What needs to be done to grow the support and attendance

[rass]

21 minutes ago, Mr MO said:

Opinion, fact or feeling - we should all care about the fact that we are unable to attract more fans and retain the current ones.

Since you were having such tough debate with Citizen, I wouldn’t mind hearing your thoughts on why the fans stay home and why some are so unhappy about plastic club feel? We can’t say these people aren’t true fans, or don’t exist.

Thank you for asking.

Firstly, I find it sad - well I'm almost disgusted really - when I see poor turnouts to our games. ...but it's an issue that I believe has many factors which include:

- success or lack of more to the point. People more so these days only follow success and don't have patience sticking it out. This is the same in everything in our culture from politics to sport unfortunately. They want winners and they want it now and carry on like idiots when they don't get what they want. People sadly feel entitled and believe clubs owe them everything, including success. Sorry, but life isn't that easy.

- game style. Hard to watch some of our games at times.

- identity. Even though I personally don't subscribe to the mini man city thing, I acknowledge it's a real thing for others.

- being second to market in a city where most of the football(soccer) loving public have already sworn an allegiance to another team.

..but mostly I believe the way the game is run down here is the main problem. Poor scheduling, inconsistent rules, etc - the A-League is run by incompetent, selfish people imo. For mine the justification of this belief is that turnouts were down for every club, not just ours. The big supporter clubs like victory and WSW really suffered.

Re the plastic feel; well I don't feel that way myself. I'm happy with how the club engages... But I do acknowledge people feel it is a plasticky club, mini man city feel. My whole argument when I first joined on here was about how I thought people bonded with the red and white because it was symbolic of teams they already passionately followed overseas. So for mine, the mini man city idea is just the same thing and something that will always be associated with new it bought out clubs.

Hope that all made sense!

 

[rass]

2 hours ago, citypool said:

I don’t understand the reaction to that blokes opinion the fact is we don’t have as many fans as we should we don’t even fill half the stadium. So he made some pretty good points about why people won’t support this club 

It's not the opinion as such that fired me right off.

It's the culmination of post after post from the same person ranting on in a style that puts his words in others mouths and also quite confrontational. Hating on the club we follow with what I thought was just ill informed crap, but in a way like it was fact and what everyone else thinks... 

In all honesty, @xXCiTyZeNXx's post was meh until they started with the whole 'this is how members feel' and 'melb city only care about'... 

Why go there? That is what really did my head in and I reacted, like I always so when people think they can speak for me.

[JMSTEP123]

2 minutes ago, rass said:

Thank you for asking.

Firstly, I find it sad - well I'm almost disgusted really - when I see poor turnouts to our games. ...but it's an issue that I believe has many factors which include:

- success or lack of more to the point. People more so these days only follow success and don't have patience sticking it out. This is the same in everything in our culture from politics to sport unfortunately. They want winners and they want it now and carry on like idiots when they don't get what they want. People sadly feel entitled and believe clubs owe them everything, including success. Sorry, but life isn't that easy.

- game style. Hard to watch some of our games at times.

- identity. Even though I personally don't subscribe to the mini man city thing, I acknowledge it's a real thing for others.

- being second to market in a city where most of the football(soccer) loving public have already sworn an allegiance to another team.

..but mostly I believe the way the game is run down here is the main problem. Poor scheduling, inconsistent rules, etc - the A-League is run by incompetent, selfish people imo. For mine the justification of this belief is that turnouts were down for every club, not just ours. The big supporter clubs like victory and WSW really suffered.

Re the plastic feel; well I don't feel that way myself. I'm happy with how the club engages... But I do acknowledge people feel it is a plasticky club, mini man city feel. My whole argument when I first joined on here was about how I thought people bonded with the red and white because it was symbolic of teams they already passionately followed overseas. So for mine, the mini man city idea is just the same thing and something that will always be associated with new it bought out clubs.

Hope that all made sense!

