The importance of supporters to a club's success

[Heater39]

Given the current debate around Buckley's future as coach of Collingwood I thought now is an appropriate time to bring up this topic.

A common sub debate that stems from the Buckley discussion is the question of the role of the supporter when the side is underperforming.

The two sides to the argument are generally

1. Get behind the club no matter what, they need our support in both the good and bad times
2. As supporters, we should not accept mediocrity and if we are performing poorly we have the right to call the club out on it

As someone who is by nature a glass half empty as opposed to glass half full type, I tend to fall into the 2nd category.

A common argument as that unless we demand success as supporters, the club will become complacent and underachieve.

IMO, we are overrating the amount of influence supporters have. Despite seeing myself as someone in the 2nd category, I don't believe the actions of supporters have a material impact on the clubs success.

Are supporters of successful sides really any different to supporters of unsuccessful sides? Do Richmond fans (for example) accept mediocrity'which is why they haven't won a flag in 30 years? Are there any examples where the actions of supporters have turned around the on field fortunes of a club? (I'm not talking about saving a club from extiction btw, in which case I agree supporters have a big role to play, but in terms of achieving onfield success)

To summarise, we can support/ question the club however we see fit but IMO the way we act has little bearing on our onfield performance.

I'd be interested to hear other people thoughts on the topic

 

[Saintly Viewed]

Given the current debate around Buckley's future as coach of Collingwood I thought now is an appropriate time to bring up this topic.

A common sub debate that stems from the Buckley discussion is the question of the role of the supporter when the side is underperforming.

The two sides to the argument are generally

1. Get behind the club no matter what, they need our support in both the good and bad times
2. As supporters, we should not accept mediocrity and if we are performing poorly we have the right to call the club out on it

As someone who is by nature a glass half empty as opposed to glass half full type, I tend to fall into the 2nd category.

A common argument as that unless we demand success as supporters, the club will become complacent and underachieve.

IMO, we are overrating the amount of influence supporters have. Despite seeing myself as someone in the 2nd category, I don't believe the actions of supporters have a material impact on the clubs success.

Are supporters of successful sides really any different to supporters of unsuccessful sides? Do Richmond fans (for example) accept mediocrity'which is why they haven't won a flag in 30 years? Are there any examples where the actions of supporters have turned around the on field fortunes of a club? (I'm not talking about saving a club from extiction btw, in which case I agree supporters have a big role to play, but in terms of achieving onfield success)

To summarise, we can support/ question the club however we see fit but IMO the way we act has little bearing on our onfield performance.

I'd be interested to hear other people thoughts on the topic

Interesting post.
Generally speaking supporters have minimal bearing in reality.
Board members have a say, past players of scope, that sort of supporter can have influence.
Alas, the bleeding supporter, is there to fill the stadium, fill the coffers (we pay, as do sponsors it is true)
Offer tangible barracking, read the papers, watch the games live or on TV etc.
But our affect is negligible, and ven the esteemed BigFooty poster is as powerful as the humble supporter in the outer or watching games on the Tv.
It's just how it is.

But what do we supporters get in return?
The joys and sorrows of sport.
The intangible highs of winning with our team.
Something to do, to fill our time in with.
Shared comraderie.

It's not such a bad deal after all.....

 

[Bad Horse]

Given the current debate around Buckley's future as coach of Collingwood I thought now is an appropriate time to bring up this topic.

A common sub debate that stems from the Buckley discussion is the question of the role of the supporter when the side is underperforming.

The two sides to the argument are generally

1. Get behind the club no matter what, they need our support in both the good and bad times
2. As supporters, we should not accept mediocrity and if we are performing poorly we have the right to call the club out on it

As someone who is by nature a glass half empty as opposed to glass half full type, I tend to fall into the 2nd category.

A common argument as that unless we demand success as supporters, the club will become complacent and underachieve.

IMO, we are overrating the amount of influence supporters have. Despite seeing myself as someone in the 2nd category, I don't believe the actions of supporters have a material impact on the clubs success.

Are supporters of successful sides really any different to supporters of unsuccessful sides? Do Richmond fans (for example) accept mediocrity'which is why they haven't won a flag in 30 years? Are there any examples where the actions of supporters have turned around the on field fortunes of a club? (I'm not talking about saving a club from extiction btw, in which case I agree supporters have a big role to play, but in terms of achieving onfield success)

To summarise, we can support/ question the club however we see fit but IMO the way we act has little bearing on our onfield performance.

I'd be interested to hear other people thoughts on the topic

I think we can unpack this a bit.

What is it that supporters can do to influence success?

Well, we have a direct influence from a financial perspective. If we choose to spend money, or not, it has a direct effect on the bottom line which impacts the club's ability to do its core stuff.

But I think we need to be pragmatic about how much this matters. Of the revenue streams the club has, a large proportion are not changed by that. And I think even in the worst case scenario I can't see our membership dropping below about 65,000, and our attendances below about 40,000 average. Rightly or wrongly, I think they can set a minimum income from supporters like us that is still only going to change the bottom line to marginal loss. The coteries will still spend, the vast majority of day in day out supporters will still buy memberships, the Legends tier will still sell out even though it constitutes marginal value.

What about turning up and supporting?

Well, there were pretty decent crowds against Richmond and St Kilda, and we shat the bed for most of the first and all the second. So not sure how much it matters to be honest. I will be brutally honest, and say that my impression is, if you asked our players who they play for, out of a list of themselves, their coach, their teammates, their families, the "Club", and the supporters, we would be dead last for most of them. Thats not a reflection on them, its just the realities of social identity theory at play.

So if not financial or barracking, what?

Well, nothing I have seen tells me the club is inclusive about seeking input from the supporter base in how it goes about its stuff, on field or off. They want to be seen to be communicating, but it's one way. Whether that is influenced by the above or a culture thing it is there.

So in short, I don't think we have any kind of direct or even much indirect ability to influence anything, I don't think anyone at board level feels their position in danger even with a significantly disgruntled supporter base at least sufficient to think about changing anything, and I don't think our money matters quite as much as we think it does given the realities of the AFL financial model.

Overall, bugger all to not much. I think generally we are hitched to this wagon but essentially passengers. It's going where it's going, and we can enjoy or survive the ride depending on what happens.

 

[Markfs]

mercedes wins grand prix pole positions by less than a second......on a lap time which is usually somewhere around a minute and a half. A 0.5% improvement in a car can change a team from one in the pack to one that is winning the championship.

 

[76woodenspooners]

Good food for thought

I reckon the supporters have quite a lot of influence.

This week we saw Ed come out on AFL360 and have a bit of a candid chat about what's what at Collingwood. Why would he do that?

It's because us fans have been vocal.

Ditto Bucks' performance on Bucks' brief.

Over my lifetime our supporters have always strived to make our club accountable. Probably the most vocal of all supporter bases.

The challenge for the club is to be accountable, but not too reactionary. If we sacked the senior coach whenever somebody on BigFooty called for it, we'd have a new senior coach after every loss.

 

[Piealamode]

Without our bitching how would the club know who to sack or what players to drop and what strategies to use in game?

 

[Bad Horse]

Without our bitching how would the club know who to sack or what players to drop and what strategies to use in game?

Seriously? This guy again?

 

[Piealamode]

Seriously? This guy again?

And who are you draftee?

 

[BEEG]

Got to love when the players really put in for the supporters, dig in hard to show they're having a crack.