WANM media release 19th November 2008

[gokangas]

Latest WANM media release.


Media Release
19th November 2007


WANM SAYS IT’S TIME TO ASK THE MEMBERS


Chairman of We Are North Melbourne, David Wheaton, has called on both the AFL and the North Melbourne Football Club to announce just how they are to ensure the NMFC members have their say on their club’s future.

“We are becoming more and more concerned as each day passes that the club will not deliver on its assurance that the members will have a say in this critical decision,” David said. “So far we have not seen or heard any evidence on how this process will happen and we are getting very worried.”

“We are hoping that the club will keep to what the CEO, Rick Aylett, has said publicly. That is that the members will have a say in this decision and that the members will be given full details of the AFL’s proposal. So far we have seen neither. This can’t be done through media polls so how will it happen? We need full disclosure of the AFL’s offer and the stay in Melbourne proposal.”

“The club members demand that the club tells us now how we are to be heard and our views delivered to the board. We are hoping the words of the NMFC CEO are not just rhetoric. The AFL CEO also called for the NMFC members to be part of the decision making process so what is happening? Surely the club must have plans in place now given the short amount of time left before decision day. We need to know now as time is marching by quickly and it will be too late in less than two weeks.”

“Member contact with WANM all points to supporting James Brayshaw’s plan to keep the NMFC in Melbourne,” David said. “At last we have hope of a secure future and a vision that has Arden Street as our permanent home.”

“WANM would also like to express our disappointment that the AFL CEO, Andrew Demetriou, is unable to meet with WANM, citing he was too busy. The AFL has suggested a meeting with another AFL manager may be arranged. While we understand that Andrew Demetriou is a busy man it is disappointing that as the future of the NMFC teeters on the edge he did not consider WANM important enough to meet with him.”

WANM calls on all NMFC supporters, family, friends and the supporters of other clubs who have offered support, to buy their membership now. The North Melbourne membership line is 1300 36 32 31.

 

[The Teflon Dean]

Ask the members? Hell, I'll speak for all > 22,000 of them.

HELL NO, WE WON'T GO!

Jobs done.

 

[gokangas]

Ask the members? Hell, I'll speak for all > 22,000 of them.

HELL NO, WE WON'T GO!

Jobs done.

Thanks TD - saved us a fortune.

 

[Manbearpig]

Top work once again GK and Davo.

Surprised AD didn't offer up Adrian Anderson. He's been absent through all of this.

 

[Lidge]

Top work once again GK and Davo.

Surprised AD didn't offer up Adrian Anderson. He's been absent through all of this.

Smart move by AA (for a change).

When we stick it to the greedy & arrogant AFL pigs - Vlad and his underlings will be on the nose and should be given the khyber pass.

And AA (shudder the thought) would probably consider himself a good thing for a promotion.

 

[gokangas]

Smart move by AA (for a change).

When we stick it to the greedy & arrogant AFL pigs - Vlad and his underlings will be on the nose and should be given the khyber pass.

And AA (shudder the thought) would probably consider himself a good thing for a promotion.

I suspect our friend who moved to Soccer Australia may have done so to groom himself for that position.

 

[Manbearpig]

I suspect our friend who moved to Soccer Australia may have done so to groom himself for that position.

Wish I could be excited about a former North Melbourne player being the CEO of the AFL.

 

[Gabbie]

Smart move by AA (for a change).

When we stick it to the greedy & arrogant AFL pigs - Vlad and his underlings will be on the nose and should be given the khyber pass.

And AA (shudder the thought) would probably consider himself a good thing for a promotion.

I'd even pay for Vlad and underlings to take a one way trip to the Khyber Pass - even if they had a return ticket there's a real good chance they'd be coming home in a box.

 

[JD-Roo]

<<EDIT>>

Useless post as it was all just said earlier.

 

[Twinkletoes]

Top work once again GK and Davo.

Surprised AD didn't offer up Adrian Anderson. He's been absent through all of this.

I think I heard last week that AA has been doing some Post Grad study at Harvard, over the Post Season......seriously. Hence Gillon McG's greater media presence apparently.

T'toes

 

[Hearts to hearts]

The AFL has suggested a meeting with another AFL manager may be arranged.

Give Gillon a slap from me.

Good release again, hit the right notes.

 

[theduckfan]

Ask the members? Hell, I'll speak for all > 22,000 of them.

HELL NO, WE WON'T GO!

Jobs done.

Thanks TTD.

Dave Pass that on.

 

[pharro]

Ask the members? Hell, I'll speak for all > 22,000 of them.

HELL NO, WE WON'T GO!

Jobs done.

Does it concern anyone else that the people with most to gain by relocation, for instance one AFL CEO, are the ones calling upon the club to allow the members to have a say? Is this an instance of them realising they have lost the Shareholder vote and they want to go to the third umpire? And do they know something we don't know about a member vote on this?

Let me put this another way... a member vote may take 4 months. In that time, we will be completely stuffed.

How much do we really want to vote?

 

[Manbearpig]

Does it concern anyone else that the people with most to gain by relocation, for instance one AFL CEO, are the ones calling upon the club to allow the members to have a say? Is this an instance of them realising they have lost the Shareholder vote and they want to go to the third umpire? And do they know something we don't know about a member vote on this?

Let me put this another way... a member vote may take 4 months. In that time, we will be completely stuffed.