 

To build on this:

World cup/ Premier League followers and discrepancy between football followers and the minority for whom that translates to watching the game domestically -

Our city has been noted to be "sporting capital". We are so acustom to prestige (AFL in abundance; dominant international cricket team over many years; best tennis stars attend Aus Open. Many examples) that we turn our nose up at anything less than that with which we feel we deserve. The A League is slower, far less technical, irritating and seen to be a joke in comparison to the other famous leagues with which the majority of football lovers follow religiously. To this I say two things 1. If you want to build the domestic league, then follow it for fucks sake. It wont build itself. And 2. You can enjoy football at any skill level. We are not a football country in comparison to other leagues, but we can be if more people start coming to the games and following the league. I follow Watford in the prem; Portland in MLS. I enjoy watchint La Liga games, and watching PSG and any championship game. My heart is with City. I follow the other clubs passionately, but I live for this one. I know others, if they got down from what they feel is owed to them (only the best), could feel the same about an A League club. And why wouldnt they? I see the passion and love for the clubs I follow. It fills me with hope thinking in our lifetime we could have the same type of thing here in Melbourne.

At a guess, I feel the domestic league basketball may suffer from the same feel in comparison to NBA - and I know nothing about basketball. And other sports too? The downside of having the best sports in the world at our doorstep makes us intolerable of anything perceived as lesser.

[rass]

1 minute ago, JMSTEP123 said:

To build on this:

World cup/ Premier League followers and discrepancy between football followers and the minority for whom that translates to watching the game domestically -

Our city has been noted to be "sporting capital". We are so acustom to prestige (AFL in abundance; dominant international cricket team over many years; best tennis stars attend Aus Open. Many examples) that we turn our nose up at anything less than that with which we feel we deserve. The A League is slower, far less technical, irritating and seen to be a joke in comparison to the other famous leagues with which the majority of football lovers follow religiously. To this I say two things 1. If you want to build the domestic league, then follow it for fucks sake. It wont build itself. And 2. You can enjoy football at any skill level. We are not a football country in comparison to other leagues, but we can be if more people start coming to the games and following the league. I follow Watford in the prem; Portland in MLS. I enjoy watchint La Liga games, and watching PSG and any championship game. My heart is with City. I follow the other clubs passionately, but I live for this one. I know others, if they got down from what they feel is owed to them (only the best), could feel the same about an A League club. And why wouldnt they? I see the passion and love for the clubs I follow. It fills me with hope thinking in our lifetime we could have the same type of thing here in Melbourne.

At a guess, I feel the domestic league basketball may suffer from the same feel in comparison to NBA - and I know nothing about basketball. And other sports too? The downside of having the best sports in the world at our doorstep makes us intolerable of anything perceived as lesser.

Well said.

[fensaddler]

7 minutes ago, rass said:

Thank you for asking.

Firstly, I find it sad - well I'm almost disgusted really - when I see poor turnouts to our games. ...but it's an issue that I believe has many factors which include:

- success or lack of more to the point. People more so these days only follow success and don't have patience sticking it out. This is the same in everything in our culture from politics to sport unfortunately. They want winners and they want it now and carry on like idiots when they don't get what they want. People sadly feel entitled and believe clubs owe them everything, including success. Sorry, but life isn't that easy.

- game style. Hard to watch some of our games at times.

- identity. Even though I personally don't subscribe to the mini man city thing, I acknowledge it's a real thing for others.

- being second to market in a city where most of the football(soccer) loving public have already sworn an allegiance to another team.

..but mostly I believe the way the game is run down here is the main problem. Poor scheduling, inconsistent rules, etc - the A-League is run by incompetent, selfish people imo. For mine the justification of this belief is that turnouts were down for every club, not just ours. The big supporter clubs like victory and WSW really suffered.

Re the plastic feel; well I don't feel that way myself. I'm happy with how the club engages... But I do acknowledge people feel it is a plasticky club, mini man city feel. My whole argument when I first joined on here was about how I thought people bonded with the red and white because it was symbolic of teams they already passionately followed overseas. So for mine, the mini man city idea is just the same thing and something that will always be associated with new it bought out clubs.

Hope that all made sense!

 

FWIW... 

Can't see the point in not attending when you've shelled out for a membership. So we rock up. 

Success would be nice, but it won't impact my allegiance. But then I have the mindset forged by 35 years supporting a small English League 1 side. 

