Are the Port Magpies in serious trouble?

[CC]

I've heard a few rumours including from a bloke at the footy on Sunday who believes talks are underway to merge Port Magpies with West Adelaide!

But I hear more reliably that Port has to come up with $300,000 pretty quickly to keep the banks happy, after some poor investments in the hotel industry.

Looks like we could be getting rid of the bye.

[Lou]

I think we might still end up with the bye because South are in such disarray they shouldn't be in the SANFL. I wouldn't be surprised if there is a revolt of the membership there and the whole board gets sacked. From the outside looking in I would say the club is in major need of a sweepout if it is to survive.
I wouldn't like to see Port merge with West - I've got too much respect for West to have to put up with that!!!

[CC]

No I wouldn't like to see a Port/West merger either. You start chipping away at the history of the league and before you know it, you've got a whole pile of merged and/or new entities that nobody identifies with. The AFL would be rubbing their hands with glee to see the last bastion of real footy finally collapse.

[ASCOLI]

It doesn't overly worry me whether or not Port Magpies stay in the SANFL, in fact, at the time of Port Power joining the AFL, I believed it was best for all parties, for the Magpies to move on from the SANFL.

Whilst recently the SANFL Commission has been blamed for "insisting" that the Magpies kept a presence in the SANFL, I cannot remember that being a big issue at the time of Port Power being accepted into the AFL.
Given the AFL had pretty much assured Port they would be handed the second licence, I'm sure, if Port had really wanted to leave the SANFL, there was little the latter could have done to stop it.

However, if they really wanted to leave the SANFL, and it was the Commission's fault that they remained , I don't understand what their problem is now.

Careful what you wish for ............

[StrayDog]

..... I wouldn't like to see Port merge with West - I've got too much respect for West to have to put up with that!!!

Well, yeah - but at least the "Williams" name would be back where it belongs.

[CC]

It's a tough one and I must admit I'm divided on the issue of Port Adelaide. On the one hand, I don't want to see any part of the SANFL fall by the wayside. On the other hand, I recognise that the 'real' Port Adelaide have already left the SANFL and that the Port 'Magpies' were just created as a shadow team to remain in the SANFL. A bizarre situation and surely a first for any league in the world.

Just give me 5 minutes in charge of footy administration in this country and I'll fix EVERYTHING!