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Former English premier league soccer player Robbie Fowler, right, pictured with the North Queensland coach Ian Ferguson at a news conference in Townsville, Australia, Sunday, March 15, 2009. Fowler will play for the North Queensland Fury in Australia's A League competition later this year. AP Photo/ Michael Chambers
“They could be the worst team to have played in the A-League”; “They’re going to be worse than the New Zealand Knights”; “They could kill this competition.” They are all things that I, and many others in the media, privately said about North Queensland Fury in the lead up to their A-League debut.
The signs just weren’t looking good. As the club made the astounding move of signing Jade North as their inaugural marquee player, only for him to jump ship, things seemed to be going bad for the club. The truth is North’s defection was only one of many worrying signs, and a lot of people were worried, including myself.
Instead Don Matheson, Ian Ferguson and co have proved me very wrong, so I only think it’s fair that I apologise.
Truth is I’ve had the opportunity to watch a number of their games this season and have enjoyed almost all of them. Certainly more then I have the Central Coast Mariners efforts despite them sitting four spots higher on the table.
The Fury might have spent most of this season propping up the league standings, and a couple of their performances have been just dire, but they are far from the worst team to have played in this competition. On the contrary, they’ve brought a lot to season 5 of the A-League.
Bringing Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler into the country is something we’re all grateful for now that the doubts over his fitness and ability have been shown up as pessimistic concerns.
On the pitch, the Fury’s football can be quite enjoyable to watch, even if at times it lacks fluency or that cutting edge. Their first half performance last night against Adelaide was as comprehensive as it was easy on the eye.
While Gold Coast United’s game against Brisbane Roar at the start of the season may have been the highest quality I’ve seen in the A-League this year, I’d rather watch the Fury at the moment then Gold Coast. That’s something I never expected to say.
Even the crowds, considering the population pool they’re able to draw from, have been reasonable enough; especially when you think that there have been enough poor performances at Dairy Farmers Stadium to scare the locals away.
I’m also loving the ‘Furgins’ initiative by the club. First time fans to Dairy Farmers are handed a team coloured t-shirt with “Furgin” written across it. It’s a great initiative and is proof that the club are showing their fans more respect than Gold Coast Untied have so far.
Certainly it hasn’t all gone well for the Fury. They still made far too many rash and silly player signings in the first few months after they were given their license. It says a lot that nearly all North Queensland’s standout players joined the club after most of the squad was already assembled. In fact, I think this drip feed of talent coming into the side is a bit embarrassing.
The club’s financial troubles have been a worry as well, though they aren’t alone on that point.
Most importantly the club has at least admitted their errors and have looked to make up for them. I get the sense that as long as they can survive financially over the next couple years then this club will be around for the long-term.
While I’m at it I’d like to give credit to the Fury’s marquee man Robbie Fowler. When he signed for the club and then missed most of the pre-season through injury, I was worried. In fact the only people I thought that would get to see his talent in action would be Townsville’s real estate industry.
So, despite their flaws and mistakes, I think the Fury have added something special to this competition. Personally I’m glad to have them as a part of our domestic football landscape and I don’t think I’m alone on that one.
Comparatively there are a couple of other A-League teams who should take a long hard look at themselves, though that’s for another day. Today I’d just like to say sorry North Queensland, and its good to have you on board.
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