Macarthur FC chairman hits back at criticisms of turmoil at club
Losing their chairman, major backer and director of football just months from their inaugural season doesn’t appear to be a good look, but Macarthur FC’s newboss insists the club is in good shape.
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Update: The men running Macarthur FC have fired back at criticism of their progress in building a new club in readiness for the new season.
Former Socceroo Robbie Slater had warned the group’s new powerbrokers that “alarm bells are ringing” after key backer Lang Walker sold his 50 per cent stake, the chairman was bumped and the technical director was sacked last week.
The new club will enter the A-League in October, and so far has announced only one signing – former Socceroo Tommy Oar, currently with the Mariners.
But new chairman Gino Marra said the club would welcome Slater to visit their offices and go through their plans, with foundation coach Ante Milicic starting to assemble his inaugural squad for their first campaign.
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It’s understood that around 10 players have been signed so far, from Australia and overseas, but will only be identified once their clubs are out of contention for honours or finals.
Marra insisted the club was ahead of some expectations, with a “foundation membership” drive currently halted at 3000 and full memberships to go on sale shortly.
“We would always welcome Robbie to come and visit us to see the truth,” Marra said. “As a club, Macarthur FC continues to focus on its core objective: football and community engagement in the south west region.
“The recent changes have simply realigned our focus back to our core objective. Our commitment to the community and the region remains unchanged and will be at the heart of our focus as we continue to evolve.”
Those “recent changes” included the exit of chairman Rabieh Krayem, a Walker appointee, as well as the club’s original CEO Archie Fraser just a few months into the job.
For now there will be no CEO, with Marra and former Sydney United president Sam Krslovic – who had created the initial South-West Sydney bid, before it merged with Walker’s consortium – now taking a hands-on approach.
The club has announced a series of sponsorship deals, including one with Walker’s own company, which it’s estimated are worth close to $3.4m a year.
“We are delighted with our progress to date and have exceeded expectations in key milestones,” said Marra.
“Contrary to recent assumptions the club is well advanced in its player recruitment and have signed a number of key players.
“We intend to respect players’ existing clubs, understanding they are currently in season locally and abroad, but we’ll endeavour to make player announcements in due course.
“Our commitment to our fans, stakeholders and partners will always remain a priority and will continue to be the key focus of our football club.
“The Macarthur FC team is collectively excited and looking forward to our inaugural season.”
Chaos at Macarthur FC before a ball even kicked
The A-League’s newest club, Macarthur FC, is in turmoil with another senior figure leaving less than eight months out from its first game.
Football director Ken Stead left the club two days ago, just a week after executive chairman Rabieh Krayem departed in the wake of major backer Lang Walker selling his stakeholding in the club.
Stead – who had previously worked with Ange Postecoglou at Brisbane Roar – was brought in by Krayem to build Macarthur’s football structures below the first team, and was seen as a heavyweight appointment for the club.
But five weeks after he started work, Stead was told the club is moving in a different direction since Walker’s exit. The property magnate sold his stake in the new club for more than $7 million to two local businessmen last week.
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Gino Marra, deputy chair under Walker but who had previously headed one of two South West Sydney bids to join the A-League, has become chairman, and said that Stead’s exit was the result of a change of focus.
“Ken as football director was put in to run our academies, but for now we want to focus closely on our region,” he said. “Ken is professional, a great guy, but unfortunately he didn’t fit into our plan for ensuring we have a strong local focus.”
Krayem himself was only appointed eight months ago by Walker to oversee the building of the new club, but left last week after Walker sold his 50 per cent stake in the club to two local businessmen.
Under the terms of the original deal that established the club, Walker had the right to appoint a chairman for the first three years.
Marra and former Sydney United president Sam Krslovic – head of Macarthur’s football committee – have effectively assumed control of the club in light of Walker’s exit.
Krayem had been the executive chairman since inaugural CEO Archie Fraser resigned unexpectedly In August, after just four months in the job.
Neither Stead nor Krayem could be reached for comment.
The off-field ructions come as coach Ante Milicic bids to build a squad for Macarthur’s debut season, though Mariners attacker Tommy Oar is the only confirmed signing so far.
Several more players are believed to have put pen to paper but not yet been announced. The club has tried to pitch itself as the “noisy neighbours” to the Wanderers and Sydney FC, making a provocative bid to tempt Milos Ninkovic away from the Sky Blues before he opted to sign a new two-year deal at Sydney.
Macarthur had written to both its local rivals about the possibility of talking with a number of players coming off contract, though Sydney have since re-signed almost all of them.
Originally published as Macarthur FC chairman hits back at criticisms of turmoil at club