CCM Fans and the club PT 2

[adz]

Starting this one to continue on from

CCM Fans and the club

Hi Everyone For those who don't know me I am the CEO of the Mariners and have been living in the Coast for the last 10 years. Since the day I started at the Mariners I have logged onto this forum everyday and read every post, the good bad and the ugly. I am a huge believer in official forums...

www.ccmfans.net

 

[Wombat]

Shaun has proved himself to be a wonderful CEO, often in the most trying of work environments. Credit to the big man that he still comes on and posts after 10 years.

 

[Shaun Mielekamp]

Hey guys

Firstly thanks for the kind words and crazy to look back on the thread and see how many topics and discussions have happened over the years. I am still just as passionate about forum discussion and maybe feel a bit old school as social media has evolved so much but I still firmly believe that this is a very important channel for discussion and genuine club feedback.

Just to give some updates on some recent topics:

The reason for the 5pm game tomorrow was driven by a football decision first and foremost. Many times over the club in that past has not taken an on field football decision as the priority and copped criticism but in this occasion when we balanced it all up we fundamentally wanted to give the players the best opportunity to have a decent surface to play on with the weather forecast that proved accurate.

Yes we understand that the commuter fanbase will not be happy with this as many have expressed although i do want to balance this against the fact that a 7:45pm kickoff would have seen heaps of families decide not to take their kids out that late on a school night. There was no right answer here and hence why we put our players first.

Also worth noting that for the double headers as we have experienced after the girls matches there are disruptions to the pre-game preps with so many players and staff in the tunnel area - by going first the stadium is clear and no disruptions.

I appreciate that plenty won't agree but at least you might understand why we made this decision on this occasion, on other nights in other times the decision could easily have gone the other way and I know we will learn a lot from this regardless.

We won't run a live forum tomorrow after the game but I will be around and keen to talk to anyone who stops me with any questions at the stadium.

 

[turbo]

I appreciate that plenty won't agree but at least you might understand why we made this decision on this occasion, on other nights in other times the decision could easily have gone the other way and I know we will learn a lot from this regardless.

Thanks. Regardless of individual opinions I think we all appreciate some insight into how the decision was made because at face value it was hard to wrap our heads around and with all the negativity around the league at the moment that naturally moves towards 'what the hell is the APL doing?'

I also see our game next weekend has been bumped to Tuesday night in Perth.

 

[FFC Mariner]

One day @Shaun Mielekamp I hope you are given the opportunity to run a well funded club

 

[Forum Phoenix]

One day @Shaun Mielekamp I hope you are given the opportunity to run a well funded club

I don’t. I want him to stay a Mariner. ??

 

[bikinigirl]

One day @Shaun Mielekamp I hope you are given the opportunity to run a well funded club

. well then ... since the podcasters appear to have failed to bring Bezos dollars to the Coast - i think it is time somebody hit up Mike Cannon-Brookes for some funding

. i mean, we have heard about the club's aim to be sustainable ... and he is all over that shit at the moment

. his proposal to AGL has fallen through ... so he'll have some spare billions to invest - think of the synergies

. oh yeah synergies ... these tech types are all over that sort of thing - think about it: we have a cannon and our home ground is built over a brook ... the signs are there people

. ok so i know that his sporting stakes are normally in less cerebral spheres but that should be part of the appeal plus we know he has a penchant for iconic aussie waterfront homes

... and we've always loved our Mikes (McGlinchey, Charlesworth, Mulvey, Magic, et al)

 

[pjennings]

Sadly he seems to prefer basketball.

 

[VonBowellski]

Sadly he seems to prefer basketball.

Well it can't hurt to ask haha

 

[Man Overboard]

Hi Shaun,
what's the rationale for playing 'home' games in Mudgee?

 

[FFC Mariner]

Hi Shaun,
what's the rationale for playing 'home' games in Mudgee?

That we already paid for.

 

[Man Overboard]

Hi Shaun, it looks like this question has already been answered in the 2021/22 thread.


There is still some confusion [at least with me]. Perhaps you can clear up why games are being played at Mudgee?

