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How do we get people to come to games?


citypool
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Could be worse - you could be following victory.

For all the concern over our support and crowds, just look at those clowns as a reference point - playing shit football, in front of shit crowds at a shit venue. Muscat leaving tore the soul out of that club and watching their pathetic display on Friday gave me a good laugh on the weekend.

In comparison to them and most other clubs, i am quite happy where we're at right now tbh...

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Low crowds bother me too but by the same token, I'm part of the problem given I lost interest and only watched games very sporadically over the past two and a bit seasons.

Obviously it isn't entirely reflective, but the official Melbourne City facebook page has 230k followers suggesting we have a pretty sizeable base - meaning the main problem isn't attracting new fans but reconnecting with old fans from both Heart and City eras. 

Between the underwhelming on-field performances of Heart, the messy takeover and rebranding by CFG, the absence of club-supporter communication largely up until this season, the David Villa guest stint and Lampard non-signing, the Joyce appointment, lack of capitalising Tim Cahill, the Fornaroli fiasco and the wider apathy towards the entire A-League, it's really no wonder why there is such a notable disconnect still despite the brighter optimism this season. I think it's also important to recognise that people mostly have better things to do in the Spring/Summer than watch us play in perhaps not the greatest timeslots, so the only thing we can really hope for is continued success and entertaining performances which is what we've seen under Mombaerts so far, and continued communication and relationship building/repairing with fans. 

Matchdays have still been great though, I should really stress and the City Terrace has been really strong in atmosphere-building despite the obvious lower numbers and should really be commended.

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11 minutes ago, Nate said:

Low crowds bother me too but by the same token, I'm part of the problem given I lost interest and only watched games very sporadically over the past two and a bit seasons.

Obviously it isn't entirely reflective, but the official Melbourne City facebook page has 230k followers suggesting we have a pretty sizeable base - meaning the main problem isn't attracting new fans but reconnecting with old fans from both Heart and City eras. 

Between the underwhelming on-field performances of Heart, the messy takeover and rebranding by CFG, the absence of club-supporter communication largely up until this season, the David Villa guest stint and Lampard non-signing, the Joyce appointment, lack of capitalising Tim Cahill, the Fornaroli fiasco and the wider apathy towards the entire A-League, it's really no wonder why there is such a notable disconnect still despite the brighter optimism this season. I think it's also important to recognise that people mostly have better things to do in the Spring/Summer than watch us play in perhaps not the greatest timeslots, so the only thing we can really hope for is continued success and entertaining performances which is what we've seen under Mombaerts so far, and continued communication and relationship building/repairing with fans. 

Matchdays have still been great though, I should really stress and the City Terrace has been really strong in atmosphere-building despite the obvious lower numbers and should really be commended.

Sums it up nicely. I'll add another factor as well - seemingly never-ending disruptions to Melbourne's public transport and poor country rail services, both especially on Sundays, mean that sometimes it's just too fucking hard to get to the match and home again, despite one's best intentions.

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3 hours ago, citypool said:

Winning games check

Likeable manager check

Playing young players  check

Play attacking football  check

loud active area check 

what’s missing?

A key issue is the keyboard warriors that were screaming for all these ingredients are still not showing up.

Getting a world-renowned star to come in will bring a short term attendance boost but doesn't guarantee success in the same season. E.g Del Piero.

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20 minutes ago, Chris p said:

I'm not sure there's anything more tedious than talking about crowds 

I’m sure a lot of people feel that way but we are in a position where we can get overtaken by western United when they get their stadium. I want this club to be successful off the field as well as on it.

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Moving in the right direction this season but it'll take time to win back fans after the last 2 seasons that were wasted. Having a few of the players who aren't in the matchday squad at Gosch's Paddock every game would help. My oldest is 6 and hasn't really shown an interest but after meeting the players pre and post game now he wants to come to more games, surprisingly so does the wife after meeting Macca and Bouzanis. Even small things like giving 20 community clubs a family pass every week to raffle or give away on facebook will at least help spread the word that we're playing at home.

