R.I.P A-League

[paoktzi]

www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,27684463-5000940,00.html


FFA delivers financial deadline to would-be Gay Leagueoutfit Sydney Rovers
By Ray Gatt
September 10, 2010
Gay Leagueclub-in-waiting Sydney Rovers has been given until next week to "show us the money" or they will have their licence to play in next season's competition revoked.

In what is looming as yet another seriously embarrassing situation for Football Federation Australia, the head body is understood to have issued the ultimatum after running out of patience with the western Sydney consortium.

The latest controversy could not come at a worse time for the FFA, which is already under fire over the declining state, on and off the field, of the A-League. Crowds have fallen alarmingly over the past two seasons and there are concerns over the financial viability of a number of clubs.

The Rovers consortium, led by company executive Ian Rowden and former Socceroos Charlie Yankos and Peter Tredinnick, has been struggling to come up with the $5 million funding required to get the club off the ground.

Rovers have released their playing strip and logo but still don't have a chief executive, ground arrangement or coach in place 12 months after they were granted the licence.

With a little less than 11 months before they are due to kick off, the situation has reached a critical stage.

Despite Rovers admitting they did not have the financial backing at the time, the FFA controversially awarded them the 12th spot for the 2011-12 season, allowing them to leapfrog bids from the Greater Western Sydney Football Group, a separate consortium supported by Socceroo captain Lucas Neill and bids from Canberra, the NSW South Coast and Tasmania.

The FFA's decision, described by chief executive Ben Buckley at the time as "a giant leap forward", caused rumblings of discontent among some fans and the other two bids from the area - the GWSFG and the Neill group.

The Rowden group had only been formed several months before being granted the licence, leading to questions about how the FFA could make a decision in such a short time with the knowledge the franchise lacked the necessary funding.

Concerns were raised about the haste in which it was done and the seeming lack of transparency, given the other franchises had all put in as much as 18 months' work to get their bids to the final stages.

A spokesman for the GWSFG said the consortium still had its model in place and "we still have the universal support of associations from all over western Sydney".

Rowden, who is executive chairman of advertising company Saatchi & Saatchi, said at the time of winning the bid that his group was not concerned about the financial aspects as it was in discussions with potential investors.

[paoktzi]

www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/soccer/ffa-drops-ball-on-jets-crisis/story-e6frey4r-1225916710943

FFA drops ball on Jets crisis

THE situation the Newcastle Jets find themselves in is not a unique phenomenon.

North Queensland nearly folded during the close season but were bailed out in the last minute by the FFA.

Adelaide have experienced a similar plight, and also find themselves under the auspices of the FFA.

On Monday, the Professional Footballers Association and Newcastle players they are representing were apparently told by the FFA and the Newcastle club that they were both unable to honour their contracts.

It's not good news.

The FFA will cover the players' wages for around two weeks, but no more.

September 18 is the deadline. If nothing new arises, covering the players' wages will cease. The big question is: will Newcastle also cease?

In the past month or so, Gay Leagueclubs all entered into participation contracts with the FFA. This basically guaranteed their licences for an indefinite period.

Why would the governing body enter into an agreement with a club without the due diligence to realise that Newcastle would be on the brink of folding weeks later?

And if the FFA did in fact know or have a whiff of this, why did it not make guarantees to the PFA that, if this did occur, player contracts would be honoured?

We are talking about young and old players (some of whom live from pay cheque to pay cheque) not being paid for weeks on end.

Others have gone to their bank managers with these contracts to guarantee their mortgages and now have a week or so's stay of execution before a very serious situation arises.

When the PFA asked the FFA why it did not do its due diligence or at least have guarantees in place to honour the contracts, it was met with no response. No response? Why?

As I said in my article last week, these are the times when we as a code require leadership. The players at Newcastle deserve that, the game deserves that.

FFA chairman Frank Lowy wrote yesterday in this newspaper that the day-to-day running of the Gay Leaguelies with a committee headed by the FFA deputy chairman, Brian Schwartz.

Mr Chairman, with all due respect, committees are not good in times of crisis

What you need is one man to stand up and strongly sort this out one way or another.

