Richmond faces $1m hole after 5400 members fall off from last year (H-Sun)

[F0551L]

the club has called me 3 times now about renewing my player b sponsorship each time i have replied that i am going to renew just getting the cash together  mmm that says to me they realise there is a shortfall from last season

[MADTIGER2010]

Tigers facing AFL membership shortfall
January 15, 2010
The Age

AFL club Richmond are facing a massive cash shortfall approaching $1 million due to their membership numbers being way down on last year.

The Tigers are almost 5,000 members short on their figures from last year, when the recruitment of Ben Cousins provided a membership surge before the Tigers endured a wretched 2009 and finished 15th.

Richmond's membership is currently 18,620, whereas 23,500 fans had signed up a year ago.

Richmond chief executive Brendon Gale was hopeful fans would renew their memberships in what looms as a new era for the club.

The Tigers will be led this year by new coach Damien Hardwick, while veteran players Matthew Richardson, Joel Bowden, Nathan Brown and Kane Johnson all departed last year.

Richmond said their membership shortfall was not too much of a concern given the spike caused by Cousins' signing was hard to match and that the club had started its membership drive a fortnight later than from the previous year.

http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-sport/tigers-facing-afl-membership-shortfall-20100114-m9y3.html

According to the membership counter, there were just over 22,000 combined members on the 16th jan 2009. Wonder how accurate the numbers are. Now they are saying 23,500 on that date?

[Mr Magic]

hmm cuz generated all those numbers did he. i think not. i know the fact we got cousins an awful lot of people thought we were finals bound. an awful lot of people. the drop in numbers is because the penny has dropped and people now realise  we are no where near finals.

Some of what you say may be true claw but you are kidding yourself if you believe Cousins recruitment did not have a massive impact on additional memberships in '09.

no more b/s the club should be openly saying we have a very young and immature list and our ladder position is likely to be low.
 they should be saying  l the onus for this club is to find and play young players who in time will get us to finals, ladder position means jack atm.

If you've been paying attention I think it's pretty clear that the club(Hardwick, March, Gale etc.) have left supporters under no false illusions that there are hard yards ahead. 'No shortcuts' has been a consistent theme over the off season. 14 new faces is a fair clean out in anyone's language. Only two clubs ever have had a bigger turnover in a single season. It's not just rhetoric this time, actions are doing the talking and the club is in a full swing rebuild.
You of all posters should be somewhat pleased..

[torch]

we could see this coming since last year.

all i will say is "please purchase a Membership."

i know i can not speak for everybody, and some believe it to be a waste of time and money if you can not attend some matches.

Kevin Sheedy since said "If you are not a Member, you are not a supporter!" - i truely believe that!

it is so important for the club.

my friend is going to get his dog a Pet Member! 

i hope those who do not have a Membership can please get purchase one.

I Love Richmond, and as bad and horrible they can be, they are My Team.

Richmond is all about its supporters like B.Gale stated.

best of luck everybody!


P.S: i purchased mine Mid-Dec, when should i expect it to arrive?

 

[Francois Jackson]

we could see this coming since last year.

all i will say is "please purchase a Membership."

i know i can not speak for everybody, and some believe it to be a waste of time and money if you can not attend some matches.

Kevin Sheedy since said "If you are not a Member, you are not a supporter!" - i truely believe that!

it is so important for the club.

my friend is going to get his dog a Pet Member! 

i hope those who do not have a Membership can please get purchase one.

I Love Richmond, and as bad and horrible they can be, they are My Team.

Richmond is all about its supporters like B.Gale stated.

best of luck everybody!


P.S: i purchased mine Mid-Dec, when should i expect it to arrive?

 

yep i renewed both of mine this December. 

the only thing that will ever make me not renew my membership is a merger with another club. That happens its adios muchacho's for me

[Tigermonk]

dont know how much money the club has wasted ringing & mailing me to renew my lot of memberships but it aint happening 
supporters are dropping off like it or not the article is spot on
If you dish up that unprofessional poo onfield,  then people will refuse to pay memberships,  when they can go down the local footy club for some good old fashion football & biff at good drinking prices.
End of the day you get to go into the social club & drink to daylight & still have change in your pocket on the way home you cant beat a day at the footy like that.
better still you get invited back hours later for Sunday sippers  football is going to be great this year 

[bushranger]

we could see this coming since last year.

all i will say is "please purchase a Membership."

i know i can not speak for everybody, and some believe it to be a waste of time and money if you can not attend some matches.

