Matt Calder Letter to Papers/Radio stations

Hey everyone, got this email forwarded to me from a friend of a friend. Its a pretty good letter i think, summed up my feelings.

the email from Matt (below)
> is the gold. It was read aloud, in full, on either 2CC or 2CN this
> morning, and an edited version published in the Canberra Times this
> morning. He's now trying to set up a meeting with Buckley, the FFA bloke,
> and Ivan Slavich.
>
> It's a really, really good letter, too.

G'day,
>
> Just wanted to clarify my anger. The AFL crowd at Manuka was 7411 and on a
> rainy, Sunday afternoon it competed directly with the Canberra
> Raiders-Wests Tigers match. The Demons are the worst team in the league and
> the Swans had lost six of their last seven matches leading into the game.
> Canberra's other AFL match this season drew 12,457, considering Manuka only
> holds 15,000 a reasonable attendance and great atmosphere. Coincidently in
> the same round Gold Coast drew 9112 and they've already been awarded an AFL
> team.
>
> Admittedly the Cosmos were lucky to be averaging 1,000 per game by the end
> of the NSL but this shouldn't count against any future bid for the
> A-League. The Brisbane Strikers averaged less than 4,000 in the NSL and
> were handed a team in the inaugural A-League as the Queensland Roar. To
> their credit they've already had crowds of over 20,000 to matches and last
> year had a season average of 13,000 which was above the competition season
> average.
>
> Yes, a Canberra A-League team would be in competition with the Brumbies and
> Raiders but as the season will run from August to March they will actually
> be the only team playing in Canberra at a professional level for the entire
> Summer. After the Brumbies finish in May and the Raiders in September, I
> believe there is a window of opportunity for sponsors to get National
> coverage at a much cheaper rate than the other football codes. Let's be
> honest, In December and January a Canberra team would be competing with the
> Canberra Comets and Summernats for coverage on WIN Local news and the
> Canberra Times. I believe sponsors would see value for money in sponsoring
> a Canberra team over the other codes in Summer.
>
> I agree petitions mean little when it comes to lobbying professional
> organisations but "A-League for Canberra" (the lobby group) did get 20,000
> signatures in support of a team in Canberra and did get 2,000 people to pay
> $200 each for the rite to be a foundation member (Timmy Ivins and myself
> are two of them). Although this may seem insignificant, where is the lobby
> group for an A League team for western Sydney? In fact where were the lobby
> groups for Gold Coast or Townsville? Both were handed franchises and have
> averaged the spectacular attendances of 6,996 and 7,528 respectively this
> season.
>
> Our stadium and fans were tested when the FFA awarded the Socceroos a match
> in Canberra earlier this year. To our credit 20,032 people attended a
> soccer match, mid week with no overseas Australian players play Kuwait who
> are ranked 110th in the world. I believe this was a terrific result that
> proved the people of the ACT and surrounding areas have matured as football
> fans and are ready to universally support an A-League team.
>
> As for the debacle last Friday night, there was little to no promotion
> spent by the FFA in the lead up to the match. The teams didn't arrive until
> Thursday afternoon and Friday morning respectively. I compare this with the
> Wallabies who spent the whole week in the ACT promoting a match against
> Italy and were awarded with a crowd in excess of 20,000. As for the match
> itself, it was Gosford vs Perth! It was played on a Friday night in direct
> competition with an AFL final, two bumper rugby league matches and the
> world mountain bike championships were also on all week. The final crowd of
> 5139 should be put in perspective, Gold Coast United who are top of the
> table played the next day at home and got a crowd of 6,800! Central Coast
> only average 8,247 per match as it is. In their first season they only
> averaged 7,899! If our bid is dead because of a poor crowd I believe it's a
> poor excuse.
>
> Perhaps then the reason is financial? Then why are we the only bid with
> guaranteed finance of over $4million? $2.5million is guaranteed by the ACT
> Government and the rest from private investors such as the head of TransAct
> Ivan Slavich, one of the wealthiest and most influential people in the
> region. We have the money, we have the ground and we have the fans, if
> there is going to be a twelth team I want it to be Canberra. The FFA has
> already admitted we have the strongest bid and Western Sydney (the 2nd)
> pulled out last week. I believe there is a hidden agenda and I seek Ben
> Buckley and the FFA to admit what it is?
>
> As a life long football fan people like myself deserve better than this and
> I intend to take this further with the FFA. I have written letters to
> express these feelings to major newspapers in Sydney, Melbourne and
> Canberra and I'm in the process of setting up a meeting with the FFA next
> week under the pretence that I'm a journalism student and require Ben
> Buckley for an interview for an assignment. The truth will prevail and one
> day I intend to sit with my nephew in the terraces of Canberra Stadium to
> watch Capital Punishment FC take it's rightful place in the A-League
> alongside Gosford, Gold Coast, Wellington and Townsville.
>
> Cheers