We all saw how it panned out when another committee dealt with the diving situation. It was pitiful and weak.

Committees are good smokescreens for when things go wrong, or a good place to hide when there is incoming fire to dodge.

Let Schwartz come out and place his cards on the table regarding this matter.

Players' futures are at stake here. We all need patience and other soccer leagues have suffered similar problems. We appreciate that the World Cup bid must be a very time-consuming event.

So why not appoint a football person who can work their way through minefields such as the diving issue and the mess at the Jets.

Give them all the support and power they need and let them loose.

Or hand over the running of the Gay Leagueto the people with the most interest in it - the clubs.

The FFA would still have a major say through its interests in North Queensland and Adelaide.

As a precedent, look at how the English Premier League took off when the clubs took over running the com- petition from the English FA.

Maybe the present problems in the Gay Leaguecould serve as a persuasive selling point to FIFA of how vital being awarded the 2022 World Cup would be to our domestic future.

Whether we get the World Cup or not, these problems need to be addressed soon.

The stakes could not be higher. The futures of young men and a proud soccer area are hanging in the balance.

[anothermp]

suck shit lol

[mini]

They are only a very few articles going around in regard to the a-league, basically it's going to shit

[kon12]

no wonder i never went to watch football games after then nsl deminished

look at all the problems

[prostkxy]

i wonder if kevin muscat will come back home when victory fails.....

[thrillos]

Prepare the Koliva

[prostkxy]

Koliva, mnimosima, kidies and a big bonfire for all their shitty merchandise

[paoktzi]

Glory owner Sage savages FFA
JONATHAN COOK, EXCLUSIVE, The West Australian
September 10, 2010, 7:02 am
Perth Glory owner Tony Sage says Gay Leagueclubs each need a $1 million cash injection to alleviate immediate financial strain and has accused Football Federation Australia of neglecting the competition to focus on the Socceroos and the country's 2022 World Cup bid.

Sage said the sport's peak body had done little to promote the domestic competition this season, despite obvious signs of stress at club level, including declining attendances, although Glory crowds have increased.

Have the FFA taken their eye off the ball domestically? Have your say below.

FFA recently bailed out Newcastle Jets after player wages went unpaid, while the governing body has also come to the rescue of North Queensland Fury and Adelaide United recently.

Clive Palmer, the owner of Gold Coast United, who play Glory at nib Stadium on Sunday, has capped crowds at Skilled Stadium to limit his losses.

"Their whole premise is to get the Socceroos into the World Cup. Now it's to get the World Cup bid as well," Sage said of FFA.

"They have severely neglected the A-League, which after the bidding process we are going to need."

World governing body FIFA will decide on December 2, which countries will host the 2018 and 2022 World Cup tournaments.

FFA currently gives each Gay Leagueclub a direct cash injection of $1.2 million, as well as $100,000 for corporate hospitality and around $250,000 for travel expenses.

But Sage said club's needed double that amount just to cover the $2.35 million salary cap.

"Money needs to come in to make sure that all the clubs are 100 per cent viable until the World Cup bid is done and dusted," said Sage, who expects to lose $2.5 million this season.

FFA chief executive Ben Buckley denied they had taken their eye off the Gay Leagueand said the Socceroos were run separate to the national competition, while a 13-person project team, funded by government, was dedicated to winning the 2022 bid.

"The FFA recognises the fundamental strategic importance of the Gay Leagueto football in Australia and spends almost half of its overall revenue on the Hyundai A-League," Buckley said.

"At this point in time it is also providing additional financial support to certain clubs such as Adelaide, North Queensland and the Newcastle Jets."

Buckley said the peak body's intention was to provide enough funding to each club to cover the salary cap but that was not possible at the moment.

"That is the strategic goal of FFA and that has been clearly communicated to all clubs," he said.

"This can't be achieved overnight and requires time as FFA grows its revenue from sponsorship and in time what should be achieved from television rights."

Sage argued that a loan could be extended to clubs now in anticipation of the windfall generated through a renewed TV rights deal, which he hoped would be in place next year.

