Sensational-Adelaide.com

adam_stuckey wrote: Also does any one follow Italian football?

adam_stuckey wrote:Also does any one follow Italian football?

monotonehell wrote:

adam_stuckey wrote:Also does any one follow Italian football?

*clears throat*
Ahem

I say, It's a good thing that the World Cup and the Olympics are not on at the same time.
That way the Italians can make good use of their divers.

ADELAIDE United could be saved by Christmas - returning to South Australian control through a consortium masterminded by white knight businessman Alan Young, AO.

The generosity of previous owners Gordon Pickard and Nick Bianco bankrolled the Reds for five seasons but the arrangements were not sustainable.

United Mark III - under Young's plan - would be propelled by a rock-solid business case and long-term vision initially involving 24 investors.

United has been operated by Football Federation Australia since Bianco handed back the state's sole A-League licence in May.

Young has been in negotiations with FFA head of operations Archie Fraser for several months and believes United can and should be viable.

"United has a pretty proud history. FFA has done a good job managing United but many, like me, thought ownership of an SA team belongs with South Australians," said Young, principal partner of stockbroking firm Baker Young, chairman of the Flinders Medical Centre Foundation and Flinders Bio-Medical Enterprises. "We know it is expensive to put a team on the field week after week. What I have done is to put together a group of like-minded parties and independent experts to buy back the Adelaide United licence.

"We don't think Adelaide United will look back, given the right support. We have people who are prepared to throw in a few quid."

Young's strength is in funding and establishing new enterprises then managing them towards success across industry including stockbroking, wine production, media, the arts and health research.

"For our group to take up any proposal, it will need to meet fairly rigorous financial criteria. We are talking to FFA, conducting due diligence but our passion for football and Adelaide United is driving this," Young said.

"We are not interested in a stop-start solution. I know we can solve this. If we do proceed the deal will be fully funded for the long term, with a very strong business hand balanced by football know-how.

"You need to have a few millions dollars on the balance sheet to be safe. We want to be able to cover the recurrent costs of the club.

"In the first three years we would also want a bit in a war-chest to do a few things, build the team, bring the resources to the field.

"From an investment point of view, more the merrier. In the short run we will have to start up with around 24 investors - local and expatriate - pitching in and then bring others in."

Unsuccessful attempts to establish interim boards and chase overseas backing at United this year created uncertainty - on and off the field at Hindmarsh.

It's time to do things properly, says Young, and involve all segments of the population and fans.

"The ingredient that has been missing in the number of false starts the club has had has been business support," said Young.

"We also want to establish the club as a flagship for the development of local talent. We notice in other states, teams are engaged with the local community, growing home talent.

"We have noted one of the great assets about Adelaide United is its' fans.

"It's a wonderful thing to build on. Our model would see the fans having a stake.

"'The model would allow stakeholders to invest. We want a proper corporate approach where stakeholders get an opportunity to have their say, be fully transparent and everyone's accountable."

EXCLUSIVE: We spoke to Aurelio Vidmar today about the stuttering form of the Reds this season, the formation of his team and who he thought should take the next penalty for Adelaide United.

Do you take responsibility for the club's underwhelming first half of the season?

Yes. You have to take responsibility. That's how it is. I'm not running away from it. Am I happy about it? No I'm not, no-one is. But what are we going to do? Sit there and sulk? No, we go out there and make sure we improve to get things better. That's the job, when you're winning you cop the pats on the back and when you're not you cop the criticism, which we've had our fair share of. You have to accept that and get on with it. Unfortunately it's a bit hit and miss on the park right now and that's about confidence, getting a few wins on the trot and building that confidence. The players bust their backsides. Sometimes it doesn't come off, but there's genuine effort there.

Why is Aurelio Vidmar the right man for the job?

I don't know, you tell me [laughs]. It is a tough time and we're under no illusions. You can't live off last year.

Any regrets over the last 12 months and anything you would've done differently?

Hindsight is easy. We all make mistakes and think we couldn't done this and that differently but we're learning and evolving every day to improve and get the maximum out of the players and that includes the whole staff at this club. Everyone is busting their backside to get the best out of the players. Can we get better? Absolutely. If anyone says they can't, they're dreaming.

From your perspective, the first half of this A-League season, your thoughts?

We've been inconsistent. I think we're one of the only clubs that hasn't been able to string together back-to-back wins. It's been a problem but we know that. We unfortunately haven't been able to get any momentum but it's something we want to rectify obviously in the second half of the season. That's been our season, we've been waiting for something to happen then bang, we need to get ourselves out of it and it's too late.