That is a brilliant read and send on behalf of the Capital Punishment supporters group our thanks to him for having the courage for this.

He has summed the whole Expansion and bidding process brilliantly and is right in every aspect.

Extremely well written.

bravo, no more forum is needed now, whenever we need to talk about the bid we'll just all look at that little letter and it sums up everything, that was brilliant.

if you're on the forum well done mate we're all behind you.

perfect!!!

BTW, we know how stubborn the FFA are, but hopefully a great piece in this will get them to sit up and take notice.

That is fantastic...

so he sent that to the FFA?

Alex351 wrote:That is fantastic...

so he sent that to the FFA?

No I believe it was into numerous media sources... Am I right, grazrat?

That sums everything up! He should also send it to the FFA

i believe it was just sent to media sources. not 100% though.

i love the guys passion and he makes some very strong and important points but there are errors in this letter and things left out. i fear the ffa will pick this letter apart and wont take it seriously. he should of done his home work and perfected the letter before putting it public.

firstly the cosmos crowds although bashed by many canberra ppl were actually not as bad as we used to think.
season 1 - 2,934
season 2 - 3,176
season 3 - 2,719
Season 4 - 2,337
season 5 - 2,428
season 6 - 2,184
now to the naked eye they look s**t but in comparison with other nsl teams it actually isnt that bad, ppl forget just how poor nsl crowds actually were.

Newcastle KB united from 1983 to 1986 averaged less than 2 thousand then folded
football kingz averaged 1,273 there last nsl season. that was enough to convince the ffa to put them into the a-league where they eventually folded. what idiots (football kinz became new zealand knights for those of you who dont know)
melbourne knights in an nsl elimination final game in 2002 drew 3,421
marconi stallions in an elimination final game in 2004 drew 2,127
brisbane strikers in an elimination final game in 2004 drew 2,790
also usually round 1 games draw big crowds well check this out in round 1 of the nsl 2004 season
Wollongong Wolves 0 – 1 Sydney United 2,346
Parramatta Power 0 – 0 South Melbourne FC 1,861
Football Kingz 1 – 2 Newcastle United 2,304
Melbourne Knights 1 – 1 Marconi Stallions 2,205
Northern Spirit 1 – 0 Brisbane Strikers 2,971
Sydney Olympic 0 – 0 Adelaide United 2,370

the point of the above is that cosmos crowds should NOT even be looked at or even slightly glanced at by the ffa. This guy although mentions it should of made that a VERY CLEAR point by whipping out more numbers than just the brisbane strikers crowds. key thing to remember about cosmos is that they were kicked out because of financial troubles due to the dumb asses runnig the team NOT THE CROWDS!!!

secondly the brisbane LIONS not strikers were the team which entered into the a-league as queansland roar and he actually commends the roars crowds. in reality the roar have s**t crowds they got 6,433 to their last game and 7,084 to the game before that for a city of 1.9 million that is heaps poor and he should of mentioned this to strengthen his letter.

thirdly in regards to the 5139 crowd on friday he is right to blame the ffa in regards to promotion but wat also screwed us over was the fact that it was on friday aka late night shopping. how many business owners and staff couldnt make it out to the game because they were stuck at work? also wat about the neutral football fan hu maybe decided to go to the mall or into the city instead of to the game. the ffa made a huge mistake with there fixturing last week not only did they put us on late night shopping they put melbourne on thursday night which is late night shopping in victoria. the result of that was 15,000 which is the smallest crowd melbourne have had since season 1. melbournes a city of 3.8 million!!! he should of got some ratios going to help compare the effect late night shopping has when clashing with games. y didnt the ffa put us on thursday and melbourne on friday, doesnt take a genius.

