Usain Bolt!

[Pirate Pete]

The publicity about this is huge for the Mariners. I've had loads of texts from England.
Although obviously most of those people knew of the Mariners anyway.
Some have seen them play even.

Even if he does get offered a contract I can't see the FFA chipping in a cent.
I reckon Gallop spent all day on the phones yesterday telling the staff to come up with
a reason that Bolt doesn't qualify as a marquee. Let's face it the FFA don't like us.

 

[marinermick]

Even if he does get offered a contract I can't see the FFA chipping in a cent.
I reckon Gallop spent all day on the phones yesterday telling the staff to come up with
a reason that Bolt doesn't qualify as a marquee. Let's face it the FFA don't like us.

It must be noted that the marquee fund is not FFA money, it is FoxSports money.

Fox would be very supportive of the Bolt move given they would want to increase the dismal ratings of last season.

If they agitate enough the FFA might be left with no chance. Alternatively they may chip in themselves like they did with Garcia.

 

[Pirate Pete]

It must be noted that the marquee fund is not FFA money, it is FoxSports money.

Fox would be very supportive of the Bolt move given they would want to increase the dismal ratings of last season.

If they agitate enough the FFA might be left with no chance. Alternatively they may chip in themselves like they did with Garcia.

Yes I realise the money came from fox, but no doubt the FFA have the say in where it goes.
As you say Fox may want the money to go to Bolt and pressure the FFA.

Funnily enough I posted on here some time ago that Fox or the FFA helped in Garcia's contract.
I was shot down in flames over my post. Then when I looking for proof to back up my statement
I couldn't find the website I read it on. You're the first person I know to mention we were helped
with Garcia's payments.
https://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer...elp-fund-usain-bolt-deal-20180717-p4zry9.html

 

[BrisRecky]

Also might stop Slater murmuring about who is the fastest player in the league, so there's that too

Hahaha,true, also Ned “I’m Lucy’s Brother” Zelic babbled forever about how fast Budgie was
He will lose his fkn mind about Bolt

 

[Ozhammer]

Yes I realise the money came from fox, but no doubt the FFA have the say in where it goes.
As you say Fox may want the money to go to Bolt and pressure the FFA.

Funnily enough I posted on here some time ago that Fox or the FFA helped in Garcia's contract.
I was shot down in flames over my post. Then when I looking for proof to back up my statement
I couldn't find the website I read it on. You're the first person I know to mention we were helped
with Garcia's payments.
https://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer...elp-fund-usain-bolt-deal-20180717-p4zry9.html

I have it on good authority that Fox tipped in only $5k towards the Garcia deal, whoopdefeckindo....

 

[marinermick]

I have it on good authority that Fox tipped in only $5k towards the Garcia deal, whoopdefeckindo....

Funny, I had it on good authority at the time, and from someone no longer at the club, it was $75K.

 

[pjennings]

Let's make a couple of assumptions

1) He passes the trial
2) It is seen that it is a real trial and he can perform at least at the TBT or Appiah level from the beginning. i.e. he can earn a position on merit but potential for improvement would be large.

What difference would he make to our crowds? Would that difference sustain over the season or would it drain away?

My feeling is that it would be a sugar hit if we do not have a competitive team.

 

[bradley]

could we sign him as a "guest player"? give him 6 games to play, boost the crowds and profile of the club?

 

[Insertnamehere]

Let's make a couple of assumptions

1) He passes the trial
2) It is seen that it is a real trial and he can perform at least at the TBT or Appiah level from the beginning. i.e. he can earn a position on merit but potential for improvement would be large.

What difference would he make to our crowds? Would that difference sustain over the season or would it drain away?

My feeling is that it would be a sugar hit if we do not have a competitive team.

I reckon it’ll add 10k for at least a half a season. People will just want to see him run a sub 10 speed and leave people in his dust.

 

[Pirate Pete]

I have it on good authority that Fox tipped in only $5k towards the Garcia deal, whoopdefeckindo....

So not even his plane fare..... as you said whoopdefeckindo

Let's make a couple of assumptions

1) He passes the trial
2) It is seen that it is a real trial and he can perform at least at the TBT or Appiah level from the beginning. i.e. he can earn a position on merit but potential for improvement would be large.

What difference would he make to our crowds? Would that difference sustain over the season or would it drain away?

My feeling is that it would be a sugar hit if we do not have a competitive team.

I agree it will be a sugar hit.
The day after Garcia played his first game I did a BBQ at Bunnings.
I would say 90% of the people I spoke to that day, wearing Mariners gear, didn't go to the game.
"Cos, he'll be there next week too".

As much as I hate to admit it I think it's better if the SFC's and Victory's get marquees so it'll boost our home crowd once in a while.

 

[Insertnamehere]

So many wowza purist fuddy duddies in here. Must love watching the club put out NPL teams year after year.
The club needs to do something big to get us somewhere better. This is waaaay better than anything we can otherwise afford to do. It’s so big at this point in terms of free coverage who cares if bolt doesn’t even trial. It’s boosted our international brand we might be able grab some guys who were 50/50. Should even boost our local sponsorship because the clubs put their neck out to do something unprecedented rather than kicking stones down the street going woe is me.

 

[Insertnamehere]

So not even his plane fare..... as you said whoopdefeckindo


I agree it will be a sugar hit.
The day after Garcia played his first game I did a BBQ at Bunnings.
I would say 90% of the people I spoke to that day, wearing Mariners gear, didn't go to the game.
"Cos, he'll be there next week too".

