Melbourne Heart FC buy out - Man City, Melbourne City FC, etc.

[Tony999]

WHY THE FUCK did you support this club in the first place.

TBH, I heard that Melbourne was getting a second team (at the beginning of season 4) and I told myself "they will need the support and it will be interesting to follow a club from the beginning- so thats going to be my club no matter how this turns out". Didnt know anything about them or what they planned on doing

I'm in the exact same boat.

[heartofmelbourne12]

You all complain about the changes, once our memberships double and we finish In the top 4. Your complaints will turn into 'oh I knew this would happen' stfu if it wasn't for city we would still be in the shit. This is the best thing to happen to the a league let alone our club. Embrace change considering how shit we are now. Man Christmas has come late but santa you have done it again.

[carpiste]

Guys, I`m a Man city fan from England. I can assure you all that this buy out will be the best thing that has ever happened to my new found, newly adopted Melbourne Heart!

The owners have transformed our club from a mediocre,struggling premier league team into Champions,FA cup winners and record goal scoring team this year and the only club left in all 4 trophies.

They have completely updated the infrastructure at the club, spent millions in the local community,bought and upgraded the stadium and the plans for the future are unbelievable.

They have almost finished a small stadium for our elite development squad and ladies team games.They have built a training facility that id deemed the bst in Europe including medical facilties.They are in the process of building a college for both City trainees and for the local community.

They have also spent money on the tram system that takes fans straight to the ground and the best thing is....the list of improvements go on and on!

The owners have also invested in the USA MLS buying the New York City club.They are truly going to be the biggest and best in the World!

Our website will give you an idea of where your( sorry our) club is going  http://www.mcfc.co.uk/

Also if you need any info from the fans go to the bluemoon website bluemoon-mcfc.co.uk

CTID   (city til I die)

[stewmac]

If you look at it from the angle of If CIty had invested in Victory not us ,we would be fuckin spewing , some people wont follow Heart if we change name etc , plenty more will jump on board tho , im glad we have got the opportunity as without it we would likely have gone the way of Nth Qld & Gold Coast...... chant for the Adelaide game

 

We're rich and you know we are

 

We're rich and you know we are

 

       

[CityHeart]

Guys, I`m a Man city fan from England. I can assure you all that this buy out will be the best thing that has ever happened to my new found, newly adopted Melbourne Heart!

The owners have transformed our club from a mediocre,struggling premier league team into Champions,FA cup winners and record goal scoring team this year and the only club left in all 4 trophies.

They have completely updated the infrastructure at the club, spent millions in the local community,bought and upgraded the stadium and the plans for the future are unbelievable.

They have almost finished a small stadium for our elite development squad and ladies team games.They have built a training facility that id deemed the bst in Europe including medical facilties.They are in the process of building a college for both City trainees and for the local community.

They have also spent money on the tram system that takes fans straight to the ground and the best thing is....the list of improvements go on and on!

The owners have also invested in the USA MLS buying the New York City club.They are truly going to be the biggest and best in the World!

Our website will give you an idea of where your( sorry our) club is going  http://www.mcfc.co.uk/

Also if you need any info from the fans go to the bluemoon website bluemoon-mcfc.co.uk

CTID   (city til I die)

 

Thanks for this! This is what has me most excited, Money was not simply thrown at Man City and hope for the best.

 

The investment has been calculated, and respectful.

 

I am expecting the same here!

[RFC56]

If you look at it from the angle of If CIty had invested in Victory not us ,we would be fuckin spewing , some people wont follow Heart if we change name etc , plenty more will jump on board tho , im glad we have got the opportunity as without it we would likely have gone the way of Nth Qld & Gold Coast...... chant for the Adelaide game

 

We're rich and you know we are

 

We're rich and you know we are

 

       

"Like" (we need more "likes" now we can afford them)  ;-)

[KD.]

 

If you look at it from the angle of If CIty had invested in Victory not us ,we would be fuckin spewing , some people wont follow Heart if we change name etc , plenty more will jump on board tho , im glad we have got the opportunity as without it we would likely have gone the way of Nth Qld & Gold Coast...... chant for the Adelaide game

 

We're rich and you know we are

 

We're rich and you know we are

 

       

"Like" (we need more "likes" now we can afford them)  ;-)

 

owe you a like

Edited January 23, 2014 by Demon_Heart

[cadete]

If you follow the AFL and support Collingwood - could you stand next to I dunno Carlton fans cheering Carlton, Carlton. 