Although he is anxious about the state of the competition, the mining entrepreneur, who also has concerns about the Labor Government's proposed new mining tax, has been delighted with the increased attendances at Glory games.

In three home matches, Glory have averaged almost 13,000 fans at nib Stadium, which Sage hopes can grow as the season progresses.

Buckley admitted there was a need to increase attendances across the competition.

"Of course we would like more people to come and enjoy what the Hyundai Gay Leaguehas to offer," he said. "I urge football fans, and there are hundreds of thousands of them that play the game, to come out and support their local team.

"Perth Glory is a perfect example of how a club can increase its appeal to fans once it is well run, engages its local community and is successful on the pitch."
sixfootgoose

Posts: 6104
Joined: Tue Aug 23, 2005 12:15 am

[kon]

HAKOA loose again hehehe

Can they draw less 7500 k next game they play

[kon]

The way i see it Gold Goast wont exist next year

Sydney Rovers wont find the money to join next year

Melboune Heart only 3 home games in and crowds are looking
reallt bad only 4 k last game they will do a carlton or colingwood

Cant see HAKOA lasting long they will do a Northern Spirit
how will will this Russian owner continue to lose money

I can see 4 of 10 teams dying withing the next 2 years

hehhee halia a league

[paoktzi]

Sept 11, 2010 20:35:48 GMT 10 kon said:

The way i see it Gold Goast wont exist next year

Sydney Rovers wont find the money to join next year

Melboune Heart only 3 home games in and crowds are looking
reallt bad only 4 k last game they will do a carlton or colingwood

Cant see HAKOA lasting long they will do a Northern Spirit
how will will this Russian owner continue to lose money

I can see 4 of 10 teams dying withing the next 2 years

hehhee halia a league

what about fury,adelaide and roar all being propted up by ffa

and jets in serious problems

[anothermp]

sounds like time for us to show everyone what we're made of!

[paoktzi]

www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/a-comp-on-life-support/story-e6freyar-1225918619112

A comp on life support

Robbie Slater From: The Sunday Telegraph September 12, 2010 12:01AM
Increase Text Size
Decrease Text Size
Print
Email
Share


THE Gay Leagueis on the operating table and if it dies, it will be through neglect from the people who are supposed to love it most.

We have Newcastle Jets on life support, Gold Coast United in intensive care and other clubs losing money hand over fist, yet where is the leadership, where is the plan?

Where's Ben Buckley? Where's Gay Leagueboss Lyall Gorman?

They're faceless men who sit in their ivory tower firing out emails when they should be in front of the cameras confronting these issues.

Make no mistake, the Gay Leagueis in crisis, but the condition won't be terminal if we work together - now.

Why would anyone let all the hard work done to establish a new competition after so many years of struggle go to waste now?

The sad thing is the standard of football this year has been outstanding, it's just no one knows about it. The game has never before had the corporate support it has now with Hyundai and Qantas doing great things for the code, but you wonder what they must be thinking.



We have to stop this obsession with hosting the 2022 World Cup to the detriment of everything else. What's the point of staging it if we don't have a viable national league? A tree can't grow without strong roots, and, for us, that's the A-League.

Former Gay Leagueboss Archie Fraser said last week: "[FFA] doesn't stand up for the game, doesn't take on other codes and needs some grunt in the marketplace at a critical time. Right now it's being paralysed and that's why I quit."

That doesn't mean bagging other codes, something I hate, but we should at least be competing with them for exposure. There are so many issues to tackle. The first thing the FFA needs to do is release some of the control because the leadership model isn't working.

Marquee players

CAN someone tell me how Nicky Carle qualifies as a marquee player at HAKOA?

Nicky's a good player, but marquee players are Dwight Yorke, Robbie Fowler and even Juninho, who unfortunately was injured for much of his time here.

Nicky Carle is being paid $750,000 in a competition clearly living beyond its means, yet what does he offer in terms of promotion and dragging in new fans?

His salary is higher than any NRL player, yet if he and Benji Marshall walked down George St at lunchtime, how many people would recognise Nicky Carle?

