I've always been opposed to a merger.

BUT club29's posts on another thread have got me thinking. The landscape has changed dramatically. We need to innovate enough not just to catch up, but to get ahead. There are strongly supported and well-backed clubs in all states now and we just happened to have copped our punishment and bottomed out at *precisely* the wrong time. Add to that our woes with recruitment in the past 10 years, and we could end up in the wilderness for good. We may already be there. We just aren't the massive club we used to be (and that many of us think we still are).

I must say, club29's last few posts have really got me thinking. Merging with North to become the "Northern Blues" is very, very interesting. It might just be the bold, 2015 move akin to Hawthorn's Tassie move, or even South Melbourne's relocation and rebirth in Sydney.

The club would have a clear identity as being the team both for Northern Suburbs of Melbourne (obvious) and then North-West towards Bendigo (capturing what was traditionally Carlton's recruitment zone) and North-East towards Ovens and Murray (which was North's recruitment zone).

Both clubs' colours are blue, however, one could make a strong case for continuing with a Navy uniform, because:
1) To enable the continuity of the uniform traceable back to the equal most successful club in the league's history to date (and a foundation club, which North are not)
2) The Western Bulldogs are already royal blue anyway

You could still have a boxing kangaroo as the "mascot", but that doesn't mean it needs to be on the jumper necessarily (Hawks, Pies, Cats, Tigers and even current kangaroos) don't have pics of the mascot on their uniform. A Navy blue jumper with a newly designed "NB" crest would work.

If we add our membership (45,000) to North's membership... that's 80,000. All of a sudden, we're right on par with the best.

And aren't Docklands' owners wanting to build apartments at one point? And hasn't that pushed talk of a replacement 'boutique Stadium' in Melbourne? We should offer up Princes Park. The united club should be allowed to sell Arden street and pocket the cash (as the Hawks did with Glenferrie) and invest that cash, partly towards a new train station in the Princess Park vicinity (underground?) with a commitment and roadmap from the State Government to building new high speed train lines out to both Bendigo and Ovens/Murray - so every week thousands of regional fans can jump on trains and come down to see *their* team play. Drop the remaining cash into state of the art football operations (recruitment, development...) and into improving the training facilities at Princes Park while the AFL picks up the tab to build new stands (capacity 60-70,000). We'd play all our home games against Interstate clubs (plus the smaller Melbourne clubs) there, and it becomes a fortress for us again.

Thoughts?

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O say does that star spangled banner yet wave.

in the history of bad ideas, this is about the worst i've ever heard.

we don't need to merge.

No.

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"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit"
- Aristotle

I'd prefer we don't, but arrogance is what got us in our position to start with. Do we want to be a modern, competitive, sustainable powerhouse or do we want to be perpetual mid-table wannabe's watching 100 year anniversary's of grand finals won in the 70's and 80's?

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O say does that star spangled banner yet wave.

happy to do it.

can't decide if we should go with the suns and ablett,
or the giants and pretty much their whole team.
I love shortcuts
and this is the ultimate fast track to the 17th.

the carlton giants or the carlton suns?

jumper the same, but possibly trimmed with the other club's colors,
or a giant or a giant sun on the back.

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That’s not a political statement — it’s a harsh reality, and we must act,” she said. “He is a clear and present danger to the things that keep us strong and free. I support impeachment.”

James Brayshaw for president! Blow up the pokies!

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dane's trolling again

two clubs on their knees getting together = a big bucket of shit plus a bigger bucket of shit makes for one enormous bucket of shit.....

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Due to recent budget cuts and the rising cost of electricity, gas, and oil....... the Light at the End of the Tunnel has been turned off. We apologize for the inconvenience.

It's not a short cut. It would take time to build the identity, the brand, and the success. But currently we have no identity, a shit brand and zero success. Maybe we're flogging a dead horse?

But hey, if you would prefer to watch clubs like Hawthorn and Collingwood just get further and further ahead of us while watching week by week snippets of the '95 grand final and entering our longest drought in history.... then knock yourself out.

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O say does that star spangled banner yet wave.

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That’s not a political statement — it’s a harsh reality, and we must act,” she said. “He is a clear and present danger to the things that keep us strong and free. I support impeachment.”

yeah,
I'm only half joking.

I'd like us to be the Tassie team, as long as we get tons of draft picks and other concessions.