Most games, whoever you watch (and certainly in League 1...) aren't memorable. It's only the good ones that stick in the memory and build history. Just be grateful for the good times such as our 5-0 win last season. 

Don't give a toss about being the smaller club. I've never been keen to swim with the current. 

I could do with a bit more red and white and a sight less corporate. I buy the away shirts and ignore the bollocks. The club is learning, and culture is built through history. 

The FFA are a bunch of useless wowsers. Change is on its way. 

[JMSTEP123]

1 minute ago, fensaddler said:

FWIW... 

Can't see the point in not attending when you've shelled out for a membership. So we rock up. 

Success would be nice, but it won't impact my allegiance. But then I have the mindset forged by 35 years supporting a small English League 1 side. 

Most games, whoever you watch (and certainly in League 1...) aren't memorable. It's only the good ones that stick in the memory and build history. Just be grateful for the good times such as our 5-0 win last season. 

Don't give a toss about being the smaller club. I've never been keen to swim with the current. 

I could do with a bit more red and white and a sight less corporate. I buy the away shirts and ignore the bollocks. The club is learning, and culture is built through history. 

The FFA are a bunch of useless wowsers. Change is on its way. 

One memory. FFA Cup Victory. 2 tiers open V sydney. 80% city fans. Final whistle. 

United in voice. Vision. Whatever "it" is, it was there. We now need to turn that potential into actuality. The reality will be what we build. I am fucking excited for this season and every season ahead. 

[xXCiTyZeNXx]

1 hour ago, rass said:

Why are you still fucking here?

Why are you still a fucking wanker

[n i k o]

Cant we simply appreciate short beer lines 

[JMSTEP123]

2 minutes ago, n i k o said:

Cant we simply appreciate short beer lines 

The line to the sausage stand was short too. Do not think much of the beef rolls.

Majority of City fans are great too. So many tossers at Victory games. But you always get a good smile and vibe at City. Good so many families feel they can attend. Many positives 

Edited August 12, 2018 by JMSTEP123

[rass]

5 minutes ago, xXCiTyZeNXx said:

Why are you still a fucking wanker

Cheers mate. Will see you again on here when we start winning.

Till then...

[bt50]

2 hours ago, xXCiTyZeNXx said:

Why dont u read the whole fucking post and see how it is relevant instead of nip picking shit in peoples posts. There are a lot of members who have had enough of Melbourne citys management and want shit to change for the better of the club and members.

And as for @haz me and playermaker are not the same person so just drop that out of the equation and stop being a little fucking smartass. And if you think i apparently hate the club, you're wrong. I have been watching city since 14-15 and i have enjoyed the first two seasons as we played with heart and the board wanted to sign big players and fought hard to win but after that the city board has became stupid and signing and releasing players like there is no tomorrow and we do the same shit every season with no change. We need changes at the club

 

 

THERE IS A REASON WHY CITY ONLY HAS 5000 MEMBERS BECUASE PEOPLE ARE DONE WITH THE CLUB 

 

GET THAT THROUGH YOUR THICK SCULLS

I don't mean to nip pick but its "nitpick"...

[n i k o]

4 minutes ago, JMSTEP123 said:

The line to the sausage stand was short too. Do not think much of the beef rolls.

Majority of City fans are great too. So many tossers at Victory games. But you always get a good smile and vibe at City. Good so many families feel they can attend. Many positives 

The sausage stand went MIA last season. Prob too much competition with biggie smalls and the other food options plus cost of operating outside AAMI 

[Inchcolm]

I can see why this thread started. I believe it was ways to drum up more membership. However as we get deeper into it more negativity is appearing.

You are the only people who can build up the membership with or without the support of the club.There are many reasons why a person chooses to support a particular club, mine was my father took me and my brother to the games and we became hooked. He would tell stories about past past players, glories and not get too despondent even when your relegated. He installed into me a feeling of belonging. I did the same with both my sons. One enjoyed the club the other did not. 

Buy your membership take you family along, tell them about the history of the club and as someone said help to write new history.

You cannot put a gun to someones head and march them into the ground but you can be enthusiastic about your team, enthusiasm can be contagious. If you are negative about your club all you will do is spread negativity and that will not get people interested in becoming a member.

