6k is the new 10k.

yep, agree with all of this. I think its a league wide probem of clubs not getting fans more engaged with their clubs. but City are the worst at it.


this is also true. If you compile a list of the biggest fuck ups by clubs in the history of the HAL, Melbourne Heart choosing Bundoora as its training base over Casey Fields would have to be number 1. I can't think of anything else that comes close. 

Storm have been in Melbourne for a long time and have done a lot of work to quietly integrate themselves into the sport culture. Their high profile players do a lot of community work and strong results have made them a very attractive (and inoffensive) alternative to AFL in winter. My local Footy club had Billy Slater and Cooper Cronk turn up to training one evening and left a bunch of AFL playing teens absolutely gobsmacked over their skills with a Sherrin, in addition to a good number of free tickets for the weekend.

The Rebels in comparison are just sad, they should be far ahead of Storm considering Union in Victoria has a much larger grassroots community than Rugby League but they are completely useless at capitalising on it. They get somewhere between 6-10k over 8 home games but even those numbers are suss considering most attendees are either suits in the corporate section and some scattered Kiwis or South Africans supporting the opposition behind the goals . 

Should add in.
Melbourne Heart was a bit of an identity crisis during its formation.
They basically said something phoney like we are a purists team playing the dutch way and kind of went the opposite of Merrick and Muscy at Victory.
They also gathered a bit of a following being the 'battlers' of Melbourne compared to Victory. This image was reflected when they used to recover out of ice bins which was an unprofessional look.

Since City have taken over they lost their traditional colours and went away from the purists scheme with Joyce anti football.
They also had arrogant players like Bratten, Brandan, Novillo, Bruno and Cahill that went against the little humble club they once were.

So in summary i definately think there is a disconnect and it all goes back to its identity crisis.
In the end, if you liked football in Melbourne what would make you want to support City in lieu of Victory? There isnt a lot of valid points out there imo.

Now with WU coming in at least they are representating a region of area of some sort.

When it comes to Melbourne City, I reckon the big unknown is what would happen if they won the double? Then went on to do it again the following season. Would that be the missing piece that cements fans in place and attracts new fans? They have been around long enough now but have never been a real contender for the plate and have never been really threatening during the finals.
People regularly say that the MV fans demand trophies. That is the expectation. However, I don't think that is a MV thing. I reckon it's just a Melbourne thing. Whether they want to admit it or not, MC and WU will experience the same type of pressure. MV would be nowhere near as popular if they had an empty trophy cabinet. The same goes for Melbourne Storm. Without those trophies and regular grand final appearances, they would likely be a flop.
If MC managed to become a proper top side and won a season or two and the fans still didn't show up, then you could conclude that they probably never will show up.

Possibly.
The Melbourne fan does expect success.
This is the biggest reason why AFL works here. Whilst individual teams might not have club success the AFL is the number 1 league of its sport (by default). 
If there was a stronger AFL league elsewhere then AFL in Victoria would be no where near as popular. So Melbourne AFL fans know they are following the best league (if not club) in the world. This is very important to them just like being the best club in the A league would be a significant help to creating a good following for MC. They are in with a chance this year of on field success. If that happens and the fans still do not come then you just have to give up on them.

We all want to real football to be bigger but the fact that the A league is not the number 1 league in the world (and that is a must for most Victorians if not Australians in general) is its biggest hurdle.

Well written post. It's the big missing ingredient. Let's turn the discussion around and look at it from this perspective... there's over 8000 core fans that renew year on year regardless of not winning the league. 
Also this argument that people choose Heart because they weren't victory is a misconstrued argument. There are a host of reasons that come  with that, each person with their own. For me I was late to coming into the aleague. I didnt know much about the league until there was some noise about Heart entering which got my attention. I made a personal choice from there. I understand this does not suit the agenda of some on here. 

The only thing remotely logical you've come up with is a team in Dandenong is a must. Comparing the two Melbourne City crowds from this season, which have been sub par, to AFL crowds is absurd. Not sure if you realise that the AFL/VFL has been around for 120+ years, the sport is ingrained in Melbourne sporting culture, that's why people turn up. Melbourne Heart/ City could have been conceived better, but to say they do more harm than good is way off the mark.

