Membership Tally 2023

[Dr. Gonzo 22,415]

17 minutes ago, Flag 2021 said:

I know that calling in for a  membership renewal is not  modern practice but I like to do it this way, the way I used to be able to do.

When I do so these days I'm not getting the MFC but something less personal from poorly trained phone people. Could be offshore for all I know. And a very long wait time, every time. For three years.

There have been multiple screw ups in me trying to join up and including my 3 grand kids three years in a row now - getting their names wrong, sending half a membership package, promising to make it up to them with a signed photo which never arrived - and so I've pulled out, sorry to say.

What a schemozzle!

My heart has beaten true from the day I could see the Dees in  black and white newsprint and in grainy photos in the late fifties.

Now my disappointment with the modern systems has led me to the only possible decision :

1.drop the  three junior memberships altogether

2. cancel my own.                                                                                                                                                                                                      My first membership card which was punched at the gate for nearly every game in 1964 has disappeared. What great memorabilia it was. (At 1/6d for 18 games this worked out at just over one guinea. About $2.70.)

I don't intend to join up for a while but will remain a committed, dedicated, die-hard barracker  from now on as compared to being a supporter.

Good luck to all and Go Dees!!

I've never had these issues but it must be frustrating! The club has these external operators foisted on them by the AFL so it would be a shame for the club to miss out because of it. The grandkids will appreciate it when they are older if you maintain the memberships now, it will be a source of pride that they have had a continuous line of membership. I know I'm glad I didn't throw it in a times when I considered it and have been a member every year since I was 7 years old.

[Supreme_Demon 3,011]

In the AGM last night, I noted that MFC CEO Gary Pert said we have about 45,000 members signed up already. That is good news.

I like the fact that he is aiming high for the Melbourne Demons to achieve the lofty goal of 75,000 members.

To have over 66,000 members in 2022 was an absolutely amazing effort and shows how important it is to win Premierships! Winning Premierships means growing our membership base!

I am hopeful that we can achieve the goal of 75,000 members, but I am pragmatic in the fact that it will probably take time and at least another 2 or 3 Premierships.

75,000 members is up there close to Geelong(?) and in the vicinity of the "Big 4" (or 5) of Hawthorn as well as Carlton, Essendon, Collingwood and Richmond.

The most important thing is developing sustained success (multiple Premierships) over a period of 20+ years.

That will turn us into a "big club" which I think would be the ideal outcome for the Melbourne Football Club.

 

Edited February 21, 2023 by Supreme_Demon

[58er 5,608]

18 hours ago, Flag 2021 said:

I know that calling in for a  membership renewal is not  modern practice but I like to do it this way, the way I used to be able to do.

When I do so these days I'm not getting the MFC but something less personal from poorly trained phone people. Could be offshore for all I know. And a very long wait time, every time. For three years.

There have been multiple screw ups in me trying to join up and including my 3 grand kids three years in a row now - getting their names wrong, sending half a membership package, promising to make it up to them with a signed photo which never arrived - and so I've pulled out, sorry to say.

What a schemozzle!

My heart has beaten true from the day I could see the Dees in  black and white newsprint and in grainy photos in the late fifties.

Now my disappointment with the modern systems has led me to the only possible decision :

1.drop the  three junior memberships altogether

2. cancel my own.                                                                                                                                                                                                      My first membership card which was punched at the gate for nearly every game in 1964 has disappeared. What great memorabilia it was. (At 1/6d for 18 games this worked out at just over one guinea. About $2.70.)

I don't intend to join up for a while but will remain a committed, dedicated, die-hard barracker  from now on as compared to being a supporter.

Good luck to all and Go Dees!!

Flag 2021 I returned a call from M'ship today and after solving my very easy problems ie no parcel yet, 3 and 4 card memberships turned into as I had 6 Clarry $13 mships last year. All good as well am happy with 3 mships. 

My Full home membership for one card with GFG and 2 others I can use for other games or  give to a friend.  And I pay for each month and all 3 are under the requested CARD membership available at some entry points into the MCG. 

I mentioned your issues and he suggested you ring 9652 11 but not 55 but 92 and a Mship officer (him) will attend to your problems of Yours and your 3 grandkids tickets. Won't say my name and he Asked you to call him but for me to not say his name but he is very efficient.  Good Luck. 

[The heart beats true 16,184]

I recently had been trying to upgrade my membership and get some undercover reserved seat memberships, as my folks are getting older and we decided we’d like to have guaranteed seats, GF guarantee etc. I’ve been on wait lists for months about it.