Has last year had an effect perhaps in mentally backing up for this season?

I don't think so... but look it's always difficult like a player playing his first year and going into his second year. The second year blues happens a helluva lot. Time and time again. Whether we believe our own bullshit, I don't know. But we're out there, they're training well and we can't fault that...

How have you viewed some of the media debate about your tactics and formations?

Everyone's got their opinion and they write what they think and that's fine. We're not going to worry too much about it. We're going to concentrate on doing what we think is right.

What is right, then?

We've changed our formation a little bit over the last six to eight weeks but we've still not any rewards for it. It's not only formations and tactics, you've still got to go out there and make sure that when you've got the ball, you can pass it to a red shirt, receive it and we have played some really good stuff. Absolutely. But we've been good for one full game, then next game for 30 minutes, or 20 minutes of half a game. It's puzzling for us but we've still got to strive to push everyone and hopefully we can change a little bit of our fortunes.

One out-and-out striker or two, where do you stand on that?

Look, I think we've probably gone from setting up last year with our 4-3-3 system we still had a lot of bodies in the midfield. We probably didn't create as many chances but we were quite sound defensively with our defenders and midfielders. Now we've sort of changed it around where we're actually trying to dictate the game and if you look at last week's game [against Brisbane Roar] most of the stats favoured us in a big way, but unfortunately we're not getting the results for it. It's something we've been toying with. Do we change it or do we persist with it? When you have that momentum... but at this point we're not in a position to take advantage.

Do you favour a 4-4-2, a 4-2-3-1 or a version of that?

You need a balance, depending on what strikers you've got there. I think the best strikers in my opinion are Sydney and Melbourne - they're very mobile. That's why we've pushed Matty Leckie up there because he gives us a bit of mobility and that X-factor. Chris [Cristiano] and Lloyd [Owusu] are two different types of players and in my opinion, the balance is not right with those two [Owusu and Cristiano]. One will play with Matty or last week we played Travis up there.

So, you favour a two striker forward line?

At this point, that's how it is, but if in two or three weeks and we're still not getting any success we've been flexible enough to change it once, we'll have to be flexible enough to change it again.

Lloyd, has he lived up to your expectations?

Well his return suggests no but you have to realise he's had a fair few health problems since he's come here. Right now, he's not too bad physically but at this stage I've got Chris in front of him [in selection] and Matty Leckie.

And how's Leckie's injury?

He should be ready for the following game.

The captaincy has also been talked about with Mark Rudan clearly taking a leadership role on the park. How does skipper Travis feel about this?

Rudes is a leader with plenty of experience so he does his own bit of leadership out on the park, which he should. We expect ten other players out there to do the same thing. Once you're on the park, everyone should be pointing the finger at everyone.

So Travis is okay with that?

Yeah, he's got no problem with that. He's not that type of vocal captain, he'll lead by example. He's got no issue with that.

So, you get a penalty next week, who takes it?

[Laughs] I might step up myself! Look, we've missed our last two after Travis got one in the opening round. A penalty is always a bit of a lottery. Travis was still breathing heavily [when the penalty was awarded] and Lloyd put up his hand but Griffin made a good save.

Will you decide who takes the next pen?

No, it hasn't even crossed my mind. It's easy to say "X" take it but if he's having a bit of a tough time he might not feel confident so you have to leave it with the players. They're experienced and mature enough to understand. I'd rather see players put their hands up rather than those who shirk the issue.

But if Lloyd's just missed one and Travis is out of breath, who else would you think takes your next penalty?

Whoever wants to, mate.

Paul Reid, how key is he and how much has his absence hurt you?

Sure, we missed him. He's a different type of player but that's the way it is sometimes with injuries. That's why you have a squad of 22-23 players...

And Adam Hughes?

I can't question his work-rate, it's phenomenal. And a lot of people don't see that. His work-rate is mind-blowing. It's superb. I guess he has been really rusty in front of goals but he's had the opportunity to score four or five. On that side it's been disappointing but we can't fault his effort. Sometimes it takes time to adjust - it's not an easy competition to play in. I'm not saying he's come with a different impression - not at all - but there could be players who come in and think it's easy. It's not. It's a physical league and you need to be mobile and you need to be able to run. And that's not the way we set up, it's the way with every team.

I guess his critics are those who follow the ball in the game and not the game as a whole. Agree?

