CCM Fans and the club

[Coastalraider]

Less involvement from Harry Redknapp:
http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/article/2016/12/22/definitely-no-aussie-sun-tan-redknapp

LESS involvement? We must surely be in deficit then!

 

[Atomic]

A letter from Mike Charlesworth to all members...
________________________________________
Happy New Year I trust you all enjoyed a very Merry Christmas.

I'd firstly like to thank all of our Members for your unstinting support, for our great club.

Membership numbers and attendances game-on-game are up this season which is encouraging and under Paolo’s guidance we are playing attractive possession based football which will only continue to develop as he builds his team.

I have encouraged Shaun and Paolo to look very closely at the January transfer window which is an exciting time for all football fans. When it comes to player recruitment we need to be very precise and I am hopeful, if the right opportunity presents itself, that we can add an exciting addition to our squad for the remainder of the Hyundai A-League 2016/17 season.

Although our league position isn't good enough, improvements are now visible compared to where the team was placed last season and with the youngest squad in the Hyundai A-league. It is important that we maintain our position as the best development club for young Australian talent and I believe we are doing that.

The Central Coast Mariners have and will always be a community driven club, our player engagement levels have once again increased across 2016 and I love reading the feedback from parents about how we have positively impacted the lives of so many children on the Coast and beyond.

Commercially, we have made significant strides forward over the last 12 months, visually you can see the progress at the Centre of Excellence, however under Shaun's direction a lot more work is being done in our offices to ensure the Club’s success for the long term.

What’s exciting right now are the huge opportunities that 2017 brings and how this club will continue to grow both on and off the field. In 2017 we are very hopeful of launching a Mariners Westfield W-League team. Today we confirmed our intentions to acquire a Westfield W-League Licence and we are preparing our proposal to Football Federation Australia to join the Westfield W-League.

Going hand in hand with our intention to partake in the Westfield W-League is the necessity for Central Coast Stadium to continue to improve and grow with the Central Coast Mariners. The Mariners are an incredibly important asset for the Central Coast community and we are keen to extend our investment at all levels: from local employment to community engagement and aspiration for young boys and girls. It's also the responsibility for our Council to assist us in this drive and we recently presented our vision for Central Coast Stadium and what it can look like in the future. Our council needs to encourage us to invest in the infrastructure and allow us to take on the management rights to our stadium so we can bring in more events and develop our home so it becomes one of the most sophisticated stadiums in Australia. This is a very achievable goal that you will see us work towards in 2017 and one of the main reasons for my visit to the Central Coast in January ahead of our match on the 28th against Perth Glory. Watch this space for some very exciting news in the new year.

From a Hyundai A-League point of view, 2016 was an incredibly important year due to the negotiation around the future TV broadcast deal that is the single biggest revenue stream for all 10 clubs. Fox Sports have signed a six-year deal however it's now up to Football Federation Australia (FFA) to distribute the funds fairly and that means a minimum payment of $6 million per year for each club.

FFA have for so long claimed the Hyundai A-League is the engine room for Aussie football and should spearhead the advancement of football against the other codes. It's our club that helps create the revenue from Fox and our responsibility to provide the entertainment and pathways for kids to the national teams. Therefore, I'm calling on the FFA to deliver and fund the Mariners and all clubs appropriately so we can invest the funds into a better product, better team and stronger future.

We need the investment in the Hyundai A-League so we can compete with other sports in Australia, commercially and make us proud and prominent on the global stage. Our league has tremendous opportunities for owning the TV Broadcast space on a Saturday and Sunday morning in Europe but to do this and generate the subsequent revenue it will deliver we need investment to acquire Marquee players for all clubs which along with other products, will help stimulate growth through all levels of the game.

If the FFA are serious about the development of the Hyundai A-League, then they should fund the clubs appropriately and let us drive the growth of the game so we can eventually supersede the other codes.

As such, during my visit in January: Shaun, Paolo and I will host a Members Only forum to discuss all aspects of the club where all Members will be given the opportunity to ask us questions.