Last week I got a text message saying a player might be calling me as part of a membership drive. I didn’t think much of it. Later on I was taking my dad to a medical appointment and my mum and dad were in the car. I got a call from the club but the guy on the phone didn’t seem to know what I was asking about and couldn’t help with my seat request. So, a little bit annoyed, I said to get someone to call back who knew what I was looking for.

Only after I hung up, frustrated that the club had called me again without an answer, did my mum point out that I was talking to Jake Bowey.

Sorry Bowser. Got my reserved seats sorted this week. Mum says hi. 😬

[WalkingCivilWar 31,919]

On 2/20/2023 at 10:11 PM, Flag 2021 said:

When I do so these days I'm not getting the MFC but something less personal from poorly trained phone people. Could be offshore for all I know. And a very long wait time 

I understand the frustration and agree that this is not ideal, but I just want to clarify something…

Should any member ever receive a phone call from the Club that is solely to remind you that your membership is due for renewal and asking you if you’d like to renew for the coming season, please be kind to the caller. The people who make these particular calls are volunteers. They’re passionate Dees diehards, and as is the case with the Demon Army, no one is paid for their time and effort. Well, not in $. Very well paid in warm n fuzzies, though. 🤗

[Fanatique Demon 2,408]

I tried to call earlier in the week but there was no answer. So I opted to request a call back. Nothing so far 😞

[58er 5,608]

On 2/1/2023 at 2:30 PM, poita said:

There is no chance that reserved seating allocation has sold out. The southern stand reserved seating area was less 50% full for most games last year.

More likely they have reached the limit for Grand Final guarantees, which must be purchased by anyone wanting a reserved seat.

If there is anyone with half a brain at the club they will release further reserved seats without needing to buy the GFG as well. There are many people who cannot justify this level of expenditure on a yearly basis - and let's be honest, we are hardly winning premierships at the rate of Geelong or Hawthorn over the past 20 years.

As an aside, I am a 38 year member who has had a reserved seat for as long as I remember and who has automatic rollover and monthly direct debit of my membership. After being forced into buying a GFG last year to keep my reserved seat, I cancelled the reserved seat and automatic rollover at the end of last season.

At this point I am yet to receive any communication from the club to rejoin as a member. If they are not prepared to put any effort to keep supporters who have spent many thousands of dollars on memberships over a long period of time, then I cannot comprehend what our membership department has been doing in recent months.

 

If the Club  had to ring every member who is not on rollover with much bigger membership now it is a very huge and monumental task.
Really for all your posturing and 38 years well done BTW ( I am 57 years!!!) we have not had the rollover more than 15 years ago I reckon the online method or a phone call would take about the same as this post which solves absolutely nothing!! . 
Why did you cancel anyway?   was the GFG a financial issue or did you not like being forced to take this and it not bring your choice. 

You are wrong on the reserved seats issue as all the Northern and Shane  Warne Stand  second level are Dees Trident/Redlegs members reserved seats who can't seem to make each home game. They booked out last year with more seats and were sold out. 

[Fanatique Demon 2,408]

On 2/23/2023 at 8:51 PM, Fanatique Demon said:

I tried to call earlier in the week but there was no answer. So I opted to request a call back. Nothing so far 😞

Got the call today. Membership sorted!

[rpfc 27,476]

Raw numbers are pointless to look at now. The saints were selling $1 memberships last year. It’s about revenue. It’s about selling out Trident, Redlegs, et al. 

I think we do pretty well with that.

[Demonland 65,202]

Looks like the membership website now has a 2023 Membership figure.

48,060

[FarNorthernD 5,841]

10 minutes ago, Demonland said:

Looks like the membership website now has a 2023 Membership figure.

48,060

That’s better than what I was expecting. Roughly 3,500 up on this time last year, fresh off winning the flag. 
Also 15,000 ahead of our FINAL figure from 2013. We have come a long way in ten years.

[ElDiablo14 3,074]

44 minutes ago, Demonland said:

Looks like the membership website now has a 2023 Membership figure.

48,060

So this will be a record for membership numbers before the start of the season?

[58er 5,608]

3 hours ago, ElDiablo14 said:

So this will be a record for membership numbers before the start of the season?

Well breeze past 50,000, by Round1, great result so far. 

[58er 5,608]

6 hours ago, rpfc said:

Raw numbers are pointless to look at now. The saints were selling $1 memberships last year. It’s about revenue. It’s about selling out Trident, Redlegs, et al. 