Membership may be low, but the members are your footballing family and families stick together.

Edited August 12, 2018 by Inchcolm

[xXCiTyZeNXx]

8 minutes ago, rass said:

Cheers mate. Will see you again on here when we start winning.

Till then...

Mate i hope your right 🖒

7 minutes ago, bt50 said:

I don't mean to nip pick but its "nitpick"...

Your one of those blokes that corrects people 🖒should become a teacher if you're not one

[JMSTEP123]

7 minutes ago, Inchcolm said:

I can see why this thread started. I believe it was ways to drum up more membership. However as we get deeper into it more negativity is appearing.

You are the only people who can build up the membership with our without the support of the club.There are many reasons why a person chooses to support a particular club, mine was my father took me and my brother to the games and we became hooked. He would tell stories about past past players, glories and not get too despondent even when your relegated. He installed into me a feeling of belonging. I did the same with both my sons. One enjoyed the club the other did not. 

Buy your membership take you family along, tell them about the history of the club and as someone said help to write new history.

You cannot put a gun to someones head and march them into the ground but you can be enthusiastic about your team, enthusiasm can be contagious. If you are negative about your club all you will do is spread negativity and that will not get people interested in becoming a member.

Membership may be low, but the members are your footballing family and families stick together.

Thats it man. I cannot wait to take my future kids to City games. Excited for the next 50 years before my life ends. 

Damn right passion is contagious. So lets spread it. Lets make this the best season yet.

[n i k o]

9 hours ago, xXCiTyZeNXx said:

Ciao Farewell Goodbye (CFG)

Posted by David Hards

The recent “transfer” of Daniel Arzani for me was the final straw in giving my emotional and financial support to this football club. I have no issue with Arzani going abroad to enhance his abilities, the kid is far too good for the A-League and the move overseas will see his dramatically develop as a football for his club and country.

 No issue with Arzani going but 'it was the final straw"  him going. Contradiction? 

Personally I cannot sit on my hands and watch our players “transfer” to Manchester City then move on loan to another club. Yes this worked with a huge amount of success for Aaron Mooy but it also spells out my football club primarily exists to benefit a club on the other side of the world exploit the Financial Fair Play ruling.

Is he saying that CFG are the only ones developing and selling players? Lol. And its the clubs fault a player is that good and is capable and aspires to play overseas ends up moving on. Great decision making CFG. Oh...yeh it was a huge success though 

Over the last few seasons I’ve become uncomfortable with decisions made by CFG and the club and this has gradually reduced my support and passion for Melbourne City and I no longer have the desire I once did and cannot see this returning for this football franchise.

Over this journey of eight years I’ve met some great people involved with this club, taken part in some incredible opportunities but the gauge has finally reached empty and I have no intention of refilling using the services of CFG.

I might attend a few A-League games this season but this will be purely as a neutral fan. Who knows what the future holds, I don’t want to become an A-League journeyman but I cannot support a club owned by CFG with their mindset and philosophies.

 

 

[belaguttman]

1 hour ago, malloy said:

The high turnover rate of membership has been an issue since the early heart days this is not something that is isolated to Melbourne City.

I'm happy to do a 700km round trip to see a match if I can sit in Active even though I'd only get to Friday and maybe some Saturday games. Membership said no - full season ticket or nothing. If they're turning people like me away no wonder others with less committment are leaving

[belaguttman]

3 hours ago, fensaddler said:

But presumably the money CFG made off Mooy, will hopefully make on Arzani, and will subsequently make on others who come through will go against our credit column, even if it isn't reflected in the fee initially paid to us. The alternative is that we sell to another party, and excepting any sell on clauses we negotiate, we don't see any benefit, tangible or intangible, for the future appreciation in value of that player. Promising youngsters sold on from an English league 1 club don't generate huge fees initially either, even if they end up being EPL regulars. On balance this is a better arrangement. 

