Total Eclipse

How much of the club has to be changed before it ceases to be the same club? Name Colours Owners Coach Players I don't mind people saying 'Woot I am going to follow Man City's proxy club in Melbourne'. That is fair enough. Good luck to them and you. What I don't get is people thinking that the new entitiy will be a continuation of the old entity. The only thing that seems to be continuing is that there is a second club in Melbourne. An anti-Victory, if you like. But the club we all support is winding up, its licence to play A-League football sold for a few million dollars. At the conclusion of the final round of this season, the Heart stops beating. Simple as that afaic.

A few questions to those cheering this news: 1) How would you have reacted had the City mob bought out Sydney FC? Would you be proclaiming it as great news for that club, for the league, etc? Honestly, would you? 2) Does the way the club you support wins matches/trophies (hard work, a bit of luck v spending the most money) affect the way you enjoy the wins? 3) Did the fact that Heart was a battling club in any way endear you to the club and its supporters? 4) How would you feel supporting a business arm of an Emirati group whose wealth has been generated off the back of propping up the US and its petrodollar currency, literally fuelling wars the world over? I'm genuinely curious.

Was it one of MH's wheelie bin? Knowing us, Harry was in there and is now ruled out for a further few weeks. I don't post often but I had to login just now to say that this is top-shelf stuff. Well done.

To put that in perspective, I paid ~$120 IIRC total for five tickets (all three Aus, Eng v Germany, NZ v Slovakia) at the 2010 WC. Kind of comparing apples and oranges, I know, but the amount we are asked to, and do, pay for events (among other things) in this country is ridiculous.

Very good. Very very good. I'll chant that even for somebody like Kewell. He'll need to add plenty to the club and to the team to make up for that handball in the 2010 WC. That's right. That's what I have against him. Not that he played for the other mob. Not that he seems to think his own piss is worth bottling. My beef with him is that he ruined what might be the only WC I ever go to with a pointless handball. Right. In. Front. Of. Me.

Worth noting that Casey Fields is a decent four of five kilometre trek from the Cranbourne line terminus. IIRC the then-ALP state opposition promised to extend the line to Cranbourne East (ie the doorstep of Casey Fields) if elected in 1999 but reneged once in power. I seem to recall reading complaints on this site about how hard it is to get to watch training due to lack of PT at the current training venue. Casey Fields wouldn't be much better. Oh, and I don't know what it is like in summer, but I have played on the main (Aussie Rules) footy oval during the winter, and it is a woeful place to be. No protection from the elements - the wind is yucky to say the least. I think they might have planted trees since I played there years ago but I would suspect they will be a long way off forming a half-decent windbreak. All that said, Cranny itself is a nice place. Get around it.

Massimo grew up in Bundoora so I guess Melbourne Heart is his natural home club in a way. Wonder if his family still lives in the nice pad they had back in the day. Swimming pool and a vineyard - in suburbia. I kid you not. I saw a bit of the Roar last season on account of living up here and Murdocca didn't really impress me, to be honest. I can easily see him being a whipping boy on this forum for too many sideways passes and meaningless possession. Then again he is very active and covers good ground so I can see how he might be of good use to us. More than happy to have him on board.

Did they release a breakdown (comprehensive or otherwise) of the results from last year's survey? I'd be interested to see how many of our members are also members/supporters of AFL clubs, and which clubs have the most support. I agree that the survey was poorly written. Deadset, who did they contract to take care of it? Or was it done in-house? Anyway, thank god this season is over... Sadly the Rooboys have picked up where the Heart left off.

Hello friends, I was brought up on Aussie Rules and do not claim to know a great deal about the round ball game, but it has been growing on me for some time now. This summer I moved into a sharehouse which happened to have Foxtel and soon enough gained an appreciation for the A-League that I hadn't had before. I actually attended the Heart's first ever A-League match (vs CCM, 0-1) but for various reasons never 'got into' the club or the league, which is something I regret. One of the things which drew me in this season was how much more professional Fox Sports' coverage of the game is than the commercial networks' coverage of AFL ever has been. The play-by-play callers know their players and the game, the special comments men (generally) share useful insights into the match in front of them - a stark contrast to the ridiculous hyperbole and empty rhetoric offered by clowns like Hamish McLachlan and Luke Darcy of AFL commentary. Before I knew it, I was programming the IQ to record the Heart match of the weekend if I was out, and even watching matches between other clubs live if I was home at the time. When I found myself heading to a bar to watch our match last weekend (as I have since moved out of the house with Foxtel), I figured it was time to truly get on board and become a member. And so, today, when many other people were figuratively sharing their hearts with those they have committed to, I made my literal and financial commitment to the Heart. I am as happy today as any Valentine's Day I can remember (and amusingly have more money left in my wallet!). I think this is an exciting time for football in this country and am glad to now officially be a part of it. T.E. Note: I actually signed up early this morning, before I had heard the most recent rumours surrounding Lucas Neill's potential move to the club. Although I won't begrudge anybody who signs up on the back of such a recruitment (on the contrary, every extra bum Neill puts on the seats [should he come here] is a happy bonus), I'd just like to make it clear that the timing today was coincidental.