How big can Melbourne FC become?

[Demonic Ascent]

The biggest problem for Melbourne is membership, with the AFL Members & MCC competing for Melbourne fans money.
We all know the AFL members kid themselves that paying the AFL not the Melbourne FOOTBALL Club means technically they are members but its 'a minimum of chips' deal that beats anything their footy club can offer.
Then there are those who prefer the Cricket club membership to the FOOTBALL CLUB.

ALL Melbourne based clubs face competition from the AFL Members & the Cricket Club, but not as obviously as Melbourne Football Club.

The asset stripping of the Bentleigh Club will be examined at some point, & its a 'one off' injection of funds, that will set the club up financially in the short term.

MFC hardly have any AFL members, it's why the crowds always look so poor on tv when we play non-vic sides and when we play other Vic sides it feels like we're sitting in their members area

 

[Jables]

Flags don't really make an appreciable amount of fans for Vic clubs IMO, they might just bring out the more passive fans. Some point to us or Geelong as an example of flags bringing fans but I don't really see it, in our golden era in the 80's our attendances/membership were kinda terrible considering, but the club always knew we had a lot of fans that just weren't monetised or engaged at all, if you look at big games we were rarely outnumbered heavily, same with Geelong. Like my dad and his family were hardcore Hawthorn, I kinda remember him talking about how Hawthorn didn't engage with its fans very well back in the day outside of a small bubble, it's not even good right now tbh.

 

[Blackas87]

The club offers an MCC/MFC option for about $90 that gets those who purchase it a special MCC/MFC scarf and entry to games at Marvel. Far less of an issue for us than it used to be.

MCC does this with all Victorian clubs now as well as Brisbane and Sydney.

 

[10571z]

Tiny supporter base. They’ll get a few on the bandwagon but miles off the big teams

 

[gopies1981]

Tiny supporter base. They’ll get a few on the bandwagon but miles off the big teams

wouldnt say tiny……they are bigger then north and bulldogs and in my opinion have now leap frogged st.kilda with there premiership. Melbourne for examplein the final series v Geelong and hawthorn drew 91,000 and 90,000 respectively. I was at both games due to my brother being a Dees fan and Melbourne easily outnumbered Geelong and hawthorn supporters at those games with Melbourne probably having minimum 50,000 of their supporters at both games. The mcc members were full to capacity even the Collingwood v Richmond game could not fill the mcc with about 5,000 empty seats. Melbourne continue to win they will have the same level of support as Geelong and hawthorn do in Victoria. But they are not as big as the big 4 clubs

 

[gopies1981]

What will help Melbourne is they play at the mcg and most of there supporters live in about 20 km from the mcg where most of there fans live in toorak, Malvern, Armadale, camberwell, Glen iris, Caulfield, bentliegh and Brighton

 

[What else we can do]

What will help Melbourne is they play at the mcg and most of there supporters live in about 20 km from the mcg where most of there fans live in toorak, Malvern, Armadale, camberwell, Glen iris, Caulfield, bentliegh and Brighton

Melbourne are the majority in Brighton more than Collingwood and Carlton the Saints are popular too!

 

[Toump Ass]

A few years ago the Dees had a marketing drive aimed at immigrants (aka “celebration of diversity”), had a welcome game at the G etc.

It seemed really successful at the time, I’m sure it will be again once we open up, especially if we’re on top of the ladder.

Named after the best city in the world, top of the ladder in the best sport in the world.

We’re gonna be big, I can feel it in my bones!

 

[Johnny Karate]

You're right about the fading allegiances over several generations when a team is not doing well.

Take this typical example of of a Melbourne supporting family over four generations.

