, Celeski Muscat x2 Kruse Pondeljak, Ricardinho, Brebner
WOMEN
DECEMBER MENS Fri 3, 8:00 PM
Brisbane Roar FC
Swan St Stadium, Melbourne
Sat 11, 7:00 PM
Melbourne Heart FC
Swan St Stadium, Melbourne
Sat 18, 7:00 PM
Perth Glory FC
Swan St Stadium, Melbourne
Mon 27, 6:00 PM
Newcastle Jets FC
Swan St Stadium, Melbourne
Fri 31, 6:00 PM
CCM FC
Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford
Fri 3, 5:15 PM
AIS
John Cain Memorial Park, Thornbury
Sun 12, 2:00 PM
Adelaide United FC
John Cain Memorial Park, Thornbury
Sun 19, 2:00 PM
CCM FC
John Cain Memorial Park, Thornbury
Sat 4, 3:00 PM
Brisbane Roar
Swan St Stadium, Melbourne
Sat 18, 4:15 PM
Perth Glory
Swan St Stadium, Melbourne
YOUTH
TEAM
P
W D L
F
A
GD PTS
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Adelaide United FC Brisbane Roar FC Central Coast Mariners FC Gold Coast United Melbourne Victory FC Wellington Phoenix FC Perth Glory FC Melbourne Heart FC Newcastle Jets FC North Queensland Fury Sydney FC
9 8 8 8 9 9 9 8 8 9 9
6 4 4 3 2 3 3 2 1 1 0
17 9 9 9 9 12 11 8 4 13 10
9 5 6 6 9 13 13 13 5 16 16
8 4 3 3 0 -1 -2 -5 -1 -3 -6
3 3 3 4 5 2 2 2 4 4 4
0 1 1 1 2 4 4 4 3 4 5
21 15 15 13 11 11 11 8 7 7 4
WOMEN
05