ACFC return to their spiritual home this weekend after their pitch upgrade and clubhouse extensions have been completed. Apparently the ground and surrounds are looking magic. Maybe the inspiration the City boys need as the business end of the season has arrived?
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Your lads won't know what do with a decent pitch after so long in Te Atatu... 
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I am looking forward to watching football again at Kiwitea street. Best small football ground in the country. Business end of the season for City and they cannot afford to lose anymore games or they are going to miss out. Kiwitea should give them the lift to maybe do it.
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ACFC return to their spiritual home this weekend after their pitch upgrade and clubhouse extensions have been completed. Apparently the ground and surrounds are looking magic. Maybe the inspiration the City boys need as the business end of the season has arrived?
Is it not the home of Central first and foremost?
A dog with a bone :)
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Take me home, Sandringham
To the place, i belong
Kiwitea, to see the City
Take me home, Sandringham
Three for me, and two for them.
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Second that. I'll see you there Sid.
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ACFC return to their spiritual home this weekend after their pitch upgrade and clubhouse extensions have been completed. Apparently the ground and surrounds are looking magic. Maybe the inspiration the City boys need as the business end of the season has arrived?
Is it not the home of Central first and foremost?
It is and ACFC is a franchise but it is a franchise whose heart is very much Central Football club
Peoples Republik of Aucklandia
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CUFC...the club with the strongest heartbeat in the country!
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Thats a bold statement to make. Have you been to other clubs and seen their support? How is your womens and junior subscriptions.
Measuring support is purely subjective and serves no purpose other than chest thumping.
Now supporting St Mirren on the other hand.....
Measuring support is purely subjective and serves no purpose other than chest thumping.
Now supporting St Mirren on the other hand.....
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CUFC...the club with the best Steak Sandwiches in the country!
Fixed.
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Thats a bold statement to make. Have you been to other clubs and seen their support?
Trust me!
There can be only one!! It is embarrassing to see how far behind the rest are................... no idea!
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I'm tempted to close this.
A perfectly reasonable note on Kiwitea St. has somehow converted in to 'Central is the bestest club eva' from people who never leave Auckland during winter.
Back on topic or I clear it out and close it.
A perfectly reasonable note on Kiwitea St. has somehow converted in to 'Central is the bestest club eva' from people who never leave Auckland during winter.
Back on topic or I clear it out and close it.
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Don't close it, Hard.
I'd actually be interested to hear some comment, as a fellow club administrator, as to the component parts that come together to make Central United so good.
I say this because there are relatively few models that we can look to for "best practice".
Someone on this thread pointed the bone with a question about how many junior or womens subs the club has.
I can't help thinking that that is a blind alley. If I understand the Central approach, they see themselves as a "boutique club" which does a few things well, rahter than spread themselves thinly in a lot of areas.
I often wonder if that isn't what we should be doing here in the Waikato, having some clubs specialise in producing juniors, others specialise in promoting youth football, and others turn their attention to the women's game.
Everybody can make up their own mind on whether central are good, or how good they are. But
in the circumstances I'd prefer to hear first hand anecdotal evidence about Central's operations, admin structure, philosphy and mission statement and use that as a basis for comparison.
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Yes, I would also like some clarity on what "the strongest heartbeat in the country" actually means.
Perhaps our friends at Central could enlighten us all with their wisdom...
Perhaps our friends at Central could enlighten us all with their wisdom...
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I shall attempt to explain my comments (with out trying to antagonise anyone)
There are two ways I can look at this argument
1: Now I do give Central credit in that they have a strong cultural following (Croatian) and alot of those guys are passionate yellow and blue supporters, will volunteer for anything and I'm pretty sure, sponsor the club to keep it afloat. The people behind the bar never see the game but I've seen them there most weekends out of the last 4 years. In terms of CLUB PEOPLE/SUPPORT I think it would be pretty hard to measure up against that in that they would have one of the best support networks in the country (and I have seen a few clubs)
2: Its no secret that junior fees placate the mens club and obviously with the success Central/ACFC have had and players bought in etc, it would not be unreasonable to make the assumption that the men generally speaking in the top team, don't have to pay any expenses in terms of subs, boots, fines etc (generalisation). How ever there is very little junior teams and no womens team (that I know of). Granted there is the issue of adequate playing surfaces in that area but I would think club membership in terms of active numbers would be dwarfed in terms of Auckland compared to an Eastern Suburbs, a Waitakere, a 3 kings. So how can you say you have a strong heart beat when you have no real teams below the mens where the men go along and support the juniors in the morning and the juniors go along and support the men in the afternoon?
