The new coach of A-league team John van’t Schip (right) takes questions from the media in Melbourne, Monday, Oct. 12, 2009. Dutchman van’t Schip has been appointed coach of Melbourne Heart team whose syndicate hopes to gain entry to the Soccer A-League. AAP Image/Julian Smith
Enough is enough. It’s time for the FFA and Melbourne Heart chief executive Scott Munn and chairman Peter Sidwell to bite the bullet, ignore the competition to name the club being run in the Herald Sun, and keep the working title of Melbourne’s second A-League franchise.
In case you haven’t been following the saga of deciding the name of the club, the Heart – the name of the franchise holders, Melbourne Heart Syndicate – are floating four nominations for its name in a poll run through the Herald Sun newspaper, over a year since the franchise was given exclusive negotiating rights for the 11th slot in the A-League and five months after they were officially awarded the license.
It is this delay that makes this competition futile, but more of that later.
The four options short-listed by the franchise include the working title of Heart and three other choices. They are as follows:
– Melbourne Heart FC
– Sporting Melbourne FC
– Melburnians
– Melbourne Revolution
Revolution is the most interesting candidate, in my opinion.
While many would rule the name out as yet another Americanised intangible name, some have pondered if Revolution does have some context considering its intimation to the Eureka Stockade, the closest Australia has come to revolution.
The Eureka rebellion has strong cultural and historical ties to Melbourne, and although the Southern Cross flag is often used as a symbol of protest, the meaning of Eureka has strong political and cultural connotations.
Whether such an idea would get past the FFA – who, let’s not forget, banned Melbourne Victory fans from bringing Eureka flags to matches before backflipping on that decision – seems doubtful.
If Revolution is selected and there is not some sort of link to Eureka, then it seems like a wasted opportunity to immediately inject some culture and meaning to the club, not to mention try and nab some supporters from the Victory, perhaps.
Melburnians has an interesting ring to it but seems a tad vague, while Sporting appears to be growing in favour as a tribute to Melbourne’s rich and varied sporting tastes.
But it seems to me this is a void debate, sadly.
The fact remains that according to the public the second Melbourne A-League franchise IS called Heart.
It’s too late now to move away from that.
When Mark Viduka has been linked with a possible return home it has been with the Heart. When they signed John van’t Schip it was as head coach of the Melbourne Heart team.
All the public awareness of the franchise is with Heart, and a new franchise can’t afford to lose that recognition and brand awareness when it is still in such an embryonic stage.
If Sporting wins out, for example, will people refer to the club as: “Sporting Melbourne FC, the club formerly known as Melbourne Heart?” I fear so.
This will be a branding disaster; not good for a franchise that is moving into a town alongside the most successful A-League franchise, without having any geographical or cultural – as yet – differentiation.
It’s a shame the FFA and the franchise waited and squabbled for so long on a name. Taking such a vote to the public is a great way to engage and build a fanbase, but more damage would be done in awareness for the club if they moved away from the Heart name.
Let’s hope commonsense wins out and they stick with Heart.
Scot abroad
Guest
Sporting Melbourne doesn't wash for me. Its just a weak attempt at sounding continental European. I agree with the sentiment of playing up to Melbourne's sporting background though, surely 'Melbourne Athletic' is traditional enough and conveys the same message? Don't even mention Melbourne Revolution, conjurs up images of that Budweiser 'multi-ball' advert. Enough Americanised cr@p withouth another woeful 'soccer franchise' name please! Maybe we could call the ladies team the Cougars, just a thought...
Westy
Guest
braveheart? heart of a lion?? the list goes on...
julian
Guest
Melbourne Heart is a great name. We love Melbourne and we love sport and a heart is synonomous with love. It's just what the new team will need, some passion and a reason for people to want to belong. It also matches the colours of red and white.
Ringo Moleman
Guest
Well by naming it Heart, you have just ensured that the quite significant numbers of Celtic and Hibernian fans in Melbourne will not support it. Ludicrous name IMO for so many reasons.
Kurt
Guest
The Melbourne Melburnians sounds too reminiscent of the Shelbyville Shelbyvillians, the baseball from the neighbouring town in The Simpsons.
Roger
Guest
No love for Melburnians? I think it's the best of a bad lot. Simple, describes their supporters and region, traditional-sounding and unique. What's not to like?
gazz
Roar Pro
how bout a play on the Melb.Victory name.. the heart could be the Melbourne Win? or the Melbourne Three Points?
AndyRoo
Guest
A big chunk of people on the Central Coast commute all the way to Sydney. So the laughter is fair :)
Redb
Roar Guru
yeah but Mid lives on the Central Coast which by the way is south of Newcastle. Right Mid :-)
mahony
Guest
A team built on 'euro-wannabees' and 'Victory till I get bored' types - a great future indeed. Heart will always be our little football cousins....
mahony
Guest
There is over 4M of us now Midfielder....... and in the sooking department you can't go past a Sydney sider stuck in traffic wondering whatever happened to their great State. You poor buggers... even Tasmainians are feeling sorry for you LOL!
Redb
Roar Guru
Sporting Melbourne is a terrible name. Copying European names is fraught with danger. 'United' at least is generic.
SImone`
Guest
"What dont you pick a name that is like other Australian sporting teams like: Tigers, Bulldogs, Swans, Roosters ect ect." followed by "Think of something new!"... You don't know what you want... Sporting Melbourne would be a great name...
SImone`
Guest
A lot mate. I know a lot of Melbournians who are ready to jump off the Victory Ship, and ready to really get behind sporting Melbourne (clearly the best name). Most of these wouldn't be regular fans attending Melb Victory games that would switch to Sporting. More the casual fans, but its all Victory deserves if they do lose fans, myself included.
Gibbo
Guest
whoever came up with revolution should be drawn and quartered cos it stinks.
Chook
Guest
brillant you win
Gibbo
Guest
I thought middle-earth was in new zealand... hobbits humour anyone?
Rob
Guest
seeing as the mexicans are always moaning about something...how about "Victoria Bitter"
Chris Tuff
Guest
Why do Melbourne people come up with all these wierd names for teams like Heart, Victory, Sporting, Revolution or Rebels (new Super 14 team)?? What dont you pick a name that is like other Australian sporting teams like: Tigers, Bulldogs, Swans, Roosters ect ect. And calling the team by "Untied" - that is European big wigs soccer teams. There is too many teams in A-league that have "United". Think of something new! Somthing people can relate too!!
Rusty0256
Guest
Whoever came up with the idea of making this a 'vote to name your club' idea is a complete dufus. By all means, it may have at some stage been appropriate to ask the public if it wanted a second A-league team in Melbourne (not that they did) but to open the name-game up to a multiple choice election is total insanity. It has given all potential Melbourne (insert chosen name) FC supporters the opportunity to pick their preferred name and then become highly committed to that choice. Even removing the hundreds of 'other' serious and not so serious suggestions (United, Athletic, Wanderers, Olympic, Sooks, Wombats etc.), we will still be left with 4 camps of name supporters and voters, with only one possible winner. Over the past weeks we have been given the opportunity to passionately argue for and against these names, many of the writers indicating there is NO WAY they will support the club if it is any other than their choice. By my rekoning that's three quarters of the supporter base put at risk right there. Heart is a shite name for many reasons; for example try creating crowd chants with any one syllable name, but it is the name they will probably have to settle on. The irony is if they had stuck with that from the start, most everyone would have accepted it and started working with it long ago. Now it's just a complete shambles.