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That’s not a political statement — it’s a harsh reality, and we must act,” she said. “He is a clear and present danger to the things that keep us strong and free. I support impeachment.”

Is that the horse you're flogging bluegirl?

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O say does that star spangled banner yet wave.

What's in it for Norf? They get to have a kangaroo as a logo 'somewhere but not on the jumper'. They lose their training base at Arden St. They effectively lose their colors because we have a better history so keep our navy blue, plus Footscray something something. Didn't JE try this in the 80's, albeit in a more direct way?

I don't have an issue with thinking outside the square but this smacks of a Harford, Morrell, Eccles & Bowyer for 22 year old Reiwoldt and their second rounder type trade scenario.

I'd be looking to relocate rather than merge. But I'm biased as my Carlton experience is almost entirely through TV viewing now anyway. Would make no difference to me if we played out of Perth rather than Melbourne. Big brand new stadium about to be built over there. We keep our jumper and just move out of home. Still going to be playing a lot of games in Melbourne but opens up a brand new market with regards to membership and sponsorship.

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The only way for some people to understand is for them to be on the receiving end

Left wing moralists
In self serving denial
They shit me no end

Come on you lot admit it.
You are only talking a merger with North because you want Waite back

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If you allow the Government to change the Laws in an emergency
They will create an Emergency to change the Laws

I absolutely definitely do not want to merge with Norf!
(just read your o.p. properly..sorry!)

besides, it's an awful lot of trouble to go to
just to get Waitey back doncha think?

I'm warming to the merge with Suns idea though.

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That’s not a political statement — it’s a harsh reality, and we must act,” she said. “He is a clear and present danger to the things that keep us strong and free. I support impeachment.”

is this a late april fool joke ,anyway will stuff up and give our picks away for ?

North need to face facts. They are a tiny, non-foundation club that have seen very, very little success. This is a chance for them to become part of a historically successful and powerful club. I agree with you, their identity would need to be preserved a bit more... but I am sure it's possible.

Likewise, we as a club need to face facts too. The horse has bolted and we are miles behind. We will stay there if we don't make a big (read: initially unpopular) move and execute it perfectly. No club has sustained success in the modern era without either the AFL's backing: look at the free kicks Hawthorn and Sydney have received, or without a powerful and influential figurehead at the top (McChins @ Collingwood). You want a flag, you need the AFL's blessing. There are too many clubs in Victoria, and it's unsustainable. At least not if they actually want to taste success at some point, and not just make up the numbers. North (as well as Saints and Bulldogs) are the logical smaller clubs that need to relocate or merge at some point. Are we smart enough (and are we no longer too arrogant) to make a smart move.

And just based on the fact that there's a lot of support for Carlton around Bendigo area... and footy is still very passionately supported in towns and regional areas, us "moving in" to country Victoria might be a great move. We actually already started it in some way, with the NB's in the VFL...

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O say does that star spangled banner yet wave.

All ideas need to looked at.

My order of preference would be

a) remain as Carlton based at Princes Park.
b) Merge with another Melb based team and remain in Melb . The incentives from the AFL would have to be enormous, GC GWS type draft concessions, plus wipe out debt. AFL can pick the board.
c) Relocate as the Navy somethings based in Tassie or somewhere. Personally I would prefer being the third side in WA (probably Northern suburbs). New stadium and Dockers and Eagles memberships are both sold out for the next bazzillion years. Still more money and footy fans left over in WA than Tassie.
d) Relocate and merge with an interstate side.

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I hope Essendon* folds.

Merge with Collingwood and then, to use Sybad's term for us and our term for them, we'd become the filthy shits!

Or merge Collingwood, Essendon* and Carlton and become the flithy shitty scum (pinching Hawthorn's colours?).

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This type of slight is alien in the more cultured part of the world - Walsh. Its up there with mad dogs, Englishmen and the midday sun!

Brisbane Bears+ Fitzroy Lions = Three flags.

Need to stop being so myopic Synners.

Yes, they are in the shit financially now, but it's not because of the merger.

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I hope Essendon* folds.

I'm interested in how the stadium deal in Perth is going to play out. Eagles and Dockers won't have sweetheart stadium deals once this thing is up and running. Maybe there will be a hue and cry to get a third team in Perth to help defray the costs of this stadium.

_________________
The only way for some people to understand is for them to be on the receiving end

Left wing moralists
In self serving denial
They shit me no end