Phoenix Ownership - Rob says FTFFA (Part 2)

Jesus I'm over all of this bullshark.

If FFA are wrong, then come out firing. Silence doesn't do anything for us.

Thanks Dave

https://www.yellowfever.co.nz/blogs/to-the-last/bl...

must read the link really, but

"

I’ll cut straight to the chase with these four points:

• Welnix are not actively seeking to “sell the club”
• Media reports of an offer to buy or merge or move or whatever the club are simply not true
• Welnix and the club are focussed on finding a manager and players and all that for the coming season and that is where the bulk of efforts lies.
• Meetings with FFA, other clubs, prospective clubs/bidders, councils, various other bodies have and will continue to take place but are primarily driven by networking, relationship building and the potential for areas of shared interest and growth not a sale.

"

OK so maybe I was wrong to believe a report in a reasonably reputable paper, I made that call and accept that. I don't really see how I can have egg on my face as I still believe it was valid to question what was happening due to the silence from the Nix. (I did always hope that I was wrong)

I can understand Rob's reluctance to talk to Australian media, but that doesn't really explain why he hasn't talked to the NZ media, it's not like they haven't been trying to get hold of him. It seems quite surprising that they haven;t built better relationships with the local media that they could use to get their side across - a bit like the FFA have appeared to manage with the SMH!

Welnix may distrust the media.  But it's part of their job to form a relationship with the media and to manage their coverage to the extent reasonably possible.  It seems pretty clear to me that they've lowballed that part of their 'Nix organisation.  Just seems to me this is comedically like a proverbial introverted careful and serious banker meets drama loving hot sports media.  But not really funny.  Hot Mess.

So...did he actually refute the notion that we accepted a 15 million bid for the licence?

This is commendable and kinda cute; but in my opinion also naive from rob too.  

He still hasn’t fronted trained kiwi journalists who might be a tad more objective than YF elites. That interview would provide quotable newsworthy sources for oz media for a start. And philosophically I’m not in favour of independent media being replaced by club propaganda. 

Despite being happy-ish that Rob has said this to someone, I have to agree. This is terrible PR work.

Patrick - thanks. Interesting that people are saying Gallop lied, but the only reference I can find to the proposed 15m bid was from an article written by Dominic Bossi who stated it as fact. Gallop said this, which could have easily been in reference to the proposal that we would take games to Campbelltown instead of Auck/Chch/Hamilton etc. in return for some investment. Gallop obviously left it intentionally ambiguous though.

Still can't shake that something is a bit fishy about all this from Rob. Too much smoke. Too much Trump-esque 'fake news' rhetoric.

Whether or not all these stories are agenda driven bullshark (and in my opinion they are), it's apparent that the Phoenix management/ownership view of the media is so toxic that it is hurting the club.  They are very much cutting off their nose to spite their face in throwing a tantrum and hiding in the bunker rather than responding to the allegations.  Even if you ignore the Aussie media, i'm sure Voerman, Hyslop, Piney for example would all give a responsible reporting of the Nix position on these issues each time speculation mounted.

By bunkering down, getting pissy and not responding to media enquiries all they have left is the original story, and the media will quite happily print someone else's point of view, and that doesn't help fans left hanging for a week of silence after FFA puts out their latest round of potential bullshark to their eager repeaters.

Nailed it.

This. And because Voerman, Hyslop and Piney are JOURNALISTS they can’t quote a blog written in a fan forum of a chat with Morrison and unconfirmed attendees, with no clue what the questioning thread was. So really, we are still where we were before the private fireside chat. 

No offer for the whole club, or no offer of any kind?

ridiculous fluff piece IMO. Just summarise it by saying ‘the club is a shambles’- at least that is factual 

Are you saying that YF aren't legit? They are my good sir an award winning podcast and if I had a glove I would slap you with it!

Yeah, but he knowingly didn't tell the whole truth to deliberately cause harm.

That makes it OK !

Re Open based on FAXs

Ha ha. So the narrative has shifted from "Welnix is lying to the fans and secretly selling the club" to "Welnix  only care about the fans and it's their fault the media spread unsourced lies about them". I see.