We probably have an on-sell component so we'll get a cut from Mooy's sale to Huddersfield, and of any future Arzani sales, but it's been reported that CFG won't run us at a loss (in any case I think that the UEFA fair play rules prevent this, so player sales are one of the ways we can fund decent marquee wages. If as has been reported, he was sold for $500k then that's disappointing, $1.5M is better but still won't fund a decent name marquee (nearly half of what Honda is reputedly getting). Nevertheless, the total amount is conjecture, none of us knows for sure. A name marquee who is an injured crock or well past his prime won't add to attendance, a name marquee who adds to the team will boost attendance but this costs money and player sales are the only way to fund it, hopefully, we got at least $1.5M for Arzani

Edited August 12, 2018 by belaguttman

[belaguttman]

1 hour ago, bt50 said:

I don't mean to nip pick but its "nitpick"...

and, also, it's skulls

[AntiScum]

This whole league has been a joke since day dot!!

No forward planning, No forward thinking, Dragging its heel`s at expansion, No second division and last but not least a 5 year FIVE FKN YEAR exclusivity period. Should have been 2 clubs per state (VIC, NSW, WA, SA and one each for ACT, QLD & TAS straight off the bat. With the expansion for an additional team for VIC & 2 for NSW a year later.

The league was set up to fail and will die a miserable death in the not too distant future, unless a breakaway league is formed governed by FIFA.   

[jeffplz]

1 hour ago, AntiScum said:

This whole league has been a joke since day dot!!

 

No forward planning, No forward thinking, Dragging its heel`s at expansion, No second division and last but not least a 5 year FIVE FKN YEAR exclusivity period. Should have been 2 clubs per state (VIC, NSW, WA, SA and one each for ACT, QLD & TAS straight off the bat. With the expansion for an additional team for VIC & 2 for NSW a year later.

 

The league was set up to fail and will die a miserable death in the not too distant future, unless a breakaway league is formed governed by FIFA.   

 

Shut the fuck up man

[GreenSeater]

Honestly there are so many dumb fucks on here I'm going to spell it out about the Arzani transfer so everyone can attempt to get it through their neanderthal skulls.

1 - Arzani has for a very long time been one of the highest rated youths in the country. He spent a long time at the AIS and was always going to do great things. He grew up in Sydney and played for Sydney FC's youth team. Why would one of the highest rated future stars of Australian football leave his home city and home club to move to Melbourne? Because we have the best facilities and a clear career pathway into Europe thanks to our CFG connection. If you honestly think he would have left Sydney to come play for La Trobe Uni cow paddock training, wheelie bin ice bath using Melbourne Heart you have a hole in your head. So without CFG, he wouldn't have been here in the first place.

2 - The best young players leave the A League for Europe. It happens at every single club. Has nothing to do with CFG, it happens, and has happened all through the league's history. This may be scary for some of you dense fuckers to think about, but it also happened at Melbourne Heart. We sold players like Good, Behich, Babalj etc to Europe for waaay less than $500,000.

3 - Who cares what arbitrary number they put on the transfer? Nothing changes in our bank account. It's the same organisation.

TL;DR: Arzani only came to City because of CFG and he would have left with or without Manchester because he was sick of playing in front of you cunts too stupid to grasp these facts, and I don't blame him.

[AntiScum]

27 minutes ago, jeffplz said:

Shut the fuck up man

You don't agree? 

[haz]

[AntiScum]

12 minutes ago, GreenSeater said:

Honestly there are so many dumb fucks on here I'm going to spell it out about the Arzani transfer so everyone can attempt to get it through their neanderthal skulls.

1 - Arzani has for a very long time been one of the highest rated youths in the country. He spent a long time at the AIS and was always going to do great things. He grew up in Sydney and played for Sydney FC's youth team. Why would one of the highest rated future stars of Australian football leave his home city and home club to move to Melbourne? Because we have the best facilities and a clear career pathway into Europe thanks to our CFG connection. If you honestly think he would have left Sydney to come play for La Trobe Uni cow paddock training, wheelie bin ice bath using Melbourne Heart you have a hole in your head. So without CFG, he wouldn't have been here in the first place.

2 - The best young players leave the A League for Europe. It happens at every single club. Has nothing to do with CFG, it happens, and has happened all through the league's history. This may be scary for some of you dense fuckers to think about, but it also happened at Melbourne Heart. We sold players like Good, Behich, Babalj etc to Europe for waaay less than $500,000.

