Roar boss denies cost-cutting claims

Dobson out ?!

What these comments are telling us is that Brisbane Roar are not communicating with their public effectively. The buck stops with the top guy or so the saying goes and they may have a case to answer but do not slag them too much after all they put money in when the FFA had taken control because previous investors were at their limits. It is tough owning a football club with a limited income stream and instead of berating the Bakries and the previous owners we should have empathy. I think the problem with the franchise system is everybody thinks the club can afford to pay for everything and the very notion of a volunteer base coming from the supporters is an aneathma to all those "followers". The Bakries are looking for local investors so how about talking to the fans and giving them the opportunity of buying in? Give the fans some ownership and see how the communication and media presence ramps up. With fans representatives on the board you may get some common sense responses to philosophy, recruitment and loyalty. If you could get 10,000 fans to commit to $1,000 each you have suddenly raised $10m. This does not need to happen overnight but a payment plan of $100 per month over 11 months (includes interest) or $50.00 over 24 months could be a viable option. The one thing that would be fixed is communication. It is just a thought and as always is open for discussion.

It is. And why lose Mulvey 6 months ago over the issues that have now been fixed in this restructuring? And what head coach can cover all teams?

Adelaide are losing money as well but as you say, very close to break-even. SFC, MC and WSW are all supposedly profitable, AU, Roar and Nix are supposedly close to break even, Jets/Mariners are struggling, City are being bankrolled and Glory who knows?

I don't know but like many fans suspect the move to Robina was triggered by the Suncorp/Foo Fighters clash but after that it was opportunistic and financially attractive to go south because if a better deal - stadium hire would still be in the six figures I would guess

Meanwhile, Fong has taken over the process of selecting Brisbane’s new coach following the resignation of football director Ken Stead, the self-described “guardian” of the Roar’s philosophy. Fong revealed Brisbane’s football department would be restructured next season with the new head coach to have complete autonomy over the football department, abolishing the roles of football director and technical director. “It is not a sustainable model in the Australian marketplace and we’ve realised that,” he said. That's cost cutting. Simple.

I believe Adelaide have the smallest operating budget in the A-League yet are competitive and playing nice football. They are operating around the break-even mark or maybe even in the black. I'd prefer to see more clubs work towards the black than relying upon the largess of wealthy owners.

But we played every game at Robina and had Griffith University as a sponsor and some reports claimed that Gold Coast Council/Tourism throwing money in to get the deal done.

Lionheart ... I do agree that there's no need for short term panic as Roar ended the season with a lot of reasons to be optimistic. The failings last season were in recruitment which we need to get right but we don't have the same holes to fill as we did this time last year so a new coach and some new signings and next seasons looking good. If the Bakries have an issue committing to Roar long term we do have an issue that risks damage in the medium to long term .. it all depends who is doing the straight talking here, the press or Chris Fong?

Without detailed financials we don't know what the losses are but they are probably better than most other clubs losing money. Success for the first team is one thing but the franchise also carries a requirement to run a women's and youth team in national competitions - the travel expenses alone for those two sides are $500k+ before other expenses so there is a drain on cash going on outside first team operations (and the Bakries should be commended for keeping the women's team which has been ditched by several other clubs Roar being one of only three clubs to have ownership of the associated women's team). The problem is Roar have nothing and own nothing - they get match day income, tv Money and sponsorship but from then on its all outgoings -- they rent stadiums and training facilities, don't have a shop, supporters meet in an independent bar (LA) and not a club bar, they have no other source of income so need gates to hit 20,000 to break even (apparently) or tv money to increase. So taking your point on keeping some perspective - with the right head coach and a couple of decent signings we should be in a good place next season, the counter to that is the instability the current ownership situation brings - we've now lost a head coach and head of football dept. so who's steering the ship? And who else might we lose? It now seems bizzare to me that absentee owners based out of Indonesia went looking for a local partner to invest in the club but now seem intent on bringing in another absentee investor based god-knows-where, how is that going to help the club itself??

I don't get it. Roar have won everything since the Bakeries bought in, had pretty good crowds including home finals, and they're still losing money? In that case, we may as well all go home now. If a club can't survive on the success the Bakries have enjoyed with Roar, then Brisbane will never be able to support a football team. I also think we are a bit harsh on this year's performance. We had a lot of injuries and were forced to play a lot of inexperienced players. We lost several games by a hairs breadth, and arguably deserved to win a number of those, including two of our ACL games. The rub of the green, the refs call, certainly didn't go our way a number of times. Many of our starting players in the last couple of matches too, played the NYL season this year and that was due injuries of first choice players, not due to a lack of squad depth. Management has been disappointing, definitely, but let's not cruel the players. To now drop the football and technical director positions when we sacked our previous coach because he ignored he philosophy they were entrusted to protect, is hypocritical and smacks of an extremely amateurship management at the helm. Engagement with ordinary fans and members has been poor. Advertising has been zero, except for the mid-week MV game when w attracted over 10k, great crowd. Times are probably going to be hard until we get new management, or new (co) owners, but we should stick by our players, renewed, and definitely renew memberships.

What did the Bakries expect? No homework done on their side at all, and you can't run a queensland club from Jakarta unless you have really good managers in place which they can't afford.

I agree on the pull out, and it can't come quick enough for me - not sure why they got involved in the first place? Disagree on the differencd between Roar and the rest, the table since the AC break has Roar in a solid 3rd place, take out their disastrous start and they still stay 3rd so they're not far off imo. However to win the thing takes a team maturity which we're not going to have next season, possibly not for a while - it's probably a question of how much damage the Bakries do before they leave?!?

Unless Victory and the recent top 4 teams each lose 3 or 4 players to transfers there is nothing to suggest any less daylight between Brisbane and a top 4 nay top 2 finish next season. Add to this that most of these other teams have a more professional setups and coaching structures entrenched and in place. Cost cutting. Fong admits it in the article. The Orange experiment proved fruitless for the Bakries. I feel a pull out is imminent. Such is Life.

In a salary cap league what you described is supposed to be at least on the cards, sides go through periods of success then failure but it's rare for sides to from the top to the bottom as Wanderers/Roar did in just one season. Given the quality of players in the Roar back four and midfield and a hope more than a belief that the goal scoring issue can be fixed then I'd say Top 4 is probable but we'll probably lack the muscle to get into the top 2 next year.

We are sooooo getting left behind next season! The Top 5 teams this year will be just as competitive only with an influx of new marquees, City will have a new coach and refreshed squad and sixth won't be enough for them next time around meanwhile Wanderers will be back strong as ever also with a new marquee. For me that puts BR in 8th spot at best but then Jets look to be splashing the cash to grow their squad and Mariners looked decent at the end there. I hate to say this but 10th place and the wooden spoon is more probable than a title and the new coach isn't even here yet, the back room staff are walking away, and the squad we have isn't good enough as this season has shown us all. Big portions of humble pie for everyone involved with the club next season.

It's a rabble...formally, now. Whereas it was a club on the rise and "pinnacle-ing". The bubble hasn't burst ...it's burst, then imploded and now is evaporating. What an extreme. Add the Roar now to the list of basket cases. Jets, Mariners (wrt Middie it's touch & go there), Perth...and Brisbane.

It is slightly odd - it's starting to look like a club out of control.

No TD or Football director. Frans is made redundant even before he applied. This is wierd. The bench mark is lowered ! Perhaps just hire Mulvey again lol

I understand the sentiment and wouldn't blame you - what I say to anyone who says that is that punishment hits the club hard and doesn't help. I think we'll be well down on membership next year but I'd encourage everyone to renew in spite of the cr*p