https://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/property-developer-makes-offer-to-buy-struggling-perth-glory-20230824-p5dz9k.html

Here we go, you guys in the West may have hit the Jackpot.

https://www.watoday.com.au/sport/soccer/property-developer-makes-offer-to-buy-struggling-perth-glory-20230824-p5dz9k.html

Hahahaha this Pelligra dude isnt going to stop until he buys a franchise...... Wonder what the obstacle will be this time?

Sorry Arthur, didnt mean to double post.

serial Tyre-kicker ?

Not quite sure what the difference is between Adelaide and Perth

I thought Adelaide was targeted in part because of also being in on the Basketball team.



https://wnbl.basketball/adelaide/news/pelligra-group-invests-in-adelaide-lightnings-long-term-future/

It can only be a cheap price, otherwise why not take Newcastle ?

" Adelaide Adrenaline" ??? ahahahahah we have a winner... that has got to be the greatest club name in the universe.... do they ever get to play the "Tasmanian Testosterone"? hahahahahahahah

Owners of the newest A-Leagues expansion teams should be announced within weeks, Australian Professional Leagues (APL) chief executive Danny Townsend has told ESPN.

https://www.espn.com.au/football/story/_/id/38254098

So in the coming weeks, Perth, Auckland and Canberra should all be under new ownership.

Newcastle, pull ya finger out.

Wtf - another NZ team? 

.

https://www.ftbl.com.au/news/property-gurus-plan-to-bring-glory-days-back-to-perth-599628



This must be bullshit. Or someone really is shafting Sage 

https://www.theage.com.au/national/western-australia/tony-sage-out-as-perth-glory-go-into-receivership-20230722-p5dqfn.html

22 weeks ago, Danny said they were going to announce in 15 weeks.

https://www.espn.com.au/football/story/_/id/37637133/a-league-targeting-canberra-auckland-expansion-2024, 

How exciting!!!!! Does this mean the APL will agree to the FA's Domestic Transfer System or are they going it alone with their "APL standpoint"? 

"What we are looking at from an APL standpoint is how we centralise some of the resources and tools that we can give those clubs to be more proactive on player monetisation. It's a difficult thing to resource properly."

Don't get bogged down with the truth mate, as long as Danny keeps moving his lips, the equity value on the licenses doesn't drop below a certain level. 

"Coming weeks" could be anything from 2 weeks to 15 months.......  unless the crowds dont flock to the grounds this year............ 

New Boss coming in, best look busy

Maybe "the Commissioner" Nick Garcia has a red bat phone in his office in Sydney?

Yeah imagine that....a possible ROI instead of a black hole for your $$ to be deposited into.

:)

Maybe these new "consortiums" Didnt get the email from the CCM Chairman?

Mariners members just received this email, thought others may find it of interest in regards to finances/membership/prize money etc.

---

Dear Mariners Community,

August is my fifteenth month at the helm of the greatest club in the A-League. It has already been one of the most rewarding, but challenging, professional journeys of my life.

Firstly, I’d like to start this message by thanking and congratulating everyone who played a part in securing our Championship victory. This of course includes the players and coaching staff, but also the office team, sponsors, stakeholders, and most importantly, our loyal fans. Your support, both at the stadium and watching from afar, created an incredibly powerful “12th man” on Grand Final day, and I know it gave the team a massive boost. I think we are all still pinching ourselves at the final result. I had every confidence in Monty, Serg and the playing squad, but even my most ambitious wishes didn’t go as far as a 6-1 final scoreline! I’ve lost count of the exact number, but it’s safe to say I’ve watched the full match replay at least 15 times, probably more (and I still get goosebumps). I’m sure I’m not alone there! It’s worth reminding ourselves this was achieved on a club budget that’s a third the size of the bigger clubs, and half of most other clubs in the league. We also had the youngest squad and more academy graduates playing week in and week out than any other club. So again, please accept my sincerest and deepest ‘thank you’ for rallying behind us and getting us to the trophy podium.

With the Championship trophy secured at Mariners HQ for the next year, the entire Mariners staff immediately turned their focus to the 2023/24 campaign. Monty, Serg, Simmo, Shaun and the entire team have been hard at work, basically starting the day after the Grand Final! I’m sure you have seen some of our recent transfer announcements, including Nectar, Sam, Anthony, James and Beni heading to Europe and Jason to India. We’re extremely happy to see these guys take the next step in their careers, and we look forward to watching them seize their opportunities and hopefully secure full Socceroo selection. In the other direction, our announcements of Jing Reec, Noah Smith and Alou Kuol re-joining the Mariners family, and Mikael Doka putting on the yellow & navy, are all outstanding results for our club. I can’t wait to see these take the field next season. We will have more announcements coming soon!

Other than to say ‘thank you’, the purpose of this message is to once again seek your support in our 2023/24 membership campaign. Shaun, Dan and our entire team have worked hard to re-engineer our membership structure this season, with the goal of making it more accessible to more Mariners fans, including those who love the club from afar. The importance of the membership drive to our club is twofold. Firstly, as I said earlier, the power of the “12th Man” is immense, and every additional Mariners fan around the globe adds further strength to this. Secondly, the long-term financial security memberships give to the club are vital. Like most A-League clubs, we ran at approximately a three million dollar loss for the season just completed. The new membership structure should, over time, play a big part in helping reduce this to a more manageable level. This investment last season was worth every cent, partly because we are Champions, but also because much of this was invested in facilities and strategies for long term success.

