Re-Branding the Bulldogs .. West Melbourne or Footscray not Western

[GlovedLikeGrgic]

Ive not spoken to godwin in over 3 months, ill have to email him bout this thread

 

[SonOfScray]

I think that's what these FNWB people intended to do, Curly, - confuse everyone! That's how they operate. Discombobulate our minds and then go for the jugular. Them's tricky wascals, all of 'em! I'll be keeping my eye on them far more closely in the future.

I'll bet they even have a secret handshake.

or maybe

FNWB, REDS (and white and blue) under the bed.

 

[immortalmike]

I think that's what these FNWB people intended to do, Curly, - confuse everyone! That's how they operate. Discombobulate our minds and then go for the jugular. Them's tricky wascals, all of 'em! I'll be keeping my eye on them far more closely in the future.

I'll bet they even have a secret handshake.

I'm not so sure about the whole FNWB stuff (I think I may have seen a tumbleweed the last time I viewed that website) but my aim in every thread I post is to confuse and discombobulate. It's just my way...

 

[Dazb86]

Liking the two clap idea.

 

[acker]

I think that's what these FNWB people intended to do, Curly, - confuse everyone! That's how they operate. Discombobulate our minds and then go for the jugular. Them's tricky wascals, all of 'em! I'll be keeping my eye on them far more closely in the future.

I'll bet they even have a secret handshake.

I was wondering why although I had a "BF" Chicago mate who I helped demolish a Transexual on the then 2008 US Election thread how come I had an urge to support the Packers instead of the Bears.

You have just reinforced why I like Arron Rodgers and the Cheese Heads over Al Bundy's team of choice.

#justsayin

 

[Chicago1]

I was wondering why although I had a "BF" Chicago mate who I helped demolish a Transexual on the then 2008 US Election thread how come I had an urge to support the Packers instead of the Bears.

You have just reinforced why I like Arron Rodgers and the Cheese Heads over Al Bundy's team of choice.

#justsayin

^Dead.To.Me. Just wait until the Bears put them cheeseheads in their place this weekend!

A transexual in the US 2008 Election thread? Whomever could you mean?


These "Footscray" people are kinda growing on me. Maybe I'll have a rethink...

 

[RedWhite&Blue]

We need to move forward as a club. We need change. If we continue to do what we have done in the past we will continue to get what we got. Sweet FA in relation to success.

So going on that theory we should keep changing our name until we win a flag.
Bring back Footscray and consign the Western Bulldogs experiment to the history books where it belongs.

 

[LondonBulldog]

The name change was to capture the growing Western Suburbs.

Well I think that failed.

Ironically, Footscray is now the mutliculture centre of Melbourne, with Asia, Africa, Indian and many outher cultures living in that specific suburb.

Makes you wonder if they would have associated with a football team named after where they actually live?

For me I dont really care much as to whether we are Footscray or Western.

Dont think it matters that much. Eg: Arsenal is not even a suburb in London it was founded in Woolwich and moved to north london years ago. Some side have two teams: Manchester City, Mancher United, AC Milan, Inter Milan

Whats really in a name? It the in built passion of the supporters that really make the club.

 

[Bulldog Banana]

Sorry if this has already been raised, but I cant be bothered going thru the whole thread..

Both sides of the debate have some good points, but I dont think we can go back to Footscray as much as I would like to.

Getting rid of the 97 guernsey is a step in the right direction, but has anyone bought up the idea of using the name Footscray if we end up having a stand alone VFL side?

Leave the AFL team as the Western Bulldogs, but use the name Footscray for the VFL. Would be good to see the traditional name & guernsey being used against traditional Victorian teams.

Sounds like a good compromise to me.

 

[JJHunter]

So going on that theory we should keep changing our name until we win a flag.
Bring back Footscray and consign the Western Bulldogs experiment to the history books where it belongs.

What would be the financial benefit ? Still waiting on an answer on that one.

You want to change back to right the wrongs of the past I get it.
The name should never have been changed without a vote I get it.

But where is the cost benefit analysis to your proposal of going back to Footscray ? When the club went to Western there was significant analysis done on what the risks were as opposed to possible benefits. That analysis AT THE TIME showed that the possible benefits out weighed the risks. You can argue that result many years later but at the time the benefits outweighed the risk. It you believe there were no benefits it doesnt mean there is no risk in going back.

