Matthew Hall
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Sydney FC's Culture of Deceit
It starts at the very top.
Sydney FC chairman Andrew Kemeny announced he'd leave his post in March in an interview with The Australian Jewish News last week.
You can read that story in full here.
It's an interesting article on many levels but asks more questions than it answers. Like, just what goes on inside Kemeny's brain?
His claim that "I wouldn't have signed Juninho if I was in charge - players of certain age, not reputation should be signed," does not match facts.
Either Kemeny has lost all memory (possible), is not very good at keeping records (unlikely for a very successful businessman), or is attempting exquisite revision of history (perhaps).
After the last A-League season, the one in which Juninho was the club's marquee player, Kemeny was keen to resign the Brazilian World Cup winner.
"[Kemeny] summoned me to his office at 11am on March 13, 2008, several weeks after the last season concluded and said 'Find a way to bring Juninho back,'" confirmed Leo Karis, the well-respected player agent who represents the player in Australia.
Hold on. Kemeny wanted to retain Juninho's services after last season?
"Correct," Karis told me.
The reason that didn't happen, according to Karis, was because Sydney FC could not fit Juninho into its salary cap after Kemeny and his executives handed John Aloisi a $1.4 million marquee contract.
Kemeny's attempts to rewrite history, however, did not stop there.
"I'm disappointed that I've now read and heard Mr Kemeny speak negatively about Juninho and the Juninho signing on a couple of occasions," Karis added.
"I was a Chairman's Lounge guest for game one of the current season and in his welcoming speech, Mr Kemeny said Sydney would not be 'making mistakes like Juninho again'."
Kemeny was referring to injuries Juninho collected during his stay in Australia that rendered him less effective than he could have been. On the surface, a fair comment, maybe.
Until reality surfaces.
"According to team doctors, Juninho suffered two freak accidents on his shoulder and his knee," Karis explained. "They were not the result of wear and tear or age. They were freak accidents. Yet he continued to be injected every match and strapped up when he could have taken the easy option to sit on Bondi Beach."
Juninho is not the only player to fall foul of Kemeny, a chairman who is not shy to criticise others. Kemeny has squeezed out-of-favor marquee John Aloisi into an uncomfortable position over a so-called "gentlemen's agreement" to quit the club if things didn't work out.
Only, there is no such agreement. Only that, when he signed, Aloisi offered to tear up his marquee contract if a scheduled knee operation failed. Aloisi has not missed a minute of training nor a match because of his knee this season.
There's something rotten within Sydney FC. It is not the playing staff. There is, however, a culture that incoming owners David Traktovenko and Paul Ramsay would do well to cut out.
Lies. Self-interest. Deceit.
Sydney has been poor on the pitch. But has shown little character off it.
COMMENTS
I still don't understand why John Kosmina is being protected by the media. An array of talent at his disposal, and he fails dismally. He single handedly destroyed John Aloisi's confidence and has no idea how to play such a quality player. Good at spotting young talent maybe but John Kosmina is not a creative and dare I say intelligent coach. He has had plenty of time. And the time has finally come for Sydney to pull their finger out and make some proper decisions. To sack the right John. Mister Kosmina has to go. And to be honest I would only respect him if he resigned.
- by Adam W. - A Sydney FC Fan on January 18, 2009 at 10:59 AM
This is supposed to be a football club not someone's vehicle for empire building or ego gratification.
Someone should introduce certain administrators to some basic Australian values. It appears that they act in a manner that would suggest they think they are in charge of AC Milan or Real Madrid. Maybe they should go and try their luck in Europe?
Things will never be good on the pitch unless the front office is fixed first. Get rid of the dead wood and replace them with people with the qualifications required.
Things will never be good on the pitch unless the front office is fixed first.
- by Masterman on January 18, 2009 at 02:02 PM
Its no secret that SFC have been an off- field basket case since at least the end of Season 1. There are not too many clubs in the world that win grand finals and then conspire to sack the winning coach, ditch the star player, and then systematically dismantle the entire grand final squad.
