Funny... those who have made it large in the world, whether it be in sport , business or just good ol money will all tell you a common idea. You need to imagine yourself in the role, on the dias as a success etc. You have to run the race in your mind and do it winning.

Some paraphrase this in a fashion as Fake it before you Make it. This , to me, is what Bartlett is doing. He's fore-visioning a Melbourne in its new and rightful place as top of the heap in the town it takes its name from.

A building is created from an idea, then a brief, a conceptual impression, drawings , plans etc. It doesnt happen by any number of construction workers banging away at some element of building in the hope that some edifice will grow from their labours its about workign to a vision.

I see nothing wrong with the club daring to create something. From ideas doth creations come, not the other way around.

My issue is that this is the same non gameday stuff we got from the last mob, and the mob before that, and the mob before that. I seem to remember a quote recently about how we were about everything but being a football club. Well this is no different. Emblems, blazers, China, etc. Just get the football dept and team right and everything else will fall into place. That's how the big teams in the world got big. Not from tinkering with a song or coming up with a new cartoon to put on a letterhead.

And I really like our song just the way it is. It's the sweetest sound in the world after a win. And I even like the outdated and not oft heard second verse. If any of that gets changed I'll be one unhappy supporter.

Excellent post RPFC. Couldn't agree more.

My issue is that this is the same non gameday stuff we got from the last mob, and the mob before that, and the mob before that. I seem to remember a quote recently about how we were about everything but being a football club. Well this is no different. Emblems, blazers, China, etc. Just get the football dept and team right and everything else will fall into place. That's how the big teams in the world got big. Not from tinkering with a song or coming up with a new cartoon to put on a letterhead.

And I really like our song just the way it is. It's the sweetest sound in the world after a win. And I even like the outdated and not oft heard second verse. If any of that gets changed I'll be one unhappy supporter.

Uncle to get the footy dept right and the team right we need to generate more $$$

On and off field have to work together.

and team success is by accident ?

No, but it comes before club ties, tinkering with the song, Collins St addresses and baseball comparisons.

No, but it comes before club ties, tinkering with the song, Collins St addresses and baseball comparisons.

thats merely window dressing to whats really going on.

Not everything happens at ground level.

No, but it comes before club ties, tinkering with the song, Collins St addresses and baseball comparisons.

You make it sound like it will happen tomorrow.

We have to think big and put it into action.

Have you ever stood on the 'G grass when it is empty?

It is a massive stadium.

We must use it.

thats merely window dressing to whats really going on.

Not everything happens at ground level.

Sure, but it is the basis of our ongoing success.

Sure, but it is the basis of our ongoing success.

PJ & Bartlett know this.

Who is the coach we got?

It's all there to grow the club.

A successful footy team is built by winning games consistently, making finals and becoming premiers. That should be 95% of the conversation about Melbourne's future. Team success brings financial rewards and an increased fan base.

Yes, exactly like it did for North Melbourne through the 90s... Or Brisbane, Sydney, Port Adelaide and St Kilda in the 2000s.

I'm annoyed by this simplistic chest-puffing almost as much as I am annoyed by the corporate 'we'll be famous and rich if every would just pay attention and give us money' talk.

I want to hear a strategy, a real strategy for;

- building the relationships between fans, players, and sponsors,

- recognising the hard core of committed supporters and creating a positive cycle of respect and commitment

- improving the quality, targeting and availability of merchandise, club-related services and events. Including getting out of that ****-awful basement hole we current have our shop in

- developing an active and engaging kids/families program

- a clear business model for sustaining and growing Melbourne's leading edge as far as engaging with women football players and supporters.

- a similar plan for making the Demons the 'fall into' choice for the large migrant populations arriving in Melbourne every year (whether from overseas or NSW)

- in the interests of affirming our status as the 'Melbourne' Club, relationship-building with other 'Melbourne institutions' from the Exhibition Centre, NGV, Zoo, Comedy festival, and good coffee.

- and finally, developing an meaningful set of packages and offers for tourists to take up, which can be accessed through normal tourism processes.

For all that to happen, all we need is a competent and competitive team on the field. Don't need them smashing everything. Just not being 'hang heads in dreary embarrassment' standard.

Yes, exactly like it did for North Melbourne through the 90s... Or Brisbane, Sydney, Port Adelaide and St Kilda in the 2000s.

I'm annoyed by this simplistic chest-puffing almost as much as I am annoyed by the corporate 'we'll be famous and rich if every would just pay attention and give us money' talk.

I want to hear a strategy, a real strategy for;

- building the relationships between fans, players, and sponsors,

- recognising the hard core of committed supporters and creating a positive cycle of respect and commitment

- improving the quality, targeting and availability of merchandise, club-related services and events. Including getting out of that ****-awful basement hole we current have our shop in

- developing an active and engaging kids/families program

- a clear business model for sustaining and growing Melbourne's leading edge as far as engaging with women football players and supporters.