It might be old school talk but as Bruce puts it nicely, Central are more a boutique club. I'm guessing great support from the network so the senior team have it all laid out for them and hence produce results. To me thats not a strong heart beat, thats eliteist.
I can see 1 part of the equation, but I certainly can't see the other part of it so how does that quantify a statement "Strong heart beat"
There are two ways I can look at this argument
1: Now I do give Central credit in that they have a strong cultural following (Croatian) and alot of those guys are passionate yellow and blue supporters, will volunteer for anything and I'm pretty sure, sponsor the club to keep it afloat. The people behind the bar never see the game but I've seen them there most weekends out of the last 4 years. In terms of CLUB PEOPLE/SUPPORT I think it would be pretty hard to measure up against that in that they would have one of the best support networks in the country (and I have seen a few clubs)
2: Its no secret that junior fees placate the mens club and obviously with the success Central/ACFC have had and players bought in etc, it would not be unreasonable to make the assumption that the men generally speaking in the top team, don't have to pay any expenses in terms of subs, boots, fines etc (generalisation). How ever there is very little junior teams and no womens team (that I know of). Granted there is the issue of adequate playing surfaces in that area but I would think club membership in terms of active numbers would be dwarfed in terms of Auckland compared to an Eastern Suburbs, a Waitakere, a 3 kings. So how can you say you have a strong heart beat when you have no real teams below the mens where the men go along and support the juniors in the morning and the juniors go along and support the men in the afternoon?
It might be old school talk but as Bruce puts it nicely, Central are more a boutique club. I'm guessing great support from the network so the senior team have it all laid out for them and hence produce results. To me thats not a strong heart beat, thats eliteist.
I can see 1 part of the equation, but I certainly can't see the other part of it so how does that quantify a statement "Strong heart beat"
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Gees, if we have to start to explain it then you will never get it.
The club has more enthusiastic football people that are willing to put their souls into a club than any other in NZ.
Every club has it's stalwarts who work their guts out, week in and week out, Central has them in abundance.
Simple really!
Name me a club that has come close in the last 10 years?
BillyAuckland2008-03-22 22:08:57
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The club has more enthusiastic football people that are willing to put their souls into a club than any other in NZ.
[/QUOTE]
Unliess I have taken that out of context, that is purely opinion.
[QUOTE=BillyAuckland]
[/QUOTE]
Unliess I have taken that out of context, that is purely opinion.
[QUOTE=BillyAuckland]
Every club has it's stalwarts who work their guts out, week in and week out, Central has them in abundance.
Simple really!
Name me a club that has come close in the last 10 years?
Napier City Rovers.
May not get the results but their support is exceptional and is just as good if not better than Central.
Apologies to Hard News...
Agent 472008-03-23 12:59:28
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The only thing I have to say is Central only need a smaller number of people to "work their guts out" as they don't have junior or women players. How many people must it take to run 3 Kings who have something like 1700 juniors.
I am not deriding Central but all clubs have a heart and soul but what they dont have is the access to the $$$ that Central can call on.
they have been very successful but they are now playing in this awful northern region league which looks to me a waste of time. Clubs survive when they are striving.
I am old enough to remember travelling up from the Waikato to play against Central at the old Kiwitea street which was mud field and really bad facilities. To see it now is very impressive.
They are an example of what a club can achieve but they are doing it without fostering any junior talent. That's their choice as a club as it is Mt Wgtn to play in fed 2 regional football.
I am not deriding Central but all clubs have a heart and soul but what they dont have is the access to the $$$ that Central can call on.
they have been very successful but they are now playing in this awful northern region league which looks to me a waste of time. Clubs survive when they are striving.
I am old enough to remember travelling up from the Waikato to play against Central at the old Kiwitea street which was mud field and really bad facilities. To see it now is very impressive.
They are an example of what a club can achieve but they are doing it without fostering any junior talent. That's their choice as a club as it is Mt Wgtn to play in fed 2 regional football.
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as a southerner we havn't got such a bad record at kiwitea
Season 1: Otago 1 ACFC 0
Season 2: Otago 1 ACFC 0, Otago 1 ACFC 4
Season 3: Otago 2 ACFC 2 (that was the game where you had all the cameras and stuff threr for the CWC)
This record could include a fine 5-4 victory for Dn Tech over central united in the last season of the olde nat league
A couple of losses at McLeod Road trhis season however
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Gees, if we have to start to explain it then you will never get it.
The club has more enthusiastic football people that are willing to put their souls into a club than any other in NZ.
Every club has it's stalwarts who work their guts out, week in and week out, Central has them in abundance.
Simple really!
Name me a club that has come close in the last 10 years?
