Tasmania United Fc Forum |
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| DISCUSSIONS > State of the Bids | ||
| ntguy | Date posted | Replies |
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I found this article on Theworldgame site interesting. I would like to see more about the Lucas Neill backed bid. It appears to be the best of the Western Sydney bids. Anyone who includes ANZ Stadium has rocks in their heads. http://www.theworldgame.com.au/a-league/battle-intensifies-for-12th-a-league-spot-211607 Add comments |
8th March 2010 | 65 |
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Chuqposted at 12:56AM on 1st Aug, 2009 I'll copy and paste the comment I've been making on all the other football forums! ----- Interesting article. Chuqposted at 12:56AM on 1st Aug, 2009 Pt 2
Clintposted at 5:30AM on 1st Aug, 2009 Good rebuttal Chuq. Timinaposted at 6:14AM on 1st Aug, 2009 Nice reply Chuq.
What is this problem with ANZ stadium? I'm rather new to Australia football since I only got excited about Australian club football in 2005.
It seems the guy writing the article might be a fan of western sydney getting a team and may have concentrated more on the drawbacks to other bids.
He noted that the NRL and super 14 Canberra teams are struggling. Though both have good on field success so if there is anything off field then I don't know how that relates to the Canberra bid. Though I doubt any mainlander is taking our bid seriously and I highly suspect if we get in we will join a 3 team influx when the AFC removes support for the NZ team and expands at the same time to 14. Foxhawkposted at 3:30PM on 1st Aug, 2009 I am quite sure that the battling between west sydney consortiums will derail their bids. As a result the so called weak Canberra bid which is not weak whatsoever will probably join Heart. Following this I would expect one Sydney consortium to possibly go under or merge with another. Makes me wonder if the losing Melbourne second bid team are still kicking about hoping to be a B side down the track. Im guess a dominant West Sydney side will be facing off against TUFC and South Coast (unless it merged which I doubt). Wellington transferring to the new NZ League could make three spots available possible. Phoenix is only there to blood New Zealand talent anyway. ntguyposted at 8:19AM on 2nd Aug, 2009 If one of the Western Sydney bids has put its bid together properly then they will most certainly get the 12th licence. The 2nd Sydney and Melbourne clubs are the essential next step for the A-League business wise. They effectively lock in the biggest market player wise (Sydney 4 x bigger than Qld) and the biggest market supporter wise (Melbourne). Although other bidders might not like these markets getting a second club they will help secure the A-League financially and set up the next phase of expansion into "new" markets. That is where we come in. Canberra has a history of failed professional teams and so does Wollongong but to a lesser extent. We aren't helped either by the failure of two clubs in the NBL over the years. We need to keep pushing the "truly national" barrow as part of our bid. It is a winner. We need to be using the delay of a year or so to be setting our state football structure in place. That is not TUFC's role but we all should be pushing FFT to go to a summer state league next year to build on the media hype that will come from the Socceroos participation in WC 2010. Inclusion of an elite youth team from the north and/or the south should be seriously considered as part of this. With all of this in place and a further developed link with business we will be in a much better place to pick up licence # 13 and not have to compete for #14. Taswegianposted at 9:18AM on 2nd Aug, 2009 I'm just worried that the A League may stop expanding at 14 and that if we don't get in at this point, we may not get in at all. I would be absolutely gutted if this happened and I had to sit and watch Wellington draw miserable crowds week in week out, keeping an Australian team out of the competition. ntguyposted at 11:23AM on 2nd Aug, 2009 As long as the business case stands up I can't see us missing 13 or 14. Being able to say the A-League is the only truly national competition will stick in the AFL's craw and the FFA will say it often with a nice grin on its collective face. Chuqposted at 1:10AM on 4th Aug, 2009 The NSL was the first football league in Australia to cover five states, first to cover 5 states+1 territory, and with any luck the A-League it will be the first to cover six states+1 territory!! galacticaposted at 9:33AM on 4th Aug, 2009 On 936 ABC