- a similar plan for making the Demons the 'fall into' choice for the large migrant populations arriving in Melbourne every year (whether from overseas or NSW)

- in the interests of affirming our status as the 'Melbourne' Club, relationship-building with other 'Melbourne institutions' from the Exhibition Centre, NGV, Zoo, Comedy festival, and good coffee.

- and finally, developing an meaningful set of packages and offers for tourists to take up, which can be accessed through normal tourism processes.

For all that to happen, all we need is a competent and competitive team on the field. Don't need them smashing everything. Just not being 'hang heads in dreary embarrassment' standard.

So we aim for a "competent" team then? Nice.

Agree with many points, dream big imagine everything and plan to win.

I am astounded at the quality of merchandise on offer across all AFL clubs. I love the dees but won't wear more than a traditional scarf. The quality of hoodies , t shirts etc are rubbish.

the quality of the American sports apparel leaves us for dead. If we had a pure simple logo, on a hat, t shirt, hoodie you would instantly recognise it and it would get worn.

Every New Yorker has a Yankee cap, or a Mets cap. It becomes iconic.

There are dollars begging to be generated if they could get this correct.

Go Dees!

I like the logo and like the song as is. I can't see where we can add Melbourne to the song. What I do like most is the want to be like the bigger club and be a brand to be proud of and others want to follow. We are "Melbourne" after all!

The idea that you have to " walk then crawl then run " bothers me

Can't put my finger on it ....

Moving away from Casey would be a disaster.

The club needs to grow, there isn't much room to grow in Collins Street.

A successful footy team is built by winning games consistently, making finals and becoming premiers. That should be 95% of the conversation about Melbourne's future. Team success brings financial rewards and an increased fan base.

Not always, look at North, they've had success aplenty over the last 30 years and have had marquee players but they are the biggest strugglers in the competition because they haven't made themselves attractive to support.

Collingwood have turned their club in to a brand that's easy to support whether you are rich or poor, whereas once they were the working man's club. I can recall Hawthorn being successful but still without much support, but they have turned that around by clever marketing of the club.

We can wallow down the bottom of the supporter base or we can promote the club and achieve sustainable success, we can push for greater membership and a strong financial base or just continue to rely on handouts. We need success, but if we make the club an attractive place, then we will get supporters and players coming on board and we will get it.

very strange messaging.

we want to be big, but we want to do away with existing relationships, but we want to grow as a club, but we want to be based in collins street.

nice rhetoric, but most of it blue-sky dreaming and completely unrealistic.

i'd rather we be san antonio spurs - community-focused, successful and consistent.

So will the be calling this grand plan "The Red and Blue Print" ?

Here's photo of those deadbeat Yankees 'packing them in' at their expensive concrete monstrosity:

https://twitter.com/EmptySeatsPics/status/474606905563021312/photo/1

Bums.

Yes, exactly like it did for North Melbourne through the 90s... Or Brisbane, Sydney, Port Adelaide and St Kilda in the 2000s.

I'm annoyed by this simplistic chest-puffing almost as much as I am annoyed by the corporate 'we'll be famous and rich if every would just pay attention and give us money' talk.

I want to hear a strategy, a real strategy for;

- building the relationships between fans, players, and sponsors,

- recognising the hard core of committed supporters and creating a positive cycle of respect and commitment

- improving the quality, targeting and availability of merchandise, club-related services and events. Including getting out of that ****-awful basement hole we current have our shop in

- developing an active and engaging kids/families program

- a clear business model for sustaining and growing Melbourne's leading edge as far as engaging with women football players and supporters.

- a similar plan for making the Demons the 'fall into' choice for the large migrant populations arriving in Melbourne every year (whether from overseas or NSW)

- in the interests of affirming our status as the 'Melbourne' Club, relationship-building with other 'Melbourne institutions' from the Exhibition Centre, NGV, Zoo, Comedy festival, and good coffee.

- and finally, developing an meaningful set of packages and offers for tourists to take up, which can be accessed through normal tourism processes.

For all that to happen, all we need is a competent and competitive team on the field. Don't need them smashing everything. Just not being 'hang heads in dreary embarrassment' standard.

Some of the clubs you started your post off with have had success and have grown their supporter base but as soon as the success drops off, so do the supporters.

North continually struggle

Saints are in diabolical strife and are supposedly in debt for $10m

Brisbane are struggling with cash and need handouts

Port were nearly relocated 2 years ago

Sydney are the Darling of the AFL so they'll stay solid.

They clubs that are strong are those that can maintain their supporter base even if they are near last, because they have a huge off field presence. We have to get to that level if we want to survive.

Winning a flag isn't going to save the club, it will help, but it's all the work done in the board room that will ensure our future.

Collingwood have won two flags in the last 50 years but they are the biggest club by far, we have won 3 flags in the last 55 years and we are one of the smallest. Success on the field hasn't driven Collingwood's drive to the top.

you do realise where it came from....originally ? before WE altered it ...just saying

Just saying what?

Our song is inherently who we are and there is absolutely nothing to be gained from changing it.

What do you think about 'scrutinising the club song'?

