REDS fans committee meeting

[Jessesdad]

The REDS fans committee meeting

The fans committee met last night and Glenn Elliot (the club's CEO) spent an hour with us giving us a very open and frank report on how he saw things at present.

Before going any further I think I should say that I was very impressed by his passion for the club, his realistic assessment of where we are and his burning desire to make our club successful on and off the field. He's about as happy as any other fan about our performance so far but he's backing the people in the football department to turn things around. Glenn is a straight-talking, no-bullshit sort of person. He's a businessman who likes to succeed. He's also said that he will answer any call (not email or tweet - he hates those!) from a financial member of the club (season ticket holder or paid up member) who has questions to ask.

The committee hadn't met for a while so there was plenty to talk about. So, here's a rundown on what I can tell you. I'll try and address some of the things people on this and other forums have mentioned lately. Firstly the Glenn Elliot talk and then other issues. It'll be long and in no particular order so only read it if you want to. Otherwise - just keep supporting the club.

A.C.L possibilities: Glenn basically said that we'd be chasing this if and when the final details come from the FFA - which hasn't happened yet. At present there is no real clarity about what it will mean. What he did emphasise is that the Reds will not be doing anything that endangers the financial stability of the club or jeopardises our key agenda - the A-League. He seemed as excited about the possibility of playing in the ACL again as most of us are but only if it benefits the club in the long term.

Clubhouse and sponsorship: The Veneto Club was mentioned and Glenn said it was "on the radar" along with some other options. Again, the key the any club venue is its capacity to raise revenue for the club. AU is being run on a shoestring in order to make the club viable and like many other teams needs to be chasing alternative sources of revenue to allow for expansion - or even some flexibility. While fans might like a place to 'have a beer' the club sees any move into a venue as a way of securing stability financially. That means it's a serious business decision which will involve long-term planning and decisions about where and when it might happen. There are only three real sources of income for the club - gate takings, sponsorship and 'other'. Glenn and the club are chasing all three with a fair bit of energy. It isn't easy.

Hindmarsh: The club is committed to Hindmarsh as our ground and also to a long-term and mutual relationship with the Government. Glenn reported that the relationship with the government was going well. There's plenty of options and ideas about how things might work but all of them rest on respectful and realistic relationships with the owners.

Membership: Can't say much about this except that Glenn sees membership as a key to our future success. He recognises that this year has been a bit of trial and error but paid up members can expect to be getting a letter in the next week or so with some good news.

Club admin: A lot of people, myself included, have had a bit of a whinge about the club admin in the last six months. If you're frustrated then spare a thought for the people who actually do the work. Glenn made it clear that AU runs the leanest admin in the A-League. Many of the employees of the club are working 2-3 jobs in order that the club can survive and build. Where other clubs have 2-3 media people we have one. Of course this will mean that sometimes there are glitches. But next time you're on the end of one bear in mind that it's probably because the person involved was trying to do three other things at the same time in order that we might have a club to support. And if you're really annoyed, calm down then ring the club and ask what the issue is. Chances are someone will tell you. If we just have a bitch about it online or send off abusive emails we probably won't be helping the situation.

Onfield performance: You're not happy, I'm not happy, he's not happy. What else did you expect? The good thing was to hear how honest he was about it and how keen he is to see it change. But that's in the hands of the football department. He's a fan like us but he's also backing his staff. The club has a plan in place to review performance in the same way that all well-run businesses have. We don't necessarily see that but it happens throughout the season. Glenn's also frustrated about the run of injuries but he's been around sport long enough to know "that's football". He mentioned that Dario had a couple of fitness tests prior to the game last week and came through. He declared himself ok to play. Shit happens.

That's about it for Glenn. It was wide-ranging discussion and he didn't hold too much back. He wasn't interested in sugar-coating or excuses, he's too interested in getting AU to a point where we can stabilise and grow. Obviously the new broadcast rights deal is very much on the minds of all clubs as they look to balance the books.

Other stuff.

1. Delays in getting memberships out.
Some people have had issues about how long it took to get their memberships. Basically there was a bit of a glitch in process and no-one was really at fault. Stuff happens even with the best of intentions and preparation. Matt Rossi is currently doing about three jobs and for a bloke working as hard as he does it's amazing how sane he stills seems.

2. There's hope that a fan-made newsletter will soon be available at games.

3. More Errea club merchandise is on its way. Again, many people are aware of some glitches (sizing, etc) that have arisen but when you hear the details of how this occurred it's bloody hard to blame any one person or party. When things change it takes some time for the new situation to bed in.

4. The note on the website about free entry to Women's League games was a mistake. AU does not run the Women's team (FFSA does) and can't offer free entry.

5. Matt Rossi was pleased to hear some good feedback from people. Bear in mind that a pat on the back for the people at the club from time to time will probably do more to keep them going than constant reminders about the fact that they don't run things as well as Chelsea or Barcelona.
That's it folks. Kudos to the club and Glenn for talking to the fans committee again and being so straight with us. If you have further questions you'd like us to ask at the next meeting just PM me or reply here. Or ask the club (politely). It's our team.

[BC]

Thanks for posting this.

[Stuckey]

Thats mate! Personally as a fan this is all I need to hear. "The club has a few faults, yes we're working on it"
If we could just get this sort of an update from the club a little more often I'm sure it would set a lot of minds at ease.

The fan made newsletter sounds great. I would love to see something come from AUFC or the FFA for that fact that isn't just the same PR crap. Lets get some passion and honesty in our reporting!
If you get a chance I would also like to tip my hat to the write ups Rini was doing on the FFSA site. Great to hear from him directly...i guess it was him?!

[Agostinho]

The fan made newsletter sounds great.

Bring back 'Because of a Pissant Town'!

[General Ashnak]

Bring back 'Because of a Pissant Town'!

I second your motion!

[Old Gregg]

10th anniversary edition, 2019-20 season

[Agostinho]

And thanks for the write up on the meeting. Very thorough and informative.

KUTGW, Rick Springfield.

[lufcmike]

I was going to post this earlier but I thought I would wait till after tonights result.

The GM said he had "A burning desire to make our club successful on and off the field"

Remember a businessmans idea of success is mutually exclusive from a fans idea of success.
I've been round these "successful businessmen" for most of my working life and have learnt that its their bottm line that counts not yours the clubs or the communities, and take everthing that they tell you with a grain of salt.

[Jessesdad]

To be fair, the CEO can't control the football side of the club.

Tonight demands an urgent review of the footballing side. If we have a footballing side. That was as bad as it has ever been and worse.

Look at CCM, no money and a threatened existence and they are playing brilliant football. We're better run off the field, but on it.....!!!

[lufcmike]

We are run by the board of North Adelaide SANFL club. A club known for their accumen and success.
We are just as stuffed as CCM and it can only end badly.

[blahblah]

Thanks for this, very informative and the type of feedback we need.

[Stuckey]

I see Glen Elliot has been appointed AUFC CEO as a fulltime position. Thats gotta be good news for the running of the club!