So lets look at it at the moment.
Do the benefits outweigh the risk of changing back ?

I am yet to see any evidence that a change back would benefit the club financially. I am yet to see that a change back to Footscray would make the club more appealing to enticing players and sponsors to the club.

So please put together a list of financial benefits and don't just keep going on about the name changing all those years ago and why it was done or wasn't.

FACT IS IT WAS DONE !
FACT IS NOW YOU HAVE TO PROVIDE A COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS TO PROVE GOING BACK WOULD BENEFIT THE CLUB FINANCIALLY.

 

[Bodicifer]

I think we should change our name to East Johannesburg, that will make us play better and be more successful.

 

[Zephiisdaman]

Sorry if this has already been raised, but I cant be bothered going thru the whole thread..

Both sides of the debate have some good points, but I dont think we can go back to Footscray as much as I would like to.

Getting rid of the 97 guernsey is a step in the right direction, but has anyone bought up the idea of using the name Footscray if we end up having a stand alone VFL side?

Leave the AFL team as the Western Bulldogs, but use the name Footscray for the VFL. Would be good to see the traditional name & guernsey being used against traditional Victorian teams.

Sounds like a good compromise to me.

I like it Banana, most sensible post about this subject i have seen. If our ressies play standalone in the VFL then it would be kind of cool having a Footscray in the VFL again. Not in the AFL though, sorry to those romantics that would like a Footscray in the AFL.

 

[amnesiac]

What would be the financial benefit ? Still waiting on an answer on that one.

You want to change back to right the wrongs of the past I get it.
The name should never have been changed without a vote I get it.

But where is the cost benefit analysis to your proposal of going back to Footscray ? When the club went to Western there was significant analysis done on what the risks were as opposed to possible benefits. That analysis AT THE TIME showed that the possible benefits out weighed the risks. You can argue that result many years later but at the time the benefits outweighed the risk. It you believe there were no benefits it doesnt mean there is no risk in going back.

So lets look at it at the moment.
Do the benefits outweigh the risk of changing back ?

I am yet to see any evidence that a change back would benefit the club financially. I am yet to see that a change back to Footscray would make the club more appealing to enticing players and sponsors to the club.

So please put together a list of financial benefits and don't just keep going on about the name changing all those years ago and why it was done or wasn't.

FACT IS IT WAS DONE !
FACT IS NOW YOU HAVE TO PROVIDE A COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS TO PROVE GOING BACK WOULD BENEFIT THE CLUB FINANCIALLY.

I do not agree that financial benefit should be at the core of this issue. It's perhaps a sad observation of our club that many constantly harp back to money and survival whenever off-field issues are concerned. I do not mean to single out the poster above.

FNWB as a concept is for the club to embrace its heritage to create a greater sense of identity. To create pride amongst our supporters and in return win loyalty and ravenous support the likes of the bigger Victorian teams. The kind of identity that breeds a culture that expects success, not survival.

More important than the name itself are the underlying reasons for and against changing the name. I can live with us being known as the Western Bulldogs, it's the menatlity against the Footscray name that I find unpalatable.

 

[Igloo]

I like it Banana, most sensible post about this subject i have seen. If our ressies play standalone in the VFL then it would be kind of cool having a Footscray in the VFL again. Not in the AFL though, sorry to those romantics that would like a Footscray in the AFL.

I doubt we will be getting a stand alone VFL team any time soon. Will cost too much for us.

 

[UnCani]

Friggen dreamers. There are many reasons why we wont have a VFL team.

Money is just one of them.

Option 1. is we take over an existing VFL club. VFL clubs wont go for this.We still cant have our name changed after so many years. Will a VFL club allow a full take over by an AFL team. (Add onto this a team with financial issues and one flag in its history and 1 Grand final appearance in last 50 years).

Option 2. is to buy a franchise if one is available. We cant support one AFL team and you want to have your own VFL team?

We will never have enough money to support ourselves while we go and look for 'our blue collar grit under finger nails' selves that some of you want. EXACTLY why any-time this issue is raised it needs to be shut down asap.

