The CEO of Perth Glory Jason Brewer has resigned, which was no great surprise in light of all that has happened in the club in the past month. Perth Glory will now have to appoint their 7th CEO in the club’s 10th A-League season; although many hope no appointment is made quickly and the current owner hands back the licence for the good of football.
If owner Tony Sage is still holding the licence it will be his 6th man at the helm since he has been an owner of the club for the past eight years.
The club has lurched from one embarrassing situation to another in that time, but the salary cap breaches this year have taken the cake.
There is speculation that Brewer’s departure may well be part of a deal brokered after last night’s FFA hearing, which according to a FFA media release this morning “commenced at 5:30pm AEST and concluded at approximately 11:10pm.”
The legal teams are believed to have been trying to broker a deal to lessen the blow not only to the club but also the damage to the A-League competition.
If this is indeed the case one has to ask has the FFA sold the other clubs down the river? By brokering a deal rather than uncovering the full extent to which Perth Glory has been making payments to players through third parties.
The question now is no matter who takes over the reins at the club can any A-League club trust Perth Glory?
One has to feel for the staff employed at the club who had nothing to do with such arrangements, even if they may well have been aware that some such things were going on. Will their careers be tarnished too by the actions of a few?
For example former captain Jacob Burns was appointed to the position of General Manager Football on 17 June 2014. This was his first role in football in a non-playing capacity and understandably he wants to make a success of it. His role according to the press release from the club was to “be responsible for a wide range of key areas within the Club’s expanded Football Department including youth development, player management, player research and football staff recruitment as well as key corporate partnerships and sponsorship arrangements with the A-League team.”
It appears that even he was kept in the dark about the individual arrangements that had been set up by the club, so hopefully for his sake his new career is not affected.
The decisions made by a few desperate for Glory have the potential to have a far reaching effect on many.
The fans want the owner to step aside, probably after this episode so too do some of his staff. What will be the next stunt and will their reputations survive that.
The fans and sponsors have a right to know which players knowingly took money through a third party. These players knew the rules and they broke them just as much as the club did by setting up a such a deal. Should they go unpunished? What about the agents of those players who no doubt in some cases were also privy to such a deal? Should they too be allowed to go unpunished or without having their part revealed? Yet the fans and the sponsors whose money keep the club afloat will never be given those details.
Innocent people at the club run the risk now of always being tarnished by having been employed at the club during this sorry period, so why should the guilty parties be allowed to walk free?
Andy Keogh has been a good player for Perth Glory on the pitch this season. It would however appear that if all that has been alleged is true, he knowingly broke the rules. Should he be punished? If the sums of money being bandied about are correct maybe, if he wants his career to continue at the club he should pay for 180 basic adult club memberships, and those fans who bought a membership this year go into a draw to receive a free “Andy Keogh Membership” for 2015-16. (this would equate to just over $50k). Would that be fair? It would certainly go a long way to restoring some fans faith.
Perth Glory needs to become more professional, and they need a leadership that reflects that. Here is a petty example of how they do not learn, The CEO resigns today at 2pm. The club and all the staff knew this, a media release was sent out, and members were alerted to the fact as the Press conference was taking place. Yet five hours after the event Mr Brewer’s name is still on the website as CEO. This has happened time and again when staff have been sacked or resigned on the playing side. It should not happen if a company operates along a set line of procedures.
The club’s “About us” page on the internet states “The return to the ‘Glory Days’ can directly be linked to the club’s Chairman, Mr Tony Sage.” Not many buy into that propaganda, and such a statement should be removed immediately following this salary cap debacle. His involvement has tarnished the club more than anyone else’s involvement.
Perth Glory does not need a Maverick in charge, they need a solid responsible leader. Jason Brewer has been made to take the fall. However will he now work for Tony Sage’s Cape Lambert as a pay off for taking the heat and being part of a bigger picture, which brings to a halt a deeper investigation into the club?
Professional football is a very murky business. It is sadly never as simple as the game itself.
The game in Perth is in disrepute – again and again and again the reason is Tony Sage. A self named billionaire using “his” football club to please himself and on his way destroying the relationship between professional football and semi-professional. No structure is developed during 8 years – just trial and error. No youth academy worth its name is established, no flow from players from Western Australian Football Clubs into professional football, no grassroots program is linked to the name of Perth Glory.
So what are the achievements of 8 year TS-aera? Because of the odour of fraud of Tony Sage ever since he owns the club, real sponsors or even investors do not touch Perth professional football. Business in one of the most wealthiest cities in the world is ignoring the theoretically best opportunity for advertisement and internationally Perth is not on the map, because no European Club wants to cooperate with Perth Glory after the first internet research about the owner of the club and his links to rumanian darkness.
The solution sits in Sydney – the FFA must take away the license from TS and end the franchise. Why don’t they do it? Because nobody is there who raises the hand and take over the club. It is about time that football interested business owner meet to end the nightmare.
Brewer had to go just as Sage has to go. The deal that has been brokered between the FFA and the club is an insult to all football fans and anyone who attends the next game is betraying the game.
The FFA should have thrown Sage out of the game, as you state Andy Keogh should be banned if the allegations were found to be true by the FFA, and others should have to do community service or charity work if they too have been proven to have taken money under the table knowingly. The agents banned as well.
This whole debacle is an insult to people who pay to watch the game, by memberships and sponsor the club. Now all that has happened is Sage has threatened the FFA with court action. They do not want the cost or the publicity so they agree to stop investigating and back off, if he accepts the current findings. What a joke!
Funny how Sage doesn’t back down when former employees try and take him to court when he fails to pay them out. Which is the reason the club is in this mess. The man does not operate in an ethical way.
Rest assured Perth Glory does not represent the good state of WA or its people, and I for one will never set foot at a game until Tony Sage leaves. I will also no longer watch them on tv.