Hello to all Sydney FC Members and Fans, this is instalment 14 of my weekly update from the CEO’s Chair.
Hello to all Sydney FC Members and Fans,
Sorry for the late posting of today-s message; a tough but rewarding week.
Like many dads and mums in Sydney at the moment I have been trying to juggle work whilst dealing with two very ill children and wife over the last 48 hours who have been stricken by the dreaded viral gastro bug.
This is instalment 14 of my weekly update from the CEO-s Chair and I can-t believe that we are only one week from the commencement of the season.
Today all of the players, admin staff and football staff got together for lunch to celebrate the hard work that the entire Sydney FC team have put in over the pre-season and to welcome the ‘real deal- next Saturday.
Feedback that has been provided to me from people outside of the Club who know players and staff is that the culture at the Club continues to improve and that the air of happiness and positivity is as high as it has ever been.
A number of people in the media have called me to say that they feel that there is a real buzz in the air. An interesting comment made to me by a person in the Football Department is that they feel like they are part of a football club not a football team.
This is a great start that will hopefully provide us with enough momentum and encouragement to continue the hard slog that will ensure that we get to where we want to be.
Throughout the week the rate of new members joining continues to be strong whilst existing members are dragging the chain a little. Whilst I appreciate that last year the balance of wins and losses was less than appealing and that there is some concern in regards to the state of the economy I would like to think that members would hold close to their hearts the two Championships that the team has won in the last 6 years.
This is something that most fans and members in any competition in the world would be proud of. At this stage our retention numbers are not best practice however we still have a solid 6 – 8 weeks of selling before things start to drop off a little.
From a sponsorship perspective we have been told verbally by three quality organisations that they wish to commit to being on our kit. There is still work to do however I am very happy with the degree of interest we have been able to generate in such a short period of time. The ‘top-end-of-town- is certainly giving us the thumbs up however we need to ensure that we get a fair price.
We have had a lot of fun with our friends in the media this week. Dave Mason, Vitja, Terry, Brett and I hosted our inaugural pre-season media lunch with a variety of journalists from different mediums. Good food, good laughs and excellent service at Doltone House was a nice way to lead into the commencement of the season.
A special mention must go to Bozza who glided into the lunch on cloud 9 having just come from the birth of his daughter. All rose to toast the proud dad as he literally went around the room and shook every ones hand – I-m sure his famous staccato laugh entertained all close by.
Prior to this Terry and Brett underwent some media training from Simon Hill at FoxSports. There were some entertaining moments and lots of the feedback from Simon, Murray and Geoff. Thanks gents – greatly appreciated!
Well, this time next week it will be 24 hours prior to our game v Melbourne Victory at Etihad Stadium. Brett and Harry will make their debuts in the Hyundai A-League in front of 40,000+ fans. It will be a great moment in Australian sporting history and hopefully something that we look back on as a defining moment in the evolution of Football in Australia.
Then, the following week Sydney fans will get the chance to welcome home Brett Emerton when we line up against last year-s champions, Brisbane. Just writing this is giving me goose bumps, I can-t wait. I hope you all feel the same way.
Have a great long weekend. Be safe.
Cheers
Dirk
