It may sound grossly unfair to criticise a team that currently sits on top of the A-League, but are alarm bells starting to clang for Melbourne City?
Let me explain.

There's nothing wrong with the team that Erick Mombaerts has put together, far from it. They've taken 10 points from the first 12, and reached the FFA Cup Final.

City are blooding some excellent youngsters. Denis Genreau seems to have matured during his year in the Eredivisie with PEC Zwolle, Stefan Colakovski excited off the bench against Wellington, and Connor Metcalfe - that bullocking midfielder, chiselled straight from the Newcastle coalfields - grabbed his first A-League goal, and atoned for a rather scratchy cameo off the bench last week against Western United.




But it's those last two words that are the focus of this week’s column, and, more to the point, how their arrival could affect City.

10 years into their A-League tenure (five under the CFG), and Melbourne City's attendances remain rather stagnant. Last year’s average of 8,135 was their lowest yet. This year’s two home games have brought in 7,399 and 6,440 respectively.

City are not alone in struggling for crowds, but the introduction of Western United has brought those numbers into sharp focus. It's one thing playing second fiddle to Melbourne Victory - but to the new boys too?


Yet after two home games each, Western United's crowd average is marginally higher than City's, albeit with the rider that one of those games WAS a derby, with City themselves being the visitors.

Saturday's win over Victory feels like a seminal moment for the new club - a moment when they laid down a marker. There even seems to be a name for the rivalry emerging, with the "Westgate" derby getting an airing in some quarters this week.

Western United CEO, Chris Pehlivanis, says the derby success has helped establish their brand.


“We've been able to get our players on the major radio stations in Victoria - before that it was hard,” said Pehlivanis.

“The derby was an opportunity, and there was a lot from the inner west that came to support us as well. It can be a 25-30,000 derby very quickly.”

So, is the pressure on City, who will this week celebrate their first decade in the A-League by wearing the old Melbourne Heart strip for the game against the Mariners?

City CEO, Brad Rowse, acknowledges his club has much more to do, but maintains building a fan base is a long-term project.

"We've admitted we've had a tough couple of years - we weren't playing the style of football we wanted to,” Rowse said. “There was a lot of fan frustration - the Bruno (Fornaroli) issue.

“It takes a while to build a fan base, and not much time for them to drop away. But we do a thrice-yearly fan survey for our members, and the last one saw a big turnaround - there's a lot more optimism.”

City have increased their community footprint, with a very visible presence in the "Macca's City Cup" for juniors, and a recent youth tournament in Shepperton, which had 4,000 child participants. It's a slow-burn approach they hope will pay dividends in the future.

But questions remain as to whether the link with the City Football Group, and the lack of big-name marquees (at the one A-League club which could readily afford one), is keeping potential fans away.

"We don't ram it (the link with Manchester City) down people's throats - you won't find anything about Man City on our website,” Rowse added. “We want to be a standalone club. Our research shows it’s less of an influence than people think.

“Marquees? The evidence to date shows that you don't get a return on your investment. We're not opposed to it, but it has to be the right player.”

Western United meantime, are keen to reap the benefits from their derby success.


"We will click over 4,000 members this week - since the game we have signed up close to 300 members,” added Pehlivanis.

“It's hard to gauge if they will all jump on long term, but success drives membership in the right way.

“We have a lot of hard work to do in the community, and we have done over a hundred school & club visits already. We are on a journey, and we don't know what the ceiling is. But we are pretty happy with a 7,000 average to start off with, it's a good base."

Western have geographical difference, and a new stadium coming in three years’ time. City have a decade head start, plus the resources of the CFG.

With both teams at home again this weekend, perhaps we will get a further clue as to which will emerge as the "second force" in Victoria behind Victory?

https://www.foxsports.com.au/g00/football/a-league/a-league-news-melbourne-city-western-united-simon-hill-column-derby-membership/news-story/4206c241a22d4acdf2745ba26643d284?i10c.ua=1&i10c.encReferrer=&i10c.dv=15

Blah blah blah blah Crowds, blah blah blah blah ratings, blah blah blah blah memberships

Melbourne City didnt come here to spend $3m in salaries and be equal 11th

Teams like City only work in an uncapped league. It really is a reap what you sow situation

