Nobody names their kids after 11 players chasing a ball, moves their wedding date or travels to Stoke on a cold, wet Tuesday without good reason. But they do all this and more for their football club.

Victory is hard to come by and even harder to maintain; winning is not a strategy. The challenge is to win engagement and hold attention to support every stage of the success cycle.

Nobody cheers the laundry, either.

(n) The distinguishing character or personality of an individual; Who or what someone is.

A badge rederaw is not a club identity.

All clubs are about passion, pride and belonging. If your agency or consultant tells you your club is about passion, pride or belonging, they have given you nothing to say.

A club cannot and must not up-trade its legacy support for a new global fanbase. Their culture is your greatest commercial asset.

A team that represents only a place is bounded by geography. A team that represents an idea can find a home crowd anywhere.

If you don’t stand out, your success is limited to and dependent on the success of the competition you play in. Many clubs survive commercially as interchangeable heels that show up to be beaten up on. But your club deserves more than a spot on someone else’s payroll.

There is more to the game than winning, and more to players than money. If you can tell a player what your club means, what your story is and what their arc is within it, you can offer them legacy

Traditionally, club’s ambitions were limited by the size of their stadium, the value of their competition or the size of their collective TV deal. Now they are also limited by financial fair play rules. To achieve above your existing size you have to find a way to punch above your weight.

Commercial success has always followed on-field trophies but times have changed: Commercial success has to come first.

Nothing and nobody comes for free, and fans are not punters to be milked. Everything your fans will do for you is built on what your club does for them. And it may be more than you think.

Let us help you answer the oldest question in the game.