Phoenix Ownership - Rob says FTFFA (Part 2)

He was erratic but more importantly he destroyed the culture and team at Sydney.

I therefore encourage Bling to get another star player!

Any truth in the story that he had his own changing room?

I think one reason it's unrealistic for us to have a Marquee-based strategy is that the kind of players you'd get as marquees are superannuated Eurotrash who want a cruisy season or two playing in a warm Australian summer and going to the beach between games. Good luck at Oriental Bay in November, guys.

It's pointless getting a marquee unless they are going to attract a croud and pay for themselves. The Eurosnobs enjoyed Del Piero but I doubt to most eggball supporters he is more than a name that they have heard of at some point, if that. 

To get the general public involved you need a player that is high profile enough that they appear in the stuff tabloid section (which means just on stuff) and womans day magazine at regular intervals, etc. Preferably they are a cock and have cheated on a high profile wife/girl friend, and are in advertisements on billboards for swiss watches, or sports shoes, that is how you get a profile.

There are only a hand full of players like that, and they would expect more than we pay our entire squad just for a guest stint. 

If you can get players like Bonevacia and stay under the cap why would you want to get some ageing has been who's after one final pay cheque, will push a better player out of the starting line up, and disrupt the squad?

As I said before all the names in the NRL and Super Rugby are home grown there is no reason why we can't produce exciting and brand name players here. We just need the media to market them as a superstar and they will become superstars.

There are probably 4-5 players in the world - whom we would need to pay millions - who would make some sort of short-term difference in metrics.

I'm going to put it out there that we are using 2 marquee spots so under the cap is relative.

I don't think it's worth it though, but it could be done. 

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Based on viewer ratings those Eurosnobs don't even watch Euro football.  Del Piero was assessed to have aded at most 1000 to our croud for his first appearance here and that was a one off.  I just don't see any value in it.

Del Piero in an Australian City of 5 million with a large Italian and European population, yes.  Here no.

While I agree with you that we can (and do) produce excellent players (Rojas, Smeltz, Barbarousas, etc) we have problems with hanging on to them. 

In my honest opinion I would rather have effective, likeable imports that are NOT famous household names but are good enough to win us a game after game, and mobile / robust enough to escape the unwelcome attention of the Thwaites and Goodwins of this league.

I would have Roy Krishna in his prime, ahead of Robbie Fowler in his twilight.

This.

We all know who he is, but we all go.  The 6k there for the first two games know who they are.  Most of the extra 7k don't and wouldn't care who was in a Phoenxi shirt.

I reckon the league has improved immensely in regards to signing import players - most teams are aiming for players in their 20's who didn't quite crack it in Europe (Novillo, Bonevacia etc) Far more exciting to me; and it gives the league more of its own identity rather than just getting Del Piero in his twilight years to pull Juve fans.

The comparison is also not great because the NRL and Super Rugby are seen as the pinnacles of the club/franchise game in each code - so those star players in those leagues are seen to be amongst the world's best where as players that have made a name for themselves in the HAL will always be seen as a big fish in a little pond by a lot of the media / casual football fans.

Yeah but in general the NRL and Super Rugby players are some of the best in the world for their sport. Anyone with the ability to possibly be a superstar gets enticed away to other A league clubs or european in football.

So that's something for the Phoenix to do: get people caring about the players, making people want to come and see a) The Nix and b) their favourite player. Perhaps produce videos of player highlights?

I've noticed in media covering Friday there's been a lot of talk about Roly and how people should want to see him, there's someone to start with.

Of course it's not like the Nix don't have better things to do, like work out broadcasting deals etc etc

This was something Rob Morrison mentioned last week was how we need to expand Sky coverage so there is an idenditificaion with the other teams and other players.

The NRL worked from the start because people had spent years watching the game and knowing all the teams and players.  We have never had that.  We need to build the teams and brands in this league by showing the pre-ggame and post-game and including the weekly shows thta cover the whole league.