How much do we really want to vote?

Excellent point. I hope it doesn't need to go to this. Surely the pro-Melbourners know that the members support them.

The AFL may be hanging their hats on the 37% who said they'd still be members and say half of the 45% extra who are undecided on being financial with a GC team.

 

[Mr Reliable]

I think I heard last week that AA has been doing some Post Grad study at Harvard, over the Post Season......seriously. Hence Gillon McG's greater media presence apparently.

T'toes

When he gets back he'll find the only job he's got left are "the laws of the game committee" and dishing out pens and paper clips to the rest of the staff from the AFL stationery cabinet.

 

[pharro]

Excellent point. I hope it doesn't need to go to this. Surely the pro-Melbourners know that the members support them.

The AFL may be hanging their hats on the 37% who said they'd still be members and say half of the 45% extra who are undecided on being financial with a GC team.

They must be backing themselves in that their $100 million lie will have lured most of the 45% to the dark side.

 

[Manbearpig]

The thinking with the questionnaire results though would be that those people who said that they would be financial, actually support relocation.

I'm sure there are people who don't want the club to move, but if they do, will still buy a membership... for the 6 games that team will play down here.

You'd also have to think that most of the unsure group are against relocation, but maybe will buy a membership.

 

[Sandgroper35]

The AFL may be hanging their hats on the 37% who said they'd still be members and say half of the 45% extra who are undecided on being financial with a GC team.

Surely they aren't that stupid? It would be just like Fitzroy and South Melbourne. After a while, even those people would realise that it is no longer their club.

 

[Kangalicious]

Excellent point. I hope it doesn't need to go to this. Surely the pro-Melbourners know that the members support them.

The AFL may be hanging their hats on the 37% who said they'd still be members and say half of the 45% extra who are undecided on being financial with a GC team.

And the fact that they have been relentlessly marketing this puppy all year, and that they have some highly influential journos in their pocket.

It would be foolish to make assumptions about which way the popular vote will go.

It would also be foolish to assume that the process they put in place won't be geared to a particular outcome. I have to say I have very real concerns about this.

 

[Manbearpig]

And the fact that they have been relentlessly marketing this puppy all year, and that they have some highly influential journos in their pocket.

It would be foolish to make assumptions about which way the popular vote will go.

It would also be foolish to assume that the process they put in place won't be geared to a particular outcome. I have to say I have very real concerns about this.

Have confidence that if it gets to a vote, and I doubt it will, the question will be clearly relocate with the AFL's $50M package or take JB's sound financial model for long term survival.

Why move when we can survive here?

 

[pharro]

Have confidence that if it gets to a vote, and I doubt it will, the question will be clearly relocate with the AFL's $50M package or take JB's sound financial model for long term survival.

Why move when we can survive here?

It's the old referendum question isn't it? Remember how little Johnny screwed that turkey?

So we could have the question be... Would you prefer to take the $100 million AFL package to ensure the Kangaroos' future and success or would you prefer to risk the club on an untested plan?

 

[Hearts to hearts]

Does it concern anyone else that the people with most to gain by relocation, for instance one AFL CEO, are the ones calling upon the club to allow the members to have a say? Is this an instance of them realising they have lost the Shareholder vote and they want to go to the third umpire? And do they know something we don't know about a member vote on this?

Let me put this another way... a member vote may take 4 months. In that time, we will be completely stuffed.

How much do we really want to vote?

Under the club's constitution, the board have the vote (and the shareholders have the power). Members have no say. The only way members could get a vote that would actually have any authority would be for the entire club structure to be changed. The decision will not be put off while that is done - no-one wants that - so all round the "member vote" is only a PR exercise. Still one we want to win, but not the clincher. Especially as you'd have to say for fairness that member votes on relocation would have the same 75% bar that was set for merger votes.

All we can do is keep pressing urgently for them to come up with a reasonable process and timeframe, and keep up the multi-pronged attack to make sure public (and member) opinion is well-informed.

My only real worry is the AFL convincing shareholders to sell to them and taking it out of everyone's hands, but it's hard to see how that would fit their new good guy positioning.

 

[trevagreene]

Have confidence that if it gets to a vote, and I doubt it will, the question will be clearly relocate with the AFL's $50M package or take JB's sound financial model for long term survival.

Why move when we can survive here?

And thats the message which needs to be repeated constantly.
for those few north supporters that say we should move otherwise we'll die here need to have this drummed into their thick heads.

 

[Hearts to hearts]

It's the old referendum question isn't it? Remember how little Johnny screwed that turkey?

So we could have the question be... Would you prefer to take the $100 million AFL package to ensure the Kangaroos' future and success or would you prefer to risk the club on an untested plan?

So there'd be two surveys? One by the club and one by the AFL? All a bit silly.

How about they make the right noises about consultation, the board decides after consulting with shareholders that the Melbourne option makes as much sense and is far less risky as well as keeping most members happy, they announce that in the afternoon of 29 November and we all meet at the PoW for as great night, with JB and Arch appearing to general acclaim, topped off by drunken 1000-strong singing of "hearts to hearts and hands to hands" through the streets?

 

[Hearts to hearts]

Oh, and then in early 2008 the shareholders join in the party by voluntarily and freely handing over control of ythe club to the members. Hoorah. Fade out. Go home happy.