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It’s the same old story, year after year, and it’s getting a bit tiresome. But the financial woe surrounding the Central Coast Mariners has once again reared its ugly head.
This time it’s been highlighted due to foundation coach Lawrie McKinna stepping down from his ambassador role after growing disenchanted with the direction of the club.
The current Gosford mayor didn’t explain his decision in length, but there was a poorly concealed swipe at the Mariners ownership in his departing statement.
“It has been well documented we used to have the best community model and hopefully we will continue to be the best community-minded club in the A-League,” he said.
His use of the past tense suggests that under the ownership of Mike Charlesworth, who became majority shareholder in March last year, the club have strayed from their original philosophy.
Sound familiar? Only recently we saw a club sack one of the best coaches in the league for straying from club philosophy, yet unfortunately there’s no chance of the Mariners’ ownership getting the same treatment from fans.
Much of the uproar has been down to Charlesworth looking to send matches into North Sydney in a bid to grow the club’s fan-base. On Friday night, the Mariners will play Melbourne Victory at North Sydney Oval, and another match will follow in February at Brookvale Oval.
It’s nothing new, the same strategy was introduced last season, and in all fairness it’s not a bad way to get on board fans that haven’t taken to Sydney FC.
But Charlesworth’s ambition to play four games in North Sydney for 2015-16 is going too far, and coupled with McKinna’s flight it has fans and media speculating that the Englishman may move to relocate the club in the future, which he has denied.
The whole affair of moving games to North Sydney is much ado about nothing at the moment. It’s a business-savvy plan that could reap financial benefits, but four games would mean Gosford only get about 10 home games a season. That’s not good enough.
Charlesworth is adamant that the current rental agreement with Gosford Council for Central Coast Stadium is unsustainable, and he’s been clear that the club need to attract 10,000 fans just to break even each match. McKinna has stated that it costs the Mariners just $7500 per game.
Charlesworth, when Gosford Council took over management of the stadium in February this year, declared that the Mariners wanted a better deal. A better deal than $7500 per game? You’re having a laugh.
Reportedly, though, only 3000 spectators are required at North Sydney Oval for the club to break even.
“How many games we play in Gosford or North Sydney in the future is down to some degree to the attitude of the councils,” Charlesworth said last year.
“We are largely driven by survival and have been for nine years now. And if one council wants us more than another then we take that into account.
“The fact is it is about a third of the price for us to play at North Sydney Oval as compared to Bluetongue [Central Coast Stadium].
“I don’t see us necessarily leaving Gosford, and I don’t want to see that and don’t expect that, but if North Sydney Council offers us a good deal then it’s tempting.”
So the increase in games heading to North Sydney could in fact be a thinly-veiled threat to Gosford Council. Lower the rent, or we’ll go elsewhere. Charlesworth has a right to try and save and make money where he can, but the problem is that Gosford Council are themselves fairly cash-strapped.
McKinna’s role as mayor makes the situation messy. He has a duty of care to the entire Gosford population to get the best deal possible for the community, but it’s also unlikely he’d be looking to rort his beloved Mariners.
Regardless, the main question is why the Mariners find themselves in such dire financial straits. And why, if they only need 10,000 spectators to break even, are they abandoning hope of obtaining that in Gosford?
First things first – finances. Under the tenure of Peter Turnbull and managing director Lyall Gorman, whose reputation has gone from strength to strength, the club posted a profit for 2007-08.
It was the first time in the club’s history, and they boasted an annual turnover of $7 million, indicating a profit of about $300,000.
Granted, that was with an average of more than 15,000 per game, but it was also without the $2.55 million TV money to cover the salary cap. Sponsors and corporate supporters accounted for $3 million, largely arriving in the shape of many small contributors.
It was the epitome of a well-run community club, and that’s what the Mariners were all about. It’s all what football is about. We want the big city clubs, but there’s also something beautiful about small community clubs. The Mariners were extremely active during McKinna’s reign, constantly getting out and interacting with local football clubs and schools.
But the last published figures had the Mariners running at a $1 million deficit in the 2012-13 year, when they had that magic average of 10,000 and were still without the substantial TV funding.
So why hasn’t that original community model been sustainable? Surely if they were engaging with the community as much as they were in earlier years, sponsorship could be found and attendances would rise.
SD Eibar, La Liga’s smallest club, hail from a town of just 27,000 and have an average attendance of less than 5000. Amazingly, they sit mid-table in Spain’s top division, with a total wage bill of about $4 million and a turnover of less than $4.5 million.
Don’t tell me they can survive and run at a profit, which they had been doing in Spain’s second division, while the Mariners cannot. Eibar’s stadium is also owned by local council.
There is nothing wrong with expanding a supporter base, Charlesworth is targeting a region that hasn’t yet nailed its allegiance to any club. Again, it’s business-savvy.
But the Gosford community have shown they can average between 10,000 and 15,000, so why the partial abandonment of its loyal fans? Why not, instead, encourage the North Sydneysiders to travel to Gosford for matches? It makes more sense to build on already solid foundations, rather than start afresh in a new environment.
That can easily be done with two matches per season, there’s no reason for four.
At the current rate, Charlesworth would be better off renaming the club the Northern Mariners and admitting that the club wants to cover both regions.
He’s the owner, and unfortunately that’s the reality of modern football. But it’s not fair on the loyal fans in Gosford, who are being alienated, and the FFA should be attempting to halt the process.
Having the Mariners impede on Sydney territory is not desirable to anyone. With a third Sydney team mooted for the southern region, would that not effectively mean three and a half Sydney teams? Not good.
The Mariners should never stray too far away from Gosford, the Central Coast offers too much to Australian football.
Where would our national side be without the Mariners? Mat Ryan, Mile Jedinak, Alex Wilkinson and Trent Sainsbury are all first team players. Tommy Rogic, when fit, and Oliver Bozanic can be included as squad players, not to mention Bernie Ibini and the emerging Musti Amini.
They’ve made the finals seven out of nine seasons, every time in the top four, not just the six. They’ve been premiers twice, champions once and grand finalists another three times. No one can deny how impressive that is.
Engaging with the Gosford community is the best way to save the Mariners and turn them into a sustainable venture, and it’s the best way to keep the club’s loyal fans onside. Crowds were at 10,000 just two seasons ago, and about 9600 last season. At the current average of 7600, that’s not an unattainable gap to get back to 10,000. It just requires widespread engagement.
The way this is going, something’s got to give. Hopefully that’s Charlesworth and his ploy to encroach into Sydney territory. The only problem is, are the FFA prepared to back the Mariners if he jumps ship? You’d bloody hope so.
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