I compared the crowd sizes to rugby. A very fair comparison in Victoria.
I talked about AFL to show how Melbourne people will support any kind of sporting rubbish provided they think it is the top of its sport.

People follow AFL in large numbers due to it being culturally engrained in society over several generations. 

I don't think a better league elsewhere would make any difference at all.

if the best players were playing in another country it definitely would 

It may have an effect, but it's small. If you look at countries like Portugal, Belgium, Brazil, Argentina, Netherlands, etc, all of their best players are likely going to be playing in the EPL, Ligue 1, La Liga, Bundeslega, etc. However if you look at the top tier leagues in countries like I mentioned above, there is huge local support for their clubs. This is because they have been playing football in those countries for generations and it's ingrained in the culture. They are not that concerned that their best players are playing in another country. It's the opposite, it just gives them more reason to follow their homegrown players in a foreign league.

Oh it would most definitely make a difference. No doubt about it.
If there was an Aussie rules league in say the USA and it was of a higher standard than the Australian league then the interest in the AFL would drop off significantly.
It is just the way Melbourne people (and probably Australians in general) work.
The fact that the local produce is the best league in the world is the key to its success.
Whilst the AFL is going strong the interest in local lower levels is dropping off. Cheap "Auskick" sucks then in and the AFL keeps the interest but everything in between is in decline.

You just don't get it do you? someguyjc has made all the valid points that need to be made. I love it how your flawed argument that ignores the influence of sporting culture, is used to summarise how "Australians and Melbourne people work".  

outside the top 3 or 4 teams, the rest of the teams are on par or worse than Melb City for attendances, unless they have a good season.

Winners.  Fans like winners and to be associated with winning.

Hence the repeated reference by Rudan and the players plus the management of the importance of getting to a winning start.

No better example than the Wanderers early success setting them up 

Winning.  Bets marketing there is.

i thought aussies liked a underdog story more than a winning team? 

That's just what people who aren't very good at stuff say.

Heart killed its early support bu being the best at stealing defeat form the jaws of Victory.  Over and Over Again.  Who wants to feel like shit every weekend?

Well first off Victory still average more than the Storm by a good few thousand, secondly a large part of their support are people formerly from NSW or Queensland. That's the reason 

Everyone likes an underdog team, doesn't mean you support them

Probably best is some of you try reading the thread from the beginning rather than commenting after reading one comment and misunderstanding what is being said and why.
Some very off the mark comments made by people not following the points I have been making.

By this logic Melbourne Storm should be selling out every game at AAMI, being arguably the best rugby league side in the world.

No doubt about it?  Not any, not even a little bit?  A teensy weensy bit of doubt that an entirely hypothetical, untested and un-testable scenario may not work out exactly as you have prophesied, is entirely impossible?

This fallacy about Melbourne City and a lack of an identity!! Im from Sydney and don't support them although, they are from the Northern suburbs in Melbourne, Victory are from the city suburbs and Western Utd are from the West. Each team HAS an identity, yes even Melbourne City. Its like in NRL, Manly, South Sydney or Sydney Roosters and in the west there are Parramatta or Wests Tigers or Bulldogs or Panthers...All have an identity. There is nothing to see here, just go and support a team!

Melbourne City's identity is that they are a satellite club for Manchester City.

And the problem is? As Heart they were on life support. City group acted as surgeons at the operating table and turned them financially into a powerhouse.

Powerhouse? How? Besides  an ffa  cup they won nothing. Yes they  have a great training  ground which  Latrobe uni paid half for.  What makes them a powerhouse??

A powerhouse at the bank ofcourse. They are the wealthiest backed club in Australia. You don't know that? New York fc are more than happy to accept City group as their senior partner but fans of football in Victoria are not..does not make sense..

Yes they're  the richest. But what have they got to show for it? Ccm  whilst being run on a budget have at least have premierships and a championship   . The cfg  still treat melb city like an inconvience