Shockwaves felt at Melbourne Victory as Patrick Kisnorbo exit leaves club stunned

Outside the offices of Melbourne Victory underneath AAMI Park, there was no other way to describe the departure of the club’s coach Patrick Kisnorbo, just five days before the derby. Chairman John Dovaston told assembled media the news was a “shock”. Captain Roderick Miranda used the same word, and that it “came from nowhere”. Assistant Arthur Diles, who has taken charge, continued the theme. “Everybody’s shocked,” he said, “We didn’t see anything coming.”

Victory were once the embodiment of promise for football in Australia, vindication for the pain of killing off the NSL and the heavy-handed birth of the A-League. Yet the decline of the club has been written in its attendances and financials for a decade. Ten years ago this coming May, Melbourne Victory drew 50,873 fans to a semi-final against rivals City, during a season they averaged more than 25,000 per home game. In a rollicking evening at Docklands, the club’s faithful were treated to a 3-0 victory that paved the way for a grand final triumph a week later against Sydney FC.

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That seems like another age. The club is now dealing with huge financial losses, a step change in crowd support and an imminent player sell-off. Kisnorbo, by jumping ship “to pursue an overseas opportunity” only months into the job, has shown how far the club has fallen.

His view is not shared by everyone, however. Diles – who came to the club under former coach Tony Popovic last year – still believes in Victory, even if Kisnorbo doesn’t. “For him, he’s obviously seen something different and an opportunity for himself,” he said. “Melbourne Victory is still Melbourne Victory and it’s still the biggest club.”

Melbourne is known for its passion for sport, but Victory compete over summer with basketball, cricket and tennis. Average home attendances for the current season are over 10,000, a figure that still places the club among the competition’s largest draws. It rises to 13,000 if you count the last derby which was officially a City home game, yet others have recovered much quicker since the pandemic. By crowd figures alone, Sydney FC and newcomers Auckland have emerged as the competition’s commercial heavyweights.

Roy Morgan research released this week shows Victory have the third most supporters in the competition behind Sydney FC and Brisbane Roar, but had declined more in the past 12 months than any other club – from 615,000 to 588,000.

Three weeks ago Victory lodged financial accounts with Asic for 2023-24 which showed a loss of almost $10m, up from $7.6m the previous year. Owners have put in an extra $3.4m since July to help keep the club running, and deferred payment terms have been secured with creditors including tax authorities.

Managing director Caroline Carnegie is open about the challenge to ensure financial sustainability. “We have been clear for the past three years, that we had a five-year plan to recover from Covid and that losses for FY24 and FY25 were expected.”

When shared the accounts, three individuals familiar with the financial realities of the A-Leagues expressed surprise at the cost base at Victory. The club’s $17.3m in revenue was almost entirely eaten up by football expenses, then the club still needs to pay for putting on matches, staff and administration.

Carnegie said the derby incident in 2022, during which the club’s fans invaded the pitch and injured City goalkeeper Tom Glover, leading to sanctions from the league and subsequent backlash from supporters, continues to have an effect on membership, game attendances and partnerships.

“With that in mind, over the pre-season the club reviewed every aspect of our business, and in doing so, have made significant changes to realign our business and develop a realistic path to financial sustainability over the coming seasons,” she said. “We remain steadfast in our optimism about the future with the changes we have implemented, and the continued evolution of the A-Leagues.”

The news is not all bad. Despite the financial turmoil afflicting minority owner 777 Partners, the logo of Bonza, one of 777’s brands, was promptly replaced by AIA for last season’s finals. Turkish Airlines is now the main shirt sponsor, and AIA extended its arrangement with the club last month.

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The survival of clubs in the A-Leagues is now underpinned by transfer revenue, and Diles said fans shouldn’t expect Victory to be any different, confirming players sales would occur in January.

“That’s world football, and we’re in a market in Australia that should be a selling country,” he said. “Any club that doesn’t look at football in that way, I don’t think is looking at it in the right way. Again, some clubs are different because expectation is different because of the magnitude of the club, and this club is expected to win every year. But that doesn’t mean that winning and selling can’t go hand in hand either.”

Miranda said fans will quickly move on from Kisnorbo’s departure. “It doesn’t matter who’s in charge or who is on the pitch, because in the end the fans don’t care about the name on the back, just they care more the logo on the front,” he said.

The players seem to be holding up their end of the bargain. Victory sit third in both the A-League Men and Women competitions. Diles said the club’s fans should stay the course, and back the club this Saturday against City, despite the recent challenges. “I don’t think they need to be fed up,” he said. “We’ve got an incredible group of footballers and human beings and that’s the best thing about this club right now.”