To be honest, I reckon many people are unfairly harsh on MC on some aspects. The fact is their metrics are very similar (give or take) to the majority of the HAL clubs, yet they receive way more ridicule.
When it comes to marquees, sure their owners are mega rich, but we're talking about spending a few million on players. Every owner in the league can afford that. The reality is that MC hold the record for most spent on players in a single season ($9M+ when they signed Cahill). No other club even comes close to that. So they already know that ROI on marquees is simply non existent.
Although they brush off the CFG thing, it would be naive to believe it has no effect on metrics. Nobody who already supports Liverpool, Man U, Chelsea, etc is going to support MC. It's as simple as that. Then there is the colours. I reckon it was a poor decision to drop the 'Heart' strip down to the third kit this season. There are still plenty of fans that prefer the red and white. There is also the underlying issue with the 'City' blue. As far as colours are concerned, that is the single worst choice for a Victorian team. Most people associate that colour with NSW. Combine that with the lack of geographical identity makes it very difficult for fans to get on board.
MC are also in kinda the same boat as BR when it comes to inappropriate stadiums. It's not as severe as BR, but most of the time they are playing out of a stadium that is less than a quarter full. That has a huge impact. You put that same 7k average in a 10-15k stadium and the atmosphere completely changes. Problem is that there are no 10-15k stadiums in Melbourne.
Building up those stale metrics is going to be a slow burn for MC, just like it is for the majority of HAL clubs. The best thing for them to do is have a proper crack at the double. They have never finished on top and they always fail to deliver come finals. That really needs to change if they want to not only retain fans, but win new ones over.

Classic tall poppy syndrome.

Talking about crowds must surely get boring 

Pfft if anything i've found it daft that there fans that their fans are still insisting they hold onto Red and White colours despite the fact they've been City for longer than Heart existed. Melbourne Heart is long dead and pretending that 4 years of utter embarrassment is something worth holding onto is ridiculous. 

Also I think people have severely underestimated the impact of Joyce from the previous two seasons. Conflict with fan favourites Bruno, Kilkenny, Cahill etc and an almost unwatchable playing style towards the end will have hurt big time. City are definitely on the right path so far this season. Gradually disillusioned fans will filter back, and it may even take some ultimate success (championship/premiership) to get past supporters and members thinking that it's not "the same old City"  

fair point that's just people not wanting to look like man city though 

We don't ram it (the link with Manchester City) down people's throats - you won't find anything about Man City on our website,” Rowse added. “We want to be a standalone club. Our research shows it’s less of an influence than people think."

I find it hard to believe this has less influence than people think, If I was from Melbourne I'd rather support a club that plays in Victorian colours, with a Victorian name, than a club that plays in the colours of a club half a world away.

And I'm not sure how changing the name to "City" and changing the colours to light blue doesn't count as shoving the link down your throat.

That's right.
Can you imagine if CFG had purchased Roar and then changed the colours to light blue? They would have lost all of their fans in an instant. Whether we like it or not, football is tribal and colours are important.

Mehhhh. They still have the red cross for the City in their crest.  It's in the crest and it represents the city. Don't really see the issue. Rather see the red and white as their clash kit than all white like every other club too.

City were a great addition the League and will be an ideal pathway for some of our players that are looking to break into Europe.

pretty much.

city burnt themselves by cutting the heart ties. heart shot themselves in the foot by now carving out some unique territory - eg. north melbourne heart or whatever.

aside from that, if we are getting near the 10k mark in australia we should be happy. still puts us above second tiers in germany, italy, spain, and ranks amongst many other decent leagues.  the whole league has struggled with inertia. if the crowds are still average after full expansion and p&r then i will be worried.

they have created the best pathway for prospects that australia has had since the dissolution of the NSL.

At the end of the day Citys metrics do suck but they are a low risk option for the league so really who  cares. 
CFG have invested millions into the training base, they are generating good youth players and arnt in a volatile financial position due to their stable owners.

Why would you be worried ? A-league crowds are more or less in line with most smaller European leagues, is that unreasonable ? 

Nobody wants to support MC. Lets face it they are a flop. 
If you are not from Melbourne you might not get this but it is true. They will never work.

"Team11" deserve to be in the A league, and should be a success if and when they make it.

There is an opportunity here to solve both problems.

I love how you speak for everyone in Melbourne. I live in Melbourne, specifically the south east, and I'm a City supporter/member since Heart's inclusion, and I will continue to support the club during the hard times. Just because City doesn't have a great attendance at games (which has only been very bad since Joyce nearly destroyed the club so two years), doesn't mean they should be replaced. If so, you would only have a league with maybe five clubs, since it would only be fair to get rid of the other low attendance clubs. At least the City Football Group is trying to improve the league. Do you think the owners of Wellington, Central Coast or Newcastle Jets would be willing to contribute as much as CFG are in trying to improve the league? If they were to one day decide to leave the league, which they won't, I wouldn't follow any other Melbourne or A-League club. I'm sure I wouldn't be the only one. Don't really see how it solves any problems.

