Melbourne Heart can no longer afford for the idle speculation linking the club to David Beckham to be just that – speculation. They need him. Badly.
Maybe even that’s understating it. The club’s very future may, perhaps, depend on his signature.
We all know that expecting big-name marquee stars to act as cure-alls and problem solvers is a silly, silly thing to do.
And it hurts to say this, because Melbourne Heart are an extremely likeable club – probably the most popular ‘second team’ in the A-League.
But without Beckham, the red and white outfit might be hurtling towards a fate that was perhaps eerily dictated by their selection of a Stoke-inspired home shirt – mediocrity and irrelevance.
Or worse still, extinction.
Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that – any fan with a soul shudders at the thought of a club closing its doors.
And, besides, we should really have gotten all our fascination with morbid grave-dancing out of our system when North Queensland and Gold Coast were cut.
But the truth is the Heart’s troubles have been bubbling under the surface for some time now – only disguised by Melbourne derbies, Clive Palmer’s endless jibber-jabber and the romanticism of the Del Piero era.
Yesterday’s terrific article from jamesb once again put forward the question that has been asked of Melbourne Heart since day one, but never really answered – who on earth are they?
What does this club mean? Who does it represent? Does anyone really know?
There are a few points of difference, we’re told. One – they’re not Melbourne Victory, which is actually a pretty good start.
People hate Victory and Kevin Muscat and their combined arrogance and so by positioning themselves as the nice guys of Melbourne, the Heart curried a bit of favour from neutrals from day one.
That, and the club’s commitment to playing ‘attractive football’.
What that is, exactly, remains unclear – but it is highly likely Ange Postecoglou will reach that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow before John Aloisi does.
Just by signing Postecoglou, the Heart’s arch-rivals blew that so-called advantage to smithereens. So there’s that gone. And neutrals don’t pay the bills.
What else… Young players? No, Newcastle have that covered at the minute – besides, you can’t sign Vince Grella and Richard Garcia and then claim ‘academy’.
Location? No. Anything socio-economic? Not yet. AAMI Park? Now we’re clutching at straws.
When the Heart joined the league, there was skepticism from the outset that they weren’t different enough to the behemoth that is Victory.
That skepticism was hushed by assurances that there’s a growth strategy in place and that crowds will eventually grow to an average of 10,000 in three or five or however many years and so on and so forth.
Well, after this past weekend, it’s pretty clear to see that if there is any growth at all, it is not coming quickly enough, with the expiry date of their ‘sweetheart’ stadium deal at Swan Street is fast approaching.
Especially not when Postecoglou is across town fiddling with a false nine system that is showing glimpses of stunning functionality.
So what now?
The Heart need not be a powerhouse but they can’t survive like this. If crowds don’t pick up immediately, if not sooner, then their stadium deal will eventually eat them whole.
It’s okay to offset that every now and then with the transfer fee from the sale of a rising star – but then Melburnians can see through that, and the cut-price appointment of Aloisi, as an admission of defeat.
And we’ve seen what can happen to the A-League when the poisonous stench of ‘uncool’ left behind by low four-figure crowds hangs about.
Which brings us back to David Beckham, still one of the world’s most marketable athletes and the very embodiment of cool.
It isn’t smart to pin your hopes on a marquee but maybe this is the Heart’s best and only opportunity to bridge the gap with Melbourne Victory.
There just isn’t enough room for the Heart to tell its own story with the suffocating influence of the other mob in town.
With Beckham in red and white, however, the whole planet will suddenly be interested in what goes on at La Trobe University.
That wouldn’t fix everything. And yes, people will probably stop caring the minute he jets back to the US.
But what it would do is give Melbourne Heart a voice that it otherwise would not have and an opportunity to bring about the growth that was promised but never delivered.
Then it has, at least, a chance. A foot in the door. The alternative is frightening.
Without Becks, the rich in Melbourne – Victory – will get richer.
And the Heart will either hold onto a tiny corner of the market and become perennial off-field grafters, or disappear altogether.
Neither is a deserving outcome for a club run so well and founded with such admirable intentions.

