Another week, another A-League club facing extinction. As the A-League finals series plays out in the background, reminding us that yes, in fact, there’s a sporting component to the league, off field matters continue to dominate as we again question the viability of the league.
With Nathan Tinkler’s Hunter Sports Group (HSG) handing back its licence to run the Newcastle Jets, “unable to resolve a variety of issues with the FFA”, the governing body is faced with bankrolling yet another club to guarantee the 10-team competition it desperately needs for the new television rights deal next season.
Only last week the FFA committed around $15 million to underwrite the new as yet unnamed Western Sydney franchise that will replace the culled Gold Coast United to lock in the much-needed 10 teams. This after FFA head honcho Frank Lowy recently said the FFA was “not a bloody bank”, having dipped into its accounts on numerous occasions to fund clubs, sending the governing body further into the red.
Why Tinkler walked:
Some will pigeonhole Tinkler in the Clive Palmer (Gold Coast United) category – a billionaire who simple lost interest in or patience with the A-League.
The business partners and chums were undoubtedly connected after Palmer, in his tirade against the governing body over his licence, highlighted the discrepancy in the amount Tinkler paid for the Jets relative to other owners for the right to run an A-League club.
Others will point to the growing speculation over Tinkler’s financial situation, which is set to become clearer in the coming days and in the legal proceedings the FFA is launching over his decision to terminate his 10-year contract in only its second year.
Like Palmer on the Gold Coast, some will suggest Tinkler just needed an excuse to cut the Jets from his budget; sick of losing money on a club which seemingly became the poorer, uglier sibling to the Newcastle Knights, the National Rugby League (NRL) HSG acquired soon after it was handed the Jets. After all, Tinkler has other investments that seemingly take precedent over his football interests. And many will point to his recent track record in Australian sport as a sign of his instability when it comes to his sporting interests.
He’s has had a colourful and sometimes controversial background in the racing industry, where he has ploughed a reported $240 million into building his stable; his negotiations to acquire the Knights with the NRL generated plenty of headlines for the right and wrong reasons; his last-minute call to pullout of a deal to buy a half share in the Dick Johnson Racing V8 Supercars team a bitter blow for the outfit; and his recent decision to walk away from the Newcastle Jets seemingly puts to bed his idea of uniting and expanding the region’s sporting clubs into one umbrella organisation.
Others suggest that like his dealings with the NRL over the Knights, he is merely bargaining with the FFA to get the concessions he wants; possibly to get a refund on the controversial $3 million acquisition fee he paid for the Jets.
All are plausible reasons for Tinkler’s walkout. But the FFA cannot continue to scapegoat disgruntled owners for the current malaise around the A-League, which, if Newcastle isn’t saved, could see three clubs perish in two seasons.
Why the FFA is also to blame:
Tinkler and Palmer may have acted irresponsibly in their handling of their licences, with Tinkler seemingly in breach of his 10-year contract with the FFA that, according to reports, could cost him $80 million in damages. But what of the system that allows such owners into the game, holding the fate of the clubs and the young league in their untrustworthy, unsteady and disinterested hands?
“You can’t just walk away from contracts,” said FFA CEO Ben Buckley on Tinkler’s walkout. “You can’t just hand back licences. You have to do the right thing by fans who have supported the team.
“Individuals who take on a licence, who sign contracts, who sign players, who make a commitment to fans, who make a commitment to football communities in their regions, have an absolute obligation to fulfill those obligations and commitments.”
Should the same sentiments also apply to the governing body and the contracts they sign with clubs, the fans who support those teams, and the communities in those regions?
There is a real hypocrisy in culling Gold Coast United and North Queensland Fury, stripping licences at will, while insisting HSG under no circumstances can walk away from their deal – a deal both parties agreed to and signed.
How can a code build a loyal supporter base when fans are put through this sort of treatment? Why should they invest their time and emotional support into something that will be taken away from them without a say?
Yet this is the environment the FFA has fostered. In the attempt to cash in on the interest of billionaire investors, it has ignored the very foundations needed to guarantee a club can survive beyond its sugar daddy; protected in the hands of a group of investors or its members.
Flawed model:
The A-League now resembles the league it replaced and was meant to improve on, the National Soccer League, where there was a revolving door of clubs entering and leaving; poorly handled clubs replaced by haphazard expansion moves. Sound familiar?
Worrying is the repeated messages from the FFA lambasting the outgoing owners while insisting all’s well with the A-League. The private ownership model is clearly unsustainable.
