Phoenix Ownership - Rob says FTFFA

There seems to be a big groundswell of support for the Phoenix.

The club should quickly launch a "save the Nix" membership.

Say $10 and non ticketed, maybe get a #SaveTheNix bumper sticker.

I reckon it would sell with other fans around the league and help bump those precious metrics.

News is too polite.

Why don't you F- off you smug pretentious git rather than coming here to dance on graves

So it is true that the FFA is behind the whole "mass deportation of Kiwis via Christmas Island" thing?

But it's just a token, the real challenge is to convert into long term support.

Any chance of the Fever Elite putting out a press release thanking the other clubs' fans for all their support? (a few trolls aside)

I've been genuinely stoked and a little surprised by just how much support we've got :)

[quote=I I was microscopically close to blowing up at my mum this arvo

Mum: So sounds like Nix are gonna be gone soon
Me: I don't wanna talk about it
Mum: Oh get over it
Me: *FUME*

[/quote]

I had a rant at my boss yesterday.  Apologised this morning as I'm not even out of the trial period yet.

According to Gallop The Nix are licence "squatters"...

Suppose there's two choices

1. Tell them to get farked

2. Take four years and prove them wrong

1. is nads talking, 2. is backing yourself

What's it going to be?

Can the Nix get enough membership?

Can the Nix get decent breakeven+ crouds?

Can the Nix get big enough to pull a decent TV deal?

As more information comes to light, I am a little bit more optimistic that this can be turned around. I didn't realise that this decision was the last of the outgoing FFA board and while it was announced under the auspices of the new board, there is a chance that they might be swayed. It would certainly be easier for them to reverse or modify the decision than if it was them that made the decision and were involved in the build up to it. I'm certain, if there is a flicker of a chance in the short term, those that can will be manning the phones and gathering support in high places in Australian football,. I can envisage a 'counter offer' being tabled that provides some face saving by FFA and probably some concessions from Welnix. Welnix would have to decide if it was palatable or not to continue. Cockerill made some good comments about Welnix not really grasping the concept of being involved in the sports entertainment industry and he is possibly right. Maybe we should have signed a high profile Marquee a la Del Piero [or do so if we have a future] to generate more interest in the game on both sides of the Tasman. I've made special trips from Napier to see the likes of DP and Robbie Fowler and I'm sure plenty of others did the same thing when they played their own teams here or in Oz. Maybe this can be turned around by us making a few concessions and the FFA being harassed by the power brokers at other A League Clubs. 

We want ten, they offer four. Counter offer 8. Less than we want, but offers some security there.

Came close to getting stroppy with one of our work trolls. I mean usually we banter, but this isn't one of those topics! Don't think he quite got it.

One of the guys really understands, and everyone else is talking rugby!

I dunno, Ernie Merrick, Nathan Burns and Bonevacia- that seems like some damn understanding to me. Cockerill doesn't carry much credibility with me.

Banner for Melbourne 

FFA =

SHARK

CODS

FFA must be a laughing stock to the NRL and AFL, All have pushed into football markets that failed but one (Western Sydney) and are doing ok, AFL wants to put a team in Wellington in the near future.

Brisbane Roar        5,994            

Central Coast Mariners     5,511           

Melbourne City FC        7,475           

Melbourne Victory        26,049           

Newcastle Jets      8,005          

Perth Glory     5,094          

Sydney FC     11,516          

Wellington Phoenix    3,612           

Western Sydney Wanderers     17,557

http://www.a-league.com.au/membership

Well not Burns anyway.

yeah we've always had more of a walk up croud. I honestly think that is partially to do with weather. Easier to commit to a season of games when you live in a warmer climate. 

You havent taken the exchange rate into account

or gst

This is also because traditionally Australian sports clubs (and may I add, also including the "old" NSL clubs) were usually tied with a social club under their name. A lot of that had to do with liquor licencing which has always been much more controlled in say NSW than in NEw Zealand.

While living in Sydney, I have been to a number of events like a Sunday family barbie at the Marconi (Stallions) Club in Fairfield in Sydney in the 80s, well patronised and popular. You can see how it would fund the sporting activity with bar and pokies as well as fundraising. 