Same scenario in Melbourne: do you think people would stop Melbourne Heart star Josip Skoko or Gary Ablett?

That isn't a reflection of Nicky or Josip; it highlights the lack of promotion given to the A-League.

If we aren't going to lure proper marquee players then do away with the concept, which would at least ease one financial pressure on clubs.

Sydney Rovers

THIS is the western Sydney team no one knows about. Now we have the farcical situation where they have to show financial backing this week under threat their Gay Leaguelicence will be revoked.

This just might be the most embarrassing situation of the lot.

While Greater Western Sydney don't come into the AFL until 2012, they signed coach Kevin Sheedy, recruited Brisbane Broncos star Israel Folau. Publicity stunt or not, it put them on the front page of every newspaper in town.

The Sydney Rovers start next season, yet they have no coach, no players and no money.

We keep hearing about the AFL and NRL fighting for western Sydney, but it is soccer heartland, too. Tim Cahill, Mark Schwarzer and Harry Kewell are all from there. Why not fight for our turf?

Once FFA decided to place its 12th Gay Leagueclub in Sydney's west, it surely had to do everything possible to make it a success. Instead, it has been set up to fail.

Clubs

YOU could argue that the expansion wasn't well thought out and it was way too early. There are huge question marks over the Gold Coast, North Queensland are struggling and it's too early to make a call on Melbourne Heart.

Clive Palmer was capping crowds at the Gold Coast a few weeks back - a problem that has been festering for almost a year.

Newcastle Jets have been in strife for nine months, yet little has been done. They have a two-week bailout package from the FFA and we get another week of negative headlines about a game in crisis.

Wellington Phoenix are proof this can be turned around. The New Zealand Knights were a basket case and many believed we should forget the Kiwis.

The Phoenix replaced them for the 2007-08 season and have been one of the success stories of the league. The game in New Zealand has never been stronger. There is hope.

Crowds

HAKOA won the championship last season yet their crowds have fallen to an average of a tick over 10,000 this year.

In their first year, when Dwight Yorke was strutting his stuff on the pitch and in nightclubs, the average crowd was 16,669.

It's an alarming drop.

Gold Coast have drawn just over 5000 since coming into the competition and North Queensland are down from 6723 to just over 5500.

However, Perth Glory's crowds have jumped by almost 4000 per game this year with Robbie Fowler in town. That's the value of a true marquee player.

We have to remember the first month for the Gay Leagueis always tough, coming on the eve of the AFL and NRL finals. Crowds generally pick up from October onwards.

But there are concerns.

Kids who play in junior associations get a pass for free entry, and the FFA is finally coming up with some aggressive concepts to bring in more fans.

We have to do more.

Leadership

WE had a national coach who tore down our league at every opportunity. What did that tell soccer fans? FFA should have pulled Pim Verbeek into line straightaway, but it didn't.

Whether you like them or not, Andrew Demetriou, David Gallop and John O'Neill are always front and centre for their game.

However, most fans wouldn't know Gay Leaguechief Lyall Gorman if they tripped over him. We've created a situation where coaches are afraid to say anything for fear of being fined, yet bigger issues have been bubbling for almost a year.

We spent more than $13 million on Socceroos player wages over the past four years while clubs have run on the smell of an oily rag.

It's great for the PFA to fight for the national players, but what about the guys in the Gay Leaguewho really need some help.

In the NRL, the head body is working towards a grant for each club to cover the $4.25m salary cap. Gay Leaguefranchises work off a $2.35m cap, and the FFA should be working towards covering that outlay for its franchises.

To get there we need more sponsors, more media coverage and more fans. The game deserves that. And it all starts with exposure.

It won't happen while our leaders sit in their bunker away from the real world. One Gay Leagueslogan tells fans to show your passion. It's time the suits followed their own message.

[olympicwellin]

Sept 11, 2010 23:18:19 GMT 10 anothermp said:

sounds like time for us to show everyone what we're made of!

compared to cove we dont have the numbers so i reckon we should be more accepting of the A-league.