SF33 Posted March 30, 2016 Report Share Posted March 30, 2016 5 hours ago, Alexxxandro said: A nix that's completely out of finals contentions/in dire form/losing players/last game of season... If WSW can't beat them I'd be amazed. I think WSW are the most likely to win both remaining games. It's about time we got over our Perth bogey. To lose this game would just be too predictable and too depressing So my bones tell me we wont lose... Fascinating round it's going to be. Yeah, if we're being realistic, WSW (with everything to play for, against opponents with nothing - besides possibly another contract - to play for) are extremely likely to win both their remaining games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bt50 Posted March 30, 2016 Report Share Posted March 30, 2016 9 minutes ago, SF33 said: Yeah, if we're being realistic, WSW (with everything to play for, against opponents with nothing - besides possibly another contract - to play for) are extremely likely to win both their remaining games. They'll certainly roll CCM, but I wouldn't pencil Wellington in over there. Welly away is still a tricky fixture, hell they couldn't even beat them at Wanderland a month ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SF33 Posted March 30, 2016 Report Share Posted March 30, 2016 1 minute ago, bt50 said: They'll certainly roll CCM, but I wouldn't pencil Wellington in over there. Welly away is still a tricky fixture, hell they couldn't even beat them at Wanderland a month ago. True. You never know. But unless we win both of our away games, we're going to need a lot of luck, which I guess is no different to when we needed even more luck a few weeks ago to be in this position that we currently find ourselves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Posted March 30, 2016 Report Share Posted March 30, 2016 4 minutes ago, bt50 said: They'll certainly roll CCM, but I wouldn't pencil Wellington in over there. Welly away is still a tricky fixture, hell they couldn't even beat them at Wanderland a month ago. I'm hoping for a hurricane and Krishna back to his lethal best Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SF33 Posted March 30, 2016 Report Share Posted March 30, 2016 6 hours ago, bt50 said: Exactly. People get too caught up on AFL concepts with Australian soccer; things like ýoungsters being the future of the club and x days break. The world game is a different beast completely. 5 days break is plenty in football. I look forward to the days of 3 day break and ACL next season It's also interesting with regards to the Premier's Plate v Championship Trophy (or whatever it's called) discussion, re: which do you put more importance on. For me (definitely more of an AFL fan than soccer), they're pretty much even. For some AFL fans, the Premiers Plate means about as much as finishing on top of the ladder in the AFL and winning the minor premiership i.e. nothing. And for people that grew up watching soccer as their #1 sport, I suspect that the Premiers Plate is significantly more important, with the grand final trophy being a nice bonus/consolation prize. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackout Posted March 30, 2016 Report Share Posted March 30, 2016 15 minutes ago, Dylan said: I'm hoping for a hurricane and Krishna back to his lethal best Only now do I realise the aptness of their Super Rugby franchise's name... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisphantomfortress Posted March 30, 2016 Report Share Posted March 30, 2016 2 minutes ago, Blackout said: Only now do I realise the aptness of their Super Rugby franchise's name... My sister is a pilot reckons that the wind in Wellington is the worst in the world. I've been to a few 'canes and abs games there from when I lived over there it's mental in the ground Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bt50 Posted March 30, 2016 Report Share Posted March 30, 2016 19 minutes ago, SF33 said: It's also interesting with regards to the Premier's Plate v Championship Trophy (or whatever it's called) discussion, re: which do you put more importance on. For me (definitely more of an AFL fan than soccer), they're pretty much even. For some AFL fans, the Premiers Plate means about as much as finishing on top of the ladder in the AFL and winning the minor premiership i.e. nothing. And for people that grew up watching soccer as their #1 sport, I suspect that the Premiers Plate is significantly more important, with the grand final trophy being a nice bonus/consolation prize. For mine its probably a 51-49 in favour of the Champions, and that's largely influenced by the Australian culture and media recognition that goes with the toilet seat. I can certainly see both sides of the argument. Part of the reason I want us to win the Plate so much is the guaranteed home games in the finals tbh, but either way the Plate is a trophy not to be sneezed at by any stretch. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jw1739 Posted March 30, 2016 Report Share Posted March 30, 2016 There's no reason why we can't win it from here. There have been predictions of doom and gloom on here for each of the past four matches; we've won them all scoring 10 goals in the process and conceding just one. We're the ladder leaders, if only on goal difference, we have probably the best squad in the league including two current NT players, and certainly in a salary-capped league it will be difficult to assemble one that's better, we have the league's best-ever striker, we are the first club to have three players scoring over 10 league goals, scored more goals than any other A-League club has done in a season, we have a huge goal difference and we're in good form. There are no excuses from here. If we don't win it it simply means we weren't good enough in the sprint to the line. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