Kevin Sheedy since said "If you are not a Member, you are not a supporter!" - i truely believe that!

it is so important for the club.

my friend is going to get his dog a Pet Member! 

i hope those who do not have a Membership can please get purchase one.

I Love Richmond, and as bad and horrible they can be, they are My Team.

Richmond is all about its supporters like B.Gale stated.

best of luck everybody!


P.S: i purchased mine Mid-Dec, when should i expect it to arrive?

 

I have renewed my membership and made it a match day one, up from the On the Bench, or what ever it was called.
And there really isn't much hope of me getting to the games all to often but I don't care.
The quote above has said it all, and I agree.

[the claw]

hmm cuz generated all those numbers did he. i think not. i know the fact we got cousins an awful lot of people thought we were finals bound. an awful lot of people. the drop in numbers is because the penny has dropped and people now realise  we are no where near finals.

Some of what you say may be true claw but you are kidding yourself if you believe Cousins recruitment did not have a massive impact on additional memberships in '09.

no more b/s the club should be openly saying we have a very young and immature list and our ladder position is likely to be low.
 they should be saying  l the onus for this club is to find and play young players who in time will get us to finals, ladder position means jack atm.

If you've been paying attention I think it's pretty clear that the club(Hardwick, March, Gale etc.) have left supporters under no false illusions that there are hard yards ahead. 'No shortcuts' has been a consistent theme over the off season. 14 new faces is a fair clean out in anyone's language. Only two clubs ever have had a bigger turnover in a single season. It's not just rhetoric this time, actions are doing the talking and the club is in a full swing rebuild.
You of all posters should be somewhat pleased..

yeah im pleased i think theres still plenty more thart need turning over though imo hardwick has done the easy bit. 
all im saying is im concerned. the clubs recent history says every time we are strapped for cash or numbers in membership  go low we take short cuts. i dont have the trust in them to not do it again. im hoping they will tough it out and see thru what ever new plan thay have.

oh and i didnt say cuzs recruitment did not have an impact i believe a combination of cuz and the fact with him in the team most thought we would make finals. one only had to look at the list its structure and the quality to know this was never going to happen.

[yellowandback]

dont know how much money the club has wasted ringing & mailing me to renew my lot of memberships but it aint happening 
supporters are dropping off like it or not the article is spot on
If you dish up that unprofessional poo onfield,  then people will refuse to pay memberships,  when they can go down the local footy club for some good old fashion football & biff at good drinking prices.
End of the day you get to go into the social club & drink to daylight & still have change in your pocket on the way home you cant beat a day at the footy like that.
better still you get invited back hours later for Sunday sippers  football is going to be great this year 

maybe they would be better off without violent drunks as members

[Tigermonk]

maybe they would be better off without violent drunks as members

whos a violent drunk ?

[WilliamPowell]

P.S: i purchased mine Mid-Dec, when should i expect it to arrive?

 

Late January to early/mid-february is what I got told on Tuesday when I renewed the peanuts junior stuff

(which IMHO is a bit disppointing - too late)

[Penelope]

Does the membership get you into the NAB games? If so wouldn't you expect to receive them before Feb 13?

[tigersalive]

Does the membership get you into the NAB games? If so wouldn't you expect to receive them before Feb 13?

No.

I think North Melbourne is the only membership that has that as a benefit.

[bojangles17]

dont know how much money the club has wasted ringing & mailing me to renew my lot of memberships but it aint happening 
supporters are dropping off like it or not the article is spot on
If you dish up that unprofessional poo onfield,  then people will refuse to pay memberships,  when they can go down the local footy club for some good old fashion football & biff at good drinking prices.
End of the day you get to go into the social club & drink to daylight & still have change in your pocket on the way home you cant beat a day at the footy like that.
better still you get invited back hours later for Sunday sippers  football is going to be great this year 

then what motivates you to remain interested in RFC  via internet forums, coz it's free

[MADTIGER2010]

dont know how much money the club has wasted ringing & mailing me to renew my lot of memberships but it aint happening 
supporters are dropping off like it or not the article is spot on
If you dish up that unprofessional poo onfield,  then people will refuse to pay memberships,  when they can go down the local footy club for some good old fashion football & biff at good drinking prices.
End of the day you get to go into the social club & drink to daylight & still have change in your pocket on the way home you cant beat a day at the footy like that.
better still you get invited back hours later for Sunday sippers  football is going to be great this year 

You're just a half hearted fan then. You'd rather go to a boring amateur game with a crowd of 30 people lol. Good luck