• Professor Charles Wardell-Harrison (born 1915) grew up in Camberwell, attended Scotch College and proudly served in the War, just like Ron Barassi Senior and Bluey Truscott. Like his father and grandfather before him, he was a proud Demon. He was so committed that he even paid to join the football club, despite also being an MCC member. He was so proud of the three-peat in 1939-41, achieved against the odds during wartime, and knows that the club will forever be imbued with the selfless fighting spirit of those years.
• His son, Dr Edward Wardell-Harrison (born 1946) inherited his father's Demon support and knew nothing but success in his formative years. He fondly recalls watching the '64 Grand Final with his dad in the old Grey Smith Stand at the MCG.
• His wife, the former Miss Felicity Kennington-Smyth (born 1948) grew up in Malvern and was educated at Lauriston. She jumped on the Dees bandwagon in the '50s. She loved Ron Barassi and, not being too rusted-on, followed him to Carlton in 1965. The sacking of Norm Smith appalled her sense of decency, and only served to vindicate her decision to switch from the Dees.
• After they were married in 1971 she enjoyed great success with Carlton, and their two daughters Harriet (born 1978) and Charlotte (born 1980) also supported the Blues. She thought about maybe, just maybe, switching back to Melbourne when Barassi became coach in 1981, but a Demons wooden spoon and another Carlton flag meant that the idea came to naught. They don't watch as many football games as their parents' generation anyway, as they spend a lot of weekends at Mount Buller.
• Their son, Angus Wardell-Harrison (born 1976) grew up in Melbourne's lean years. He attended primary school in the 1980s and jumped on the Hawthorn bandwagon, along with half his class mates. He didn't care about abandoning four generations of Demon support in his family, as the team was so uninspiring. And anyway, his parents had also abandoned four generations of family tradition by sending him to Melbourne Grammar rather then Scotch.
• Young Angus grew up in Hawthorn East and during his formative years he'd spend every Summer at their beach house in Portsea. The kids down there who were Hawks and Blues fans would spend the whole Summer boasting about the premiership they'd just won, and/or the latest interstate star player they'd just recruited. The dwindling number of Melbourne supporters would either be teased for their club allegiance, or pretend they didn't really follow football.
• Professor Charles Wardell-Harrison passed away aged 82 in 1997. His final act as a Melbourne supporter was to defiantly vote against the merger with Hawthorn in 1996. He couldn't believe that it had come to this. It would never have happened if the club still had people of the calibre of Ron Senior and Bluey, he thought wistfully.
• The proposed merger caused strong feelings in the Wardell-Harrison family. Angus revived his Hawthorn membership (having let it lapse in 1993) and vowed to continue his Hawks faith, inspired by the fighting words of Don Scott and Dermott Brereton. In contrast, he chides his father's team for its defeatist approach. "At least we still have people in our club who remember what it's like to win", he would say to his dad in the aftermath. Sadly, his father knew he was right.
• "You voted to merge!" he would say to his father and (somewhat more obnoxiously) to Demons supporters at Hawthorn-Melbourne games for years to come. In round 10, 2013, on a cold and bleak Sunday afternoon, Hawthorn would defeat Melbourne by 95 points at the MCG. The Hawks sat first on the latter and the Demons 17th, in Mark Neeld's second last game as coach. "You voted to merge, you voted to merge!" Angus would continue to taunt Dees supporters, before, during after the game. But for the first time ever, no one rose to his bait - the Dees fans' spirits were just too crushed. For the first time in his life, Angus (being the humble and sensitive Hawthorn supporter that he is) finally thinks to himself that perhaps he should not be so mean-spirited towards supporters of other clubs whose lives have been less privileged than his.
• Dr Edward Wardell-Harrison also voted against the merger in 1996 (by then aged 50), but was despondent that the club board and a majority of members voted in favour. He's seen his own children lost to his club and couldn't see how it would grow future generations of supporters. Upon his retirement in 2009 he makes a substantial donation to the "Debt Demolition" campaign and he has faith that Jim Stynes can be the leader they've been waiting for to finally rebuild the club. But just like everything since 1964, his hopes are destined to be dashed.
• Now the children of Angus, the third generation of descendants of Professor Charles Wardell-Harrison, are in their formative years. The first two, Oscar (b.2008) and Amelia (b.2011), were born during the Clarkson dynasty at Hawthorn and their first football memory was the three-peat, so they're also Hawks supporters. But his youngest one, Bailey Wardell-Harrison (b.2015) started primary school this year and like a lot of impressionable class mates, has jumped on the Demon bandwagon. His ageing grandfather, Edward Wardell-Harrison (now aged 75), has rediscovered his passion for the Dees and been in his ear all season urging him to be a Melbourne supporter. For his fifth birthday in October 2020, his grandpa gave him a Demons scarf. He didn't like it at first but he's now been wearing it every week since the Dees went to the top of the ladder after round 7. His confidence is boosted when he walks down his street in Armadale to go to the playground (when it's legal do so so, of course) and he sees that some of the neighbours have adorned their houses in blue and red during the month of September, having not previously been known to be Melbourne supporters.
• After the Grand Final, young Bailey Wardell-Harrison now proudly supports the Red and the Blue. Melbourne is the team to beat, the Hawks are in a rebuilding phase and he and his little friends all want to feel like winners. As soon as the lockdown ends he'll be proudly wearing his Demons scarf and showing off to his class mates at the Geelong Grammar primary school campus in Toorak. He thinks he might even be able to turn his siblings into Melbourne supporters if the Dees keep winning. His judgmental grandmother says the sacking of Clarkson by Hawthorn reminded her of Norm Smith in 1965 and she doesn't think the Hawks are a 'good club' anymore. His father still boasts that Hawthorn have won 11 flags in his lifetime, but this argument has suddenly become very unconvincing. His weak-willed brother says Melbourne is now his 'second team', and his sister thinks that red and blue is a lot prettier than brown and yellow.

