It will be hard to see membership numbers being any good this year.

Supporters of all clubs have never been so disconnected to their clubs due to COVID (and it's obviously not the clubs fault). We haven't been invited to a training session since March 2020. The bulk of the MFC members and supporters haven't been permitted to see a H&A game since the Sydney Swans disaster of August 2019. The only thing to keep us engaged is social media and pictures of the day's training session which is fine.

Then there is the uncertainty of attending games this year. There's still a chance we could be shipped off to the SE Queensland  hub at the drop off a hat and never to be seen from again until 2022. The borderline supporter may prefer to save their money for Foxtel or KAYO on the chance that the AFL turns into a strictly TV product as it was in 2020.

And obviously, there's the regular problem of missing the finals again - for 13 of our last 14 seasons.

Wish I could get a pensioner discount on my membership. Keep dreaming sunshine.

2 hours ago, faultydet said:

Canned the auto renew on my 3 memberships for this season.

Nothing to do with Covid. Just a protest against the insipid season we dished up. First time in 20 years I will enter a season without a membership. Won't impact me because I've attended 2 games in the past 10 years.

For the first time in 2 decades they will earn it before I spend a cracker.

It’s all about winning...

I truly believe the Club is finally realizing this point. All the other issues are side points, not Primary. 
 

Win games, entertain our supporters and they will dig deep inside the wallet

1 hour ago, Sir Why You Little said:

It’s all about winning...

I truly believe the Club is finally realizing this point. All the other issues are side points, not Primary. 
 

Win games, entertain our supporters and they will dig deep inside the wallet

That covers 100%

3 hours ago, old dee said:

That covers 100%

Before the Club was focused on Survival, it was never going to prevail. 
the roots of this Club are on the Ground. Playing the game. 
i do think Bartlett, PJ and Pert understand this. Enough changes have been made. 
it was CS biggest Failure, he believed building the club from outside the ground would bring success 

We all witnessed the results of that

2 hours ago, Sir Why You Little said:

Before the Club was focused on Survival, it was never going to prevail. 
the roots of this Club are on the Ground. Playing the game. 
i do think Bartlett, PJ and Pert understand this. Enough changes have been made. 
it was CS biggest Failure, he believed building the club from outside the ground would bring success 

We all witnessed the results of that

Yes to think all those years and all that money wasted because of CS?

11 hours ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

Obviously we are the "hardcore" supporters on here but for me it is times like these when I would take out a membership without hesitation. Once the dust settles can rethink things but for me signing up means becoming a member, not just a season ticket holder.

I’ve been in the UK for the last 4 years and have kept my membership rolling over knowing it would be unlikely I see a game (unfortunately I saw two games in 2018 and they were two of our worst H&A performances, Hawks & Tigers). I’m obviously in your camp but I can understand hesitation from others who for them a membership is not just about the club but value for money. As is the case with @faultydet I think they’ll have to win back some members this year. 

11 hours ago, Jaded said:

Anyone with a digital membership able to access it online yet?

I regret going digital this year. I only did it for the free tickets so I can bring my husband along. We planned to get him a membership, but Covid means it's an unjustifiable expense.

I assume lots of people will be in the same boat.

I'm in exactly the same position with a twist. Mrs W and I were on auto renew and contacted the Club to have the auto renew removed.  We were able to renew for $5 each with the balance due in April. If we don't renew we forfeit the $10. As part of the renewal my wife got her regular Card and pack. As a digital member I haven't seen anything except a scarf in the mail prior to Xmas. 

With regard to the digital membership; are the guest tickets included again this year? I started to regret going digital last year when I thought about keeping it up on my phone when going in and out of the Ryder/Hassett rooms. It all became a bit mute when we couldn't attend any games.

The other problem we have is the number of MCC/MFC members who may decide to forgo their combined memberships this season. Last year with not being able to attend home games at the MCC, dual memberships would have declined so it will be interesting if we can lure those back to include the MCC/MFC membership with their MCC memberships.

15 hours ago, Sir Why You Little said:

Before the Club was focused on Survival, it was never going to prevail. 
the roots of this Club are on the Ground. Playing the game. 
i do think Bartlett, PJ and Pert understand this. Enough changes have been made. 
it was CS biggest Failure, he believed building the club from outside the ground would bring success 

We all witnessed the results of that

I'm not sure I understand what you mean here. Are you saying that CS believed that good on field results will follow once the off-field operates correctly? As opposed to the idea that if the club starts winning, the off-field can then be fixed? If so, I happen to hold the CS view.     