If you followed Arsenal could you stand next to Tottenham Fans cheering "COYS" 

As a DieHardRed - I cannot stand in the terraces singing come on City ....... Oh i just cringed !!

 

Keep the Heart

Sorry but i totally agree with you.

 

How the fuck can anyone be happy with a name change.

 

WE ARE FUCKIN MELBOURNE HEART

 

And for the people who dont like our name and are happy to change it...

 

WHY THE FUCK did you support this club in the first place.

 

Im sorry but it baffles me how people are selling out.

 

People talk about "lack of identity" but we then go and sell what identity we have left to some fuckin sheik  who doesnt give a shit about this club and is only looking to make a profit,

 

I didnt sign up for Melbourne City

Relax my friend take it easy... We all bought the membership under MH and I agree with supporters that they want the same club name as MH, but this is a huge thing for the club and for the A league .....

I've been following man united for the past 35years and I always looked at man city as just a basic team that fight for relegation,but now they are top team in the epl....the changes are big, when I went to main road ex man city ground ,looked like shit......today they are playing in one of the best grounds in England ,,,,,,even the training facilities they changed.....

Man united got eliminated by Sunderland this morning so it wasn't a good start for me,but when I heard the news about the take over ,it made my day. Libba both Green Gully and St George were renamed before... is the name that important - As they will always be our Hearts.

[belaguttman]

 

I will never call the team Melbourne city, what a joke. We have just lost our club, we are now just a small part of Manchester city's master plan for world domination. Success mag we'll come as a result but we have just lost who we are, I feel that my club which I feel a strong part of is being taken away.

And to all of those who are suddenly posting now about how they would like for the name to be changed to Melbourne city and that this will be brilliant for the club. What does this club even mean to you? It is being stopped to pieces in front of you and you are sucking in this media crap. Stand up for the pride of you club. Do not let you're heart be stopped of what little identity and pride remains.

Come on you hearts- Melbourne is Red and White

This is the A-League mate, you're talking as if the club is 100 years old and was founded on principles/causes that were beyond the game. I bet you didn't give a toss when the NSL clubs and ethnic clubs were made to change their names, logos and identity. 

 

This is entirely different. We're talking about a club that is into its 4th season, yet barely surviving. The way it was going, they had no ambitions or anything, they were just there to fill a gap. The only breach of identity that is not acceptable is a change of the home kit colours. They must stay predominantly red and white. As for the name change and potential logo change, it will mark a new start. Not to mention Melbourne City Football Club sounds a lot more professional than some of the mickey mouse names going around in the A-League. Hearts is perfect as a nickname, and I'm sure that will live on in the supporters.

 

We aren't a club, we are a franchise with supporters. The franchise owners will change again in the future at some stage but the franchise holders are custodians of 'the club'. "The club' in our case is the team on the pitch representing the hopes and aspirations of the supporters - it needs both to exist so there is a mutual need and a mutual responsibility. The original franchise owners have let down the fans, hopefully the new owners will live up to our expectations.

 

What we will probably lose in this process is any opportunity for true fan ownership, and I also have some discomfort about oil money but its an imperfect world and this is probably the best possible outcome of those that were realistically possible.

[imonyarraside]

Man City are not stupid. Football fans in Australia already have their own Premier League clubs to support, I'm certainly not changing from Liverpool because of this. 

 

Two reasons why they made the investment. Football wise they can develop and pick off the best of Australia's talent. But most importantly it is a vehicle to promote all things Abu Dhabi in Australia and South East Asia. The bigger they develop the profile of the club the more they promote Abu Dhabi, simples. 

[belaguttman]

 

They have also spent money on the tram system that takes fans straight to the ground and the best thing is....the list of improvements go on and on!

 

Great news to our public transport sponsor, they'll fix our public transport network too

[belaguttman]

I think that one of the most important things to come out of this is that we actually have some owners with ambition. Guys who won't just be satisfied with being the biggest club in Australia, but want to be an Asian powerhouse. I think that is an aspect that we have been lacking since our inception.