belaguttman Posted March 30, 2016 Report Share Posted March 30, 2016 5 hours ago, bumpyknuckles said: More to do with cycling being a low impact sport. I race bikes and while it's definitely the hardest thing I have physically done in my life, if you are fit you can back it up pretty well. I go for a run and I'm on the couch for a week recovering. Add bumps etc. and it takes alot more time to recover. Yeah except those guys also fall off their bikes and get back on and keep racing bandaged up like mummies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
belaguttman Posted March 30, 2016 Report Share Posted March 30, 2016 2 hours ago, bt50 said: They'll certainly roll CCM, but I wouldn't pencil Wellington in over there. Welly away is still a tricky fixture, hell they couldn't even beat them at Wanderland a month ago. That was when WSW didn't have any of their Spanish Armarda, they were completely aimless 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SF33 Posted March 30, 2016 Report Share Posted March 30, 2016 2 hours ago, bt50 said: For mine its probably a 51-49 in favour of the Champions, and that's largely influenced by the Australian culture and media recognition that goes with the toilet seat. I can certainly see both sides of the argument. Part of the reason I want us to win the Plate so much is the guaranteed home games in the finals tbh, but either way the Plate is a trophy not to be sneezed at by any stretch. Yeah, agree with that. The Plate gives us the inside track for a home grand final (almost certainly at AAMI, unless Victory pulls off a miracle and avoids us until then) and how enormous would that be for the growth of the club (even if we ended up losing)? Looking at it long-term, I think it would almost be more beneficial to have a home grand final (given that it is likely that would mean that we also won the Plate) and lose, rather than winning an away grand final, though I'd take either if I had to... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harrison Posted March 30, 2016 Report Share Posted March 30, 2016 My heart lies with the Plate. Given a choice though, I'd have to pick the Championship. Australians value the finals system and I think we'd see more benefits (eg exposure, memberships) if we won the Championship. I'd also like to see a home GF, if for nothing else than to see just how many supporters would turn out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jw1739 Posted March 30, 2016 Report Share Posted March 30, 2016 For me, the Premiership. Guarantees a place in the ACL without any further matches - even second place guarantees an ACL play-off place. And both guarantee a home final. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bt50 Posted March 30, 2016 Report Share Posted March 30, 2016 1 hour ago, SF33 said: Yeah, agree with that. The Plate gives us the inside track for a home grand final (almost certainly at AAMI, unless Victory pulls off a miracle and avoids us until then) and how enormous would that be for the growth of the club (even if we ended up losing)? Looking at it long-term, I think it would almost be more beneficial to have a home grand final (given that it is likely that would mean that we also won the Plate) and lose, rather than winning an away grand final, though I'd take either if I had to... FWIW we will play a home grand final at Etihad regardless of who we play. Semi/Prelim Finals will be at AAMI Park unless we face Victory. Im actually comfortable with the GF at Etihad as it befits the big occassion, imo wed sell it out, it makes financial sense (least important point) and it would be a home final of sorts anyway. I do have a major issue with a semi or a prelim against Victory being there tho. It voids us of any home advantage we had earned and basically gifts it to them. Would be a massive injustice for the sake of a few bucks. They could offset it by giving victory just the three end bays and charging $100 a seat. Surely theres 2000 victory suckers that will fork that out/do an extra drug run on a thursday night. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
