this is bullshit

[Pete]

moving on, any advance on the article last week?

also, would anyone else like the idea of doing a *preseason* match (not not not not not a league match) against sydney at NSO or something like that? i reckon that would be a whole lot of fun, but i just wanted to see if it was just me.

sounds too good to be true!

Bring it on. Mariners return to the true homeland.    verhead:

north sydney would be perfect for me!

spirit is dead boys. spirit is dead.

moving on, any advance on the article last week?

also, would anyone else like the idea of doing a *preseason* match (not not not not not a league match) against sydney at NSO or something like that? i reckon that would be a whole lot of fun, but i just wanted to see if it was just me.

sounds too good to be true!

Bring it on. Mariners return to the true homeland.    verhead:

steady on, we're still a coastie team, we just haven't recreated the maginot line on the northern shores of the hawkesbury.

Then why do you raise their hopes with a teaser pre season game?

 

[dibo]

steady on, we're still a coastie team, we just haven't recreated the maginot line on the northern shores of the hawkesbury.

spirit is dead boys. spirit is dead.

Then why do you raise their hopes with a teaser pre season game?

Because as i said before:

i'd be proposing it mostly to increase interest in us south of the hawkesbury but north of the harbour. there are a lot of fans in the northern districts of sydney, and if there were a stadium at hornsby or even epping i'd propose that it be played there instead of so close to the CBD. sadly christie park doesn't really cut it, but you get what i mean?

it's much more lucrative to get a hold on northern sydney than say... orange. and it's a market we can tap *without* needing to move our base - gosford is easier to get to for many north of the m2 than the SFS is. it's the team that will start at homebush in a couple of years that will pose the problem for us in that regard, so getting a head start on the hearts and minds would be good.

get that? it's the market that is on the doorstep, doesn't require a move, but doesn't necessarily feel attached to us yet. it's waving the carrot and hoping they follow, so to speak.

your previous suggestion:

Neutral areas, like Orange, Canberra, Bathurst etc. gives a more safer ground for the Mariners to promote their game to.

is i fear somewhat pointless - these folks might watch us from afar bt they're not going to come to games week in, week out. that's what we've got to be looking at. they can hop on board *without us needing to move*. we would not cease to be a coastie team, we're just opening our doors and our outlook to the south.

and as for your role reversal question, it's clearly different to be a taking a couple of slivers from a very big pie rather than taking a quarter of a very small pie.

 

[Pete]

And did you read my point about the Northern Sydney area being considered PART of the Sydney Metro area and therefore part of Sydney FC's franchise area?

I consider it risky for the Mariners to start tramping into another HAL club's territory, beating their drum for their own stake.

Your pie analogy doesn't cut the mustard either. A little wrong, does not make a right. It's still wrong and that's the way the FFA would view it if they got representations from Sydney FC.

The areas are part of their operational scope and protects a nearby club (us) from a bigger club (Sydney or Newcastle take your pick) from staging events in our region too. Disputed territories or not, that market is for Frank's boys to explore and I'm betting there is some legal definition in Sydney's franchise agreement that says where they can operate geographically exclusively. TBH, you wouldn't want to be a franchisee without some sort of geographic exclusion zone for other franchisees.

Let's face it. Sydney is such a huge market that there's probably a percentage of fans of all HAL clubs represented there. Our Mariners fans based in Sydney should be aware of the fact that if they wanted to support us they will need to travel to Bluetongue or away games to watch the players live. That's part of the deal so to speak. They support us, if they can get to Bluetongue, great. If not maybe catch us when we play away to Sydney at SFS.

And do you think we need to move? We haven't been filling the stadium at Gosford all the time, and we still have room for improvement -or are you suggesting that a move is inevitable, as the regional market in Central Coast area is unsustainable for a HAL team?

 

[dibo]

And did you read my point about the Northern Sydney area being considered PART of the Sydney Metro area and therefore part of Sydney FC's franchise area?

I consider it risky for the Mariners to start tramping into another HAL club's territory, beating their drum for their own stake.

i covered that with the pie analogy. oh...

Your pie analogy doesn't cut the mustard either. A little wrong, does not make a right. It's still wrong and that's the way the FFA would view it if they got representations from Sydney FC.

The areas are part of their operational scope and protects a nearby club (us) from a bigger club (Sydney or Newcastle take your pick) from staging events in our region too. Disputed territories or not, that market is for Frank's boys to explore and I'm betting there is some legal definition in Sydney's franchise agreement that says where they can operate geographically exclusively. TBH, you wouldn't want to be a franchisee without some sort of geographic exclusion zone for other franchisees.

then why have we not been smacked about for making developmental links with several local associations in sydney? why are there not roadblocks on the bridges, checkpoints on the railway line? the FFA are smart enough to realise that us getting maybe 5k max to come to games from the northern part of sydney (an area that might have 10% of sydney's population) isn't going to in any way threaten sydney's viability.

And do you think we NEED to move? We haven't been filling the stadium at Gosford all the time, and we still have room for improvement -or are you suggesting that a move is inevitable as the regional market in Gosford is unsustainable for a HAL team?

i've been saying all along that i don't think we need to move, and this isn't about *moving* the club. i think i've been pretty clear on that. i'm just saying that encouraging people from the north to come to us is not a bad idea. whether that be by a promo PSC match at NSO or by trials at christie park or cromer they amount to the same thing, just differing in degree.

 

[kevrenor]

....
And did you read my point about the Northern Sydney area being considered PART of the Sydney Metro area and therefore part of Sydney FC's franchise area?

