ADELAIDE United’s A-League monopoly in SA is under siege. More than 10 years after it was born as the "People’s Team" Adelaide may have competition.

SA business leaders closely associated to football are in embryonic talks with the aim of investigating whether winning an A-League licence after the current TV contract expires in 2017 is viable.

Potential high rollers of the prospective new club are set to formally meet for the first time where they will start documenting events officially.

One of prospective club’s business leaders who preferred to remain anonymous at this stage told In the Mixer "good people are coming together for a very big project".

O'Grady at home at Old Trafford
DISGRACED Australian cyclist Stuart O’Grady was spotted at the Manchester United v Chelsea clash having fun in a cosy Old Trafford corporate box.

O’Grady who admitted to taking the banned substance EPO at the 1998 Tour de France after he was named in the French Senate inquiry in July had some fine company at the EPL match sources told In the Mixer.

O’Grady retired just days before he dropped the doping bombshell.

A-list to be announced for new program
THE entire make-up of the hosting team for the new live football and entertainment show starting on SBS2 on Thursday, October 10 at 8.30pm will be unveiled this week.

While recent recruit Lucy Zelic and David Zdrilic are confirmed as part of the team, we’re about to find out who else will be part of the fun.

In The Mixer has been told the program will feature celebrities, A-League players, live performances, a house band and a studio audience.

SBS claim it will be the first time a football-based entertainment program has gone to air in Australia.

Ange keeps focus on Victory
ANGE Postecoglou refused to discuss the Socceroos coaching position when asked about the job following his Melbourne Victory side’s weekend trial 1-0 loss to Brisbane Roar in Ipswich.

Postecoglou said any questions on his interest in the job or his thoughts on the performance of current national coach Holger Osieck were "hypothetical".

He said he was only concerned with preparing the Victory for the A-League season starting next month.

Postecoglou has been linked to the position following Australia’s embarrassing 6-0 loss to Brazil.

Stella effort to keep control
VICTORY attacker Francesco Stella copped it from vocal Roar fans after being sent off in his side’s defeat.

Dismissed for two bookable offences, Stella was forced to walk through the crowd and into his team’s dressingroom, situated behind the grandstand at North Ipswich Reserve.

To his credit, Stella didn’t flinch and didn’t fire back, but perhaps a Victory official should have met him at the bottom of the stand to accompany him on his walk of shame.

Glory to unveil new kit
PERTH Glory will unveil its new Macron kit at the Underground Studio, State Theatre Centre in Perth on Thursday.

If the launch is anything like Aston Villa’s Macron kit launch, it should be a huge evening for Glory.

Macron is seemingly on its way to being a major player in the Australia market after the kit supplier has adorned Villa, Napoli, Leeds United, Lazio, Melbourne Knights, Perth SC and Sutherland Sharks.

Rambo antics to watch closed training
CAN you imagine Sydney FC’s goalkeeping coach Zeljko Kalac dressed like Rambo in combat greens spying on rivals Western Sydney Wanderers training sessions before a derby? No?

Well it’s not to say it hasn’t happened before.

Sampdoria posted on its official website that it had caught red handed Genoa’s youth team goalkeeping coach Luca De Pra lurking like Rambo in the bushes apparently watching a closed training session before the Italian Serie A derby on Monday.

But the spy mission must have worked. Genoa upset Sampdoria 3-0.

Fitting tribute for state stalwart
THERE was hardly a dry eye at Salisbury’s Steve Jarvis Park when the proud club celebrated the life of co-founder Bob Bush.

Bush, 94, died last week but his work for SA football was timeless.

Bush’s memory was worth a standing ovation from both Salisbury and Eastern United players and fans long after a minute’s silence was observed before the clash on Saturday.

Salisbury coach Rocky Aloisi also paid a nice tribute to Bush after the clash during the post-match celebrations.

Bush founded Salisbury in 1954 as the British Wanderers and played in the new club’s first match before taking another historic step for SA football two decades later.

Bush was instrumental in setting up the SA women’s soccer association and become the body’s first chief executive.

He was made an FFSA Hall of Famer in 2003.

From spending time recently around Canberra, I am 100% convinced that if they got their new stadium, a Canberra A-league side would absolutely take off. There is nothing to compete in summer and the weather is much better for supporting football than in winter. Would succeed for sure, heaps of fans from the Coast, Syd/WS and the Gong would travel and Berra fans travel back. Wollongong and Canberra, stuff 'appearing too NSW-based' if it gives us a better competition with more of the country represented then who cares?

Why in gods name would Canberra need a new stadium? 25000 is plenty of room, its an all seater, qualifies for broadcasts, it is rectangular game only now, and it received a bit of a revamp not that long ago. Ridiculous to suggest that Canberra needs or could support a larger stadium. Neither of the current tenants fill it either. I think Canberra and the gong should be next for expansion without question, however i dont think it has anything to do with a new stadium. Surely the people of Canberra would be happy with just a team, the stadium is fine

It has had many upgrades since 1977 though has it not? It was revamped for the olympics not that long ago. It would be far more beneficial building a city wide tram network for far less than a stadium would cost. I just dont see any benefit in building a new stadium for a town like Canberra. Also the new stadium to be viable would have to be a multi sport arena, which would be terrible for spectators. Maybe in 10 years once the existing stadium is filled all year round with league, rugby and football, then they could make the call for a new stadium. Also its under 10kms from the city centre, i dont think location is really an issue.

