Jetstream AMA with Shane Mattiske

[furns]

Gday all, we are hoping to have an AMA confirmed with the new Executive Chairman of the Newcastle Jets - Shane Mattiske.

In preparation for this, if you have any questions you would like put to Shane please post them here.

[Jardelsimage]

GVE is not the messiah and we do not want him back, do you understand this?

[Jeterpool]

With the unbundling of the A-League agreed, who (A-League, APL, both) will be coordinating the process for new owner due diligence and providing approval should due diligence be passed?

[Jeterpool]

What is the preferred ownership framework you are pursuing for the Jets?

[Jeterpool]

Will additional backroom operational staff be brought into the club?

[belchardo]

How many players have signed over to The Entity (and who are they)? Have any players used this situation to pursue other options?

[belchardo]

Could you please outline The Entity's thoughts on jets-shaped hats and how supportive of the concept are they?

[belchardo]

What is the preferred ownership framework you are pursuing for the Jets?

Piggybacking off Jeterpool - Does it include partial/full community ownership? What would The Entity need to see to convince them that community ownership is viable?

[gussie_l]

Good on you for getting this opportunity. Overall it would be nice to tease out of him what his overall brief is.

I'm guessing he will be keeping his cards close to his chest but some things are:

- What is the target time frame to get the club to a point where it could be on sold. That is, when does the Entity expect to have it flogged off by. Is there a preference of how it is on sold (considering the noises to want to sell it to locals). What give's them confidence that this would be achievable.
- Confirm with him "The Entity" bought it for "free" without debt liability. As a lower priority, is he willing to say how much the debts are and to who most are owed, is he confident that none will stick with The Entity.
- What is the existing financial situation like? That is, how much is money going out greater than money going in. This question leads into how hard do the consortium have to work to turn the ship around to it being viable.
- Is he willing to give away where they have initially thought that the best changes can be made to improve the financial/Jet's situation. For The Entity to step in they must have thought there was a chance to turn it around and had some ideas at that point they pulled the trigger. Would be good to tease out what these ideas were/are.
- Is there any thought that the Entity will add money upfront and to which areas.
- Can we still afford to play at McDonald Jones stadium?
- At this stage does he foresee bring any further expertise in and who / what areas
- Has he spoken to existing sponsors and does he foresee any further sponsors at this stage.

How big and where on our jerseys will the $FC, WU and WSW logos be as sponsors, (not this last one, just a poor joke).

[Jeterpool]

Piggybacking off Jeterpool - Does it include partial/full community ownership? What would The Entity need to see to convince them that community ownership is viable?

I'd ask the question broadly to start with - let Shane answer and have your question as a follow up question depending on the Shane's response.

[Jeterpool]

Who will be ivolved in the selection of a new coach? And what time frame have you placed on achieving an appointment?

[Jeterpool]

What will The Entity be doing differently, both in terms of current ownership operation and during eventual selection of new owners, to ensure the Jets can become sustainable and don't end up in this situation again in another 3 years?

[Jeterpool]

What are the first 3 things The Entity will be doing as new owners of the club?

[westjet]

- How long are the entity prepared to carry the club? (ie what happens if they cant find a buyer in 2 or 3 years?)
- If GVE or any other coach is put in by The Entity what will be the length of the contract and will it have a clause that allows the new owners to put their own coach in without having to pay out the installed coach?
- How do they plan to engage with the community? (is there a plan or is this just the usual takeover talk)
- What role will Mckinna have in the coming months?
- What is the cost of using McDonald Jones Stadium, is this a realistic home ground long term based on the clubs financial position across a number of owners?

[Jeterpool]

Media reports stated that all players contracts were voided and they needed to sign with The Entity.

Have all players signed across for this year? What happens to those on loan - Matt Millar and Joey Champness?

[belchardo]

Jets fans have done this dance many times before. What lessons have you taken from previous forced licence transfers?

[Alton]

You are all doom and gloom you lot, lets see your plan for a way out of this

[baldrick]

Can we get jet shaped hats ?

[380]

GVE is not the messiah and we do not want him back, do you understand this?

THIS THIS THIS THIS, Get where i am going with this.

Tell him to ask Lederer and Co would they want GVE coaching at there club FFS.


Are we looking to add to our squad with more than just fillers to make up the numbers, IE get us a 10 please post haste.

[Pico]

Given the AFC statutes regarding cross ownership and conflicts of interest with regards to club ownership what exact processes have been established to ensure the Newcastle Jets are professionally administered given The Entity members conflicts of interest.

