Peter Gordon is no position to complain about AFL money going to any other club. The only reason his club survives is because it has been on financial life support for decades. Ireland also answers Swan in like manner. The amount of the COLA does sound a bit high though, almost 10 % more than any other club, that is quite a decent sized handicap advantage.
Bad farking luck gordon. Think about it next time you decide to back in a corrupt organisation that rigs the comp.
Of course Sydney have exploited the COLA. What club wouldn't when the AFL gives you free money without any checks and balances whatsoever? You'd have to be an idiot not to. The problem is that the COLA should never have been given as a flat sum to the club. It should have been administered by the AFL from the beginning and each player should have to apply for it individually with a reason for why they need it. A first or second year player on the kind of money they get should absolutely get the COLA. Sydney's freaking expensive when it comes to renting/buying a place to live. But Buddy? There is no way in hell that he should be getting anything from the COLA with what he's being paid. Ditto the other senior players. Sydney's freaking expensive but it's not that freaking expensive if you're earning six figures.
So this
'Very offensive': Ireland furious with Bulldogs' COLA comments
SYDNEY Swans chief executive Andrew Ireland has leapt to his club's defence after Western Bulldogs president Peter Gordon accused the Swans of exploiting the cost-of living allowance.
Speaking on 3AW on Saturday, Ireland labelled Gordon's comments as "very offensive".
Gordon claimed on Friday that the Swans had "tested" the AFL's rules and "exploited" the COLA, insinuating the extra 9.8 per cent extra allowance in their salary cap was used to lure star forwards Kurt Tippett and Lance Franklin.
His comments came after the Swans – led by a combined nine goals from Tippett and Franklin – crushed Geelong by 110 points at the SCG on Thursday night.
“I think we all recognise the cost-of-living allowance was completely unfair and with respect to (former Swans president) Richard Colless it is almost farcical to see the way Sydney has used it over the last little while,‘‘ Gordon said.
“You only need to look at last night (Friday‘s) game to see how well Sydney has exploited the cost-of-living allowance."
Ireland fired back by saying every Swans player had COLA payments in their contract.
"We deny it (Gordon's allegations). We think Peter's comments are very offensive," he said.
"The fact is he's effectively saying we're cheating and the reality is when we did the 'Buddy' deal the AFL came and sent an investigating team to look at it and passed it fully.
"If you spoke to the AFL, every player on our list gets COLA. It's in their contract as required. There's no pool to be able to recruit players."
Ireland called on the AFL's football operations manager Mark Evans to confirm the Swans were using COLA as it was intended.
"I think it would be good if someone from the AFL, maybe Mark Evans or someone who has got visibility of the contracts confirmed exactly that," he said.
"We've asked the AFL to do it and we're still waiting."
Ireland said Franklin and Tippett would only receive about $40,000 combined from COLA this year.
He added that the Swans were only spending "just over a million dollars" combined on the glamour forwards this year.
Ireland said Gordon should "worry more about his own club than worry about what we're doing" and revealed that the Swans wrote to the AFL because they were concerned that not all clubs were getting a "fair go at it".
The Swans CEO also had outgoing Carlton chief Greg Swann firmly in his crosshairs.
The Blues boss told SEN radio the best way to stop the dominant Swans was to “give us all an (extra) million bucks and we might be a chance".
Ireland fired a shot at Carlton's own salary cap issues in the past.
"Last time I looked Carlton haven't won too many premierships without breaching the salary cap," he said.
"They've been good tankers and the last time I looked (Chris) Judd's VISY deal seemed to be hanging around somewhere."
COLA is reportedly set to be scaled back to a rent assistance package by 2017 that will provide $15,000 to lower-paid players.
How much of this is true? A few pot shots there. No way Sydney are legally managing all those players on that list COLA or not. If they are we could have done with their budgeting skills in 2000.
But is that what the modern game has come to? Money equals success?
Essentially:
"What we're doing isn't cheating because the AFL okayed it. And they let other people cheat too!"
