That Shanks article is all over the place. Very loose connections to pay equity issues at world cups, to a rumoured falling out between a player and a coach. Did she speak to Temple or Knott or David Dome?
Was she just annoyed she couldn't use that shiny PHD as a consultant, undertake an inquiry and send the Nix a nice fat $100K invoice.
Dome as CEO has his critics but he's no fool. He would have spoken to both Knott and Temple. Spoken to other players in the squad about the culture. You don't need to undertake a full blown independent inquiry just because one player leaves throwing a few parting shots.
All of this in the context that Knott is a trained psychologist or psychiatrist, with a partner and house (mortgage) back in Auckland. She mentioned the financial strain sacrifice of being paid peanuts in the ALW.
We would all like to see ALW players paid more. But Shanks makes no comment on the commercial reality of the ALW. The crowds of 1,000 or less and the very limited commercial sponsorships. I remember Dome basically pleading for a major sponsor when the Nix ALW team was first launched. He was almost angered that basically no major sponsor had appeared at all.
You have also had the annual disbursements the the clubs get, go from over $3.5M pre Covid down to a woeful $530K. And yet the Phoenix still went ahead and added an ALW team to their expense column.
I suspect if you split the Phoenix into 2 seperate P&L statements, the ALW programme half would currently be very grim reading. Yes early days, but for example the fee the club received for Macey Fraser going to Utah was tiny in comparison to what selling Surman, Old & Paulsen bought in.
Reading AV's article yesterday, the Nix have one of the better resourced setups in the ALW. Temple's replacement will be one of the few full time coaches in the womens league. Lots of other ALW staff other clubs don't have. Lily Alfeld there to look after the younger players.
The club had to fight Football Australia for years to get a ALW team. Dome seems genuinely passionate about the women's game. Long long way still to go, but Shanks should have done some better research before hitting the keyboard.
And yes Bonnie Jansen also wrote about Knott leaving.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/football/football-ferns/wellington-phoenix-departing-veteran-chloe-knott-reveals-her-side-of-the-story/ETVFEJTYNJA7DOGR5WYJ2DRXTM/
Was she just annoyed she couldn't use that shiny PHD as a consultant, undertake an inquiry and send the Nix a nice fat $100K invoice.
Dome as CEO has his critics but he's no fool. He would have spoken to both Knott and Temple. Spoken to other players in the squad about the culture. You don't need to undertake a full blown independent inquiry just because one player leaves throwing a few parting shots.
All of this in the context that Knott is a trained psychologist or psychiatrist, with a partner and house (mortgage) back in Auckland. She mentioned the financial strain sacrifice of being paid peanuts in the ALW.
We would all like to see ALW players paid more. But Shanks makes no comment on the commercial reality of the ALW. The crowds of 1,000 or less and the very limited commercial sponsorships. I remember Dome basically pleading for a major sponsor when the Nix ALW team was first launched. He was almost angered that basically no major sponsor had appeared at all.
You have also had the annual disbursements the the clubs get, go from over $3.5M pre Covid down to a woeful $530K. And yet the Phoenix still went ahead and added an ALW team to their expense column.
I suspect if you split the Phoenix into 2 seperate P&L statements, the ALW programme half would currently be very grim reading. Yes early days, but for example the fee the club received for Macey Fraser going to Utah was tiny in comparison to what selling Surman, Old & Paulsen bought in.
Reading AV's article yesterday, the Nix have one of the better resourced setups in the ALW. Temple's replacement will be one of the few full time coaches in the womens league. Lots of other ALW staff other clubs don't have. Lily Alfeld there to look after the younger players.
The club had to fight Football Australia for years to get a ALW team. Dome seems genuinely passionate about the women's game. Long long way still to go, but Shanks should have done some better research before hitting the keyboard.
And yes Bonnie Jansen also wrote about Knott leaving.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/football/football-ferns/wellington-phoenix-departing-veteran-chloe-knott-reveals-her-side-of-the-story/ETVFEJTYNJA7DOGR5WYJ2DRXTM/