More relocation chat/brawling

[scottmac]

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/spo...-mariners-future/story-fn63e0vj-1226796120505

Among some pretty nothing news about player recruitment that might or might not happen, we have this from Ray Gatt:



Have tweeted Gatty to find out from him if he's omitted CC reps or if there are none. Word is that at the very least there is no representation from CCF or supporters and Lawrie McKinna is not on there either.

EDIT- he's jsut tweeted back to my question "not that I am aware" so either the whole board hasn't been listed or we are being well and truly screwed.

I don't think MC & CCF would be best of buds going by what what came out of MC's mouth last year. Not entirely surprising that they would be missing from this group.

 

[Bladesman]

I don't think MC & CCF would be best of buds going by what what came out of MC's mouth last year. Not entirely surprising that they would be missing from this group.

Makes the $175k investment by CCF into the rep teams being discussed on the local football thread look even more ridiculous or maybe MC has worked out he has got all he can there so is looking where else to get $ from.

 

[bikinigirl]

I don't see Lawrie McKinna being left out as an issue ... given he is the local mayor he could be seen to have a "conflict of interest" [especially stadium rental] ... Or it could be the new boy wants to rid himself of the old guard which is not uncommon in business... but me thinks its more a "conflict of interest" issue

A new CEO is good news as is Moss looking to go to Asia to find players ... means the boss must be willing to put some coin in...

I cannot see Bob Graham wanting to move us off the Coast ... maybe to the COE .... but not to Sydney / Canberra etc...

. so you don't see a 'conflict of interest' with bob?

. considering he (as in wyong) has the coe already ... why would he care if the mariners play in gosford or not?

. i don't know bob at all ... i only know of him through the mariners. but he comes across as a politician who has bob's interest front and centre - not the mariners. for example the very first fan forum back in 2012 he only seemed interested in using it as an opportunity to campaign for the upcoming council elections ... very frustrating for fans in attendance (particularly those from outside wyong)

. the sad part is the lack of engagement 'the community club' seems to have ... or want to have ... with the community - or those that pay to support their team

 

[nebakke]

I have no opinion about Bob... Was overseas when the fan forums were on... But I agree with BG, I don't buy leaving Lawrie out based on "conflict of interest" concerns but allowing Bob Graham in... Indeed, I would suggest that, if anything, the fact that they, inevitably, are stakeholders in the team makes it all the more reasonable to have them involved.
The old-guard thing is indeed common in business, but that is usually because the old-guard is seen to be locked into old habits etc. etc... The only old habit that Lawrie still has the position to be locked into, really, is the club playing on the coast, for everything else, I think he's been a pretty good proponent of any moves to improve the club's position.
Even if it wasn't Lawrie though, I would've thought that they'd want SOMEONE from the council on there.
I'm trying my best not to read too much into this though, but I've got to admit that MC makes it hard... Especially when he then hires a temp. manager who started with, what seemed like good engagement, then countered one of his comments and who hasn't really been heard from since... Where MC has kept putting his foot in it about NSO in return.
He may well be getting sick of us, but at least for now, we're the closes thing he has to someone paying his bills, so wth won't he ENGAGE!? It started so nicely, with community forums etc...

I'm not angry... Just disappointed and increasingly becoming disillusioned...

 

[midfielder]

. so you don't see a 'conflict of interest' with bob?

I said he may want to move us to the COE but not Sydney or Canberra .... BUT he is not a mayor where the council owns a stadium and are in the middle of discussions with our club.
. considering he (as in wyong) has the coe already ... why would he care if the mariners play in gosford or not?

Because without the Mariners aside from Soccer 5 and the club the COE brings nothing like who will stay at the motel or pay big rent to have an office there.
. i don't know bob at all ... i only know of him through the mariners. but he comes across as a politician who has bob's interest front and centre - not the mariners. for example the very first fan forum back in 2012 he only seemed interested in using it as an opportunity to campaign for the upcoming council elections ... very frustrating for fans in attendance (particularly those from outside wyong)

I don't trust any politician and my experience is the local ones are the worst ... however he does bring with him some knowledge of local laws ...
. the sad part is the lack of engagement 'the community club' seems to have ... or want to have ... with the community - or those that pay to support their team

Agree in the main ... my strong belief is MC is in a huge game of bluff with the council.... again nothing to prove this ... Singo moved out as he was losing money, the new rental agreements wants more than Singo was paying ... MC wants the stadium but at a price he can make not lose money ... at a fans forum he detailed all the plans he had for the stadium .. MC is not being good with the communication however my reading of the Tea Leafs is its all over the stadium...

 

[nebakke]

Does anyone know whether there's a deadline for when something is supposed to be decided on for the stadium? I thought I'd read somewhere that it was supposed to be done by Feb or some such animal?
Just trying to gauge when we might be able to hope for a little bit of stability to be introduced...

 

[midfielder]

Does anyone know whether there's a deadline for when something is supposed to be decided on for the stadium? I thought I'd read somewhere that it was supposed to be done by Feb or some such animal?
Just trying to gauge when we might be able to hope for a little bit of stability to be introduced...