We will be their representative in the ACL, just what we want and need

[Tony999]

Can't satisfy everyone. But if you love the club regardless what happens (to some extent) you will stay onboard. If I had to choose an EPL team I wouldn't even consider Man City but I will always love Melbourne Heart or soon to be Melbourne City?

[HeartFc]

They can change our name to Melbourne Lower Intestine FC is they want, I couldn't give a rats toss bag.

What I do care about however is: winning the fucking league, winning the ACL, building world class training facilities, filling the stadium with fans... but most of all... making the TRUE football the number 1 sport in this country AND competing for a WORLD CUP!

If you sook about a name change ahead of all those things then you're a fucking goose.

[DieHardRed]

4th April Our last away Game - There may be tears 

 

12th April ... MHFC final game - Expect a Big crowd 

 

Keep The Heart 

[Rellum]

The new owners can't buy the league with player signings, so they are going to have to do it off the park, with facilities, academies, youth development and more. All that is good for Aus football.

[Murfy1]

Some insightful details:

 

TS: Heart have been criticised for not carving out a distinctive enough identity, other than being "not" Victory [urgh  - Murfy1]. How can you counter that?

 

FS [Man City CEO]: I can say now that we will work very hard to play good football. Everything starts and finishes with that, and if we are able to play good football then we will win and attract fans and develop an identity.

 

In football, there's little space for marketing tricks - it's about playing good football. People will come to the stadium if we do and entertain them. The whole idea, in Manchester, New York and here, is entertaining people.

 

To date we have scored 106 goals in the season in England, this is what we want. Here, it might take more or less time, but it's important - we don't want to win and then play good football. We want to play good football and if then takes a bit longer to be successful, that's fine, because we want to get to the place we are in England right now.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/football/manchester-city-ceo-promises-good-football-as-heart-to-become-the-noisy-neighbours/story-fnk6pqot-1226808692282

For Heart the sky is now the limit.

 

Soriano spoke of the chance of sporting synergies not just with City in Manchester, but with  its affiliate in the US, New York FC, for which they have just bought a license as part of the next MLS expansion.

 

‘‘We have experience in football performance, medicine, sports science, and of course tactics and technical development,’’ he says.

 

‘‘We also know about player recruitment and have large scouting networks all over the world to look for players for the Melbourne team as well as the others.

 

‘‘We want all our teams to take benefit from our global organisation.’’

 

Heart fans shouldn’t however, hold their breath waiting for the likes of Yaya Toure or Sergio Aguerro to be making guest appearances down by the Yarra.

 

"We won’t be sending Manchester City players because they are City players. We will be sending the  best players this team needs,’’ Soriano says.

 

That could mean players from the MLS franchise, although Marwood, who has been one of City’s football development staff during the Sky Blues rise, did not rule out the chances of some of City’s younger and fringe players being sent over to Australia for loan deals to boost Heart’s playing stocks.

 

‘‘Why not ?’’ the former Sheffield Wednesday and Arsenal winger says.

 

‘‘It’s a league that’s competitive and we send out young players on loan all the time. What an experience it would be to send them out here to play.’’

 

Another major benefit for Heart is that the City investment will allow the peripatetic club to develop a training base and headquarters which it can truly call its own.

 

Heart’s progress has in part been stymied by the lack of certainty surrounding its training set up. This season it has trained at a number of venues before settling on Epping for the remainder of the campaign.

 

The City officials said they will build and establish a youth development structure and training set up based on the template of the impressive facility they are building in Manchester, although of course much smaller.

 

‘‘Our aim is to have a very good training facility. We want all our teams to play with the same principals so we want to get them to train the same way in the same high quality training environments,’’ said Soriano.

 

Begiristain pointed out that youth development will be a major plank of Heart’s programme given that there are so many restrictions on the number of foreign players that can be signed by A-League clubs.

 

http://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/manchester-city-buy-aleague-club-melbourne-heart-20140123-319zz.html

 

 

The group is also committed to keeping the club in Melbourne, with AAMI Park to remain as the club's home venue while they will also look to build the club a new training base having trained at no less than six venues this season.