CS focused on every aspect outside of strengthening the playing list / FD 
PJ focused one every aspect of strengthening the playing list / FD

And Pert was supposed to be capable at thriving in both. ?

14 hours ago, longsuffering said:

The other problem we have is the number of MCC/MFC members who may decide to forgo their combined memberships this season. Last year with not being able to attend home games at the MCC, dual memberships would have declined so it will be interesting if we can lure those back to include the MCC/MFC membership with their MCC memberships.

Another half glass empty D/L.

Did this happen last year and the.% of downturn was?

we are as I posted about 1500 down from last year at this stage when I last week spoke to a Membership officer of the Club.

Now I don't know if any if your MCC mates are In this 1500 or the 2019 12,000 Downturn  most of which would have been caused by performance (injuries aside) along with some Covid capitulators Which both are Excuses and reasons at  the same time in my opinion.

So attempting to assume that some MCC/MFC payers might reneg due to possible Covid game prevention in 2021 isn't really adding any real evidence to date IMO.

Regrettably that might cause the downturn by even mentioning it.!!!

I believe a good winning start in the first 5 games say 4-1 and losing  only closely to Cats Or 5 close games and 2 losses will be a bright start if we are kicking goals especially and say BBB has played well and converted.
 

I think it's reasonable to assume a spike in the figure with the excitement generated that we ate very much on the right track!

8 hours ago, La Dee-vina Comedia said:

I'm not sure I understand what you mean here. Are you saying that CS believed that good on field results will follow once the off-field operates correctly? As opposed to the idea that if the club starts winning, the off-field can then be fixed? If so, I happen to hold the CS view.     

CS’s ideology failed dismally 

The Football department was a complete cot case, and Sponsors didn’t want to touch us

35 minutes ago, Sir Why You Little said:

CS’s ideology failed dismally 

The Football department was a complete cot case, and Sponsors didn’t want to touch us

The FD was as strong as CS due dilligence on EnergyWatch 

13 minutes ago, Dannyz said:

The FD was as strong as CS due dilligence on EnergyWatch 

Yes Energy Watch sums it all up

Companies that didn’t really exist were the only ones interested in negotiating...

15 hours ago, Sir Why You Little said:

CS’s ideology failed dismally 

The Football department was a complete cot case, and Sponsors didn’t want to touch us

I agree that CS failed. I'm not sure, though, if it was his ideology or his execution. 

Nevertheless, we've come a long way since then, both on and off the field, but both areas still need significant improvement. I've always believed that to achieve sustained on-field success any organisation needs to get the off-field right first. 

So, I am not particularly wealthy but have lived in Italy for the past 5 years and maintained my reserved seat membership since moving.  To me, it serves two purposes:

1/- a donation to the club

2/- a chance of getting to a finals' game when we make the Finals.

In 2018, as soon as we qualified, I booked a ticket back to Melbourne and went to the Geelong and Hawthorn games.  It was worth the wait.  Let's hope I can do the same this year and we get a bit further.

49 minutes ago, Jimcor2 said:

So, I am not particularly wealthy but have lived in Italy for the past 5 years and maintained my reserved seat membership since moving.  To me, it serves two purposes:

1/- a donation to the club

2/- a chance of getting to a finals' game when we make the Finals.

In 2018, as soon as we qualified, I booked a ticket back to Melbourne and went to the Geelong and Hawthorn games.  It was worth the wait.  Let's hope I can do the same this year and we get a bit further.

That is a great story. Thank you. May you have many future opportunities to see finals with Melbourne.

2 hours ago, Melb-A-Toast said:

That is a great story. Thank you. May you have many future opportunities to see finals with Melbourne.

I arrived at Tulla on the morning after the last GWS game (after a 36 hour journey from Lucca)  so I sat in the coffee lounge at the airport and watched the replay on my laptop before heading off to my sister's.  I didn't want to know the result before watching the gamesince  where we finished had a big impact on where the finals games would be played.  Can't beat a happy ending! 

On 1/29/2021 at 9:08 AM, La Dee-vina Comedia said:

I agree that CS failed. I'm not sure, though, if it was his ideology or his execution. 

Nevertheless, we've come a long way since then, both on and off the field, but both areas still need significant improvement. I've always believed that to achieve sustained on-field success any organisation needs to get the off-field right first. 