My limited understanding is sometime mid February the lease held by Singo runs out and he has advised mid last year he will not bid again as he has lost money running the stadium...

Gosford Council put out expressions of interest to take over the running of the stadium.... three groups of which the Mariners were one ... expressed an interest in taking over the stadium ... Council then replied with greater detail in what the sort from the body that took control of the stadium... The Mariners decided what was asked for was well beyond their ability to pay and never submitted an offer... one of the other groups who made an expression of interest also withdrew... Only one applied but did not change their offer... Council rejected that bid...

I guess from mid February or thereabouts council will charge rents to users of the stadium be they us or chip sellers...

MC at one of the fans forums made it very clear he wanted control of the stadium and what he planned to do with it ... essentially he believed it was poorly run and he could do a lot more with it ...

As I said my reading of the Tea Leafs is MC wants the stadium at rent say X ... the council wants X++++ ... the council believe they have him over a barrel as he has no where else to play and they own the stadium and want a return for the rate payers .... My guess is MC bid way below what Singo paid given Singo was losing money .... MC needs to create a belief he will walk or take many games away from the CC this then gives him ....he hopes... a leverage point he can use hoping the council will rent the stadium at a affordable rental as he see's it ...

I also could be totally wrong and MC is a total shit and wants to take the club to ???????? but I think on any analysis there are no real options for him to move the club... or a huge number of games ... however I could be wrong and those who always assume the worst and scream doom and gloom could help his cause in bluff and counter bluff with the council....

 

[rbakersmith]

Bruce Stalder (ex Brisbane Roar) has been appointed as CEO.

The board has also been finalised:

• Paul Chapman, IFS CEO
• Duncan Tweed, NSFA CEO
• Kevin McCabe
• Mike Charlesworth

http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/centralcoastmariners/news-display/Mariners-appoint-new-CEO/82594

 

[neverwozza]

Thats the way I see it too MF but MC has such a scattergun approach when talking to the media that it's hard to know when he is being an astute business person or when he is just being a dickhead.

So far he's had a go at CCF who help pay for the academy, FNSW whose comps he wants the academy to play in and CCM supporters who are basically his customers. I know he pays the bills etc etc but surely he knew what the deal was when he took over.

 

[nebakke]

As I said my reading of the Tea Leafs is MC wants the stadium at rent say X ... the council wants X++++ ... the council believe they have him over a barrel as he has no where else to play and they own the stadium and want a return for the rate payers .... My guess is MC bid way below what Singo paid given Singo was losing money .... MC needs to create a belief he will walk or take many games away from the CC this then gives him ....he hopes... a leverage point he can use hoping the council will rent the stadium at a affordable rental as he see's it ...

I also could be totally wrong and MC is a total shit and wants to take the club to ???????? but I think on any analysis there are no real options for him to move the club... or a huge number of games ... however I could be wrong and those who always assume the worst and scream doom and gloom could help his cause in bluff and counter bluff with the council....

Well... I suppose, at the end of the day, the council has no interest in running CCM into the ground either, so hopefully you're right and they can find some sort of compromise in the next month or so, because good lord, I really wanted just ONE season without the anxiety of watching the club leave/fall apart and I'd really hoped that this would be it...

 

[nebakke]

Bruce Stalder (ex Brisbane Roar) has been appointed as CEO.

The board has also been finalised:

• Paul Chapman, IFS CEO
• Duncan Tweed, NSFA CEO
• Kevin McCabe
• Mike Charlesworth

http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/centralcoastmariners/news-display/Mariners-appoint-new-CEO/82594

I know nothing about any of those people. but on the face of it, that strikes me as a fairly decent combination, assuming that relations to CCF are still tense, at least Paul Chapman presumably has some clout with CCF as well as an interest in keeping the team where it is too.

I'm in two minds about our relationship with Sheffield... On one hand, I think it has good potential, certainly getting Monty across was a good thing, on the other hand, if Arnie's comments about them were true, then I suppose we need to make sure that we keep them at arm's length.

As a whole though, seeing it as a Local Rep, North Shore Rep, International Football Rep and the Owner, I think it's a reasonable combination...

 

[midfielder]

Well... I suppose, at the end of the day, the council has no interest in running CCM into the ground either, so hopefully you're right and they can find some sort of compromise in the next month or so, because good lord, I really wanted just ONE season without the anxiety of watching the club leave/fall apart and I'd really hoped that this would be it...

I think [and hope] so to HHHMMMMmmmmm maybe the council don't want to run CCM into the ground ... it all comes down to perception .... the alternative side to my argument is some in council are digging their feet in.... at the rental they want it would be hard for MC to run ....

That's when the real dilemma starts I think the Drive Bys have the best deal and thats [my understanding only no proof] about 40K per match .. The Roar and SFC have the worst stadium deals...