I think we do pretty well with that.

What the Saints do is irrelevant It's what we do that's  important and we seem to be on the target to achieve an increase agsin with the pre season figures. 

BTW it Erks me that one or two D/Lers consistently take aim with " low fanBase" or "sparse crowd at the G comments".

We are potentially a Club in transmission between "small" and "medium" with the plan (2020) to target an average of 50, 000 for home games at the G per season. 

Additionslly the target of 75,000 for 2023 members is a longed for figure thought unattainable in the recently near past. 

And this on top of  a disappointing end to 2022. But it appears the fact that we finished 2nd in the HandA ladder and suffered an injury factor/tiredness they was partly of our own making, plus the general appeal of players Grundy Hunter Schache and our draft choices there are fans who also feel that sustained  success is a very good reason to join up.Thrre is also among other Clubs the feeling that if things go right ( not just slightly wrong) we are in a position of seriously challenging agsin in 2023.

My point is that our 5Th placing in 2022 in crowds overall is a hind effort from our smaller base and medium Members total. 

Let's not underestimate our developing strength and the potential start back to a more powerful and influential figure in the AFL that we have not earnt in the last few decades. When a smart well applied effort is continually successful it can attract new fans and respect ( like Hawks ) along with the faithful who prop up all Clubs. 

Sorry OD but we may get too big for you and as you say Casey is your bag if only for the inner city grounds we play at.

And  the words low and small may not be repeated by some fans ss much or hopefully anymore  in the near future. 

 

[rpfc 27,476]

2 hours ago, 58er said:

What the Saints do is irrelevant It's what we do that's  important and we seem to be on the target to achieve an increase agsin with the pre season figures. 

BTW it Erks me that one or two D/Lers consistently take aim with " low fanBase" or "sparse crowd at the G comments".

We are potentially a Club in transmission between "small" and "medium" with the plan (2020) to target an average of 50, 000 for home games at the G per season. 

Additionslly the target of 75,000 for 2023 members is a longed for figure thought unattainable in the recently near past. 

And this on top of  a disappointing end to 2022. But it appears the fact that we finished 2nd in the HandA ladder and suffered an injury factor/tiredness they was partly of our own making, plus the general appeal of players Grundy Hunter Schache and our draft choices there are fans who also feel that sustained  success is a very good reason to join up.Thrre is also among other Clubs the feeling that if things go right ( not just slightly wrong) we are in a position of seriously challenging agsin in 2023.

My point is that our 5Th placing in 2022 in crowds overall is a hind effort from our smaller base and medium Members total. 

Let's not underestimate our developing strength and the potential start back to a more powerful and influential figure in the AFL that we have not earnt in the last few decades. When a smart well applied effort is continually successful it can attract new fans and respect ( like Hawks ) along with the faithful who prop up all Clubs. 

Sorry OD but we may get too big for you and as you say Casey is your bag if only for the inner city grounds we play at.

And  the words low and small may not be repeated by some fans ss much or hopefully anymore  in the near future. 

 

Ok, great…

We need to stop looking at raw numbers of members as they are increasingly meaningless.

And I am not olddee.

But good chat.

[old dee 22,854]

15 minutes ago, rpfc said:

Ok, great…

We need to stop looking at raw numbers of members as they are increasingly meaningless.

And I am not olddee.

But good chat.

How sad  that you are not me rpfc. According to his lord ship the club has never done a wrong thing 

 

On 2/10/2023 at 1:17 PM, Diamond_Jim said:

As I recall they used one of th large function rooms at Docklands for that purpose when we played there back around 2016.

Worked well and would be great if something could be done at the G.

Ideally you want the room decorated but perhaps we could do that digitally thus freeing up the room for other uses.

Those wanting a full time social club should recall what we sold recently (Leighoaks etc). I never went there but few spoke highly of it as a gathering place. Not sure the concept works anymore

Hi DJ I have no idea how that got on here and I can't get it off

 

[58er 5,608]

19 hours ago, rpfc said:

Ok, great…

We need to stop looking at raw numbers of members as they are increasingly meaningless.

And I am not olddee.

But good chat.

Rpfc

You made the statement about meaningless raw membership numbers and to maybe ignore them now!!

I alluded to OD as you know his name you would be aware of his opinions on MFC etc snd this was relevant to the post. OD has more than once posted he doesn't want us to get too big as it makes it hard to get a seat at the G.!! 