lastly we have 4.5 million, THAT ISNT ENOUGH. he basically says the ffa should ignore that we r 1.5 million short and just give us the license because no one has done better. the ffa are not giving any1 a license unless they get 6 million even west sydney. what he should say is that we have made 4.5 million and that it is hard to convince more ppl to jump on board a team that doesnt exist. ivan slavich sed it himself just recently in a newspaper article the dude writing the letter should of quoted him. the guy writing the letter should say that the ffa should award us a PROVISIONAL license so we can negotiate better with possible investors. they did it with melbourne heart at the start of the year and only just recently awarded them a full license.

dont get me wrong i like wat this dude wrote but it wasnt good enough and if im the ffa im laughing at it. also if the canberra team is called capital punishment fc im going to leave the country and never come back

Gate7 wrote:i love the guys passion and he makes some very strong and important points but there are errors in this letter and things left out. i fear the ffa will pick this letter apart and wont take it seriously. he should of done his home work and perfected the letter before putting it public.

firstly the cosmos crowds although bashed by many canberra ppl were actually not as bad as we used to think.
season 1 - 2,934
season 2 - 3,176
season 3 - 2,719
Season 4 - 2,337
season 5 - 2,428
season 6 - 2,184
now to the naked eye they look s**t but in comparison with other nsl teams it actually isnt that bad, ppl forget just how poor nsl crowds actually were.

Newcastle KB united from 1983 to 1986 averaged less than 2 thousand then folded
football kingz averaged 1,273 there last nsl season. that was enough to convince the ffa to put them into the a-league where they eventually folded. what idiots (football kinz became new zealand knights for those of you who dont know)
melbourne knights in an nsl elimination final game in 2002 drew 3,421
marconi stallions in an elimination final game in 2004 drew 2,127
brisbane strikers in an elimination final game in 2004 drew 2,790
also usually round 1 games draw big crowds well check this out in round 1 of the nsl 2004 season
Wollongong Wolves 0 – 1 Sydney United 2,346
Parramatta Power 0 – 0 South Melbourne FC 1,861
Football Kingz 1 – 2 Newcastle United 2,304
Melbourne Knights 1 – 1 Marconi Stallions 2,205
Northern Spirit 1 – 0 Brisbane Strikers 2,971
Sydney Olympic 0 – 0 Adelaide United 2,370

the point of the above is that cosmos crowds should NOT even be looked at or even slightly glanced at by the ffa. This guy although mentions it should of made that a VERY CLEAR point by whipping out more numbers than just the brisbane strikers crowds. key thing to remember about cosmos is that they were kicked out because of financial troubles due to the dumb asses runnig the team NOT THE CROWDS!!!

secondly the brisbane LIONS not strikers were the team which entered into the a-league as queansland roar and he actually commends the roars crowds. in reality the roar have s**t crowds they got 6,433 to their last game and 7,084 to the game before that for a city of 1.9 million that is heaps poor and he should of mentioned this to strengthen his letter.

thirdly in regards to the 5139 crowd on friday he is right to blame the ffa in regards to promotion but wat also screwed us over was the fact that it was on friday aka late night shopping. how many business owners and staff couldnt make it out to the game because they were stuck at work? also wat about the neutral football fan hu maybe decided to go to the mall or into the city instead of to the game. the ffa made a huge mistake with there fixturing last week not only did they put us on late night shopping they put melbourne on thursday night which is late night shopping in victoria. the result of that was 15,000 which is the smallest crowd melbourne have had since season 1. melbournes a city of 3.8 million!!! he should of got some ratios going to help compare the effect late night shopping has when clashing with games. y didnt the ffa put us on thursday and melbourne on friday, doesnt take a genius.