Look, guys, just say it: you've lost all confidence in Welnix and you wouldn't believe Rob if he said the sky was blue. Fair enough. But "reputable NZ journos" like Pine, Voerman etc. believed as factual an UNSOURCED RUMOUR in the Aussie press. That's not good journalism, that's gullibility. That's WORSE than quoting a fan blog. Can you not see that?

Welnix have reason to be pissed with them IMHO. You seem slightly disappointed that the Dom Bossi story was false.

It all seems pretty weak to me.

On one hand the club is sooking about journos publishing speculative articles; yet on the other they won't put their balls on the line and front up to them and control the narrative. I'm sorry, but that's the business you're in. And if you can't/won't work the media well then bring in the expertise to do so effectively (which I'd assumed RP's role was).

Using a fan group as an indirect mouthpiece to fans is weak and unprofessional for a supposedly professional organisation - in this/their current climate. There are so many unanswered question - namely, what the actual fudge?

Don't get me wrong; I appreciate the YF team, and what they/you do - but in my opinion the club is failing it's fans and it's seemingly precious sponsors. They need to get on the front foot themselves and suck it up and create/own the message. And if they can't find a journo to give the message "honestly", they can easily share it directly themselves in this day and age. Those of us on here are already all-in... but as we (and they know), we aren't nearly enough - the club needs to be reaching the general sporting public, that other 5k of people in Wellington (and Auckland) that aren't going to games because they get their club news/info from mainstream media. And at the moment, it's a pretty poor picture - so not surprisingly, they're gone.

As an uninformed outer circle fan/member I also find it difficult to believe that it is all just FFA bullshark. And if it is, where are the lawyers? 

And whilst where looking for people, where's NZF in losing their only professional club? (oh of course, they don't give a fudge), where's the OFC in losing their only fully professional club? (oh of course, they're at a creative accounting seminar in Vanuatu prior to the corporate gig in Lautoka on Sunday) 

And wouldn't FIFA be interested in the likelihood of one of their confederations losing their only fully professional club? (oh of course, they're all at a pre-WC communications conference in the Bahamas).

FIIK, it really is a bad joke.

I really dislike the modern meme that, if the media lies about you, it's your fault for "not owning the message" (i.e. not giving the media a handy behind the bike sheds so they'll be friends with you).

The FFA (or whoever Dom Bossi's sources are - I don't think he's corrupt enough to just make up the story himself) are using the same techniques as Russian propaganda bots on Facebook - just throw a bunch of shark at the wall and see what sticks. And if none of it sticks, the story becomes "fear, uncertainty, controversy and doubt about the Phoenix". And sadly, people fall for it, again and again.

Last week everyone was giving Rob the thumbs up for coming out and being frank about how the FFA are rubbish and the A-League needs independence, FFS. I despair that people honestly just believe the last thing they read in the paper, sometimes. It's like all Dirty Politics and all this stuff coming out about Cambridge Analytica etc. never happened.

"Meetings with FFA, other clubs, prospective clubs/bidders, councils, various other bodies have and will continue to take place"

https://forum.insidesport.com.au/FindPost2654552.as...

I take this line to be the , prospective clubs/bidders, for FFA expansion slots.  Of course first responds reads it as, prospective clubs/bidders,  for the NIX    

Like statistics you can read, interpenetrate, and write to suit your personal view. 

I'm loving the underlying "Hahaha, SEE! We told you it was all rubbish but you wouldn't listen. All you fools who doubted us. We told you, you're all idiots for wondering about the stuff in the media" from some in here.

Bottom line, whether anybody wants to argue or not, is that the Club is responsible for creating an environment where fans have been put in a position where they don't know what the f**k is going on and after being bombarded with story after story will second guess everything, ask questions and have major doubts about just exactly is happening. All the stuff from this meeting with YF seems to be positive, but I'm not hanging out any flags just yet. There are a lot of things about this saga which still don't quite sit right with me. Time will tell. 

