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http://www.thewest.com.au/20030922/sport/soccer/tw-sport-soccer-home-sto113230.html
"Lowy blueprint boosts Tana hopes
By Jonathan Cook
PERTH Glory chairman Nick Tana said he would swap last season's NSL championship for a successfully reformed league.
"That's how important reform is to the future of the game," Tana said.
"There's no joy in being so far ahead of the pack. I don't take the same pleasure that other clubs and club owners take in winning a championship.
"I would take more pleasure in having the game right and everyone doing it correctly both on and off the field."
A meeting with Soccer Australia chairman Frank Lowy has convinced Tana reform would be achieved despite delays.
The lack of information from the new governing body after Lowy and his hand-picked board swept to power two months ago had handed critics more ammunition.
But Tana said his optimism soared during a head-to-head with Lowy last month.
"I was absolutely enthralled by what he had to say," Tana said of his Sydney meeting with the shopping centre magnate.
"If we achieve only a percentage of what he is thinking, we will put this game through the roof."
The new Soccer Australia board finally broke its silence on Saturday with a five-paragraph statement confirming it had been reviewing several reports into the financial and structural status of the governing body.
Chief executive Richard Johnson said the board would discuss the options with the Australian Sports Commission and Federal Government and make public details of its plans in a week or so.
For Tana, the statement represented a degree of relief after he had openly backed Lowy and the much-needed changes.
Tana admitted the ensuing silence after his August meeting with Lowy was concerning.
In fact, he sent a letter to Soccer Australia a week ago pointing out that, in this case, no news was bad news.
Tana said specific detail was not discussed during his meeting with Lowy but the broad picture painted by the Soccer Australia chief was encouraging.
"Frank laid out his vision in a general sense," Tana said. "And what he saw for the national league excited me."
For years the domestic competition has been blighted by ad hoc measures and false dawns. However, Tana believes the game can blossom under the right circumstances.
The new season, expected to be the last in the current format, kicked off last Friday night with little fanfare and an unglamorous fixture between Wollongong Wolves and Sydney United.
Only 2346 spectators bothered to watch United's 1-0 win, while a paltry 1861 saw highly fancied Parramatta Power draw 0-0 with South Melbourne.
The declining condition of the NSL was considered partly responsible for the fall in Glory attendances last season.
However, the fact the 10,000 average still dwarfed the number of spectators anywhere else in the country confirmed the club's status as off-field leader."
Tana is bloody crazy I wouldn't trade that championship for the world
"Lowy blueprint boosts Tana hopes
By Jonathan Cook
PERTH Glory chairman Nick Tana said he would swap last season's NSL championship for a successfully reformed league.
"That's how important reform is to the future of the game," Tana said.
"There's no joy in being so far ahead of the pack. I don't take the same pleasure that other clubs and club owners take in winning a championship.
"I would take more pleasure in having the game right and everyone doing it correctly both on and off the field."
A meeting with Soccer Australia chairman Frank Lowy has convinced Tana reform would be achieved despite delays.
The lack of information from the new governing body after Lowy and his hand-picked board swept to power two months ago had handed critics more ammunition.
But Tana said his optimism soared during a head-to-head with Lowy last month.
"I was absolutely enthralled by what he had to say," Tana said of his Sydney meeting with the shopping centre magnate.
"If we achieve only a percentage of what he is thinking, we will put this game through the roof."
The new Soccer Australia board finally broke its silence on Saturday with a five-paragraph statement confirming it had been reviewing several reports into the financial and structural status of the governing body.
Chief executive Richard Johnson said the board would discuss the options with the Australian Sports Commission and Federal Government and make public details of its plans in a week or so.
For Tana, the statement represented a degree of relief after he had openly backed Lowy and the much-needed changes.
Tana admitted the ensuing silence after his August meeting with Lowy was concerning.
In fact, he sent a letter to Soccer Australia a week ago pointing out that, in this case, no news was bad news.
Tana said specific detail was not discussed during his meeting with Lowy but the broad picture painted by the Soccer Australia chief was encouraging.
"Frank laid out his vision in a general sense," Tana said. "And what he saw for the national league excited me."
For years the domestic competition has been blighted by ad hoc measures and false dawns. However, Tana believes the game can blossom under the right circumstances.
The new season, expected to be the last in the current format, kicked off last Friday night with little fanfare and an unglamorous fixture between Wollongong Wolves and Sydney United.
Only 2346 spectators bothered to watch United's 1-0 win, while a paltry 1861 saw highly fancied Parramatta Power draw 0-0 with South Melbourne.
The declining condition of the NSL was considered partly responsible for the fall in Glory attendances last season.
However, the fact the 10,000 average still dwarfed the number of spectators anywhere else in the country confirmed the club's status as off-field leader."
Tana is bloody crazy I wouldn't trade that championship for the world