What assurances can The Entity members provide that the Jets will not be raped and pillaged by their club's and used as a dumping ground for their cast offs - the Newcastle / NNSW football community deserves more than being treated as a feeder club for these capital city club's.

Given the previous and ongoing attacks on the Jets staff and players by WSW and their chairman, who's actions have directly resulted in all players conveniently being off contract, Why should the Jets members and supporters believe that they will be treated fairly or as equals after the poaching and clearly destructive nature of WSW's behaviour which appears on face value to have escalated and hastened the demise of the club - leaving many novocastrian businesses in debt - for what appears to be the financial reward of the WSW owner & his associates.

If The Entity is to be believed, they claim that the Newcastle and Hunter has much potential, however given the non commital nature of The Entity statements and further the new executive chairman's statements that the Newcastle public have to come out and show they want a team and that it will be important for the clubs fortunes morning forward, indicating relocation is a very real threat, what assurances can be provided that these new capital city owners have the interest of Newcastle, Hunter region & NNSW at heart and not simply securing this season's broadcast rights revenue.

Follow-up to above - if The Entity is adamant that relocation is off the table / a last resort, then the Newcastle football community call on The Entity to provide a golden share in the new and future ownership to be controlled by the Newcastle Jets Members. This should also be extended to include things such as team colours and naming controls as well given the history and actions of recent owners and zero due diligence by those in power with all previous ownership transitions. The Newcastle football communities passion has been abused and trampled on for far too long, perhaps it's time the A-League / APL showed the people of Newcastle, Hunter & NNSW that they deserve our energy, passion and commitment moving forward.

[Thomas477]

What will the budget look like for for the foreseeable future, will we be able to use the full salary cap?

[Jetmaster]

Since KB United in 1978, Newcastle, through some bleak times has proven time and again, that it has the interest and support to maintain a successful A-League club. In the last 10 or so years we have won a championship, hosted a Grand Final, qualified twice for the ACL and gone to the knock out round once, hosted a full house for LA Galaxy, regularly attracts 10,000 members and due to that support hosted an Asian Cup semifinal. The fans are there and I am of the personal opinion a financially stable and successful Jets can be in the Top 4 clubs in the country.....permanently.

Do you guys from Melbourne and Sydney "get this" and does this negate any talk of taking the license elsewhere where there is practically zero chance of improving on the maximum capability the Jets have demonstrated. City-centric football people never seem to appreciate this.

[furns]

AMA confirmed - Ill be recording it with Shane this Sunday via Zoom. Hopefully this means I can release video and audio versions of the interview on Monday morning :thumbsup:

[belchardo]

Nice work furns.

[GANALAAA]

Since KB United in 1978, Newcastle, through some bleak times has proven time and again, that it has the interest and support to maintain a successful A-League club. In the last 10 or so years we have won a championship, hosted a Grand Final, qualified twice for the ACL and gone to the knock out round once, hosted a full house for LA Galaxy, regularly attracts 10,000 members and due to that support hosted an Asian Cup semifinal. The fans are there and I am of the personal opinion a financially stable and successful Jets can be in the Top 4 clubs in the country.....permanently.

Do you guys from Melbourne and Sydney "get this" and does this negate any talk of taking the license elsewhere where there is practically zero chance of improving on the maximum capability the Jets have demonstrated. City-centric football people never seem to appreciate this.

This.

[Jetmaster]

Since KB United in 1978, Newcastle, through some bleak times has proven time and again, that it has the interest and support to maintain a successful A-League club. In the last 10 or so years we have won a championship, hosted a Grand Final, qualified twice for the ACL and gone to the knock out round once, hosted a full house for LA Galaxy, regularly attracts 10,000 members and due to that support hosted an Asian Cup semifinal. The fans are there and I am of the personal opinion a financially stable and successful Jets can be in the Top 4 clubs in the country.....permanently.

Do you guys from Melbourne and Sydney "get this" and does this negate any talk of taking the license elsewhere where there is practically zero chance of improving on the maximum capability the Jets have demonstrated. City-centric football people never seem to appreciate this.

Just add to that, what do they think the root problem has been?

[furns]

Interview done, hopefully people find it informative :)
Videos and podcast will be published 6am Monday morning

[The Hacker]

Interview done, hopefully people find it informative :)
Videos and podcast will be published 6am Monday morning

How did you feel towards it all post interview

[furns]

Im fairly positive mate, I think that he's keen to sort the issues out and help the club improve. Which will make us a more attractive prospect.

