The Footy Show- 31 Aug 08

[Hamm.0]

The Footy Show last night is a good talking point, should nearly have it's own thread.

So, in a nutshell, this is what I took from last night's show;

Andrew Voss is semi-retarded. Still can't understand the bigger picture, which is kinda strange, because at least the other hosts can claim, they are just ex-footballers with no business sense...what's his excuse?

Like I have said all week, the NRL IS increasing the salary cap

Like I presumed, Gallop doesn't believe that Perth (or lolz @ the thought, Adelaide) would be viable for at least 10 years. IMO, Adelaide will never be viable for RL.

Gallop is entertaining the idea of a 2nd Brisbane team. To this I am vehemently opposed. The strength of QLD RL is the fact that the 3 teams we have, all have their own geographical base. This is also the weakness of Sydney clubs. To me, repeating that mistake in Brisbane, just proves people don't learn from error.

The NRL is looking after the best interests of the game

Lastly, those weak ***** at 9 actually couldn't just let it go, and gave vomit-head Gould a 30 second pre-recorded rant. Weak *****. I would get a hard on to see this man actually be put into a debate with Gallop. A proper debate, in which he would be called to order when he spoke out of turn. The guy knows RL. That is it. He doesn't know business. The shame isn't that he is a dickhead, the shame is he doesn't KNOW he's a dickhead. In his pre-recorded speech (have I mentioned is weak, because no one can challenge it) he still lost the plot and jumped from SBW departure to increasing the salary cap (which would destroy NRL) to crying about the Super League War (13 years ago) to the Video Ref!!!!!!! LOLZ. How anyone can get all those into the one rant bewilders me, yet he managed it. Amazing.

Lastly, Matty Johns, who you all know I think has the IQ of an apple, actually surprised me when he demonstrated last night, that he (and also the chief) acknowledge that a big increase in the cap would kill 5 or 6 teams in the NRL. Kudos, Johns, you aren't as dumb as I thought you were.

EDIT; I forgot to mention the one thing Gallop said that scared me. He believes there is no need to cull Sydney clubs! these people bewilder me. In everything they say, it is evidnet that ceratin clubs can't support hemsleves, then they turn around and say no club in Sydney needs to be culled? He thinks the saturation of the Sydney market is healthy [icon_confu Strange that almost every club that can't support themselves is from Sydney. Weird.

 

[mrslong]

IMO the footy show last night was purely a grab for ratings.

I really liked what Sterlo had to say though, and kudos to him for getting up when he was clearly as sick as a dog. My respect for Sterlo is growing out of control this year.

Agreed, Vossy is an imbecile, but I have always thought that.

The Manly CEO had nothing to contribute, and why was he there?

I like the idea of the 100minute game, and I also liked what Gallop had to say about how the clubs need to start standing on their feet so that they could increase the Salary Cap rather than rely on the NRL to spoon feed them.

 

[Coxy]

Gus is amazing isn't he?
- increase the cap
- but protect our Sydney clubs

What the?

However, removing the cap would provide (very quick) natural attrition. It'd mean it wasn't controlled.

I like the idea of more benefactors pumping money into clubs, and in fact, making it a requirement that all clubs are privately owned. The days of community clubs running professional sporting organisations is long gone.

We've all seen Bulldogs fans right? Doesn't it scare the bejesus out of you that they pick and choose who is on the board for their club? Zoiks!

Brisbane, NQ, Melbourne, Manly, Warriors, Gold Coast and Souths are the private clubs IIRC, the rest have to follow suit. Have to.

 

[Hamm.0]

Most of us here have always said that Sterlo is the only 9 commentator worth listening to.

 

[Coxy]

IMO the footy show last night was purely a grab for ratings.

Duh. At least they talked football for a change. I turned over once they started doing league of their own and other crap.

I really liked what Sterlo had to say though, and kudos to him for getting up when he was clearly as sick as a dog. My respect for Sterlo is growing out of control this year.

I've always had immense respect for him. He was the only commentator who I didn't lose respect for during the Super League war.

Agreed, Vossy is an imbecile, but I have always thought that.

I don't get why people are so anti-him. I think he's the brightest of them (apart from Sterlo) and he doesn't seem blinded by club loyalties. He comes up with some whacked out ideas at times, but at least he comes up with them. You can't tell me he's worse than Matt Johns, Paul Harragon or Fathead Vautin!

