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General 2024/5 A League Men's thread

One question - are we sure a league club finances are as bad as clubs say?

Whenever I try and make sense of A league expenses and their claimed deficits I can't make the math work unless some of what is reported as deficits is actually asset purchasing (perhaps buying fields for training/academies etc).

Claiming asset purchasing as a source of deficit is a nice trick to get tax deductions but also gives clubs negotiating leverage over players to suppress wages. But asset purchases aren't true liabilities, and certainly not a source of unsustainable liabilities since they tend to appreciate in price

That's not to say all is rosy with the distribution at 500k per club....but I do suspect things might be less bad than they look
 
departing players include burgess and kurchaski
sydneyfc.com

Sydney FC Thanks Departing Players

Two of Sydney FC’s longest serving players will leave the club with thanks for their contributions over a number of years as they prepare for fresh challenges.
sydneyfc.com sydneyfc.com
 
grazorblade said:
departing players include burgess and kurchaski
sydneyfc.com

Sydney FC Thanks Departing Players

Two of Sydney FC’s longest serving players will leave the club with thanks for their contributions over a number of years as they prepare for fresh challenges.
sydneyfc.com sydneyfc.com
Click to expand...
Talay has extremely poor man management skills it seems to me. And yet after this season they gave him an extension. Fools.
 
erogenouszone said:
Talay has extremely poor man management skills it seems to me. And yet after this season they gave him an extension. Fools.
Click to expand...
Is Talay calling the shots or is he just contributing? To me, the players released thus far were players that had to be moved on. They were OK but just couldn't do lift. Kucharsky is the only player that should be able to find a club that can improve him - maybe WSW.
As far as Talay is concerned there were no such comments when he was at WP.
Costa is the big question - brilliant to watch when he has the ball at his feet with plenty of time. Otherwise, he has no speed to be effective.
 
if the apl has a silverlake debt they might need to pay that off before they can afford to take a license and sell it
 
Was it an error on APL's part to continue pushing independence from FA during COVID? I think the league would be financially much healthier if they delayed and let FA take the brunt of COVID for a few years.

Having said that, if APL had more cash they probably would've wasted $50 million on a league mascot and $300 million on A-League artificial intelligence.
 
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HappyGuus said:
Was it an error on APL's part to continue pushing independence from FA during COVID? I think the league would be financially much healthier if they delayed and let FA take the brunt of COVID for a few years.

Having said that, if APL had more cash they probably would've wasted $50 million on a league mascot and $300 million on A-League artificial intelligence.
Click to expand...
The FFA didn't know how to take a league to the next level when we were at our peak but Johnson might have done ok .

Apl haven't done anything I remember reading about clubs not being able to control their website and merchandise for example but what's changed since the apl took over?
 
The FFA was run by Lowy and then Lowy Jnr.
Frank ran it for 12yrs MCG.
So whats next level ?
They got it onto mainstream which is great but nothing to back it up and here we are.
He had done alot of good and alot of NO good.
Lowy's view of the game's best interests was not always shared. Teams in Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Brisbane, Newcastle, Central Coast and Sydney all changed hands in the first 10 years of the league, some multiple times and messily.

Auckland went under, as did Wellington before being revived, and Gold Coast and North Queensland were shut down. There were stoushes with big investors, including Clive Palmer, Tony Sage, Con Constantine, Nathan Tinkler and Don Matheson. Millions were lost as Lowy charged on.

Alot of backroom carnage my friend even just in the first 10yrs.

Wish it could get corrected.

HG, is there any other BIG team Pro sport in the world that is run by 2 different entities ?
IMO it should be under 1 governance top to bottom.
Golf is one of late that due to the big sand $$ King like Lowy decides to set up his own comp.
Enticed players etcetc, and its not working with the US PGA, again another huge fracture in big time sport.
Proof is in the pudding to me.
 
The core problem is that the A League was wildly undercapitalised from Day 1. Lowy got it off the ground through will power and contacts, but then, just as the comp was making headway, along came the debacle of the WC bid, which derailed everything.
 
yes fair points FS and a huge wart behind it all.
The massive costs the game/clubs never had before and the honeymoon masked so much.
The way he governed as a bull, all these types like him are big $ egotist's, therefore his my way or the highway drove off many other investors (even though some crooks as well) who would have kepted kicking in.
The ego over the WC bid worse with tax payer $ was another defining moment.
The comp was making headway due to the sugar hits, ADP, Ono, Heskey etc, paints a nice short term storey.
 
melbcityguy said:
Apl haven't done anything I remember reading about clubs not being able to control their website and merchandise for example but what's changed since the apl took over?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure that has changed at all.
Football Australia still owns the IP for the A-League and all of the A-League clubs. Might have something to do with the debts the APL has with FA.
All clubs use the same Wordpress theme for their sites, which was one that was created for the whole Keepup nonsense.
Not sure about the merch deals, but the bulk of the profits went to FFA back when they were running things. It was reported clubs were only taking $20 from a $135 kit sale. Not sure what the deal is now, but considering the clubs don't own their logos it's definitely possible that they are not taking all of the profits from merch sales.
 
Fair points of the governance of league, I feel it’s go down due to the lack of interest or dwindling popularity of the league but the way it has been run during the journey along the way it hasn’t helped at all.
 