Stability in sports admin is an extremely delicate animal. Arguably it holds the key to on field success.
One hopes that SFC can find the calibre of management that matches the aspirations of their players and fans.
Untill they do, it may be a long time till the next grand final win.
- by Simon Maher on January 18, 2009 at 02:25 PM
Matthew, please keep the pressure on !!
I am a loyal Sydney FC fan and member for 3 years. Here is how I sse it.
1. The problems always start at the top. Frank Lowy. Time has revealed that in his obsession to win the inaugural title...the club has paid a big price. They cheated...pure and simple. They must have known they exceeded the salary cap at the time. In year 2 they paid a big price...3 points and a top 2 finish...and possibly a place in Asia. I have a hollow feeling in my stomach about that. End result, Littbarski and York are punted, the latter against his will.
2. Andrew Kemeny - Lowys man at the helm. Appointed by Lowy to further tighten his control of the club..not to stabilise it as the AJN states. What in the hell is he doing getting involved in recruitment and commenting on recruitments. These areas are the coaches domain. These two are prominent members of Sydneys very powerful Jewish community (and no..just because I raise this point does not make me anti semetic...) The A-League was formed to de-ethnicise football in Australia. Why are Kemenys views being made to a Jewish rag?....what about the rest of us including the members. The article states 'the fans many of whom are passionate Jewish football diehards'..what the hell does this mean??! .
3. Location - Sydney FC operate out of Bondi and have their home ground in the Eastern Suburbs inaccessable to regular public transport. (admittedly it is one of the two best grounds in the city) it doesn't help the perceptions. They have failed to connect with the City as a whole and could learn a lot from the Mariners and the Victory. A shift to Homebush or Parramatta is a must and a total disconnection from the 'Hakoah' influence.(see Point 5)
3. John Kosmina - called in to manage the mess created by issues 1 & 2. I had the privelage as a bit of a tragic to spend a morning at the SFS as a guest of one of the corporate sponsors. Kossie was amenable, open and a pleasure to talk to and gave his time to chat with tragics. This season as seen a combination of injuries and form loss take its toll. The season turned in 25 minutes in the final section of the home game against the Mariners where 3-0 ended up 3-3 and they never recovered. Kossie is a volatile character but passionate. In persisting with youth he has taken a huge gamble (although without many other options). Sometimes you need to experience the bad times before you can enjoy the good times. Sydney will benefit from Kossies approach in the long term. He must be maintained.
4. Proposed Second Sydney team. Forget it. NSW supplied 3 of the initial 8 A- league teams. Enough!! The other states must anti up. Full marks to Qld for their extra two team committment. Victoria must also kick the can...the Victory have had a dream run. Throw in a team from the ACT or a WIN backed Sothcoast team and there is your 12. Leave it at that.
5. Shift the home ground to Homebush and/or Parramatta. Connect with the whole city and make the games better accessable by public transport and motorways. The SFS is inconveniently located - especially for 7.00pm games where finish can be after 9pm or 10pm for 8pm games. Why would a family go...especially on Friday evenings.
Finally, Lowy and Kemeny are going....good start. Lets get items 3-5 in play
- by Simon Cavenagh on January 18, 2009 at 03:52 PM
Perhaps Traktovenko and Ramsay would do well to read Snakes in Suits (when psychopaths go to work), by Dr Hare and brush up on the kind of person they may be dealing with in Kemeny.
- by Juel on January 18, 2009 at 10:14 PM
The perfect culture for the mentally unstable John Kosmina
- by Richard Bilyansky on January 18, 2009 at 10:41 PM
Get rid of Kemeny. If a player gets rumbled for playing badly they put him on the market. If the manager has the team on a poor run, he also gets shown the door. Quite simply, Kemeny's performance has proven that he needs to move on. "We wish him all the best for the future".
- by dann on January 18, 2009 at 11:14 PM
I agree with a lot of these comments. The SFC hierarchy do not seem to be football lovers as much as people just concerned with being winners. I'm like a lot of SFC season ticket holders, I want to see SFC contribute to improving the standard of play in Aussie football like Qld Adelaide & Newcastle have. Not just win anyhow. The SFC newsletter is banal.