Off field is very important 

But we are a Football Club, thus playing Football is our core business. Do that well and the off field will grow

But Football os always our primary business. I think The MFC forgot that for a while

Carlton were in sight for overhauling them membership wise back in 2018.

Unfortunately the gap is now increasing. They are now at a record 67,600 members with another month before the season starts.

Those who preach on field success have a valid point but there is little doubt that MFC suffers from systemically low numbers.

From an article in today's Age

“We have now surpassed our all-time membership record of 67,035 (set in 2020), to achieve that this early in the season is almost unprecedented.

“We remain well on track to hit 80,000 members in 2021, which represents approximately 50 per cent growth in three years and keeps us on track to hit our ambitious strategic target of 100,000 members by 2023.”

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/carlton-say-they-are-debt-free-for-first-time-since-96-20210201-p56yeu.html

Edited February 1, 20214 yr by Diamond_Jim
typos

22 minutes ago, Diamond_Jim said:

Carlton were in sight for overhauling them membership wise back in 2018.

Unfortunately we are the gap is now increasing. They are now at a record 67,600 with another month before the season starts.

Those who preach on field success have a valid point but there is little doubt that MFC suffers from systemically low numbers.

From an article in today's Age

“We have now surpassed our all-time membership record of 67,035 (set in 2020), to achieve that this early in the season is almost unprecedented.

“We remain well on track to hit 80,000 members in 2021, which represents approximately 50 per cent growth in three years and keeps us on track to hit our ambitious strategic target of 100,000 members by 2023.”

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/carlton-say-they-are-debt-free-for-first-time-since-96-20210201-p56yeu.html

I really believe they will win a flag before we do. 

27 minutes ago, Diamond_Jim said:

Carlton were in sight for overhauling them membership wise back in 2018.

Unfortunately the gap is now increasing. They are now at a record 67,600 members with another month before the season starts.

Those who preach on field success have a valid point but there is little doubt that MFC suffers from systemically low numbers.

From an article in today's Age

“We have now surpassed our all-time membership record of 67,035 (set in 2020), to achieve that this early in the season is almost unprecedented.

“We remain well on track to hit 80,000 members in 2021, which represents approximately 50 per cent growth in three years and keeps us on track to hit our ambitious strategic target of 100,000 members by 2023.”

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/carlton-say-they-are-debt-free-for-first-time-since-96-20210201-p56yeu.html

In the meantime our numbers are falling...

Those of other clubs may also be falling but I see Carlton as our reference point given our performances over the last 4-6 years.  We can't blame covid for the differences with them.  

I'm sure their prime time, FTA fixture helps their sponsors and to get/keep fans.  As I said in another thread they are AFL favourites.  The AFL mantra:  make Carlton great again

28 minutes ago, Diamond_Jim said:

Carlton were in sight for overhauling them membership wise back in 2018.

Unfortunately the gap is now increasing. They are now at a record 67,600 members with another month before the season starts.

Those who preach on field success have a valid point but there is little doubt that MFC suffers from systemically low numbers.

From an article in today's Age

“We have now surpassed our all-time membership record of 67,035 (set in 2020), to achieve that this early in the season is almost unprecedented.

“We remain well on track to hit 80,000 members in 2021, which represents approximately 50 per cent growth in three years and keeps us on track to hit our ambitious strategic target of 100,000 members by 2023.”

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/carlton-say-they-are-debt-free-for-first-time-since-96-20210201-p56yeu.html

Flags in the 60’s (Post 1965 when TV started covering games) 70’s 80’s and 90’s are what bring in those Membership Numbers. 
That is the reason. They have supporters who were there before 2001

In 2045 if Carlscum do not win another flag 1995 will be 50 years ago

Then they will have the MFC’s problem 

3 minutes ago, Sir Why You Little said:

In 2045 if Carlscum do not win another flag 1995 will be 50 years ago

Then they will have the MFC’s problem 

the problem is that if they do hit 100,000 members then they Collingwood, Richmond and a couple of the interstate clubs will have additional annual revenue of several million dollars by comparison to the MFC. The weight of that money will show notwithstanding the league's attempts at equalisation.

It will get ever harder to bridge the numbers gap both on revenues and memberships.

Essendon is the other club obviously at a significant crossroad as we push into the third decade of the 21st century.