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so much has been said by experts, pundits, fellow expert forumites, reddit mongers in the dark you name it.
Tell you guys this - I'm in a industry that has some Franchise models.
Automotive side - so its not like food that is such a daily commodity but car servicing/repairs/enhancements obviously has a need and NUMBERS right around the country.
Some of the Franchise's are complete basket case's, not some most.
I feel for the poor independant owner who once had his own small business thinking having a Brand and freshly painted is their golden ticket to greater turn over and stability.....
Same principle, unless your cashed up forget it !
If you are cashed up and don't work it well the holes in your pocket go deeper and deeper but you survive due to other investments kicking the can.
The Franchise charge per invoice is a joke - everything you buy needs to be through their system that margins get less and less.
Out of the many models in my industry and I know the intel from the HQ's and mix with franchisee's - only the top 5 give or take do well, the rest make up the numbers struggle along persisting because they put their lives on the line till they have to sell.
Its been a revolving door for decades.
As said, food ala maccas/kfc etcetc is a daily need for many people - car maintenance is a must do grudge buy but you got to get it done, HTF does a APL Franchisee like the big stad debts whilst pulling under 10k crowds, the team/back room staff running costs, the Jnr costs and facilities, pay the APL etcetcetc
Football Franchise isn't a need to the mass's but a luxury - the real huge % of the fish are not biting no matter what they do.
Question, how many of you actually see many people wearing a APL club shirt whilst casually out and about where you frequent ?????
Put aside you poor fellas going to games.
The merch sales cannot be much chop seriously.
I'm at my local grounds on weekends, I have sons mates turn up our place anytime of the day night.
We go out a far bit - I hardly ever see a APL shirt, TBH I can't recall when I saw one last casually on the streets.
I know I've seen alot more - LFC/United/Barca/RM you name it - even BB gear.
 
LFC said:
so much has been said by experts, pundits, fellow expert forumites, reddit mongers in the dark you name it.
Tell you guys this - I'm in a industry that has some Franchise models.
Automotive side - so its not like food that is such a daily commodity but car servicing/repairs/enhancements obviously has a need and NUMBERS right around the country.
Some of the Franchise's are complete basket case's, not some most.
I feel for the poor independant owner who once had his own small business thinking having a Brand and freshly painted is their golden ticket to greater turn over and stability.....
Same principle, unless your cashed up forget it !
If you are cashed up and don't work it well the holes in your pocket go deeper and deeper but you survive due to other investments kicking the can.
The Franchise charge per invoice is a joke - everything you buy needs to be through their system that margins get less and less.
Out of the many models in my industry and I know the intel from the HQ's and mix with franchisee's - only the top 5 give or take do well, the rest make up the numbers struggle along persisting because they put their lives on the line till they have to sell.
Its been a revolving door for decades.
As said, food ala maccas/kfc etcetc is a daily need for many people - car maintenance is a must do grudge buy but you got to get it done, HTF does a APL Franchisee like the big stad debts whilst pulling under 10k crowds, the team/back room staff running costs, the Jnr costs and facilities, pay the APL etcetcetc
Football Franchise isn't a need to the mass's but a luxury - the real huge % of the fish are not biting no matter what they do.
Question, how many of you actually see many people wearing a APL club shirt whilst casually out and about where you frequent ?????
Put aside you poor fellas going to games.
The merch sales cannot be much chop seriously.
I'm at my local grounds on weekends, I have sons mates turn up our place anytime of the day night.
We go out a far bit - I hardly ever see a APL shirt, TBH I can't recall when I saw one last casually on the streets.
I know I've seen alot more - LFC/United/Barca/RM you name it - even BB gear.
Click to expand...
Reading this made me realize i completely neglected merch as a revenue stream for clubs

I suspect tho as you say it is a small revenue stream
 
LFC said:
so much has been said by experts, pundits, fellow expert forumites, reddit mongers in the dark you name it.
Tell you guys this - I'm in a industry that has some Franchise models.
Automotive side - so its not like food that is such a daily commodity but car servicing/repairs/enhancements obviously has a need and NUMBERS right around the country.
Some of the Franchise's are complete basket case's, not some most.
I feel for the poor independant owner who once had his own small business thinking having a Brand and freshly painted is their golden ticket to greater turn over and stability.....
Same principle, unless your cashed up forget it !
If you are cashed up and don't work it well the holes in your pocket go deeper and deeper but you survive due to other investments kicking the can.
The Franchise charge per invoice is a joke - everything you buy needs to be through their system that margins get less and less.
Out of the many models in my industry and I know the intel from the HQ's and mix with franchisee's - only the top 5 give or take do well, the rest make up the numbers struggle along persisting because they put their lives on the line till they have to sell.
Its been a revolving door for decades.
As said, food ala maccas/kfc etcetc is a daily need for many people - car maintenance is a must do grudge buy but you got to get it done, HTF does a APL Franchisee like the big stad debts whilst pulling under 10k crowds, the team/back room staff running costs, the Jnr costs and facilities, pay the APL etcetcetc
Football Franchise isn't a need to the mass's but a luxury - the real huge % of the fish are not biting no matter what they do.
Question, how many of you actually see many people wearing a APL club shirt whilst casually out and about where you frequent ?????
Put aside you poor fellas going to games.
The merch sales cannot be much chop seriously.
I'm at my local grounds on weekends, I have sons mates turn up our place anytime of the day night.
We go out a far bit - I hardly ever see a APL shirt, TBH I can't recall when I saw one last casually on the streets.
I know I've seen alot more - LFC/United/Barca/RM you name it - even BB gear.
Click to expand...
Adults should only wear shirts to the match, the gym, or indoor fives.
 
Sutho - I’ll let them know next time not to the malls etc…..
Never a APL kit my surrounds.
What of kids ?
Same applies shed load more wear EU clubs.
 
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