Club Ownership

[Ozhammer]

Sounds to me like it’s time for Anton to ride in on his white charger and save the club.

Anyone got his number?

 

[JB16]

. i don't mean to be offensive and only somewhat dismissive ... but this is where the fantasy starts to come in:

• i would say our members on average are paying far less than $400 each (some slightly more, many much less)
• i'd prefer to base it on something like $250 average (but i don't have any idea beyond what i pay in the highest category)
• this would mean you are asking every member to essentially double their membership fee (every year)
• that is every man, woman and child. every pensioner, part-time member, each person in a family membership
• during a cost of living crisis
• for a team in perpetual financial peril
• in a league that is even worse financially
• to raise a mere $1.5m

. i already contribute more than 3 figures to the club every year which i reckon probably puts me in the top few percent of fans* ... and it would have to be one hell of an argument to convince me to contribute - which suggests you would have as much chance of raising your (grossly inadequate) $1.5m as you would getting Rich to re-consider

. i think it would be closer to the mark to suggest 200 people willing to contributing $100 pa. for $20k - which would be enough to pay for one scholarship player (now Anton is gone too). not exactly a long term ownership model

* definitely not bragging because I know people spend more but just trying to provide some context. the problem is sometimes people assume that everybody would do the same as them - when the numbers actually suggest otherwise

This is all correct, I do think there is some way fans can pay some small amount, whether that be $10 or $100. Surely there is some way we can come together as a "COMMUNITY" club and help the club through what RP has described as a tough time after the budget cuts. Let's be honest us fund-raising a couple of thousand dollars is probably more than Charlesworth will even invest🤣🤣 I do 100% agree with your take that we can't expect fans to pay even more than they already do. Although I do think there is a perfect mid point.

 

[Meerkat]

Sounds to me like it’s time for Anton to ride in on his white charger and save the club.

Anyone got his number?

He’s already signed on with the Jets.

 

[some guy]

Particularly concerned this has happened after a few recent windfalls. In the last two seasons we’ve had millions in transfer revenue, $2+ million from AFC Cup winnings, hundreds of thousands from players at World Cups and $1+ million for ACLE this year on the way. Obviously the TV funding cuts are a big deal but would’ve hoped some of those gains would’ve offset them a bit…

 

[Spacks]

Western United has done it the correct way. Buy their own stadium and develop it further as the need for increased capacity grows. They get to keep all the match day income.

 

[Corsair]

How long before we hear from the CEO or Mike? I hope this doesn't just get brushed under the carpet and they make some sort of reassuring comment in the next week.

 

[Spacks]

How long before we hear from the CEO or Mike? I hope this doesn't just get brushed under the carpet and they make some sort of reassuring comment in the next week.

They've been using the women's signings to alleviate pressure.

 

[priorpeter]

Western United has done it the correct way. Buy their own stadium and develop it further as the need for increased capacity grows. They get to keep all the match day income.

“Stadium” is a bit of a reach in total fairness.

The entire premise of their admission to the league was that they’d have a fully functioning stadium ready to go by their second season. Instead, here we are 6 years later and they’ve just started operating a single stand in the middle of nowhere. They are by no means the benchmark for which any club should be striving for.
Though yes, more boutique, club owned stadia in the league would be nice.

 

[Spacks]

“Stadium” is a bit of a reach in total fairness.

The entire premise of their admission to the league was that they’d have a fully functioning stadium ready to go by their second season. Instead, here we are 6 years later and they’ve just started operating a single stand in the middle of nowhere. They are by no means the benchmark for which any club should be striving for.
Though yes, more boutique, club owned stadia in the league would be nice.

Don't need 20k seats if you don't have 20k coming to each match.

 

[FFC Mariner]

How long before we hear from the CEO or Mike? I hope this doesn't just get brushed under the carpet and they make some sort of reassuring comment in the next week.

What would you like them to say? We know exactly what we get with Charlesworth so he must have thought all his Christmas's had come at once when Dick came in agreeing to such a dumb deal
"I'll fund it and you own it for 3 years then if I reach your benchmarks I can buy 50%"

 

[Spacks]

What would you like them to say? We know exactly what we get with Charlesworth so he must have thought all his Christmas's had come at once when Dick came in agreeing to such a dumb deal
"I'll fund it and you own it for 3 years then if I reach your benchmarks I can buy 50%"

That Man United are coming to buy the club that put 6 past CFG in the 2022-2023 grand final.