3 - Who cares what arbitrary number they put on the transfer? Nothing changes in our bank account. It's the same organisation.

TL;DR: Arzani only came to City because of CFG and he would have left with or without Manchester because he was sick of playing in front of you cunts too stupid to grasp these facts, and I don't blame him.

Didn't see anyone complain when it worked to our advantage with Bratten, Caceres etc 

It's football every Aussie dreams of a move to Europe!!

[malloy]

8 hours ago, belaguttman said:

I'm happy to do a 700km round trip to see a match if I can sit in Active even though I'd only get to Friday and maybe some Saturday games. Membership said no - full season ticket or nothing. If they're turning people like me away no wonder others with less committment are leaving

To be perfectly honest I don't think the club are being unreasonable in only selling full season memberships in active area..

[Dylan]

8 hours ago, belaguttman said:

I'm happy to do a 700km round trip to see a match if I can sit in Active even though I'd only get to Friday and maybe some Saturday games. Membership said no - full season ticket or nothing. If they're turning people like me away no wonder others with less committment are leaving

 

25 minutes ago, malloy said:

To be perfectly honest I don't think the club are being unreasonable in only selling full season memberships in active area..

Exactly. Its absolutely ridiculous to expect to sell half season or anything other than full season active tickets.

Anyway as a more general point. There is nothing more or less 'plastic' about City when compared to Heart. In fact, we are more 'club like'   as City. We have one location where all of our teams train out of. I think the people who are moving on have this nostalgia about Heart which is detached from the historical facts. Go look through this forum, we were having the exact same arguments about identity and all that before CFG came in.

I would not be surprised at all to see, as the years go on. us having a more distinct look and feel when compared to the other CFG clubs. In fact I think they leave us to our own devices more than they do with New York, and I like it that way. Plus people forget Man City were originally looking at signing Arzani before he came to us. Of course any young talent would want to move overseas and play, even if the league standard is similar to Aleague the exposure he will get if he goes well would be magnitudes above what he would get here.

Anyway, funniest thing I saw old mate Hards do was have a go at Gold Coast Suns about being a plastic club, self awareness is obviously strong with that bloke.  

 

 

[Tommykins]

Peripherally flicked through this on the weekend - but for me, I'm liking the link with Manchester City for our players as a route to Europe more and more. 

Daniel Arzani was gone at the end of this season the moment he showed any kind of form at the World Cup, the guy (deservedly) has big tickets on himself and would have probably found a way out of the club, but going to a team which has seen his development first hand means he's likely to be loaned out to somewhere he can shine (ala Mooy), which makes  a huge difference, especially if you compare it to the litany of younger players who've left the A-League (Brilliante, Pasquali, Ibini, Good, etc.) who all showed great promise but didn't make a great first move and probably saw their careers stagnate a bit more than we're likely to see for Arzani. 

The reality is players leave. Mooy and Arzani would have left at exactly the same time, regardless of who are owners are.

[malloy]

30 minutes ago, Tommykins said:

Peripherally flicked through this on the weekend - but for me, I'm liking the link with Manchester City for our players as a route to Europe more and more. 

Daniel Arzani was gone at the end of this season the moment he showed any kind of form at the World Cup, the guy (deservedly) has big tickets on himself and would have probably found a way out of the club, but going to a team which has seen his development first hand means he's likely to be loaned out to somewhere he can shine (ala Mooy), which makes  a huge difference, especially if you compare it to the litany of younger players who've left the A-League (Brilliante, Pasquali, Ibini, Good, etc.) who all showed great promise but didn't make a great first move and probably saw their careers stagnate a bit more than we're likely to see for Arzani. 

The reality is players leave. Mooy and Arzani would have left at exactly the same time, regardless of who are owners are.

I think it would have been possible that Mooy would have left earlier, but for CFG. We can promise things that others can't when it comes to overseas transfers. If Victory or Sydney said give us one more season to Mooy he might be worried that his opportunity will pass, however with CFG and their contacts they can orchestrate moves through their large network of contracts.

[Jovan]

Imagine the tone of this thread had we lost to Brisbane. 

[belaguttman]

1 hour ago, Dylan said:

 

Exactly. Its absolutely ridiculous to expect to sell half season or anything other than full season active tickets.