lastly we have 4.5 million, THAT ISNT ENOUGH. he basically says the ffa should ignore that we r 1.5 million short and just give us the license because no one has done better. the ffa are not giving any1 a license unless they get 6 million even west sydney. what he should say is that we have made 4.5 million and that it is hard to convince more ppl to jump on board a team that doesnt exist. ivan slavich sed it himself just recently in a newspaper article the dude writing the letter should of quoted him. the guy writing the letter should say that the ffa should award us a PROVISIONAL license so we can negotiate better with possible investors. they did it with melbourne heart at the start of the year and only just recently awarded them a full license.

dont get me wrong i like wat this dude wrote but it wasnt good enough and if im the ffa im laughing at it. also if the canberra team is called capital punishment fc im going to leave the country and never come back

Nice Post.

AS you said, EVERYONE (other than Canberrans) ignore the fact that Canberra Cosmos weren't the only teams to get below par crowds- yet they have been given 2nd chances.

Gate7 wrote:lastly we have 4.5 million, THAT ISNT ENOUGH. he basically says the ffa should ignore that we r 1.5 million short and just give us the license because no one has done better. the ffa are not giving any1 a license unless they get 6 million even west sydney. what he should say is that we have made 4.5 million and that it is hard to convince more ppl to jump on board a team that doesnt exist. ivan slavich sed it himself just recently in a newspaper article the dude writing the letter should of quoted him. the guy writing the letter should say that the ffa should award us a PROVISIONAL license so we can negotiate better with possible investors. they did it with melbourne heart at the start of the year and only just recently awarded them a full license.

100% with you here and good post gate7, if it's a financial matter then just give us aprovisional license jeez.

Well done Mat.

Copy of my letter to FFA and others.

Dear FFA staff,

Let me start by thanking you all for making the game we love a major part of the Australian sporting landscape.

I am a bit confused as to what is going to happen to the ACT bid for an A-league spot. In any of the articles I have seen, Mr Ivan Slavich the bid leader for the ACT has continued to tell the people of Canberra that the ACT has the Facilities and Money that is required to have a successful team, yet all the press out of Sydney is saying that it will be an 11 team comp next year.

I was disappointed to here Mr Buckley’s interview on Fox Sports FC the other night telling the football fraternity that it may be an 11 team competition next year and that none of the other bids have covered the full spectrum of requirements.

I was wondering if anyone from the FFA has any idea as to what is going on or is it still at a point that no decision has been made.

The feeling is that Canberra is going to miss out due to FFA being willing to wait for a Western Sydney franchise and that Canberra is only a second thought and no real hope of getting in.

I believe that the football public of Canberra deserve an answer and the procrastination on the part of FFA is getting beyond a joke.

I am a coach for Monaro Panthers FC in Queanbeyan NSW with a 1200 strong junior base. All the talk within our club is that a Canberra team will be well supported and this is shown by the much larger W-League crowds at all the Canberra United home games.

I would love a response to this e-mail with a bit more substance than wait and see and if that is not forthcoming I will send an open letter to the people of Canberra through the Canberra Times informing all of Canberra as to how seriously you at FFA are taking us.


Thanking you in advance,


Jamie

^^^^

Another good article and really does show the support for an a-league team in Canberra.

If you get a response, Jamie, please post it on here.

I will keep all of you informed, keep up the fight Canberra people/fans deserve better than what we are being shown from Lowey and his henchmen.

Great job Jamie, hopefully you'll get a response.

Agreed Jamie. We have not been treated well by the FFA- and even though we haven't come up with the finances, the FFA are just using us as a back-up, back-up and keep wanting more from us.

Yes, some great posts from grazrat, and gate7,
This is progress concerning the exposure of how the FFA are percieving the Canberra bid and we will not be treated like an unwanted, backup option!!

Get the message out there! nice work Jamie 1972...

everyone send an e-mail to the FFA in the near future ok? try and flood them with e-mails from passionate canberrans

brilliant..... sums it all up perfectly

I am contemplating whether I should also send an email to them. Maybe later tonight or tomorrow.

Good work to the people who have submitted in their concerns. I will also put in an emal to the FFA.

I'm gonna email them