Phoenix Ownership - Rob says FTFFA

Yes

Ray Gatt tweet -  'Timing of FFA board decision is staggering. 3 weeks into new season that has hardly gone off with a bang. Poor TV ratings, crouds stagnant.'

Prompted some interesting responses:

' FFA vision appears to be a 10 team league with five from NSW and five from Victoria.'

' We don't need this now. More to worry about surely...TV ratings for a start'

' The arbitrary nature of the FFA axe is very unsettling, it's no wonder crouds are a mess, fans don't know if their teams will be in. '

Yeah - AFC politics is unhelpful, but FFA clearly see creating more derby opportunities in Sydney and Melbourne as their way out of a minor crisis with dwindling crouds & TV ratings outside the Big Three.

However nothing is more sure that axing the Phoenix will make every non Sydney/Melbourne football owner(s) shudder, and it will do nothing to build up crouds again with those clubs either.

The Phoenix are still recovering from the Terry S ownership blow, as many fans lost confidence in the club.

If FFA want to return to the NSL days, then good luck to them. I lived over there for the last two years of NSL, and it was flippin horrible and in some cases, just plain animal.

http://www.melbournevictory.net/showthread.php?618...

Football Federation Sydney - pmsl

Can we appeal to fifa as the only Oceaniac professional team?

I thought we were offered 5 and wanted 10.

Regardless  it may be prudent to take the 4 year extension  and  hope for a change in FFA

I agree with Russell, not convinced this latest setback is OFC directed. 

Sad news really.

Can only imagine how feral its going to get with 3 Sydney teams,sure to be plenty of copy for the anti football papers in Sydney.

Not convinced this is the end of the story. My thoughts are that the FFA are playing a game of cat and mouse with NZ broadcasters, namely Sky TV to see who is willing to step in and make themselves instant heroes with an improved Broadcast rights deal, thus saving the Phoenix from disappearing. 

Four years is just insulting.

This is what i'm hoping. SKY TV to save the day? Well, it was good while it lasted.......

Good thread - like this one- probably where it is at

'  ****ing disgrace FFA, one of the few stable teams in the competition, are we supposed to stay on 10 teams forever?

That being said the crouds have been awful in Wellington to start the season, they really need to show up in good numbers now to prove to the FFA that they have a purpose in this league. '

Wellington's gotta showup on Nov 13 !!!

I would assume there is a very tight deadline on this 4 year offer. Really would like some proper info

Th Nix owners are businessmen and I would think they have been propping up this club in an effort to make it sustainable and profitable in the future. Becoming that way either because of an upsurge in shared A League revenue, an operating surplus and as an investment for future sale and profit. Putting aside any thoughts of developing NZ football for the moment as this is unimportant now in what is happening. The Nix ownership can take a punt and remain involved in the hope that in  4 years there will be an FFA change of heart  or decide that is not a very businesslike stance to take and just pull the pin, either now or int he very near future. I think that if I was the owner of the Phoenix [and given it isn't making any money for me], I would pull the pin and invest my money elsewhere.

I don't envisage seeing a local NZ competition being as 'successful' as the A League but there needs to be a real push to make the new national league something where our best players can ply their trade and can attract some decent imports. I don't know exactly what that model would look like and how it could be made to work, but we have to try. There has to be some international model we can follow that will give us a decent shot at success.

How about OFC? enlarging that championship in some way - there must be some reasonable money going into that club competition right now?

And to finish... those fudgeing dirty rotten filthy convict Australian cods.....

SKY TV is a business not a charity.

The only way they whould notice is if thousands cancelled their subcriptions and that isn't going to happen

If a business/organisation treated me this way as current client, supplier or other and I knew that they treated others in my industry differently. Why would I continue to accept/do business with them on those terms? This is a bad relationship and we are just hanging around...

Welnix - Be the dirty rat and leave this sinking ship called the 'A-league'...Thanks for all the wonderfull memories Nix. (mic drop)

It's like the FFA have punished us for saying no to a 5 year term. When we are just trying to justify our future in the league. This is just bloody horrible. It's no wonder us kiwi's hate Australia with a passion. 