Yeah, that's why we're not too bothered what people say. And we see what he does - a lot of people don't see that because we review the video. People see the result, and who scored. So everyone's got their opinions, 'You should be playing three up front, two up front, back three, back four, four in the midfield, a diamond,' whatever. It doesn't matter. In the end it's all about one thing, results. If you don't get them, you're going to get scrutinised. That's football. That's how it is. We're going through it, Liverpool are going through it. So we just have to keep improving and doing things better.

What's the message to the Reds faithful?

I can't fault them. Last year we won more games but now we're still getting even more people through the turnstiles even though we're not doing as well at home in particular. I can't fault that. Our plea to the fans is keep supporting us. True fans support you in thick and thin. Sometimes they don't like what they see but people are human, they make mistakes. That's all part of life.

This Melbourne Victory hoodoo, how can it be fixed?

We're racking our brains and it's not easy. Whether it becomes a real mental issue for us... we're thinking of everything, psychologists, hypnotists, psychiatrists, you name it!

What's the latest issue on the ownership situation at the club?

Got no idea. That's something our CEO and FFA are dealing with. I've just heard the rumours that's all.

And you may not be the right person to answer this but how the hell have you been able to improve your crowds this season?

Good question... In my opinion we've got one of the best community programs in the A-League. We're out there promoting the brand. If you don't do that, you alienate yourself then no-one comes. Fans want that contact.

Did you realise it's been 12 months ago to the day, you were playing off in the Asian Champions League final against Gamba Osaka at Hindmarsh?

Was it? Distant memories, mate.

http://au.fourfourtwo.com/news/116637,v ... -heat.aspx

Prospective Adelaide United owner Alan Young has revealed the club’s future will be decided by March 31 next year and hinges on a move to Adelaide Oval.

Young’s consortium of 20-stakeholders must commit to a new Reds ownership structure by the end of February to buy back the club licence from Football Federation Australia.

United, says Young, will not survive playing a majority of fixtures at Hindmarsh and must evolve to become SA’s second biggest sports team with a membership between 25,000-30,000.

‘‘If you look at the next five or 10 years we have to ask ourselves how to get growth,’’ said gun businessman Young, who has set up 20 companies.

‘‘We certainly would rather see 25,000-30,000 supporting soccer on a Friday night in the CBD. We can’t do that at the present stadium. We are looking at Adelaide Oval."

"We can see a future for Hindmarsh Stadium, just not totally dependent on Adelaide United."

It's a case of no new stadium deal, no future for the Reds.

The revenue vital to keeping United afloat would be generated by the 10,000 extra fans that can't fit into a 15,000 capacity Hindmarsh.

"There has to be an option to grow attendance and membership and to not have a stadium to accommodate that would be a deal breaker," said Young, noting United regularly draws crowds over 20,000 when playing at Adelaide Oval.

"With a bit more organisation I think we can get up to 25,000 attendances and get revenue to invest in the club, be really safe and certain of expenses going forward."

Young's new business model draws on the successful blueprint used by dual A-league champion Melbourne Victory. Young's team will be working round the clock over the festive period to deliver SA soccer a gift that keeps on giving.

"If we do go ahead we will prepare a business plan, put that to the FFA by March 31 and negotiate the purchase," said Young, principal partner of stockbroking firm Baker Young.

"We have looked at a lot of the other club models, particularly Melbourne Victory.

"It is run very well and has very good branding in the community. It has good connection with sponsors and business."

"The truth is the old model has not been successful which is why the previous promoters or owners disappeared."

The investors Young leads include a plethora of medium-sized companies who like the scale and accessibility of involvement of a revised Reds structure that would also afford national and international exposure.

"We have to come up with a model that builds revenue and that can only happen from season ticket sales, walk-up numbers, matches and sponsors," Young said.

Young's vision for United sees it becoming the state's second-biggest sports outfit - unrivalled during summer.

"The Crows have 50,000 members so I can see no reason why we can't have 25,000," said Young, who believes the A-league should start later that August to avoid clashing with AFL finals and increase sponsorship and exposure.

"Then we can have capacity to build the club."

"Port Adelaide at the worst get around 19,000 people to games. We could be near them soon."

"Potential sponsors tell me that future growth in sport in Australia will be in soccer. They can through AFL, their kids did but now their grandkids are playing soccer."

For now, Young just wants to stabilise an orphan club that is rockbottom of the A-league ladder.

"The club needs direction but has the support of our consortium and the loyal fans who keep turning up irrespective of on-field performance," he said.

Richard Earle
The Advertiser

adam_stuckey wrote:The future is looking rosey for Adelaide United (as long as this guy is involved!)