A-league Expansion - Derbies

I've wondered about this too as but if there was a team from Hamilton they'd leapfrog the Nix for me.  

A good indicator would be the MLS with teams from the North East or even Melbourne or Sydney closer to home. 

 I'm sure that when it finally happens (AKL or CHC), people living near said clubs would get behind them and turn the Nix into their B team.  Can't wait for that day.

Conan, below is an excerpt from an article written by tony smith of The Press. It appeared on Stuff on 13/9/2014.... Meyn believes Canterbury sport should be aiming high. He would like to see the city supporting an A-League (Australia's professional football competition) franchise and a medium-size multiuse sporting stadium, somewhere in Christchurch, but not at the Yaldhurst site. Meyn says all dreams start with an idea. "Last year, the FC Bate Borisov club in Belarus, in a city with only 180,000 population - half the size of Christchurch - built a 13,500 seat stadium for 28 million euros [$NZ44 million]. They played Bayern Munich, the reigning German and European champions in the European Champions League group stage last year, and beat them 3-1." Meyn likes to think of the Belarussian example, "when people in New Zealand tell me, 'we are a small country, a small city... we can't compete'."

Don't want to rain on your day Gobal Game too much but ex Russian countries love football (aint no other ball game played in those parts) and with cheap labour/land/and lax gov laws esp. compared with Western Europe/NZ, can build stuff on the cheap in way we never could.

Maybe he builds this thing to find talent, then once he's got it a few years down the track builds a stadium, starts a Chch A-League team, and buys a handful of marquee players lol. Good man

Wow. Some guy funds a pitch for his sons club side and all of a sudden we're getting a second A-League side. If you say so ...

And lol at the ensuing discussion surrounding former Russian economics. You guys should become writers for Stuff

Its former Soviet not former Russian.

Be cool if it happened. 

Chch could be the Chelsea of the A League. Christchurski we would have have to call them. 

Both would have large sets of racist skinhead fans too.

I don't think anyone said we are getting a 2nd A League side... just that here's a guy with a lot of money who's into football in NZ and could MAYBE be interested in funding a side in the future. He himself has said that he would like to see Chch have an A League side. And, yeah he is just "funding a pitch for his son's club side" - to the tune of $40 million. That's a little bit different to just chasing the sheep off the paddock and chucking some goals up at each end. In fact, isn't $40 million the price WelNix thought they could build a new ground in Petone for? 

That sounds like that second piste at Porter Heights that is now being planned (with foreign funds too)

He obviously knows that a decent youth academy is a better business than an A-League franchise. It would make a good business sense and he would be also helping a few kids' dream come true (a pitch for the kids' club) rather than our wet dream (another HAL franchise) no matter how much I would like that to happen.

It was part of Russia before the revolution, so you're both right.

Part of the former Russian Empire before the revolution.

It was also part of Lithuania at one point. I'm pretty sure Marto meant Soviet not Tsarist Russia when he said former Russian country.

Belarus is the only country in the world whose secret police is still called the KGB. Maybe "former" Soviet isn't quite the right term...

Yeah thats true, only dictatorship left in Europe. And they really really want to be back in the fold of the motherland.

Belarus side for the A-League?

Speaking of Belarus, apparently their diplomats have a fear of topless women throwing mayonaisse:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/11/us-un-be...

Don't we all.....

Take your dressing like a man NP.

The Minsk Minstrels?

Our Ruski friend getting the mad props from Wynton:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/70113651/all...

Personally I would love to see a chch franchise rather than a auckland one. Could bring a great north v south rivalry etc.

But... Wellington is in the south isn't it?!

I think the biggest obstacle for us getting a 2nd A-League franchise (besides Robbie Slater imploding) is that the FFA see having the Phoenix as delivering them the NZ market which is important for the leagues commercial partners, I doubt they'd see the benefit for them having a second side here when Canberra, Wollongong/South Sydney, 2nd Queensland side, 3rd Victorian side probably more appealing

Commercial market; Auckland > Chch

Interesting reading.

Gisborne City had a mysterious foreign-injection around 200...3/4/5? 
I wasn't living in the district at the time, but apparently the money was coming from a Belarussian businessman called something like 'Sergei Soncin'. 

Long-story short, the money got used on players, the locals got rejected, I think they got relegated (with a squad mainly comprising MAGS kids and former Tauranga City United players), the money left, and eventually the club folded. Massive shame.

'TopLeft07' might have a better recollection of what exactly went down.

Sounds like this bloke down South has got the right idea though. Great to have him in NZ!

I wouldn't expect a second A-League franchise in NZ would be anywhere near viable until there's a second NRL franchise operating.
They've had a couple cracks - not sure when the next opportunity is.

The turfs are open, the admin building is due for completion next year. Seach FB for Christchurch Football Centre and you find this and other artist impressions.

...maybe Mr Meyn could throw a bit of cash Canterbury United's way and get them an O-League berth to start with?

Q: How about expansion. With half the league in some bother, shouldn’t we be trying to sort that out before bringing in new teams?