 

[Stuartmcateer]

Western United has done it the correct way. Buy their own stadium and develop it further as the need for increased capacity grows. They get to keep all the match day income.

There's nowhere on the coast to build a 5-10k boutique stadium that would be close to transport.

WU will struggle to grow crowds in Tarneit because it has stuff all public transport or amenities - the station is a 6k walk.

They may as well have gone the extra 10 minutes to Geelong.

 

[sydmariner]

There's nowhere on the coast to build a 5-10k boutique stadium that would be close to transport.

Could woy woy oval be upgraded?.

 

[Archie]

Could woy woy oval be upgraded?.

Wouldn’t be enough parking

 

[sydmariner]

Wouldn’t be enough parking

Close enough to woy woy station though.

 

[Michael]

The reality is and always has been, unless you manage to find continental success or sell players WITH future fees and %’s attached. A football club in this country can’t make profit. The best you can hope for as a club owner here is that the club makes enough that you don’t have to constantly dip into your own pocket, like Rich has clearly been doing and I’m really not upset at him pulling out, I’m f**king fuming that he’s HAD to pull out. He made a genuine go of it. He had success, but is it worth going broke over? Even after the success he’s brought he still gets mocked.
Then there’s the fact that there’s never been prize money for winning the league, aus cup or even making finals is the main reason. Then there’s smaller reasons, it’s so hard gain any traction for the sport/league in this f**king country. If it isn’t people within the league shooting themselves in the foot with stupid decisions it’s just the fact that if you’re not with the right media outlet no one even knows the f**king league exists. Because no media outlet, outside channel 10 or their small partners, even talk about the league. So how can the league grow to get bigger crowds to create more revenue for clubs? 20th season about to start and still feels like the first in so many ways.

 

[Ancient Mariner]

Personally not surprised this outcome and have always expected it after hearing of his self set KPIs.

The whole "lease a club for three years" struck me as strange from the word go. However RP has an ego and thought he could make a go of it and having a trial for three years paying the bills was probably a lot cheaper than buying 50% outright and having great difficulties selling if it did not work.

KPIs are a misleading term which usually apply to someone on an employment contract. A better term would have been goals that he himself that had to be achieved before he would commit.

The one he made public, the home attendance number, was always going to be extremely difficult. This would have become clearly obvious after comparing home attendances over the last two massively successful seasons. I would say that this was when he decided to pull the pin. From that point on it was all about cutting expenses and selling players and pawning to limit the his financial liabilities.

By going now he is saving himself the final year of his lease. He may have realised that owning a football term did not provide a positive financial outcome, but the last two successful years showed him how negative the outcome was when you are winning and despite on field success it was obviously beyond his budget.

The shit fight that has been the A-league for the last couple of years has only brought his decision forward by six months.

The only way you have a hope of making money out of owning an A-league club is through a capital gain. At the moment the A-league as a whole is massively overvalued possibly terminally so. If the A-league manages to survive which is doubtful without some massive belt tightening all round and continuing dumping of incompetent clowns, then we better hope that Charlesworth continues to fund the Club as he has in the past.

We will be on a bread and water diet, but we will not be Robinson Crusoe. We will not see further investment in. the Club until investors see a future for the A-league and will come in when they can get a share for a song.

Don't pile shit on Mike Charlesworth, as in the past, at present, he is our only hope of survival. Neither the A-league nor the FFA will now fund any club as they have done in the past.

The weather may be getting warmer but winter is coming for football in Australia.

 

[Stuartmcateer]

. A football club in this country can’t make profit.

Do football clubs anywhere make a profit?

Generally they are the play things of very rich people or funded by oil money ( or Hollywood celebs).

Even Wrexham with all their additional sponsorships and exposure are losing money.

 

[Huddo]

Don't pile shit on Mike Charlesworth, as in the past, at present he is our only hope of survival. Neither the A-league nor the FFA will now fund any club as they have done in the past.

The weather may be getting warmer but winter is coming for football in Australia.

I'm pretty sure we are one of only a couple of clubs that has never been propped up by the FA.

 

[Spacks]

Do football clubs anywhere make a profit?

Generally they are the play things of very rich people or funded by oil money ( or Hollywood celebs).

Even Wrexham with all their additional sponsorships and exposure are losing money.

Probably cos they've signed championship players to play in league one.