A good read. Angus sounds like a ****ing w***er though.

 

[HairyO]

Man U
Chicago Bulls
Melbourne Demons

 

[creepyguy23]

They certainly have potential to be one of the big clubs if they are successful for the next few years. They will not only get a lot of Bandwagon supporters but young kids getting into footy will start favouring Melbourne.
The best example would be in footy day at my niece's primary school when majority of the younger kids were wearing Richmond gear due to their recent success.
The same can happen for Melbourne if they string some success together over the next few years (which is very likely).

Can MFC be as big as Essendon, Collingwood, Richmond, Carlton & Hawthorn? It's certainly not impossible.

 

[Vindicater]

Need to win alot to bring in the youth fans.

 

[gopies1981]

Need to win alot to bring in the youth fans.

if the Dees win another 2 flags in 3 years then there popularity will increase. Similar to Hawthorn. The majority of dees fans live in the wealthy inner east/south eastern suburbs. With there reserve side Cranbourne can the dees gain support in the outer south east working class area similar to what the hawks have been able to do with there success. Playing at the mcg will help there popularity as well. Like I says before Melbourne also need to change there club logo back to the Demon as this will also lure young supporters as well!! A winning Melbourne should sure bring 30-35,000 Melbourne supporters to all there home games next year with possibly nudging 40,000 to the big games when they play Collingwood, Essendon and Richmond

 

[CarnTheScray]

if the Dees win another 2 flags in 3 years then there popularity will increase. Similar to Hawthorn. The majority of dees fans live in the wealthy inner east/south eastern suburbs. With there reserve side Cranbourne can the dees gain support in the outer south east working class area similar to what the hawks have been able to do with there success. Playing at the mcg will help there popularity as well. Like I says before Melbourne also need to change there club logo back to the Demon as this will also lure young supporters as well!! A winning Melbourne should sure bring 30-35,000 Melbourne supporters to all there home games next year with possibly nudging 40,000 to the big games when they play Collingwood, Essendon and Richmond

Took Hawks 4 decades of winning to reach big 4 status.

Melbourne will have to be better for longer than just 3-4 years.

 

[PumpyChowdown]

To grow to the size of a Collingwood or Essendon they would need at least a decade or more of sustained success. A couple of flags and then a drop off won't see too much long term growth.

 

[Demonic Ascent]

I don't think we'll ever be as big as Collingwood, Richmond etc but if we can consolidate enough support to get around 65-70k members each year so that we are financially sustainable long term that's all I care about. When we're up we will fill the G against the big club's if enough of those lapsed supporters get back on board while were winning we could have a period of 80k membership I reckon.

 

[mrmonkey]

Demons must have been a big club when they won that amazing amount of flags in their famous period under Norm Smith.

I wonder if the Dees giant will arise?

All good.

Imagine 95k at the G for Anzac Eve under the lights,spinetingling.

In the 50s Melbourne vs Collingwood would pull 100k at the mcg on queens birthday hard to believe the rivalry then. Just made me think of when Don Bradman played for nsw and play Victoria at the mcg on boxing day would get 100k as well.

