Memberships 2019 St.Kilda Membership Thread (FINAL TALLY 42,910)

Sir Skid

Just one Kegs lady boys!
10k Posts BeanCoiNFT Investor Ex-Moderator St Kilda - Nathan Freeman Player Sponsor 2016
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Worst of the lot, apart from the two Queensland teams and the Giants.
Considering our 2018 it seems pretty reasonable to me. Lets face it, 2018 was an absolute disaster.

Then again, come out hard with new game plan, show some of the new boys off and up the membership count will go.
 

St Neil

Premiership Player
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Considering our 2018 it seems pretty reasonable to me. Lets face it, 2018 was an absolute disaster.

Then again, come out hard with new game plan, show some of the new boys off and up the membership count will go.

There are also real members and nominal members. For example, does anyone believe Adelaide has 77,000 members? Their stadium holds 50,000 people so what are they including in the figures they are providing the AFL?

When comparing club membership figures I suspect we aren’t comparing like-for-like membership categories. My view is that we should only be including full adult and junior memberships which include those who subscribe to full season digital memberships.

At the very least published figures should provide a detailed break down of membership categories by club. I reckon some clubs are including a lot of discounted memberships to inflate their figures, such as pets and 3 game memberships.

There will also be a lag for AFL Members with club support. From memory those figures don’t always flow through until after Xmas. As an AFL member with Saints club support I still don’t have my membership pack from the club and am waiting for notification from the club about my 2019 membership..

But 28,000 members is a little disappointing, although it’s comparable to where we were at the same time last year. We need a boost in the New Year after a tough 2018.
 
Worst of the lot, apart from the two Queensland teams and the Giants.

Melbourne suck for a team that looks likely to play finals next year though. 2000 or so more than us is s**t house.
 
There are also real members and nominal members. For example, does anyone believe Adelaide has 77,000 members? Their stadium holds 50,000 people so what are they including in the figures they are providing the AFL?

When comparing club membership figures I suspect we aren’t comparing like-for-like membership categories. My view is that we should only be including full adult and junior memberships which include those who subscribe to full season digital memberships.

At the very least published figures should provide a detailed break down of membership categories by club. I reckon some clubs are including a lot of discounted memberships to inflate their figures, such as pets and 3 game memberships.

There will also be a lag for AFL Members with club support. From memory those figures don’t always flow through until after Xmas. As an AFL member with Saints club support I still don’t have my membership pack from the club and am waiting for notification from the club about my 2019 membership..

But 28,000 members is a little disappointing, although it’s comparable to where we were at the same time last year. We need a boost in the New Year after a tough 2018.


Geelong's three game memberships swell their numbers.
 

mightymalaka

What we have here is a failure to communicate!
May 7, 2018
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Seem to remember some sort of survey/census done by the AFL a few yrs back
That revealed of all the Victorian Clubs StKilda had the highest number or ratio
Of supporters that were NOT members!
Understandable if not disappointing!

Hence little Scotty Watters famous Juggernaut comments!

Btw I believe that quaint little family club Hawthorn are now
Counting individual Pokie machines as members! :smirk:
 

St Neil

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Melbourne suck for a team that looks likely to play finals next year though. 2000 or so more than us is s**t house.

Yes. That is a real worry. I suspect decades of struggle has diminished Melbourne’s supporter base. It will take time to build it up again.

Same for the Bulldogs. They haven’t been able to capitalise on their golden 2016. It will take a while to build up their core base after a long period of struggle.

St Kilda has the advantage of a geographic identity and a supporter base that rises quickly when good times emerge (which hasn’t been often enough).. Our club is the ultimate tease, promising much but not delivering enough.

Our people will flock back when it looks like we are rising powerfully. Maybe not 2019,
 
There are also real members and nominal members. For example, does anyone believe Adelaide has 77,000 members? Their stadium holds 50,000 people so what are they including in the figures they are providing the AFL?
The crows count everyone who buys a membership in thier figures. The AFL has its own criteria. Which is why they officially had 64k this year.

The AFL count a membership as:
individual must have a name, contact details, have contributed $50 to the club and received a membership pack.
Pet memberships dont count.
 
Feb 21, 2004
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The crows count everyone who buys a membership in thier figures. The AFL has its own criteria. Which is why they officially had 64k this year.

The AFL count a membership as:

Pet memberships dont count.