Hobart Mon morn Aug 3 Tim Cox spoke with John McGirr and apparently as the main aim is to prove the viability of our bid to the FFA the consultancy that is to be contracted will be conducting surveys in the three main regions of our state to gauge the public support including assessments of areas or sections that may not be directly connected or currently supporting or following soccer. The necessity is to obtain a definitive calculation of expectations regarding attendances and finances realizable, including sponsorship support that remains untouched at present. He said that unless we can produce such figures to confirm the support necessary then obviously the bid will not proceed any further. Virtually everything hinges upon realistic expectations and if they can get within the "ball park" then extrapolations for the future can be negotiated with FFA amongst other things - but the numbers must stack up initially. galacticaposted at 9:54AM on 4th Aug, 2009 I believe John McGirr also said that apparently the consortium is having their general meeting soon and there may be one or two changes to the committee. It is my opinion that current figures of attendances at the annual pre-season game are right at the bottom of acceptable figures and it would need to be proven by research calculations that these figures would normally be around 8,000 minimum for roster matches with an expectation that within two years the average can increase to over 10,000. Whilst we can look at the Hawthorn matches and say half those attendance figures should be possible we must remember - 1 AFL has begun from a larger supporter base 2 they have been provided with massive government support because of this commencing base So if we want to create a new entity we must accept what is truly achievable in Tasmania and not cloud facts as they arise with what we would like. It seems that somewhere within 2-5 years we could be expecting even up to 12,000 attendances but I also believe that this may well be right at the top end of expectations. However by that time I would hope that the club would have a momentum and a savvy management razzamatazz appeal that is succeeding with a youth team and on the field with the senior side being competitive. If that happens then of course many other things within our imagination may be possible. tufcposted at 10:11AM on 4th Aug, 2009 The Victory v Adelaid game last month attracted over 6,000 fans. This is despite the fact that:
I think that in light of all the above, the attendance was bloody brilliant! Just imagine if:
I don't think 10-12,000 would seem beyond reasonable expectations... ntguyposted at 10:41AM on 4th Aug, 2009 Games early in the season might test the resolve of us fans. We can expect 3 home games in August/September but I would expect a lot more to turn out even then if it was our team for competition points as you say. galacticaposted at 10:18AM on 4th Aug, 2009 Two final points that John McGirr made were -1 Melbourne are likely and probably West Sydney will be teams 11 & 12 so we are aiming for spots 13 or 14 and 2 There is no negative info suggesting that that those spots will not eventuate within 2-3 years due to market share competiveness with other codes, so it is important that we push on with our bid strategy get it into FFA so there is time to readdress any issues that may arise in between acceptances. I believe he is right and that FFA will want to gain a foothold here in Tassie before AFL come in because they have some reservations as to whether our state can sustain an AFL operation costing as Jeff Kennett has said around $35 million per year for your own team. The beauty of A League is while it may be initially expensive on the surface to a locality our size, in the short to medium 5 years it can be very sustainable without major government bailouts and if the same concentrated marketing and infrastructure investment on a pro rata basis was given it has the potential to continue expansion further than the AFL, which does seem to be probably reaching a finite point in support. ntguyposted at 10:06AM on 4th Aug, 2009 Another thing John said in that interview was that the business case needed to firm up the sponsorship side of the bid to the written commitment level. If I can remember correctly he said that when they tabled the business case document the signed cheques had to land on the table with it. (If that is not what he said word for word I apologise but it was certainly my reading of what he said). galacticaposted at 10:31AM on 4th Aug, 2009 You are correct ntguy I was scratching my brain for that crucial statement he made - it was morning time for me after all. But seriously though there it is in a nutshell isn't it. The TUFC have to provide the wherewithall monetarily wise for the assessment to continue and FFA would of course be watching to see if we stumble. Cos if we do then there is no point in continuing any further if we can't even fund a business feasability presentation. Fingers crossed now that sponsors will put up the moola although I believe he said there are a number of them who can see much realisable benefit down the track. ntguyposted at 10:04AM on 25th Aug, 2009 I read this morning that TUFC were not among the bidders considered for Licence #12 at the FFA meeting last night. It seems we are behind 5 other bidders in the development of our bid. I wish I had $100,000 spare to get that business case done. TassieRedposted at 11:27AM on 25th Aug, 2009 With no money we have no bid so we certainly aren't in the mix for the 12th licence. We just have to hang in there and keep going with the business case so we can maybe attract funding along the way and put ourselves at the forefront of the FFA's thoughts for 13 or 14 (or Wellington's licence if that is revoked). Foxhawkposted at 12:22AM on 26th Aug, 2009 The quicker the better. Believe me the losing bids won't just vanish. They will hang around and hope to be foundation sides in a second tier. We need to be a prime candidate next year. Personally I am betting that after a Western Sydney bid gets the 12th licence the next two licences will go to Canberra and South Coast. We are probably in the running to either replace Wellington if their contract ends or to take over their licence. I would not mind having Wellington Phoenix incorporated into TUFC mind. I'd give up 2 home games a season to the NZ's to get the extra support from the Kiwi's galacticaposted at 10:02AM on 26th Aug, 2009 This all seems supposition at present. I seem to recall somewhere J McGirr saying most likely 13 or 14 would be our best options but that didn't preclude pushing (boldly enough) for possible acceptance as the 12 spot. The whole scenario is an exhausting drain on personnel to start from scratch without a base framework and yet come up with a feasible presentation. This is especially so given the fragmented Tassie political scene which infects everything here. Being unmentioned at the most recent meeting is not death but simply an incomplete case at the moment - no point in opening their mouths with half a story. What I do say though is that if we are unable to get a confirmed spot 14 that will be the kiss of death and bye bye birdie forever. That being so resign yourself to the few crumbs of an ad hoc game here and there from Victory. It is almost as if the Premier and HCC think that southerners will hop on their push bikes and ride up to Lonnie. For me that is insufficient and illogical and I will stick to the telly with Spurs. Foxhawkposted at 11:59PM on 26th Aug, 2009 I think missing out on 13/14 will be a big kick and personally I think we will miss out on those two. But I don't think its the end. I could see the A-League growing to 16 sides followed by a break of eight to ten years and then further expansion. (Either in the one tier or through adding a number at once and splitting into two). galacticaposted at 10:14AM on 27th Aug, 2009 I hear you Foxhawk. My take on all this is anything is possible over time of course. Unfortunately if we miss this "window of opportunity" it will take an almighty big movement to benefit from around the world cup impetus that will undoubtedly take place. There will be competitors again then also because other areas grow and expand so we will always be up against it. I have to say that the flow on benefits from the world cup in Australia are the very reason for the economics of getting into the A League soon so that our state can obtain the cost effectiveness of infrastructure development of such an admittance. THAT IS THE REASON WHY DESPITE THE TUFC PREFERRED OPTION OF MINIMUM ASSISTANCE FROM THE STATE GOVERNMENT IT IS AN ABSOLUTE IMPERATIVE THAT THE HOBART CITY COUNCIL BECOME FULLY INVOLVED. Frankly I wish the bl@%&*y dills would get their blinkers off now. Clintposted at 2:54PM on 27th Aug, 2009 I'm speculating that West Sydney is a shoe in for license number 12 and Canberra for license number 13. I think the FFA has a strategic wish to enter West Sydney before AFL, and that may be a factor when deciding Tasmania United's fate as well. Really though license number 12 should have been sorted already. West Sydney has been touted as an expansion area for years and I would find it difficult to believe that any