As much as I hate to admit it I think it's better if the SFC's and Victory's get marquees so it'll boost our home crowd once in a while.

Bolt is a bigger name in sport than Garcia ever was. People will come. It’s just whether they stay.

 

[Woollybutt]

Let's make a couple of assumptions

1) He passes the trial
2) It is seen that it is a real trial and he can perform at least at the TBT or Appiah level from the beginning. i.e. he can earn a position on merit but potential for improvement would be large.

What difference would he make to our crowds? Would that difference sustain over the season or would it drain away?

My feeling is that it would be a sugar hit if we do not have a competitive team.

To be honest, I don't think having a competitive team will be enough to bring fans back at this stage. If we'd gone into the season without the Bolt circus, performed solidly, and finished, say, fourth, we'd all consider that a competitive season and a vast improvement. But so many people who used to take a healthy interest in the club are now so disconnected that few of them would be aware that'd we'd improved into a competitive mid-table team, and even fewer would care. Now let's say we do the same, but Bolt improves rapidly over the course of a six week trial and gets a contract. He's mostly a squad player, but he comes off the bench in some games as an impact sub and scores a couple of goals. The Bolt narrative would be enough to guarantee us coverage in the media and social media, and even the most casual of casual fans would know that the club is on the up. There's no doubt that Bolt would be a sugar hit with minimal legacy for the club or the league (though the whole idea of marquees leaving a concrete legacy is bogus to my mind anyway), but we wouldn't be relying on the sugar hit alone. Mulvey's trying to build a competitive team with a Coast-centred, community-focused culture. Maybe, if everything comes together, the sugar hit could be enough to get people to pay attention to the club long enough to realise that we're on the way up. Of course, that relies on Mulvey getting us to perform well. If the whole team flops then Bolt becomes an albatross.

I'm hoping that, whether or not Bolt gets a contract, we can spin the story to focus on the fact that the Mariners are the club that gives players a chance when everyone else has written them off, whether they be local juniors from East Gosford, future Australian captains commuting from Sydney just to train, teenagers who would be playing NYL at other clubs, NPL players, guys like Gameiro who've been written off because of injury, or Jamaican sprinters who want to prove they can be a professional footballer. It's a good story, and it's at the heart of the club's identity, but it doesn't get discussed as much as it deserves.

 

[Capn Gus Bloodbeard]

On the other hand, how many bums on seats will Bolt bring? If it gets a bunch of casuals in, and a bunch of kids in, then that's the first step into converting them into actual fans, into members.

Could actually be a genius move at building our membership base. Of course we need to back it up with on-field results. And we need a half-proven striker to do that.

 

[adz]

Hoping that rumours of a striker are separate from all this stuff, and we're still moving forward with proven players as well

 

[localpom]

On the other hand, how many bums on seats will Bolt bring? If it gets a bunch of casuals in, and a bunch of kids in, then that's the first step into converting them into actual fans, into members.

Could actually be a genius move at building our membership base. Of course we need to back it up with on-field results. And we need a half-proven striker to do that.

I have teenagers at home who have lost interest over the years in coming to games. Yesterday they were super excited that Bolt may become a Mariner. The trick will be to keep people coming back if they are initially lured or even make it for the first time. We just have to have a team that is at least competitive and hopefully plays good football. We are 3 quality players short at the moment i feel.

 

[Josho Howe]

I definitely think we are moving forward with a striker. Well, l bloody hope we are.

 

[nebakke]

I expect like most of us, I'm a bit split on how I feel about this whole thing - I expect that the 'sugar hit' could last for the entirety of the season, if the team goes alright in general. ADP kept pulling crowds for a while, whether he performed - or even showed up - or not... Heck Luis Garcia had that small corner of red going as well. Don't underestimate how excited people get over name recognition and there's bound to be people out there who will go just to say they've seen him more than once.
Then add in the occasional Bolt fan who might drive up from North Sydney, because they have a wedding and a funeral on the days we play in Sydney, and who really wants to go to Parramatta?
I couldn't even start to guess whether we'd be looking at a 100 person boost or a 10000 person boost, but I expect it would be there and that it would be noticeable... The problem is that our crowds are looking to drop as it stands, so how do we actually know, until next season, what impact he's had - if he comes and is signed?

 

[Capt. Awesome]

While I'm generally positive about the trial of Bolt, I have concerns that I hope the club addresses to make sure Bolt is nothing but a sugar hit.

Firstly we must ensure we still have a competitive team. We still need to sign 2-3 quality players to make sure our core team is competitive. My hope is the Bolt trial is not such a massive distraction that the back room staff fail to actively scout quality signings. People will quickly forget Bolt if our team is on the bottom of the ladder and Bolt will not want to affect his brand by joining a team that is not winning.

Further to this, say Bolt makes it past the trial stage and we get massive crowds, crowds that are not your typical Mariners supporters. Will we have a core product that will continue to attract these supporters? There must be a deep, longer term plan to ensure we don't just get a spike in ticket sales and then everyone leaves as soon as Bolt hangs up the boots. If this doesn't happen there could be more damage than good.

Having said that I'm excited for the upside and the buzz around the club. I just hope the Mariners stay focused on producing a competitive team in the crazy environment Bolt will create.

Hold on!!! This ride could get a little crazy!!!

 

[Josho Howe]

We probably said it last season but even more so this season, we can't afford to mess this up. So so vital that we have a better season. Being last again would be disastrous. Bolt is good off the field for publicity and exposure, on the field yeah.... The squad we've got is still not far above the bottom but a top class striker may see us jump a few spots, that's how vital a striker is l feel.