Clubs such as Perth Glory, Adelaide United, Gold Coast United, Brisbane Roar, North Queensland Fury, New Zealand Knights, Newcastle Jets and Wellington Phoenix have had ownership changes with the majority relying on the governing body to keep them going. Adelaide, Wellington, Brisbane and Newcastle, for example, could very easily have been lost to the league already.
Questions now abound over the Central Coast Mariners’ reported Russian ownership takeover, while new Brisbane Roar owners, led by controversial Indonesian tycoon Aburizal Bakrie, have raised a few eyebrows.
With only nine clubs for next season, should the Jets be left to die, and Western Sydney bankrolled by the governing body, it would only take another walkout to raise serious doubts over the viability of the A-League.
Surely there are now question marks around Perth Glory owner Tony Sage, who has much in common with fellow mining magnates Tinkler and Palmer and also has a hole in his wallet thanks to his A-League club.
Having already scraped the Glory’s women and youth sides from the W-League and National Youth League respectively, only his club’s recent form on the field, which will see a long awaited crack at the Asian Champions League next season, could tempt him to stay.
Nevertheless, like Tinkler and Palmer, he didn’t make his fortune by holding onto investments that consistently lose money. And when you start factoring in the number of potential investors, sponsors and more put off by the ongoing off-field soap opera that is the A-League, untold damage is being inflicted on the league at such a critical juncture.
Where to from here?:
The FFA’s greatest test is thus to stop the bleeding immediately. In the coming months the future of the Jets must be decided, the foundations built for the new club in Western Sydney with only six months until their debut, the next television rights deal negotiations must be stepped up irrespective of the gloomy climate, and other club owners persuaded to keep faith.
The recently created Joint A-League Strategic Committee (JALSC) between FFA and clubs to address policy and strategic matters affecting the national competition is a step in the right direction. But is a bi-monthly meeting between the parties enough to unite and help the clubs have their say, or is it a toothless tiger?
Relations between club owners and FFA must be strengthened for positive reform to take place. They showed faith in the Lowy leadership when they didn’t back another candidate for the role of chairman of the FFA last year. They know there is no alternative to the FFA, certainly not Palmer’s disgruntled Football Australia body, whatever purpose it hopes to serve.
Those immense challenges await a governing body that has overseen a disastrous expansion phase with two new clubs killed off with seemingly no sign it has learned from those mistakes given the lack of changes in key personnel.
The FFA must immediately guarantee the future of the Jets, a different proposition to North Queensland Fury and Gold Coast United. It’s a foundation A-League club with history, pedigree and success.
Newcastle had the third highest crowd average in the 2011-12 season, ahead of the likes of Sydney FC, Central Coast Mariners, Perth Glory and Adelaide United; improving by 4000 on the previous season thanks to family-friendly membership packages, investment in junior development and other community engagement initiatives by HSG.
Worryingly it seems the FFA is putting the onus on running the Jets solely on HSG. A matter for the courts undoubtedly, there still needs to be a guarantee that the FFA will field a Jets team next season, if the FFA “bank” can afford to run two clubs, that is.
But at what point does the FFA stop blaming club owners and accepts that very real change is required to stop the rot? How many more clubs must die? There could be nothing left to save if Newcastle isn’t saved.
The next six months are, therefore, decisive for the league. At best, the Jets survive, Western Sydney is born and the A-League stabilises at 10 teams with the governing body reforming the structure of the league to ensure its survival. At worst, the Jets fold, Western Sydney follows the path of Gold Coast United and North Queensland Fury and the A-League becomes unsustainable.
The FFA should remember the A-League is Australian football’s second chance after the demise of the National Soccer League. It shouldn’t bank on a third chance if it can’t make the A-League work.
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Guest
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Jon
Guest
Unfortunately for all of you it is people such as myself that were brought up on AFL but who's kids play football that you have to convince. If the best you can do is pick out a spelling mistake then you are bringing nothing new to the debate - I write from the heart - suck it up princess... Now, convince me that the sport is worth saving when you have men in charge like Buckley that (on National televison) tell Fury supporters he has a five-year plan for the club and then axes them after 2...
Qantas supports Australian Football
Guest
How do you know I haven't? But OK point taken on board...
