Nick Bendel
Should they stay or should they go?
November 7th 2010 00:24
If the conspiracy theorists are to be believed, the FFA have already decided to dump the Fury, but are waiting until after the 2022 World Cup vote has been held to announce the decision.
But should they stay or should they go?
To answer that question, one must first look at Newcastle, Gold Coast, Adelaide and Perth.
As Sport: The Australian Disease recently discussed, these are clubs that understand the consequences that come from failing to win the hearts and minds of their communities.
Their struggles can partly be attributed to moments of poor form and sterile play (although all four can point to examples of exciting and successful football during their A-League lives).
Mostly, though, they can be attributed to poor financial planning and inadequate community involvement.
Clubs that belong to their communities are clubs that survive. Clubs that don’t are clubs that die.
When the South Sydney Rabbitohs and Melbourne Demons were on life support, their communities rallied. When the New Zealand Knights and Northern Spirit were on life support, their communities shrugged their shoulders.
Not coincidentally, the first two were given emergency surgery and revived, while the latter two were left to die.
To varying degrees and at varying times, Newcastle, Gold Coast, Adelaide and Perth have suffered from an image problem. They have been seen not as belonging to their communities, but their filthy rich owners.
Whether justified or not, such a perception, if allowed to persist, must almost certainly produce fatal consequences.
Clubs that belong to their communities are clubs that survive. Clubs that don’t are clubs that die.
That leads back to the Fury.
Parochial football commentators have pointed to a groundswell of public opinion being generated by North Queensland as they desperately fight for survival.
Common sense, though, suggests otherwise.
If the community was so firmly behind the Fury, more than 3625 people would have come to Dairy Farmers Stadium last Friday night to watch the match against the Mariners.
If the community was so firmly behind the Fury, their season-high attendance figure would be greater than the 6130 recorded against Adelaide on August 28.
If the community was so firmly behind the Fury, the record attendance figure of 8897 set against Sydney FC last season would have been broken in the last few weeks.
If the community was so firmly behind the Fury, enough businesses would have come on board to nullify the dangerously high levels of red ink to be found in the club’s books.
Common sense, therefore, suggests that the Fury have not sufficiently ingratiated themselves with their community.
Part of the problem can be explained by the manner in which the Fury were formed.
Millionaire Don Matheson and a few of his rich mates banded together to bid for an A-League license. All the usual assurances about sound financial structures and clever business plans were then given – to the FFA, which needed to approve the bid, and the region, which would then be needed to support the club.
People in North Queensland would have been excited by the birth of the Fury – but also wary. There would have been an understanding that clubs come and go, and that rich men’s promises aren’t always to be relied on.
Like a pretty young girl being pursued by a worldly Lothario, there would have been an instinctive reluctance to allow oneself to be seduced. Why give myself to this handsome stranger, when he might be here today, gone tomorrow? And even if he is to stick around, is he really here to serve my interests, as he insists, or his own?
It only took a few months into the Fury’s debut season for the financial worries to materialise. Matheson’s mates decided to withdraw their support. Soon after, Matheson made a point of publicising just how much money his one-man show was costing him. Suddenly, all the assurances about sound financial structures and clever business plans and eternal devotion were beginning to sound hollow. Come the end of the season, Matheson had also bolted and the club was close to folding.
The Fury were saved – at least temporarily – when the FFA took them into administration. But no guarantees about their future were given. That prompted an alliance of impassioned locals and commentators to demand a guarantee, on the basis that the community was right behind the club – the same community that produced an attendance of just 3625 at last Friday’s game.
That has left the FFA in a difficult position. Its heart and head are being pulled in different directions.
The federation’s heart wants the Fury to survive. A presence in North Queensland allows Australian football to exploit a new market and forge closer links with Asia.
But the federation’s head wants the Fury to die. A loss-making club that needs to be placed on perpetual life support is a financial and public relations disaster.
So should they stay or should they go?
The answer is that the Fury need to be given one last chance to prove themselves.
They need to prove that they are a club of the community, by the community and for the community. Now that the millionaires have left, that is possible, but it will take an astonishing amount of hard work and astute planning.
The hard work must largely be left in the hands of those running the Fury and the people of North Queensland. If they’re not prepared to put in the work, they don’t deserve to have a club. However, that needs to be combined with strategic direction from the FFA. All that effort will be counter-productive if incorrectly applied.
The Fury can’t have a long-term future without the short-term assistance of the FFA. But if the club can’t convert that investment of time and money into a sustainable business model, they don’t deserve to have one.
| 141 |
| Vote |
subscribe to this blog
Comment by The Dogboy
However, impacting this could be foxtel showing the games live. Many a North Queenslander may feel they are supporting the game by subscribing to Foxtel to watch the games live. That way they can watch their team, and the FFA get a bigger TV deal next time from more subscibers.
Comment by Nick Bendel
Sport: The Australian Disease
He said much the same as you - that the community's strong words have not been backed up with actions.
The implication was, if such a state continues, the Fury will not.