Let me take you back to 2015, when the Wellington Phoenix were in danger of disbanding.
The club aggressively campaigned for a new license, calling for Australian and New Zealand football fans to “Save the Nix”. They claimed such a financially stable club should not be kicked out of the A-League.
In the end, a license was granted, albeit on different terms to the 10-year deal the Nix were asking for. Four years guaranteed, with a further six to be awarded on the basis of financial benefits to the A-League, improved memberships and greater attendances.
But why bother even giving Wellington a license? The A-League and Australian football would be much better off ditching the Nix and replacing them with another Australian side.
The role of the A-League is to give opportunities to Australian players, but during the 2016-17 season just five players on the Phoenix roster were Australian. How can we be expected to grow our national team when one club hardly provides Australian players an opportunity?
Mark Bosnich summed it up perfectly when he said, “There are teams in Australia who are desperate to enter the A-League… at the moment, all we’re doing for this side is basically providing a base for them to develop their New Zealand national team”.
Surely any one of the potential expansion clubs – South Melbourne, Geelong, or a second team in Adelaide or Brisbane – would contribute far more to the league than the Phoenix. And while I am not a Perth Glory supporter, some of their fans would be more open to having an actual derby as opposed to the mockery that is the ‘Distance Derby’.
The Nix may have finished the 2016-17 season in 7th place, however for a club that has been in the A-League for 10 years, the Nix have only made the A-League semi-finals twice and have never reached the grand final.
Perth Glory, Melbourne City, Western Sydney Wanderers and the Phoenix have never won the A-League, however City and the Wanderers have managed to win trophies. Perth also made the FFA Cup final in 2015, yet the Phoenix haven’t even made a final.
Their memberships and crowd numbers also leave something to be desired.
The average attendance during the 2015-16 season (during the Save the Nix campaign) was 8042. In comparison, Melbourne Victory had the highest with 23,112 – more than double the Nix.
In the same season the Nix sold 5062 memberships, well below the leaders Victory. The following season attendances where down to 6211 and memberships plummeted to 4791. Yet the FFA decided to give this club a new license.
The club does not offer any kind of home atmosphere either, with their stadium too big for their crowd numbers. While other clubs in the A-League also suffer from similar situations, they are able to back it up with good performances in the league (such as Brisbane Roar).
Matches involving the Phoenix also generally pull lower television audiences than matches with other clubs. The Phoenix have only been given three free-to-air games this season on ONE.
Two of those games have them pitted against bigger clubs such as Melbourne City and Western Sydney, which speaks volumes about the inability of the Phoenix to draw television crowds. All three are away fixtures for Wellington, too.
It may be time to cut Wellington Phoenix off.
Midfielder
Guest
unf ing beliverable
Nemesis
Guest
Someone questioned where new investment is coming from. As I said: it's everywhere Hong Kong firm Jiayuan pledges $300 million for A-League stadium Hong Kong-listed real estate company Jiayuan has committed to spending $300 million on a purpose-built football stadium in southern Sydney if the new Southern Expansion club wins a place in the A-League. Full story: http://www.afr.com/real-estate/hk-firm-jiayuan-pledges-300m-for-aleague-stadium-20170714-gxb6e8
Nemesis
Guest
Grobbelaar
Roar Guru
It's true that the nix will have earned a thank you when the time comes for their dismissal.
CG2430
Guest
Yes AR, as I said, they are a placeholder - no more, no less. Their licence extension, as the author of this article notes, contains hurdles that must be met after the fourth and seventh seasons; ie a 4+3+3 deal, not a straight 10 years. I don't think those metrics have been publicly reported with respect to actual figures, but they are: "The extensions at the conclusion of the 2019/20 and 2022/23 seasons are dependent upon: •FIFA, AFC, OFC and NZF authorising each extension; •The Phoenix reaching benchmarks on attendances and greater financial contributions to the A-League." Source: http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/article/football-federation-australia-and-wellington-phoenix-agree-to-a-league-licence-extension/6aszp76ps4071cw0xb0mnw3bd Their crowds have definitely gone backwards since 2015/16; don't think ratings have increased, and Sky Sport's current contract hasn't ended so that hasn't improved. If they fail to meet whatever targets the FFA set at the end of 2019/20, then they FFA can kick them out. If there has been no expansion by then, or expansion by two teams with another decent proposal still waiting, they're probably out.
Waz
Guest
Marcus, the money is there: CFG - city Leeman Group - Jets Russian money - SFC Bakries - Roar (laugh but they've put $45m into the club in less than a decade) WSW and Victiry have both been subject to overseas bids in the last year so it's easy to see the interest. Surely?