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1 hour ago, Chris p said:

I'm not sure there's anything more tedious than talking about crowds 

Agree,

We are going to end up being the hipster/jazz type club. Very well informed but too smart for our own good, hence reluctant to blindly follow.

 

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Just for reference, here's every single home game we've had over 10k (not counting home derbies). Predictably, there definitely appears to be a correlation between winning and crowds. Also, recognisable names seem to help, as seen by the large amount of games over 10k when we had Cahill. 

MHFC 

10/11 Round 1 vs CCM: 11,050 - First ever game

12/13 Round 2 vs Wellington: 11,007 - Derby win in previous game 

12/13 Round 22 vs Sydney: 13,752 

13/14 Round 27 vs WSW: 10,003 - Last game as Heart

MCFC

14/15 Round 2 vs Newcastle: 15,717 - First home game as City + David Villa

14/15 Round 4 vs Adelaide: 13,083 - David Villa

15/16 Round 13 vs Sydney: 10,140 - 3rd on ladder at time 

15/16 Round 16 vs Wellington: 10,825 

15/16 Round 27 vs Adelaide: 11,454 - Last game of season

15/16 Elimination Final vs Perth: 11,273 - Final 

16/17 Round 4 vs Adelaide: 10,053 - 3rd on ladder + Tim Cahill

16/17 Round 8 vs Wellington: 10,644 - 2nd on ladder +Tim Cahill

16/17 Round 12 vs Perth: 11,269 - Tim Cahill

16/17 Round 14 vs WSW: 10,731 - Tim Cahill

16/17 Round 21 vs Sydney: 10,706 - 3rd on ladder + Tim Cahill

16/17 FFA Cup Final vs Sydney: 18,751 - Cup Final + Tim Cahill

17/18 Round 5 vs Sydney: 11,034 - 1st on ladder following 4 game win streak

18/19 Round 2 vs Sydney: 12,086 

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4 hours ago, Bob Latchford said:

A key issue is the keyboard warriors that were screaming for all these ingredients are still not showing up.

Getting a world-renowned star to come in will bring a short term attendance boost but doesn't guarantee success in the same season. E.g Del Piero.

I think that it requires consistency in getting Star players. Not just in one season or for a couple games. This needs to be the norm to get more people through the gate.

We are a little naive to think that all damage is forgotten after 4 rounds, these keyboard warriors and the general public need a little more time. 

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8 hours ago, jw1739 said:

Sums it up nicely. I'll add another factor as well - seemingly never-ending disruptions to Melbourne's public transport and poor country rail services, both especially on Sundays, mean that sometimes it's just too fucking hard to get to the match and home again, despite one's best intentions.

Yes, this. Getting from Richmond to Southern Cross takes longer than the trip back Geelong way after evening matches. 

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11 hours ago, jw1739 said:

Of course, we wouldn't be discussing this if we played in a stadium of 10,000 capacity...

Notice how good Sydney's crowds look now that they're playing at Kogarah or Leichhardt (both 20,000).

Yep put a little boutique stadium at Bundoora. Then lobby the state gov to get onto the Bundoora part of the suburban rail loop asap.

 

but on another point I think that we are a bit of a barometer for the feeling of the league as a whole. The league is in a slump across the board and our crowds reflect that malaise imo

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3 hours ago, Dylan said:

Yep put a little boutique stadium at Bundoora. Then lobby the state gov to get onto the Bundoora part of the suburban rail loop asap. but on another point I think that we are a bit of a barometer for the feeling of the league as a whole. The league is in a slump across the board and our crowds reflect that malaise imo

Run buses from the nearest station on match days?

But I still believe that all these things will make only a marginal difference. We are still seen as the Antipodean Branch Office of a Manchester-based football club. Only when people identify us with Melbourne do I believe that we will reconnect with the fans. Not one of our four directors is Melbourne-based. They make decisions based on CFG corporate interests, not specific Melbourne City interests. Doesn't mean that I don't support the club - I've missed only a handful of home matches in 9+ seasons, as did my wife until she became seriously ill, but I see this as the major stumbling block in our development.

