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Are the Knights immune from the whims of Tinkler?

10th April, 2012
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Roar Guru
10th April, 2012
16
1153 Reads

Nathan Tinkler formed Hunter Sports Group with the long term goal, according to him, of building a sporting legacy for Newcastle and the greater Hunter region.

His first move came 18 months ago when he purchased the Newcastle Jets A-League club, saving them from folding. Last year, he claimed his biggest prize when he gained control of rugby league club the Newcastle Knights. He purchased them for basically nothing.

From afar it looked like Tinkler really did have a grand plan. Lets face it, owning the Knights, the Jets and the rights to the newly upgraded stadium at Newcastle was a brilliant base for Hunter Sports Group to work from. Then there was talk they would look to start an NBL team and even a side in the Twenty20 Big Bash.

As all of this was going on though, there were people quietly warning about Tinkler’s lack of patience when it came to his horse racing interests. Rumours circulated that he was pretty quick to let people go if he felt he wasn’t getting results out of them.

Not the worst thing in the world, but possible cause for concern.

Not too long ago, Tinkler become aware that he had purchased the A League licence for the Newcastle Jets at a much higher price than other owners in the A-League. Tinkler had paid $5 million dollars.

Apparently, he was filthy about this. He felt ripped off. From that point on, it was all downhill. The relationship between Hunter Sports Group and Football Federation of Australia rapidly disintegrated.

It all came to a head today when, on a whim, the Hunter Sports Group announced that they were “handing in” their A-League licence. The Newcastle Jets were effectively dead.

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Tinkler’s decision is one of the most underhanded, despicable moves in Australian sporting history. To take over the club just 18 months ago only to shut them down is disgraceful. To leave the A-League with nine teams, just a week after Gold Coast United were shut down and the FFA scrambled to create a 10th team in Western Sydney side, it was a calculated move with massive ramifications for football in Australia.

Fans of the Newcastle Jets have been treated like rubbish. Many of these people are also Knights fans. The staff at the Jets, including players, now have to search for new jobs.

The worst part was, the Hunter Sports Group came out and dared to suggest they were not abandoning football. They claimed they would pour $1 million a year into football in the Hunter region, what an absolute joke! It was a pathetic, transparent attempt to “PR” this petty move in shutting down the Jets.

The Hunter Sports Group then came out and said that the Newcastle Knights are under no threat of succumbing to the same fate.

Really? Why should we believe that?

If Nathan Tinkler is willing to shut down the Jets over a $5 million licensing fee and the financial structure of the A-League, what is to say he wouldn’t walk away from the Knights if all the money he has poured into them doesn’t amount to premiership glory?

The Knights would land on their feet a little easier that the Jets as they have a longer history, and because there’s simply more money in rugby league than football in Australia, especially considering the expectation of a bigger television deal.

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The ARLC simply wouldn’t allow the Knights to go belly up. They couldn’t afford to.

I would bet that if Tinkler did walk away from the Knights, that he would still retain the management rights to Newcastle Stadium, a very lucrative asset considering it is the biggest sporting venue between Sydney and the Gold Coast.

Imagine if the NRL ever had to say, level salary cap penalties against the Knights. What chance than that Tinkler decides to walk away from the Knights, trying to stick it to the NRL?

This is the danger of private ownership. You just don’t have any guarantees. Stability only goes as far as one person’s health, bank balance and personality.

In that sense it shows what incredible owners Russell Crowe and Peter Holmes à Court are.

Committed, steady, unwavering. A good owner gets his club running right, reaches into his back pocket only occasionally, uses his influence sparingly, and keeps out of the way. They leave the people they employ to do their job. Above all else, they need to honestly love the club they own, because sporting teams, especially NRL clubs, aren’t set up to make money.

You don’t want an owner that thinks the way to fix problems is to throw money at it. You don’t want someone that looks to micromanage everything. You don’t want someone that is surrounded by yes men, and who get’s rid of anyone that dares to tell them that the sun doesn’t shine out of their arse.

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At the start of the A-League season, Tinkler sacked the club’s coach and marquee player. At the end of the season, he walked away from the club completely and handed in his A-League licence.

Would you want that bloke owning your NRL team?

I feel really sorry for Newcastle Jets fans. I can’t even imagine what it’s like to wake up one day and find that a club you invest your time, money and emotions into is shut down as if someone turned off a light switch. I hope something can be done so that the Jets are playing in the upcoming A-League season.

I think this is a despicable act of sporting treachery.

I don’t want the people that did this to Jets fans anywhere near my NRL club.

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