Turbulence (then calm sailing, then turbulence) thread.

[dibo]

There is a minimum wage that a player can earn (in the realm of ~50k if I'm remembering right) plus you've gotta have 20 players or so at least, max of 23 or 25 I think (sans injury replacements), so you've got a baseline of about $1m at least for 20 players if you're gonna go the cheap way out.

That said, I think that the unspent surplus should be going to a club. Don't punish a club for being sensible with their wages.

There's a salary floor as well as a cap.

By the PFA's last published info (http://pfa.net.au/fileadmin/user_upload/_temp_/PFA_-_Summary_A-League_CBA_09_Updated.pdf - goes up to 2010/11) the minimum sum for player payments was set at $1,997,500 and the maximum was $2,350,000.

The minimum wage was $46k but the minimum spend/23 players comes to well over $85k.

 

[bikinigirl]

Central Coast Mariners' new chief executive, Bruce Stalder, wants the club to permanently remain north of Brooklyn Bridge but was interested in bringing the odd game or two further south to service the 20 per cent of the club's members who live in Sydney's northern suburbs.

. but does it? i know of a few of those 20% that didn't go to north sydney because it is easier for them to go to gosford and they couldn't be bothered ... plus the other compromises

. if that is what people want - fine ... if it is being used as an excuse, or assumptions are being made without consultation - not so fine

 

[gull]

20% of approx 5500 members is 1100.

No offence to them but they are getting treated very well if we're moving 4 games to suit 1100 people.

 

[dibo]

Is the 20% NS based or Sydney based? If it's Sydney based it includes people like me. I (gladly) drive past NSO on my way from the inner west to our home games.

 

[bikinigirl]

20% of approx 5500 members is 1100.

. the other issue i have with the often spoken of 20% is that they are not necessarily on the north shore ... and we have no way of knowing how many of them are 3 or 6 game members

 

[bikinigirl]

Is the 20% NS based or Sydney based? If it's Sydney based it includes people like me. I (gladly) drive past NSO on my way from the inner west to our home games.

. beaten by >< this much

. i have heard them say 'south of the hawkesbury' ... so our members from western sydney, blue mountains or wherever else are 'south of the hawkesbury' ... and i am sure they would love more games at north sydney because it is so much more convenient

 

[dibo]

And for what it's worth, the missus and I are looking at properties on the coast, not much different to a (now former) neighbour of ours who moved back to the coast. We are Sydney based Mariners game, but not by some sort of accident. We're Mariners fans because we're coasties, not because we like the colours or we think Hutch is a top bloke.

 

[VicMariner]

. 'south of the hawkesbury'

Hey.....I'm south of the Hawksbury! Hell, I'm south of the Murray!!!


No to NSO, Brookvale etc! I follow the Central Coast Mariners, not Yet Another Sydney Team Mariners™.

 

[finally retired]

I'm a coastie currently living south of the Hawkesbury because of work......but I wouldn't trade Gosford for Manly or North Sydney or Parra or anywhere else...

 

[sydmariner]

. beaten by >< this much

. i have heard them say 'south of the hawkesbury' ... so our members from western sydney, blue mountains or wherever else are 'south of the hawkesbury' ... and i am sure they would love more games at north sydney because it is so much more convenient

convient isnt always better but

 

[bikinigirl]

convient isnt always better but

. sarcasm isn't always better either it would seem ... but i can't change the habits of a lifetime

 

[eenfish]

I am registered as one of those south of the Hawksbury members… Melbourne is very south...

 

[bikinigirl]

I am registered as one of those south of the Hawksbury members… Melbourne is very south...

. so let me ask you ... would playing more games at north sydney or brookvale be a benefit to you?

 

[eenfish]

No

 

[Gratis]

all this 20% talk by the club is in my mind justification talk only to back the twin goals of wanting cheaper field rental and a bigger market to tap.
1. I still don't believe there's a lot of market to be tapped as north Sydneyens are unlikely to identify themselves strongly with the central coast, and whatever gain there is may be offset by putting current fans offside.
2. the $$ saved in rental by this whole charade may barely make up for putting fans offside.

one, maybe two games I'll handle, more and I will be one of those many fans put offside

what about other revenue options? the CoE is only a matter of time. my business fu is weak but I feel there's a lack of creative problem solving in general. our main market are families, make mariners lunch boxes, pencil cases, taking cards, etc, or make a deal with a sanitarium or masterfoods to make mariners themed goods made for the central coast market, mariners cereals (I'd buy mariners weetbix if it was there on the shelf), juices, whatever, stuff families get anyway and can choose mariners versions of to support and that the kids will love
what about other investments, real estate or something?
I'll state again that I know my acumen in this area is weak and much of these will have obvious holes (such as real estate needing initial capital and a long term turn around) these ideas aren't meant to be specific answers but serve as examples of how to start thinking creatively about staying viable.