Qantas supports Australian Football
Guest
Not as far as I'm concerned. He's most probably the richest football person in this country but I wouldn't say the most real football person in this country.. He has totally disappointed me as a football person now living in Queensland..
apaway
Guest
Please keep John Howard as far away from our game as humanly possible. The first thing he'd do is withdraw us from the Asian Confederation.
apaway
Guest
QSAF Whatever your thoughts and opinions are of the current administration, I find it pretty offensive that you continually use the word "senile" to describe Frank Lowy. It denigrates the man simply because of his age. Perhaps when you have had a family member or someone close to you suffer from senility, you might not be as flippant in using such terms.
PeterK
Guest
Ah, that's great, QANTAS. I hope they don't again get the feeling which they reported before of being "strung along"!
PeterK
Guest
QANTAS, I suspect that you're right, from my poor memory!
apaway
Guest
QSAF, I doubt there is a more "real" football person in this country than Frank Lowy.
Qantas supports Australian Football
Guest
Kasey----did I say you were writing stuff tongue in cheek? I said you were being cute and I wrote my first lines in response to you, tongue in cheek, to counter your ridiculous nominees not mine. Yes I was totally appalled of what the old brigade were up to---unfortunately there was no internet football platforms one could voice their outrage. Ok seven years ago, Frank Lowy had a handle on what was needed for Australian Football and did well for us, but lately his 80yr old decision making has left the FFA in a total mess in a wake of his autocratic decision making that the owners are now questioning his ability to govern properly. Time for Frank to retire and allow a new team in (who ever they might be) I have suggested that the head piece does not necessarily need to be a football rich savvy identity, but someone who can open doors to the inner sanctum of the big high rollers in Australia and off shore. So who better than an ex prime minister to do that, who has the experience in problem solving, connections to big business and government here and abroad. We are not so lucky as the English FA who have HRH the Duke of Cambridge as their president to open doors. And it would not be his job to serve as a problem solver, but to give the organisation a high profile to open doors in commerce and government at home or abroad. Our nearest comparison should be someone with an extremely high profile who has the ability to open doors in Australia and coerce overseas dignitaries someone that the FIFA delegate are impressed with. Once the doors are open in come our team of highly expert football savvy technically minded football people---I have listed a few of the younger generation that would serve this purpose brilliantly in past posts---I'm sure you have read the names.
Crashy
Guest
Go back to watching your Super-”whatever number it is this year”. Geez Unser - at least the SupeRugby number is actually increasing, as opposed to..... We're on your side champ - would have thought some support from other codes would have been appreciated.
Kasey
Guest
How do you know I was being tongue in cheek? I am old enough to have ‘got into’ football in the mid to late 90’s, when the game was a huge laughing stock and the crooks running the game were like comic book characters. It seemed you couldn’t script their shenannigans any better for comedy value. I find it ironic that many of those currently agitating noisily for transparency & openess in the administration of the FFA were quite happy to sit on their hands whilst all travel arrangements of the National teams were channelled through the agency of a SocAus board Member. Conflict of interest much? Or that the rights to the marketing of the national team including ticket revenue were contracted out to a company run by yet another SocAus board member. This lead to the farcical situation of having our national team being pimped out and playing meaningless games that were designed to generate ticket revenue rather than further the needs of the team. We played a club team(ManUtd) and a World “All StarsXI” for crying out loud! In 1999 we played not one senior A-international! Where were the noisy agitators then? No it’s too easy & convenient to blame everything on Lowy and his reign knowing you’ll always find somebody annoyed enough with the old man to support you in the blogosphere. When you look back with the rose coloured glasses off, I’ll take Lowy any day over Gelati and Labbo. Does Lowy get it right as often these days as even 8-10 years ago? No it seems not. Should we be looking at a replacement? Sooner or later it is going to be needed so the answer is probably. I’m intrigued by the idea of say John Howard as head of FFA and perhaps the American Peter Wilt as CEO. I am very wary of change for changes sake. Not all change is good change. Perhaps we need to think about this from a similar point of view as QSAF(there’s a phrase I never thought I’d write!). Headhunting a known problem solver: What about General Peter Cosgrove (Retired)? He would come without the political baggage of Mr Howard and boy if you can survive the politics of Russell Offices (he is a former Chief of the ADF) then I reckon you’re not too badly placed for Whitlam Square and Zurich, as long as you had a solid right hand man with football knowledge to help plot a safe course towards the strong and stable game we all want to see.
Qantas supports Australian Football
Guest
He left as reported (SMH) because he no longer could work under Frank Lowy with his style of management.
Kasey
Guest
Didn't he leave to go back to his first love, the ARU?