[Jetmaster]

Well done getting him so soon.Look forward to it

[Couscous]

I could wait to listen but ... did he proffer a hoped-for timeline for selling the club?

[mic22]

I'm more interested to know who's gonna pay the debts

[Jetmaster]

I'm more interested to know who's gonna pay the debts

Why? Are you a creditor?

Excellent pod Furns - more or less how I expected. You can't build Rome in a day and all that.

Won't shut Facebook up but I'm fairly satisfied we are in capable hands - interesting bit about the "silent club", which i could only see being Victory or Macarthur.

[belchardo]

good work Furns. Good to hear that they're keen to set us up properly before selling.

Also nice to hear that a process will be followed for choosing the new coach. At least if GVE is chosen i will be satisfied that he was the best available option.

[The Dunster]

I'm more interested to know who's gonna pay the debts

it's already been stated that Martin Lee is responsible.

[The Hacker]

it's already been stated that Martin Lee is responsible.

It wasn’t ideal to here Lee had taken membership and sponsors money already. Will be lean for new owners

[belchardo]

It wasn’t ideal to here Lee had taken membership and sponsors money already. Will be lean for new owners

Yes. Good reason to become a member if you aren't one already though.

[Couscous]

Getting through it now (will do it in two chunks). Like the sound of him, though he's prone to a bit of waffle. He'd benefit from a time limit to his answers.

Nowhere near as bad as Miller, who is the Plimsoll line of interview subjects.

[The Hacker]

Yes. Good reason to become a member if you aren't one already though.

Exactly why I hadn’t joined not wanting to give them money if he wasn’t putting it back in. Rejoined this week

[mic22]

Why? Are you a creditor?


No, but I genuinely feel for them.
I just hate the idea of people not getting paid for their work while the discussion is focused on new players, coach etc.
Also, there's a history of debt that might tarnish the image of the club (if it hasn't already, going back to the Tinkler era, I don't know before that...): seems like a recurring pattern, and it doesn't look good tbh.


it's already been stated that Martin Lee is responsible.

I think what they said is "as far as they know" he's responsible.
Doesn't mean he is going to pay...

[Jetmaster]

The Dill takes Furns interview and makes a story out of it with no credit to its origin. Lazy.


If the Newcastle community are ever going to own the Jets, now is their chance


ROBERT DILLON



ALL business models - including the possibility of community ownership - will be considered on their merits after last week's temporary takeover of the Newcastle Jets.

The Jets have been under new management for the past nine days, after Chinese businessman Martin Lee had his franchise licence terminated because he was unable, or unwilling, to address the club's spiralling debts.

A group of A-League club owners have stepped in to bankroll the Jets for an indefinite interim period, in the hope of initially stabilising the club before searching for a long-term solution.

Since the A-League's foundation season, the Jets have been privately owned by wealthy individuals, as is the case with countless sporting franchises around the world.

But according to the club's new executive chairman, Shane Mattiske, all options are on the table in a quest to find the "best fit" for Newcastle.

Asked specifically about community ownership, he was hopeful "local interests" would be part of the new governance structure.

"We're certainly not fixed in our outlook," Mattiske told the Newcastle Herald.

"When we think about ownership, we're happy to look at different models.

"That's not a commitment to a community-ownership model, but that's one option we'd be happy to explore, along with a range of other options.

"It's not a model that's been proven in the Australian market, but that's not to say we wouldn't consider it, along with other alternatives. Nothing has been ruled out."

Mattiske said the incumbent ownership group were in no rush to offload the franchise.

"It's still week one, so only early days," he said.

"Our focus at the moment is stability. In time we'll turn our attention to the ownership model, but there is already recognition that the ideal scenario is to have an element of local ownership, if it's not totally locally owned."

The Newcastle Knights were effectively community-owned for the first 23 years of their existence, before Nathan Tinkler's 2011 takeover.

The Knights won two premierships during that era but also faced a constant battle to keep their financial liabilities under control.

After Tinkler's demise in 2014, a high-profile group launched the "Our Knights One Chance" campaign, aiming to sell 40,000 shares at $500 apiece, to raise a proposed $20 million nest egg.

Support was lukewarm, in part because the NRL's obvious preference was for the Wests Group to take over.

Appointing a permanent coach is the priority for the Jets' new ownership group.

Meetings were held in Sydney yesterday to discuss who would be responsible for choosing a coach.

It is understood a panel will be appointed who are able to make a decision independent of the owners, to avoid any suggestions of conflict of interest.

