what is it these days with people expecting journos to reveal their sources? - the head of the Brisbane Strikers and South Melbourne have both said they have been in talks with the Phoenix, which is something Morrison admitted as well (although without naming the parties) . Of course they aren't going to reveal how much they are willing to spend, hence the use of the word they understand, ie they've been told a figure but as its a commercial deal no one will officially admit to it
While the Phoenix licence is territorial to NZ, am pretty sure the FFA wouldn't have a problem changing that if it meant they'd get rid of the Phoenix
I'm more worried about these rumours than the initial ones, partly because it seems Morrison wants some sort of merger
The South Melbourne deal would have seen them running a Youth and Women's team and some games played at Souths -it's bad enough having a couple of games in Auckland each year. (I'm guessing it would have been more than 2 at Souths)
I'm not expecting them to reveal their sources, i'm commenting on the way they have placed the sourced and non-sourced parts of the story to blend them together and make the unsourced parts seem more credible than they otherwise would. From the South Melbourne part further down the article, the 6mil is actually credible, but as a valuation to base a partial (minority) sale, not as a price to sell out completely.