There are so many questions hanging in the air in relation to sporting tournaments that were underway before the World went into isolation. Will league seasons be completed? If they are to be completed, when will games be played? What happens if they can’t be completed? Will those teams in line for promotion, a Championship, or a place in a Champions League or similar just have to swallow the fact that these were unforeseen circumstances?
In the world of football we have seen some clubs ‘furlough’ or ‘stand down’ administrative staff. We have seen some clubs ask their highly paid players to take a salary cut to help them keep those staff employed, or simply to help them stay afloat. We have seen those clubs that have overspent in order to seek success calling other clubs to ask them to not continue to pay players, as it will make them look bad when they can’t. Each club has handled the situation differently, and how they have handled the situation willl have a massive bearing on how they come out of this. Fans have lobbied for administrative staff to be paid, especially if the players are being paid and in Tottenham Hotspur’s case forced the club to reconsider its actions.
In the A-League in Australia we have seen clubs simply ‘stand down’ all staff, playing and the majority of administrative staff. The word is that there was in most cases little or no conversation between the owners and the staff. Staff were just advised of the situation.
Anyone who has followed the sport in Australia has known that the clubs have always been on shaky ground. Fifteen years of competition and still at best only one or two clubs make a profit in a season. The reasons for this are many. Yet now the realism of the situation is coming home.
The club or Franchise owners are about to take control of the League which to some is scary in itself. They are about to do so at possibly the hardest time in the League’s history. With the Fox Sports TV rights deal looking like it is coming to an end, which will deprive the clubs or much needed revenue each season. It is also believed that naming rights sponsor Hyundai is also looking to walk away.
This could put extra pressure on more than a few clubs and their owners who were finding it hard financially.
Perth Glory have gone through interesting times since owner Tony Sage took over the ownership reins. There have been financial controversies with wages paid late, the salary cap broken, State Government invoices not paid and written off, and severance payments not fulfilled.
Tony Sage has been desperate for his team to qualify for the Asian Champions League as this would open doors when it came to his business interests. This year that goal was finally achieved, but whether the team will play more than the one game that they have already completed remains to be seen. Sage has suggested that this year’s competition be postponed and all of those who qualified simply play a year later. Time will tell what the AFC decides.
Their decision could well depend on whether they have insurance covering the cancellation of the tournament. If they do, the may well simply right off this year’s tournament and pay each club compensation. Which would be a blow to the Glory’s owner.
Where Perth Glory look like facing their biggest challenge is when it comes to playing staff. The club made the decision to ‘stand down’ all of the club’s players and staff less than a week after the FFA suspended the 2019/20 Season.
Owner Tony Sage told AAP at the time “The whole of the income structure of the league has stopped. There’s no income.” Which confirmed just how precarious the finances of the league are. Away from Football all of Tony Sage’s businesses have taken a huge hit on the stock market due to the Covid-19 outbreak, so clearly his finances were stretched.
Some are questioning whether Mr Sage will continue as owner of the club when the world or Australia starts to return to normal. He has made no secret that he wishes to sell a majority share in the club and retain a percentage. This has been one of the stumbling blocks, as new owners are believed to not want the previous owner still involved. The other issue preventing the sale is the asking price, believed to be $11million.
It is understood that representatives of Andrew Forrest met with the Perth Glory not long after the Mining Magnate took over the Western Force rugby team when they were kicked out of Super Rugby by the Rugby Australia. The idea being that if Mr Forrest’s company owned the Force and the Glory they would then be in a position to lobby the government in relation to either owning or having better lease conditions at HBF Park, where both teams play.
It is alleged that negotiations broke down as the offer tabled was that they would take on the Perth Glory debt, but were not prepared to pay a fee for the brand.
According to legal experts the problem facing the club now is that it was Perth Glory who cancelled the players contracts and ceased paying them. This action has made each and every player at every A-League club who has ‘stood down’ its playing staff a free agent.
Some will argue that this could be a good thing, as the club can offload some players and others will become available. However it is believed that the coaching staff of Tony Popovic and Hayden Fox may also not be returning. Certainly that would ease a large chunk of the wage bill.
With the A-League owners rumoured to have agreed to have no imports in the first few seasons of the A-League once they take control, the ‘stepping down’ of staff could not have come at a better time. ( A Chance To Walk Away or Taking Control?)
Yet where the Glory faces a major issue is the fact that by 2021 the League was due to expand. Two A-League expansion clubs, Western United in Victoria and the Campbelltown-based Macarthur FC are due to enter the competition by 2021.
Those players ‘stepped down’ by Perth Glory are understandably miffed by their treatment, and are looking to head back to the East Coast and try and clinch a contract with a club there.
Perth Glory has since the beginning of the A-League found it hard to attract players, when they can stay in their home state and earn a similar wage. The scrapping of the salary cap could work in the club’s favour as it did in the NSL, but only if they have the money to entice players to Perth.
The signing of Tony Popovic as coach helped the club attract players. He is a highly respected coach who has had success, and many wanted to play for him. He was the carrot not the club.
If Popovic does indeed leave and so do a large percentage of the squad he assembled Perth Glory will need to appoint another coach with a similar standing in Australian football to attract players. Who fits that bill?
If the players do all leave will it mean that Perth Glory will then be in a situation where it will only be able to sign those players who are not offered contracts at the other 11 Australian based clubs? Certainly they face the possibility of being at the back of the queue.
If the Perth Glory, if they are still operating as an A-League club under that name has to recruit from the local NPL, then it will take several years for the local players to reach the standard of the A-League if they actually can. Sadly the fans and Mr Sage have lacked patience in the past, and you feel this is never going to be a successful solution.
The only known fact is there will always be a coach who wants to coach in the A-League and someone will be prepared to do it for much less than someone else. Equally there will always be players who will do anything for a professional contract, but it doesn’t mean that they are good enough to make the grade.
So where does the future of the A-League Franchise known as Perth Glory lie?
Can Tony Sage afford to keep the club going? How many of the staff he ‘stepped down’ would be prepared to return? Can he rebuild the club without those key personnel?
It is unlikely that anyone is going to buy the franchise for the asking price, or agree to keep Mr Sage on as a co-owner. After the dust settles on this pandemic you feel many with money will be more hesitant to buy a football club. So where does that leave Perth Glory?
Thank you All White as always for your comment, my apologies that I did not respond earlier.
There are plenty who feel the same way as you, however there are plenty who see Tony Sage as a shining light.
It would appear if his stock does not pick up he may have no choice but to walk away. He said in a recent interview that with out investors in his mining interests he has no income. He is lobbying the Government for support of those businesses. Clearly there is a financial shortage across his various businesses and he is going to have to make some hard decisions as to which he lets go.
Will it benefit football in WA? Maybe, maybe not, you just never know who will replace him.
Another great article Ashley.
From my point of view the sooner Tony Sage leaves Perth Glory the better. I don’t go as I refuse to put a cent in his pocket, and the A-League is so boring. I certainly would not sign for the club if I was a player.
Sage has taken plenty out of the club in terms of the publicity he receives, but despite his histrionics I have never believed he cares about football at all. Certainly a five minute conversation with him and you realise his knowledge is pathetic.
If he left it would be a good thing for football in this town.