 

 

1

How's it different from a 5 game GA ticket?

[bt50]

19 minutes ago, belaguttman said:

How's it different from a 5 game GA ticket?

Because active requires you to reserve a seat, which you then essentially cant sell for the rest of the season. Now i know there's spare seats everywhere etc, but it becomes a bit of an administrative nightmare.

Not to mention the restrictions FFA have put in place around active members and knowing who they are etc; I'm sure both club and league aren't going to be impressed with the additional paperwork if it becomes a free-for-all of coming and goings.

[n i k o]

Reading some people thoughts in here makes me wonder how the fuck they function in society. 

[belaguttman]

35 minutes ago, bt50 said:

Because active requires you to reserve a seat, which you then essentially cant sell for the rest of the season. Now i know there's spare seats everywhere etc, but it becomes a bit of an administrative nightmare.

Not to mention the restrictions FFA have put in place around active members and knowing who they are etc; I'm sure both club and league aren't going to be impressed with the additional paperwork if it becomes a free-for-all of coming and goings.

It wouldn't be a free-for-all, the franchise still needs to know who you are if you get a 5 game ticket or a season ticket. I wouldn't support it if the stands were full but even getting people along to 5 games rather than 0 games is an improvement. The problem is that you can't sit in active at all without a season ticket, unlike GA etc where you can buy a seat on the day. The issue is not specifically about me, but that the franchise should be flexible in allowing as many committed fans to attend as possible. There aren't many rural-based fans, we don't all want to sit in GA. 

[jw1739]

3 minutes ago, belaguttman said:

It wouldn't be a free-for-all, the franchise still needs to know who you are if you get a 5 game ticket or a season ticket. I wouldn't support it if the stands were full but even getting people along to 5 games rather than 0 games is an improvement. The problem is that you can't sit in active at all without a season ticket, unlike GA etc where you can buy a seat on the day. The issue is not specifically about me, but that the franchise should be flexible in allowing as many committed fans to attend as possible. There aren't many rural-based fans, we don't all want to sit in GA. 

I think you're being unreasonable Bela. There's a chance that if you nominated the five matches that you want to attend at the start of the season that the club could handle the administration, but then it's got to find someone else to fill that seat for the 8 matches that you don't want to attend. But to want a ticket that enables you to rock up to a reserved seat on the 5 occasions that you decide to do so is not reasonable IMO - not for any venue or any form of entertainment.

As for the club being flexible - it is. That's what GA tickets are for.

You're cutting off your nose to spite your face. Either buy an active membership for the full season, or buy a GA ticket when you decide to go to a match.

[belaguttman]

14 minutes ago, jw1739 said:

 

You're cutting off your nose to spite your face. Either buy an active membership for the full season, or buy a GA ticket when you decide to go to a match.

1

Yes, I might be unreasonable, but I'll just choose not to go at all, unfortunately. Emotional decision? Definitely. The choice to go is also an emotional decision.If I had bought a full season active ticket it would guarantee an empty seat for most of the season, also unhelpful.  The issue for City is the types of emotional decisions that people are making is consistently keeping them away. There are two types of people making these decisions: those who get no emotional engagement at all with the team and have had no interest in attending; there's those that have been emotionally engaged but have become disengaged. It seems that there has been so much churn in season ticket holders (as have all HAL teams to an extent) that this is the group that the franchise (and the league in general) should be trying hard to re-engage these people. There'll be different reasons why people have stopped, the main reason for us, I suspect, is lack of success as many sins are forgiven with success, but if there are other things that the franchise can do then it should be looked at. I'd be very happy to give up a 5 game active ticket because active was full.

Has anyone been to the netball? That seems to be packed, what are they doing differently?

Edited August 13, 2018 by belaguttman

[bt50]

17 minutes ago, belaguttman said:

Has anyone been to the netball? That seems to be packed, what are they doing differently?

Netball is pretty much Australia's quintessential women's sport. Most girls play it at least at some stage in their life.
NA have finally got their shit together and are starting to reap the rewards of an elite female sport that should have been a powerhouse a hell of a long time ago. Even AFL and soccer would dream of the participation rates they've achieved over a young girl's youthspan.

