Phoenix Ownership - Rob says FTFFA

What really worries me is its the same people digging in again. Buying those extra memberships and extra tickets. Yes it might help the situation for a quick fix but that's not what we are after and at the end of the day it'd be creating a false picture. All we would be doing then is just delaying the inevitable, being purely selfish I would much prefer it to be over and done quickly rather than many of us spending money needlessly.

What really worries me is its the same people digging in again. Buying those extra memberships and extra tickets. Yes it might help the situation for a quick fix but that's not what we are after and at the end of the day it'd be creating a false picture. All we would be doing then is just delaying the inevitable, being purely selfish I would much prefer it to be over and done quickly rather than many of us spending money needlessly.

Another unproductive day week at work...

Anyway, what I don't understand is if the FFA really think that a 3rd Sydney team will generate more interest and lead to a bigger TV deal next time why they don't set them up to start at the next deal and take all the facts and figures they have to back up this belief in the value of derbies to Fox when they renegotiate. Surely if it's such a good idea Fox will agree and pay more for an 11 team league with 6 more derbies a year. Why do they need to be rushed into place now? Part of the reason interest in the A League is falling might be that a 10 team league has become stale already. If the FFA are serious about a real, long term strategy for the A League then they need to think about expansion at some point. If there's ready and will in investors then they can do it, so why not? I haven't seen any explanation from the FFA for their statement that the 10 team comp is the "right number".You would think eventually 14 at least would be good - 2 games against each team and it would only be one less round than the current set up. The only explanation I can see is that the FFA are incredibly shortsighted and Gallop maybe just wants a quick boost in his personal " metrics" because he doesn't plan on being in the job much longer. And/or he's getting kickbacks from his mate who is leading the SS bid.

My whole work week seems to have been blighted by this nightmare.

My whole work week seems to have been blighted by this nightmare.

While I feel your pain regarding FFA logic, I can see their thinking - they are not going to upset their constituency by cutting us loose. We are an "Australian team playing in NZ" only in name, so their PR and sponsor risk is actually carefully calculated. If instead they tried that say in Newcastle and simply grounded the Jets, then they would have street riots on their hands (probably led by C-Diddy).

If the TV deal had a proviso for expansion, they would have no immediate issue with adding another to the existing 10 clubs.  Chances are FFA is calculating that WelNix will walk at the end of the season, otherwise Lyall Gorman and his mates would have to wait 5 4 years to have their team in the comp, and that is simply too long for them.  And this logic is best illustrated by the small unexpected change from the previously "agreed" five years extension to suddenly "four" if we are lucky.  And this is the reason I suggest we call their bluff and do it by the book - apply for the proposed four, and let's see them decline us any extension, on the grounds that they have a "better offer" from SS.  And that would really piss off a lot of other clubs big time, as you have already noticed. Any smaller club that doesn't deliver big payoff to FFA could genuinely feel threatened by that kind of subterfuge, regardless of their passionate following and their well-balanced books. And - as we see already - that would also piss off Sydney FC while they would be happy to plan long-term for a new strategy if SS had a club say 4 years from now to threaten their turf, but not in 2016.

So I say let's play cool, stick to our knitting, and call that particular bluff of theirs.

What really worries me is its the same people digging in again. Buying those extra memberships and extra tickets. Yes it might help the situation for a quick fix but that's not what we are after and at the end of the day it'd be creating a false picture. All we would be doing then is just delaying the inevitable, being purely selfish I would much prefer it to be over and done quickly rather than many of us spending money needlessly.

What really worries me is its the same people digging in again. Buying those extra memberships and extra tickets. Yes it might help the situation for a quick fix but that's not what we are after and at the end of the day it'd be creating a false picture. All we would be doing then is just delaying the inevitable, being purely selfish I would much prefer it to be over and done quickly rather than many of us spending money needlessly.

Everyone on here who has a Facebook account should go to the Nix FBpage, go to their events, and click "join" for every game. That way closer to the time the game will turn up as a suggested event for all your Facebook friends. If everyone does it its potentially free advertising to thousands more Wellingtonians. Also, like and share (and comment on) as many Nix posts as you can - it will make them show in other people's news feeds. Hell, if you feel like spamming invite everyone on your FB to the events (games) as well. I actually think there's a fair few people out there who mean to go to games sometimes but forget they are on, or don't actually know when they are on. This way they get a gentle reminder.

So, how many non-Wellington-based supporters turn up to matches?
I'm sorry for all the questions, by the way. My Aussie mates are asking to see where they stand on the matter.
And what was that about flights not being directly  scheduled after the match?