Their operational model is what caused the GFC

I think in 2003 or was it 2002 - smfc averaged over 8k in a busted comp

I am sure more articles like this to come.......

Succinct and generally accepted view on MVFC Forum.

Would anyone expect anything else on a MV Forum. What an odd source of info to draw a conclusion :)

To mark my one year anniversary of writing articles on The Roar, I’m going to look back at my very first article on the site, ‘Who does Melbourne Heart represent?’
With that in mind, I thought it was time to revisit that article, and also review the current situation at Melbourne Heart.
In that article that I did 12 months ago, I was trying to pinpoint what Melbourne Heart represents.
I stated that Heart should move to a new location and have their own stadium, and also stated that Melbourne Heart were a by-product of coming into the competition at a time when the FFA had their head in the clouds in regards to the 2022 World Cup bid.
I had a mixed response from the Roarers where a few agreed with me, while others thought I had no idea. It certainly is a divisive topic.
On the weekend, the Heart had 4505 in attendance against Perth Glory. A very poor crowd. I understand that it was hot day in Melbourne, but we can’t always use the weather as an excuse.
That crowd of 4505 was also the A-League’s first sub 5000 crowd for the season which has taken until Round 10 to achieve the dreaded statistic.
So far this season from their five home games, Heart is averaging 6892 in their third season. In their first season, Heart averaged 8315, while last season, Heart slightly increased that figure to 9082.
The one saving grace for the red and white club is they haven’t hosted Melbourne Victory yet, but I’m sure there are other reasons the Heart is in the A-League other than the Melbourne derbies.
Consequently, the Victory this season are averaging 23,805 from their five home matches, though Victory have already hosted the derby, which had a crowd of 42,032.
Take the derby crowd away from Victory, they are averaging 19,248. Compare that average crowd to Victory’s season two (season 2006/07), before Heart came into the competition, Victory averaged 27,728.
So when you take the derby crowds out of the equation, Victory averages 19,248 and Heart 6,892. Both don’t add up to Victory’s season two average of 27,728.
In effect, Heart has cannibalised into Victory’s supporter base. There hasn’t been any new supporters coming into the A-League. That is hugely disappointing.
Melbourne Heart came into the competition as the third expansion club behind North Queensland Fury and Gold Coast United.
It’s fair to say all three expansion teams have so far been a failure with the Fury and GCU out of the competition, while Heart struggling to get more than 10,000 to their games.
The FFA did fail to do the necessary work and research as to whether all three expansion teams deserved a place in the A-League.
Does Melbourne deserve two A-League teams? Of course it does. The Melbourne market is big enough to have not just two teams, but three down the track.
The failure of the FFA previously is they haven’t given Melbourne Heart a proper point of difference from Melbourne Victory.
At the moment, as I stated twelve months ago, it’s Melbourne versus Melbourne, and in my opinion, it’s not working.
In Sydney there is a clear of point of difference where Sydney FC represents the east, while Western Sydney Wanderers represents the west.
In other sports, the Big Bash League cricket on the weekend, the Melbourne Renegades played against the Melbourne Stars. Again where is the point of difference. Also, who did the crowd support?
In the AFL, you look at the nine Melbourne teams, do we have a situation where they are called Melbourne Hawks, Melbourne Bombers, Melbourne Magpies or Melbourne Bulldogs? No, each of them have different names, different areas and different support bases.
What Melbourne Heart needs is for the spotlight from the media and A-League fans to be focused on them, rather than be in the shadow of Victory. Heart need a marquee player.
If they can’t acquire one in the January transfer window, for example David Beckham, than they desperately need one for season nine.
Of course with it comes the cost of the marquee. Can Heart afford it? When you attract crowds of over 4000, I get the feeling that in Heart’s stadium deal at AAMI, they are way off from breaking even.
That said, I’d like some clarification from the Roarers today; what is the stadium deal that Heart have at AAMI? I read somewhere that at AAMI Park, the match fee is $60,000, while Adelaide United have the lowest at $25,000 at Hindmarsh Stadium. But again I need some clarification.
There has been talk that the FFA will help subsidise clubs with funds to attract a marquee player. Hopefully that comes to fruition.
Also the name Melbourne Heart, it’s time for a change of branding to something like West Melbourne Heart. I do feel they need a change in their naming and branding to attract new supporters and to finally attract a point of difference.
Melbourne Heart shouldn’t be a small club, they should strive to be a powerhouse and attract average crowds of 25,000 plus.
Once that happens, than you’ll see a true meaning of the Melbourne derby.
Anyway, I look forward to writing another annual article on Melbourne Heart this time next year. Let’s hope in 12 months’ time, the Heart’s direction is on the up.

