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Melbourne Heart FC buy out - Man City, Melbourne City FC, etc.


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It's an interesting talking point. What would be also interesting to know is had their beloved sydney fc been bought out would they have been so quick to make the change. Or had victory been able to bring in lampard and villa would they have stood in the way. During last season I don't remember any talk about changing the loan conditions, I'm pretty sure this only began once the talk of lampard coming here started.

 

I agree. We have to protect the small clubs like CCM and Newcastle - but why if its good for one, is it not good for the other?

 

 

Well.....

 

Having Villa and Lampard play away to these teams would have given them a massive crowds for those games

 

Then say SFS, and WSW and MV do the same and get big names: CCM and Newcastle get another 3 big games each.

 

Thats 8 big games the league could potentially get for these regional clubs that it now can't.

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Not sure if anyone has noticed but New York City can't exactly look like a mini-Man City. People just realised that Adidas is the league-wide kit sponsor for the MLS.

Though it will still be Sky Blue colours no doubt - just not the Nike Man City look-alike everyone has predicted. 

 

10257473_361435994029863_740394499457483

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Not sure if anyone has noticed but New York City can't exactly look like a mini-Man City. People just realised that Adidas is the league-wide kit sponsor for the MLS.

Though it will still be Sky Blue colours no doubt - just not the Nike Man City look-alike everyone has predicted.

10257473_361435994029863_740394499457483

Slut
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Not sure if anyone has noticed but New York City can't exactly look like a mini-Man City. People just realised that Adidas is the league-wide kit sponsor for the MLS.

Though it will still be Sky Blue colours no doubt - just not the Nike Man City look-alike everyone has predicted.

10257473_361435994029863_740394499457483

Slut

I feel violated.....should have handed germano over for the promotional work in NYC to add to his already impressive resume of team translator.

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Not sure if anyone has noticed but New York City can't exactly look like a mini-Man City. People just realised that Adidas is the league-wide kit sponsor for the MLS.

Though it will still be Sky Blue colours no doubt - just not the Nike Man City look-alike everyone has predicted.

10257473_361435994029863_740394499457483

Slut

 

 

 

They can have our sloppy seconds.

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I think FFA panicked over the loaned players issue. It's true that Aziz Behich had been on loan to us from Bursaspor, (purportedly for nothing, with his wages being fully paid by the Turkish club), but he was the first and only player on loan to Heart. Other clubs had been using loaned players, not us. It was probably the media speculation over Lampard and EDS players that spooked FFA into tightening the rules rather than anything that CFG/Manchester City/Melbourne City stated their intent to do.

 

Correct me if i am wrong but the loan rule was changed - in part - as a result on Victory using it to sign Troisi AND Rogic.

 

For this season, we would be doing the same. ie Lampard and Villa.  However this rule was changed. Victory were the last beneficiary of this rule.

 

Last season, it seemed odd that Victory could sign such players and still be under the salary cap - but they did.  

 

 

There's other dodgy shit they've done.  

 

For example, buying Allsop only to terminate his contact "by mutual consent" to get someone else that Postecoglou wanted.  

 

Then there was that VISA player Bru (?) they froze out and made him train on his own, until he too terminated his contract early so that they get someone else.

 

Hernandez was definitely a loan player to Victory at one point, and I'm sure Solazarno was as well, both at Brisbane and Victory.

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y'know after having read JVS, Murdocca and Kisnorbo say that since CFG's takeover the players now have expectations on them to perform and questions will be asked-mplying that this wasn't the case under Heart, I'm shifting more and more towards Melbourne City and further and further from Melbourne Heart.

 

It seems to me that I got taken for a ride by Heart thinking they actually were a professional club with professional players that took pride in their performances and shared the passion that i had for the red and white..

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Kevin Bartlett on sen saying the storm consortium may be looking to sell their share in the club

I reckon he's confused. Thinking of victory.

I know he said he wasn't, but KB is a bit of a muppet when it comes to football....

 

That was published yesterday...

 

http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/article/2014/11/12/melbourne-victory-shares-offloaded-injuries-cripple-squad

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i hope KB is confused. Mind you i think he started with a comment that Miligan cannot play for city this weekend. Correct me if im wrong there.

 

But if its true - it would be a shame that the storm consortium would want to leave. 

 

Seems like the victory supporters got shafted - as the stock in the club that was for sale ended up going to a hand select of current owners anyway.  

 

Nice one Victory - the club is for sale to anyone (including supporters) - as long as they pay me the highest price. Mind you the asking price was never reached. And not one cent went back into the club for redevelopment.  Looks like a quick get in - make a huge profit - and pocket it all as i sell it.

 

I would rather sell the club for a low price to investors who put far more money back into it.  Oh wait that what heart did! 

