The stories of the backroom under Uncle Frank vs what they are now under Traktovenko/Ramsay and team are pretty mesemerising. Remember, he's a billionaire, not infallible. Personally I wouldn't want him anywhere near my club ever again. Nor only for the shoddy, haphazard way we were run under him, but also due to the various lies and deceit that were involved in taking us over in 2006 anyway.
Everyone is happy to stick the boot in, but what could the FFA honestly do better? The only two key things I can honestly think of are:
*Get better internal marketing boffins (marketing has been utterly dire, and it starts at the top with league-based and finals specific marketing which is run by the FFA)
*Potentially fix the revenue sharing agreement that the clubs are crying out to have reviewed (with that said, there's always two sides to each story, and there's no guarantee the clubs have it right. Of course they're going to go in and bat for themselves. Without knowing exact figures and the relative effect they have on the clubs / FFA it's hard to make a call on this)
The league's biggest issue is just income. There simply isn't enough of it - every club has made a loss every season (aside from one year of MVFC and one year of CCM I think?), and overall the financial results aren't tracking anywhere near as well as expected. SFC have just adjusted their break-even target to season 8 (originally season 5), and even then we're one of the stronger clubs with our present backing. Most clubs had a 3-6yr break even plan from memory, and none are really close.
The crowd decline argument is a tough one. For the most part I'm not concerned. Consistent growth each year for 5yrs+ just isn't possible. Take a look at graphs from leagues like the J-League, etc, and you'll see that the ~5yr dip is very very normal. Don't expect it to skyrocket back up either - time for slower, more sustainable growth from here on in.
Of course there is concern in some areas (i.e. the Roar collossally f**ked up last year in their overall treatment of fans, and in a 5yr old league one slap in the face like that is a dangerous one because they hardly have a strong base to fall back on), but the overall crowd trend being down is no real concern outside of the major anomaly. Each club faces it's different issues but outside of the Roar and GCU the crowd issue is fine.
Money is the issue, and I'm just not sure how to fix it. Gate receipts would be a big part for some clubs (like Newcastle and CCM where I think matchday costs mean ~10k crowds can break even?), but some clubs just seem to have insurmountable costs (like the Roar) which are an ongoing concern. All clubs are surviving on private funding, generally from a wealthy businessman (outside of the Fury, and the new Adelaide group consortium which is about to take over) and we've all seen what happens when private funding gets withdrawn. In many ways it's a timebomb, one day people like Con and the Greek guys who run the Roar will have to stop pouring the money in because the drain will be too big. We just need to hope they can get to break even point before that day comes.
It's why I think potential renegotiation of the TV deal is a fantastic thing. All these dolts arguing for free-to-air don't understand the financial implications. I struggle to believe that the financial benefit from FTA exposure (will it really increase exposure to the degree it will properly increase teh gate? If so, will that balance out the fact it will cheapen the TV money, let alone better the overall deal?) . The goal should be that the TV deal goes as far towards keeping the clubs afloat as possible. If renegotiation now locks it in to pay TV for another 5yrs but keeps clubs alive for those 5yrs, then it's a no brainer.
There's also the issue of finding alternate revenue streams, but I'm just not sure what they would be aside from player sales.
The question over the Fury is a big one. No surprise there was talk of letting them die (and no surprise if it's true Uncle Frank has jumped the gun to hold them in) - they were a long way off the basic funding requirement they were given to survive. It doesn't set a good scenario - it almost encourages owners to think they can fail. If Palmer really is thinking of pulling the plug (and there's no smoke without fire), surely the sight of seeing NQFC propped up by the FFA means he feels more comfortable in walking away from GCU if he so wishes?
Above all else, the one thing FFA management must be held accountable for is allowing this situation to happen in the first place. Firstly, for allowing the Fury to be such a shambles from the get go (remember Jade North marquee?), and not enforcing adequate support for such a n00b owner. As much as some will say it's interfering with club independence - the staff and business processes in place at both expansion clubs leaves a LOT to be desired. GCU failed on the business side of things (Clive Mensik comes across as your perfect businessman with no sense of sports business nous), and NQFC on the football side of things.
Based on recent events with both expansion clubs, I am sure that their due dilligence process is an absolute joke - there simply should be no way Matheson could have f**ked them like he has without potential for recourse (they should be sueing him for millions). The rush to expansion has been embarrasing - and it's set to continue with a West Sydney bid that was over $1mill short of the $5mill (?) requirement for the licence. When reality hits home that the bogan west is still as fickle as the rest of Sydney, we best pray that they've increased their backing so they have a proper cushion.