The Manly CEO had nothing to contribute, and why was he there?

I thought his presence and contribution reflected a lot. It showed that the clubs are struggling, that they are only about survival, that they haven't got any ideas how to make things better and they're just aching for someone to come along and tell them how they can do better.

So the fact the 16 CEOs who are all the same as him, though some struggling less than others, make decisions about the game and its direction is appalling!

It highlighted the need, as the player manager said and we've been saying for donkeys, that there needs to be a commission whose job it is to make hard decisions for the good of the sport. And clubs just have to lump it.

I like the idea of the 100minute game, and I also liked what Gallop had to say about how the clubs need to start standing on their feet so that they could increase the Salary Cap rather than rely on the NRL to spoon feed them.

I am sceptical about the 100 minute game. Though with 3 breaks in it it's possible I suppose. You'd have to drop golden point though.

All well and good for Gallop to say the clubs need to make more income, but they're flat out working out how to do that. The Broncos and Titans are doing it well, but the Sydney clubs...no hope!

 

[mrslong]

I thought that the club CEO's positions was never in doubt and it just was a wasted panel spot, all club CEO's are going to take the stance "what ever's good for the game, as long as my club is safe, we're behind 100%".

I have never liked any of the commentary team except for Sterlo, and I have only just started to listen to some of Gus's commentary because he is very clever when it comes to the tactics of the game, and when he puts his bias away has some very smart things to add about the game.

I'm not a footy show fan, and usually only ever watch til the first ads to see what's going on then turn it off. Glad I saw a bit of it last night though, because I had thought SBW bailed before doing the kids thing, and am glad he didn't let them down.

Gallop disappointed me by not admitting that their are too many Sydney clubs...the reason we're so successful in Brisbane is because we don't have the smorgasboard of NRL games to choose from, it's not rocket science.

 

[Dexter]

I missed the Gus rant, but sounds like it would have pissed me off anyway.
The 100 min game idea I'm doubtful on but those are the ideas that need to be discussed.

Gus, Johns and Harrigan all showed their agendas because the Chooks would survive a salary cap removal and the Knights would not, it just displayed more of the self interest that is holding the game back.

Gallop may have ideas about reducing Sydney teams by relocating or amalgamating but do you seriously think he will air them publicly in that forum?

It was the basic premise of Super League so the ARL board members will be totally opposed to it.

He is much smarter than that, he is, IMO, letting the situation become obvious to the Sydney powerbrokers and they will come to the same conclusion. Fittler and Johns and a few other ARL poster boys are already saying it publicly.

 

[Foordy]

with regards to the 100 min game idea, what the player mananager (Beavis?) did well that others, like d1ckhead Gould have failed to do, is explain the reasons behind the idea. and instead of just having a go at the problems with league without putting any ideas forward. for that i applaud Wayne Beavis [eusa_clap.gi . (i think that was the player managers name)

 

[Coxy]

Yep, that was him. I liked that too.

I'm sick of people like Gus and Johns who just spout about the problems and get all angry at the administration without offering a skerrick of advice for possible solutions.

 

[mick]

Gus is amazing isn't he?
- increase the cap
- but protect our Sydney clubs

What the?

[eusa_clap.gi I was thinking exactly the same thing(!)

Add to that most people spouting that crap are the anti-SL folk who still harp on about what happened 13 years ago.

Privatisation is the way forward, and the quicker the game realises this, increases the cap and clubs simply have to do whatever it takes to survive, the better off RL will be IMO.

Oh, and I STRONGLY disagree that Perth would take at least 10 years to be ready for an NRL team. If the administrators of the game pulled their heads out of their collective arses, Perth would be ready in 3 years IMO.

 

[Coxy]

Bear in mind Mick, when the Gold Coast started beating their chest about re-entry the NRL said something about the Gold Coast region being 5-10 years away from supporting a team.

That was in 2005.

 

[mick]

Exactly. And even under the NRL's ineptitude, the Titans were massive two years later.

If we actually had a decent governing body, there'd be almost nothing stopping us. League is a FANTASTIC product, and all we need to do is look at how quickly the plodding ARU, with its dour Super 14 competition, has been able to really promote the Force to the point where they get decent crowds, media attention and corporate support in WA. It's SO doable.

 

[Professor47]

I know its captain obvious time but in a nutshell, the game needs more revenue but how?
I'm with Beavis on administation level, get a board, they call the shots, cull the sydney teams if we have to, It is time to make business decisions, we will lose fans over it no doubt, but its time to get down to business is it not?