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Well reported in the herald sun that they sold each share for 2.00-2.50, that would make the club valued at 27-34million which is extremely over priced in anyones language. i highly doubt the storm consortium would want to get out so soon, it is not as if they are short of cash or in the business of making a quick dollar, it would be in their interest to stay on board so when the time comes to expand aami that they are apart of two clubs and have a greater say over what happens. 

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A local perspective from a Gulf Business reporter

 

 

Boosting Brand Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is looking to further establish its name on the world stage by transforming Manchester City FC into a global footballing brand. But could the emirate’s era of sports investment be coming to an end?
By Robert Anderson    22 hours ago
football-620x310.jpg

When Abu Dhabi United Group’s (ADUG) estimated £100 million acquisition of Manchester City was first announced in September 2008, many dismissed it as local one-upmanship.

Dubai International Capital had recently tried and failed to buy Liverpool FC, presenting the opportunity for Abu Dhabi (or at least a private equity fund closely linked to the government) to beat its neighbour to the punch by acquiring its own English Premier League team.

But whether it was the result of competing for global recognition with Dubai, or keen business interest, the deal has accomplished far more for brand Abu Dhabi than an expanded trophy cabinet.

“You could look at things like the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championships, and the investment in Manchester City as some of Abu Dhabi’s most prominent global marketing assets,” says Ben Faber, senior director at Fast Track Middle East, the company charged with delivering Man City’s sponsorship and fan loyalty programmes regionally and fan engagement in New York.

“The Manchester City investment has given the emirate global awareness through the fan base that they’ve been able to tap into and allowed Abu Dhabi incorporated-businesses like Etihad, the Tourism and Culture Authority and Etisalat to leverage off the back of that ownership as sponsors of the club.”

Now ADUG’s sports investment strategy is moving to its next stage, targeting untapped football markets in the US, Australia and Japan to produce a truly global football brand. Abu Dhabi and its state-owned companies are thus set to gain further international recognition on the way.

GoinG Global

In May 2013, in the modest setting of the P.S 72 school cafeteria in East Harlem, figures including Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Hal Steinbrenner and Randy Levine of baseball’s New York Yankees and Don Garber, commissioner of Major League Soccer (MLS), gathered to announce the 20th entry to the MLS, New York City FC.

The list of names was impressive, showing how significant the event was for the city, as was the record $100 million ADUG’s conspicuously absent H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan had paid for the rights to the club, in partnership with the Yankees.

“We will build two very good teams [in Manchester and New York] with the aim of winning their respective competitions, and both these teams are going to help each other,” announced Ferran Soriano, CEO of Manchester City.

Less than a year later, Soriano was at it again, leading a consortium with Melbourne Storm to acquire Australian A-League team Melbourne Heart, declaring that the group’s combined football and commercial expertise would make for a powerful combination “both on and off the pitch”.

Then to cap its deals off, the club announced it had acquired a minority stake in Japanese side Yokohama F-Marinos in May, with Soriano hailing the integrated approach to football, marketing, media and commercial development all the clubs in the City family would enjoy.

All three acquisitions focus on countries not traditionally considered strong footballing markets but the numbers are growing.

In the US, for example, the MLS is a far cry from the Premier League in terms of popularity and money earning potential, yet there are significant growth opportunities, with games regularly attracting a larger stadium audience than those in the National Basketball Association and National Hockey League, and renewed interest from the American public after the World Cup.

The most recent MLS TV deal, which was closed in May, will reportedly generate three times what broadcasters were paying previously, jumping from $30 million a year to an estimated $90 million till 2022. While the number of teams competing is set to increase, with two additions in 2015 (including New York City FC) and three more to come shortly after.

Among the main areas of collaboration expected from the three acquisitions include training methods, coaching, technology and medical care, but for Manchester City and ADUG, the real value arguably comes off the pitch, through additional diversified revenues and boosted global brand recognition.

One aspect of how this strategy will be implemented was revealed in June when Melbourne Heart was renamed to Melbourne City FC, making an MCFC acronym identical to its Manchester City partner. The team’s new home kit is also designed to include the signature blue of its sister clubs in Manchester and New York, creating a connection between the teams.

City and ADUG are hoping this more local approach will help the club to gain prominence in a global market dominated by Manchester United, Real Madrid, Barcelona and other more established names in football.

“They [Manchester City] are playing catch up, they are fighting clearly for a share of a global fan base and obviously all the commercial upsides that come with that,” says Faber.

The approach is also intended to create more of a connection within the countries than competing teams, which only arrive for a few exhibition games during season downtime.

“Soccer fans in the US are looking for good soccer and the best way to deliver that is to be here and to do it every week, not to play a friendly every year or every other year,” Soriano told ESPN’s Men in Blazers podcast at the end of July.

