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The majority of supporters just want to watch their club play football in a fun, family friendly environment, and this is ultimately what the club will aim to deliver.

 

 

I find it interesting that the club seems to feel that the MAJORITY​ of active support dont want this either. A handful of dickheads make some trouble in the active bay and now anyone who feels that making atmosphere at football is important are seen as hooligans and trouble makers.

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Thankyou TA for taking the time to attend these meetings and for the detailed report.

It appears that most issues are on the table, which is good. I look forward to seeing how things are resolved.

 

In regards to the active bay. Holding a family GA membership, we like to sit just outside the periphery of the active area and on occasions move down and join in. As the children get older I expect we will get more involved as this is more the type of atmosphere I am familiar with at a football match. As KSK pointed out, most people in the active area are not hooligans and just want to make noise, colour and be, well, active.

It will be up to those in the active area to work out if the active area culture is going to be one that invites participation from all people or if the casual culture is going to work it's way in and look for malice and violence. Having seen/been part of both, I like the idea of the former. Football can be a lot of fun.

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When these nuffies get rid of the active support, I hope the other thousand or so that come to sit around an empty AAMI Park enjoy the sideshow with these fuckers in charge.

Board members read this forum? Cool. Listen closely.

Fuck you. You have short changed this club and now we are a disaster. Not a joke anymore but a legitimate disaster. Why you and your cronie mates bothered with wanting a football club is beyond me. Hope the three years of telling people you own a football club got you the level of satisfaction you craved, because you fucked up and I wouldn't hire you to organise a root in a brothel.

Your employees who basically run the club and things like this "Representative group" are guys I wouldn't hire answering phones for an organisation. No one knows what is required in the Melbourne market and this, this very fact has led to our downfall.

If what I am hearing is correct, see ya. Active supporters who bothered to bend over backwards every single week for this club moreso than the people employed at the fucking club, you dare say are not important.

I'm over this bullshit. Monkeys with no knowledge employed at the club, I just can't fathom why I bother caring and giving everything I do.

I am interested to see what the membership numbers will be next season. April is almost over and haven't heard anything from headquarters about memberships.

Fuck this shit.

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Who ever said that "we should not have an active area at all, and that the team, the club and game itself is more important than an active component" and "rivalry battle b/w actives and ACG... Seized upon as an excuse to behave badly"

Needs a response with a polite kick to the eye socket.

If they are implying that they are distancing themselves from the active supporters and believe that this club could function like ccm and grow into a supporter base like an afl club on game day, then fuck this club honestly.

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Thanks for the info as always Torn, its always good to receive feedback from the board, good or bad. 

 

Could I ask you to clarify a few things at the next meeting? Or perhaps you might already know the answer to these!

 

 When it was put forward that the club could do without an active section, was this taken on as a suggestion to be implemented in the short term, or was this more of a worse case scenario if the current issues between security and actives continues? I ask this as in my mind it raises a few supplementary questions, what would the club like to change about the active area, or anything they actively dislike about it (outside of the interaction with security personnel)? Do they think an active area is an important part of a match day experience (would the experience be poorer for the lack of an active area)? Do the majority of supporters which were mentioned to just want to watch football and enjoy the matchday experience, which certainly includes the majority of the active section I imagine, feel that we add to a day of football? Or is it a needless distraction?

 

Just a bit more information on this would be good, as its sent everyone here into a bit of a tail spin and any clarification would be much appreciated!

 

Given the club has been training at Latrobe for three years now, is there any timeframe for an improvement in this area? We had the spiel that Latrobe wants to improve their facilities, but is there a set in stone time-frame on this? Given you mentioned JA said he wanted to move to a different training location, has somewhere been discussed? Given there isn't a huge amount of time between now and pre-season, surely something would have to be organised fairly smartly?

 

As for re-establishing a club identity, this might be a woeful question, but would they like some input on this? Do they think the current direction has worked, do they need to change direction dramtically, or is it more a matter of re-defining the current vision and that this will be appropriate to keep the club on a good keel?

 

I'm not sure I understand how a club identity would serve to ease tensions around match day issues, could you expand on this?

 

The blog suggestion sounds like a good one, but would it be possible to get a minutes from these meetings? While we all appreciate what you do TA, an official list would be a great addition to this!