We have the highest membership to supporter base in the league. We cant do much more in this regard. We just dont have enough supporters full stop.

With so few of us in numbers what we can do is stop wasting time and energy on anything that does not raise a buck or we wont have a team to support at all.

Go through the posts on this forum. Lets get player x, Lets get our own VFL team, Lets get more assistant coaches, Lets get list mangers. Would love to see a post along the lines of Lets do x and this is how and where the money will come from to pay for it.

 

[WBD11]

Hey guys this is my first post on the forum, I've been a reader for about 6 months now.

I hope the club stays as the bulldogs. I'm 18 now and have supported the club since I was 5 years old just because the logo of the bulldog on the jumper caught my eye as a child and as everyone would know the team begin supporting usually will be the team for the rest of your life.

I think the bulldog is good for the club and needs to stay to attract fans(it attracted me).

Now whether we should be called Western Bulldogs or Footscray Bulldogs, personally I feel we should stay them same. I think we made the decision to change our name 15 or so years ago and we need to stick by it.

 

[Shemp 54]

Hey guys this is my first post on the forum, I've been a reader for about 6 months now.

I hope the club stays as the bulldogs. I'm 18 now and have supported the club since I was 5 years old just because the logo of the bulldog on the jumper caught my eye as a child and as everyone would know the team begin supporting usually will be the team for the rest of your life.

I think the bulldog is good for the club and needs to stay to attract fans(it attracted me).

Now whether we should be called Western Bulldogs or Footscray Bulldogs, personally I feel we should stay them same. I think we made the decision to change our name 15 or so years ago and we need to stick by it.

Welcome to the forum mate! How did you come to follow the Dogs - were you in Adelaide? Just liked the jumper?

 

[NBates]

The name change was to capture the growing Western Suburbs.

Well I think that failed.

Ironically, Footscray is now the mutliculture centre of Melbourne, with Asia, Africa, Indian and many outher cultures living in that specific suburb.

Makes you wonder if they would have associated with a football team named after where they actually live?

For me I dont really care much as to whether we are Footscray or Western.

Dont think it matters that much. Eg: Arsenal is not even a suburb in London it was founded in Woolwich and moved to north london years ago. Some side have two teams: Manchester City, Mancher United, AC Milan, Inter Milan

Whats really in a name? It the in built passion of the supporters that really make the club.

I think the reason it "failed" was not because of the multicultural nature of Footscray. The suburb's always been a first base for new immigrants and it takes several generations for the offspring of these immigrants to embrace the game.

The thing that's "failed" is that the suburbs immediately around Footscray have been invaded by the descendants of north & eastern suburbs families bringing their already established family traditions of following Hawthorn etc etc into the area and the primary schools. I was saddened to walk past Footscray Primary School the other week. They were obviously having a casual wear day and I think I may have seen one Bulldog guernsey, a couple of Hawthorn & Collingwood and a Carlton.

So maybe it hasn't failed at all. "Western" was to broaden the area wider than the Footscray immediate area. I'm a local, so I can only tell you what's going on within Footscray. Maybe someone can say what the uptake of new memberships have been in the outer west (Melton, St Albans, Werribee, Hoppers etc etc).

I was sad when the name was changed originally, but now I don't care and we are still trading as the FFC. Whatever grabs new members is fine by me.

 

[RedWhite&Blue]

What would be the financial benefit ? Still waiting on an answer on that one.

You want to change back to right the wrongs of the past I get it.
The name should never have been changed without a vote I get it.

But where is the cost benefit analysis to your proposal of going back to Footscray ? When the club went to Western there was significant analysis done on what the risks were as opposed to possible benefits. That analysis AT THE TIME showed that the possible benefits out weighed the risks. You can argue that result many years later but at the time the benefits outweighed the risk. It you believe there were no benefits it doesnt mean there is no risk in going back.

So lets look at it at the moment.
Do the benefits outweigh the risk of changing back ?

I am yet to see any evidence that a change back would benefit the club financially. I am yet to see that a change back to Footscray would make the club more appealing to enticing players and sponsors to the club.

So please put together a list of financial benefits and don't just keep going on about the name changing all those years ago and why it was done or wasn't.