From what I have heard and its not from great sources ... more rumours and second hand but lets assume there are some grains of truth and the actual lies somewhere within the two extremes ... MC wants to pay less than what we do now ... or get full control of the stadium at a fair bit less than what Singo paid ... Council wants to inflation adjust and then add some to what Singo paid all those years ago... Essentially MC wants to pay say half what he does now and Council wants triple what they currently get...

Imagine for a moment ... we determine our average crowd is 10.5 K over time and with other costs we need to hire the stadium for say 40K per match... now council says we want 90K per match ... so 15 games with a 50K loss ... or $ 750, 000 extra to be found ... maybe more than double ticket prices and hope the crowd stay at 10.5 K ... the figures I have used are made up .... hopefully they shine a light on why the stadium rental deal is so important for our future ...

Back to the dilemma ... what if they cannot reach a comprise .... what does MC do .....

 

[bilo]

Back to the dilemma ... what if they cannot reach a comprise .... what does MC do .....

Hopefully he decides he has had enough and says he doesn't want the club anymore and then it can be run by people who want to make it work for The Central Coast

 

[nebakke]

I think [and hope]

Back to the dilemma ... what if they cannot reach a comprise .... what does MC do .....

I suppose this is where he shoots himself in the foot, going off the way he has... If he had been less "in-your-face" about this whole thing, he might've been able to threaten moving while maintaining a reasonable level of trust from the fan-base. That way, should the council refuse to budge, he could've potentially actually headed for NS with the fans placing the majority of the blame with the council.
THIS way though, it's really only here and places like it, that have been talking about the stadium, for the true casuals there's only talk of moving, nothing about negotiations and new deals... All they will see, if no compomise is reached, is a millionaire taking his new toy and moving it to NS because - money... The council won't ever even enter into it, the casuals will leave out of disgust and disillusion as will a fair portion of the more rusted ons and MC will have to rebuild a fanbase elsewhere.

He COULD have probably gotten away with keeping his big trap shut after Tracy(? is that her name?) did the podcast interview which seemed to temporarily settle some of us - including myself - while still keeping the heat on a bit.

 

[dibo]

As a whole though, seeing it as a Local Rep, North Shore Rep, International Football Rep and the Owner, I think it's a reasonable combination...

Paul Chapman runs a football business locally. That's not the same as being a rep for local football, any more than having the boss of Soccer5s or a local academy on the board.

 

[midfielder]

Dibo

Be fair Chapman runs Australia's first Sports Football School that has considerable relationships with the Mariners....

Netbake

Astute comment ..... if played differently the good folk of the CC could be asking the council to rent us the stadium... this way the council gets off ...

It is actually a huge issue for all clubs the costs of stadium hire ... Ours has been one of the lowest only the Drive Bys have lower is my understanding ... Roar, PG, SFC in particular have very poor stadium deals ... as did the Gold Coast resulting in Fat Tony saying less than 5K or over 20 K .. I will go for under 5K ...

Having LM seemingly away from the club looks better .... but our stadium rental is a real cost .... The NS council deal in theory says 3K to break even... I have no idea where the new Bluetounge deal would sit but we could assume it will lift the average above the existing 10K ...

However Netbake I fully agree MC's methods to date don't seem smart .... rather than have the Coast behind him he has the Coast against him...

 

[bilo]

Let me ask all the astute people on here a question. If this years membership number is 5600, How many do you think will return next year? This will have a major impact given that next season we wont have 6 derby matches at home more likely 3

 

[dibo]

Be fair Chapman runs Australia's first Sports Football School that has considerable relationships with the Mariners....

Yeah, that's great and all, but it doesn't make him a representative of football on the Central Coast.

 

[midfielder]

Back to the dilemma ... what if they cannot reach a comprise .... what does MC do .....

Hopefully he decides he has had enough and says he doesn't want the club anymore and then it can be run by people who want to make it work for The Central Coast

PT tried to find buyers for gods knows how long .... to assume there are folk out there willing to step in for the good of the Coast HHHHHmmmm they are hard to find me thinks...

I am in no way defending what MC has done .... in fact I see some huge mistakes he has made ... however I will give him this ... the Brass Band, New Mascots, the Cannon at the match, The Cannon hand out at matches .... The indigenous academy at the COE .... it's not all that one sided ...

I have seen this whole thing from day one as I have often posted as a stadium rental issue ... MC for whatever reason choose to use the I am going unless I get ... Council is calling his bluff it would appear...

As Netbake said there were far smarter ways or say different ways to get the message across ....

So the question I ask you is .. say the rental is put up to where we need 13.5 K to break even ... do you see buyers anywhere to make it work for the Coast ... remember the Russians HHHHMMMmm ....

 

[midfielder]

Yeah, that's great and all, but it doesn't make him a representative of football on the Central Coast.

So unless you have a team in the local association or sit on the board you have no relationship with the CC.... just maybe you have players in the rep sides ...maybe you have local coaches .. maybe you work with the local association ...

I do you see your point .... unless you are involved with the Woy Woy all stars or similar then you could have no idea how the CC works...