Wednesday was another red letter day in the FFA's stewardship of the A-League with the astonishing attack from the NSW Police association, to the amusing but somewhat over-hyped interest in Tony Sage's investment in Uruguayan drug production and finally the sound of Camel's accelerating away from Hunter Stadium.
I'm still trying to avoid getting too deeply wound up in the events in Western Sydney and the abhorrent behaviour of people charged with public safety so we'll leave that until last and while the Sage story is going to provide a significant volume of 420 related terrace humour it's really just tabloid fodder.
The story that seems to have slipped under the radar in all the other chatter is the sight of the primary option for future ownership of the Newcastle Jets running for the door. Since the end of Tinkler times the primary bidder for ownership of Newcastle United were the owners of Dundee United and every impression has been given that the FFA were just keeping things going until a deal was done.
Well that deal wasn't done, partly because the FFA seemed to arrive at negotiations that they were having with Stephen Thompson with the impression that they were doing the Scottish consortium a favour and partly because the business model just doesn't add up for anyone in this league.
While the Thompson consortium had made a firm offer to Nathan Tinkler by all accounts the FFA appear to have decided they could do better with the money themselves instead of it going to Tinkler's collapsing empire so stepped in with the idea of a quick flick. Unfortunately for them upping the price by 12% along with the rest of the challenges we outline daily here has seen the deal collapse.
At its heart is why would you pay $4m for the honour of losing $1.5m a year? Tinkler's business model of cheap season tickets got people in the gate but ultimately has left the club as financially unviable. Throw in the risks we have already outlined to the value of the next TV deal, the treatment of other ownership groups and why on earth would you invest in an A-League side that isn't Melbourne Victory?
David Gallop stated at the start of last season that half the league would at least break even. In the end Victory made a profit. Adelaide scraped in and Wanderers were carried to break even by games outside the A-League and the merchandise drive backed by that. That's one team in profit and two who broke even but were an anomaly in the history of the A-League. Meanwhile the FFA run Newcastle at a loss, Brisbane are a day to day proposition and Central Coast are one Charlesworth sulk from catastrophe
This season Wanderers have started poorly, every bit of press is negative and they are coming off a poor season. Sydney FC are unlikely to turn around losses. Meanwhile the geniuses at FFA headquarters try and work out how to squeeze another team into a losing market.
Once again the case for an independent commission running the A-League and considering the needs of the people who are actually investing and making the A-League happen needs to be a priority. Removing it from the clutches of Sepp Lowy to help make it viable and turn around the sharp decline in interest he has overseen.
Finally a few words on the situation in West Sydney. While the 'grub' comments were pretty distasteful I think it's this statement that should have alarm bells ringing in the media and political powers "...maybe it's time to re-think if the people of Australia need a Senate at all".
Now, while our political system isn't ideal to see a senior representative in a position of power like Scott Weber making statements like that is a disgrace. I'm sure the fine NSW media will have taken this and without any sense of tabloid journalism looked at how an organisation as powerful as the Police association can get away with statements like that.
Finally I'm just going to repost this here. As I stated yesterday, I'm no fan boy for the RBB, and they certainly have their share of idiots in the supporter base but this story and the behaviour of the Police and the FFA is an embarrassment.
Unfortunately the lack of calls for the FFA to front on this story once again proves how toothless our media has become. Lowy's lapdogs.
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