- by gnome on January 19, 2009 at 08:41 AM
Sydney FC is Sydney City in disguise and Kemeny discussing Sydney FC in a jewish mag proves it. Imagine the uproar if Culina stated his views in a local croatian paper! The old wounds of the NSL automatically ignited. Lowy, Kemeny and Kosmina in a sky blue shirt were Sydney City for the younger generation who don't remember. So stop kidding the good (new) football followers about non-ethnic teams in the A-League, and i'm not being anti-semitic.
I want to see the A-League for the sake of the game and all the kids who love the game to prosper but as a resident of Sydney I won't support this ego crew and rather watch teams like Adelaide and Newcastle who are making a serious go at the new league. Change it quick or it will die. Remember what happened to Sydney City in the old NSL???
- by tapai on January 19, 2009 at 10:13 AM
Does anyone really care about a game that is more about falling over and acting hurt than actually playing in and participating in the game??
90 minutes, all of the really boring.
If the A league fails, i for one will be thrilled at the prospect.
- by ryan on January 19, 2009 at 11:01 AM
I am a die hard SFC supporter, but when news broke of Kosmina's appointment I was devastated! Why sign a coach who is on a suspension for bad behaviour and then starts his appointment watching from the side lines? Do these people not think logically? He is arrogant does not take constructive criticism.
Lets save our club before its too late and get rid of him! He is absolutely useless. This is supposed to be the highest level of football in OZ , yet the NSW Premier league games have been so much more entertaining with an array of talent. Who actually scouts these players, can they not see the quality we have in the lower ranks that is just going to waste because people like Kossie signing "Marque" players like John Aloisi who cost 1.4 mill and score only 1 goal!!!!! Great work. He is the highest paid person in OZ by these stats. This would not be tolerated in any other successful business. Kossie brought him to SFC and now wont play him. If he isn't good enough to play in the starting 11, then why waste 1.4mill, some of the boys on the park are only earning a fraction of that, bad business!
Lets hope the new owners recognised the problems and save out club
- by James Fraser on January 19, 2009 at 11:05 AM
My opinion is on the Sydney F.C. mess of 2008/09 is that the club - demise started after they won the Grand Final in season 1 of the A.League. Instead of capitalising on the success that the club had in season 1 they went about tearing apart the foundations of their success.
Point 1 ,they decided they wanted to Cut Costs and they parted ways with P.Litbbarski ( A World Cup Winner ) ,why part ways with the Coach that has just Won the Grand Final ? Reason is well documented they did not want to pay him the agreed salary for another year.
2. Why part ways with your Marquee player D.Yorke ? He was the other reason why Syd.F.C. were a success in year 1 of the A.League ,he alone made spectators turn up and watch the club, he created interest in the club .
The clubs board at the time simply did not want to suffer the losses that they suffered in year 1 and decided that the 2 most highly paid men had to go .
What the board at the time did not realise is that it would be all downhill after season 1 when they tooks those steps and its going to be extremely difficult to get back to the season 1 standards both on and off the field. What they needed was to kick on from the success of season 1 but all they have achieved is to going back .
The crowds are not improving and the interest in the club is not there as it was and this fact no one can deny.
They did try to sell the club after season 1 to Mr Nick Politis ( Sydney Roosters Chairman ) but he is not interested he did finance Sydney Olympic F.C. to Grand Final success against Perth Glory but has since lost interest in Football and is concentrating on the Sydney Roosters ( NRL ) .
Know with D.Traktovenko and Paul Ramsay in control the club enters a new era lets see what direction they take the club into.
Season 4 of the A.League is so important for Sydney F.C. if things do not improve the clubs future is at stake.
- by Bill Diak on January 19, 2009 at 01:34 PM
I agree with many points above, but I hope SFC stay at the SFS. It's the best option, and most accessible to the majority. P'matta is great for the west (but, that is a small part of Sydney's population), and Homebush is just too big.