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5 hours ago, Dylan said:

Yep put a little boutique stadium at Bundoora. Then lobby the state gov to get onto the Bundoora part of the suburban rail loop asap.

Actually not a silly point. The exact location of the stations has not yet been decided on. As you say, start planning the location for a stadium and lobby the government for the station close by - maybe CFG can offer a sweetener. Would make it very easy to get to for a lot of people - including those in the South East eg Cheltenham!

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5 minutes ago, mjake1234 said:

Actually not a silly point. The exact location of the stations has not yet been decided on. As you say, start planning the location for a stadium and lobby the government for the station close by - maybe CFG can offer a sweetener. Would make it very easy to get to for a lot of people - including those in the South East eg Cheltenham!

From the past plans I have seen there is definitely one proposed at Latrobe in Bundoora

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1 hour ago, mjake1234 said:

Actually not a silly point. The exact location of the stations has not yet been decided on. As you say, start planning the location for a stadium and lobby the government for the station close by - maybe CFG can offer a sweetener. Would make it very easy to get to for a lot of people - including those in the South East eg Cheltenham!

It would be even more hideous to get to from Geelong than AAMI. No thanks. 

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1 hour ago, mjake1234 said:

Actually not a silly point. The exact location of the stations has not yet been decided on. As you say, start planning the location for a stadium and lobby the government for the station close by - maybe CFG can offer a sweetener. Would make it very easy to get to for a lot of people - including those in the South East eg Cheltenham!

Our stadium location is fine don’t you think. We belong in the City as our name and crest suggest. Invest those millions in other things and the top deck will open in a couple seasons.

1 hour ago, Dylan said:

From the past plans I have seen there is definitely one proposed at Latrobe in Bundoora

A small stadium for youth, NPL and W-League perhaps? That’s very common nowadays in Europe to have this next to the training ground.

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14 minutes ago, Nate said:

I ain't going to Bundoora, did plenty enough of that throughout my La Trobe days lol.

AAMI Park is a great stadium that we shouldn't take for granted, just focus on boosting attendances long-term and we'll eventually grow into it better.

 It’s only a matter of time before AAMI will be rebranded to Puma or Etihad Stadium.

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Most important thing is to keep winning, re-establishing the brand.

The marketing department needs to schedule a series of events and unique promotions. For example maybe they could send a free double pass to anyone who has ever been a Heart/City member to the Perth Friday night match in December. Just see what the take up rate is first of all and then try to re-engage from then on. 

 

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Winning is the key really, and not just bits and pieces, but sustained success and proof that you can put your belief and faith into what the club is carrying out on the field.

Establishing an identity from an ON-FIELD standpoint is important too. The off-field stuff will grow organically over time, but finding our own niche in terms of on-field product and structure is easier to to develop in the short term. Personally, I feel a greater focus on youth (which we seem to be seeing at the moment) and the attacking football we were originally promised will help to set us apart and develop a brand that people can attach to/be attracted to.

I'd much prefer to see a team full of Metcalfes, Arzanis, Atkinsons and the like to a team full of over the hill VISA's with name value.

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9 minutes ago, Embee said:

I'd much prefer to see a team full of Metcalfes, Arzanis, Atkinsons and the like to a team full of over the hill VISA's with name value.

Yep 100%. We need to make sure can hold onto these players for a few years too - if we still had Arzani I reckon that'd help heaps for crowds. I'm still quite disappointed he left so quickly. 

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13 minutes ago, Embee said:

I'd much prefer to see a team full of Metcalfes, Arzanis, Atkinsons and the like to a team full of over the hill VISA's with name value.

So would I. But you and I are rusted-on. I still think that you need one big name to get the latent support into the stadium. David Villa and Del Piero proved that. 

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43 minutes ago, jw1739 said:

So would I. But you and I are rusted-on. I still think that you need one big name to get the latent support into the stadium. David Villa and Del Piero proved that. 

They proved that those signings lead to a short term increase, once they both left though their impact had almost no ongoing legacy.

I think a successful focus on youth and positive football would have a greater long term impact

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