of the bids from there aren't ready. The Canberra bid however is up against the vested interests of elements in the Sydney media in particular - the sort of people that peddle some bids more than others and belittle places like Canberra and Tasmania as places to live. I've noticed around forums that more people seem to be listing Tasmania in future A-League expansions rather than the South Coast. I think that bid has lost a bit of momentum personally but ultimately it's up to the FFA and not fans on football forums. Keep up the momentum in the media and you'd best hope the AFL continues with its delusional West Sydney ventures rather than Tasmania. Foxhawkposted at 10:57PM on 27th Aug, 2009 I think your right about south coast. I get the impression they are either wanter to merge with a west sydney bid or wait until a second tier comes along. I bet it will be the latter unless they replace NZ. TC_CValeposted at 2:34AM on 28th Aug, 2009 For those that might be interested, the website Four,Four,Two has a article about TUFC and the 13th licence. ntguyposted at 8:42AM on 28th Aug, 2009 Thanks for that TC Vale. Some of the people posting on that article have no idea of Tasmania and the TUFC bid. We need more positive comments on there. TC_CValeposted at 2:19AM on 3rd Sep, 2009 According to Four,Four, Two today, the bid from the West of Sydney has all but fallen over, leaving to door open for a team from Canberra. Sorry but no mention of TUFC. If Canberra get in before Tassie, we can expect to go down the pecking order quite a bit. A question for Admin, if this report is true, are we (TUFC) in a postition to exploit this turn of events and have a fair dinkim effort at gaining the 12th licence, or do you believe we will have to wait as we are not in a postion at this stage to go to the next step and gain that 12th licence. ntguyposted at 4:42AM on 3rd Sep, 2009 The article in todays Sydney Morning Herald says that the Meissner backed bid fell over during the due diligence assessment of their finances. It is obvious we aren't in a position to put up our hand until the business case is developed. As far as I have read the other 2 west Sydney bids are still in the mix but were not as advanced in development as the bid that folded yesterday afternoon. If the FFA decide to accept the Canberra bid now this could work to our advantage. They would still want west Sydney so an expansion to 14 teams would come sooner than later. kiallrposted at 1:10AM on 11th Sep, 2009 An article in the Mercury (I know, I can't believe they ran an A-league story either!!!) says the A-league may halt expansion for a while, on the back of very low crowds so far this season. Neither NQ or GC have cracked the 10,000 crowd yet, despite on boasting Robbie Fowler and the other sitting on top of the table with a damn good side. Naturally, this will be making the FFA nervous about adding more sides, especially in lower population centres like Canberra and Tassie. An A-league match in Canberra attracting less than 7,000 last week doesn't help either. While all the research for Tas Utd shows we should be able to attract well over 10,000 a game (and we don't have an NRL side competing with us like the 2 newbies do), I doubt the FFA will risk us at this stage. While I'd love Tas Utd to kick off next year, I think perhaps the A-league, wisely, will want to allow the existing sides to find a proper footing first. We may need to wait a decade or more. One thing is for sure, the whole '24 teams, 2 divisions etc' dreams of some A-league fans will not become even close to reality in my lifetime (I'm 29, so that is HOPEFULLY a long while yet!). Let's not lose the faith in Tas Utd getting in, but rushing may have a negative impact on both us and the comp itself. ntguyposted at 6:08AM on 11th Sep, 2009 The A-League will be at least 11 teams next year because Melbourne "Heart" has already been issued their licence. Hopefully the FFA will find a bid that satisfies all their requirements fairly soon so we don't have a bye next year. The crowd so far this year are just what I would have expected. During the first 4 years crowds were down while the winter codes finished off their season. As for NQ Fury and Gold Coast United their crowds are not what they might have expected but they are new franchises in a highly parochial market. NRL dominates there as much as AFL does in Melbourne. Now that the Cowboys are out and NQ Fury has moved to Saturday evening games their crowds will increase significantly. GCU is a different story because the Titans are into the finals for at least a couple of weeks. The other issue that will