Kosmina has been very disappointing. Why did SFC get rid of Littbarski and York after winning the Grand Final? DUMB DUMB DUMB! From the following year onward, it was all downhill for SFC.
I have avoided going to any games this season. Why? Coach, Aloisi signing (com'on, $1.4m for him? What did he do at Central Coast the year earlier? Not much) and not giving youngters a go from the beginning (only when they had to).
With $1.4m per season (or $2.8m for 2 years), they could have INVESTED in a SFC CLUBHOUSE where fans can go before games, after games, during days of no games, etc. They will make money from such a venture, and later, attract better players/coaches/etc.
SFC is better at removing the Johns, the Kemenys, etc, getting some talent from Africa, Asia, the Americas and start to show greater respect to the followers of football.
Kemeny reminds me of a typical BS CEO trying to justify to his workforce why certain staff have to be let go.
Kosmina's excuse of the kind "we had to have a bad season" reminds me of the Keatings's speech "the recession we had to have". He's not a quality coach.
Fix the mechanics of the club, and we'd see the quality come through on the field.
- by Joe Blow on January 19, 2009 at 01:46 PM
go mariners!!!!
- by coco on January 19, 2009 at 02:01 PM
A move to Parramatta or Homebush will not help things Simon - Olympic Park is a white elephant that has worse public transport links then the SFS (unless it's a massive event), and matches at Parramatta have already been failed experiments. When Sydney was winning in Season 1, the crowds were there. The Sydney sporting market is fickle - if you're not winning, the public won't bother going.
- by Ben on January 19, 2009 at 03:24 PM
The article states 'the fans many of whom are passionate Jewish football diehards'..what the hell does this mean??!
It mean's that they're Tottenham supporters....
On a related note, the Yids chants that are now going on in the Cove are ridiculous - makes me want to defect to the SCC.
- by chelsea4life on January 19, 2009 at 03:26 PM
Club's marquee(sic)?Large tent I would have thought.Try dropping an e.
- by harry on January 19, 2009 at 04:02 PM
Some stability might be a good thing - both in playing roster and the coach! I'd give Kosmina at least one more season. Surely he couldn't have the same bad luck with player injuries two years in a row?
And to Simon Kavanagh - not sure what your problem with the SFS is? Buses run right to the front gate and it's about a 15 minute walk from Central train station (have done that many times myself). the SFS is actually far more convenient for me than either Homebush or Parramatta Stadiums. Plus, Homebush is far too big for the sort of crowds SFC get. Parramatta wouldn't be a bad option though - nice little boutique stadium that one.
I'm not sure about the second Sydney team... On one had I think they would struggle getting enough sponsorship/corporate revenue, particularly at the moment, but the public might support it - imagine a local Sydney derby...
- by Chris on January 19, 2009 at 04:34 PM
All this does not help SFC. We need honesty and transparency. we also need a direction and world class coaching staff.
- by john on January 19, 2009 at 04:49 PM
The artilce is spot on. Kemeny has a short memory. Last year he bagged the Mariners for signing Aloisi for $500,000 yet he paid him more than double to join Sydney. At least the Mariners are in Asia and probably the finals.The competition needs a strong Sydney FC it can only get better with Kememy leaving.
- by tony on January 19, 2009 at 05:20 PM
spot. on.
thats all that needs to be said. if the foundation isnt there, then the house will collapse. something definitely stinks behind the scenes at sydney fc.
on a side note - any news on a follow up to the away game?
- by ender on January 19, 2009 at 05:42 PM
Andrew Kemeny appears to love reading the name Andrew Kemeny in the papers more than he loves football. No other A-League CEO takes up column space like Lowy's hand-picked stooge. The days of Sydney City Hakoah appear over, thank God (Football clubs with ethno-religious links were supposed to have died with the old NSL).