Qantas supports Australian Football
Guest
JB----so are you denying that Frank Lowy instigated the demise of successful football playing club "Sydney City" back in the old days because he was voted out of the football side of the club? (Who cares what the dates they were they were all pre HAL)... As I have told you it was a tongue in cheek comment to Kasey's cute comment... My advice to you, is you should listen to what Craig Foster has to say about FFA and how badly they run the game. He is 100% correct. Btw.. did I mention those name that Kasey brought up as to who should now run the FFA..? No! I was looking forward to new blood with the likes of Kimon Taliadoros, and perhaps Brendon Schwab or Andy Harper.. With a high profile figure like an ex prime minister to head up the FFA who can get through the front doors of billionaire's corporations to coax them to come on board.
Griffo
Roar Guru
I have articulated this before but again I wonder if the FFA are now facing a similar crisis to what the JFA faced with the J-League in its 8th season, where decisions had to be made on the way clubs were being financed - heavy local focus rather than major corporate sponsor - or risk more clubs folding down the track. In the past FFA seem to fall into the trap of focusing on one thing at the expense of others. World Cup bid at the expense of the A-League as an example. The same example also showing the 'positive spin' the FFA would put on concerns on the league, the bid, operations but totally ignore the rest, lest giving word to something negative would give form to something the FFA didn't want to deal with and detract from the bid. It smacks of a business culture that will bury it's head in the sand rather than risk admitting to a problem that results in loss of share price or customer confidence. With that in mind, are the FFA capable of making the necessary decision on the future of the A-League and it's professional clubs? Are the FFA going to make the Japanese-type once in a generational-change type decision, the 'It's alright Aussie, what we have planned will work out. She'll be right, mate, you'll see," decision type or something other? Even with a HAL8 10-team comp, if the reported projections of a HAL7-type combined club loss for HAL8 are true, will the JALSC wear that for another season in light of an unknown media deal a year away? With that in mind, does the FFA have enough funds itself to cover all it's expenses and now fund a new club prior to new media deal cash injection? Is the current club ownership model still the preferred model? It seems the FFA are going to try something different in a community model for the new Sydney club. The closest club that appears akin to the J-League model the JFA proposed: promotion of community events both football and non-football, relationship with local businesses and government, the local grassroots and building pathways to the club - seems to be the Canberra bid, and Newcastle Jets under HSG were not that far off either in at least building those relationships with the local community and pathways (Jets Youth kicked off in the Northern NSW State League last Friday, an obvious pathway now from grassroots to the Jets, if they can still field a team). Will the FFA try and find another 'backer' of the current club ownership model, seek an overseas consortium/owner, or fund short term themselves? I really do hope the Jets kick a ball in anger again in HAL8. I can't see at this point how things will be resolved quick enough to keep the squad and club front and back office together (and unpaid?) and ready for that first kick in HAL8 that may not eventuate. The FFA's 'greatest test' may not be in getting the Jets back on it's feet or getting a 10-team HAL8 running but in making a decision that will allow the A-League to grow, survive and leave behind it's now shaky beginnings and become a vibrant, flagship league we all know it can be.
j binnie
Guest
QaAF - you are off on your tangents again.. When Frank Lowy was top honcho at the Hakoah/Eastern Suburbs/Sydney City football team they were without a doubt the finest football team in the country, & as I said, he was long gone out of football when the HAKOAH Club at Bondi saw fit to take the team out of the NSL 3 years later, in 1988, just around the time the NSL, under the influence of the people Kasey was highlighting, began it's downward spiral into what was to become oblivion.You even use a terminology called "old" soccer to describe that time which in fact was a term coined into the sporting vocabulary by John O'Neill when he worked for Frank Lowy at the FFA post 2002, and yet you go on trying to justify your error in the reprimand to Kasey. Check your facts before committing your ideas to print,that way people might just start to believe your offerings.. jb
whiskeymac
Guest
you read this? http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/news/1101105/Griffin-backs-FFA-in-Tinkler-row top lawyer refutes that.
Force1
Guest
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Qantas supports Australian Football
Guest
JB---Kasey was being cute and his target was all those who were old Soccer irrespective of what period it was. I think my comment falls in the realms of all those who had been connected with old soccer who failed with a vision or strategies they thought were going to change things for the better---even if there were some 17 years difference between those periods---they flowed on from one to another. You're making too much out of this tongue in cheek exchange between Kasey and me...