Miramar
Longest run in National League football of any club and only replaced by Franchise system...still your club got away with that aye Billy!
Napier City Rovers
A rich history of National League football also...
There is a couple to mention do get over yourself Billy
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Every club has it's stalwarts who work their guts out, week in and week out, Central has them in abundance.
Simple really!
Name me a club that has come close in the last 10 years?
Napier City Rovers.
May not get the results but their support is exceptional and is just as good if not better than Central.
Apologies to Hard News...
My first thought was Napier City Rovers also (and I have no connections at all with NCR).
I'm not really interested in a debate about "who's the best club?" but for what its worth I measure the value of a club by the impact it has on its local community, rather than results. League championships come and go (and are soon forgotten) but how are you actually improving peoples lives?
And of course, only the local club can have an impact on the local community. Clubs tend to naturally evolve to meet whatever need exists in the community, so surely they are all as important as each other?
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The only thing I have to say is Central only need a smaller number of people to "work their guts out" as they don't have junior or women players. How many people must it take to run 3 Kings who have something like 1700 juniors.
I am not deriding Central but all clubs have a heart and soul but what they dont have is the access to the $$$ that Central can call on.
they have been very successful but they are now playing in this awful northern region league which looks to me a waste of time. Clubs survive when they are striving.
I am old enough to remember travelling up from the Waikato to play against Central at the old Kiwitea street which was mud field and really bad facilities. To see it now is very impressive.
They are an example of what a club can achieve but they are doing it without fostering any junior talent. That's their choice as a club as it is Mt Wgtn to play in fed 2 regional football.
I am not deriding Central but all clubs have a heart and soul but what they dont have is the access to the $$$ that Central can call on.
they have been very successful but they are now playing in this awful northern region league which looks to me a waste of time. Clubs survive when they are striving.
I am old enough to remember travelling up from the Waikato to play against Central at the old Kiwitea street which was mud field and really bad facilities. To see it now is very impressive.
They are an example of what a club can achieve but they are doing it without fostering any junior talent. That's their choice as a club as it is Mt Wgtn to play in fed 2 regional football.
Really? If you go to the Central website they're about to start trials for 10th grade players up - I'd say that's fostering talent.
I think Bruce has a point - Central do the Mens game and juniors very well - that's their focus - building a team/club that the community can be proud of - in other words a winning team. Regardless of whether you think that is the right way to go about things you have to admit they're focused, have achieved a lot in a short amount of time and are generally very good at it.
I wouldn't necessarily say it's the best club in the country but I think there are aspects to the running of the club that other clubs could look at and learn from - the biggest I would say would be the fostering of a community spirit that means multiple generations of families are involved throughout - it really is a family club.
Hard News2008-03-27 17:29:28Peoples Republik of Aucklandia
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Now that Proak, is a common sense statement from an ACFC/Central supporter that I can agree with. Well done son
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Fostering talent this season does not mean that Central have been fostering talent. Central are known throughout Auckland for their approaches to u15 players to join their academy.
They annoy a lot of clubs who are putting time, effort and money into developing talent and never get the use of the talent for their first teams etc. Maybe there has to be a transfer fee instead of a single approach with monetary incentives to the individual.
I naively thought that the Franchise team in each Federation was to look after youth not remove them for the betterment of individual clubs. We might as well go back to a club based NZFC.
I would like to see the talented youth who play in the Central reserves and academy teams who were poached from other clubs back playing in their first teams.
On the other hand Central do have a very young first team and they do give young players a chance so they do foster youth. I do like the spirit and energy Central have but its naive to accept carte blanc that everything is done perfectly.
They annoy a lot of clubs who are putting time, effort and money into developing talent and never get the use of the talent for their first teams etc. Maybe there has to be a transfer fee instead of a single approach with monetary incentives to the individual.
I naively thought that the Franchise team in each Federation was to look after youth not remove them for the betterment of individual clubs. We might as well go back to a club based NZFC.
I would like to see the talented youth who play in the Central reserves and academy teams who were poached from other clubs back playing in their first teams.
On the other hand Central do have a very young first team and they do give young players a chance so they do foster youth. I do like the spirit and energy Central have but its naive to accept carte blanc that everything is done perfectly.
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I think quite possibly North shore and esp. Mt. Wellington belong here.
Wellington for those that remember had the best facilities in NZ for a very long time and until very recently had a very staunch backbone of supporters, helpers etc.
Of course they have now moved onto fostering youth. Although as we all know this was done with intelligence knowning that there is NO MONEY IN THE LOCAL GAME.
Supporter world's best and worst football teams: Waikato/WaiBop, Kingz, Knights, Phoenix, The Argyle, The Whites & the All Whites
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