Dear Mariners family,
It is with deep sadness that I announce I have handed the operations and funding of the Central Coast Mariners back to Mike Charlesworth, effective from today.
There are multiple factors behind why I felt I had no choice but to make this decision. But the quick explanation is it has become extremely financially challenging for small clubs to survive following the recent cuts to funding from the A-Leagues.
When I took over the club, funding from the APL was $2.35M per year. This was reduced to
$2M last season, and now for this season has gone down to just $530k. This drastic slashing has made it tough for me to improve the financial performance of the club to a position that’s sustainable for me to continue to fund solely by myself. It has also made it impossible for me to achieve the ‘milestones’ Mike and I agreed on nearly 3 years ago, that would have given me the right to purchase 50% of the club at the end of the coming season.
I do want to point out that the current APL Board and upper management, in particular Stephen Conroy (A-Leagues Chair) and Gino Marra (Macarthur FC Chair), are doing an incredible job fighting to restore the A-Leagues, and I believe they will get there. However, it’s not going to get there in a timeline that my financial position can accommodate.
So it’s with a very heavy heart that my time at the helm of the club comes to end.
I’d like to sincerely thank Mike and his team for the support and cooperation in making this transition as smooth as possible. I sincerely wish Mike and all involved at the Club the very best for the year ahead.
Although I’m sad that this journey is ending for me, I am proud of the position we are handing
the club back to Mike in:
• We have doubled the corporate sponsorship income
• Membership numbers are the highest in the clubs history
• Launched a very competitive team in the Ninja A-League Women competition
• League-leading front of shirt sponsorship locked in (thank you Borg/Polytec)
• Highest average crowds in the clubs history (including 3 sellouts)
• Highest squad value in the clubs history
• Academy producing quality talent again (thank you Matt Simon and Cameron Stone)
• Quality coaching and support team in place led by the incredible Mark Jackson (with club legends Matt Simon, Danny Vukovic and Josh Rose prominent)
• Quality off-field team installed led by the first female CEO, Alyssar Narey
• A million dollars of government funding secured for Domestic Violence programs to be run indefinitely on the Central Coast
• Vastly improved training infrastructure at the Centre of Excellence
• Great relationships fostered with key stakeholders, including Central Coast Council and the Central Coast Sports College
• And a FULL trophy cabinet!
Finally, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all involved at the club during my 2 1/2 year period. To name a few:
• Firstly Nick and Serg, who in my opinion were the architects of the revival of the club, particularly for their work in the youth academy producing incredible talent in a short period of time
• The office staff who have worked tirelessly for less money than they could demand elsewhere, purely because of their passion for the club
• My good friend Ben Lawlor, for donating his valuable time helping mentor senior staff
• All of the football staff, but particularly Matt Simon, Emily Husband and Mark Jackson, all incredible humans and all set to continue making their mark on football somewhere on the planet for years to come
• All of our sponsors, big and small, for your invaluable support of the club
• My wife Jess for allowing me to spend days/weeks away from home to work uninterrupted on the restructure of a complex business
• My children Jack, Toby and Tayla for allowing me to spend close to $7 million dollars of their inheritance on my ‘passion’
• And the fans… what a journey!
Love ya all!!! Mariners forever 👊