All the best for a good season Go Dees. 

 

[ElDiablo14 3,074]

All I want is for the tally to reach 70000+ at the end of the season.

[Demon Disciple 10,966]

2 hours ago, ElDiablo14 said:

All I want is for the tally to reach 70000+ at the end of the season.

i'd settle for 60k and a flag myself, EL

[old dee 22,854]

18 hours ago, Demon Disciple said:

i'd settle for 60k and a flag myself, EL

I settle for 55 and a flag. 

[58er 5,608]

17 minutes ago, old dee said:

I settle for 55 and a flag. 

On Cue OD well done. 

[FearTheBeard 856]

The sad thing for me is that when we had 35,000 members we get 20-25,000 dees fans to our games.

When we had 45,000 members we got 20-25000 dees fans to our games.

When we had 55,000 members we got 20-25000 dees fans to our games.

Reckon you get my drift.

We get all these extra members but how many of them actually turn up to games? They just get a membership that either gets them a GFG (our reserved areas were never close to full last year) or 3 game memberships where they may or may not turn up to three games across the year.

The only times we ever seem to get more than 30,000 of our own to our home games is when we give free tickets away (Saints 2017, GWS 2018) Queens Birthday sometimes or when we unfurl a flag (there were 50k of us for that).

Even Anzac Eve home games we get majorly outnumbered by the Tiges - last year was the most Melbourne fans I've seen to an Anzac Eve game and we were the away team.

All these great members numbers of 65,000 or 75,000 is great for some revenue but these people aren't turning up to the games. That is where we have to improve and it will be interesting to see our crowds this year when we have home games against all the big Victorian Clubs except Essendon in primetime slots.

[58er 5,608]

4 hours ago, FearTheBeard said:

The sad thing for me is that when we had 35,000 members we get 20-25,000 dees fans to our games.

When we had 45,000 members we got 20-25000 dees fans to our games.

When we had 55,000 members we got 20-25000 dees fans to our games.

Reckon you get my drift.

We get all these extra members but how many of them actually turn up to games? They just get a membership that either gets them a GFG (our reserved areas were never close to full last year) or 3 game memberships where they may or may not turn up to three games across the year.

The only times we ever seem to get more than 30,000 of our own to our home games is when we give free tickets away (Saints 2017, GWS 2018) Queens Birthday sometimes or when we unfurl a flag (there were 50k of us for that).

Even Anzac Eve home games we get majorly outnumbered by the Tiges - last year was the most Melbourne fans I've seen to an Anzac Eve game and we were the away team.

All these great members numbers of 65,000 or 75,000 is great for some revenue but these people aren't turning up to the games. That is where we have to improve and it will be interesting to see our crowds this year when we have home games against all the big Victorian Clubs except Essendon in primetime slots.

I understand but it will change hopefully that a greater % will actually attend our home games. Hopefully this year. 

[Timothy Reddan-A'Blew 3,835]

8 hours ago, FearTheBeard said:

The sad thing for me is that when we had 35,000 members we get 20-25,000 dees fans to our games.

When we had 45,000 members we got 20-25000 dees fans to our games.

When we had 55,000 members we got 20-25000 dees fans to our games.

Reckon you get my drift.

We get all these extra members but how many of them actually turn up to games? They just get a membership that either gets them a GFG (our reserved areas were never close to full last year) or 3 game memberships where they may or may not turn up to three games across the year.

The only times we ever seem to get more than 30,000 of our own to our home games is when we give free tickets away (Saints 2017, GWS 2018) Queens Birthday sometimes or when we unfurl a flag (there were 50k of us for that).

Even Anzac Eve home games we get majorly outnumbered by the Tiges - last year was the most Melbourne fans I've seen to an Anzac Eve game and we were the away team.

All these great members numbers of 65,000 or 75,000 is great for some revenue but these people aren't turning up to the games. That is where we have to improve and it will be interesting to see our crowds this year when we have home games against all the big Victorian Clubs except Essendon in primetime slots.

Hopefully our Sim/Practice style and wins - and personnel  - will make a few more realise we've got a pretty watchable-live product! 

[FearTheBeard 856]

15 hours ago, 58er said:

I understand but it will change hopefully that a greater % will actually attend our home games. Hopefully this year. 

Can't understand how you can be so confident that these people will show up.

It didn't happen after a flag, why would it happen now.

Our round 1 crowd is the most interesting of all the games. Could be as high as 60 and as low as 40.