They do until the AFL do their audit..and th final figures arent released til late in the season and tend to be buried by the Clubs as it lessens their artificially inflated figures
 
St Kilda has the advantage of a geographic identity and a supporter base that rises quickly when good times emerge (which hasn’t been often enough).. Our club is the ultimate tease, promising much but not delivering enough.

Our people will flock back when it looks like we are rising powerfully. Maybe not 2019,
With you 100% there St_Neil.

The periods of 1991/1992...…..1997/1998......2003 thru 2012 showed when we're on a roll....the crowds come back.

Thankfully for most of the 20th Century.......St.Kilda was the most densely populated suburb in Australia......and thus our large supporter base originated.

Back in the 80's.....we were always mentioned in the merger conversation along with 2-3 other clubs.

That concept was truly terrifying.

It was only when our name disappeared from those conversations did I start to relax about our future.

The media and the AFL both knew that we had an enormous latent supporter base...….we just had to start winning consistently to "fire it up"
 
Feb 21, 2004
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Still staggers me that after all those years of finals for a decade we are still among the cellar dwellers for membership after being told 1000 times about our latent "supporter" base.

Proves one thing. THe fans who dropped off after 2010 wont be back til we win a flag. All the Prelims and GF appearances now fall into "mehh been there done that, heart broken"
Its the real down side of sustained success without an actual flag.
 

St Neil

Premiership Player
Aug 14, 2016
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Still staggers me that after all those years of finals for a decade we are still among the cellar dwellers for membership after being told 1000 times about our latent "supporter" base.

Proves one thing. THe fans who dropped off after 2010 wont be back til we win a flag. All the Prelims and GF appearances now fall into "mehh been there done that, heart broken"
Its the real down side of sustained success without an actual flag.

I don’t agree. We fell away quickly after 2010 and then had the awful publicity of the School girl thing. Then Ross Lyon pulled the pin. And then the Scott Watters appointment didn’t work and the club was hammered by the media for sacking him after only 2 years.

In the background there was also the negative sentiment about the club relocating to Seaford and leaving Moorabbin.

At the end of 2013 the club was in terrible shape and all hope had evaporated. It was apparent dark years were ahead. That’s why people dropped off.

Since then we’ve had flickers of hope but we haven’t emerged to an extent that would excite a latent supporter base. 2018 reinforced that view. But when we start charging up the ladder and we develop plenty of elite talent then watch the bandwagon fill up. Quickly. I saw it 1997 and again in 2004. Our people will come from everywhere.

People need hope to join as members and more will do so when we look like an exciting prospect. The club isn’t at the point where we are seen as an emerging contender and hasn’t been since 2011. But we will all know when the wheel starts to turn. And when it does we will be professional enough to capitalise, unlike the early-mid 2000s.
 

mightymalaka

What we have here is a failure to communicate!
May 7, 2018
8,856
26,809
Road to Nowhere
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That last bit interests me St Neil! I really hope so!
Three times I have seen the Saints rise up powerfully in the comp
All were followed by huge masses that came from everywhere proving
How Big StKilda could/should be! Early 90's then 96-98 and again from 04-10

In all three circumstances the club failed dismally to take advantage of this
Sleeping dare I say Juggernaut waiting to explode! Especially the last stretch
In the Noughties! Where it appeared the admin was downright antisocial when it
Came to embracing our new found success and awaiting army!

So whilst I well And truly hope you are right that this time the club will capitalise
I'm not exactly so certain as the more times we have dismissed the previously
Disenfranchised in the past the harder it will be to get them back!
Ultimately today's generation more than previous ones demand success and
Glory and until we finally deliver that Holy grail we will struggle to keep up in the
Very crowded, competitive market in Melbourne!
In all my time I doubt I have ever seen the Saints less relevant than what they
Are in today's climate! It will take a mighty effort on and off the field to make up
For all the ground lost over 30 years! Really hope everyone in place is up for it!
 
Still staggers me that after all those years of finals for a decade we are still among the cellar dwellers for membership after being told 1000 times about our latent "supporter" base.
I don't know why you don't think this is true.
 

St Neil

Premiership Player
Aug 14, 2016
3,040
11,099
Aspendale Gardens
AFL Club
St Kilda
Other Teams
Blackpool
That last bit interests me St Neil! I really hope so!
Three times I have seen the Saints rise up powerfully in the comp
All were followed by huge masses that came from everywhere proving
How Big StKilda could/should be! Early 90's then 96-98 and again from 04-10

In all three circumstances the club failed dismally to take advantage of this
Sleeping dare I say Juggernaut waiting to explode! Especially the last stretch
In the Noughties! Where it appeared the admin was downright antisocial when it
Came to embracing our new found success and awaiting army!