I've been pretty consistent actually.  Throughout all these stories i've found them incredibly hard to believe because the substance of the deals they are reporting make no sense (split colours etc...), and because of who they are coming from and how (as you point out) they are sourced.  And I have said that.  And do you really think the reporters mentioned 'believed it' or that they tried to contact the Phoenix, got no response, and then printed the allegations from (theoretically) credible newspapers.  Do you think that their editors would allow a story on their local football beat go unreported when other publications are printing just because they aren't getting a response from the Phoenix organisation.

My consistent position this whole time is that the allegations are likely agenda driven rubbish, but the Nix com's strategy is appalling, and this terrible communication is not just in this area, but in almost every single area of controversy around the club.

apparently Morrison confirmed that he has a meeting last Friday with SWS and FFA. The discussion was around SWS hosting games and talking a financial stake. Seems to have been omitted from the blurb

Ok, but it seems that there was an offer to purchase PART of the club, so how far off the mark really was the reporting? 

Not sure Rob Morrison would touch this idea with a barge pole, but... I would strongly suggest he calls a media conference, to which all are invited, to answer questions about the club and its future. Front foot the media with the same frankness he seems to have brought to the meeting with YF. A media conference might be the best way to turn this PR mess around, and get the club's communication, and footballing credibility back on track.

1 million %.

The messaging is very contradictory - we're not selling the club but we're looking for investment.  But also, if we got a great offer we'd sell the club.  Also some of the owners aren't happy and want to sell. Oh and the situation is fluid.  Oh and we are talking to potential expansion teams, and they might invest in us, but we're not looking to sell the club...ok guys, try and get a consistent line out of that 

There's a reason why they won't talk to journalists and that's because they can't get their story straight!

Again, 1 million %.  

If he doesn't, you have to ask why.  

My view is they can't say they are not selling, because in reality they are looking for a buyer (potentially a minority stake, but still looking for a buyer).  And they don't want to go on the record saying that as it makes them look bad.

Define "part". If you want to argue that an offer of "15% for a    W-League team and 1 home game" us essentially the same thing as "100% and it's now the Cabramatta Phoenix", then I can't do nuthin' for ya, man. You want to believe the worst of Welnix and that Aussie journos wouldn't publish fiction for attention, go for it.

Btw, sorry for offending some people. I'm not trying to claim that Welnix is a perfect management unit with a brilliant PR strategy. Just that believing unsourced gossip is not good for your health.

And I, as a fan, would have NO PROBLEM with Welnix selling a MINORITY stake, as long as the price would be right and not compromise our ID as the Wellington/NZ team, and it would help us build the club for long term survival.

Part = 1-99%

How do you know that's what the offer was though? I'd be stunned if only one home game was the offering, I'd expect 3-4 at the minimum. not disputing that the reports were woefully incorrect, but what you are suggesting seems to be the minimum amount possible for a 'part share'.

The offer was for 50% stake, 2-3 games in Campbelltown per season for the next 2 years, wearing black and white strip. WelNix turned down the offer.

so the "unsourced" newspaper report wasn't that far off the mark then?

If that is what really happened, then why can't Welnix be upfront about it? They won't even publicly admit to rejecting an offer. Surely just admitting that an offer was put forward and rejected isn't so sensitive it would jeopardise any future negotiations.

It reported that the offer was for 100% stake (it wasn't), that the club would relocate to SWS (it isn't), that FFA had rejected the proposal (there was never a full takeover proposal to reject) and that Welnix had accepted the offer (they didn't)

The final point being the biggest factually wrong claim the article made. Welnix turned down the offer.

I am not trying to start another pointless discussion but I am truly amazed that otherwise sane people are even considering having a hybrid mutant club playing in two different kits and being effectively based in two places at once.  

Financial investment from an outside party is one thing, allowing Welnix some respite and possibly helping with some useful long-term contacts.  Having a club that is neither here nor there would engage neither of the two supporter bases, and would run into some problems with Kiwi players current non-visa status. It would be just brainless in my humble opinion.

Ok though, so going back to the previous articles, which the Phoenix rubbished, suggesting there was a proposal to "merge" on the table seems like it was bang on?  And the Phoenix's denial that there ever was an email or a call from SWS is clearly a lie.  

They are all over the place on this stuff