Joe Lunchpail has no idea there are kiwis playing for other teams for instance.

I am of the opinion that the right marquee could change the league. Someone like a Rooney would have a massive impact on crouds and metrics. I know the likelihood is tiny, but considering our exposure in NZ/ Aus to the premier league is huge comparability to other leagues.

An elderly premier league star of  Rooneys stature would absolutely change the league and put bumbs on seats.

Needs more goss, appearances on the telly, public naughtiness, celeb weddings, births etc. etc. Quite simple really. 

I agree with HN on this. It is a question of educating our own public. Those who come to our games regularly know the players names and can tell them apart on a field (unlike Dewhurst). Those where the growth of our mehtrix will come from have no idea who the players are, and it is important to do more than just say "come and see a great game of football". I would say: "Come and see Moss pull off a great save". "Come and see WeeMac bend one over the wall". "Come and see Krishna rip up the park with his pace". "Come and see nobody go past Siggie".

"Come and see Roly Bonevacia have tantric sex with a football"

This is why SKY is really not helping itself (or us) if they do not do an A-League package show on FTA channel.

Probably also with noting in this thread that our game against Adelaide rated better on Australian TV than the Newcastle v CCM game, and that's a derby even! 

#metrics

"Come and see Manny stop the opposing team with a single glare"

I thought Merick said that we have money because we couldn't get the players that we targeted, and that there is money to spend in the January window if a player like Joel Griffith comes onto the market. That implies that we are under the cap. 

If we are over the cap then Sarpong is really not good value for money at this stage.

Sarpong and Bonevacia are the two marquees?

Not the highest paid though. Superstars aren't about ability they are about marketing and appearing in the tabloids taking their kids for a walk, or engaging in sex with a prostitute in a public toilet.

I'm making an assumption based on us using two last year.  When Griffiths came last year he went under the cap so I guess we may still have two.

They do exist though, (puts on David Attenborough khaki shirt), in big numbers. Most these days are late 20's - early 30 somethings that support Arsenal from the Invincible era and think they appreciate good football. They still sneer at the A league. Throw in an aging handful of older Liverpool supporters with a sprinkling of Man U and Chelsea supporters too. 

It's getting these guys, who reckon they know a a lot about football to attend matches and "get" football at our level. If some ex-Arse has-been was available fairly cheaply I'd say sign him.

The trouble is that most of that generation can still only name Thierry Henry and Patrick Viera as Arsenal players.

Who were Liam Brady wnd Charlie George?

Viera was a Liverpool player I think you'll  find *tsk.

it's getting these idiots to think the A league is cool - that's our problem. Kids love the Nix, grannies do, Labradors do. They all get it.  It's getting those smug f*ckers  who support prem/Liga teams to come along.

Viera wss a gunner during the early 2000s before the he went to Italy.  If Nix fans want to watch a headless chicken run around witb no end product,  then look no further than Shaun Wright-Phillips. Laugh or cry at the same time.

Would be nice if One News and TV3 news would be like: "hey this All White played in the HAL and scored a goal" but we get build and review of NRL team 1 v NRL team 2 with no NZers in them.

Worth pushing for a highlights show including the ASBP and the Phoenix...Miles and Alex de Jong did a decent job with the show they put together...

I got in to watching the other teams when I was in Korea, didn't have a lot of English TV channels and had the whole lot on a decent internet TV streaming deal, including 30 minute game highlights on demand and Adelaide's ACL run.

Here I think is a chance for the All Whites and A-league to cross-promote. I think most of us have watched Victory when we can with Rojas, Moss, and Kosta as well as the standard of football, and many watch/ed Brisbane with Broich and Berisha and CCM for McG...or was that just me?

Pushing Kosta and Smeltz wouldn't hurt. Smeltz has got a lot of profile or can have it built up simply- goals against Italy. Kosta is in great form.

"Come and see Ernie smile"

yeah, na.