Who does Melbourne Heart represent?


When I heard the news that Melbourne Heart defeated the Brisbane Roar on Friday night, I was surprised. Then again the Heart have been playing some good football in recent weeks, while the Roar were on the back foot following their shock loss to Sydney FC at Kogarah only a week ago.
However, with an outstanding result against Brisbane as the backdrop, you would hope that their fans would start to flock to AAMI Park to watch them play.
But with average crowds over just over 6000 this season, you tend to wonder are Melbourne Heart playing in the right stadium, or the right location?
Sure, there are many teams in the A-League that struggle to reach 10000 to their respective home games, but with Melbourne Heart we have a unique situation here. For starters, the Heart are called Melbourne. Yet, their more established rivals, Victory, are also called Melbourne. So we have two A-league clubs here that are called……Melbourne.
Identity crisis, lack of imagination or lack of planning?
Unfortunately for Melbourne Heart, they are a by product of coming into the competition at a time where the FFA had their head in the clouds in regards to the 2022 world cup bid. A year earlier two other teams also came into the competition, but like Heart, they too have suffered from FFA’s negligence.
It’s that negligence from the FFA in taking their eye off the A-League, which sadly spelled the end of the North Queensland Fury.
Was it a lack of planning from the FFA?
Expansion requires a lot of hard work and with it comes astute planning with a key eye on the finer details.
But instead the Fury are gone, Gold Coast struggling to reach 5000 to their home games, while down in Melbourne, its Melbourne v Melbourne
What the?
I understand that in the EPL we do have Manchester v Manchester of the United and City variety, but the A-League can’t compare with teams that are not only established, and recognised world wide, but are both over 100 years old.
They too also play in different stadiums in Old Trafford and the City of Manchester, whereas,Victory and Heart, their main home ground is AAMI Park.
Sure, you could say in the AFL you have 4 or 5 teams each that share the MCG and Etihad, but like City and United, the AFL clubs are well established.
When Melbourne Victory came into the competition in the inaugrial season of the HAL, naturally everyone knew that Victory represented the city of Melbourne. When Melbourne Heart came in, in season 6 of the A-league, I, yours truly wasn’t sure who they represented.
What Melbourne Heart have done since they came in, is they have taken support away from Victory, where statistically, Victory’s crowds have gone down since the arrival of Heart. (although its early days as to what effect the Kewell signing will have on Victory’s crowds)
IMO, the Heart should relocate away from AAMI Park, and find a site, or location around Melbourne where they could build their own stadium.
The stadium will only need to have a capacity of around 15000 or 20000 with a grandstand on either side, and grass hills behind the goal posts. People might be thinking that I’m crazy as to why Melbourne needs another rectangular stadium, where the state government has recently spent $270 million on AAMI Park.
But if you perhaps get a few private investors, some government funding, you can build a cost effective boutique stadium, perhaps in the western suburbs of Melbourne, or near Melbourne Hearts training and administrative facilities at La Trobe University. (then again, I don’t know Melbourne too well)
Also there’s no need to build a fancy bubble roof either.
As the club grows, the stadium would therefore expand to 30000 or 40000 and perhaps become the main stadium in Melbourne to host A-League grand finals and Socceroo matches.
No need for ovals.
And hey, perhaps Melbourne Heart might change their name to say….West Melbourne Heart if they located themselves there.
This could all be done through clever planning, timing and due deligence.
Hopefully one day, we will know who the Melbourne Heart represent.