Lastly but certainly not least, we are try to bring ‘Frame Football’ to Australia. Frame Football is an up and coming sport in Europe enabling children with Cerebral Palsy and other disabilities to play football using mobility walking frames. One of our Members has developed and patented the world's first frame for outdoor usage which would enable kids to play football on grass as opposed to indoor usage which is the restriction today. Making football accessible for everyone is something that we are passionate about and we hope this is an area of the game we can help grow.

I know that is a lot to take in but I want all our Members to know first, some of the things that are happening behind the scenes at the Mariners.

Enjoy your New Year’s Eve, I couldn’t think of a better place to be spending it than Central Coast Stadium and here’s hoping we finish 2016 on a high.


Yours in football,

Mike Charlesworth

 

[MrCelery]

All sounds positive. Let's see if anything eventuates.

More a blunt message to the Council and the FFA than to members, I suspect.

Unfortunately, I reckon that FFA will deliberately underfund the A-League Clubs from the Foxtel bucket, in the hope that those clubs that are not 'where the fish are' will wither and die.

As for the Council, I can't comment as I don't live locally. Are they pro-Mariners these days? Or are the dominated by NRL-lovers that would like to see us fail?

This season has left me in a black mood. It would be nice to finish this one and start the next one with 3 points tonight.

 

[rbakersmith]

As for the Council, I can't comment as I don't live locally. Are they pro-Mariners these days? Or are the dominated by NRL-lovers that would like to see us fail?

Since the amalgamation with Wyong earlier in the year there's been an administrator in place - elections for councillors aren't scheduled until September. If there's ever a time to land the management rights, now would be it.

 

[Pirate Pete]

.... or get a Mariners party going in time for the council elections.
And a good question to ask candidates. " Do you support The Mariners taking over the stadium"?
Trouble with that is we know politicians lie. Thinking about it a Liberal council might not be bad.
They sell everything in sight.

Does anyone know how long that sign has been alongside the scoreboard.
Proudly owned by Central Coast Council or something. I have seen a few of
those around since the amalgamation but I wasn't sure if it just happened to
appear at the same time The Mariners brought up the idea of owning the stadium.

I went to a couple of those forums just after we won the Grand Final. I quite enjoyed them.
I thought Mike Charlesworth was genuinely trying to move the club forward at that stage
from what he was saying. I remember Arnie saying The Mariners found it easy to sign
players. Everyone wanted to play for The Mariners. I was only thinking about it last night.
I expect everyone wants to play for SFC now

 

[Timmah]

Nope, it was a "proudly owned by Gosford City Council" sign that was simply converted after the amalgamation

 

[Pirate Pete]

Nope, it was a "proudly owned by Gosford City Council" sign that was simply converted after the amalgamation

OK thanks. Shows how much attention I pay to things.

 

[Timmah]

And I live in Melbourne

 

[pjennings]

.... or get a Mariners party going in time for the council elections.
And a good question to ask candidates. " Do you support The Mariners taking over the stadium"?
Trouble with that is we know politicians lie. Thinking about it a Liberal council might not be bad.
They sell everything in sight.

Does anyone know how long that sign has been alongside the scoreboard.
Proudly owned by Central Coast Council or something. I have seen a few of
those around since the amalgamation but I wasn't sure if it just happened to
appear at the same time The Mariners brought up the idea of owning the stadium.

I went to a couple of those forums just after we won the Grand Final. I quite enjoyed them.
I thought Mike Charlesworth was genuinely trying to move the club forward at that stage
from what he was saying. I remember Arnie saying The Mariners found it easy to sign
players. Everyone wanted to play for The Mariners. I was only thinking about it last night.
I expect everyone wants to play for SFC now

For as long as I have lived on the Coast we have always had Liberal councils - just not named that way. They just stand for council as independents before they try their luck as liberals at state level. The sad thing is as councillors they blame the state government for everything then as state reps they blame the council for everything.