 

One last question!

 

Who do the other members of the fan representative group represent? Do they speak for themselves or do they represent a certain sub-group of the club (parents who bring their kids, people who sit in active, people who don't sit in active, new members vs foundation members, etc)? I ask this as some of the stuff discussed seems a touch alarmist for my liking.

 

Any feedback on this would be great, thanks again!

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All those carrying on right now need to stop, take a step back, and carefully re read my post.

The points presented on Active were raised by members of the rep group and from feedback from the surveys.

The reality is that this is what the club is being told by a heap of its supporters.

Is it the clubs fault that active now have a certain reputation amongst its own supporters? I would say in part.

Now is the time for the Active guys to work with the club and for the club to work with active to turn these perceptions around for next season.

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With regards to the Active Supporter Group, in football this is a non negotiable... The club must have a loud and proud voice at each game... Remember this is Football.

I don't think the club should try to favour any majority group because we simply don't have a majority. 6000 member is not a majority its a boarder line joke when you compare to other A-league clubs in particular WSW.

Everyone at the club should know that the Active area is part and parcel of our great game. If there has been issues in the past then by all means these should be a dressed and resolved. The club should have open communication with the Active area and sort out any issue that arises ... Lets look for solutions rather than potential knee jurk reactions...

I believe this issue has come about because the club has failed to clarify with members and supports were the Active area is... I also believe that if we are going to have passionate people come a sign for our club, we should reward them with a specalised membership. If the Active Area is clearly defined I would think the rest is common scenes ... Either you want to be apart of it or not...

The survey (which I participated in) was poorly done questions were obvious and I don't think is gave the club any new information, and if it did ...well that says a lot.

My message to the club is simple ... Worry about the football, give us a team that is really competitive week in week out, be ambitious as a club, and set high standards and you will see this club flourish before your very eyes...

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Thanks for the feedback, TA. Sorry I was unable to attend, I'm unable to do Tuesday evenings due to hockey training. 

 

While I don't think the club is considering removing the active area, it was more of a theme from the survey recently held perhaps? TA can you provide a bit more info in this regard? 

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On one hand i have to say it is great to hear that a lot of points from this forum are being discussed amongst those that run the club. I'm tired of bringing negativity to this forum but a have to say this...It is a mistake on hearts side saying they will focus on the majority of members, those being non active members. Very very stupid way of putting it. People may not like it but an active member has a bigger importance on the team, outcome, atmosphere than a normal member and will always in my eyes be of greater importance in those facets of the clubs success. I openly admit I am not an active member, I pay more for membership, like many others, than an active supporter, but I don't stick my neck out to support the club like they do, travelling to games, singing the whole game etc. To me saying the nonactive supporters is the ones they will ultimately try to please is a slap in the face to the active supporters. In saying that though and while entertaining to watch, running around to the north side to face the rbb, these things just can't happen unfortunately because of the rep it gives the club. But they are things that need to be rectified in the correct manner between Yarraside and MH.

Edited by n i k o
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Thanks for the feedback, TA. Sorry I was unable to attend, I'm unable to do Tuesday evenings due to hockey training. 

 

While I don't think the club is considering removing the active area, it was more of a theme from the survey recently held perhaps? TA can you provide a bit more info in this regard? 

As the capo I think this meeting should take precedence over hockey practice!  :P

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The fact we have people in this rep group who are suggesting to the club that they get rid of the intrinsic right of football supporters to sing and support their club vocally and passionately speaks volumes about how unqualified some of these supporters are in core football knowledge to be sitting on a fan 'representative' council.

 

In theory, I thought this group would be a great idea to put forward excellent suggestions that could improve the club. Not be used as an alleyway to takeaway core elements of it's support.

 

Now that I've read the above, at this moment, I honestly can't take this rep group seriously in anyway shape, or form.

 

Some of the ppl sitting on it must be dead set morons.

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Tommykins .... 

 

I will answer a few of your points ....

 

When it was put forward that the club could do without an active section, was this taken on as a suggestion to be implemented in the short term, or was this more of a worse case scenario if the current issues between security and actives continues? I ask this as in my mind it raises a few supplementary questions, what would the club like to change about the active area, or anything they actively dislike about it (outside of the interaction with security personnel)? Do they think an active area is an important part of a match day experience (would the experience be poorer for the lack of an active area)? Do the majority of supporters which were mentioned to just want to watch football and enjoy the matchday experience, which certainly includes the majority of the active section I imagine, feel that we add to a day of football? Or is it a needless distraction?

