You seem to imply something authentic about Victory and its fanbase that's absent with other clubs.

Adelaide's success was due to being our first year. It was an outright bandwagon. I remember at one point that season we had 3 distinct active support groups - one at the north end, two at the south. At the north end you were likely surrounded by people with grassroots connections to the local game. At the south end it was basically a who's who of SANFL supporters who loved being in a crowd for what was basically $2 more than an SANFL adult GA ticket at the time. In those days, following SANFL was the best ticket in town which wasn't AFL and the SANFL was anti AFL in its DNA. Going to the soccer and getting that atmosphere was like Christmas to these folks who had already spent the last 10 years avoiding 40,000+ AFL big match atmosphere for crowds of 3-6,000 at their local SANFL ground. When the AL and its pro ticket prices came in, these people were the first out and haven't returned. That's natural, they were always going to fall away once the novelty wore off.

Perth was the classic big fish in a small pond. The fan base really thrived on that. The club didn't transition to the AL era well on the park and that flowed through to attendances. Also, there was a big change in the costs to attend games. From memory, I think I was paying at least twice the price for an AL ticket compared to NSL for Adelaide United. The increase was warranted for the change in quality on the park, but for Perth fans who were already watching a professional team in the NSL, the jump wasn't so great (although they obviously had a whole lot of better opposition to watch). Perth have at times had a resurgence in attendance when the team was perofrming well, but you feel like it can't match its NSL glory (no pun intended), so they won't scale those same heights. Personally, I think the club should just focus on the tide lifting all boats rather than mourning how good they were...

I didn't imply anything of the sort. You have read into that to make up for the fact you have not made a valid point. 

Just admit it's wrong and move on. 

The fact is good marquees work. Shit ones don't.

If every sport gets a "look-in ", why was football in the US so shit for so long (and failed previously)?

What is this "pure football model" you speak of?

As for connections to the EU, 2 in 3 Aussies were born here. They a generation or two or more removed form those EU connections.  The two big (non-UK) ethnics, the Italians and Greeks who were born overseas total 1% of the population. Combined.  There are more people born in Nepal than born in Greece living here.

The Effniks are basically irrelevant.

If every sport gets a "look-in ", why was football in the US so shit for so long (and failed previously)?

What is this "pure football model" you speak of?

As for connections to the EU, 2 in 3 Aussies were born here. They a generation or two or more removed form those EU connections.  The two big (non-UK) ethnics, the Italians and Greeks who were born overseas total 1% of the population. Combined.  There are more people born in Nepal than born in Greece living here.

The Effniks are basically irrelevant.

Why?

Possibly irrelevant as you state but it IS a fact that despite only accounting for 1% of the population Greeks and Italians are vastly over represented when it comes to football clubs they have established, supported, played for and continue to volunteer for in this country. In fact without European migration the NPLs and State leagues in most states would be very sparsely populated indeed... I think thats what LFC was alluding to mate.

The NC was only created in 2009, and would have taken some time for it to be fully adopted everywhere. I don't believe any of our world cup qualifications or asian cup victories are due to the NC. We should be judging it off players who fully came through the system so a player would have been no more than 5 years old at the beginning of the NC.

Possibly irrelevant as you state but it IS a fact that despite only accounting for 1% of the population Greeks and Italians are vastly over represented when it comes to football clubs they have established, supported, played for and continue to volunteer for in this country. In fact without European migration the NPLs and State leagues in most states would be very sparsely populated indeed... I think thats what LFC was alluding to mate.

Or......bear with me......football would be bigger because it wasn't ethnically aligned and off-putting to the mainstream.

By all accounts pre-WW2 football was very big. Up here on the north coast of NSW, excluding Newcastle, there's barely any ethnically aligned clubs at all and football is easily the most popular sport.

Now calm down mono I'm just positing another possible viewpoint.

When I first went to Sydney in the late 80s I went to some NSL matches and it wasn't for me for reasons well covered here many times.

This is slightly tongue in cheek but also, as they say, 'many a true word spoken in jest'.

Football WAS very big pre WW2 mate, its the biggest sliding doors moment in our code's history that the VFL (especially down here) came home from both wars as the dinky die ANZAC game (played at the foot of the Pyramids and Gallipoli if you believe the hype) and because of Euro migration the "wogball" took a back step in the public's perception. (for some reason Anglo Australia didn't really like the hordes of swarthy, hairy, smelly garlic eating new-Australians and therefore any sport they played must be shit)

Ive said it before also that IF there where massive clubs around in the 50s and 60s then most migrants would have gravitated towards them instead of feeling the need to create their own. (Yes yes I know in NSW it was somewhat different, Im talking about Melbourne) In other words if Melbourne Victory was founded in 1905 instead of 2005 then there may NEVER have been a Hellas or Heidelberg or Juve or what have you.....