Do not think it is as straight forward as you think.
If I read back in history Fitzroy were a big club at one point too early in the 1900's. I suspect it was Melbourne, Carlton, Essendon, Fitzroy and South Melbourne and Collingwood would have got a lot bigger in 1920's and 30's.
Carlton and Essendon have probably always had big followings as they were winning premierships before and after breakaway VFL started in 1897. I think clubs like Fitzroy and South were the clubs that were not able to grow their support after the World Wars and so Collingwood and Richmond took a lot of the slack there. Then when Hawks, North and Dogs come into league, South and Fitzroy dwindled more as they just were not winning flag much after 30's and 40's. Melbourne still were in 1950s and early 60's. But then in 70's clubs like North and Hawks become more trendy to follow so Melbourne just had the worst period to drop whilst other big clubs from early in century like Essendon, Carlton and now Richmond were winning some in 60's to not be in wilderness for long. Fitzroy becoming nomads and not winning any flags since 1944 meant by time I following footy they just about smallest following. I think Melbourne to lesser extent become smaller due to same type of wilderness since 64. Melbourne unlike Fitzroy got a chance to re-grow. It is oldest club in the game so has a lot of appeal if success starts to become more common now.

I remember hearing that the decline of Fitzroy began once they left Brunswick St oval.

I’m from the northern burbs, can honestly say I’ve never met a Dees fan in my life, BUT going for my daily walks the past couple of days I’m seeing Dees gear being worn everywhere and many houses decked out with Dees stuff.

Goes for all clubs, they sure come out of the woodwork after a flag, it’s nice to see.

Kind of similar to hawthorn in 08 imo. I live in the east, always knew a hawthorn supporter but suddenly in 08 there was a heap more coming out of nowhere or certainly found their voice.

A few years ago the Dees had a marketing drive aimed at immigrants (aka “celebration of diversity”), had a welcome game at the G etc.

It seemed really successful at the time, I’m sure it will be again once we open up, especially if we’re on top of the ladder.

Named after the best city in the world, top of the ladder in the best sport in the world.

We’re gonna be big, I can feel it in my bones!

Melbourne's success came at a time when Australia's population was pretty vanilla. Post the 1960s when Australia started to open up to world Melbourne had zero appeal to new Australians.

 

[Toump Ass]

Post the 1960s when Australia started to open up to world Melbourne had zero appeal to new Australians.

Well my family disagree, we coulda landed anywhere in the world and we chose this "great southern land"! And we couldn't be happier with this wonderful city!!

 

[mrmonkey]

Well my family disagree, we coulda landed anywhere in the world and we chose this "great southern land"! And we couldn't be happier with this wonderful city!!

I meant the club not the city

 

[Toump Ass]

I meant the club not the city

Ahh right, I think we're on the same page then

Melbourne has one of the largest immigrant populations in the world, I'm sure a lot of first generation Australians probably didn't pick up Aussie Rules as a sport but the generations who are growing up here might. Any club winning flags is going to pick up some young fans by virtue of their success, I think that's even more-so with Melbourne because we're named after the city. "Melbourne" is going to resonate a bit more than a suburb on the other side of the city.

 

[Leeda]

Nope not going tonne..rapturous nor even rukctions
Dees are my nemesis..she knows this
Belt me on her behalf..

 

[Farm Boy]

Ahh right, I think we're on the same page then

Melbourne has one of the largest immigrant populations in the world, I'm sure a lot of first generation Australians probably didn't pick up Aussie Rules as a sport but the generations who are growing up here might. Any club winning flags is going to pick up some young fans by virtue of their success, I think that's even more-so with Melbourne because we're named after the city. "Melbourne" is going to resonate a bit more than a suburb on the other side of the city.

Another premiership in the next couple of years would do wonders for the Demons. Anymore than that - like a dynasty of flags - would set Melbourne up at a top 4 big club. Up there with the big clubs like Collingwood and West Coast.


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[Leeda]

Ahh right, I think we're on the same page then

Melbourne has one of the largest immigrant populations in the world, I'm sure a lot of first generation Australians probably didn't pick up Aussie Rules as a sport but the generations who are growing up here might. Any club winning flags is going to pick up some young fans by virtue of their success, I think that's even more-so with Melbourne because we're named after the city. "Melbourne" is going to resonate a bit more than a suburb on the other side of the city.

Oh so you can read then?

 

[Jibroni]

Hard to know what the future holds but anywhere near 65,000 members and another flag in the coming years would be a monumental effort.

We may give Geelong and to a lessor extent Hawthorn a run for their money - supporter wise.

 

[Leeda]

Hard to know what the future holds but anywhere near 65,000 members and another flag in the coming years would be a monumental effort.

We may give Geelong and to a lessor extent Hawthorn a run for their money - supporter wise.

Hmm there are bugs crawling up my tea pot spout…is it the long way out or the devil we know?