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Relocating the Central Coast Mariners to North Sydney or having the club play a number of home matches at North Sydney Oval could solve some of the club’s financial woes, but other problems will only exponentially increase.
News appeared on Monday throughout social media that Lawrie McKinna, the former coach and current Gosford mayor had stepped down as the official ambassador of the club.
Many believe this was the result of the club’s decision to increase the amount of games that are played at North Sydney Oval from next season, among a number of other issues on how the club is structured and the abandonment of their community model.
I do not point my finger at Michael Charlesworth, the current Central Coast Mariners owner, but rather the FFA and the way the competition is structured. This is coming from a passionate Sydney FC fan who believes that the current model only favours the city clubs and leaves the regional clubs out to dry.
Why the A-League needs reform
The current A-League model will never provide a sustainable competition that includes regional clubs.
As many are aware a club’s market reach and target audience can only get so big in a region with a population of 300,000. Straight from the get go the Mariners are behind financially in terms of sponsorship dollars, jersey sales, audience numbers and demand when compared to clubs which have populations well over the million mark.
In those terms a club should not be forced to compete on the same financial constraints as the likes of Melbourne Victory and Sydney. The salary cap was introduced to provide an equilibrium but the Mariners have not signed a formidable marquee in several seasons. Question marks should be placed on why salary caps and marquee quotas exist when clubs such as the Mariners have obviously not been able to sign big players in recent times.
Changes to the way the competition is run are required for regional clubs in the future to compete. Many have called for the likes of Wollongong and Canberra to be included within the A-League but I believe that the current model must be amended first.
Regional clubs must be given a chance to be sustainable, which will in turn allow clubs to operate and exist in years to follow. I strongly believe the only way forward where the A-League competition can be home to regional clubs is by removing the salary cap all together.
Alternatively, they could introduce a flexible salary cap where teams are required to spend a minimum of $2.5 million on their squads and a maximum of $10 million. Marquee spots would be removed and clubs would only able to have team rosters where total player wages are between $2.5 million and $10 million.
This will ensure rich owners can’t just buy silverware.
If you look at the current model many of the bigger clubs spend their entire salary cap allowance of $2.55 million and sign additional junior, Australian and international marquees, whose wages have been known to cumulate to well over $4 million when you combine the three.
This should raise questions to what purpose the salary cap serves. To me the current model only provides obstacles in increasing the quality throughout the league and allowing the league to fulfil its true potential.
What the new changes would signal
By introducing a flexible salary cap or removing it entirely you would see a great increase in player quality within the league, which would mean a greater increase and a greater commercial slice from TV deals and corporate dollars.
Looking at the current picture each club is guaranteed $2.55 million every season from the TV deal. By having a number of clubs spend more, who are more sustainable and in a greater position financially, it would also reward the clubs such as the Central Coast Mariners who can’t compete with the corporate dollars available in major cities.
By increasing the salary cap (or removing it) a greater sum can be generated from TV deals and corporate interest throughout the league would definitely increase in a similar way to the David Beckham frenzy which hit the MLS. All clubs recorded significant increases in sponsorship revenue.
The introduction of proper transfer fees throughout the A-League would also significantly benefit regional clubs such as the Mariners and would provide an excellent pathway for them to generate revenue on occasions.
With all these thoughts in mind, the current model of the A-League obviously doesn’t favour a club such as the Central Coast Mariners and the restructuring that has occurred at the Mariners was obviously necessary from a business point of view to cut losses.
However, if a model such as the one I have suggested was introduced how would fellow supporters feel if it meant that we had a sustainable league with 14 to 16 clubs? As highlighted throughout, a club that spends the most doesn’t usually win, everything from back room staff, board directors and the players on the roster all heavily impact a club’s success. Perfect examples are that of Melbourne City, who have one of the best squads and currently sit in seventh.
Without doubt certain aspects of the way the league is structured do need tinkering. Regional cities such as Canberra and Wollongong have been mooted for as expansion possibilities for some time, while Geelong, a third Sydney team and a second Adelaide club have also being mentioned.
For the competition to support clubs that would be entering from a fairly smaller region and with the current crop of ‘smaller’ clubs struggling, the league does need to follow the paths of other competitions throughout the world. Reform is necessary to increase corporate dollars, which in turn would also provide financial support to the smaller clubs.
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