Taxpayers fund $4 million soccer deal as part of plan to give Collingwood Football Club control of Olympic Park

[size=3]Bob Jane Stadium in South Melbourne, used for soccer and athletics. Source: Herald Sun[/size]

TAXPAYERS are shelling out almost $4.5 million to a Victorian Premier League soccer club under a secret deal agreed to by the Brumby government, as part of its plan to give the Collingwood Football Club exclusive control of Olympic Park.

The payments - which run for 15 years and cost taxpayers up to $300,000 a year - were signed off by then sports minister James Merlino in return for South Melbourne FC, formerly known as Hellas, giving up its exclusive lease at the Bob Jane Stadium in South Melbourne.

When the deal was signed in 2009 the Brumby government was keen for a reluctant Athletics Victoria to move to the stadium so Olympic Park could be given to Collingwood.

The payments have come to light through documents filed in a court case that could see a receiver appointed to South Melbourne FC over a $120,000 loan it was given by supporters in 2004 and which it has never repaid.

The County Court will be asked next month to decide if South Melbourne FC is liable to repay Wellington Investments for the loan it was given at the time the club was in administration after failing to be admitted to the A-League.


The club told the court "the majority of its income, more than $300,000 per annum, is paid to it by the State Sport Centres Trust pursuant to a memorandum of understanding ... involving the Victorian State Government".

It also told the court it is "receiving the sum of $950,000 from the State Government" to build a social club within its exclusive space at the redeveloped Lakeside Oval.

Sources familiar with the deal said it requires the Government to pay the club $300,000 for five years and then $200,000 for another 10 years after that, in addition to the $950,000 for the redeveloped social club.

Club chairman Nick Galatas declined to discuss the court case, but said the money was fair and reasonable compensation for giving up its exclusive rights to the old Bob Jane Stadium.

He rejected suggestions that the club's lease on Bob Jane Stadium had been for a peppercorn rent.

"It wasn't a commercial rent, but it wasn't a dollar a year," he said.

Mr Merlino said the court case was an internal dispute within the soccer club.

"I hope it gets resolved for all the players and members of the public," he said.

He said Labor government negotiations with the club had been difficult.

"I'm proud of the transformation of sport in the City of Melbourne during the last term of our government,"

he said. "Melbourne now has two world-class sporting precincts, where most cities in the world would be lucky to have one."

A spokeswoman for incumbent Sports Minister Hugh Delahunty confirmed the existence of the deal but declined to comment, citing commercial-in-confidence.

james.campbell@news.com.au

December 12, 2012 Read later
Michael Lynch

MELBOURNE Heart might be as competitive as most teams in the A-League, but its crowds are stubbornly refusing to increase with its growth as a club in three seasons.

The red and whites have so far lived in the shadow of foundation club Melbourne Victory, despite a similar record in the past two seasons - both have been in the play-offs once - while Heart has had the better of their derbies.

While the lop-sided popularity of twice-champion Victory over Heart is not surprising, given the advantage of incumbency and the success Victory has had, such an outcome is not inevitable. Or at least the current gap - Victory crowds are often double and sometimes close to treble Heart's - does not have to be a given.

On Saturday night, Heart pulled a crowd of 4500 for the visit of Perth Glory. It was one of its poorest ever gates and has left the club searching for answers, with directors and management discussing ways to try to woo back fans.

The club's first home game this season attracted close to 11,000 for the visit of Wellington Phoenix on a Sunday afternoon. That figure had dropped to 6357 when Central Coast turned up a fortnight later, also for a Sunday 3pm kick-off.

The visit of Brisbane Roar on a Friday night should have brought a good attendance, but the rain bucketed down and only 5466 were there to see Heart smash four past the title-holder. There was a slight increase for a Saturday evening kick-off against the Jets in round eight (7125) before last Saturday's slump in a game which kicked off at 5.30pm, the same time as the Jets match.

Heart's chief executive Scott Munn admitted that Saturday's slide, in particular, was a concern. It was hot, but Munn is more inclined to blame the kick-off time, a schedule dictated to by the demands of television, than other factors.