[Harrison]

13 hours ago, JMSTEP123 said:

The A League is slower, far less technical, irritating and seen to be a joke in comparison to the other famous leagues with which the majority of football lovers follow religiously. To this I say two things 1. If you want to build the domestic league, then follow it for fucks sake. It wont build itself.

This is the big issue. I have a mate that is probably quite representative of a lot of football fans. He is in his 20s, has followed a big European club all his life and has played competitive football all his life and is active in his local club. He knows a lot about the game itself and keeps up to date with most things football/team-related. 

He used to go with me to games but was never a member. The last game he went to was the FFA Cup final. I don't think he has watched a City game on television since then but could tell you what was happening generally in the A-league. 

When I talk to him about City now he doesn't even feign interest. It's usually something like 'the league's shit' or 'the standard's too low' or 'City are crap.' If you asked him who he supports he'd probably say City, but even then I'm not sure. The 'you've gotta have a team' campaign probably wasn't aimed at him because he already had one, nominally at least, but it didn't really make him re-engage either, not even subconsciously. I know he saw the ads for it because we joked about it. 

With all that said, I have no idea how to convert (or re-convert) someone like him and get him back into the fold. The Honda signing interested him slightly, and expansion is something he wants to see. P&R is also something I've heard him talk about, as is the general quality of the league. I suspect that lifting the overall standard would slowly bring him back more than anything else. The only way I can see that happening is by abolishing the salary cap and letting the stronger teams bring in better players. Also the pace of the game bugs him. Very slow ball movement, very slow build up etc. He clearly has no issue watching low standard football because he watches his local club every Saturday, but he expects that a professional team in a professional league will be comparable in quality to overseas leagues. 

Unfortunately, it will be the fundamentals that bring Euro-snobs like him back. Can the club do anything, apart from winning? Not sure, but I have my doubts. I think a lot of it depends on the administration of the league and its growth. And we all know how that is going. 

[bt50]

8 minutes ago, Harrison said:

This is the big issue. I have a mate that is probably quite representative of a lot of football fans. He is in his 20s, has followed a big European club all his life and has played competitive football all his life and is active in his local club. He knows a lot about the game itself and keeps up to date with most things football/team-related. 

He used to go with me to games but was never a member. The last game he went to was the FFA Cup final. I don't think he has watched a City game on television since then but could tell you what was happening generally in the A-league. 

When I talk to him about City now he doesn't even feign interest. It's usually something like 'the league's shit' or 'the standard's too low' or 'City are crap.' If you asked him who he supports he'd probably say City, but even then I'm not sure. The 'you've gotta have a team' campaign probably wasn't aimed at him because he already had one, nominally at least, but it didn't really make him re-engage either, not even subconsciously. I know he saw the ads for it because we joked about it. 

With all that said, I have no idea how to convert (or re-convert) someone like him and get him back into the fold. The Honda signing interested him slightly, and expansion is something he wants to see. P&R is also something I've heard him talk about, as is the general quality of the league. I suspect that lifting the overall standard would slowly bring him back more than anything else. The only way I can see that happening is by abolishing the salary cap and letting the stronger teams bring in better players. Also the pace of the game bugs him. Very slow ball movement, very slow build up etc. He clearly has no issue watching low standard football because he watches his local club every Saturday, but he expects that a professional team in a professional league will be comparable in quality to overseas leagues. 

Unfortunately, it will be the fundamentals that bring Euro-snobs like him back. Can the club do anything, apart from winning? Not sure, but I have my doubts. I think a lot of it depends on the administration of the league and its growth. And we all know how that is going. 

Great post. It's a pretty common theme at my club too.

[belaguttman]

18 minutes ago, bt50 said:

Netball is pretty much Australia's quintessential women's sport. Most girls play it at least at some stage in their life.
NA have finally got their shit together and are starting to reap the rewards of an elite female sport that should have been a powerhouse a hell of a long time ago. Even AFL and soccer would dream of the participation rates they've achieved over a young girl's youthspan.

Like us, they have a large grassroots participation, unlike us, they've been able to engage them. I suppose one difference is that Australian netball is played at an elite level, there isn't a freely available overseas comparison.