Phoenix rule out sale but not merger

Wellington Phoenix chairman Rob Morrison has ruled out selling off their A-league licence in a move that has appeased one of the club’s longest serving supporters – but there is still some concern as a possible merger remains on the table.

Although Morrison said ownership group Welnix will not be making any big decisions on the future of the Phoenix until the future of the A-league itself becomes clearer, stressing his desire for a competition run independent of the FFA, he did admit that a merger, or investment from within Australia, remains a possibility.

‘‘I guess that is still possible, but there’s a huge amount dependent on where this governance review process goes and whether or not we get an independent A-league established,’’ Morrison told Radio Sport.

‘‘We did look at it before, and I think we probably would look at it again, but we need to understand what this new A-league is going to look like.’’

Morrison finally fronted after reports emerged across the ditch that Welnix had been in talks with Sydney expansion hopefuls, with offers ranging from partial to a full buyout.

‘‘I think it’d be fantastic if we had either a much closer alliance into Australia, which strengthened our position from an A-league point of view, or if we had an international club invest in us and created better pathways for our players coming through, but also the ability to attract – beg, borrow or steal – talent back the other way to the Nix.’’

But Yellow Fever founder David Cross, who has supported the Phoenix since their inception in 2007, struggled to see how a possible merger would work.

‘‘To me Australians are the great rivals. I don’t see how you merge an Australian and a New Zealand side. Hopefully the FFA situation is sorted out and it isn’t an issue for us,’’ Cross said.

‘‘You understand that there’s a need to move a couple of games a season, they are either revenue neutral or make money for the Phoenix and spread the brand, and a weekend away with the Fever can be fun. But I can’t see how playing half the games in Australia and half in New Zealand could work. You would fail to engage with two supporter bases.’’

After describing the press release, where Morrison failed to deny Welnix were looking to offload their licence, as ‘‘soul destroying,’’ Cross said he was relieved to hear the chairman finally rule out offloading their licence before it expires in 2020.

‘‘The sheer volume of stories had got me down and it needed Rob to stand up and say something. It’s probably later than it could have been but I feel much more reassured after the interview today at least, not the release so much.’’

Cross also offered a solution to the decline in attendance during a season to forget for the Phoenix, in which they only narrowly avoided the wooden spoon after beating Melbourne City in the final round. He said the best way to bring the fans back to Westpac Stadium was to create a culture with a ‘‘real Kiwi heart’’ and to simply win more regularly.

‘‘The Warriors is a classic example ... once they start winning, it just explodes and the positive media stories are all around it,’’ he said.