On the topic of club finances, there’s a bit of a misconception floating around football circles that winning the Championship means a financial return for the club. Candidly, it doesn’t at all. There is no prize money for winning the A-League Championship. In fact, the entire finals campaign has a net financial effect on the club of approximately a $100k+ loss. By finishing second in the regular season, we qualified for the AFC Cup, which is extremely exciting. However, it too comes at a large financial outlay. Unless we make it to the final, our current forecast predicts it’ll create a further $350k+ loss. Finally, although the recent transfer fees have been great, after paying all mandatory amounts to involved parties and governing bodies (everyone has their hand out, trust me), the net result to the club is much, much less than reported in the media. The transfers and Championship win do give us great stories to tell potential sponsors and business partners, and we have taken active steps to employ additional, high-quality talent to drive this area of the business. But again, this is an additional overhead initially and it will take time to generate a return. It’s important for members to know that the club is investing in important off field roles in these commercial departments, purely aimed to grow the club for the long term.

I don’t share this to complain, it’s more from a place of honesty and transparency as Chairman of your beloved club. I’m more privileged and honoured than ever to hold this position, I just need your continued help and support to keep this club heading towards our desired position of long-term financial stability.

So, my plea is simple, and the first part is easy; Our team plays exciting football and we’re poised for another great season, so please, re-join the Mariners family by purchasing a $3 a month annual membership for this season. We also need an average of 10,000 people attending every match and cheering on the squad, so please also purchase your season tickets if you’re able to attend. The second part is equally as vital; please reach out to everyone you know and encourage them to join our Champions community. A-League matches can be watched from anywhere in the country, and indeed from pretty much anywhere in the world too. Let’s work together to get as many fans as we can on board to share in this experience. As I said, a membership can be purchased for $3 per month. It might not sound like much, but if every one of our current 5,000 members could get 4 family or friends to join too, the numbers add up. It is my mission to create a sustainable and thriving football community on the Central Coast.

As always, thank you for your time and for your continued support. I look forward to watching our Champions lift the trophy again in a year’s time.

Yours faithfully,

Rich Peil

I've read that article a number of times and I still haven't found where it says they will announce anything in 15 weeks.

Earmarking their two target cities after analysing 13 possible locations for expansion, competition administrators the Australian Professional Leagues (APL) have set a soft target of June to finalise the awarding of licenses to operate a new Canberra and Auckland franchise with the intention for both to have a 12-month preparation to enter a 14-team, 26-round, home-and-away A-League Men season in 2024-25.

Article published mid March --- adds up :)

Again a soft target isn't a definite promise like old mate claimed. Clearly it's taking a little longer than June but hopefully it will all be sorted in the near future. The more pro teams, the better.

But the same 4 owners (APL) will be funding Perth, whats the difference?  What a load of bullshit.

Yeah 100% .... "soft target" doesn't mean "shovel ready" :P
 Personally I still think he is full of shit and "coming weeks" is really code for ..... "we are desperately trying to get somebody, anybody to at least give us a couple of mil for these things" but anyway....  For all of you Aleaguers sakes, I hope whatever they bring in as an owner doesnt destroy what you already have.... 

Rugari also reported the June target, probably from the same presser

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/a-leagues-to-add-canberra-auckland-teams-in-50m-expansion-20230314-p5crwp.html

Oh I had forgetten about APLs pro/rel model. hahahahahahahaha thanks for the laugh. 

Again it was a soft target, it's not as if they said "We will definitely have buyers for our two expansion teams by June".

Yep, just the same as 22 weeks later

Thats pretty much what he is saying now, would you agree?

When pressed if this announcement was regarding ownership groups coming in, Townsend responded with a simple "correct." It was a one-word answer he reprised when asked if that meant the APL was in the final stages of negotiations with preferred parties, for both licences, and if the leagues asking price -- $AU25 million each -- had been met.

Is a few weeks difference between when the teams are announce really a big deal? They're still on course for a 24-25 kick-off and that's really the only important thing.

DT didn't prevaricate when Joey Lynch asked him about whether owners were in place and whether the target price had been met, so it sounds like being a done deal at this point.

Arsenal FC 

Seriously? Man City are infamous for running such enormous deficits that they have been in constant danger of violating UEFA's FFP rules. Tottenham have a billion pound stadium debt that they have to manage. In the last three years they have lost 50.1m pounds, 80.2m pounds and 67.7m pounds.

Someone else mentioned Arsenal. In 2021 they posted a loss of 107.3m pounds. In 2022 this was "only" 45.5m pounds. Go back to the pre-Covid financial year 2018-19 and it's still a sizable 27.1m pounds.

These are all established "Big 6" clubs. They almost always run at a loss. Any club trying to catch up with them (e.g. Newcastle) will have to run at an even bigger loss. Occasionally a smaller club will post a nominal yearly profit due to a transfer windfall, but as sure as night follows day that will be eaten up the following year as they spend the money on new players to try to keep with the pack.

Football is a loss-making endeavour. Some American owners have tried to prove otherwise, but they usually end up sending the clubs they own into terminal decline.