SM Pete

Dear @rorkygreg @FFA & @green_dot, please find below an open letter outlining my concerns with details of the Western Melbourne Group EOI #ALeagueExpansion submission that have been made public. Happy to dicuss off-line. drive.google.com/file/d/1fV4NTo…

@FSAAustralia 👏👏👏Great post‼️ If you look back 5 or so years ago - many saw things differently. Many “true believers” are catching on‼️It’s great to see. We need an all of football approach, not a narrow minded ideology. We aren’t AFL or NRL, we are football, let’s play to our strengths.

Let's get involved everywhere. AL, NPL, Grassroots, take your kids to the local mini roos, try out special ability football, volunteer on a Sunday morning... There's so many opportunities to get the masses involved locally.

@SMEMUFC @SrSittingBull @Amul82 Oh you two….its time to move on for the good of the Australian game 😉🤣😭…where are your values and principles 😱🤐😉🤣

@SrSittingBull @Amul82 I should have been a “true believer” & abandoned the club I supporter from age 5 “for the good of the game”. The club my entire family supported. The club I volunteered for several years & saw win 4x national championships. The club I followed interstate & overseas. #Loyalty

And yet in this country, you’re ostracised for supporting your club and told to abandon it for a soulless franchise.

@osaussiesadam @DavidJack20 They are the “true believers” & the rest of us are just “bitters”.

@DavidJack20 There is this belief by those like Vince that we should just support it because it exists

Yet the ecosystem doesn’t begin at the AL either. Typical AL agenda pushing bullshit.

Good listen. I share the similar sentiments as Pete and I know others do, but not that reason. The last three World Cups I’ve felt nothing for the Socceroos. Empty. And yet, I lived and died for every single qualifier, every single friendly, even the Australia A v Australia B days when very few gave a shit about our game other than the diehard fans. I’d never feel more proud singing the anthem than when the Socceroos played, because I saw us. Players from all backgrounds representing us. But as the years have gone on and we’ve been told we’re not welcome post 2005/6 with bullshit like the NCIP policy, and no clear plan for our clubs to be recognised through pro/rel, it’s hard to have that same feeling. I did when Ange was in charge, but since then, empty, zilch. I’ll still watch every game, but the feeling is gone.

@WotKloud @NickStoll @Soccersceneau @VinceRugari Member based clubs are paid for by supporters, some are members. All clubs rely on that. Without #NPL there are no grassroots, there are no players for #ALeague W or M. But some like Vince think it’s everything & ignore importance of NPL & below. That’s the point.

@SMEMUFC @NickStoll @Soccersceneau @VinceRugari No, but member based clubs are paid for by memberships, professional clubs are paid for by fans through the gate If the ALW is not successful the Matilda’s suffer I also appreciate the importance of all other clubs, this article though did not seem worth arguing over imo

Loved this from @VinceRugari

@WotKloud @NickStoll @Soccersceneau @VinceRugari “Entire ecosystem” - but regardless, #ALeagueW ≠ the entire ecosystem of women’s football in Australia

@SMEMUFC @NickStoll @Soccersceneau @VinceRugari He is talking about Matilda’s and women’s football - The Championship is men only

❌! CORRECTION👇 The 🇦🇺⚽️ “ecosystem” starts at the 🇦🇺⚽️ club nearest to where you live, within a few KMs, sometimes walking distance. IMO, the only way we can scale 🇦🇺⚽️ culture & infrastructure is by utilising 🇦🇺⚽️’s sheer scale, & not with 10 - disconnected from the 🇦🇺⚽️ ecosystem - #FAKE⚽️ #MCFRANCHISES🍟 scattered in “no-compete/exclusive geographic regions & catchment areas” positioned/trying to be #AFL & #NRL-lite no? 🤔 #DeathToTheAleagues💀 #ALM #AustraliaCup #ALeague #ALW #WhereJournosIgnoreTheTruth✍️ #WhereTransferSystemsDontExist🔁 #WhereSelloutsComeToTheFore🤦‍♂️ #WhereClosedLeaguesAreUnique #WhereSelfInterestComesFirst🤫 #WhereExcusesReplaceLogic🤯

“The entire ecosystem” = #ALeague 🙉😵‍💫🤦🏻‍♂️🙈

@MrTbloke @SMEMUFC @grazorblade84 @fcgreenandgold I don't need anyones validation - I don't need to endlessly debate / rinse - repeat.. The sanitisation of the sport in AUS CANNOT be denied - it's FACT. However, the day where the top tier will need clubs like South is drawing near - never been closer, in fact. Speak soon!

MIKE’S MANUAL CROWD COUNT 🧮 #BREAKING: The manual crowd count for this #BRIvWEL image is: 4️⃣6️⃣* *Forty six 👌 screenshot @millfieldsports with ok-to-poor resolution when zooming. A margin of error of approx. 4.5%. P.S. Another #FAKE⚽️ attendance highly likely <1,000, but they’ll somehow declare between 3,000-4,000! 🤯 #AFL & #NRL-lite simply can’t compete when those competitions start playing. #FAKE⚽️ is a sham no? 🤔🤥 #DeathToTheAleagues💀 #ALeague #ALM #ALW x.com/mattt__00/stat…

@MrTbloke @tas_zaf @SMEMUFC @grazorblade84 @fcgreenandgold So when you told you and your club are “old soccer” and to move on and get with the program and support the franchise in your area, you expect people not to divest? My divestment is a product of those actions. I don’t think it’s a cop out, some of don’t want to be treated as 2nd

@MrTbloke @tas_zaf @grazorblade84 @fcgreenandgold I dispelled your theory & all you have is that? OK mate, you do you - but stop passing off your theories as some sort of facts.

@SMEMUFC @tas_zaf @grazorblade84 @fcgreenandgold What ifs are What ifs. Not facts. The move to give Victory the licence in 2005 was the right one. No debate about it.

It was my great pleasure to talk to @grazorblade84 from @fcgreenandgold about a topic close to my💙. How we treat our clubs & fans is critical to the culture we want to have in our game in 🇦🇺. To unify 🇦🇺⚽️ we must acknowledge the wrongs of the past & create a clear path forward.

@SMEMUFC @MrTbloke @tas_zaf @fcgreenandgold Also even if a club cant go full time but can fund a semi pro team that can afford to travel around australia, it is still better to have them in the top tiers than not. The transition from pro to semi pro has to happen somewhere in the pyramid

@MrTbloke @tas_zaf @grazorblade84 @fcgreenandgold Also if I recall correctly, Victory were granted license without having raised the license fee. That gave them the opportunity to raise the rest of the money. Then the Socceroos TV money was used to underwrite #ALeague. What if the ex NSL clubs were given same opportunities.

@MrTbloke @tas_zaf @grazorblade84 @fcgreenandgold Insults aren’t ideal, but Mr T what you often say is insulting too, so you’ll notice I rarely respond to you. Even if no NSL club could step up (which I dispute b/c SM were preparing to enter 10 team league at FFA direction) when they clearly could following, they still didn’t.