I've said it before, and Ryan said the same thing on the last page, but forget about all this per capita/catchment area stuff around our crouds- in absolute terms they're not even bad and they are trending upwards. CCM's crouds were way worse than ours last year. Croud numbers are a red herring in this debate, as are memberships (other than adding people to their mailing list, what difference does the membership figure make to the FFA independent of croud numbers?). The real metric issue if there is one is TV  deal revenue. If there is an issue with crouds its that the stadium is too big and the seats are too yellow and it looks bad on TV, which might slightly affect excitement and interest among the TV audience. We can't directly change the TV deal at this stage but if there is a notable bump in interest in the club on both sides of the Tasman between now and the next TV deal we might have a chance. Ironically all this talk of getting rid of us has given us a bump in the interest stakes, now we need to sustain it. But increased crouds in Wellington won't matter squat if TV ratings flat line, and if TV ratings leap without our crouds increasing there may be hope.

Before anyone says it, I know our ratings aren't actually that bad, but if The FFA think they can get better from a SS team then they might ditch us. Really it should be Newcastle going first but the fans of Newcastle are Australian and are in more of a position to pressure the FFA than us kiwis are.

Another unproductive day at work...

Anyway, what I don't understand is if the FFA really think that a 3rd Sydney team will generate more interest and lead to a bigger TV deal next time why they don't set them up to start at the next deal and take all the facts and figures they have to back up this belief in the value of derbies to Fox when they renegotiate. Surely if it's such a good idea Fox will agree and pay more for an 11 team league with 6 more derbies a year. Why do they need to be rushed into place now? Part of the reason interest in the A League is falling might be that a 10 team league has become stale already. If the FFA are serious about a real, long term strategy for the A League then they need to think about expansion at some point. If there's ready and will in investors then they can do it, so why not? I haven't seen any explanation from the FFA for their statement that the 10 team comp is the "right number".You would think eventually 14 at least would be good - 2 games against each team and it would only be one less round than the current set up. The only explanation I can see is that the FFA are incredibly shortsighted and Gallop maybe just wants a quick boost in his personal " metrics" because he doesn't plan on being in the job much longer. And/or he's getting kickbacks from his mate who is leading the SS bid.

Because in reality Ballane, Phoenix are still in the A-League, our players are still contracted, it's business as usual. That's the real picture! everyone that's passionate about this club is fighting for it's existence and if that means advertising memberships then so be it. It's the clubs job to promote and encourage memberships. It's metric LAW! 

There is nothing selfish about that. It's called fighting back. 

Have a nice day 

I agree but at the same time its showing the absolute love from the dedicated fans that they are willing to do it.

But you are right, if we "inflate" the numbers then dont keep those numbers up next year, or the year after then we will be int he same situation.  What we need is all of the people who arent already members to start, and hopefully continue supporting the club.

This from the Fever Facebook page is the funniest thing I've seen for ages:

At least the Welnix have some leverage with the metrics, pretty much all we can do as fans. In reality, FFA already made up their mind and only pressure from other clubs could save us. FOX Sports is big force behind all ditch Nix thinking. Remember that interview from Slater (?) 'NZ not adding enough' is the general thinking of this guys, they have this in mind since a long time. Some of those FOX commentators they think they are bigger than the game because they have a microphone in front of them.

This is great, apparently someone has brought Gallop a Nix membership and put in FFA address.

No updates on the emails to Newcastle United nor West Ham United as of yet.

At least the Welnix have some leverage with the metrics, pretty much all we can do as fans. In reality, FFA already made up their mind and only pressure from other clubs could save us. FOX Sports is big force behind all ditch Nix thinking. Remember that interview from Slater (?) 'NZ not adding enough' is the general thinking of this guys, they have this in mind since a long time. Some of those FOX commentators they think they are bigger than the game because they have a microphone in front of them.

1. The Phoenix has a licence until 2020 should we wish to take it up and the owners think the Club has the backing of the fans

2. All of the other A-League owners want us in the League

3. The Phoenix has the best ownership model and governance structure of any Club in the A-League

4. Our youth development and Academy programme is significantly ahead of our Australian colleagues

Our membership numbers are still at the 3600 mark, You would think with all this publicity 300 people would have come to the table and made it 4k by now?. Doomed :(

Our membership numbers are still at the 3600 mark, You would think with all this publicity 300 people would have come to the table and made it 4k by now?. Doomed :(

1. The Phoenix has a licence until 2020 should we wish to take it up and the owners think the Club has the backing of the fans

That is the most pertinent point. If we get a croud below 10k for that game; we are screwed, I'd say. All of the good will from other clubs fans will go.

Actually I was wondering that, the membership number hasn't been changed since the FFA announcement on Monday, so I assume it isn't a 'live' meter and will be updated. I'm very interested in how many we have sold over the last few days.

I am parsing that to mean: "We believe that the fans want us to take up the four years". It doesn't mean they're GOING to take up the four years, but they think they have our backing to do so.

So by "debatable" are you saying that most fans want to walk out after this year and just hand it over to Cronulla Riots FC?