I consider it risky for the Mariners to start tramping into another HAL club's territory, beating their drum for their own stake .....

Err ... but the Mariners have been for over 3 years working hard in northern Sydney, plus Central West and ACT!

The franchise for Sydney FC is for 'Sydney' but it gives no guarantee to the club unless they make the best of it!

BTW - beware of stirrers on here Spud .... no, games in Sydney are not a good idea generally (and I live in Sydney)

Nevertheless a greater % of Mariners members live south of the Hawkesbury than you might imagine ... I've heard figures that I can't back up but without that I can also see lots of faces I know from that area at games at post match functions.

 

[Pete]

Your pie analogy doesn't cut the mustard either. A little wrong, does not make a right. It's still wrong and that's the way the FFA would view it if they got representations from Sydney FC.

The areas are part of their operational scope and protects a nearby club (us) from a bigger club (Sydney or Newcastle take your pick) from staging events in our region too. Disputed territories or not, that market is for Frank's boys to explore and I'm betting there is some legal definition in Sydney's franchise agreement that says where they can operate geographically exclusively. TBH, you wouldn't want to be a franchisee without some sort of geographic exclusion zone for other franchisees.

then why have we not been smacked about for making developmental links with several local associations in sydney? why are there not roadblocks on the bridges, checkpoints on the railway line? the FFA are smart enough to realise that us getting maybe 5k max to come to games from the northern part of sydney (an area that might have 10% of sydney's population) isn't going to in any way threaten sydney's viability.

I don't know why we haven't been taken to task for forging links with Sydney based lower tier clubs and associations other than to suggest that those sorts of business opportunities are not covered by the HAL franchise agreement.

I would suggest also, by staging a pre season game (which is a part of the FFA's HAL program rather than some pre season trial) in Sydney would be provocative to the Sydney FC management.
And that it would be giving the wrong idea to our fans in Sydney -who then may start thinking that if they put up enough pressure to the Mariners club or the FFA that more Mariners games could be played there.

 

[adz]

TBH, you wouldn't want to be a franchisee without some sort of geographic exclusion zone for other franchisees.

That might be okay for a hot dog stand but this is a football club, why can't we have fans in "enemy territory"? Doesn't a little healthy competition produce better services for the customer? I would like to see us going even further than poaching fans from Sydney, and have an interstate membership package... send them the stickers and crap and they get entry to the one or two games in their state every season.

Pre-season games at NSO would be okay too. IMO we have to draw the line on home games away from Bluetongue... pre-season somewhere that doesn't normally get to see A-League football, fine. Grand Final... ummmm.... okay I guess. Regular season games? No way!

 

[striker]

All home games at bluey.

would you be happy to have the home matches CCM v SFC at NSO?

Quit stirring the pot Striker. A lot of us up here are not happy with the notion of moving ANY home game.

I'm not stirring at all.... it's on my wish list for the Mariners to move to NSO so I don't have to travel up the F3..I hate that..... don't get me wrong I like Gosford it's a very pretty town, but I hate to drive up the shitty F3

 

[SNOWMARINER]

Leave Sydney to FC and leave the Mariners exclusively for the coast. I'm glad our management has squashed the rediculous idea of moving a home game for the benifit of people who don't live here.
I don't know why anyone would live in Sydney anyway it a shithole, I know, I move up here 12 years ago and hate even visiting the place.
If anyone does'nt like the drive up the "shitty F3" move here or get over it.

 

[FFC Mariner]

And what about the poor bastards (like moi) who have to use the "shitty F3" in order to get to Sydney to work??

What would you have us do?? Use NSW Labours shitty trains?? Walk?? or just sign on and hang around Mann St all day??

 

[northernspirit]

And what about the poor bastards (like moi) who have to use the "shitty F3" in order to get to Sydney to work??

What would you have us do?? Use NSW Labours shitty trains?? Walk?? or just sign on and hang around Mann St all day??

i second that, i use the F3 all the time for work - pain in the ass but hey work is work...

 

[marinermick]

And what about the poor bastards (like moi) who have to use the "shitty F3" in order to get to Sydney to work??

What would you have us do?? Use NSW Labours shitty trains?? Walk?? or just sign on and hang around Mann St all day??

spare a thought for me

i have to use the F3 going the other way (towards newcastle) three out of every five weeks

 

[FFC Mariner]

At least you can laugh at us poor bastards in the queues heading the other way

 

[marinermick]

At least you can laugh at us poor bastards in the queues heading the other way

think of where i am going

short term laughter for long term pain

 

[FFC Mariner]

Fair point. That drive just to go to scumville.

Do my trick, have the yellow scarf across the back parcel shelf. Drives them mental

 

[marinermick]

Fair point. That drive just to go to scumville.

Do my trick, have the yellow scarf across the back parcel shelf. Drives them mental

thought about it many times but don't want my car keyed or trashed

 

[northernspirit]

ive also got to go that direction a few times a year too - i noticed up there most servos wont let u use their bathroom because theyve had toilets broken or been vandalised too many times, classy joint newcastle

 

[marinermick]

ive also got to go that direction a few times a year too - i noticed up there most servos wont let u use their bathroom because theyve had toilets broken or been vandalised too many times, classy joint newcastle

their servos also won't let you use AMEX

 

[northernspirit]

lol serious? do they take dole cheques?

 

[marinermick]

lol serious? do they take dole cheques?

not serious

less servos take amex