DocSherrin wrote:
SurreyBlue wrote:
We belong at the MCG and the AFL with Collo refused to let us go there. They have flowered our membership numbers & dollars up. But you knew that. I don't know why I have to keep spelling it out.
What you keep spelling out is wasted vitriol regarding Princes Park. And you probably need to get your story straight regarding Ian Collins as well - because you're miles off when it comes to Collo.
There's no
one thing that points to our membership numbers not growing at a rate akin to that of other clubs (even though Essendon* only leads our tally by 6,000)...it's many things - whether it be people dropping off after our disastrous decade, not having our home ground, not having the time to attend the football, not willing to part with their hard earned until this team looks as though it's a legitimate contender or Carlton people coming to the realisation that a large percentage of our supporters are simply 'apathetic' supporters and it's difficult turning them into members.
One of the major things is the embedded thoughts in our supporters psyche is that there is always a benefactor with a shit load of money to come to our rescue or the fact that we have always had a contact with cash from the big end of town that will come to the rescue so that we don't need to join up as a member.
You can go back as far as Kenneth Luke, George Harris, Ian Rice, John Elliott etc - then there is the perception of our connections to the political corridors of power Robert Menzies, Malcolm Fraser, no money but again the perception that we have powerful friends in high places that will come to the rescue of the club, and of course more recently Richard Pratt and now the poker machine revenue from the Mathieson family.
This is major reason (in my opinion) why our supporter base which has been researched as amongst the biggest in the AFL has a she'll be right attitude as far as joining up as a member is concerned.
Pointing to the fact we play the majority of our home games at Etihad as a major factor in the low growth of our membership numbers is laughable.