''Most of the feedback seems to be that summer sport has an impact on some of our younger fans. If you are playing cricket, for example, that doesn't finish until Saturday evening, and also many younger people work on Saturdays, so a 5.30 kick-off hurts that.

''Our membership has plateaued [around 6000] and we know the marketplace is tough and competitive. We also realise the best way to attract supporters is to have a winning team. The victory over Glory at the weekend helped boost everyone, and we look forward to a big crowd against Victory on December 22.''

More like its a SMFC supporters duty to annoy Heart Supporters. :d

Besides were not annoyed just keeping ourselves amused.:roll:

And this everyone just proves that bitterness runs deep to some :lol:

Build a bridge and concentrate on your own club.

I am not bitter

I have a lot of dirty Laundry on the Heart and their financial model I can post here but refuse to do so as it will damage the game on many levels and dilute the Melbourne market further

I do not want to turn this thread into porn - my comments and sentiments have been based on Above the Line evidence not Below the Line

seems media activity in the last 24 hrs backs me up

Edited by chris: 12/12/2012 10:59:34 AM

VPL fixture is up btw.

http://www.sportingpulse.com/comp_info.cgi?a=FIXTURE&compID=244225&c=1-8746-0-200918-0

hmmm - 1 home game in the first 6 rounds???

melbournevictory.net is indeed the font of all football wisdom

I love when people use that line. What it translates to is 'im talking shit out of my arse so i need something to make me sound connected' if you know this stuff and hate Heart then post it

I'm not sure why you believe Heart's failure is any sort of vindication that SMFC (or SXFC) should be in the A-League? If anything, it proves Melbourne wasn't ready for a second team, ANY second team.

I think, in hindsight, SMFC (or an FFA variation of it) should've been the second team in Melbourne.

I can understand why it wasnt, I can understand why it would've been risky - but at least you would've almost guaranteed a solid hardcore support base to rival others.

My only concern is (and maybe SMFC supporters can enlighten me) but if FFA decided to include SMFC into the competition, but "filtered" it so that it no longer had the affiliation to the Greek community etc but maintained the spine of the squad/back room staff - would you guys still support it? Or would it need to be 100% as it is now, unedited by the FFA in order for you to accept it?

Do it

There should be no reason why FFA should ignore South's interest if South can satisfy all the requirements needed to be admitted.
FFA's decision shouldn't be based solely on ethnicity. That's racist if it is.
After seeing many failures with other admission clubs, FFA should be thankful it has South's interest.

But in saying that, if South are allowed in, all those fans who have stuck with them will need to go to a Greek church and confess their sins. Explain to the father why they hung so much s hit on the a-league, why they no longer want it to suffer harm, and why its no longer a plastic league.

Edited by Daniel son: 12/12/2012 12:42:18 PM

Even their own 'supporters' are half-hearted about it.

I believe the argument is that Heart are struggling due to a lack of clear identity, whereas SXFC's affiliation with SMFC was well known and would have provided history/identity. As many would have been turned off by this as would have been turned on - however it would have provided a marketing point. Also, with so many disliking South, there's a good chance that certain elements would have followed South games in the hope that we'd lose (in much the same way as the only AFL result I look for is Collingwood - in the hope that the black-and-white-bas***ds get smashed).

In an ideal world, The NSL would have been a comp that grew into a solid, viable pro-league with clubs that had broadbased support, without the amount of brand damage that associated their images in the end. Like it or not, its the reality.

Even their own 'supporters' are half-hearted about it.

I'm not sure why you believe Heart's failure is any sort of vindication that SMFC (or SXFC) should be in the A-League? If anything, it proves Melbourne wasn't ready for a second team, ANY second team.

Wrote this on the SBS facebook page:
Melbourne Heart fans, expect to be the target of disdain and abuse by people who think a football club is judged by its commercial value. Then expect your emotional attachment to be disregarded as moot due to that commercial value.

Welcome to the A-League, where we are football until you're not worth it.