drive up crowds is that the FFA will start advertising once the AFL and NRL have finished as they have in previous years. Melbourne "Heart" will draw good crowds from day 1 as will a second Sydney team and this will put the League on a better footing for expansion into new territories. My view is that the League will move to 14 teams in 2013/14 at the latest. One of the drivers for this will be an attempt to keep interest in the sport growing because of the relative failure of the post 2010 Socceroos. They aren't an impressive bunch. galacticaposted at 9:20AM on 11th Sep, 2009 Yeh well lets hope that we are one of those sides by 2013/14. By the way who are the post 2010 Socceroos failures its only 2009 at present? Please explain as she says. ntguyposted at 12:30PM on 11th Sep, 2009 The team that played South Korea last Saturday night without Grella, Bresciano and Schwarzer with a couple extras like Cahill and Wilkshire is what we can expect post 2010. Unless some of the young players develop extremely quickly we will struggle. Clintposted at 6:46PM on 11th Sep, 2009 Perhaps the most bizarre thing I've read over the last few days is a fellow suggesting (if he was serious I'm not sure) that Australia should look at joining Europe or South America. I posted a long reply on another forum but unfortunately it seems to have been deleted along with the thread as I think people were suggesting that he is racist. I don't understand it at all. Debating the merits of joining another confederation is moot anyway because FIFA would never agree to another confederation switch as we have no claim to another region. I think the mentality has something to do with people still having a problem with Australia being 'Asian' in any sense and some Australians continuing to belittle Asian opponents because they watch too much football from Europe and South America. Just for the record - we would probably get killed in a South American qualification tournament, and I simply cannot accept that we'd be competitive based on defeating Uruguay in a lucky penalty shootout win. We had a relatively easy qualification run this time and suddenly people think Australia is far too strong for Asia? Nothing could be further from the truth. The Socceroos have done well on occasion with classy performances, but we are still a step below domestically with the insipid performances of Central Coast (5-0 loss) and Newcastle (6-0 loss) in the Champions League highlighting how far we have to go. Clintposted at 6:46PM on 11th Sep, 2009 The Central Coast failed to win a game in Asia yet are reasonably competitive in the A-League and that has to say something about our football. Our youth teams have done okay but it's not like our U19s crush their opponents in ASEAN - in fact they lost to Thailand in a penalty shootout a few weeks ago. An A-Leagueroos side has lost to Kuwait at home and drawn to Indonesia away. We are far from dominating Asia as a footballing nation. Our next campaign will be a great indicator to see how we really stand in Asia because there will be a changing of the guard in the national setup. Chuqposted at 2:01PM on 13th Sep, 2009 I thought the tone of that article was rather odd.
* A-League "maybe" stopping at 12 teams rather than 14 for now = "a concern" for the A-League bid according to the Mercury. * AFL going to 18 teams (neither of which is Tasmania) and no further expansion plans at all = the Mercury publishing 2-3 back page articles weekly promoting the Tasmanian AFL bid
Even if they stop at 12, the Tas A-League bid has more of a chance than the AFL bid ever had, yet the Mercury paints it as a bad thing for the bid (I note this was one of the few occasions the website used the TUFC logo, and it stuck on the sports section for at least 4 days - yet your general informative "update on the bid" type article rarely gets that sort of coverage. Double standards yet again. Their sports editor should be called on this. galacticaposted at 10:13AM on 14th Sep, 2009 The Muckery newspaper is simply a rag. It has no credence with reliability of fair reporting regarding public opinion. It simply resides upon the editorial preference treatment for most divisive commenting to gain publicity i.e. sales. Unless of course the opinion takes a differing view to the editor then nothing goes to print. All News Ltd papers editors have the same policy leeway I am led to believe. They would promote anything to do so and a close scrutiny of their banner headings for various articles will give you the presiding mentality which borders on jingoistic one liners that you can obtain from reality television shows. The