Below please find the answers which i have just received along with an apology for the delay in answering them. I have no doubt these answers wont satisfy some of you ( i havnt even read them yet) but dont bother having a go at me as nothing in the answers or the delay is down to me.
Might pay at some stage if some of you who seem to constantly enjoy bagging anything Phoenix took the time to actually speak to the people your bagging,you just might be surprised they arnt the people you seem to love to try and portray as having no ambition or satisfied with mediocrity.
Please note have been sent a more detailed response to question 9 and have put that in.
Thank you and I apologise again.
Might pay at some stage if some of you who seem to constantly enjoy bagging anything Phoenix took the time to actually speak to the people your bagging,you just might be surprised they arnt the people you seem to love to try and portray as having no ambition or satisfied with mediocrity.
Please note have been sent a more detailed response to question 9 and have put that in.
Thank you and I apologise again.
1/ Have they done any soul searching about why the club have failed to win a finals game since Ricki left?
Every season we review the state of the business from all angles - football ops and management. There is no point at looking at wider lenses such as that - there have been massive achievements such as reaching the highest ever ladder position for both men's and women's teams in recent years. We have many determinants for success and also there are a lot of factors more than just who the current coach is, for what makes a successful team. It doesn't rest on one person's shoulders - players, full coaching staff, management, budgets, the state of the league and football in general - we would never point fingers at single people for being the reason for success or lack thereof.
2/ Who is on the football committee, are decisions reached by consensus or does the committee just offer suggestions and Welnix (Rob) make the final decision.
What experience outside of the Nix do any of the football committee have playing or coaching in a professional football environment?
2/ Who is on the football committee, are decisions reached by consensus or does the committee just offer suggestions and Welnix (Rob) make the final decision.
What experience outside of the Nix do any of the football committee have playing or coaching in a professional football environment?
The Committee consists of David Dome, Mark Chote, Henry Tait, Shaun Gill. Generally Shaun brings suggestions to the committee, these are debated and largely formed to consensus before being put through to the chairman. With regards to experience - we won't comment on specifics but we back all of our people in terms of their knowledge and experience.
3/ Some would welcome some insight into the roles of the DOF and the Football Committee compared to the roles of the two Head Coaches ,especially when results aren’t meeting club expectations.
3/ Some would welcome some insight into the roles of the DOF and the Football Committee compared to the roles of the two Head Coaches ,especially when results aren’t meeting club expectations.
The management structure from bottom up goes:
Head Coaches - DoF - Football Committee - Board/Chairman. Everybody is responsible for results.
4/ Could all the Phoenix Business units be named ie Charter School, Academy etc etc. Who is the person at the top of each unit and who do they report to.
Which of these are profitable (amounts not required) just wondering if they earn more than is spent.
ALM/ALW – run by GM except Football Ops which is DoF
Academy – business ops thru GM and Academy Football Development DoF [Fraser Park – Operations Manager]
Charter School – school CEO, reports thru to school Board, licence owned by Welnix
Boarding House – Welnix
All operations lose money except school, where any profit gets reinvested back into school.
5/ With Chief trying an incredibly risky high line approach then discarding it. Were people like Domey and Gilly at all sceptical or uncomfortable with this approach. Should there have been more oversight and should it be part of the DOF role in future to prevent such things happening.
5/ With Chief trying an incredibly risky high line approach then discarding it. Were people like Domey and Gilly at all sceptical or uncomfortable with this approach. Should there have been more oversight and should it be part of the DOF role in future to prevent such things happening.
Like all management staff, Head Coaches are employed to implement a playing style (Phoenix Way) but that can be interpreted. The Chief era has ushered in a greater focus/definition of Phoenix Way and what this means. The playing style is agreed on by all parties - coaches, DoF, Football Committee, board.
6/ Why is the club lacking in engagement with fans. Seems they do the bare minimum. There are no fun videos or clever promotions. understand its easier to promote a winning team but how do you expect people to care about the team or players if we don’t know anything about them. Even match day there is sometimes one post then nothing till an hour before the game.
It used to be asked where you were watching from with times in relevant zones.
6/ Why is the club lacking in engagement with fans. Seems they do the bare minimum. There are no fun videos or clever promotions. understand its easier to promote a winning team but how do you expect people to care about the team or players if we don’t know anything about them. Even match day there is sometimes one post then nothing till an hour before the game.
It used to be asked where you were watching from with times in relevant zones.
Thanks for the feedback. Social media is always an area where there are lots of different opinions on what people would like to see, and we appreciate hearing from our fans on what they would like to see.
It's worth noting that, compared to many clubs and sporting organisations, we operate with a relatively small team. We have one full-time staff member dedicated to social media and one full-time staff member dedicated to marketing, whereas many other teams in the league have multiple people working solely on content creation, social media and digital engagement.
Despite that, this season has delivered our highest social media engagement on record. Our approach is guided heavily by data and audience behaviour, including what types of content fans engage with most, when people are online, and how often we can post without oversaturating feeds. That's one of the reasons you'll see us lean into content formats that consistently perform well, such as memes and reactive content.
The "Where are you watching from?" posts are a good example. We stopped producing them because engagement had declined significantly over time and the posts were no longer resonating with supporters in the way they once did. We redirected those efforts into content formats that were generating stronger engagement and reach.
