If you look at Jets members side (camera side) it looks healthy 

if you saw City’s side, it doesn’t. Which is worrying - members form your core support 

(for what it’s worth last nights poor crowd is explainable by awful weather). 

Yet Melbourne has a population of almost 5 million whilst around 400k live in and around Newcastle. Along with that Melbourne City were 'celebrating' their 10 year anniversary, there was major advertising and it was talked up a lot more then there average games, whilst the Jets are playing a typical game against the glory. (Hard place for away fans to travel in Aus, especially compared to Melbourne)

Also considering the form of both teams, City top of the league, unbeaten in 14 at home, whilst the Jets have 1 point in three games and were thrashed last week, would think more City fans could jump on board.

I'm a city fan and member, I've gone to all our home games so far this season and I'm very happy with the playing standard this season. But not just for City but for all clubs. This is the first season were I'm actually watching every game, every week. Yet, it's worrying seeing the attendances for most, if not all clubs. Even seeing Victory in Marvel so far has been terrible to see.

Newcastle don't have any competition in there city. Newcastle isn't as saturated with sporting teams as Melbourne. Newcastle isn't having a below 10 degree day with hail and rain. City played Central Coast so likewise with your travel excuse for Newcastle's opposition. The only thing reasonable you said is that with City top of the league and it being the 10 year anniversary they should have had more for game. I'm sure if the weather wasn't so bad, the crowd would have been in range of our average or more.

Newcastle have less competition, correct. That's because they have a smaller population. Its retaliative, smaller population therefore smaller clubs and sporting competition. Newcastle still have only around 400k people to market too, whilst even with 3 Melbourne clubs theirs around 1.5 million to try and pull in (If you divide the 5mil by 3 clubs). Also the stadium has some cover, so if they had truly connected and drawn the fans over the 10 years they would not have worried about the weather and they would have shown up for their big anniversary. 

Wrong. 5 million people does not necessary mean 5 million fans for football. We have more sport leagues here that are followed compared to Newcastle. AFL, Rugby, cricket, basketball, netball etc. Not everyone here is a football fan. You have 400k, okay, but with less competitive sports as competition, Newcastle surely can pull more than what we're watching now. Isn't that the whole argument involving City that people are mentioning here? They should be pulling more fans to games. Well Newcastle should be too. People are always mentioning City as well as Wellington, and for both to go. Well the whole league is having a problem with attendance. People need to realise that.
Also by the way, AAMI Park is not completely covered. In fact my designated seat is not undercover like many others. 

Aight yes, the whole league is struggling but the key point is City came in 10 years ago with the plan to have them grow well and not become the size of the mariners, Newcastle have drawn greater crowds so far with a worst team, worst performances and with a smaller market. And much like there arent 5mil football fans in Melbourne they're not 400k in Newcastle, like how Melbourne is an AFL city, Newcastle is an NRL city. 

But additionally the addition of city was over the likes of South Melbourne and possibly or a Western United like team earlier or even possibly a South Eastern Melbourne based club. They have a greater backing and support and should as a whole be doing better. They have had lower average attendances then Western United (Yes, they played city away and that dragged it up), but just as a whole City should be drawing more and doing much better, they setting the bar and image low, and 'low' in comparison with every other clubs struggle. 

The problem isn’t really city itself, ultimately they somewhat rescued a hopeless situation. The question that should be asked is what was the point of Melbourne Heart 10 years ago? This question has never been answered with any sound reasoning. Before being accused of being a bitter hater I’ve generally always leaned towards heart/city purely as the towns underdog, but outside of derbies the only time the club gets a respectable crowd figure is when they have those maccas giveaways, which I’m glad to take up, hey free is free, but still theirs just no traction. When I go to a game and look around you see most ppl dressed in casual clothing or wearing shirts of overseas teams. By contrast when Victory play every single person in the stadium seems to have some sort of MV merchandise on.

This is garbage. 

Newcastle are a great club with solid local support. 

Melb Citeh are the richest club in the country (of any sport) in a city of 5 million people, and yet have no identity or real following. They’re an embarrassment compared to a club like the Jets. 

Like southmelb said below, it wasn't really City who created this problem. Heart was on brink of folding. City came in with all the problems Heart had and has from that day, tried to turn everything around. How they've done it, has it been right? No, but there have been many things they've done right for the A-League and Australia as a whole. I'm a fan since the Heart days, but I know full well, that at the time they came in, perhaps Heart wasn't the best option for Melbourne's 2nd team. But they were and Melbourne is not a city where the A-League can see a team fold because like you said a team in Melbourne should be among the bigger clubs of the league. Especially now not City. If City go, I guarantee international investors will see that as a warning to not come here and invest with a club or league. I go to every game while I've lived here and even continued my membership whilst living overseas. I can only hope with success, numbers will follow to games. But when nearly every team is suffering from average to low numbers, it really does look bleak.

What's your point about the richest club in the country supposed to mean? You think the owners would provide the same financial resources to each of their clubs they own? Yeah sure, when in A-League most clubs were running at losses while under the FFA, making most owners even come out publically and saying its not viable to spend huge money on players. Not even mentioning the salary cap. City does have a following and it's funny as a Jets fan you're mocking City. Not like Jets have much more members than City.

Every you just said I completely agree with. Every club needs to find a way to improve off field and get the league back towards growth again. I havent been trying to hate on City cause I dont want teams to be cut out. I want growth but unfortunately City are one the main clubs stuck in the struggle. The independent league could really much help with City football group possibly able to invest more freely attracting players and increasing marketing and I hope they are able to do so over the coming years. 

Also respect to you for continuously following City over the years, remaining loyal and sticking through. Its unfortunate that many fans in Australians just fall off and stop supporting both at games and just in general which is only adding to our struggles as a league.

Thanks, it definitely hasn't been easy being a City supporter over the years, particularly the last two under Joyce, but I'm very optimistic with the league becoming independent, we will see more efforts, not only from City but from all clubs to make the league better. I know City were one of the major players in getting the league to become independent, so hopefully now with getting what they wanted, we will see some positive investments and marketing strategies to improve the club from this season onwards.

City sign Zlatan, home attendances increases substantially, at the same time win the league, and then hope those attendees can become long term fans. Easy

Crowd in Geelong looks dire 

They A League is disappearing before our very eyes. Wtf is going wrong? 

Jets v Glory - 6k?

I think its time the dead wood were given their marching orders - Melbourne City and Wellington.

It's time to re-invigorate and try something really radical - like let the countries biggest club in, SMFC.

I posted this on the match thread too. 

We are literally watching the death of the A League. 

I am not over dramatising. I wish I was. 

8038

More like City and WU.

WU v WSW - 4558

Expected. 

Deary me...that's awful

You possibly aren't dramatizing but you are an idiot.

My point is City is a plastic sheik-owned franchise with no real support or connection to its community. 

They call themselves “City” and are based 40kms further out of the city than Victory are. 

Jets and CCM may be small, but at least they are real and represent their local communities. 

City are are a foreign-owned toy. The coupla hundred flogs who “support” them are an embarrassment. 

My IQ disagrees 

Or, more reliably, so does my cv moo on

But not my thumb skills 

Has the bolded part happened with any of the league's big-name signings to date? Hard to prove either way, of course.