reason for pushing AFL is their attempt to portray a state wide newspaper that will appeal throughout. I can understand such if it were to occur in the Sunday Tasmanian, however what is happening with the Muckery simply proves that a separate banner newspaper print as they do on a Sunday is irrelevant. ntguyposted at 3:39AM on 16th Sep, 2009 Triball Football has an article dated today that states that Western Sydney will be announced as the 12th A-League team this week. The team to be headed by Ian Rowden, Chairman and CEO of Saatchit & Saatchi Asia Pacific will enter the competition next year. Rowden is an ideal fit having been an NSL player with Apia Leicchardt, His career includes Head of Advertising with Coca Cola USA and then with Wendy's International USA. He returned to his home town of Sydney in 2008 to take up the Saatchi job. Rowden has a strong team ethos and if he brings ib some of his mates the club will have a strong management base. A strong team out of western Sydney will be great for the League and will help prepare the ground for further territorial expansion. I certainly hope Triball Footballs article is correct. Foxhawkposted at 4:03AM on 16th Sep, 2009 I agree. While I do hope Canberra enter at some stage I think that the A-League needs a good Sydney derby each season. Lets hope that we too can join as well, either by beating off competition next season or replacing Welington Phoenix or by absorbing the Pheonix. I wouldn't say 14 is the end though. I would not put it past the FFA to delay the next expansion a year for financial reasons before 13 & 14 enter. After that probably a good four or five years minimum. I would expect any further expansion would be 2020+ with six to eight tenders going out to join a few existing state premier league sides and a few existing A-League sides for a second tier. Long way away. In the meantime we will be up and going and thats the main thing. ntguyposted at 8:29AM on 16th Sep, 2009 If I could choose the final makeup of the A-League it would have North Queensland Fury, Brisbane Roar, Gold Coast United, Newcastle Jets, Central Coast Mariners,Sydney FC, Cumberland (western Sydney), South Coast FC, Canberra, Melbourne Victory, Melbourne Heart, Geelong, Tasmania United, Adelaide United, Perth Glory and Wellington Phoenix. If Phoenix had to go I would be looking for another Queensland team. Chuqposted at 2:51AM on 18th Sep, 2009 Looks like a good mix to me - I've always supported Geelong as another team, close distance to Melbourne, yet geographically separate identity - brings a bit of balance to the southern states instead of the 6 that would be in NSW/ACT. samjnicholsonposted at 12:24AM on 29th Sep, 2009 Just thinking about the bid and how to get north and south support for games, how awesome (and how feasible??) would it be to have free or very cheap public transport from Hobart to Launceston &vice versa? by bus? Or if the state government gets organised with trains that'd be even better? Maybe such a transport idea would need an arrangement with government or simply someone to do the business maths on the costs? This Tasmania United soccer team could really be a vehicle to bring north and south together, and needs support from both....could we get both Boags and Cascade to sponsor? probably unlikely, but in an ideal world.... Foxhawkposted at 4:21AM on 29th Sep, 2009 Very Simple. Two ticket price schedules. Gate price entry (for walk in or pre-booked, possibly divided into one or two price tiers depending on the quality of seating chosen. Travel price entry (As above but a bit more expensive as a portion of the ticket price goes into a share of a charter. Can only be purchased in advance. When I left Scotland on my holiday I travelled south on a train from Edinburgh to Donny where I stayed one night. My club was playing away that weekend in Donny and although I had missed out on sales the Donny staff were very nice and arranged a left-over away seat for me. After I left the ground (we won) there was about sixteen buses nearby parked in a big rectangle that carried the travelling fans back to the west midlands. I went back to my hotel. Trains would be great, but that wont happen until a re-lay of the entire infrastructure occurs with wide gage and less bends and a major import of intelligent politicians from outside of the state to run the government. (All our ones are crap). ntguyposted at 5:57AM on 29th Sep, 2009 Western Sydney were announced today as the winners of the 12th A-League franchise. The surprise is that the League will go with 11 teams next year and Western Sydney will not come in until 2011/12.