Anyone who calls themselves "Iknowbest" should really be taken seriously,... lol... I'm not sure how 8200+ members can get confused with nobody. Anyway, the club is doing all the right things now that Joyce has left our shores, Great manager, playing an attractive style, playing the kids (who are doing well). It's now just a matter of winning back many of those disillusioned fans.  

Love the thread title 

So many people support Liverpool... or even Man U, Newcastle & Leeds.

its tough.

Can I say that as a neutral I'm loving watching City this season. I'm tipping them for the double. 

The overt Sky Blue/ Man City connection has alienated more fans than they are willing to admit.

If the Stadium gets built. United will overtake them as the number 2 club in Mebouurne, no doubt.

What about low tier clubs overseas that perform poorly but are represented by traditional club colours that are fiercely supported? You can talk history etc. but whether it's 4 years or 50 years, people make a connection irrespective, right? 

The issue for City is that it appears to find it hard to keep fans connected and engaged on an ongoing basis. We have one of the most disconnected fan bases who switch off at any opportunity.

There are actually many out there that are passive fans, which may attend a match 1 or 2 times a year, but many just follow from a distance. Many of those are from the Heart days.

The reality is that I also feel Western United have more of an upside overall in the future if they get things right - and make sure the stadium is built as promised. City will likely always have a fairly limited appeal as it just doesn’t represent anything in particular, but in some ways Victory will also need to lift their game to grow in the future. 

Melbourne is a sporting town. We come out in numbers to support just about every sport in any conditions.
The crowds MC get now and in the past are simply not acceptable.
What is Melbourne Storms average crowd? We hate rugby in Victoria and I would not be surprised at all if it is higher than MC.
The AFL gets huge crowds here. Why? It is a crap sport but in Melbourne we turn up to watch anything. It is just what Melbourne people do.
So any A league team in Melbourne needs to be attracting higher than average A league crowds.  It really is that simple.

So yes MC are a flop.

usually agree with you on things IKB but i think you are off the mark on this...  

The A league would be in a much healthier position if Melbourne Heart/City had not occurred.
So they have done more harm than good.
You just need to spend some time at a local football club with juniors to understand the poor impact MC have had on football.
So many bought white tops 5 years ago. Now they understand football a bit more and have not moved to light blue.

If you can not draw a crowd in Melbourne you are doing something seriously wrong.
A team in Dandenong would be attracting much larger crowds.
Professional sport requires fans.
I am totally on the mark. You just do not like the conclusion.

I sort of agree.
MC attendances currently look woeful, there's no other way to describe it.
Melbourne's 2nd A-League team, as a matter of course, should be getting more than Sydney's 2nd AFL team, for example, or even more than the Suns.

This says it all. MC are a flop.
If you are getting less than half of the Rugby in Melbourne at the same venue you are a fail.


RECENT ATTENDANCES

DATE	SPORT	EVENT	CROWD
03/11/19	Football	A-League: Melbourne City v Wellington Phoenix	6,440
20/10/19	Football	A-League: Melbourne City v Adelaide United	7,399
21/09/19	Rugby League	NRL Finals: Storm v Eels	21,015
18/09/19	Football	FFA Cup: Melbourne City v Western Sydney Wanderers	2,905
14/09/19	Rugby League	NRL Finals: Storm v Raiders	20,136
06/09/19	Rugby League	NRL: Storm v Cowboys	12,085
30/08/19	Australian Football	EJ Whitten Legends Game	6,000
25/08/19	Rugby League	NRL: Storm v Titans	11,758
17/08/19	Rugby League	NRL: Storm v Raiders	17,769
07/08/19	Football	FFA Cup: Melbourne Victory v Newcastle Jets	4,045
27/07/19	Rugby League	NRL: Storm v Sea Eagles	14,836
13/07/19	Rugby League	NRL: Storm v Sharks	22,737
15/06/19	Rugby League	NRL: Storm v Knights	16,313
22/05/19	Football	ACL: Melbourne Victory v Sanfrecce Hiroshima	6,053
16/05/19	Rugby League	NRL: Storm v Wests Tigers	11,402

Geez, the Storm get better crowds than I would have thought.
At least City did better than the Whitten charity game.
What about the Rebels?