A: Expansion is not on the current agenda.

The game, like others in Australia, has made mistakes in the past and put pressure on even the best performing clubs in the competition.

We have made it clear the strategic priority is the stability and sustainability of the competition.

In any case, expansion should only happen in markets where there are millions in the catchment, not a few hundred thousand and we continue to actively research the possible areas for when the time is right.

http://theaustralian.com.au/sport/football/david-gallop-bullish-about-the-a-league-season-despite-dramas/story-fn63e0vj-1227563980053

If we are talking millions in the catchment, sooner or later they have to give Auckland another crack. Sydney/Melbourne/Brisbane can only be divided so many times

The key for Auckland is where they play games and if they can break the tribal rubbish up here.

Personally I would be looking to go small and safe first up and look at a Mt Smart #2 or Bill McKinley Park size stadium and focus on getting out to all the Auckland markets.

Maybe take a leaf from the breakers and have a low cost home and hire a larger venue for when it's required (like against the Nix for example).

Obviously the main factor will be if they can be competitive.

What's the capacity of those two grounds? May not be up to A League standard. Pity the old home of NZ football (Newmarket Park) was lost to subsidence.

I am kind of flabbergasted that Auckland is talked about as a market when its failed - twice.

Where is the rationale for this when on occasions that the Phoenix do visit town, it is hit or miss for a 1 off. Then you want to make it 14 games regular.....

I personally think that the reason why HAL succeeds in NZ is because Wellington. I'll say it again - Wellington. If the Phoenix were an Auckland side, they would have failed, folded and be toast by now. Before you say 'no they they would not have/where are the facts/you are talking shark', I present you the NZ Knights - the team that was supposed to *learn* from the Kingz

As for all this ACFC lark - sure, if they release most of their squad cause they don't meet the qualifying thresholds for 5 imports only. Most people forget that the results they get are because they are stacked with imports, not cause of natural NZ talent.

Refute me. I want you to.

The Kingz weren't always a failure though. The first two seasons were great. It was just when Sky came in and fudgeed the whole thing up.

I still think there is a future for an Auckland team but it needs to have plenty of capital in behind it and sound management. 

If you had a management structure like the WelNix group and the right-sized ground then an Auckland team would make a real go of it IMHO.

I don't see why Auckland can't be successful. Ideally you would want average crouds of 10,000 but 7,000 seems to be okay as a bare minimum. The problem is that the stadium situation in Auckland is so up in the air. If a 20,000 seat stadium was built in a decent location you could have the Warriors, Auckland ITM Cup and a new A-league franchise all use it. Unfortunately they want to get everyone to use North Harbour stadium which we know doesn't work. 

Only expanding into areas with a million plus people isn't a great idea though. There is no reason smaller centres can't be successful. I would love to see Wollongong in the A-League. I think we will be stuck at ten teams for a long time though.

FFA are wanting regions with millions of people to expand into. There has been plenty of talk about a Sutherland based franchise in Sydney but that is where 30% of Sydney's support comes from. If they try to carve up Melbourne & Sydney any more, they will just weaken existing franchises. Brisbane can't support 1 franchise atm, let alone another team in Ipswich. At some point, they have to reconsider Auckland, just because it is so big.

NZ Warriors FC v Wellington Phoenix, 2018/19

You'd think a lot of lessons would have been learned. Question is- is there demand for it? Would have to go beyond club loyalties, but get those with club loyalties in.

Phoenix started with a bang with Ricki, Felipe and Daniel, Smeltzy as well as Tim Brown, Lochy, Ross Aloisi, Coveny and Paston. Leo came in a year later...

Have to find key players with broad appeal. Another lesson from the Breakers right? Thom Abercrombie, Kirk Penney and Cedric Jackson...Mika Vukona and Dillon Boucher.

You need to have the right focus and raison d'etre. The Phoenix? Rise from the ashes, miracles, against the odds, playing like fire...Felipe Wonder goal! and then Beckstravaganza. When I came down the first couple of times I had people asking me on the street or in a restaurant after the game what the score was...seemed like a point of Wellington pride.

It would need the right message, not just Auckland City demanding a place in the A-league IMO. Maybe even rather than trying to represent all of Auckland, it would have more character if it had some local suburb iconography- One Tree Hill, Rangitoto, Kauri, Mt Eden...Tamaki Bays...Tamaki United...Remeura Tractor Boys...

Would it be an Auckland franchise, a South-Eastern franchise, a North Shore franchise or a West Auckland franchise? The city doesn't really come together at all, with the exception of Eden Park...Be interesting to see if the 'Nix can exorcise the North Shore ghosts, but generally I really don't like that stadium. Not that great a viewing experience and quite a distance from large parts of Auckland.

A combined Warriors brand? interesting...can't be sure about league folk supporting that! But it would make some sense...the Harbour Warriors? Butcher's FC? Would have mixed loyalties to be sure.

Those seats all the way round were temporaries right?

Also good to know we'll have our own one man knitting circle in JV. Nothing like the drive to prove someone wrong to get a bit of motivation going...