History for Ryan

Marto

I wonder if its more of case that WelNix have done well out of Covid (like Amazon etc) due to their ownership of some quite successful online businesses and now that they know we are safe, are happy to spend some coin knowing it will bring a return for them ($ or toilet seat).

Ryan

Jazzy Jeff

Given the tough financial situation the club is in, obviously we’re not going to be able to go out and sign Ikonomidis, Noone, etc. I could imagine Uffie developing Stefan Colakovski or Carlo Armiento into something special, really like both of them. Dylan Wenzell Halls could form a pretty fun strike partnership up top with Waine, would be pretty raw though. Marco Urena might be one of the most underrated players in the league this season, reckon he’s been great for CCM with not a lot of service at times. Everyone has been complaining about Fenton recently -  would Storm Roux or Dane Ingham do a better job? Paulo Retre? Outside of those names I can’t see many others I would want in a yellow shirt next season. 

I don't think we're as skint as you assume:

1. We've just spent a fortune to relocate to Australia for the season.
2. Last season we paid to fly our players home and then back (IIRC we were the only team to do that).
3. This season we could afford a striker like Hemed, and kept the bulk of our squad from last season.
4. This season we're apparently partially funding the Jets along with Sydney, WSW, and WU (https://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/i-stayed-right-out-of-it-wanderers-owner-denies-transfer-collusion-claims-20210507-p57q1b.html)

We might not be able to spend three million on a player like Macarthur apparently did, but it seems like we've got enough cash to compete.

 

Most of WelNix has their money tied up in Infratil which lost almost $50 million last year and was so weakened it was the target of a hostile takeover (which didn't succeed) so I wouldn't say the group as a whole did well.

Infratil had big gains in Canberra Data Centers, but then CDC is also investing a few hundred million into expanding into NZ so there might have been some capital requirements. Vodafone NZ recorded a loss in the tens of millions last year and obviously Wellington Airport would have been pretty dire.

Most likely the owners faced a cashflow crunch, which was why they had to get aid from the government, which affected 2020 as a whole, but when the economy recovered in the second half of the year cashflow improved and despite the loss their outlook improved which meant they felt better investing more money into the club.

When the consortium of owners that funded the Jets was announced it was initially without the Phoenix so the Phoenix must have joined at some point after the season started. What's surprising is city football group isn't there.