Heart will share resources with the Storm, as the consortium involves Orica GreenEDGE cycling team and Jayco Caravans owner Gerry Ryan, who was involved in the purchase of the NRL club from News Limited, publishers of the Herald Sun.

 

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/football/melbourne-hearts-sale-to-a-consortium-led-by-manchester-city-is-a-watershed-moment/story-fni2wcjl-1226808364122

Edited January 23, 2014 by Murfy1

[Rellum]

Some insightful details:

 

TS: Heart have been criticised for not carving out a distinctive enough identity, other than being "not" Victory [urgh  - Murfy1]. How can you counter that?

 

FS [Man City CEO]: I can say now that we will work very hard to play good football. Everything starts and finishes with that, and if we are able to play good football then we will win and attract fans and develop an identity.

 

In football, there's little space for marketing tricks - it's about playing good football. People will come to the stadium if we do and entertain them. The whole idea, in Manchester, New York and here, is entertaining people.

 

To date we have scored 106 goals in the season in England, this is what we want. Here, it might take more or less time, but it's important - we don't want to win and then play good football. We want to play good football and if then takes a bit longer to be successful, that's fine, because we want to get to the place we are in England right now.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/football/manchester-city-ceo-promises-good-football-as-heart-to-become-the-noisy-neighbours/story-fnk6pqot-1226808692282

For Heart the sky is now the limit.

 

Soriano spoke of the chance of sporting synergies not just with City in Manchester, but with  its affiliate in the US, New York FC, for which they have just bought a license as part of the next MLS expansion.

 

‘‘We have experience in football performance, medicine, sports science, and of course tactics and technical development,’’ he says.

 

‘‘We also know about player recruitment and have large scouting networks all over the world to look for players for the Melbourne team as well as the others.

 

‘‘We want all our teams to take benefit from our global organisation.’’

 

Heart fans shouldn’t however, hold their breath waiting for the likes of Yaya Toure or Sergio Aguerro to be making guest appearances down by the Yarra.

 

"We won’t be sending Manchester City players because they are City players. We will be sending the  best players this team needs,’’ Soriano says.

 

That could mean players from the MLS franchise, although Marwood, who has been one of City’s football development staff during the Sky Blues rise, did not rule out the chances of some of City’s younger and fringe players being sent over to Australia for loan deals to boost Heart’s playing stocks.

 

‘‘Why not ?’’ the former Sheffield Wednesday and Arsenal winger says.

 

‘‘It’s a league that’s competitive and we send out young players on loan all the time. What an experience it would be to send them out here to play.’’

 

Another major benefit for Heart is that the City investment will allow the peripatetic club to develop a training base and headquarters which it can truly call its own.

 

Heart’s progress has in part been stymied by the lack of certainty surrounding its training set up. This season it has trained at a number of venues before settling on Epping for the remainder of the campaign.

 

The City officials said they will build and establish a youth development structure and training set up based on the template of the impressive facility they are building in Manchester, although of course much smaller.

 

‘‘Our aim is to have a very good training facility. We want all our teams to play with the same principals so we want to get them to train the same way in the same high quality training environments,’’ said Soriano.

 

Begiristain pointed out that youth development will be a major plank of Heart’s programme given that there are so many restrictions on the number of foreign players that can be signed by A-League clubs.

 

http://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/manchester-city-buy-aleague-club-melbourne-heart-20140123-319zz.html

 

 

The group is also committed to keeping the club in Melbourne, with AAMI Park to remain as the club's home venue while they will also look to build the club a new training base having trained at no less than six venues this season.

Heart will share resources with the Storm, as the consortium involves Orica GreenEDGE cycling team and Jayco Caravans owner Gerry Ryan, who was involved in the purchase of the NRL club from News Limited, publishers of the Herald Sun.

 

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/football/melbourne-hearts-sale-to-a-consortium-led-by-manchester-city-is-a-watershed-moment/story-fni2wcjl-1226808364122

So they are saying all the right things. Now they have to follow through.

[Murfy1]

Manchester City's arrival is a game changer for Melbourne and the A-League

 

January 23, 2014

 

Sebastian Hassett

 

With the single stroke of a pen on Thursday morning, Melbourne Heart went from being the A-League's bastard child to the richest club in the land.

 

Their season has been one to forget – they languish last on the table and have only managed one win in half a season – but those results are already an afterthought.