 

[pjennings]

A letter from Mike Charlesworth to all members...
________________________________________

From a Hyundai A-League point of view, 2016 was an incredibly important year due to the negotiation around the future TV broadcast deal that is the single biggest revenue stream for all 10 clubs. Fox Sports have signed a six-year deal however it's now up to Football Federation Australia (FFA) to distribute the funds fairly and that means a minimum payment of $6 million per year for each club.

FFA have for so long claimed the Hyundai A-League is the engine room for Aussie football and should spearhead the advancement of football against the other codes. It's our club that helps create the revenue from Fox and our responsibility to provide the entertainment and pathways for kids to the national teams. Therefore, I'm calling on the FFA to deliver and fund the Mariners and all clubs appropriately so we can invest the funds into a better product, better team and stronger future.

We need the investment in the Hyundai A-League so we can compete with other sports in Australia, commercially and make us proud and prominent on the global stage. Our league has tremendous opportunities for owning the TV Broadcast space on a Saturday and Sunday morning in Europe but to do this and generate the subsequent revenue it will deliver we need investment to acquire Marquee players for all clubs which along with other products, will help stimulate growth through all levels of the game.

If the FFA are serious about the development of the Hyundai A-League, then they should fund the clubs appropriately and let us drive the growth of the game so we can eventually supersede the other codes.

The bolded bits I find interesting. Gallop is trying flog the HAL as is to overseas broadcasters. Mike is pointing out the opportunity we have if we invest correctly.

 

[dibo]

Unfortunately, I reckon that FFA will deliberately underfund the A-League Clubs from the Foxtel bucket, in the hope that those clubs that are not 'where the fish are' will wither and die.

This is illogical. If you're trying to get new investors in, you need to ensure that your existing investors aren't shitcanning the organisation for starving them.

 

[MrCelery]

This is illogical. If you're trying to get new investors in, you need to ensure that your existing investors aren't shitcanning the organisation for starving them.

OK. Charlesworth has stated his minimum figure, $6 million minimum. Let's see whether FFA will pony up.

 

[Big Al]

$6m x 10 teams = $60m. Don't have that much from Fox. Need more revenue streams to even get close plus FFA will want some of running money.

I think the AU chairman was quoted using a similar figure.

With the current salary cap in the $3m region that's a lot more than the 140% the NRL just agreed to and then tried to back out of and which Shaun quoted as an example of what teams where looking to emulate.

That $6m might be push em hard settle for less type figure

$4m x 150% = $6m

 

[Atomic]

It's called an ambit claim. If MC did want $6mill, he'd be stupid to be quoting that figure at this point in time. He'd be saying $8mill.

 

[priorpeter]

It's called an ambit claim. If MC did want $6mill, he'd be stupid to be quoting that figure at this point in time. He'd be saying $8mill.

Negotiation 101

 

[Forum Phoenix]

What Atomic said, but even once FTA comes in which should get it over 60, how much of that deal is services in kind vs actual $ handed over? Anyone know?

With significantly more money through advertisers and merch licenses etc. I think anything less than 4.5 would be a slap in the face to the cubs. Thoroughly agree with MC. I thought it was a great letter. We're a club with a vision.

The marquees for all is the best approach. Some good push back at FFA and bit of pressure on the council which I think is well warranted and fair. A Jan reinforcement (sounded like singular) is obviously good news, but with Faty injured again and no sign of Posc... will it be a CAM or a CB?

Well played MC, Happy New Years.

 

[FFC Mariner]

CAM and a defender

 

[Forum Phoenix]

Please the football gods yes.

 

[Yoda]

A Jan reinforcement (sounded like singular) is obviously good news, but with Faty injured again and no sign of Posc... will it be a CAM or a CB?

Posco confirmed at that pre-match last night that he came down with glandular fever the week after playing a full match in the 20s. Is still at least a week, more likely 2 weeks away.

 

[dibo]

Good snooping Yoda!