It is expected that Lawrie McKinna, who was CEO of the Lee-owned Jets, and football manager Joel Griffiths will have input into the appointment.

Interviews could start as early as next week.

Craig Deans, who has been Newcastle's caretaker coach since the controversial departure of Carl Robinson to Western Sydney Wanderers in October, will be one candidate on the short list.

Young Socceroos coach Gary van Egmond is also understood to have expressed interest in returning to the Jets for what would be his third stint in the hot seat.

[StannyCFCJET]

The Dill takes Furns interview and makes a story out of it with no credit to its origin. Lazy.

Poor form but not surprising for Dillon who wants GVE back for another stint but maybe Shane spoke to the herald as well

[turbojetfireV8]

Really disappointed today after Mr Mattiske's comments to find I am being offered really shit seats in place of my premium Western grandstand Bay 55 seats - getting offered Bay 2 Eastern grandstand, before that was being offered Bay 64 - ticket fail yet again, should I just ask for the money back for my two Gold member season passes seeing as it is unlikely I will neither get to use the seats nor be offered acceptable seating in their places???

[Tommyjet]

Really disappointed today after Mr Mattiske's comments to find I am being offered really shit seats in place of my premium Western grandstand Bay 55 seats - getting offered Bay 2 Eastern grandstand, before that was being offered Bay 64 - ticket fail yet again, should I just ask for the money back for my two Gold member season passes seeing as it is unlikely I will neither get to use the seats nor be offered acceptable seating in their places???

We in the same boat. I was guttered not to be sitting in my usual spot behind the opposition bench last game.

[Couscous]

Calm down, Jetmaster. The quotes in the article are different to what Shane said in the podcast. FFS, the article even explicity spells out that Shane "told the Newcastle Herald" — i.e. the paper interviewed him directly.

I think you owe Bob Dillon an apology.

[My2BobsWorth]

Really disappointed today after Mr Mattiske's comments to find I am being offered really shit seats in place of my premium Western grandstand Bay 55 seats - getting offered Bay 2 Eastern grandstand, before that was being offered Bay 64 - ticket fail yet again, should I just ask for the money back for my two Gold member season passes seeing as it is unlikely I will neither get to use the seats nor be offered acceptable seating in their places???

Yeah, shouldn't have bought season gold tickets. I should have known the blinding incompetence from the Jets and Ticketmaster wouldn't change. Talk is cheap.

[gussie_l]

Nice job with the interview Furns. Cheers for doing!

This was the first i learnt that there was a fourth (silent) member to "The Entity". Has to be another A-league club, yes? Why silent. Maybe they have their reasons. Can't sleep at night thinking it could be the marinators. Surely not. Anyway, time will tell.

He did say their ownership could be longer than perhaps what i first thought. Gee this Covid is doing no favours for the league.....
He didn't give too much away in regards to where they would make the club more viable, but he did say he wanted stronger membership and inflow of revenue from that path. He did mention the Rabbitoh membership model as something special which he said focused less on ticketing and more on the experience (my words). Had a looksee at the Rabbitoh membership site and couldn't see the standout difference apart from trying to target people outside of their region.

It did say in their FAQ, but I couldn't see where you could become a "Member Co. Membership"
"Member Co. Membership gives our Rabbitohs Member the right to vote at the annual AGM if an election is required for the Member Co. board."

Anyway, dunno and time will tell. Thanks again.

[Bremsstrahlung]

Great job, finally got around to listening to it.

I had a sneaky wonder if it was Charlesworth, and he doesn’t want anybody to know that he’s supporting the better prospect up the road instead of funding his own. Especially if he’s looking to offload Mariners.

I didn’t really understand the whole “it’s really positive that all the players moved across to the new entity”. But then basically said that nothing changes contractually on their end. Eg, there was no possibility for players to say, hang on, I’m gonna go to wankerers. Bit of a false statement there imo.

Shifted blame for tickets. Not really affected but know how frustrating it would be for those that pay good money for good seats. Then old mate pays $10 and gets to sit where you should be.

Overall I thought he spoke pretty well and sensibly. Heard all the talks before though. I was interested when he mentioned the power of being part of this and being able to brainstorm off of other owners as to how they do things and then do the best approach. I liked that. Makes sense. It’s not like Newcastle are gonna steal many fans from Perth.

Will have to wait and see I guess

[belchardo]

Any chance of a second interview Furns?

[furns]

Any chance of a second interview Furns?

Probably not now they are doing their own AMA's on the Jets socials