 

The decision of Manchester City to buy the embattled Heart is one that has the potential to change the A-League forever and therefore alter the landscape of Australian football.

 

Expect enormous investment to pour from Heart's new HQ, Abu Dhabi, until the club becomes not only the most successful club in Melbourne but the most successful club in the whole country.

 

Of course, in a salary capped league, there are only so many ways to deploy financial muscle. But they are substantial, and can make a huge difference if executed correctly.

 

Expect Heart to go and buy top quality Australian and international marquee players from next season on, aided by a premium squad. That's just the start.

 

They can now pick a coaching staff from all corners of the globe; money will not be so much an issue as accurately identifying a manager capable of overseeing the huge transition.

 

Melbourne Heart can aspire to build a world class youth academy, the kind that will be impossible to ignore for any Australian youngster should they want a direct link to the English Premier League.

 

The takeover could even force the FFA to re-think some of their rules. At present, when a player is loaned to A-League club, the wages paid by a parent club are not included in the A-League cap.

 

That means if City were to send out one of their reserve team talents – say striker Scott Sinclair, who has been farmed out to West Bromwich Albion this season – it won't count against the salary cap.

 

But before we go awarding the next decade of titles to Heart, it should be noted that it's not the first time an overseas club has bought into an Australian team.

 

In the late 1990s, Scottish club Rangers bought a stake in Northern Spirit, a takeover that many would lead to unparalleled success for the North Sydney-based side.

 

Those ambitions never materialised, and Rangers tried to use Spirit as a vehicle to grow their own brand, not the other way around. When they found Spirit to be a black hole of money, Rangers couldn't get out quick enough.

 

Times have changed since then and it's easy to believe the proclamations of City chief executive Ferran Soriano when he says the club is in it for the long term.

 

Besides, the spending of the man behind all this, Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan - better known as Sheik Mansour - picks his investments wisely, and backs them to the hilt.

 

From mid-table mediocrity, City have gone on to win the FA Cup and Premier League in recent years, are now regulars in the Champions League and are chasing glory in all competitions this season. It has been a sporting revolution like no other.

 

The 80-20 ownership split, with Melbourne Storm's owners, headed by Bart Campbell, taking the smaller stake, will also raise eyebrows.

 

But it's the same theory City are using with the New York Yankees to build New York City FC, a club due to enter the MLS in 2015.

 

The final question, but by no means the least important, is what will happen to the club's existing and future fan base.

 

Having lived in Melbourne Victory's shadow since inception, they are small but hardy lot.

 

Many also claimed to be “pure” football fans – as was Heart's original pitch – which may see some drop off as a result of City-Storm partnership.

 

Still, expect most to embrace it, not least because of the promise of success. As that success rises, the bandwagon will swell, and the Melbourne derby might become more than a decent imitation of the one in Manchester.

 

http://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/manchester-citys-arrival-is-a-game-changer-for-melbourne-and-the-aleague-20140123-31a94.html

Edited January 23, 2014 by Murfy1

[Huzie]

Came to this club for good football and youth, can't belive people are upset about names and colours! City are saying they will give us "beautiful football" and incredible new training facility's, isn't that what we have been craving the last 3 years? "Too many long balls" "why are people in garbage bins" "change our name" "buy good players" "play young players", all these things will be addressed! I love nothing better than going to watch the Heart and smash some ciders, listen to the Yarraside sing then go get smashed in Brunswick street. A rose by any other name smells just as sweet!

[Murfy1]

The resources and power of Sheikh Mansoor makes this deal a seismic moment for the A-League

 

Tom Smithies

 

23 January, 2014

 

IF you want to understand the seismic changes to the landscape of the A-League this morning, then you need to understand the sheer power of the resources and vision that have been thrown behind Melbourne Heart.

 

Manchester City's billionaire owner, Sheikh Mansoor, has sunk a fortune into the club since buying it in 2008, and while a lot of it has undoubtedly gone on buying star players, many more millions have been spent City's youth development plans.

 

Nearly 18 months ago, this correspondent reported from the scene of a huge campus being built on reclaimed land next to City's stadium, with every one of the club's youth teams down to age 8 training at the same hi-tech facilities.

