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If the A-League is only as strong as the sum of its parts, then fans in cities like Brisbane need to get behind their team and continue showing up at matches.
There is no doubt whatsoever that the Bakrie Group have done everything in their power to alienate supporters.
When last year’s off-season dramas were repeated again this year – only this time to the extent it was unclear who was even running the club – it led to calls from the Brisbane Roar’s hardcore supporters to boycott matches.
Such calls are understandable. Not only has the club failed to back its supporters, it has failed repeatedly to even back its own employees.
Nowhere in Australia’s five major capitals are fans considered such an irrelevance by their A-League clubs as they arguably are in Brisbane.
Yet the truth is that if the Roar’s hardcore fans decide not to show up for the season opener against Melbourne Victory on October 7, they won’t necessarily be missed.
With The Den having shrunk alarmingly in size over the past few years, there were times last season when it appeared the Roar didn’t even have a home end.
The reasons may be varied, but the end result is matches played in front of one of the worst atmospheres in the A-League.
Fans continually state that Suncorp Stadium is too large but as I often remind them on Twitter, if 50,000 supporters simply showed up every week, it would be an ideal size.
And that really is the crux of the problem. As much as I sympathise with supporters who are unhappy with their club’s direction, there are simply too many football fans who look for any excuse not to attend A-League matches.
It’s hardly a problem unique to Brisbane. In fact, every club in the competition struggles to bridge the gap between those who say they are football fans and those who actually go to A-League matches.
And the fans who buy season tickets or otherwise regularly attend matches deserve some recognition. In cities like Brisbane, there are thousands of supporters who sit on the sidelines even as The Den dwindles.
But the fact remains there are hundreds, if not thousands, of A-League fans who are quick to call for boycotts as soon as something is not to their liking.
Less than 4,000 fans have bought Brisbane Roar season tickets so far – and even that figure is a minor miracle.
Some Roar fans announced that they would stay away from matches as soon as it was confirmed the Bakrie Group would remain in charge – a position which saw star striker Jamie Maclaren take to Twitter to point out that it’s the players who are most affected.
He implored fans to continue getting out and supporting the club and highlighted the fact that Brisbane had the best home record of any team last season.
@scouse_roar I understand. Our fans turn up, support us, we win! Simple. Best home record last season. Avoiding wont affect anyone, but us.
— Jamie Maclaren (@jamie_maclaren) September 1, 2016
This is a side, it should be remembered, that was one game away from a grand final appearance last season.
For all the talk of the Bakries letting the team down, it’s not like the players have failed to perform on the pitch.
And isn’t that really what supporting a football team should be about?
Whatever off-field shenanigans your club gets up to, isn’t the point to put them to one side and support the players in their quest to provide us entertainment and with any luck, some results?
A few notable examples aside, what difference does it make who runs your football club anyway?
Wouldn’t the football scene in Brisbane – or Newcastle or Perth or Wellington for that matter – be stronger if fans simply showed up and made their own fun on the terraces?
I’ve already bought my tickets to the Roar’s season opener and I would urge football fans across the city to do the same.
You may not like the club’s owners, but the alternative one day could be to have no club at all.