Advertisement

Manton St Tales: Time to tell the fans what’s really going on

Adelaide United’s off-season has many fans questioning its direction, Paul Marcuccitti writes. And, he argues, the club should embrace that scrutiny, rather than dismiss it.

Aug 31, 2016, updated Aug 31, 2016
Stefan Mauk was a rising star before signing for United. Photo: James Elsby / AAP

Stefan Mauk was a rising star before signing for United. Photo: James Elsby / AAP

“How do we expect the fans out there to embrace this club if in fact we are not prepared to tell them how it is tracking?”

Great words from an Adelaide United CEO and the sort of thing supporters like reading.

Many of those fans received a lengthy email from CEO Grant Mayer late last week to update them and it had plenty of good news. Among other things, there are new sponsorship deals, membership is higher than at the same time last year, and United is offering a scheme that gives local clubs the chance to raise money for themselves by helping the Reds sell memberships.

But – as I know only too well – when you write so many words (there are nearly 1400 in Mayer’s Missive), readers might zero in on a few lines, even if the rest are mostly well received.

The piece is also a little defensive, particularly the parts that address player signings. Mayer seems taken aback by supporters who are critical of the club’s efforts in that area:

“…from my chair, I will never cease to be amazed that there appears to be a small section of fans who believe we have been sitting on our hands in the off-season.”

Grant, prepare for a lot more amazement. And welcome it.

There is something far worse than “a small section of fans” (which might be bigger than Mayer thinks) believing the club isn’t doing anything or could be doing better: those people not being fans at all.

Whether they’re right or wrong, rational or irrational, supporters shouldn’t hesitate to tell their club how they feel

Why have they been agitating about player signings? Because they care; they want their team to keep winning.

Most of the new signings brought in to replace the seven senior squad members that have departed since May’s grand final are youngsters who are trying to establish themselves as first team players in the A-League. There’s nothing wrong with that but you can’t expect all fans to be happy, particularly if they believe there were better options. Whether they’re right or wrong, realistic or unrealistic, rational or irrational, supporters shouldn’t hesitate to tell their club how they feel.

And, though administrators might disagree, these fans can be far more valuable than those who see everything their club does through rose-coloured glasses. Without any unrest, Mayer may not have seen the need to provide information to the club’s supporters (his update was later posted on United’s website).

I acknowledge that one of the email’s goals was to encourage season ticket holders to renew for 2016-17 but, rather than providing reassurance, these next lines would have had plenty of Reds’ fans rolling their eyeballs:

“Stefan Mauk and Bruce Kamau were on nobody’s radar in last year’s pre-season. Our Club and coaching staff put them both on the map.”

Kamau made his A-League debut in the first round of the previous season (in October 2014). Three weeks later he announced himself late in a match against Melbourne City when he earned a penalty after a brilliant run into the 18-yard box drew a foul. The resulting spot kick won United the match. On nobody’s radar?

At this time in 2015 Stefan Mauk was preparing for another season with Melbourne City; he made his A-League debut for that club, when it was still Melbourne Heart, in 2013. His form for City late last year was so good he was described as one to watch on FFA’s website. Victorian media noticed too. The young midfielder was also selected in Australia’s squad for the Asian U-23 Championship held early this year.

So it’s fair to say Mauk was already “on the map” before United tried to send Osama Malik to Melbourne City in the January transfer window in exchange for … David Williams. And it was only because Williams rejected the Reds’ offer that the swap deal could become Malik for Mauk.

Melbourne City David Williams scores a goal during the Melbourne City versus Newcastle Jets A-League round 21 match at AAMI Park in Melbourne, Saturday, March 14 , 2015. (AAP Image/Julian Smith) NO ARCHIVING, EDITORIAL USE ONLY

David Williams was United’s original target in a deal that sent Osama Malik to Melbourne City. Photo: Julian Smith / AAP

It’s understandable that the club might not want to tell the story that way but I doubt many fans have forgotten the real sequence of events.

There are a few other oddities in Mayer’s Missive, such as describing the FFA Cup loss to semi-professional outfit Redlands United as “completely unacceptable” and revealing that everyone at the club was “emotional” about the result … but then enthusing that it brought the competition alive (with an interrobang).

But let’s end where we began – discussing off-field matters.

That quote at the top of this column isn’t Mayer’s; they are the words of a former Adelaide United CEO, Glenn Elliott. The context was the club’s decision, three years ago, to provide members with a genuine update about its affairs.

Stand United was a 30-page booklet which provided (among other things) a vision statement, a mission statement, future goals, a recap of the 2012/13 season (and other highlights from the club’s first ten years), details about its community work, player and coach profiles and sponsorship information.

It also had summarised financial details which included: a $1.5million loss for FY13 (after a loss of $1.44m the previous year); and turnover of $5.38m (down from $6.1m). The drop in takings was mostly because of a reduction in corporate returns, not helped by the collapse of front-of-shirt sponsor Unleash Solar.

The report noted that running costs had been reduced by $530,000 but the club made $268,000 (net) from the 2012 Asian Champions League campaign.

The ACL is now more lucrative – undoubtedly one of the reasons why the club gambled on resting players for an A-League game with Sydney FC last season which was played four days before a sudden death playoff (against Shandong Luneng) for Asian qualification.

Elliott resigned a few months after Stand United was mailed out and the club has provided nothing like it since.

Last week Mayer stated, “Adelaide United continues to build to ensure you all have a financially sustainable and competitive football team well into the future.“

Providing statements that detail income and expenditure would be a good way to show supporters that the club is on the path to (or has achieved) financial sustainability.

Given that anything better than a $1.5m loss would be an improvement, it’s hard to imagine why we’ve seen nothing about United’s finances in the last couple of years apart from a few unsubstantiated claims popping up in media.

Mayer wrote that there would be a “next update”. If that comes in the form of an annual report, fewer than 1400 words should suffice.

Paul Marcuccitti is a co-presenter of 5RTI’s Soccer on 531 program which can be heard from 10am on Saturdays.

Local News Matters
Advertisement
Copyright © 2024 InDaily.
All rights reserved.