PFA and FFA still can't make new agreement

@Middy That's because its not enough for you to steal players from our area and claim them as your own, you then go and steal Sean Miekelkamp. In all seriousness, he will be a great addition to your executive team and is a perfect CEO for the club. He was fantastic at the Wanderers.

That should say 'change' rather than 'chance'...

That cracked me up too. 'We want clubs to be more competitive by increasing their cost base without any chance to income.'

Good news, Mid. We could really do with some good news up north right now.

Real Our table talked directly to the CEO, the overseas director, match day stadium manager, event manager at different no questions were not answered and no funny answers ... Even better than under LM .... they told us openly who they were looking at some issues they had with FFA re the Everton partnership and the coach has been keeping us updates on his moves overseas. Peter S the overseas director has been at local matches with parents and players and has changed everything even down to how the juniors play.... an example he said the player in teh Mariner rep squads had to travel all over Sydney to play. his solution after discussions with parents mean they only had to travel to Sydney and close Sydney i.e. Northern Sydney maybe 3 times a year .... this is hand on heart stuff the club is going out of its way to engage with teh community and local players even more than before. ... Thank the lord we got rid of the last CEO he said all that community work amounted to little and said all the stuff he did at the Roar would work and advised Charlesworth to move games to North Sydney etc... I feel very positive for the first time in maybe a year and a half.

Good to hear that CCM management are engaging so constructively. Brisbane desperately needs a similar approach. Of course we have to have a management team to do it.

The PFA won the wage case in 1997 and we never saw the Socceroos again at home the NSL could not afford to bring them home. One bit made me laugh when they also said money needed to be spend at park and development level... and you ask were is the money coming from... if you want so much of the cake... Last night the Mariners had what they called a Welcome Wednesday for fans and the process went something like this senior club officials, CEO the overseas Director and other senior went from table to table discussing any question you had. Our management made some mistakes last year but in other years was OK... this year they have been excellent ... my point is supporting yours in that they have no real idea what it takes to run a club ...

Agree Mid. I am dismayed at the reckless brinksmanship of the PFA in these negotiations. How quickly they have forgotten the NSL years.

Real Part of the problem is the PFA and in many SBS via Craig Foster constantly say how clubs should be run .... none with any experience and the assumptions they make are sometimes so inept ... one for instance a few years back was stadiums and it did not matter if they played in small stadiums say 3 to 4 K.... the assumption a media company would be prepared to broadcast from such a stadium and you could get mainstream media content from essentially a big local park and sponsors will climb on board was beyond belief. I agree with how forceful the clubs and FFA are they have reached a point of total frustration as the PFA seem intent on asking for what is not there and almost saying if you guys ran it better the money would be there .... my take is A-League clubs are as well run as NRL & AFL clubs so me thinks they don't know what they are talking about. Other than we would like the world to be different.

How does a high wage demand restrict the prospect of the game’s growth? Is there a correlation between the quantum of the wage demand and the competitiveness of national teams on the world stage? Exactly. Jedinaks statement is pure posturing. Would rather additional monies were spent ensuring our U17s got as much exposure on the world stage as possible.

This statement from Matt McKay uggests the problems in the PFA position: "The game has never generated more revenue than it does now and the losses attributable to some clubs are unrelated to player payments. They are purely the result of mismanagement and poor governance." Does McKay really mean to suggest that every club that has lost money has been mismanaged and poorly governed? McKay and the PFA need to engage their collective brains before they make unhelpful sweeping statements like this. If this is really the PFA view, then their whole position is built on an assumption that is at best questionable and at worst disingenuous.

I am sure the players are genuine, but I am equally confident not one of them has any experience of trying to run and manage the finances of a football club. The fact that FFA and the clubs are united in their offer suggests to me that the players are being unrealistic. I also note that the FFA and clubs offer is supported by detailed argument, whereas the players' position seems to be little more than "this isn't fair; we want more". As for the risks involved in their profession, many of us share those kind of uncertainties. They aren't marched into a footballing career at gunpoint. Surely it is the PFA that needs to be helping players transition into life after football, not the clubs. What worries me most is that there seems to be no recognition in the PFA statements of the parlous state of the A League right now. Perhaps they should cast their collective minds back the NSL, and pay and conditions then.

RBB The Socceroos hardly play for Honour they are one of the best paid national sides in the world. Some simple sums we did the other day.. The NRL who get far more income in crowds, shirt sales and club sponsors, add many are supported by local club pay roughly 48% of the media money to their players.... FFA pay roughly 64% and have offered an additional 12% plus increase when the media deal goes up... only one club is making money... Yer I know they are all so poorly run its their fault .. The PFA record recently has been poor on a few issues .. They preach and scream moderation and push far harder than any other player union in Australia.

Aghh yes that old chestnut - "play for free, do it for the honour". I suppose you would like the players to also spend their own money getting to qualification matches like they did in the past. Put a fair deal out in place and the players will sign it.

"PFA executive member and Socceroos captain Mile Jedinak said the players would not accept a proposal that restricted the prospect of the game’s growth. “The players are determined to establish an agreement that ensures our national teams can compete and excel on the world stage and allows our clubs to continue to thrive in Asia,” Jedinak said. How does a high wage demand restrict the prospect of the game's growth? Is there a correlation between the quantum of the wage demand and the competitiveness of national teams on the world stage? Given that it's mainly clubs which pay the wages of players, I would have thought the vast majority of players would pull on a socceroos shirt for nothing if given a chance, the honour alone being more than sufficient recompense.