Regardless of your chosen code, most fans have at one point in time voiced their opinion of how they would run things if given the job.
While in reality this usually ignores some minor hurdles such as limitless funding, the commercial legal code governing sports admin in this country, or the reputational damage which would probably prevent you ever doing business again, these don’t seem too hard to overcome after a few pints of Dutch courage.
The fan walkouts witnessed over the weekend in the A-League have highlighted the disconnect between the administrators of our game and the fans.
My own club, Perth Glory, has seen crowds drop significantly this year as a result of dissatisfaction with both the FFA and club management. This got me thinking what I would do, given the capacity.
I doubt Tony Sage or Peter Filopoulos would read this, but even if they did, what will they do? Ban me?
Branding and marketing
Unlike Melbourne Victory or Western Sydney Wanderers, whose troubles flow from fans in the stadium, Perth’s troubles are based on the complete lack of fans in the stadium.
While the FFA upset a few people over here when they denied Perth the FFA Cup final despite having qualified for the second year straight, I can see the rationale in their argument. The interest in football is definitely here, just not in the Glory.
It’s a sad state of affairs for a club which was once the benchmark of club football in this country. This will upset a few people, but given the chance I would put the Glory out of its misery and start fresh.
Ditch the American-style team name (I’ve never been a fan of names like Glory, Roar, Jets, Mariners etc.) and adopt a proper name. It’s a football team, it’s from Perth, so Perth FC or something maybe slightly more creative (acknowledging that there is already a Perth FC in the state league).
Purple was originally chosen to differentiate the club from any ethnic origin, but I would also look to change this. The football landscape has changed since 1996 and a more visually attractive kit would go a long way to help the club’s marketing drive. Basically, it needs to look good with jeans if you want people to wear it outside of game day.
Other ideas to help rebuild the interest in the club include a massive billboard at the nearest train station (or perhaps even seeking to get it painted in club colours. The council wouldn’t mind as it has to beat the current look of graffitied white and steel), free tickets to under 10s if they are accompanied by a paying adult and an active involvement in the kids leagues across Perth.
Completely and unashamedly ripping off the marketing plan of successful Western Australia AFL clubs like the West Coast Eagles and Fremantle Dockers probably wouldn’t hurt either as they have obviously done something right to engage the community.
Staffing
We’ve had multiple marquee players in the history of the A-League with mixed results, but I would like to see a club take on a marquee coach (minimum three-year deal). Pim Verbeek famously upset a lot of people by saying that it was better for a player to be training in Europe than playing in Australia.
While Verbeek never bought into the Australian spirit and has also since retracted that statement, the benefit of an internationally experienced manager (and his staff) could also be extended to an Australian assistant manager groomed to take over after three years.
In terms of players, I would leave this to the manager.
Other initiatives
It is common for clubs to award bonuses based on goals scored, games won, position on the ladder etc, however I would put the focus on fan attendance.
Based on some predetermined benchmark, a 10 per cent increase in average fan attendance over three games would result in a general bonus of x amount of players and staff members’ regular salary.
(Yes, I would extend it to non-playing staff and no, I don’t know if this would breach salary cap rules given the pay is outside the standard salary, but that’s why I am not running the club.)
I hope this article has got you thinking, and about more than just how glad you are that I am not running your club. What would you do if you were in charge of your club, or even the FFA now that Damien De Bohun’s head appears to be on the chopping block?
Brick Tamland of the pants party
Guest
No probs jb
jbinnie
Guest
Brick -You may well be correct in your observation for it was noted when I was checking the figures that they appeared to have played more away games than home games and there is no doubt that would have affected their average crowd. It would also be correct to say their crowds could have been reduced last season due to the ground still being under re-build but that 8-9000 figure has been going on for a long time now and would have to be regarded as the "norm". Thanks for your input., Cheers jb
Brick Tamland of the pants party
Guest
Another thing i might do differently Daniel is not give Jason Brewer, a man who apparently masterminded the salary cap debacle himself if you're to believe Tony Sage, a nice cushy corporate box seat at NIB for Glory home games.
Brick Tamland of the pants party
Guest
jb if i recall the last season in the nsl there were some complications due to the fact the stadium was undergoing some redevelopments. I think the Glory played something like 8 games away from home to start the season and some home games were moved to Joondalup, making it a little hard for those south of the swan to attend. I can't recall if sections of the stadium were still not in use when games did return to NIB during the season but i'm sure the irregularity of the situation affected crowds a little.
jbinnie
Guest
Daniel (and Jeff) -As you say,it will probably never come to pass for we are not talking about football "clubs" here we are talking about "businesses" that usually need to have around $7 or $8 million to just get started. But let us assume that somehow you could raise that money,what would be the tasks that you have to face up to in the everyday running of your new "business" That is where you will find it hard to start but let us try and compartmentalise the every day tasks. Football (Coaching,team selection,laundry,medical, travel, etc etc etc) Football ( 2 and 3 and 4 etc more of the same, depending on how many teams you have.) Grounds (Maintainance, equipment,manning,etc etc) Publicity (press,tv radio,advertising etc etc etc") Finance (Tax, Insurance,Wages,Superannuation etc etc etc) Planning (Overall forecasting for immediate and long term needs. I could go further but I think you will get my point,running an HAL team is most definitely not a one man occupation. So what or how would you go about getting started???? Might I suggest you would have to incorporate the help of other people with the necessary business acumen not to mention some investment monies.If you can do that you may,note I say may, get a fellow director who could manage, plan,lead,organise and control these differing but necessary facets of your organisation. Frightening is it not???? Daniel,--- your team Glory have dropped their attendance figure this year bit it has to be remembered that the "drop"is not "fatal" being 7671 against the 8,897 the club has averaged over the last 5 seasons. There are a few factors to be considered in that current figure for Glory have only played 3 home games. It is not the first time the club has had a "drop", for samples taken from the last 3 seasons of the NSL show that despite finishing 1st,2nd,and 1st in those seasons the average crowds fell from 12,500,to 10,240,finishing at 9375 at the death of the NSL. Now if we knew the answer to why that happened we might be able to reverse these figures. cheers jb
Jeff Williamson
Roar Pro
I also would love to be in charge of an A-league club for a day. But it certainly takes more than a day to make the changes that most clubs need. Some clubs would be hard to help because they have not worked with their fans. That history can be overcome. I don't like to use an example from politics, but I think everyone has noticed the difference across Australia after Malcolm Turnbull replaced Tony Abbott as Prime Minister. Some A-league clubs might benefit from a change of that kind. A shift in attitude from the club leadership. I think that is more important than changing names or shirt colours Some clubs seem to be doing quite well. If I had my day at Melbourne Victory, I would probably spend the whole day trying to work what they do so I could take it back to my club. Victory are a great example with their membership, financial stability, and competitive team. It would be interesting to see if clubs would be willing to spend a day with football fans who want to help the game.