Members and total supporter base are completely different. Hawthorn last year had more members then Collingwood and Essendon but no one thinks that hawthorn have more supporters then Collingwood and Essendon!!
I will stat again there is no statistical prof that Richmond are the biggest Victorian club.
Collingwood and Essendon are always and have always been ranked no.1 and no.2 for that last 30 years.
You say that for Richmond being crap for 35 years it’s hard to compare Richmond and Collingwood well do I guess your saying Richmond are bandwagoners? Well you ain’t going to get an argument from me.
Richmond are 9.2 million behind Collingwood in attendance’s during the home and away season since 1921! Richmond have had a huge advantage of playing ALL home games at the mcg since 1965. Prior to 1965 Victoria Park and Punt Road capacity was very similar. Remember Collingwood started playing all its home games at the mcg in 2000 and yet Collingwood are 9.2 million more then Richmond.
This is total supporterbase numbers not members and Collingwood are no.1. Essendon no.2, Richmond have always been ranked no.3 and Carlton no.4 in Victoria.
How me evidence that shows Richmond have more supporters (not members) then Collingwood or Essendon???
You will not find any!!
I agree that members and supporters are two different things.
A member is something which is tangible that can be counted. It's an indication that a person wants to be a part of the club and actually contributing to the club.
A supporter is a phantom unknown obscure statistic picked from somewhere random like the Ray Morgan poll, someone who pays lip service, or the people you observe around you or social media likes. In general a supporter offers little or nothing to a club.
The Ray Morgon poll indicates that Sydney has the most supporters. I don't think anyone really thinks that they are the biggest club. Obviously people are just saying they support a team without really following them.
I come across many people who say they support a team. Often the conversation goes like this:
me-"who do you support?"
Them-"Collingwood"
me-"okay. Have you been to many games?"
them-"no"
Me-"did you watch the game last night?"
them-"I don't really watch the footy"
me-"why did you say you support Collingwood".
then-"my dad used to for them"
When a 'supporter' starts to actively follow the game there is no certainty they'll follow the team they said they support previously. I have known people who changed the team they support to another team. My wife used to say she goes for Hawthorn and didn't really follow the footy, and now she's a Richmond supporter (and member).
In the end a 'supporter' is someone who is just casually following a team or not at all.
I'm not sure how you can really include someone who doesn't contribute to a club as part of the club, and in turn include them in discussing te size of the club.