the Mariners have a brand with a lot of goodwill on the coast and a will defined market

 

[finally retired]

. sarcasm isn't always better either it would seem ... but i can't change the habits of a lifetime

 

[bikinigirl]

all this 20% talk by the club is in my mind justification talk only to back the twin goals of wanting cheaper field rental and a bigger market to tap.
1. I still don't believe there's a lot of market to be tapped as north Sydneyens are unlikely to identify themselves strongly with the central coast, and whatever gain there is may be offset by putting current fans offside.
2. the $$ saved in rental by this whole charade may barely make up for putting fans offside.

. seems relatively simple doesn't it ... certainly not worth all the thought and anguish it continues to cause

 

[tsd]

all this 20% talk by the club is in my mind justification talk only to back the twin goals of wanting cheaper field rental and a bigger market to tap.
1. I still don't believe there's a lot of market to be tapped as north Sydneyens are unlikely to identify themselves strongly with the central coast, and whatever gain there is may be offset by putting current fans offside.
2. the $$ saved in rental by this whole charade may barely make up for putting fans offside.

one, maybe two games I'll handle, more and I will be one of those many fans put offside

what about other revenue options? the CoE is only a matter of time. my business fu is weak but I feel there's a lack of creative problem solving in general. our main market are families, make mariners lunch boxes, pencil cases, taking cards, etc, or make a deal with a sanitarium or masterfoods to make mariners themed goods made for the central coast market, mariners cereals (I'd buy mariners weetbix if it was there on the shelf), juices, whatever, stuff families get anyway and can choose mariners versions of to support and that the kids will love
what about other investments, real estate or something?
I'll state again that I know my acumen in this area is weak and much of these will have obvious holes (such as real estate needing initial capital and a long term turn around) these ideas aren't meant to be specific answers but serve as examples of how to start thinking creatively about staying viable.

the Mariners have a brand with a lot of goodwill on the coast and a will defined market

Some very good ideas in here but forget sanitarium, they won't do anything to undermine the national appeal they get from socceroos and Tim Cahill sponsorships

Mariners branded sauce bottles though... Would sell through the roof!

 

[Jaundice]

Yeh, Im just not seeing this large footballing market in North sydney that wouldnt have been sold by Sydney fc or WSW by now. How exactly are we going to convince them where the other clubs couldnt besides playing in a half arsed ground there sometimes.

Perhaps in the future, but this all just seems a bit rushed and flirting with permanency.

 

[dibo]

Our Friday night games have been disastrous.

Last Friday was a shitfight - having TV against the gate is unhelpful too; it took me 2.5hrs to get to Gosford in shithouse traffic the other night - if I had to get home and sort out kids before getting back into town to see the game, but I had the alternative of getting a 6-pack on the way home and watching the game on FTA while I waited for a pizza to be delivered I'd do that instead.

17134
9109
8303
6755 (NSO, Thursday night)
5785 (Friday night)
10251
12919
8062
10920
9138
6147 (Friday night)
6430

So being on a Friday night seems to knock more than 2k off our typical crowds. The NSO game was still 3k below our average and the others are more than 3.5k below.

Taking those games to be 'on the way home' at NSO and bringing the bigger numbers at home would certainly be better financially.

Our average is a bit over 9k, if you take out derbies and 'events' (i.e. NYE), we're running an average of about 8.5k. Take just the Friday games and the NSO game out and we're running at just over 10k (and based on some sums earlier in the year, that's enough to break even).

If you took that game to NSO and made it into an after-work event for a similar number, we'd probably be making money from it rather than losing.

Coming back around to the article quoted the other day, the club's CEO told the journo that the club "was interested in bringing the odd game or two further south to service the 20 per cent of the club's members who live in Sydney's northern suburbs". The chairman has talked about taking one game to Brookvale (who knows how long ago - this *was* first reported a while ago so his views might have changed).

NSO talks about 4 games, but there's nothing to attribute that view to the club. Friday games are frankly unloved but we might be obliged to have them for SBS's sake - I reckon they'll be talking about moving those and leaving the rest in Gosford.

That means we can put the idea of relocation to bed (though feel free to get grumpy about the idea of diluting the CC product).