belaguttman Posted March 30, 2016 Report Share Posted March 30, 2016 I don't understand the Etihad Grand final idea at all. The reality is that we would be unlikely to sell out AAMI no matter who we played unless it was Victory. Why have a dark lifeless half empty Shitihad Stadium with 15,000 people in it (or even 20,000) when we can have AAMI with atmosphere and sausages? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingofhearts Posted March 30, 2016 Report Share Posted March 30, 2016 (edited) 59 minutes ago, jw1739 said: For me, the Premiership. Guarantees a place in the ACL without any further matches - even second place guarantees an ACL play-off place. And both guarantee a home final. This. The ACL is the pinnacle of football competition in our area, and whilst we should obviously aim to win everything locally first ,then go to asia, the chance to be crowed the king of Asia (for a year lol) is a great opportunity. Also, if we win the premiership and then choke in the finals series at least will still have something to look forward too. Edited March 30, 2016 by kingofhearts Cause i can't spell for shit 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SF33 Posted March 30, 2016 Report Share Posted March 30, 2016 8 minutes ago, bt50 said: FWIW we will play a home grand final at Etihad regardless of who we play. Semi/Prelim Finals will be at AAMI Park unless we face Victory. Im actually comfortable with the GF at Etihad as it befits the big occassion, imo wed sell it out, it makes financial sense (least important point) and it would be a home final of sorts anyway. I do have a major issue with a semi or a prelim against Victory being there tho. It voids us of any home advantage we had earned and basically gifts it to them. Would be a massive injustice for the sake of a few bucks. They could offset it by giving victory just the three end bays and charging $100 a seat. Surely theres 2000 victory suckers that will fork that out/do an extra drug run on a thursday night. Wow...I didn't know that. I just assumed that since Victory played its grand final last year at AAMI and since AAMI is our only home ground and since a hypothetical Melbourne City home grand final would be played on a weekend smack bang in the middle of AFL-season, you'd play the game at AAMI. Plus, I reckon we'd be a chance to sell out AAMI (who really knows?), but I don't reckon we'd be a chance to sell out Etihad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bt50 Posted March 30, 2016 Report Share Posted March 30, 2016 13 minutes ago, SF33 said: Wow...I didn't know that. I just assumed that since Victory played its grand final last year at AAMI and since AAMI is our only home ground and since a hypothetical Melbourne City home grand final would be played on a weekend smack bang in the middle of AFL-season, you'd play the game at AAMI. Plus, I reckon we'd be a chance to sell out AAMI (who really knows?), but I don't reckon we'd be a chance to sell out Etihad. We'd sell out Etihad for a Grand Final i reckon. Or at least get 40,000 if it was appropriately priced. Victorians love a grand Final; we'd probably have half a stadium of First or second gamers but im pretty confident we'd go close to filling it. Hell Brisbane sold out Suncorp for their Grand Finals despite only averaging around 15k, Melburnians are far more open to 'sporting experiences'. Dont forget that youd probably get anywhere from 3-10k travelling fans depending on who we played. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fredinho69 Posted March 30, 2016 Report Share Posted March 30, 2016 (edited) So wait I'm missing something why (if it happens) are we playing the grand final at Etihad? Couldn't care less if the FFA has booked it on that weekend I'd much rather we play it at Aami Edited March 30, 2016 by Fredinho69 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jw1739 Posted March 30, 2016 Report Share Posted March 30, 2016 http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/football/a-league/etihad-stadium-to-get-nod-for-any-melbourne-derby-in-aleague-finals/news-story/c8c6eadeff7bf562d57a4a677636da5d Just re-emphasise - any play-off match against MV - elimination, semi or GF - will be at Etihad, regardless of whether we are the "home" team or not. That's the other main reason I'd rather come first or second in the league - we will have gained entry into the ACL without having any home ground advantage taken away from us by the money-grubbing bastards at FFA in Sydney. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
belaguttman Posted March 30, 2016 Report Share Posted March 30, 2016 24 minutes ago, bt50 said: We'd sell out Etihad for a Grand Final i reckon. Or at least get 40,000 if it was appropriately priced. Victorians love a grand Final; we'd probably have half a stadium of First or second gamers but im pretty confident we'd go close to filling it. Hell Brisbane sold out Suncorp for their Grand Finals despite only averaging around 15k, Melburnians are far more open to 'sporting experiences'. Dont forget that youd probably get anywhere from 3-10k travelling fans depending on who we played. FFA will charge $40 a ticket for an FFA Grand Final, how would we fill the stadium? We won't attract many casuals at that price Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bt50 Posted March 30, 2016 Report Share Posted March 30, 2016 9 minutes ago, belaguttman said: FFA will charge $40 a ticket for an FFA Grand Final, how would we fill the stadium? We won't attract many casuals at that price I strongly disagree. $40 is cheap as chips for a grand final ticket. Tickets to the AFL grand final start at $270 iirc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jw1739 Posted March 30, 2016 Report Share Posted March 30, 2016 As far as I'm concerned, the play-off matches should be a bonus for the season-ticket holders of the clubs involved. I don't really care about anyone else. So if we have hosting rights for any play-off match it should be at our home ground. Similarly all the other clubs hosting such a match. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Embee Posted March 30, 2016 Popular Post Report Share Posted March 30, 2016 Decisions like this shit me to tears to be honest. You can make all the arguments you want about potential crowd numbers and money etc but at the end of the day it's NOT our home ground. If we manage to finish high enough to earn a home Grand Final against our opponents it should be at OUR home ground, playing it anywhere else is marginalizing the fairness of the sport in favour of bringing some extra money. Fuck Etihad, absolute cunt of a staidum. 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wombegongal Posted March 30, 2016 Report Share Posted March 30, 2016 2 hours ago, Embee said: Decisions like this shit me to tears to be honest. You can make all the arguments you want about potential crowd numbers and money etc but at the end of the day it's NOT our home ground. If we manage to finish high enough to earn a home Grand Final against our opponents it should be at OUR home ground, playing it anywhere else is marginalizing the fairness of the sport in favour of bringing some extra money. Fuck Etihad, absolute cunt of a staidum. I apologise in advance but..... right on the money! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JC22 Posted March 30, 2016 Report Share Posted March 30, 2016 4 hours ago, Embee said: Decisions like this shit me to tears to be honest. You can make all the arguments you want about potential crowd numbers and money etc but at the end of the day it's NOT our home ground. If we manage to finish high enough to earn a home Grand Final against our opponents it should be at OUR home ground, playing it anywhere else is marginalizing the fairness of the sport in favour of bringing some extra money. Fuck Etihad, absolute cunt of a staidum. Wholeheartedly agree with this. If any of our 'home' finals games are played at Etihad I'll flip out. Except for Etihad being a shit stadium - it's great in the AFL season if you're a dogs supporter! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bt50 Posted March 30, 2016 Report Share Posted March 30, 2016 11 hours ago, jw1739 said: As far as I'm concerned, the play-off matches should be a bonus for the season-ticket holders of the clubs involved. I don't really care about anyone else. So if we have hosting rights for any play-off match it should be at our home ground. Similarly all the other clubs hosting such a match. I kind of agree with this sentiment as its not really fair to jeopardise your dedicated supporters experience for someone that has contributed nothing, BUT its also a very insular and short sighted way of going about things too. For example, attracting people to a sport is always easiest at big moments : how many extra people have started following the Socceroos since the 2006 World Cup, likewise everyone gets on the League bandwagon during Origin and it leads to a slightly bigger interest in the NRL. People in Melbourne love a BIG sporting moment; a 'where were you when x happened' sporting scenario. Those moments lead to extended interest in the code, which if nurtured can develop into something more permanent. Its unfair to the dedicated fans, but in the commercial world of sport, its the stark reality that you need to get bums on seats and eyes on TV screens in order to make your sport the best it can be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jovan Posted March 30, 2016 Report Share Posted March 30, 2016 Ethihad is a terrible place to play. I can't remember a game I've left their with a pleasant afterthought. Our results there are very poor which also leads to such a bad feeling whenever we are fixtured there. But if we are going to be a top table title contending side season after season we first have to start winning there as most finals will undoubtedly be allocated there. Secondly we as supporters need to embrace it and actually turn up. Couple good wins and a few granny's will fix everything. Bring on shitihad I've been converted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingofhearts Posted March 31, 2016 Report Share Posted March 31, 2016 How about we move to the mcg instead? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jw1739 Posted March 31, 2016 Report Share Posted March 31, 2016 2 hours ago, bt50 said: I kind of agree with this sentiment as its not really fair to jeopardise your dedicated supporters experience for someone that has contributed nothing, BUT its also a very insular and short sighted way of going about things too. For example, attracting people to a sport is always easiest at big moments : how many extra people have started following the Socceroos since the 2006 World Cup, likewise everyone gets on the League bandwagon during Origin and it leads to a slightly bigger interest in the NRL. People in Melbourne love a BIG sporting moment; a 'where were you when x happened' sporting scenario. Those moments lead to extended interest in the code, which if nurtured can develop into something more permanent. Its unfair to the dedicated fans, but in the commercial world of sport, its the stark reality that you need to get bums on seats and eyes on TV screens in order to make your sport the best it can be. I hear what you say, but IMO it's a matter of whether you reward the loyal fans who have already committed to their club, or whether you cater for casuals who might at some stage develop a real interest in the game. IMO there are already enough opportunities for the latter - three regular season derbies plus showpiece events such as Roma/Manchester City/Real Madrid/Liverpool etc. etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hakz7 Posted March 31, 2016 Report Share Posted March 31, 2016 4 hours ago, JC22 said: Wholeheartedly agree with this. If any of our 'home' finals games are played at Etihad I'll flip out. Except for Etihad being a shit stadium - it's great in the AFL season if you're a dogs supporter! I even hate the stadium for AFL too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JC22 Posted March 31, 2016 Report Share Posted March 31, 2016 2 minutes ago, hakz7 said: I even hate the stadium for AFL too. Speaking strictly from the point of view that we play really well there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bt50 Posted March 31, 2016 Report Share Posted March 31, 2016 3 hours ago, jw1739 said: I hear what you say, but IMO it's a matter of whether you reward the loyal fans who have already committed to their club, or whether you cater for casuals who might at some stage develop a real interest in the game. IMO there are already enough opportunities for the latter - three regular season derbies plus showpiece events such as Roma/Manchester City/Real Madrid/Liverpool etc. etc. I appreciate that. It's one of those things that everyone will agree on but to different extents, and depending on your tendency to one end of the scale or the other will generate different answers from different people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KSK_47 Posted March 31, 2016 Report Share Posted March 31, 2016 3 hours ago, jw1739 said: I hear what you say, but IMO it's a matter of whether you reward the loyal fans who have already committed to their club, or whether you cater for casuals who might at some stage develop a real interest in the game. IMO there are already enough opportunities for the latter - Our entire club has been transformed into an opportunity for the latter. It is what it is and we are what we are. Modern football Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SF33 Posted March 31, 2016 Report Share Posted March 31, 2016 I just don't think anyone could really know how many people we'd get to a home grand final (either at Etihad or AAMI) against an opponent other than Victory. It's just my opinion, but I think we'd be as likely to half-fill Etihad as we would be to sell it out and that would be absolutely ridiculous. 30,000+ would be nothing to sneeze at, given where we've come from and I think a) we'd be a decent chance to actually get more supporters at AAMI than at Etihad (does anyone actually prefer games at Etihad, besides people that live at Docklands?); and b ) the atmosphere of a close to packed house at AAMI would shit all over anything we'd get at Etihad (even if we managed 40,000+ there). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loriente Posted March 31, 2016 Report Share Posted March 31, 2016 8 hours ago, kingofhearts said: How about we move to the mcg instead? Why stop there? Flemington Racecourse has a record attendance of 129k! The view and atmosphere will be just as shit and think of the $$$ the FFA could make!!!! 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexxxandro Posted March 31, 2016 Report Share Posted March 31, 2016 (edited) Sorry 23 hours ago, bt50 said: I kind of agree with this sentiment as its not really fair to jeopardise your dedicated supporters experience for someone that has contributed nothing, BUT No fucking "but"s. Sorry for my language but Etihad as a "home" final is wrong for so many reasons it's makes me want to be violent and obscene at the very thought of us playing anyone there let alone Victory. Edited March 31, 2016 by Alexxxandro 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadete Posted March 31, 2016 Report Share Posted March 31, 2016 14 hours ago, loriente said: Why stop there? Flemington Racecourse has a record attendance of 129k! The view and atmosphere will be just as shit and think of the $$$ the FFA could make!!!! They cap Flemington at 100k these days and that includes at least almost 40 percent of the crowd who cannot view the finishing post in a live race. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JC22 Posted March 31, 2016 Report Share Posted March 31, 2016 http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/article/2016/03/30/stats-indicate-melbourne-city-course-league-double Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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