P.S. At least Glen Bartlett (or Caroline Wilson) knows the difference between 'lackadaisical' and 'laconic'.

The club song is already based on an American song - You're A Grand Old Flag' - so what would be the point of talking up a New York Yankees connection whilst talking down our Yankee theme song.

Success won't build us into a powerhouse, but it will consolidate what we have and stop the bleeding.

What will not make a dent is worrying about the logo and the song and having more of a presence in Collins St...

I want to see tangible ideas and plans for the future.

If that means getting 'Melbourne' front and centre then great - but what does that involve? What is the return?

If Casey isn't where we should be searching for members, then where? And how?

This was a mistake this 'interview' with Wilson. He should leave it to Jackson - who was the one, by the way, that said that the MFC should stick to football.

Allowing Wilson to throw all this out there into the ether just puts pressure on himself and the club - remember Neeld grandiose statement?

Well, here is another...

And the thing is - you can't get anyone to begin to follow you unless, you guessed it - you start winning games of footy.

Logo, Blazers, Ties, Rave, Repeat.

That is the lifecycle of the Melbourne administration. Very disappointed Bartlett slipped down to this level.

The red and blue jumper, the song, the MCG and winning games of footy. That is Melbourne. The other stuff is so periphery.

Now all that is irrelevant to the title of the article and to where he might have a point.

We have to grow the club. I dislike his seeming dismissal of Casey. We know it's not 'the heartland'. But the notion of a heartland is complete BS. This the MFC, we want everyone we can get. It's not an exclusive club. There is no benefit in limiting supporters to the top end of town. Half of us and our memberships would be gone. Casey is the fastest growing area in Melbourne and I welcome everyone fan we get from there. The VFL relationship is part of that yet separate as in they don't have to be discussed together. I think targeting our community activities in a growth area is smarter than spreading them out throughout a 'heartland' that doesn't exist.

At the same time I have no problems embracing our close ties to Collins St and the city of Melbourne and the elite. As long as it's not done in forming a barrier with the rank and file. I also like the idea of MFC tourism Yankee style. Just not sure on the financial benefits.

My main problem is the Bartlett is a product of the coteries. The same people who have largely been running this club. He isn't really as fresh a thinker and independent as we would like. All those who included him in to the fold as a potentially beneficial supporter now have his ear. Hence the trash about having Melbourne in the song. No legitimate sitting in the outer, kids to the footy, pie and beer supporter would entertain that notion in a million years.

Please President Bartlett I implore you to continue push innovative ideas for improving the club and growing the club. I implore you to continue your pursuit to be ruthless and successful. But I'd say right now don't go getting bogged down in the crap that's kept this club back since the 1960's.

I won't be impressed if they tamper with the song. Bugger Richmond's. Ours is the best song in the league.

If they want to insert "Melbourne" into it, I am imagining "every heart beats true" changed to "Melbourne hearts beat true", or something along those lines.

Even typing that made me cringe. Just leave it alone.

A successful footy team is built by winning games consistently, making finals and becoming premiers. That should be 95% of the conversation about Melbourne's future. Team success brings financial rewards and an increased fan base.

True, although the job of the board is not just focused on that but also on the longevity of the club as a whole. The board has put a man in place to win those games and now, with things on field looking more stable than they have for a while, they can focus on building the club off the field to secure our future. We've heard some of it before but I don't think Bartlett deserves to be canned for it. He has a clear vision for the club and he is doing the hard yards to put them in place. I can't see anything wrong with that, and the difference this time around is that the club are getting it right on the field rather than getting it horribly wrong.

Win footy games.

That is what I would say to anyone from the club who is thinking along the same lines as Bartlett here.

That story just had a mish-mash of different image devices that don't do anything bar scratch the surface of our issues; no region to call our own, a dwindling and aging supporter base, and, up to two months ago, a terrible outlook for the foreseeable future.

The emblem is a distraction. If you are going to change it, do it, don't talk about how it signifies a change in anything other than the letterhead on press releases.

The song featuring the word 'Melbourne' is such an interesting aside but any money and time spent on this in our current predicament is bordering on insane. Let Demonland start a thread and work the word in - save you a few hundred thousand dollars...

The desire for a presence in Collins St brings a word to bear - why? Hardly anyone lives there. I won't discuss this any further as 'presence' could mean anything from where he wants the boardroom to where he wants a billboard...

The statement that Casey 'is not our heartland' is ironic, well it would be if it weren't so sad, we have no heartland - that's the point; we grew out of a stadium. We have shed so many supporters in the last 49 years. We have no 'heartland.' We are trying to build one out east. If we are not going to bother with Casey anymore the players will be happy they don't have to trek out there but they better have a bloody good business case.

Nothing in that impressed me.

Winning footy games will impress me, and it might impress a few others - if you really want to be the New York Yankees - you better win.

Impressed?? Did the furthest thing possible and made him sound Schwabesque. The "heartland" is long gone we need to find the fan has anywhere and everywhere

Like we have all said winning cures most things, unless you're North Melb.