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They have a wonderful stadium, a burgeoning community behind them and they stand on the brink of making history. With multi-million dollar facilities and one of the game’s more colourful coaches to call upon, the future looks bright on the Gold Coast.
I’m talking, of course, about the Gold Coast Titans, who are just one game away from reaching a first ever NRL grand final after a capacity crowd of over 27,000 saw them beat the New Zealand Warriors at Skilled Park just over a week ago.
The contrast in fortunes with the region’s hapless football club couldn’t be more stark.
Gold Coast United also stand on the brink of history, but that’s only because the record for the lowest ever attendance at an A-League game stands to be broken on Wednesday night, when United take on another fan favourite in the form of the Newcastle Jets.
Just 1,632 fans turned out to watch the New Zealand Knights go around against the Central Coast Mariners in Season 2, but surely that unwanted record is in danger of disappearing when the unloved United host the Jets midweek.
An abysmal 2,037 fans turned up at Skilled Park yesterday afternoon to witness a scoreless bore-draw between United and the Mariners, and it’s little wonder the players appeared to be stuck in a permanent state of catatonia, given the total lack of atmosphere.
It’s time to admit the A-League expanded far too rapidly for its own good, and no matter how much United coach Miron Bleiberg protests that it’s too early in the season to talk about attendance figures, the simple fact is Gold Coast United will never draw a crowd.
Outspoken owner Clive Palmer has burned too many bridges with existing supporters, engagement with the local community appears to be non-existent, and the decision to let Shane Smeltz depart for Genclerbirligi – so soon after his Shandong Luneng fiasco – smacked of an admission that the Gold Coast United experiment is doomed.
Due diligence is a term we often hear bandied about in relation to Football Federation Australia, but where was it when Gold Coast United were admitted to the league on the back of the largesse of a bloke who does not have the game’s interests at heart, and who tried to lock his own supporters out of the stadium when the chips were down?
Did anyone take a look at United’s plans to engage with the community? How is it that a region with a sizeable base of local footballers, a large expatriate British community and the ability to support four professional sporting teams is so disenfranchised when it comes to football?
To put it bluntly, Gold Coast United were left to their own devices to drum up support and an embarrassing crowd of 2,037 fans is what we’re left with.
Kudos to the fans who actually turned out, and they deserve far better than the shambles of administration currently in charge.
One wonders what will happen to United from here on, but I can’t see them playing beyond the 2010-11 campaign.
Hopefully we won’t be saying the same about the Newcastle Jets, although less than 7,000 fans turned up at Energy Australia Stadium to see their 2-0 win over Perth Glory on Friday night.
The Jets had an average attendance almost double that when they won the competition in 2007-08, and with its long football tradition, it’s clear Newcastle is home to an active football community.
That’s more than can be said for the Gold Coast, and should they fold they’re unlikely to be the only side missing next season, with the odds stacked against a team from western Sydney entering the competition.
For now, Gold Coast United meet the Jets on Wednesday night, and the prospect of playing spot-the-fan could be as exciting as any action on the pitch.