What you say might be true of the north coast of NSW but in saying that it wasn't (from what I know) a very big migrant destination.... Its not hard to see why there aren't many migrant clubs out there :)

Football WAS very big pre WW2 mate, its the biggest sliding doors moment in our code's history that the VFL (especially down here) came home from both wars as the dinky die ANZAC game (played at the foot of the Pyramids and Gallipoli if you believe the hype) and because of Euro migration the "wogball" took a back step in the public's perception. (for some reason Anglo Australia didn't really like the hordes of swarthy, hairy, smelly garlic eating new-Australians and therefore any sport they played must be shit)

Ive said it before also that IF there where massive clubs around in the 50s and 60s then most migrants would have gravitated towards them instead of feeling the need to create their own. (Yes yes I know in NSW it was somewhat different, Im talking about Melbourne) In other words if Melbourne Victory was founded in 1905 instead of 2005 then there may NEVER have been a Hellas or Heidelberg or Juve or what have you.....

What you say might be true of the north coast of NSW but in saying that it wasn't (from what I know) a very big migrant destination.... Its not hard to see why there aren't many migrant clubs out there :)

Migrants weren't looking for a suitable brand for which to take their family to watch product on a Saturday. They were looking for a job to replace the shirt they arrived in. The wog clubs were always going to be started because they were community first. Skips may try to rewrite history about how unwelcoming it all was, but these clubs were so welcoming that close enough was good enough. My old man was making his tradie connections off the boat with cros and not even half the words are the same between south and west slavs. The Italians were great as well but it was less talking more pointing. I'm so proud of that shit TBH

I am pretty sure that NZAC half of the ANZACS were not to interested in VFL!

Possibly irrelevant as you state but it IS a fact that despite only accounting for 1% of the population Greeks and Italians are vastly over represented when it comes to football clubs they have established, supported, played for and continue to volunteer for in this country. In fact without European migration the NPLs and State leagues in most states would be very sparsely populated indeed... I think thats what LFC was alluding to mate.

We're hopeless at tracking footballing history in Australia, that's why virtually nothing is known of all the British Football Association leagues and clubs which dominated pre-WWII.
Going back even further, according to Ian Syson, football was the dominant code in Australi pre-WWI, and more round ballers signed up to serve in the war than any other football code (and more were killed).
A heap of football clubs which existed up to 1914 were completely wiped out of existence.
Those that survived dominated the scene right up to the post-war migration boom (post-1946).

We're hopeless at tracking footballing history in Australia, that's why virtually nothing is known of all the British Football Association leagues and clubs which dominated pre-WWII.
Going back even further, according to Ian Syson, football was the dominant code in Australi pre-WWI, and more round ballers signed up to serve in the war than any other football code (and more were killed).
A heap of football clubs which existed up to 1914 were completely wiped out of existence.
Those that survived dominated the scene right up to the post-war migration boom (post-1946).

Back on topic. The reason Brisbane crowds are so poor are many:
1. Several past issues where club (as well as the league) actively antagonised active support
2. A policy of no marquees
3. No ‘personality’ players in the past 6-7 years. Long term players; unfortunately Hingert, O’Shea, Aldred aren’t great marketing material.
4. Endless turnstile of players here for one season then gone
5. No national team players for years
6. Gone are the days when we brought through great juniors - Kruse, Oar, Borello, Yeboah
7. Moving home ground 35km away
8. Poor scheduling over the years (so fans get out of the routine)
9. Owners with no ambition.
10. Poor brand of football.
The Fowler debacle was for me the turning pt where I lost interest. There was a bit of excitement generated, he brought core ‘clubmen’ like Aldred and O’Shea to the club, he’d turned us from wooden spooners to competitors in a season, and there was the possibility his name could attract players in future. The fact that he didn’t return for the sake of a few thousand dollars was just another example of the incompetence of the administration of this club over its history.

We're hopeless at tracking footballing history in Australia, that's why virtually nothing is known of all the British Football Association leagues and clubs which dominated pre-WWII.
Going back even further, according to Ian Syson, football was the dominant code in Australi pre-WWI, and more round ballers signed up to serve in the war than any other football code (and more were killed).
A heap of football clubs which existed up to 1914 were completely wiped out of existence.
Those that survived dominated the scene right up to the post-war migration boom (post-1946).

5 match reports have been put up on the board in the last 2 hours - all with zero responses.
Maybe 12 or so years ago, when 442 was still  thing and we had a thriving discussion board, those 5 articles may have had 100 comments inside two hours, with 50 different posters getting involved.
I mention that because the crowds, the ratings, the media interest, the paucity of posters on this board, the disappearance of the coverage that used occur across a range of media and platforms - it's all part of the same malaise - it's all related - none of it is happening in a vacuum.
What are the chances of a recovery?
To season 3 levels of crowds and media interest?
From where we currently sit - absolutely zero chance.

12 years ago fans of every other club would be eagerly posting our delight at the demise of MV. Now, no one even cares. This forum has definitely reflected the ongoing decline in interest in the league.
My EPL team is in a relegation battle and I’m checking the score as soon as I wake. With Brisbane … meh - I know we aren’t going to win nor be relegated so no pressure at all.

I have a great book on pre nsl football history in South Australia 

You see posts by some arguing the current model is viable and nothing would change if the unbelievable happenned opening up (how does one know)
The fish where the fish are there - most watch/have interest in other leagues having P/R, their young kids watch and learn about it might I add looking ahead.
No matter how good the football can/will be top of the ladder there is Nothing worth playing for x 6 clubs or keeping supporters interest, thats right its same again next season in the hope your Club has recruited for the better next season and that hit and miss, look at MV with all the resource they have the last few seasons.