The Ponsford Times.

[Geek]

Oooohhh that hurts.....

From perennial bridesmaid to mistress.

*grinds teeth*

[die4pies]

Sensational post Geek.

You cover just about all the areas of concern.

Keep this in mind. At Old Trafford the ground is always at it's 76,000 capacity or very close to it. Yet only 6,000-8,000 of these fans (roughly 10%) make all the noise. The rest is just the crowds reaction to what is happening in the game.

It is fine to go and watch the football if that is what you want to do. What we need, however, is to recruit a few thousand die-hards and sit them in the lower section of the Ponsford to make noise all game. Just 6,000 voices doing the long slow Coll-ing-wood would be enough to make it effective.

Some fantastic input on a subject that I think could re-invent our club and recreate the old bond the players had with the fans.

The Coventrys, Pannams, Colliers, Rumneys, Roses and Richards of yesteryear used to love the old nuff-nuff Collingwood supporter. The feeling of mutual admiration was tangible. The Collingwood Football Club of today loaths us supporters and our precious, self absorbed bitterness.

[vlad]

Yep, we're onto it I reckon. Our Club did that, it made itself into a brand. Made us lots of money, like from the advertising on our jumper, calling our new headquarters after a car, moving from our heartland.
Has anyone else noticed how hard it is to actually have contact with a player since the move from Victoria Park? Even if you wanted to it's almost impossible these days, like we're poison or something. How come that happened.
Something is lost, I can feel it.
Our jumper was special, untouchable, not anymore. The only reason that the Club fights to keep the stripes is because of branding! How bent is that!
Our heartland is everywhere, but the magic can't spread that far.
We used to be unique, a Club with mystique, an unmistakable aura that only our Club possessed ~ that was the specialness.
Now we're just another product.
Winning next week or the week after won't help, the Club is kidding itself if that's what it thinks.

[vlad]

While I'm at it, the Ponsford was supposed to be Our Stand, the Collingwood Stand, just for us. What happened? We're nuffnuffs alright, treated like that and we take it all the time, It's called spin, or coddswollop, and if you say anything against it, they'll hate you and call you disloyal.
How come one year there was an announcement that our boys would be playing for Williamstown and would only wear our Club jumper when they were good enough? Who remembers that one! Look now. Suddenly they're all good enough again! HAHAHA. Feed us anything and we'll swallow it. HAHAHA.

[jack_spain]

History doesn't lie.

Collingwood Football Club joined VFL 1892.

1902-1936 - 11 premierships

1937-1958 - 2 premierships

1959-1990 - 1 premiership

1991-2008 - zilch!

That's called "the law of diminishing returns".

It is amazing that our supporter base has continued to grow given that we have a premiership rate equivalent to St Kilda in the past 50 years! Just like some of the other people on this thread, I'm getting a little frustrated at seeing such a great club as ours performing at such a consistently poor level. As a Manchester United supporter I know that no season is complete without winning at least one championship. We expect it - even demand it! Collingwood once (true, a long time ago) had that mystique. The machine of the 20s and 30s put the fear of God into their opponents. And the supporters did the same from what I gather. Are we too soft now?

Remember how invincible we were at Victoria Park during the glory days.

[Greek Style]

[vlad]

I've just noticed there's a thread for the auctioning of the Collingwood Anzac Day jumpers, how trashy is that. We were a very special Club, like our song says Good Old Collingwood Forever. But the Forever is gone. Now it's the new Collingwood ~ so modern so smooth and slick and lost. I want my Club back.

[Greek Style]

Imagine a team that has the arrogant swagger of the New York Yankees with the history of a Notre Dame and you have a small idea of what Collingwood is about.

This is what is says on the Nick's page about Peter Daicos.

http://www.magpies.net/nick/players/tribute/cddaicos.html

I'm sorry, we do not have the swagger or the history.


We are now just a soft nancy boy, corporately run franchise trying to maximize advertising and profit for the dastardly AFL so it can sell it's product to the Northern States.

WE, the COLLINGWOOD supporters, get no "Bang" for our Buck!

A large profile team with very little success to show for it.

We are stupid enough to buy into anything.

Hope floats, but so does Shit.

[John Wren]

[joffa corfe]

The cheersquad isn't the problem..One cant expect 50% of 200 people to blow the roof off the Ponsford. The cheersquad bay doesnt even fill a full bay..no where near it! and remember it's in the open by a mile.

The surrounding bays are what i gather to be week to week bookings meaning we have different people sit there on any given match day..and they dont have a clue what we're all on about.
Maybe the suggestion should be is the club promote these bays as the chanting bays..could you imagine the cheersquad in the middle bay behind the goals, surrounded on each side by chanting bays..People who sit there have committed themselves to chant and make noise regardless of the scoreboard.
Introduce 4-6 chant marshalls to co=ordinate chants. Believe me it would be that good others from all over the MCG would want to be a part of it...plenty of different ways of doing things..We've just got to be imaginitive..Break away from the box we've been in.

I dont subscribe to the theory we've given up..we dont care all because we've only won one flag in fifty years..to me thats a cop out.

The passion is there in vast numbers we just gotta find out how to utilise that beautiful magpie passion!

[Greek Style]

[vlad]

Its supposed to be the Collingwood Stand, like most things we're told, it isn't like that at all.
Maybe we're just sick of being told what's good for us, especially when it's mostly crock.

[jack_spain]

That is brilliant Greek boy - whoever you are! I have so enjoyed reading this thread that I've sent copies of your posts to a Magpie friend in Tassie. Seriously funny, but really seriously sad for the club as well. Because on so many levels you are right.

As for Muppets, any truth to the rumour the AFL might sell out to Dreamworld, Movie World or Seaworld?

[Greek Style]

The Ponsofrd Stand is a Dud.

The Lexus Centre enclosure for supporters is a Dud.

The Collingwood team is a Dud.


But at least we are making lots and lots of money for our REAL MASTERS, the AFL administration.

They are the real DARK LORDS.

The real Sith.

We are their Bitches.

How Andrew Demetriou and Adrian Anderson rub their hands with glee as the Collingwood cheques roll in.

Well done Eddie, our whole Club is a parody of all the old values that were set up when we were the Brittania football club all those years ago when William Crawley first suggested we wear the black and white colours for the first time.

How the Empire has fallen.

[Magpie Girl]

Wow.....