Consolidating the A-League: What to do with the Jets and Mariners

Since the A-League’s inception in 2005 as an eight-team competition, controversy and turmoil have never been far away.

Franchises have come and gone, some have excelled, others have folded, while a few have been forced to adapt and change.

The longest period the league has gone without some sort of major hiccup is exactly two years, four months and 24 days.

That was between December 2006, when the New Zealand Knights’ dissolution was announced, and May 2009, when businessman Nick Bianco relinquished control of Adelaide United.

The shortest period between controversies was just seven days, the time between North Queensland Fury’s license being revoked and the FFA taking control of the Brisbane Roar in the month of March, 2011.

In between there was less than three months separating Con Constantine’s ejection from the Newcastle Jets and the abortion of the Sydney Rovers bid in 2010.

Wellington Phoenix have also been forced into a change of ownership, the league has lost Gold Coast United, the Central Coast Mariners have constantly been under a financial cloud, and Nathan Tinkler’s Hunter Sports Group attempted to hand back its Newcastle Jets license in 2012.

It hasn’t been an easy ride, but that was always to be expected. Success does not come without dips and bumps.

The FFA found owners for Brisbane Roar in the Bakrie Group, and they have gone on to achieve unprecedented A-League success.

Adelaide United are thriving under new management and Melbourne Victory, barring troubling relations between fans and club management, are as strong as ever (with part-foreign ownership a possibility), while Wellington Phoenix are also becoming more competitive both on and off the field.

Ultimately the A-League is now in a comfortable position, with Western Sydney Wanderers’ first two seasons and sale an unrivalled success story, and Melbourne Heart changing ownership to re-emerge as Melbourne City.

Sydney FC have their own woes when it comes to competing at the top of the league, but they are backed by passionate owners, no matter your views on their credentials, and should remain financially sound.

Perth Glory are also backed by a billionaire owner who doesn’t seem like he will jump ship without a considerable mishap.

So that leaves two clubs, going into the 10th A-League season, that still have questions surrounding their viability and future – the Mariners and the Jets.

The other clubs have issues to stamp out, there’s no doubt about that, but the two sides who contest the F3 (M1?) Derby are most in need of a new direction or a helping hand.

The FFA should be looking to consolidate the A-League’s current clubs, before embarking on a fierce expansion campaign (which will be outlined in my Friday column) that will put them in an ideal bargaining position for the new television deal come 2017-18.

Locking down the Central Coast and Newcastle should be top priority right now, however.

Newcastle are probably the easier problem to solve. While Nathan Tinkler wants out, after a messy tenure with the Newcastle Knights, it’s still in his interests to continue running the club in order to maximise its value for a re-sell.

Rumours have it that Hunter Sports Group are searching for buyers in Asia, but they should be working with the FFA to secure a deal that is beneficial to all parties. Publicly, HSG chief executive Troy Palmer has said that is not the case, but he also told journalists the Knights’ bank guarantee would be in place.

While HSG’s ownership of the Newcastle Knights has been well documented for its disastrous outcomes and poor management, the Jets have largely been a success story.

Memberships grew initially, tickets prices were dropped, the Emerging Jets program was introduced and the club produced three players that made the Socceroos preliminary World Cup squad – Adam Taggart, Mark Birighitti and Josh Brillante.

Memberships have taken a dip in the past year or two, currently standing at 6,000 in the preseason, and results have been poor, but the Newcastle franchise is still an attractive business. They have recruited well in the off-season, and latest manager Phil Stubbins looks like he’ll put together a competitive outfit. Hopefully a new owner can be found quickly, and the Steel City can finally say goodbye to HSG.

Even if Tinkler decides he wants to keep the Jets long-term, the Knights debacle should serve as a warning to the FFA.

The Mariners are a more complicated problem. They have been a great club for the A-League, producing some fantastic players and consistently performing at a high level. Yet their crowd averages haven’t reflected that success, and could be described as woeful. This has contributed to the club’s financial woes of the past, and a healthy gate would help the Mariners’ future sustainability.

On the financial side, the club are in a relatively comfortable position after Michael Charlesworth took a controlling share early last year. Foreign ownership is still an aim, however, with the club’s main objective to break even.

But given their high-end performances, it’s hard to see what more the club can do to convince the Central Coast population to turn up every second week for A-League football. This is a region that has seen Socceroos such as Mat Ryan, Alex Wilkinson, Mile Jedinak, Tom Rogic, Oliver Bozanic and Trent Sainsbury emerge as stars of Australian football.

The club deserves more than the support they are currently attracting, as do the players. It’s a tough one to solve, as Gosford is hardly the largest catchment area, without putting forward a proposal that the franchise should be moved to another city.

The Central Coast arguably doesn’t deserve its own team at the moment – at the risk of offending die-hard fans – but it would also be a big call to strip them of a team.

The Mariners have one of the best youth set-ups in the A-League, and are continually producing future stars. To rip that from the A-League, and from the Socceroos, would be a huge mistake. It is also a positive sign that their crowd averages in 2012-13 reached more than 10,000 for the first time since the 2008-09 season. But they should still be higher, and last season the average declined again.

How can they convince fans that the game is a quality product, worth spending money and time on? The club can’t keep relying on the pockets of investors, and sponsorship money will always be tough to find in a smaller Australian city. The fans are therefore a crucial factor.

The answers aren’t obvious, but that’s what those paid big dollars at the FFA and the Mariners have to work out, and work it out together. If they can manage to increase memberships and get gates of 15,000 – which the performances deserve – it would be a huge boost for the A-League.

If that can be achieved, and the FFA also help HSG facilitate a smooth ownership transition, then the current 10 franchises in the A-League are in a healthy position, strengthening calls for the addition of two new clubs.

And without Western Sydney Wanderers on their books, the FFA has the ability to ensure consolidation and expansion are tackled simultaneously.

As mentioned, the longest period of time between mishaps in the A-League is two years, four months and 24 days. The turmoil around the Central Coast early last year means that record will stick for another year or so, but hopefully we see it extended as we move towards a 12-team competition.