 

Just a bit more information on this would be good, as its sent everyone here into a bit of a tail spin and any clarification would be much appreciated!

 

This was something discussed only as feedback from the surveys (and from some members of the rep group). It is a slap in the face to Active and the club that fans feel this way.  The club are yet to indicate how they are going to deal with this.  As I said in a previous post, there obviously needs to be more work done at all levels to improve the situation.

 

Given the club has been training at Latrobe for three years now, is there any timeframe for an improvement in this area? We had the spiel that Latrobe wants to improve their facilities, but is there a set in stone time-frame on this? Given you mentioned JA said he wanted to move to a different training location, has somewhere been discussed? Given there isn't a huge amount of time between now and pre-season, surely something would have to be organised fairly smartly?

 

Latrobe Uni has a vision of creating a regional elite sporting precinct, of which I guess, Heart would be one of the jewels in the crown.  It seems that improvements will rely on Goverment funding.  My opinion is that there is almost zero chance of any funding anytime soon.  Latrobe is in one of the safest Labour Seats in Australia and given the current issues with Budget and with an election on the horizon the Government will be focusing their $$$ on seats that are a bit closer.  Therefore, my view is that if Heart wants improved facilities in the short term, they will need to move some of their operations.  Again, it seems that this is something being considered.   

 

As for re-establishing a club identity, this might be a woeful question, but would they like some input on this? Do they think the current direction has worked, do they need to change direction dramtically, or is it more a matter of re-defining the current vision and that this will be appropriate to keep the club on a good keel?

 

I got the impression they were going to re-visit what has previously been done and then consider in the context of the current climate and the membership surveys.

 

I'm not sure I understand how a club identity would serve to ease tensions around match day issues, could you expand on this?

 

The example put forward was the Hawthorn Football Club (with its focus on family).  If Heart was tagged with a permanent moto (say under the logo) that embraced / espoused a certain philosophy, then any behaviour to the contrary would clearly be against what the club stands for.

 

The blog suggestion sounds like a good one, but would it be possible to get a minutes from these meetings? While we all appreciate what you do TA, an official list would be a great addition to this!

 

It was determined that due to resources and the nature of discussions, that the meetings would not be formally minuted.

 

Who do the other members of the fan representative group represent? Do they speak for themselves or do they represent a certain sub-group of the club (parents who bring their kids, people who sit in active, people who don't sit in active, new members vs foundation members, etc)? I ask this as some of the stuff discussed seems a touch alarmist for my liking

 

The rep group inlcudes members from each category of membership.  The only missing element in my opinion is at the youth level.  In terms of some of the alarmist concerns, I guess these views do exists amongst our supporters, but on reflection, if you consider the events that have generated these opinions, it is understandable.

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Thanks for the feedback, TA. Sorry I was unable to attend, I'm unable to do Tuesday evenings due to hockey training. 

 

While I don't think the club is considering removing the active area, it was more of a theme from the survey recently held perhaps? TA can you provide a bit more info in this regard? 

 

Hi Ando

 

Would have been great to have you there ...  based on the discussions on this forum I was able to talk a little on the reasons behind some of the dramas (ACG, etc) ....

 

The club were non commital about any action at present.  They still have their work cut out fully analysing the surveys / feedback ...

 

As I mentioned previously, I just hope the Active leaders are prepared to procactively work with the club on improving things next season...

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The fact we have people in this rep group who are suggesting to the club that they get rid of the intrinsic right of football supporters to sing and support their club vocally and passionately speaks volumes about how unqualified some of these supporters are in core football knowledge to be sitting on a fan 'representative' council.

 

In theory, I thought this group would be a great idea to put forward excellent suggestions that could improve the club. Not be used as an alleyway to takeaway core elements of it's support.

 

Now that I've read the above, at this moment, I honestly can't take this rep group seriously in anyway shape, or form.

 

Some of the ppl sitting on it must be dead set morons.

 

The point was more that if the Active group cannot function in a manner acceptable to the club and the majority of its supporters (i.e.if there is a continuation of adverse incidents) then some supporters would rather not have an active area. 