- by van der Aussie on January 19, 2009 at 06:45 PM
"What did he [Aloisi] do at Central Coast the year earlier? Not much" writes Joe Blow, seemingly unable to find statistics on the web. Mate, he didn't arrive until round 10, but by the end of the regular season he'd registered 7 goals and 2 assists in 12 games. And his scoring record this season with Bling FC? Precisely 2 goals and 1 assist in almost an entire season, plus he's developed an endearingly comical tendency to trip over his own feet while missing open goals from about 1 metre.
My grandma could have scored some of the ones he's missed.
Carn you Mariners.
- by GeordieMariner on January 20, 2009 at 05:47 AM
Kosmina and kemeny are bums and liars,there both cancer spots that need to be cut out of the club for good. Kosmina can`t coach,its that simple. And the herald journo Cockrill is a patsy for supporting him.
- by Bill Rogers on January 20, 2009 at 12:08 PM
Does anyone else see the irony? An article published in a jewish magazine telling us that the culture of Sydney City Hakoah needs to change. The SFC franchise continues in failing to connect with its public. Whether they win or lose, whether the aministration and coaching improves or not, the real question is... who really cares?
- by Jess on January 20, 2009 at 01:27 PM
Simon said it all:
"There are not too many clubs in the world that win grand finals and then conspire to sack the winning coach, ditch the star player, and then systematically dismantle the entire grand final squad."
I took my son to watch the first season's every single home game, because the combination of Yorke, Corica, Carney, Petrovski and Zadkovitch was an absolute pleasure to watch:
great soccer, in a functioning team.
Since then, I have not bothered.
Could not care less if it was 'not fair', or above the salary cap. That is not my problem.
- by Noons on January 20, 2009 at 01:47 PM
Two wrongs do make a right. With the broom through Lowy and Kemeny, finish by sweeping Kosmina away and starting from scratch next year. As much as it hurts, we should gladly sacrifice another year in football obscurity for SFC to restore some basic values in the club from which to build on. The hypocracy of the first 4 years cannot be tolerated... And a western sydney franchise is a must to keep the b$**$rds honest. All monopolies inevitably get lazy and treat their customers with contempt. No different at SFC.
- by JoBo on January 20, 2009 at 03:00 PM
Get rid of Kosmina please! But I want to see an adequate replacement that has long term goals.
- by Tony on January 20, 2009 at 06:50 PM
SFC needs to be disbanded. Liquidate the company and give the licence to a new West Sydney franchise playing out of Parra.
The ethnic stain of Lowy/Kemeny on SFC is now just as great as it was with the NSL clubs, never to recover.
- by James Harrington on January 21, 2009 at 02:44 PM
Some of the comments comparing SFC with Sydney City are just plain lazy. Nice to use generalisations as a cudgel for old grievances, but really, its 2009. Let it go.
Also, for all of those dying for games at Homebush, Parra, etc. With any luck you will get your wish when the West Syd. team arrives. Eventually.
- by Simon Maher on January 23, 2009 at 05:09 PM
Spot on, Matthew. No wonder SFC is not performing on the field. There needs to be an overhaul of the deadwood in management at the club. Starting from the boardroom to the coach. Who does Kemeny think he is? Sydney FC is the Football equivalent of Fawlty Towers. Please get rid of John Kosmina.
He is totally unprofessional and does not know the first thing about being a manager. He should be encouraging his players, building on their strengths and trying to build a team and shielding them from the crap behind the scenes at the club.
I agree with Craig Foster, our coaches are not at the level of coaches in other countries and this has to change!! Whether the powers of be like to admit to it or not.
I feel sorry for the players as they are not being supported and are being used as the scapgoats in this scenario.
- by travelling_max on January 25, 2009 at 03:12 PM
EXCELLENT .. SFC stands for sydney football cheats after rorting the salary cap in the initial season to claim glory. the club has no credibility and desereved to be thrown out after the initial season.
- by michael lowrey on January 25, 2009 at 09:13 PM
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Too many injured players over the last two seasons at Sydney, regardless of age.
Given the salary cap and the small size of the squad, are the medical and training staff under-resourced?