A-League has a new Head

[midfielder]

It would appear our management team, is being expanded ... maybe in line with ACL spots and we failed because there was no seperation of FFA & A-League ... Interesting all the same

From the MV fans forum.... http://melbournevictory.net/forum/showthread.php?t=51990 ...

Loyal Member,

After four years as your CEO, today I've made the decision to leave our great Club for a new opportunity to lead the Hyundai A-League competition. I wanted you to be among the first to know as I click send on this email I'm about to walk out the door to brief the media.

It's with a heavy heart that I leave the Club and people that I've grown to love like family.

This wasn't an easy decision for me to make but when I weighed it up to run an entire league and return to the game that I played for so many years and have a long history with - it was an opportunity that I couldn't refuse.

I know that life as a Saints supporter is rarely an easy one riding the ups and downs, the elation and the disappointment, but that's what makes you great. You stand by your team through thick and thin and your loyalty is unlike anything I've seen before. You are the lifeblood of this Club and you deserve to be rewarded.

I realise that many of you will be disappointed in my decision but it's one that I didn't take lightly and I hope you can be happy for me and the opportunities that lay ahead.

From a Club perspective I'm confident that we've now built a organisation that will stand the test of time and deliver success into the future. We've guaranteed our future in Melbourne and a long-term state-of-the-art training base in Frankston. We invested heavily in the football department and fitness capabilities. Our players are seeing and feeling the results and hopefully this shines through in the 2009 season.

You now have a dedicated, professional and focused Board that have committed to putting 'Footy First" in everything they do. They understand football and commercial workings and will govern the Club through a new era.

I'll greatly miss the Club and you, the supporters. I wish you all the success the future can provide and thank you for your support over the last four years.

It's been great to part of YOUR Club.

Regards,

Archie Fraser

 

[Redline]

Heard about this on the radio...we seem to like recruiting from the AFL management ranks..we've done it a few times in the past. Apparently it was so Ben Buckley can focus on the WC bids, while still leaving us with a dedicated person to run the HAL.

 

[midfielder]

Fraser is a former professional football player in Scotland and Queensland Premier League player in Australia. .......From the CV below He played soccer for Greenock Morton before moving to
Australia in 1980 to pursue a professional soccer career in Brisbane

On top of that, he has pretty good knowledge of the sporting landscape in Australia
Just before he joined the AFL his CV

http://www.saints.com.au/Portals/0/saints_docs/ArchieFraser.pdf

Seems someone with some football and management experience behind him ........ will Les & Fozzie be happy as he is Scottish LOL

 

[Omni]

Les & Fossie hate the A-League anyway

 

[pjennings]

Apparently it is likely to be replaced by Matt Hanson, current CEO of Melbourne Storm NRL club. Was previously CFO of St Kilda.

 

[FFC Mariner]

I think an appt of someone with a working knowledge of modern football might have been better.

I know that sounds harsh but AFL is nothing like football and we have yet another person in the FFA who has no background in the modern game.

AFL is an insular sport that is not (whatever they tell themselves) a national, let alone international, game.

I really hope I'm wrong but not a quality appt IMHO.

Sorry if that offends

 

[pjennings]

Looks to be a football player and businessman who happened to be working in the AFL. So seems to be a football loving sports administrator. Can't see any football administration background though.

 

[midfielder]

I think an appt of someone with a working knowledge of modern football might have been better.

I know that sounds harsh but AFL is nothing like football and we have yet another person in the FFA who has no background in the modern game.

AFL is an insular sport that is not (whatever they tell themselves) a national, let alone international, game.

I really hope I'm wrong but not a quality appt IMHO.

Sorry if that offends

Football has been crying out for someone with football knowledge to help run the adminstration and understand the culture of the game.

You think he does not meet this requirement having ...From the CV  He played soccer for Greenock Morton before moving to Australia in 1980 to pursue a professional soccer career in Brisbane. .... he has heaps of football experience ...further by being at a club like St Kilda and in the AFL he knows how to run an a market football product in the Australian sporting landscape ... plus he has had heaps of business experience .... seems to me to be a excellent appointment and tick most boxes.

 

[serious14]

And here's the reason why this is happening......

http://www.smh.com.au/news/sport/football/ffa-chases-cups-double-as-odds-firm-for-2015-asian-cup/2009/02/25/1235237740425.html

AUSTRALIA may be locked in a titanic struggle to host the 2018 World Cup but Football Federation Australia chief executive Ben Buckley confirmed yesterday there were still no rival bidders for the major consolation prize - the 2015 Asian Cup.

While the regional showpiece is half the size of football's global extravaganza, it remains a significant tournament in its own right, and all indicators are that Australia will not be challenged for the right to host the event in 2015. In theory, expressions of interest closed at last June's Asian Football Confederation Congress in Sydney, but with the AFC not likely to make a formal announcement until next year, the window is still open for a rival bid to emerge.

Nonetheless, Australia's chances of remaining unchallenged have been boosted by the FFA's decision to withdraw interest in staging the 2011 Asian Cup, which will now be hosted by Qatar. That strategic gesture has since earned Australia vocal support from the AFC's powerful Qatari president, Mohammad Bin Hammam, and Buckley is optimistic the 2015 edition of the tournament will be played here.

"At this stage we're the only country to put our name forward, and there's nothing we've heard or seen that would suggest any other country is planning to host," Buckley said. "We shouldn't underestimate the size and scale of the Asian Cup. You're talking about a huge region with two-thirds of the world's population. Behind the World Cup, the Asian Cup is up there with the top four or five sporting events in the world."

Despite that, Buckley believes Australia already has the facilities and infrastructure to cope with a 16-team tournament that would require only four suitable stadiums, although he also believes that hosting the regional event in 2015 could help fine-tune the preparations for a future World Cup.

"We're very well-placed to be able to host the Asian Cup without significant infrastructure investment," he said. "Having said that, we think it will also help in getting investment in the areas we need. It would be a good test case for Australia's readiness to host a World Cup."

The decision on the 2015 Asian Cup will be made well in advance of FIFA's decision on the 2018 World Cup, and the FFA is readying itself for a hectic period of lobbying and organising by making a series of internal managerial changes.

The A-League's head of operations, Rob Abernethy, has been moved to head the Asian Cup bid, while two other senior executives, Stuart Taggart and Bonita Mersiades, will shift full-time to the World Cup bid. As well, the FFA has recruited Scotsman Archie Fraser, who for the past four years has been chief executive of AFL side, St Kilda.

Fraser came to Australia in 1980 to play football semi-professionally in the Queensland state league, and will replace Abernethy as the head of the A-League.

Buckley insisted the move to appoint Fraser was not a sign the A-League was about to be given more autonomy. "The A-League is not an independent organisation within FFA. We believe it is best integrated into our overall activities, and Archie will work within the broader FFA team."

However, Fraser's football background is likely to mean he will assume a much more visible presence for the A-League.

 

[Omni]

Hmm 2015 Asian Cup hey, I might try and time a trip back home for 2015...

 

[dibo]

right - the task is to get Gosford done up to host Asian Cup games and have people go "well you know, holding World Cup games 7 years later actually sounds like it good be a good bit of fun..."