Imagine if you had an employee who consistently bought in less money, less clients and was never one of your top employees. What do you do: Do you keep them? Or should they see themselves out?
It’s a business metaphor which acutely suits the foreign figure of the A-League: the Wellington Phoenix Football Club.
When the Phoenix were formed in 2007, they were meant to be the better version of their New Zealand predecessors, the New Zealand Knights. The Knights had been plagued during their A-League stint by financial troubles while there were various off-field issues – not all their own bat– which led to their downfall, but the Phoenix offered the solution.
In fact, on paper, the idea seemed good; a team which would allow the A-League to access New Zealand’s decent market, with a national talent-pool on their doorstep which would unify a growing football movement following the All-Whites strong performances at international level.
Except, if we look now, the Phoenix experiment has failed and with expansion bids growing and league places at a premium, it is time to consider a Wellington-free future.
You may say that it is an amazing coincidence that the A-League licence for the Phoenix expires in 2020, when the waiting expansion teams will come into the league, assuming the FFA stick to their timeline.
Wellington Phoenix captain Andrew Durante warned against removing the Phoenix from the competition in 2017 as it may have dire effects for New Zealand football.
“It’s unfathomable. To see this club go under would be pretty shocking for the kids of New Zealand, footballers, up-and-coming aspiring kids, even the younger players we have here at the Phoenix through the academies… it would destroy football in my opinion if the club was to go under.” Durante said in 2017.
It might well be a set-back for football in New Zealand but exactly how long is the A-League expected to wait for the Phoenix to produce tangible results?
In their entire existence, the Phoenix have:
- Made finals once (2010 resulting in a Preliminary Final)
- The lowest average attendance for the past five seasons
- The lowest membership tally for the past four seasons
- The lowest membership tally of this season
As Football Federation Australia Chief Executive Officer David Gallop said in 2015:
“We’re ambitious for the growth of the A-League. You can’t expect to just squat on a licence in our competition,” he said on Wednesday. “If you want longevity in the competition then you need to produce results.
“At this stage on any metric they’re not performing at a level that we would like for the growth of the competition.”
Three years removed from that statement, those metrics which Gallop used to base his claims haven’t improved remarkably, if at all, in some cases. Wellington Phoenix owner Gareth Morgan acknowledged this year on radio station Newstalk ZB.
“We got a renewal, we’re two years into it and that was dependent on particular performance criteria, which I have to say to you right at this stage don’t look great,” he said.
“Something’s got to happen in the next two years, otherwise it’s goodbye Charlie.”
Even if you don’t have a Masters in Business, it doesn’t take a genius to realise the commercial potential of another Australian based side, particularly in Brisbane or Canberra over Wellington.
They would be easier to market, work towards a common goal of improving the national team and reduce running costs for clubs not having to travel to Wellington.
Maybe there might be another way forward if New Zealand was willing to operate in the Asian Football Confederation or if the A-League could mirror the relationship England shares with Wales throughout their professional leagues and include Auckland City and co.
As things stand now, there is little talk of that happening which is an indictment on Wellington’s currency in the Australian football ecosystem and a further inhibition of football within Australia.
All the continued existence of the Phoenix means is more Australian players are left out in the cold without a chance to show their wares at professional level.
Where does that fit within the A-League mandate of growing the game at grassroots level or developing Australian players for the national team?
The answer is it doesn’t fit, it doesn’t make sense and it needs end as soon as possible.
If you consider it, it is time for the Phoenix to return to the ashes.
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