 

[FFC Mariner]

Cute for the club to say "draw was TBC" because most members had already paid for a full season. CCM's desperate attempts to stay afloat by prostituting the brand is disappointing to say the least.

We know the economics, no one knows games are on and you can spam Facebook as much as you like but the people who dont come have no idea we are playing because they get their news from MSM and Murdoch press. Maybe AM radio. (sidenote - thats why Scummo will go ok because those are the channels he hammers). Some 2 bob FM local jock doesnt reach the 50k coasties heading back to Sydney every day.

Apparently there are desperate money issues which are most likely due to Covid and the reluctance of our absentee owner to step up to his responsibilities - I dont either but I didnt buy the club - he did. As ever the clubs complete lack of clear communication "we have no money due to covid/lockdown, please bear with us" is obviously a strategy they havent thought of - you know, the truth, bring people along in the journey etc? No? Instead cancelled forums and cute spin. Business has moved on from thatCCM hasnt

Every time the club does this (as evidenced over the years) another few people get disillusioned and start to drift away. Canberra, NSO etc. Will be fascinating to see where it all ends - business 101 says quite badly I expect.

 

[Ironbark]

Games for all teams have been rescheduled, postponed, delayed and compressed this season due to ongoing, disaster level craziness.

Some teams have had to play most of their home games in the wrong state or country.
We aren't the most unlucky team for this.

I understand I don't speak for everyone in this next statement and not everyone will agree - but many buy memberships to be a part of the club, to support our team, and to go to home games wherever possible, not purely as a ticket discounting feature.

Beyond this, as far as I can tell, there were always a number of TBC venues for this season. This is one of them. And it'll bring us new fans.

Long story short - it's not a big deal, particularly in the context of the world currently.

Let's just move on from this please. Seen through a different lens I can understand the view that it looks like an attempt to move home games ala NSO days. But it's clearly not that. It's a regional game, which we've done many times over the years as do other clubs.

The fact it wasn't locked in at the start of the season is a symptom of the times, not a slap at the fans. Look at the effort and money that the club put into the fan experience for the FFA Cup final.
Personally I feel very thankful to the club for the effort they put into everything, for the fans included. All on a shoestring budget. So it's the extra effort of the staff that adds the value and I hope they know how many of us appreciate them and their work when they could easily do less.

 

[Forum Phoenix]

Great post Ironbark.

 

[Omni]

Look as long as the Adelaide game happens as scheduled. I’ll be back in the country for that one

 

[Tim]

Great post Ironbark.

I agree, we need more fans like Ironbark. It’s about getting behind the club and while you might not like everything he does, being grateful we have an owner at all, particularly one who likely stumps up more coin in a season to keep the club afloat than many of us earn in 20 years. For one, I’d rather a club that occasionally takes the game “to the people” than no club at all…

 

[Man Overboard]

I understand what Ironbark is saying, and much of what is said by each side here is speculation. I'd just like Shaun to clear up why the club has decided to play this game at Mudgee.

 

[Ironbark]

Understand the need for more clarity. Some at least can come from the pretty big improbability that we're trying to relocate to Mudgee...

 

[Kilsin]

It feels like Mudgee should be a home game for us on paper as we're doing all the advertising and networking for it from my understanding, yet it counts as a Perth home game.

No complaints from me now that I understand it is not a home game and more relationship building but just strikes me as odd and leaves me with some questions.

Are we going to do some kind of cross-promotion to get Mudgee (and surrounding) residents/fans to come to a Mariners home game at the stadium?

Is Perth ok with a home game "away" from their state after being locked out for most of the season?

Who organises it, pays for it and decides that Mudgee is a good place for Perth and Central Coast to play, FA, APL, Perth, Mariners, all of the above?

It limits both Football sides supporters from attending and relies heavily on the local Mudgee community to get bums on seats which I'm fine with but why? A Perth or CCMFC home game would attract many more I would imagine.

I'm genuinely curious as I work in a community management position and love this kind of promotion and networking but just don't see the benefit of it for the A-league.