Although this was clearly not the model for the A-League, some A-league clubs were clearly thinking of going into that direction with large community premises planned, unless I am wrong, at Gosford for the Mariners members.

There is no reason why - assuming we survive this current Galloping pestilence - we could not look into that ourselves if a smaller stadium was built, and a 20 years licence granted. Sorry, I know how it sounds. I am just so cut up about it all. Bloody backstabbers.

My Two Cents worth:

The FFA have backflipped a lot since Monday evening so it made me wonder just how much of this whole scenario was to sound out the Cronulla Riots FC groupmto see just how ready they actually are to join the League. 

And given the amount of backflipping that Gallop has done it would appear they are not as close as the FFA (and potentially Foxtel) might have hoped for. The last thing the FFA want to do is dump well functioning franchise in exchange for one it has to prop up over the next few seasons because they moved too early. 

The whole increase your croud and membership numbers or else approach that the FFA has mow adopted over their "You're Doomed!" mantra from earlier in the week is actually the same argument that has been trotted out every season since Welnix took over the licence and the only reason it didnt start when Terry was involved is that his intervention actually spared the league from the total embarrassment of losing another club to financial issues.

We will learn and grow from this as a club but Welnix will also learn to take anything FFA say with a grain of salt.

I believe, given what's come out in the last week  the FFA has been "setting us up" when you consider that the playoff against Melbourne City was scheduled on a Sunday evening at 7.30pm rather than in the afternoon.

They did not want us getting a croud of 20k plus so what better way than to make sure the kids and the parents who would normally accompany them are eliminated from the croud. There would also have been many of adults who would have missed the game due to early work starts on the Monday.

They also gave us a late evening Sunday kick off for the first game against Newcastle.

How does membership numbers relate to croud attendance?  Are they comparable..ie what % of match attendees are members versus walk-ups in the league?

I have to say I reckon that is complete BS analysis from Cockerill.  This is a sports team and you have to be judged by how your team does on the pitch.  I think we can use our import slots better and use transfers to sell the club and to sell memberships - I think for far too long the guys you see as the faces of the club have been Dura, Siggie, Manny and Vinnie which isn't exactly box office.  But in the end Fowler and Del Piero were failures on the pitch and that's not the way forward for the club

A way to fix the TV deal crap that seems to be going on - we don't get any of Fox Sports money. Instead we get what Sky/NZF or other stakeholders pay, up to the value of the salary cap, and the rest goes to wherever the excess of the Fox Sports money goes. If it's less than the salary cap then the owners can contribute the rest if they feel they need to. 

That way the FFA can't say that they are giving us all this money for no return, and it's a good bargaining chip to get more contributions from these outside parties. Just an idea

Well with Sydney fc and Adelaide coming out in support of us things are starting to look up. Trying not to get too hopeful.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-10-28/phoenix-a-le...

Adelaide United boss says ... ""I'm a great fan of Wellington and every chairman of every club shares my view that Wellington should stay,"

We should get a high profile Marquee like piovacari at WSW.

Seriously no clubs now have a high profile (ageing over the hill has been)

Glad to see Adelaide come out in support as well. If anyone from Victory comes out in support the FFA will have officially pissed of the golden boy at the table. If Kevin Muscat spraks out I will finally grudgingly have some respect for the man.

Never happen, Muscat is too much of a shark cod.

Yeah all this talk about how Rob Morrison doesn't know how to create entertainment and is only a banker is bullshark, his team is playing some of the most entertaining football in the league, the team that the FFA owns goes around kicking people.

I'd say the FFA doesn't know how to entertain.

re: 1) I am not sure they have really back-flipped very much. Correct me if you have any evidence for this.

re: 2) Which makes me think FFA reckons they have all the ducks in a row, otherwise they would not be firing a salvo across our bows.  Your argument makes logical sense but either broad logic does not apply with FFA, or they actually think it is OK to piss off Barlow and Traktovenko.

I'm not sure A-Rod is a good example as he can't make our team behind Vince Lia but I agree with your general point