Off the pitch meanwhile, there appears to be a similar strategy to boost the profile of Abu Dhabi’s flag carrier.

Carriers Turn To sporTs sponsorship

Etihad has arguably been the main beneficiary of ADUG’s sports investments outside of brand Abu Dhabi itself, pegging sponsorship deals following each acquisition.

This began at Manchester City, where an estimated £400 million stadium and shirt deal similar to Emirates’ at Arsenal FC, means the club’s ground is now known as The Etihad.

“When you watch a Premier League Game the commentators always talk about ‘Here at The Etihad’ or ‘Their third successive win at The Emirates’ and so on. Naming stadiums has become enormously effective – and the shirt sponsorship means that the brands are seen around the world on television and in newspapers day in and day out,” says Kevin Hasler, general manager at PR and communications firm BPG, Cohn & Wolfe.

Gulf airlines have proven particularly responsive to the opportunities presented by sports sponsorship, with all three looking to utilise the global appeal of football.

Qatar Airways controversially penned a 69 million euro three-year deal with Spain’s FC Barcelona in 2013. Emirates is meanwhile the official worldwide partner of the sport’s governing body FIFA, and has shirt sponsorship deals with AC Milan, Real Madrid and Hamburg among others.

Hasler suggests it is not so much a question of rivalry between the three Gulf countries, but more of a realisation that sporting sponsorships are now an “enormously effective way” of positioning themselves globally– while reinforcing their airlines’ global expansion strategies.

“The core of their [Etihad and ADUG’s] sports sponsorship and investment strategy is investing to put Abu Dhabi on the international map – getting the emirate talked about and discussed worldwide,” he says. And this strategy has continued with ADUG’s more recent investment plans.

Shortly after the renaming of Melbourne Heart, Etihad was revealed as the club’s new shirt sponsor. The airline is also expected to announce a shirt sponsorship deal with New York City FC before the new season starts, having already become the official airline partner of the US MLS league.

“Following the World Cup in Brazil this summer there is a surge of interest in “soccer” in North America and sponsoring New York will tap into this and also help to support Etihad’s growing route network in the US,” says Hasler. 

“The same applies to Australia where Abu Dhabi also now has the 55,000-seater Etihad Stadium in one of the biggest sporting cities.”

But despite the enormous investments Etihad, Emirates and Qatar Airways are now making in sport, including more recent deals with England Cricket and the Mumbai Indians IPL team, Hasler believes it has been money well spent.

“The cost of global branding and advertising campaigns for Etihad, for example, would be dwarfed by the brand awareness they are achieving through the sports sponsorship strategy.”

CULTURE TAKING CENTRE STAGE?

While Abu Dhabi’s ambition to create a profitable global sports business is underway, Hasler suggests a strategic approach to investment will continue, fitting markets where the emirate wants to raise its profile and do business and “logically only to locations where Etihad currently flies to or will in the future”.

“There are probably few deals on the size and scale of the Manchester City remaining out there at the moment and it will only make sense to deal with the very best teams in respective sports and markets,” he says.

But there are also signs that Abu Dhabi’s investment focus could shift over the next decade, with a return to long stalled artistic projects suggesting a greater emphasis is to be placed on enhancing the emirate’s cultural appeal.

In the build up to the 2015 opening of the long delayed Louvre Abu Dhabi, which is being constructed at a cost of over $630 million, an extensive programme of exhibitions and events is taking place to muster local and international interest. 

A deal worth over $1 billion will see art loaned from French museums including The Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay and the Château de Versailles, in a 30- year collaboration with Abu Dhabi.

A staggered launch cycle will see the Louvre joined by the Zayed National Museum, telling the story of the UAE’s formation through the life of its founding father Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, in 2016, with a much delayed division of the Guggenheim following in 2017. Together, the three will form Saadiyat Island’s Cultural District.

“The investment partnerships with the Louvre and the Guggenheim and the long term plans for that part of the city are probably where the greater part of the new investment will lie over the next 10 years,” says Faber.

“Sport will remain a key part of Abu Dhabi’s marketing strategy and commercial strategy moving forwards but culture is already coming much more to the fore.”

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LOL @ the salary cap bit. You'd think only the two Melbourne, the two Sydney teams, and Brisbane would be interested in increasing the salary cap.

And in that one statement, I've basically explained why the A-League only wants to expand into major cities from now on, it's no coincidence that the clubs with $$$ are in the major cities.

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LOL @ the salary cap bit. You'd think only the two Melbourne, the two Sydney teams, and Brisbane would be interested in increasing the salary cap.

And in that one statement, I've basically explained why the A-League only wants to expand into major cities from now on, it's no coincidence that the clubs with $$$ are in the major cities.