So whilst I well And truly hope you are right that this time the club will capitalise
I'm not exactly so certain as the more times we have dismissed the previously
Disenfranchised in the past the harder it will be to get them back!
Ultimately today's generation more than previous ones demand success and
Glory and until we finally deliver that Holy grail we will struggle to keep up in the
Very crowded, competitive market in Melbourne!
In all my time I doubt I have ever seen the Saints less relevant than what they
Are in today's climate! It will take a mighty effort on and off the field to make up
For all the ground lost over 30 years! Really hope everyone in place is up for it!

The professionalism of football clubs today compared to as recently as 10 years is staggering. We now have an astounding 46,000 members after 7 years of being irrelevant. When we do climb the ladder watch us capitalise on the excitement.

People need to realise we have been near the cellar for a long time and to compare our membership to Melbourne based clubs based on our circumstances.

How many members would Hawthorn, North, Geelong and the Bulldogs have if they’d been near the bottom of the ladder for 7 years. I suspect none of those clubs would have 46,000 members.

We’ll be fine. Our football club is now a professional operation in a full time professional industry. This was not the case 10 years ago. We will capture our latent supporter base when they jump on. And we won’t let them go.
 
I don't know why you don't think this is true.
I believe it. Hell even here in Perth there seems to be oodles of saints supporters. I see them more than any other club bar maybe hawthorn and the two local teams.
 

Saints43

Club Legend
Mar 18, 2010
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I don’t agree. We fell away quickly after 2010 and then had the awful publicity of the School girl thing. Then Ross Lyon pulled the pin. And then the Scott Watters appointment didn’t work and the club was hammered by the media for sacking him after only 2 years.
A great post there St.Neil….agree with everything you stated.

Totally agree with yr "hope" comment.

I remember when Richmond started coming really good in 2012.....their supporters came from every direction...…...in huge numbers.

In 2012....they beat us at Etihad in front of a near full house.....we were a long way down at 3/4 time but came home like a train....but it wasn't enough......I sat there thinking they were on the way up and we were on the way down.
 
I believe it. Hell even here in Perth there seems to be oodles of saints supporters. I see them more than any other club bar maybe hawthorn and the two local teams.

I've heard the club state this as well. Was it 2015 we announced our plan to be on finals be 2018 and win a flag by 2020? They said then that from Port Melbourne to Portsea we've got as many fans as the tiges. I assume they have some survey data to back that up.

Here's and article from 2015 where Finnis states the same:
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/...e/news-story/8a57f3935641804a5c2d4bdd8f972791
Yeah I've seen the data first hand so it is true. In 2009 we had more members than Richmond did, so were people back then saying Richmond didn't have a large supporter base?

We are a club that can reach 75,000+ members.
 

The Boar

Premium Gold
Sep 17, 2016
1,291
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Yeah I've seen the data first hand so it is true. In 2009 we had more members than Richmond did, so were people back then saying Richmond didn't have a large supporter base?

We are a club that can reach 75,000+ members.
I can solve this.
If you haven't been a member in over 3 years, your membership is slashed by 33%.
Get them back in however you can, play an attractive brand and keep them around this time!

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I have to admit that the efforts of the Saints leadership over the last few years has been impressive to try improve our club and our membership numbers . I think the move back to Moorabbin will be a huge factor going forward along with the magnificent new structures there . If we can improve onfield next season I expect to see increased numbers turning up to watch training and things like that . Having the women’s side in the National Comp will be great for the club as well . There are a lot of Saint female supporters especially in the bayside area . I see a lot of upside to the club’s future .


Go Saints
 
Yeah I've seen the data first hand so it is true. In 2009 we had more members than Richmond did, so were people back then saying Richmond didn't have a large supporter base?

We are a club that can reach 75,000+ members.


I know a heap of latent Saints supporters that are only fair-weather fans. All clubs have the fanatic core that don't drop off even when the side is rubbish but really only sides like Essendon, Collingwood and the big interstate teams can really sign up over 50,000 fans when they are down the bottom of the ladder. If we get back to some level sustained success we could really surprise in our numbers.
 
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