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Current Status: 24/7 Manly Fan
Manly on course to self-destruct as leagues club plan falls apart
By Brent Read
 February 05, 2009
EXACTLY four months after winning the premiership, Manly is threatening to implode amid internal ructions and the collapse of a proposal by joint owners Max Delmege and Scott Penn to re-develop the ailing Manly Leagues Club.
The leagues club proposal, valued at $15 million and ratified by members last July, was hailed as the final step in the Sea Eagles' return to profitability.
However, The Australian can reveal the deal is now off the table and the Penn family is ready to step in with a counter-proposal.
Sources revealed Delmege could also go it alone, creating the prospect of the football club co-owners butting heads over the future of the leagues club. Penn declined to comment. However, leagues club chief executive Peter Spray confirmed the Penn-Delmege proposal would not go ahead and the leagues club board was considering its options.
"There's nothing on the table at the moment," Spray said.
Asked what led to the collapse of the joint venture, Spray said: "It's a lot to do with the ability to raise finances in the current climate. The banks have changed their rules. The original proposal was built around financing a fair portion of the purchase."
Penn and Delmege, who have injected millions of their own money into keeping Manly afloat, each own 41.5 per cent of the football club.
The proposal to purchase the leagues club as a partnership was viewed as a further illustration of their commitment to the club.
It was also expected to end the football club's reliance on its owners for money. Even though the Sea Eagles won their seventh premiership late last year, the club still traded at a loss and required an injection of cash from Penn and Delmege.
The leagues club proposal now has the potential to drive a wedge between the club's most influential powerbrokers. Without the financial input of Penn and Delmege, Manly's place in the NRL would be in serious jeopardy. While the families have been happy to prop up the club with their own money, Penn conceded it couldn't go on forever.
"We have been running it as a responsible business for very much the last three or four years because we have to," Penn said.
"But with private owners there's a limit. We're now back to as close to break-even as we have ever been and that's where we want to stay."
That's why the leagues club re-development was considered so important. Without leagues club support, the financial stress is amplified on the owners.
Tensions at board level are understood to be at breaking point, in part over the collapse of the leagues club joint venture.
"If we can get these things wrapped up we're in for an exciting five years-plus ahead," Penn said. "We have our model right, we have the right people, we're ready to play."
Chief executive Grant Mayer, who has presided over the club's transformation from battler to premier, has been caught in the crosshairs. Mayer's future has been the subject of ongoing speculation amid reports his relationship with Delmege has soured.
Delmege, who was unavailable for comment, has publicly backed Mayer yet the rumours persist. Penn stressed the chief executive had his full support and would like to see Mayer's contract extended beyond this year. "He's been instrumental in getting us to where we are and we want him to be part of the future," Penn said.
The backroom bickering comes as coach Des Hasler prepares to take his side to England to play in the World Club Challenge against Super League champion Leeds on March 1.
 http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,25010161-23214,00.html
By Brent Read
 February 05, 2009
EXACTLY four months after winning the premiership, Manly is threatening to implode amid internal ructions and the collapse of a proposal by joint owners Max Delmege and Scott Penn to re-develop the ailing Manly Leagues Club.
The leagues club proposal, valued at $15 million and ratified by members last July, was hailed as the final step in the Sea Eagles' return to profitability.
However, The Australian can reveal the deal is now off the table and the Penn family is ready to step in with a counter-proposal.
Sources revealed Delmege could also go it alone, creating the prospect of the football club co-owners butting heads over the future of the leagues club. Penn declined to comment. However, leagues club chief executive Peter Spray confirmed the Penn-Delmege proposal would not go ahead and the leagues club board was considering its options.
"There's nothing on the table at the moment," Spray said.
Asked what led to the collapse of the joint venture, Spray said: "It's a lot to do with the ability to raise finances in the current climate. The banks have changed their rules. The original proposal was built around financing a fair portion of the purchase."
Penn and Delmege, who have injected millions of their own money into keeping Manly afloat, each own 41.5 per cent of the football club.
The proposal to purchase the leagues club as a partnership was viewed as a further illustration of their commitment to the club.
It was also expected to end the football club's reliance on its owners for money. Even though the Sea Eagles won their seventh premiership late last year, the club still traded at a loss and required an injection of cash from Penn and Delmege.
The leagues club proposal now has the potential to drive a wedge between the club's most influential powerbrokers. Without the financial input of Penn and Delmege, Manly's place in the NRL would be in serious jeopardy. While the families have been happy to prop up the club with their own money, Penn conceded it couldn't go on forever.
"We have been running it as a responsible business for very much the last three or four years because we have to," Penn said.
"But with private owners there's a limit. We're now back to as close to break-even as we have ever been and that's where we want to stay."
That's why the leagues club re-development was considered so important. Without leagues club support, the financial stress is amplified on the owners.
Tensions at board level are understood to be at breaking point, in part over the collapse of the leagues club joint venture.
"If we can get these things wrapped up we're in for an exciting five years-plus ahead," Penn said. "We have our model right, we have the right people, we're ready to play."
Chief executive Grant Mayer, who has presided over the club's transformation from battler to premier, has been caught in the crosshairs. Mayer's future has been the subject of ongoing speculation amid reports his relationship with Delmege has soured.
Delmege, who was unavailable for comment, has publicly backed Mayer yet the rumours persist. Penn stressed the chief executive had his full support and would like to see Mayer's contract extended beyond this year. "He's been instrumental in getting us to where we are and we want him to be part of the future," Penn said.
The backroom bickering comes as coach Des Hasler prepares to take his side to England to play in the World Club Challenge against Super League champion Leeds on March 1.
 http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,25010161-23214,00.html
