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In light of the recent news surrounding the Newcastle Jets’ demise, the football community is calling for the heads of both Clive Palmer and Nathan Tinkler.
But are this pair really at fault, or is the A-League to blame?
To paraphrase some of the comments I’ve read about Palmer and Tinkler, their reputations have been tarnished within the Australian football community.
But let’s calm down for a moment and consider their positions.
Who wants to give a pile of their own hard-earned money for the sole purpose of pouring petrol over it and tossing a lit match on?
This is exactly why Palmer and Tinkler don’t want their money invested in A-League clubs; they’re losing money. Lots of money.
You hear people talk about these guys having a lack of love for the game and that they have no loyalty to the institution that is football.
So does that mean that it’s OK for our clubs’ investors to lose masses of money for the sake of the game?
Maybe for a short while, yes. But if we think about the long-term state of the game, we need the A-League to keep making money for its franchise owners.
This is not taking the football for granted; this is being realistic about the viability of a world-class football league.
So how does the FFA solve this?
Perhaps they could start by giving the owners a better picture of where their money is going?
It seems that one of the consistent complaints that the clubs have is that the money that they are pumping in is being siphoned off by the FFA.
They spend it as they see fit, possibly without proper consultation with the clubs. This is not an ownership model that is common in sports (or business in general for that matter).
Most professional sports leagues are managed through a setup (commonly called a commission) which consults the owners of clubs on all issues.
Whether it be expansion, scheduling or sponsorship, the owners have a say on how to better the league that they have invested so much in.
Their money is at stake, and they want to have a say in how it is spent.
Perhaps the Joint A-League Strategic Committee (JALSC) is a move in the right direction, but perhaps it could go even further?
Remember, these owners are businessmen who know how to be successful.
Let them control their own destiny and ply their trade in promoting their own clubs as well as the league, negotiating with sponsors and broadcasters and seeing how profitable football in Australia can really be.
If they can get to this point, the Palmers and the Tinklers will return. They would love to invest in a sustainable, profitable business.
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