 

Most on the rep group like / love what the Active area brings to a game.  I myself, really enjoy it when YS are up and buzzing and I reckon there has been a few occasions where you guys actually got the team over the line .... 

 

just because you are hearing things you do not like, it does not mean that what is said is right or wrong.  What needs to be appreciated is that there are consequences for bad behaviour, including the generation of negative perceptions amongst some fellow supporters.  And yes, the bad behaviour is usually caused by only one or two bad apples, but these trouble makers (who surely are there for themselves more than the club) ultimately tar others with the same brush and that is bad for everyone.

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The fact we have people in this rep group who are suggesting to the club that they get rid of the intrinsic right of football supporters to sing and support their club vocally and passionately speaks volumes about how unqualified some of these supporters are in core football knowledge to be sitting on a fan 'representative' council.

 

In theory, I thought this group would be a great idea to put forward excellent suggestions that could improve the club. Not be used as an alleyway to takeaway core elements of it's support.

 

Now that I've read the above, at this moment, I honestly can't take this rep group seriously in anyway shape, or form.

 

Some of the ppl sitting on it must be dead set morons.

 

The point was more that if the Active group cannot function in a manner acceptable to the club and the majority of its supporters (i.e.if there is a continuation of adverse incidents) then some supporters would rather not have an active area. 

 

Most on the rep group like / love what the Active area brings to a game.  I myself, really enjoy it when YS are up and buzzing and I reckon there has been a few occasions where you guys actually got the team over the line .... 

 

just because you are hearing things you do not like, it does not mean that what is said is right or wrong.  What needs to be appreciated is that there are consequences for bad behaviour, including the generation of negative perceptions amongst some fellow supporters.  And yes, the bad behaviour is usually caused by only one or two bad apples, but these trouble makers (who surely are there for themselves more than the club) ultimately tar others with the same brush and that is bad for everyone.

 

Great post. I'd like to add my thanks for your input too. I guess the thing that jumps out for me is the need for Yarraside as a group of people to feel responisble for 'dealing with their own'(I'm well aware everyone in the active area isn't a 'part' of yarraside something that may need to change). What I mean by that is clearly we have some level headed, intelligent and mature individuals giving up time to organise the yarraside and they do a great job. Some of these particular people should have the ability to help moderate the behaviour of certain 'rogue elements' to bred the correct culture. I would suggest this would mean working closely with security and I fear at this juncture that is not possible. One of the reasons this is not possible is not only the sub dog IQ of the average security guard but also the attitude of some members (and more likely non member derby specials). I think to get the respect deserved for all the great effort put in there needs to be a stop to the victim mentality (ie they want to stop us singing and shut down the terrace talk) and ongoing discussions as to how we can best support the club we all love. I'm sure if we do this then the best possible atmosphere will eventuate.

 

TDLR Active area is great and we love you but we need to get rid of the trouble making flogs.

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^even just mentioning about that the active may be taken down IF there was bad behavior etc. irks me.

the only incident from what I could remember was the away derby on the 2nd of February. Sure the actives can take the blame, but if organisations want to play the blame game then i'll join in and argue about the poor management of victory supporters above us that had increasingly stirred the crowd below them without security doing fuck all to prevent the escalation.

 

I do not recall any other bad behaviour, so if you can think of some after that away derby then fill me in, because these "incidents" that people might add in was largely due to mistreatment from the security who have not been trained to overcome football fans who obtain a different sense of culture compared to afl or rugby. Their treatment could be taken metaphorically such as bashing wasps' hive or kicking a bull ant's nest. but from my understanding from the summary post, the board members do not take these into accounting seriously enough and acquire a pre-determined decision that it was always the fans fault if security steps in. Such "incidents" could turn into a shit storm if they use brute force for such little problems they see in the bay.

 

allow me to add a quote from a journal that I read.

 

Ian Warren and Roy Hay’s; ‘Fencing them in: the A-League, policing and the dilemma of public order’ “Where police use coercive force (e.g. baton charges) against those in the crowd who saw themselves as posing very little, if any, threat to public order there would be corresponding increases in the number of people in the crowd who perceived the police as an illegitimate force.” (2009 p. 5).

 

Edited by Young Polak
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