Of course, a big problem is then that the FFA have shown themselves to be quite poor at administering a club when they do take over. Adelaide was very very rough (and were lucky they have such a strong base to pull through from), and the reports from the Fury in the last week are extremely discouraging. I know they have to be financially prudent as they're skint, but it sounds like an absolute trainwreck already.
It's one thing not to have to honour contracts, and even though it's morally wrong I do understand them using the scenario to dump deadweight like Henderson and Timpano (who otherwise were stuck on the list for next year). But things like the insulting offer made to Scott Wilson (50% paycut if you believe the stories) are outright embarrasing. Likewise losing both Tadrosse (ordinary, but a LB option) and Steffanutto (above par, a local, and actually wanted to stay in Townsville) is just astounding. Most clubs are back in pre-season by next month at the latest, and the FFA are saying it's 4-6 weeks before they appoint a head coach. Why? They're up shit creek already, have a bare bones roster with f**k all quality (departing daily), and are showing no signs of stability or ability to attract players. Quite the opposite in fact.
I think there's every chance Fury are f**ked. A short window left in the off-season to turn them in to a good news story (to keep those fans coming in, and thus keep investor interest there), and at the moment I'm guessing their football side of things will potentially be even worse next year (Aus player pool now very challenging, no Fowler, etc). A rough season on the pitch / in the stands will deter investors (if anyone is dumb enough to be interested in blowing a few million on it atm), and will also make the FFA's rescue decision questionable. To save them, they had to do it properly and quickly maintain the position that they are a worthy, attractive investment opportunity. But they way they are being run now is catastrophic, which is completely unacceptable. If you're not going to do it properly, don't blow the money on trying poorly. Save them properly to build them up and get them taken over ASAP, or don't f**king bother.
I think the only other suggestions I have are:
*Stop raising the salary cap. It was meant to go up $100k per year, so by now should have gone from $1.5mill - $2.1mill or so. But a combination of lobbying from certain clubs, funny ideas (like the youth marquee, which is now an utter joke spread across 3 players), and especially the push from the PFA, means that next year it stands at $2.775mill total. That is more than enough. We are now at a level where good players in the cap can be paid $250-$300kpa, which is enough to get some very good quality in from overseas, retain local players (like Colosimo who otherwise would have gone to Asia) and take care of the players well enough that the average wage (~$90-$130kpa) keeps local players playing in comfort and not considering other professions. Leave it for a few years until stability means it can increase (and the NYL + the new generation after the lost generation has hopefully helped fuel a player quality increase of players that deserve more).
*Stop blowing money on above the line advertising. It doesn't f**king work. Well, it does, but primarily in terms of brand awareness. But the spend required to attain awareness in the Aus sports marketplace is too big, and the ROI even upon attained awareness is questionable (i.e. just because people know what the HAL is / where it's on doesn't mean they will go). Sydney FC will be an excellent guinea pig for it this year - no fake promises of increased marketing budget (to fool the buffoons that think shit like ads in newspapers work), but an outright assault on local associations for a cost-effective alternative. I'm not even convinced it will work (it's no assumption that football player = potential HAL ticket holder), but I'd rather see it given a go than see $1mill thrown away on $20k single ads in the SMH that people flick over. I'm not a marketing genius, but I know enough about marketing that for limited funds it's all about ROI and above the line doesn't come close to guaranteeing that. There are certainly better ways, and the FFA should be spearheading this by setting an example at the top. If they're going to spend money, it needs to be done smart.
Blagh, rant over. The FFA are far from perfect, but I also think they're unfairly slated at times. The outright idiocy comes from things like Con's continued failure to make NJFC a good news story, CCM's complete move backwards in terms of community engagement and the honesty that would help a lot in such a small place, and the Roar's catastrophic ticket price f**k up + terrible handling of the Farina incident in the space of a few months which now threatens to spell their end. (Incidentally - that could have been a real way for them to restore a little pride after the ticket f**k up insulted so so many people. Instead, combined with letting Ange turn every single ex-player in to a mobilised attack on the Roar (after he released them early?!?!), it's been a major f**k up.)
The FFA doesn't make those calls. They may not be good at repairing them, but they never made those initial f**k ups (rushed expansion aside). There needs to be a line between their independence and the clubs decision making, but ultimately the clubs need to be making the good calls. We really need more Tony Sereposis (sp?) types in the league.