FACT IS IT WAS DONE !
FACT IS NOW YOU HAVE TO PROVIDE A COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS TO PROVE GOING BACK WOULD BENEFIT THE CLUB FINANCIALLY.

I am yet to see any evidence that the name changing to Western Bulldogs benefitted the club financially. I can't remember any footballers saying that because we changed our name to Western Bulldogs they would now join the club.
The fact is we now have a bland generic 'franchise' name that has no history, no passion.
You talk of a cost analysis. I can't imagine it making much of a difference at all. Sponsors still get exposure.
What it comes down to is what the supporters want, just like the jumper. We voted and now we're going to get the jumper we want. People that follow football teams identify with tradition and history, they like to tell others that they've followed a team their whole life as their parents did before them. The supporters are the most important factor here because we're going to indoctrinate our kids to follow this team.
I want the name changed back because I don't believe club names should ever be changed and I don't like the new name.
Let the members vote on it.

 

[Eastdog]

Im from the eastern suburbs of melbourne (A supporter who is not actually from the west) and while it would be great to go back to being known as (Footscray Football Club) i think the name Western Bulldogs is one that i have got used to. I think that it has been an overall benefit for us in capturing more support in the western suburbs and that is proven in our membership increases since we changed. Maybe for more members and support we could try and capture some other parts of Melbourne to add on to our main supporter base in the west.

 

[acker]

I like it Banana, most sensible post about this subject i have seen. If our ressies play standalone in the VFL then it would be kind of cool having a Footscray in the VFL again. Not in the AFL though, sorry to those romantics that would like a Footscray in the AFL.

It was only a few years ago the team which branded itself the "Kangaroos" reverted back to North Melbourne.

I think with almost 200 entries in this thread perhaps there is still enough Footscray types like me determined enough to keep pushing this over a long period of time.

 

[Dogs_R_Us]

It was only a few years ago the team which branded itself the "Kangaroos" reverted back to North Melbourne.

I think with almost 200 entries in this thread perhaps there is still enough Footscray types like me determined enough to keep pushing this over a long period of time.

Multiple posts and multiple identities would account for about two thirds maybe, the rest opposed - a lot fewer actually in favour than you might hope.

But keep bumping it every so often, with the same arguments, creates the illusion that there's a "push".

 

[GlovedLikeGrgic]

Multiple posts and multiple identities would account for about two thirds maybe, the rest opposed - a lot fewer actually in favour than you might hope.

But keep bumping it every so often, with the same arguments, creates the illusion that there's a "push".

I dont agree with this at all

 

[WBD11]

Welcome to the forum mate! How did you come to follow the Dogs - were you in Adelaide? Just liked the jumper?

Thanks Shemp 54, to be honest I can't even remember, I just remember always supporting the club which has been hard being in Adelaide considering both Adelaide teams have been successful since their inception, but I'd never swap the dogs for any club they mean too much to me.

 

[JJHunter]

I am yet to see any evidence that the name changing to Western Bulldogs benefitted the club financially. I can't remember any footballers saying that because we changed our name to Western Bulldogs they would now join the club.
The fact is we now have a bland generic 'franchise' name that has no history, no passion.
You talk of a cost analysis. I can't imagine it making much of a difference at all. Sponsors still get exposure.
What it comes down to is what the supporters want, just like the jumper. We voted and now we're going to get the jumper we want. People that follow football teams identify with tradition and history, they like to tell others that they've followed a team their whole life as their parents did before them. The supporters are the most important factor here because we're going to indoctrinate our kids to follow this team.
I want the name changed back because I don't believe club names should ever be changed and I don't like the new name.
Let the members vote on it.

Red white & blue I respect your points - you too amnesiac.. HOWEVER like it or not football clubs are a business these days. So the decision has to be purely based on what will benefit the clubs bottom line. There can be no risk at all of money loss and hence my stance.

Your argument of letting the members vote and just take their word on it does not stand either. If that were the case Id run for prime minister promising scrap all payroll taxes - Id win a stack of votes. Extreme point yes but the point being that what the people want is not always necessarily what is best for a business or organisation. This is why a board is voted in. To make a decision on what is best for the future of the club. They made their choice and we certainly have not gone backwards from a financial viability perspective.

The fact remains unproven that the club would benefit financially from a change hence not worth the risk.