Edited by The Frenchman: 16/9/2013 11:43:40 PM

It has had many upgrades since 1977 though has it not? It was revamped for the olympics not that long ago. It would be far more beneficial building a city wide tram network for far less than a stadium would cost. I just dont see any benefit in building a new stadium for a town like Canberra. Also the new stadium to be viable would have to be a multi sport arena, which would be terrible for spectators. Maybe in 10 years once the existing stadium is filled all year round with league, rugby and football, then they could make the call for a new stadium. Also its under 10kms from the city centre, i dont think location is really an issue.

I think the whole "too many NSW teams" argument is a bit pointless. New teams shouldn't be dependent on a certain quota for states. It should be where the people are. NSW has a larger population who are spread over a greater area than other states. Therefore more NSW teams makes sense.

this

Whoa, is that troll bait? :twisted:

Yeah it was a bit of bait. In all seriousness though you guys have no idea about costings of infrastructure. A good network in Canberra would cost about 500 million, trams, tracks and all. Like i said once teams were filling out bruce or close to week in week out and the team was proven viable it might be an option to waste 300 million on a stadium. The fact of the matter is that Canberra doesnt need it, and probably never will. Canberra is a spread out city anyway, id hardly call Civic a bustling CBD anyway. Surely the nearest site suitable for a stadium would be north oval, and even then its a long shot. Canberra needs an a-league team there is no question, but a new stadium funded by taxpayers for 8000 to sit in it...sorry, no.

Nah mate, you don't.

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/dandenong-plant-to-build-50-trams-20100927-15u42.html

50 trams cost 6 mil each = 300 mil. 50 trams is fuck all and anyone from melbourne can tell you that. theres probably 50 trams in the cbd alone in rush hour.

Besides you have ignored all the other points i made as to the reasons the stadium is too be built and why.

Fury set to begin hunt for community owners

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: Expert David Friend is helping the Northern Fury develop a comprehensive membership plan | Photo: ZAK SIMMONDS

THE Northern Fury will release a community ownership program in November as the National Premier League club looks to attract 5000 members and help their cause for a return to the A-league.

The club has contracted the services of Melbourne-based marketing and membership expert David Friend, who has worked with a number of AFL, NRL, A-League and other high-profile sporting clubs, to help develop a program which makes the Townsville club the envy of the National Premier League.

Friend was in Townsville yesterday continuing six months of work with the Fury ahead of a workshop next month, in which the club will seek the ideas of the Townsville football community, including fans and local clubs, to see what people want from the Fury.

He said that workshop would start developing the story of the Fury, which in turn would encourage people to become members of the football club year after year regardless of on-field performance.

"We want the community to understand is we need to build the membership programs around the community," Friend said.

"We want them to feel part of the organisation, we want them to feel engaged, we want them to feel connected and to understand that it's about being proud to be a member.

"One of the benefits is you get to go to games, not building the whole thing around buying memberships to get tickets to the game."

Friend, who was the general manager of merchandise and membership at both the Hawthorn and St Kilda AFL clubs, said the benefit of this was it proofed the club against decreases in sponsorships and other economic factors.

"The benefit of membership is you should be able to keep 80 per cent of that income.

"The problem with sponsorship is that when it gets to the end of the contract everyone is pulling their hair out and saying 'I hope they re-sign or we're going to need to replace them'," he said.

In return, Friend said the club could give back to its members through exclusive benefits like functions, clinics by players and coaching staff and other things the football community wants that will make people stay involved.

Fury chairman Rabieh Krayem said they were aiming high for 5000 members, which would put them close to several A-league clubs and would give the club the best chance of returning to the highest level.

Krayem said buying a membership would also give people a say in how the club interacts with fans and grows into the future.

"Your membership buys you a say, you have an opinion and you get to voice it," he said.

"That's how the club becomes a members' club."

4707 at Cairns.

Decent turnout.

But how many of those would make the 8hr roundtrip to Townsville every other week...

Yo A16man and anyone interested - just a thought I had and put in the NRL thread..

If Cronulla Sharks have to relocate to QLD like potentially what will happen, do you think it would be the "perfect" time to jump on the Wollongong expansion for the HAL. To me it seems so - only around an hour away from Sutherland, probably have a heap of Cronulla fans on the South Coast who hate the Dragons, etc.

If you wanted to get a decent chunk of fans from the shire, immediately, you would have to make it a Wollongong-Shire team with games evenly split between WIN and Shark stadiums. A lot of people from the shire still see themselves as a tight community and won't travel to watch something that isn't within those boarders. Those fans willing to be enticed to regularly travel an hour to watch football would most likely already be going to Sydney games.

Yo A16man and anyone interested - just a thought I had and put in the NRL thread..

If Cronulla Sharks have to relocate to QLD like potentially what will happen, do you think it would be the "perfect" time to jump on the Wollongong expansion for the HAL. To me it seems so - only around an hour away from Sutherland, probably have a heap of Cronulla fans on the South Coast who hate the Dragons, etc.

Shire resident here. Most people go for SFC but are very lazy (attend only 2-3 games a year, dont buy memberships).

I think SFC taking a game to Shark Park could potentially get a pretty good crowd.

Yo A16man and anyone interested - just a thought I had and put in the NRL thread..

If Cronulla Sharks have to relocate to QLD like potentially what will happen, do you think it would be the "perfect" time to jump on the Wollongong expansion for the HAL. To me it seems so - only around an hour away from Sutherland, probably have a heap of Cronulla fans on the South Coast who hate the Dragons, etc.