 

What City's purchase of an A-League club does is open up that resource to the players and coaching staff of Melbourne Heart, and bind the Australian entity into a global beast with consistent philosophies on how the game should be played.

 

So while the initial focus will undoubtedly be on the future of coach John van't Schip and his players, in the background there will quickly be money spent substantially on the creation of a Heart academy, with a dedicated head coach who reports to a similar figure at City.

 

The youth teams at Heart, New York City and Manchester City will all be mandated to play in the same way. The Heart first team will get to spend part of their pre-season training at City's campus in Manchester.

 

"We get locked into players, that's the epicentre of everything, but there's a lot of people that work at a football club," muses City's academy director Brian Marwood. "Why not get the benefit of their experience?

 

"The cross fertilisation of ideas and experiences is huge, whether it's a player, coach, physio or masseur. We want people to experience all kind of opportunities."

 

For the A-League as a whole, this is also a seminal day. One of the giants of world football has effectively put millions of dollars behind its judgment that Australian football has enough growth potential to warrant investment but also is enough of a first-world league. Many more shirts could be sold in other parts of Asia, but none offer the "stable environment" - their words - in which City want to do business.

 

With Football Federation Australia also believed to be less than three weeks away from announcing the sale of Western Sydney Wanderers, it's a tumultuous start to 2015 for the A-League.

 

 

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/football/the-resources-and-power-of-sheikh-mansoor-makes-this-deal-a-seismic-moment-for-the-aleague/story-fni2fopz-1226808309758

Edited January 23, 2014 by Murfy1

[thedukeofhearts]

Came to this club for good football and youth, can't belive people are upset about names and colours! City are saying they will give us "beautiful football" and incredible new training facility's, isn't that what we have been craving the last 3 years? "Too many long balls" "why are people in garbage bins" "change our name" "buy good players" "play young players", all these things will be addressed! I love nothing better than going to watch the Heart and smash some ciders, listen to the Yarraside sing then go get smashed in Brunswick street. A rose by any other name smells just as sweet!

[Cinnamon]

whoa hang on! No ones asking the big questions, so, are we still going to be moved to Morwell?

[HEARTinator]

If this gets us out of the mire we've been in for the last few years and starts to properly resource the football department and have ambition to be the biggest club in the HAL and win silverware nationally and the ACL then count me in. Better than been a farken plodding loser club that had us all tearing our hair out. As we've said before, we don't want to become the Footscray/Bulldogs of the HAL. I already have that privledge in the AFL.

[DieHardRed]

whoa hang on! No ones asking the big questions, so, are we still going to be moved to Morwell?

Read the report

[belaguttman]

Came to this club for good football and youth, can't belive people are upset about names and colours! City are saying they will give us "beautiful football" and incredible new training facility's, isn't that what we have been craving the last 3 years? "Too many long balls" "why are people in garbage bins" "change our name" "buy good players" "play young players", all these things will be addressed! I love nothing better than going to watch the Heart and smash some ciders, listen to the Yarraside sing then go get smashed in Brunswick street. A rose by any other name smells just as sweet!

Agree completely, I'm outta likes.

Given what's happened, imagine if we'd sold the franchise to South Melbourne!

[Dylan]

There is alot of south melbourne butt hurt on the 442 forums

[KSK_47]

City are saying they will give us "beautiful football

Not the first time we have been promised attractive football. But funnily enough this time I actually #believe we will see it

[Murfy1]

 

Came to this club for good football and youth, can't belive people are upset about names and colours! City are saying they will give us "beautiful football" and incredible new training facility's, isn't that what we have been craving the last 3 years? "Too many long balls" "why are people in garbage bins" "change our name" "buy good players" "play young players", all these things will be addressed! I love nothing better than going to watch the Heart and smash some ciders, listen to the Yarraside sing then go get smashed in Brunswick street. A rose by any other name smells just as sweet!

Agree completely, I'm outta likes.

Given what's happened, imagine if we'd sold the franchise to South Melbourne!

 

 

Out of likes as well. Fully agree with Huzie's post.

 

The club will focus on youth and playing good/attacking football. That's what this club was meant to do all along. And no more cheap marketing gimmicks!! (#believe #believeinHeart etc etc).

