I fired off this e-mail to Jim Main in response to someone calling me and other VFL people (which no doubt included you guys here) pessimists etc.
Dear Jim,
I am interested to know why you have become so disenchanted with and/or have a disdain of the former VFA now VFL competition?
Craig Tilley (27/6) suggested the VFL people such as myself and others are being pessimists when we suggest that our clubs can't survive without an alignment, but there is more to it than that.
Clubs such as Vermont (EFL) and Heidelberg (NFL) are able to pay players considerable amounts of money because in most costs there is a single individual or organisation that is bankrolling the operation of the football club.
This isn't the case at VFL level, where clubs often struggle to obtain a slice of the sponsorship market because other community groups have taken up opportunities that would otherwise be available to those in the VFL.
The comment made regarding the standard of the VFL not been strong for years is nothing short of an uninformed and stupid comment. If people think that the VFL's standard hasn't been good enough for years, then the Victorian team shouldn't have thrashed the WAFL earlier this season.
What about players such as Dale Morris (Werribee/Western Bulldogs), Ben McGlynn (Box Hill Hawks/Hawthorn) and Jake King (Coburg Tigers/Richmond), surely the clubs who rookie listed these players thought that competition they played in before making the AFL grade wasn't of a poor standard.
I have an issue with you and others who continue to treat the VFL competition with complete disdain, it's a high standard competition that doesn't deserve to have negative opinions directed towards it.
Regards,
Ben Carbonaro
I wonder what sort of a response I will get?
Hope that he edits my letter, I didn't proof read e-mail well enough and let's just be confident that he won't print the errors.
Is Travis Parnaby the guy who put those ads on radio SEN?
It doesn't sound like Travis.
Those ads have been on radio for more than just this season.
[b]theobserver wrote[/b]
VFL PR - what are they? There is never any counteraction to Jim Main or any other derogatory remarks regarding VFL.
The VFL refuses to publicise fixture changes in the Record, kept a match listed at 10.40pm for several weeks. It refuses to explain why that match, Bendigo v Geelong, is now listed as a curtain raiser at Geelong. It refuses to mention consequent round 20 Reserves changes. And the list goes on.
It allows ABC radio to refuse to give VFL scores. It does bugger-all to counteract the "Reserves" tag in the media and VFL officials even rabbit on about players going to the "seniors" when a player is going to play for an AFL club.
The clear impression the VFL heirarchy gives is that it is there solely to get players ready to play in the AFL competition
Its very name "AFL Victoria" indicates its subjugation to the AFL and clearly shows that it is not an independent competition in its own right.
Sadly you are 100% correct. The VFL is slipping even further behind and any pretence at being a real competition that matters in the scheme of things is fast fading. The peolpe at the top have no real passion for the comp and it shows in their lack of commitment.
Totally agree Cobrascorer and Billy the Kid.
They do nothing. Mostly afl orientated.
I sent them an email regarding the VFA team of the century.
The email had a set of proposals.
In August last year they said it would go ahead as it was the vfa's 130th year in 2007. What have they done- absolutley nothing.
I will send another email again and this time I will address it to Stillman, Schwab as well as some one like Justin madden and demand a meeting with them. How can an organisation that has been around for 130 years not have a team of the century ?
As if the vfa never existed. Where did all the Victorian based afl teams come from ? They all played VFA.
Next year aussie rules will be 150 years old and NOT the AFL !!!
The afl think that there is one comp and one comp only.
If Port melbourne and Williamstown both got around 1000 people to their functions as if you could not get over 1200 to a VFA team of the century.
At least ten clubs have had a team of the century which includes Williamstown, Port, Coburg, Prahran, Camberwell, Box hill, Dandenong, Mordialloc, Springvale. Easy to organise current clubs.
The clubs that have had theirs the players are all nominated for a postion. Fred Cook would be nominated for full forward as he is in Port's team of the century and so on.
If the cronies do not do anything maybe get a few old vfa heads to start organising the clubs that have not had a team of the century to hold theirs as well as chasing people from defunct clubs as well as guys like marc Fiddian, Phil Cleary, Gary Brice, Howard Leigh to jump on board and starts the ball rolling.
Time for action I think !!!
This is something that i have constant arguments with people who get washed away with the AFL.
You should also include Paul Amy as well, the amount of work he does to promote the competition is amazing.
The double page spread in Inside Football, spots on 3SER radio and Leader Newspapers all help to spread the VFA/VFL Gospel.
If only someone like Paul was employed by the Herald Sun or The Age and then hopefully the mainstream media attitudes towards the competition would change.
One particular thing that I am really surprised about is the fact that no-one has written an e-mail to Inside Football supporting me for confirming that Jim Main has an inappropriate hatred/disdain of our competition.
what's that little schmuk Main's email address?
actually, I've just found an issue from two weeks ago. Main's email address is jim.main@ipgonline.cc
Here's what he wrote two weeks ago:
I have turned on the TV to watch VFL matches on the ABC this year and I turned it off after five minutes. The competition has gone downhill faster than a ski jumper.
As I've said in this forum before, he takes regular digs at the comp. VFL people shouldn't let his rubbish go unchallenged....
You won't receive a direct reply, Observer.
He will publish your e-mail and a response in a future issue, like if you write now then send it off it should be in next week's edition of Inside Football.