Poor TV ratings? No wonder most of the commentars are shark. This Booza guy is a total clown, 99% confidence 1% knowledge. The football the clubs play is mostly entertaining, the only game that was shark was the TV overhyped Sydney derby, maybe a 3rd will make those better ;-)

Good post - and agree with the biz stuff. However being part of an Oz League, competing against Aussies and going through the emotions of beating/losing to them is part of our football culture now. Just as it is for Warriors and Breakers. I know football culture is different in Oz, but that's why we go at this end. 

Turn up on the 13th wearing convict jumpsuits (those black and white hooped ones) and have a 'judge' sentence us to 20 years.

Hell, even murderers in this country get less than that!

Even a protest where everyone just waves their licences (drivers or otherwise) in the air in silence?

Sadly it's supposed to be

the silver lining is that with governance like this, the a-league is clearly fudgeed

https://www.change.org/p/australian-ffa-save-the-wellington-phoenix/

I read just the other day that the 10 year license was a done deal and just a few minor things need attention. This seems so stupid and sudden.

What should happen is Auckland City make the step up to the HAL. That will boost interest, crouds and TV numbers. That also fits with AC stated aim of joining the HAL and the FFA wanting to expand the league. Win win.

Cutting Nix is just going backwards. 10 team league 4eva!

Sadly, I actually agree with this statement. I am, for the first time in my exsistence on this planet, embarresed to be an Australian football supporter.

623 signatures so far including mwah

Are there any lawyers within this forum or anyone who is able to get in contact with the PFA? Surely there must be legal ramifications to the FFA approving contracts given to players of the Wellington Phoenix that run through to 2017 (such as Jeffrey Sarpong and Dylan Fox) whilst only allowing the club to operate until 2016. 

At least if anything it may buy the Wellington Phoenix some time and give them a leg to stand on if they choose to take the matter to a court of appeal or legal arbitration.

From @Sportsfreakconz :

What should Welnix do? sportsfreak.co.nz/what-should-we… As much as it may make sense to send two fingers to FFA, we're better than that

RE https://twitter.com/Sportsfreakconz/status/658558282412388352

I just don't understand why they wouldn't want to invest in New Zealand. Without us they have a 9 team competition. If they replaced us with someone it would probably be another Sydney team. Who the hell are all these fan in Sydney that are going to flock to a 3rd A-league team but don't support one of the two teams already in existence? Gallop just isn't a very visionary person.

To be honest the way in feeling right now the Phoenix should just say fudge you and leave today. Throw the toys out.

Hope it's just a negotiation tactic, but as said why would you want to do business with those cods.

it's worth considering walking immediately.  on the balance of things, it probably wouldn't be the right thing to do, but there are risks in continung

what we need is a response from the fans. NZers are very good at hopping on the bandwagon. Therefore we should make this #savethenix movement get a big following, and get people to buy Phoenix club memberships. The membership numbers will swell and that will generate interest.

Just saw the picture of Clive Palmer. Goddamn I have seen him somewhere before...

Edit: Sorry my paint skills are limited

Okay this may sound really really really dumb, is there say a rich asian business man living in wellington, who would fund thhe phoenix playing in an asian league? Is that feasible?

Or how about the days of the 1980's and the old National League, Mount Wellington, Christchurch United, and even Papatoatoa if you want to

get desperate.

Might not be today or tomorrow but the FFA have made it pretty clear where we stand why should people invest there time on something thats going.

David Dome: The Welnix group + Phoenix board are considering their position but will continue to negotiate with the FFA in good faith."

— Jason Pine (@pineyzb) October 26, 2015

Double post. But anyway - at the risk of ForteanTimes throwing it back in my face later, I remain convinced that this is FFA's way of playing hardball over the broadcast rights, and that they would be prepared to give us another extension after the 4 years - if Welnix (or other owners) are prepared to put up with their bullshark, that is.