Speculation may lead to North talks heading south

First there was the untimely Cassio debacle for North Queensland FC. Now the A-League newcomers fear their talks with Jade North will head south.

NQFC chairman Don Matheson was seething after a Fairfax newspaper report today claimed the club were set to announce Newcastle Jets skipper North as the marquee signing for their inaugural 2009-10 season.

Matheson claimed no deal had been struck and was concerned that their negotiations would break down due to the speculation.

It was the last thing the A-League rookies needed after NQFC claimed Brazilian star Cassio backflipped and re-signed with Adelaide United earlier this month.

“We have formalised nothing (with North) and that’s the bit that hurts,” Matheson told AAP.

“To have coverage before the deal is across the line or been struck actually jeopardises it - anything in that story now is pure speculation.

“It could possibly damage the deal which is really disappointing.

“And to make note of him as our marquee player is really out there in speculation terms - it doesn’t cut it with us.

“If I had signed Jade I would be up on the blocks telling everyone because that’s what I think of him, but at the moment we haven’t signed him - it’s as simple as that.”

Matheson admitted the club had adopted a different approach to their player recruitment drive due to the Cassio incident.

“We certainly approach a deal a little differently. We tend not to get caught up in the emotion of it now,” he said.

“You learn from it. You certainly condition and prepare yourself differently, but if we were to give up and walk away who would benefit.”

NQFC have up to six contracted players already but will not make any announcements until after their official launch at Townsville which has been postponed from tomorrow until next Thursday.

Matheson said they had delayed the historic occasion in order for two key Rockhampton-based board members to attend.

Attended by Football Federation Australia chief executive Ben Buckley, the launch will unveil the team’s name, colours and logo.

The club’s board sifted through up to 300 suggestions from the north Queensland community before deciding on the team name.

Matheson looked forward to officially kick-starting the team’s countdown to the 2009-10 debut at the launch after a tough initiation.

“We were always going to learn the hard way,” Matheson said.

“But with anything whether it’s football or opening up a shop you are going to run into some tough times in your early days and we have definitely had that.

“But looking at the big picture we are going to create a club that will be here for a long time, and it’s going to benefit the community so it’s probably worth the angst and the headaches.”

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