 

The wheelie bins, increasingly ill structured youth system, and ugly and unsuccessful football Aloisi implemented this season and last seaon is what is against what Heart stands for. Next season will actually see the club reconnect with its roots, and be even closer to the club's original values (attacking football and youth) than what we saw under the Aloisi era.

 

That's why I'm so pleased about this takeover. Any changes will be superficial (and it's possible there will be no changes), and the club will more fully realise its core values than ever before.

Edited January 23, 2014 by Murfy1

[KSK_47]

Playing well and excellent training programs are not values. They are things that all clubs want. Its just a matter of if you can do it or not.

[Dylan]

I want to keep the colours because I think its the one thing they can keep as a visible link to the past. Which I think is important, no matter how bad it is. 

 

a side note, I wonder if their plan all along was to buy the worst club so they can change everything with the promise of success for their desperate fans?   haha

[Cinnamon]

not sure if this has been posted...

 

http://www.afr.com/p/national/manchester_city_to_tour_australia_Elap5izbnTijKTEPPr3T0L

[Dylan]

SMFC and proud wrote:

Dont kid yourself Heart fans. Man City will want absolute nothing to do with the Heart brand. It is damaged beyond repair and finished. They have purchased a 'license' to operate a franchise, not MHFC. The FFA will probably wipe away MH's history just like they did to Perth Glory when they switched from the NSL to HAL. MH records will be 'seperate' to Melb City records. Remember they did not allow Perth to celebrate their 10 year anniversary with the lame reason being, "that the Perth Glory HAL franchise is not legally the same one that played in the NSL". 

[bt50]

Really excited by this. The possibilities of what could happen are endless, imagine if they were to develop a state of the art training facility close to Melbourne CBD? Top of the line coaches? Marquees of a level not yet seen in the A-League? ACL? ACL away days (ooooh yeh)? Titles?

Identity wise I have no problems with a rebrand to Melbourne City FC. Sounds classy, pays homage to our sister clubs and strengthens our brand not only nationally but worldwide. At the end of the day if us the fans want to keep the name Heart(s) going we will. And I've no doubt the owners will go with that.

 

Colours is the only non negotiable for me, we must stay red and white. Don't care what we do with our away strip but red and white is essential at home.

 

When push comes to shove the reason we love this club is because of how well we all get along off the pitch, be that at the Imp pre game, scoping out interstate pubs on away days or even singing our guts out together every weekend. As long as the Yarraside and fans stick together there'll be reason to keep coming back.

[Melburnian]

So much Victory and South Melbourne hurt around today I almost collapsed with laughter.

[MUTD/MLBHRT/ESSNDON]

We have 7045 members... We can't expect every one of them to be as happy as most of us are right now... I think if the name and colour change comes with this great news, we might have 6500 happy members... That other 545 will learn to live with it, just like Juventas did when they went from pink to black and white, South dis from red and white to blue and white, Brisbane bears to Lions, South Melbourne to Sydney Swans... I can name 10 more. Each and every club just named went on to win titles and dominate for long periods of time. It would be great if its stays the same name and colours yes! But the name change will come 100% the colors prob 50/50

Bring on this new era in our history... 23/01/14 A sleeping giant is awakening, and I'm fkn pumped!

P.S thanks for the ride up to Adelaide boys, gona sing Com'n City Com'n City Com'n City the whole way to Hindmarsh.

[belaguttman]

 

SMFC and proud wrote:

Dont kid yourself Heart fans. Man City will want absolute nothing to do with the Heart brand. It is damaged beyond repair and finished. They have purchased a 'license' to operate a franchise, not MHFC. The FFA will probably wipe away MH's history just like they did to Perth Glory when they switched from the NSL to HAL. MH records will be 'seperate' to Melb City records. Remember they did not allow Perth to celebrate their 10 year anniversary with the lame reason being, "that the Perth Glory HAL franchise is not legally the same one that played in the NSL". 

 

Could be true but I'd be surprised if we were bitter about it

[Dylan]

We have 7045 members... We can't expect every one of them to be as happy as most of us are right now... I think if the name and colour change comes with this great news, we might have 6500 happy members... That other 545 will learn to live with it, just like Juventas did when they went from pink to black and white, South dis from red and white to blue and white, Brisbane bears to Lions, South Melbourne to Sydney Swans... I can name 10 more. Each and every club just named went on to win titles and dominate for long periods of time. It would be great if its stays the same name and colours yes! But the name change will come 100% the colors prob 50/50

Bring on this new era in our history... 23/01/14 A sleeping giant is awakening, and I'm fkn pumped!