Waz
Guest
Maybe I didn't explain it well enough then. Palmer actually got many things right on the GC (including arguing for many of the changes the clubs are now seeking). The bit he got wrong was grassroots engagement which FGC and others learned and so they are now attempting to build a community club out of FGCs participation base, build a 10k stadium purely for their use, and crucially anchor it in the football community - if successful it would be the first GC sporting club done that way. Red Bull would have to squash that, so how successful they would be after doing that is questionable? Signing Messi would help but I'm not sure ... It's no different to Brisbane to be fair, as long as it's a fair fight Strikers or City would have to accept the other bid won if they lose. If they both lost to Red Bull then there would be trouble. So it's the same issue to be fair.
Nemesis
Guest
The investment money is everywhere. But, the investors will not be pouring money into an asset where they do not own the intellectual property, brand, name, colours, etc. Once the ownership of club assets passes to clubs, the investors will swoop. At the price CFG paid to buy MelbCity, it's petty cash to the big investors.
Marcus
Guest
@ Nem "Lots of big money is waiting to get into the A League"!!! Where is it? Seems to be going out quicker than coming in for current clubs.
Luke Karapetsas
Roar Pro
Thanks for the advice Ben! I can definetly see how my article can be interpreted like that. I was thinking that I should have done that after I submitted the article ?
Ben of Phnom Penh
Roar Guru
Try listing the pros and the cons of having a 'Nix side in and then presenting an argument as to why you believe the weighting falls one way or the other. Hence your position comes across as a considered point of view. Written as is can make some wonder if a Kiwi broke your heart and you are lashing out :)
Luke Karapetsas
Roar Pro
Thanks for reading it anyway NP :) its only my second article though, any advice for next time?
Nemesis
Guest
A complete waste of time engaging with you. You refuse to educate yourself about this issues. You believe what you want, your input is of no relevance.
AR
Guest
Fair post. But the Nix have also provided an enormous service for the FFA. They have: - ensured the competition has 10 teams, as it is contractually obliged to; and - remained mediocre. The worst - absolute worst - thing the Nix could have done to the FFA, is be successful. Imagine if the Nix were winning the league, holding up the toilet seat and killing it across the metrics? How would the FFA discard them then? They've been a very handy little stop gap.
AR
Guest
Ha. More nonsense. You're seriously trying to suggest that a proposed new operating model for the ALeague has "NOTHING" (nice caps btw) to do with a proposed new structure of the FFA...the body which currently operates the ALeague. You gotta love it. Sean Spicer wants his job back!
Nemesis
Guest
The new voting structure for FFA is independent of the ALeague being structured to operate as a ring-fenced entity. In fact, it's highly likely, if the ALeague operates independently the ALeague clubs voting influence on the FFA Congress will evaporate. Depending on the Operating Model, Licence Arrangements, etc. the ALeague clubs will not need any direct influence within the FFA.
Grobbelaar
Roar Guru
Seeing that its the clubs who have approached FIFA, from what I've read, there might be a link between the clubs wanting to control the A-League and the clubs wanting a greater say in the FFA congress. You can't really say one has nothing to so with the other.
CG2430
Guest
What does the Wellington Phoenix give to the A-League? Extra TV revenue? $180,000pa at present from Sky Sport. Ref: http://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/the-price-wellington-phoenix-pays-as-a-kiwi-team-20141012-114zjb.html Australian TV ratings? Always the lowest or second-lowest. Opportunities for Australian players? Yes, but less than a proper Australian team given that Wellington doesn't count New Zealanders as visa players. Huge crowds home and/or away? Down among the worst in the league. Saving on travel costs? No. Highest or second-highest in the league. They do, however, help develop not only a rival nation's footballers, but also a nation in a rival confederation. The Wellington Phoenix are a burden on the league whose only use is as a placeholder until another team steps forward. If the FFA wasn't so incompetent in its planning and unreasonable in its standards (and equalisation), this would have already happened by now.
Grobbelaar
Roar Guru
Luke, if the ffa and clubs end up agreeing on an annual fee of $4 million per club, that's $48 million per year, meaning $8 per year left over for the 2nd division. If there are 8 teams to begin with, that's $1 million per club, easily enough to run a 2nd division. With time, this 2nd division will earn its own revenue with its own TV deals, say around a quarter of what the A-League deal. There's no longer a debate about a 2nd division and P&R, the next discussion is what the 3rd tier should be looking like.
NP
Guest
Not a greatly constructed article, but yes - The Nix contribute nothing.