Pity Gordon's 100% right about all of it.
He built up a few brownie (literally brown, like his nose) points with the administration last year, quite happy to see him using it on spouting at the Swans rather than asking for more handouts.
I'm not patting him on the back. Those brownie points were earned through a political move at our expense.
Gordon's a perennial whiner. He should focus on fixing his own club rather than trying to break others.
Of course Sydney have exploited the COLA. What club wouldn't when the AFL gives you free money without any checks and balances whatsoever? You'd have to be an idiot not to. The problem is that the COLA should never have been given as a flat sum to the club. It should have been administered by the AFL from the beginning and each player should have to apply for it individually with a reason for why they need it. A first or second year player on the kind of money they get should absolutely get the COLA. Sydney's freaking expensive when it comes to renting/buying a place to live. But Buddy? There is no way in hell that he should be getting anything from the COLA with what he's being paid. Ditto the other senior players. Sydney's freaking expensive but it's not that freaking expensive if you're earning six figures.
The minimum AFL contract is around 80k. Minimum.
All the young players share joints. If you can't manage to find a place to rent with 250k between you, you're not really looking. Is petrol 15 bucks per litre? Electricity $5k per quarter? That is what we are being asked to believe & accept.
It's an absolute crock of ■■■■, which ever way they work it out it's unjustified and an absolute rort. If they're not paying Buddy extra, it just means they're paying their multitude of other acquisitions more and remember, they have been making a living off recruiting other clubs' B graders (Shaw, Teddy, Kennedy, McGlynn, Mumford, etc etc etc) for years and years.
That money is coming from somewhere - they're paying those guys more than their first clubs ever could justify.
I note that Footscray could get 15k to the game. Peter Gordon - can I suggest that you focus on your own club rather than firing broadsides at others?
Getting patrons through the door should be your priority and not ■■■■■■■■ about COLA.
Average wage in Australia $72k
Minimum AFL wage $80k
Average AFL Wage $265k
COLA is a distraction. The AFL want to grow the game in Sydney, and the way to do it is with successful teams. They aren't bothered at how they compromise their competition, they are running a business with a means to an end.
AFL will ask for a please explain to Gordon. After all they didn't tell him to say that.
So does the NRL allow Sydney teams a larger salary cap than the Brisbane and Melbourne teams?
It costs more to live in Moonee Ponds than it does Radelaide. I want COLA!
Is it true Buddy went to Sydney because he thought the cola allowance referred to coke?
It costs more to live in Moonee Ponds than it does Radelaide. I want COLA!
yuppie.
So this
"The fact is he's effectively saying we're cheating and the reality is when we did the 'Buddy' deal the AFL came and sent an investigating team to look at it and passed it fully.
Ok, so Ireland totally missed the point. No one is accusing them of going over the Salary Cap, they are saying that the reason they have Tippet and Franklin and co is because they have the extra space in the cap. ie: They aren't using the addition 9.8% for its intended purpose
So this
He added that the Swans were only spending "just over a million dollars" combined on the glamour forwards this year.
So without the extra 9.8% they wouldn't be able to afford it.
Oh, and lol at the fact that someone on $300k a year can't afford rent so they need an extra 10% to help them.
Apparently without the COLA, Swans players would be forced to live in apartments that dont even have a spa in the ensuite!
Apparently without the COLA, Swans players would be forced to live in apartments that dont even have a spa in the ensuite!
The humanity!!!!!
Poor oversight, clear governance breech.
AFL need to take action. For the good of the game.
Apparently without the COLA, Swans players would be forced to live in apartments that dont even have a spa in the ensuite!
The humanity!!!!!
A spa is a basic human right.
Shame on you and your decendants.
Maybe for those in the mining boom.A spa is a basic human right.The humanity!!!!!Apparently without the COLA, Swans players would be forced to live in apartments that dont even have a spa in the ensuite!
Shame on you and your decendants.