The worrying thing for us is that Buckley said that Canberra were the obvious choice for the 13th franchise.
http://au.fourfourtwo.com/news/113724,ffa-name-western-sydney-club-for-2011.aspx tufcposted at 8:11AM on 29th Sep, 2009 That Canberra is the obvious choice for the 13th franchise comes as no surprise - that's been the case for several months now. Is Canberra a worry? I don't believe so. The FFA will not want an odd number of teams, so I see Canberra's endorsement as an encouraging sign that the league is set to expand to 14, which of course is good for Tassie. What I DID find worrying about Buckley's statement was that FFA is in continuing discussions with South Coast. If those discussions go much further, then Tasmania may find itself locked out!!! The Tasmania United bid team really needs to get the business case out as soon as possible and get involved in serious discussions with the FFA before it's too late! Foxhawkposted at 9:22AM on 29th Sep, 2009 Its still early days though. Western Sydney were always going to win this licence. And Canberra probably deserve to come ahead of us as well. If we can get sponsorship or ownership then I think we will be on par with a South Coast bid. I dont think the failing west sydney bids will go away though. They know that further Sydney expansion is on the back-burner now and will probably go dormant, much like the failed Melbourne second bid. I doubt they will cause us any problems. My guess is that the FFA may be open to adding other clubs in with West Sydney, though only if their bids are solid, so 14 will probably start. Foxhawkposted at 9:26AM on 29th Sep, 2009 We should probably also remember that the FFA eventually want a two-tiered competition at some stage and will probably encourage consortiums to continue to fight for representation at national level. We could always see Wellington drop out as well now that they have their own A-League clone competition. (Though on a smaller level). And I would not say that 14 is the end game on expansion. Should the consortiums seeking entry be strong enough then their is no reason to prevent Canberra joining with West Sydney, followed by Tasmania and South Coast a year or two or three later. Foxhawkposted at 9:38AM on 29th Sep, 2009 I also think Western sydney was a good choice for a variety of reasons. It could well be another Melbourne Victory in terms of support and bring a real rivalry to Sydney. Its football heartland in Australia and has produced some great players. Expect West Sydney to be in the finals in its first year and to end the season above its city neighbour. We could well find ourselves in a few years in a situation down the track after Canberra has joined the competition where WE are the preferred option and are selected over bids that would financially be better options. ntguyposted at 10:37AM on 29th Sep, 2009 Up until now Canberra had been indicated by FFA as having problems meeting the financial requirements for A-League status. It appears that they must be close to overcoming this otherwise they wouldn't have been endorsed as favourite for the next expansion spot. The worry is that this brings the available spots down to one in the short to medium term. The other issue to be noted about the South Coast bid is that is widely reported that the NSW Government is about to announce the replacement of the western stand at WIN Stadium with a new 6,000 seat stand at a cost of $30M. With this going ahead the stumbling block for South Coast missing out will have been removed. Foxhawkposted at 3:14AM on 30th Sep, 2009 It all comes down to finances though. At present we have three rounds which next season will see (with 11 clubs) 30 total rounds. Then West Sydney are added for 34 round total. Lets say they later add Canberra, South Coast, Adelaide 2, Tasmania, Perth 2, Brisbane 2, Melbourne 3, Sydney 3. (Thats over ten - fifteen years, not right away) That would be twenty clubs playing 2 rounds only for 38 rounds total. That would only be 4 rounds more than with twelve clubs playing three rounds. I think this is what the FFA are aiming for, as it would make the eventual split into two tiers an easy process as they would only have to hand out say four licences to make the division. (Thats probably fifteen - twenty years at a guess). The important thing is a strong financial competition is the key. Time frames are not the major factor. (Hence this second delay to expansion). I would say that the FFA have EVERY intention of having a club in Tasmania AT SOME POINT. This will occur ONLY WHEN we have a STRONG financial plan. So I would say that we can be confident that we are in with a shot. |
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tufc
posted at 12:05AM on 1st Aug, 2009
As I (and many others) have said on here before, I don't think there's any doubt that the 12th licence will go to one of the Western Sydney bids (I agree, the Lucas Neill bid looks the strongest). Spots 13 and 14 are going to be interesting though. I think that. as long as they can tick all the boxes, Canberra is definitely next cab off the rank. That makes South Coast our main competition. They are ahead of us in terms of population, stadium and soccer culture, none of which there's much we can do about in the short term. So I think it will come down to financial strength, community support, political support, and the fact that NSW/ACT will already have 5 teams while Tasmania will be the only state with none.
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