In terms of matchday content, we actually produce a significant amount around games. Using the recent semi-final as an example, there were more than 30 pieces of content published across the week covering the build-up, matchday and post-match period. While not every piece of content will appeal to every supporter, we are constantly reviewing performance and adjusting our approach based on what fans are engaging with.
8/ Is the club happy with the current level of partnerships/sponsors that are on board with the Phoenix. Yes, our current level of sponsorship is the highest we’ve ever done, and we’ve only got the shorts positions left to sell.
Is there some scope to build on what we have, not just with potential local/national partners, but perhaps looking to a more international market as well? This is not limited to specifically to just businesses either but could include something like club partnerships.
There is always scope, but here’s the details: the NZ sports market is worth $1B – NZ Rugby takes 65% of this, which leaves all other codes to scramble for the rest. We are now looking at ways to extend this into other markets and we have done this in the past with China (Huawei) and Australia (MCR).
8/ Is the club happy with the current level of partnerships/sponsors that are on board with the Phoenix. Yes, our current level of sponsorship is the highest we’ve ever done, and we’ve only got the shorts positions left to sell.
Is there some scope to build on what we have, not just with potential local/national partners, but perhaps looking to a more international market as well? This is not limited to specifically to just businesses either but could include something like club partnerships.
There is always scope, but here’s the details: the NZ sports market is worth $1B – NZ Rugby takes 65% of this, which leaves all other codes to scramble for the rest. We are now looking at ways to extend this into other markets and we have done this in the past with China (Huawei) and Australia (MCR).
9/ Are the club disappointed there are no standout young players in the first team? That after selling 3 players for healthy transfer fees in 2024,the club will likely go 2 years with no transfer fee income at all.
Are the club monitoring the success of the Jets this season and seeing if there are any learnings for the Phoenix especially around the development of younger players.
Wellington Phoenix has one of the strongest long-term football development models in the A-League. Our Academy programme is widely respected across the competition and is viewed by many clubs as a benchmark for youth development. A key strategic objective of the club—one we make no apology for—is the development and sale of players. This not only creates opportunities for talented young footballers to progress their careers on the global stage, but also supports the club's long-term sustainability through diversified revenue streams. While the transfer fees generated from player sales are an important source of revenue, they are only part of the overall picture. Many transfers also include future performance-based payments, sell-on clauses and other revenue triggers that may not be immediately visible but can deliver significant long-term value to the club. Our objective each year is to produce outstanding young players capable of succeeding at the highest levels of the game, and we were fortunate to see that strategy rewarded through several successful transfers in 2024.
We continually monitor ourselves against other clubs, including the Newcastle Jets, but recognise that every club operates in a different environment and pursues different priorities. You also have to note that Jets have been wooden spooners tow of the last four seasons where we have finished no lower than 6th – we have finished above the Jets consistently over the last five seasons. We are confident in the strength of our overall plan, which balances on-field competitiveness, youth development and financial sustainability. Comparisons are rarely as simple as determining which club is 'better'; rather, they should be assessed against each club's strategic objectives and long-term vision.
10/ Can we hear anything about the Fraser Park rumour’s about a boutique stadium being built there.
No comment here.
11/ What happened with the last winter review. What was established at the review why has the implementation of said review failed (assuming it has)
Do the club accept they rested on the laurels with the arrival of AFC.
We have never rested on our laurels. The arrival of AFC certainly brought its challenges but we have never considered that we gave up or stopped trying. We are consistently striving to be better. AFC has brought a lot of added pressure on the club from a fan and media perspective, but our goals have never dropped because of this. Every review we adjust and make changes based on a lot of factors and what is within our control. We have never considered we 'failed' - some seasons are more successful than others and we are continually making changes to be better.
12/ Is Greenie the short term fix till the end of the season or the cheapest fix and hope for the best next season. Any thoughts on the Heidleberg coach.
There is the perception that the club is just happy to aim for the 6 rather than state that we want to finish 1st is that likely to change.
Are we going to see more of the young players like LBS or are they going to continue being protected without us getting any playing benefit or an increase in their transfer value.
12/ Is Greenie the short term fix till the end of the season or the cheapest fix and hope for the best next season. Any thoughts on the Heidleberg coach.
There is the perception that the club is just happy to aim for the 6 rather than state that we want to finish 1st is that likely to change.
Are we going to see more of the young players like LBS or are they going to continue being protected without us getting any playing benefit or an increase in their transfer value.
Top 6 has been and always will be minimum, because once you get to Finals Series then its one game at a time. That’s a realistic target rather than target winning as there are many variables.
We have since announced Greeny's contract appointment. We would never consider a coach based on the easiest/cheapest fix - we back all of our choices on quality and who fits our goals, style and vision. Yes budgets are of course a factor but quality is paramount and we support Greeny's appointment completely, like we do every coach. We always aim to develop young players, we are very proud of our academy and the quality that it produces. When it comes to individual players' playing time decisions or transfer value we won't comment on specifics but we are always aiming to develop players as best as possible within the planned playing style and what works under the current model in order to win games.
13/ Is there any way to remove the shipping on our members packs next season.
We have a specific budget for the memberships programme. If the club covered the cost of shipping (minimum $14.21 per person last season - awaiting quotes for upcoming season but assumed to go up due to fuel) - then that money has to come from somewhere - increased cost of memberships, or decreased value of pack contents.
We used to charge every member shipping, and since last season we acknowledge that not all members actually want merch - so we only charge those who decide to purchase/order merch. We have also subsidised shipping in previous years, including $3 per pack last season.
