The thread’s gone a bit all over the place, but I’d sort of like to get back on topic. On the third page I expressed my macro opinion: That we need to keep a home ground advantage and a unifying cultural identity that’s anchored within a community. To me, this seems particularly crucial given that we’re shit right now. When I say shit, I’m basing that on being officially third last, having what looks like the worst pack in the comp and being a heartbeat away from having another water bottle carrier as head coach. In those circumstances, f***, we need every small advantage we can cling to. Especially in light of our experience in the second half of the 80s when we were also shit and nomadic at the same time and we bounced around the bottom end of the table for more than half a decade. I think we could easily dip into that sort of LOL@Saints spiral, if we haven’t already.
So, my first thought is to put that desperate need for minor advantage wherever we can get it ahead of amenities, convenience and the fact that I can walk to Allianz and the SCG and get proper food and a good coffee on the way. (f*** you all, I am a marshamallow eater).
But I can see another side to the argument. It’s not unreasonable for slackboy to raise the financial benefits of the move and it’s not unreasonable to suggest that a successful (remember success,? f****ng distant memory now) Saints side should be playing at a premium, contemporary venue in front of 25K plus crowds. Which is why, when R2K emerged in the early 2000s I was ambivalent to the cause, even though R2K himself is simply one of the greatest people alive.
I thought at the time, as I sort of think now “f*** it, win a comp out of the SFS and it becomes as much a part of our lore and tradition as the holy land of Kogarah”. We didn’t win that comp, of course, and we scuttled back to Jubilee and WIN with our tails between our legs. That, to me, was a missed opportunity. If we hadn’t kept re-signing Farrar or giving the job to SG Ball standard novices we might have a couple more premierships under our belt and be regularly playing at the SFS to average crowds of 20K plus.
Here’s my challenge, then to Doust, who, to put my cards on the table, I see as a bit of a suburban hack rather than the sort of dynamic and entrepreneurial leader a club such as ours genuinely needs. FFS, stop buying f****ng reserve graders. No, stop buying them, seriously. Stop signing minor league level coaches because they’re cheap and you can push them around. Aim up hard to win the comp in 2015 now that you’ve already blown 2014. And then maybe, in 2016 people will be a bit more mellow about accepting that the best club deserves to play at the best ground in front of the biggest crowds.
I hate to say it, but there is nothing -- nothing -- that we can talk about that doesn’t come directly back to winning the comp. We are all unprepared to wait until 2041, wherever the f*** we play.