 

[bianc]

We need One Body running our game. That Body must take make the hard decisions and cull or move teams. They also are the boss They are the ones who should be telling the clubs what to do and not sitting back and waiting to see what the clubs want to do.

Agree with Dexter that Gallop was not about to come out on a Footy Show and tell all. He isn't going to blast the ARL or any of the others. Nor is he going to let it out if clubs are going to be told to move or join forces with another club.

Why did we amalgamate teams and upset fans of those teams only to go ahead and bring in more teams? Makes no sense. 14teams is all that is needed. We don't have the quality players to add more teams to the comp. Too many rubbish games are on each weekend at the moment.

Rocky did a run down in another thread and he made good points re the Show last night in every one of his statements.

I did like the Manly guy though who said teams must go but Manly MUST stay. Wonder how the North supporters felt?
Also Vossy saying Ch9 should be getting the better games and not Fox. Many people if the game isn't live will wait Mr.Voss and watch the game on Fox so that they are not spending hours watching a game that is full of adds. Dick!!!

Maybe they should have allowed Steve Mortimer on the show so he could tell just how the AFL raises it's revenue.
This man speaks sense and is very passionate about our game.

Like it or not people are losing interest in league. We speak of the kids coming through? For how long? The AFL has moved into league territory and has done a good job of getting the very young kids to turn to their code.
FACT/

As Rocky said in his post 'our game needs a few tweaks just as union has done to make it more exciting'.
League today is nothing compared to league of years gone by. Just watch some of the old games. They played it hard and tough. Now you punch someone and you get sent off.

I hate to see players patting the ref and making jokes with him etc. The Ref was once the man who was the respected person on the field. Remember Blocker getting fined or suspended for touching the ref?
Also hate seeing the friendship shown on the field between players of opposing teams. As Wally Lewis once said "Hate them when they are out there and they can be your friend later".

Rant/

 

[Major JW Hochstetter]

Pardon my negativity, but what a fantastic ratings grab from Nine. Look at all this sudden, mass hysteria that has been created by them and associated media (*cough* DT/News Ltd) off the back of one man's dog act.

It was encouraging to see the issues in the game at least being discussed in a serious manner (particularly by serial halfwits), but really, nothing new was learnt from last night's show. David Gallop of course was only ever going to say what his board would let him, and it further confirmed that whilst ever conflicts of interest exist at the top, Australian Rugby League will never move in a direction that is soley in its best interests. But again, this has been issue for 13 years. Nothing new and unfortunately it is not about change.

The thing that summed up last night for me was one of the hacks on the panel going to the predictable Footy Show lengths to hail Money Bill as the game's saviour in the future. Seriously, that'll do me. I can't imagine how much verbal felating will be going on when the inevitable Dollar Bill interview on The Footy Show with Danny Widearse comes around. "It's not his go", and so on.

I need a bucket.

 

[Major JW Hochstetter]

Re: Beavis' 100 minute game. His reason behind the suggestion is spot on and its a piont that the AFL have always deliberately raised to aid in their TV rights and advertising deals. Extra breaks, more chances for ads during live games, length of the match and so on.

The only obvious risk is that it could kill the spectacle. The game may open up late, sure, but with the way the game is played today I have fears it could turn into a turd of bordem. I'm only basing this on my personal feelings, but many games could feel like you're watching the Pura Cup and the good, intense matches may lose their sting. Particularly Origin.

But, its good that someone brought it up nonetheless as its been largely overlooked. Whether a drastic change like 100 minutes is the answer I don't know, but in a age where revenue is dominated by TV and ads, its an area that must be continued to be looked at and tweaked where needed.

 

[Hamm.0]

Oh how I agree mate. When Weidler brings the "the truth behind my exodus" interview live from France, I will be punching shit.

It's bound to happen, as it will get 9 ratings, get Weidler more of an excuse to breath oxygen and give SBW his time in the sun to explain how disallusioned he was,...earning half a mill a season at the age of 22. Oh and how he is a leader and rolemodel for Poly's everywhere.

Dick.

 

[Dexter]

Oh how I agree mate. When Weidler brings the "the truth behind my exodus" interview live from France, I will be punching shit. [icon_ee

Never would have picked you from your posts Hammo, not that there's anything wrong with that. [icon_lol1. [icon_lol1.