P.S thanks for the ride up to Adelaide boys, gona sing Com'n City Com'n City Com'n City the whole way to Hindmarsh.

 

 

Your australian examples all had things which kept something from their past clubs South Melbourne, colours, Bris Lions, name colours logo (well not anymore). Like we should. Let the colours live with the club and the supporters can keep the heart name alive.

Edited January 23, 2014 by Dylan

[Dylan]

 

 

SMFC and proud wrote:

Dont kid yourself Heart fans. Man City will want absolute nothing to do with the Heart brand. It is damaged beyond repair and finished. They have purchased a 'license' to operate a franchise, not MHFC. The FFA will probably wipe away MH's history just like they did to Perth Glory when they switched from the NSL to HAL. MH records will be 'seperate' to Melb City records. Remember they did not allow Perth to celebrate their 10 year anniversary with the lame reason being, "that the Perth Glory HAL franchise is not legally the same one that played in the NSL". 

 

Could be true but I'd be surprised if we were bitter about it

 

 

 

I would be annoyed. Like it or not the first four years are apart of the club. Its not all doom and gloom. Sibon, Good, the sash etc. Perth example is incorrect as it was an NSL team not an A-league team.  The CEO of MC said they want to keep a unique identify for us. Well they can with the colours and the nick name. 

 

This is a side issue but the New York example is very different to us as they are a new club established my MC

Edited January 23, 2014 by Dylan

[tigerou812]

 

 

I have a mountain of work to do but I couldn't help myself, I just had to come on and say something!

 

This is some of the best news we've had as a supporter base since this club was born and I think everyone should be embracing it as such. As many City fans have come here to say (and thanks lads for the input by the way!) their takeover was one of the best things that happened to them. 

 

I understand the concern about the name/colours but i think we all need to look at this logically. I also don't want the colours changed (the name isn't the biggest deal to me, we can still nickname ourselves the 'Hearts' if we want to, it's our club afterall!) but I wouldn't throw away my membership if it happened. As many have pointed out, most clubs change their name and colours at some point. I'm a Gooner, and my club has been called many different names and wore Redcurrent before they wore their now iconic red with white sleeves, Liverpool started off blue and white and as some of our Citizen guests have pointed out; they started in Black! What is important is that WE the FANS need to keep OUR identity. There cannot be any changes to that, we need to behave the way we do now and support our club just as passionately as we have since our inception...and that's down to us, no one can change that.

 

I wouldn't be concerned about changes to Active Support either, this isn't England, it's Australia, and the City owners aren't even English anyway, so I don't know why they'd want to instill a complete English culture into this club. The rules of this competition allow Active support...why endanger your new club by changing that? We'll be right.

 

I love this club and I always will, we've all put up with so much...it seems we'll start to reap the rewards soon! This is just another chapter in what will be the history of the greatest football club EVER to exist on these shores!

Great words KM and i like your passion - But how would you feel if it was a consortium from THFC and the name change Melbourne Spurs ? 

 

Heart should stay 

 

 

Thanks mate

 

I won't lie, I wouldn't be rapt, but my love of the Heart is completely separate from my feelings about Tottenham or any European club. Those feelings are attached to my love of The Arsenal.

 

I guess that's a weird way of explaining it...clearly, I hate Tottenham, but my love for the Heart, Arsenal, Collingwood and all the other clubs I love is greater than the hate I have for rival teams...if that makes sense.

 

Whatever this club is called I'll always love it but I can completely understand your feelings about losing the name and understand that it's not ideal.

 

I love Spurs and wearing red and white with Heart was hard. But this is the A league not the EPL. If the gooners took over Heart I would still support them because it's my team in the A league. Spurs are in the EPL. As for the name change I like Heart but if it goes to City it's for Melbourne not Manchester. The EPL and A league are different league's even if they have the same owner's. Unless they tell me that I have to support Man City or if it was the gooners as well then yes their would be a problem.