 

 

Right on the money.

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Very interesting article. Didn't think it would be too long before CFG started to flex its muscles against FFA.

 

Not sure its flexing , its more using its resources to make stuff happen that couldn't happen before.

Plenty of previous/current owners had cash, but not as much football knowledge. 

City obviously have both and if there willing to fly out all the owners i'm guessing they don't mind spending a bit to test the waters. 

 

One of the AFC requirements is to have an independent operator of the comp. This might just push it along. 

 

There are always pro's and cons - A con could be that it will leave the FFA with less money to grow the sport.

This is my guess as to why the FFA don't want to let go.

 

F1 owners goes through the same thing every now and then to try and take back the sport, they end up getting more cash from bernie each time.

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Well, the A-league is headed into territories un-dreamt of during the NSL days. The issue the FFA was always going to have with someone like CFG is that it's is a powerful force and can make life difficult for the FFA if it wants to. Yes the FFA wants the CFG investment in the HAL but for that the FFA will have to slowly accomodate the demands of the new, more powerful owners.

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Here's some more on that forthcoming club bosses meeting:

 

http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/article/2014/11/19/league-club-chiefs-battle-ffa-over-visa-players

 

 

Agree on the salary cap. With the A-League continuing to grow, it might be hard for clubs from smaller markets to keep up. Expect Adelaide, Central Coast and Newcastle to fiercely argue against a salary cap increase, as they will say it will only benefit Melbourne and Sydney clubs, as other clubs won't be able to pay more wages. I'm almost certain the salary cap will increase though, as the Sydney clubs, Melbourne clubs and maybe Brisbane will push pretty hard for it, and the PFA will lobby hard for it as well, especially since the salary cap limit effectively stayed the same over the past 2 seasons.

 

 

As for an independent A-League, I would say it is a pipe dream ATM. It would only have a faint chance of being made realistic when the current A-League TV deal concludes in 2017, and if a group of A-League club bosses were able to put forward a new model that broadcasters were happy to get behind and sign a deal with. Otherwise it would take an extreme amount of agitation from CFG to bring about an independent A-League, and I don't see them being so risky and revolution focused with Australian football.  

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Even then Murf, the FFA has to approve it as otherwise FIFA registered players won't be able to play, much like the old pre-NSL days when Australia was not a member of FIFA

 

Yep. Probably shouldn't even have taken the idea seriously, as it's a pipedream for the foreseeable future. That is, at least for the next 5 to 10 years.

 

Club bosses are probably posturing with this suggestion that they are seriously discussing an independent A-League, so they can win concessions on other things, like the league not going down to 4 Visa players next season (as the FFA wants), and an increased salary cap.

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The template comes from F1 that used to be run directly by the FIA until Bernie Ecclestone encouraged the teams to set up their own company (controlled by him of course) to run F1 under FIA rules. This idea was taken up by the English First Division  teams that took control of the competition from the English FA and run the company that controls the EPL. In may ways its a good idea as the conflicts inherent in having the organisation that sets the rules also being the same organisation that promotes and policies the game is removed. Of course to a large degree its really about money and who controls the large bucket of TV money.

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The template comes from F1 that used to be run directly by the FIA until Bernie Ecclestone encouraged the teams to set up their own company (controlled by him of course) to run F1 under FIA rules. This idea was taken up by the English First Division  teams that took control of the competition from the English FA and run the company that controls the EPL. In may ways its a good idea as the conflicts inherent in having the organisation that sets the rules also being the same organisation that promotes and policies the game is removed. Of course to a large degree its really about money and who controls the large bucket of TV money.

Of course the EPL/first division really took off when they were no longer controlled by the football league.  This has everyone thinking its the only way to go, but its success (and previous issues) do relate to the entire context, so its not so simple as to separate it and suddenly have instant success.

 

TV documentaries about this note that the big clubs complained that every time they wanted to change something, the first division clubs would get voted down by the lower division clubs (makes sense, 4 divisions), who often had a different set of challenges and a different agenda.  Even seemingly little things like extending the half time break so fans could go to the toilet and get food or drink and of course names on jerseys couldn't get up.

 

How much difference it would make in Australia if the A League was independent?  Certainly the current interests of the current owners would be top of the agenda.  The impact this would have I'm not sure.

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I'm confused by the independent a-league part what does it mean? Does it mean a whole new league or just the owners of the clubs make the decisions not the FFA

I suspect that in the shorter term they want a league that is run independently of FFA - as per the EPL - and in the longer term they would like to take ownership of the clubs themselves rather than simply own the licences of a number of FFA franchises to participate in the league.

 

A two-stage change. Stage 1 being an independently-run league, and stage 2 being independent football clubs.

Edited by jw1739
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