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Gold Coast United club chairman Clive Palmer (right) and head coach Miron Bleiberg speak at a press conference at Skilled Park on the Gold Coast. AAP Image/Laine Clark
Sometime, somewhere in the grand history of global sport and recreation, one person stated that “the only thing that matters is results.” Clearly that person has never met the Gold Coast United Football Club.
It is hard to believe that the club that played in front of a paltry 1658 people against the Melbourne Heart on Sunday evening is the same as the one that achieved a very respectable figure of over 10,000 attendees when playing English side Fulham FC in a friendly in July of 2009.
Surely there is a reason why the vast majority of Gold Coast residents have snubbed their club in this short space of time. Perhaps it was the arrogant assumptions made by club owner Clive Palmer that the club would win the League in its first season and see to the demise of the Gold Coast Suns by 2014.
No doubt Palmer looked like a right idiot when he closed down three sections of Skilled Park to save money. It appears now though, that it would not matter if an apology was made and the entire stadium was opened to the public. For whatever reason, the Gold Coast public have lost interest in their club.
What is so sad about this situation is the fact that this was perhaps the FFA’s best opportunity to make a significant leap in expansion. United arrived in the A-League before the Suns in the AFL, and this meant that the opportunity to develop a large fan base was possible.
The fact of the matter is though; there are more club members of the Gold Coast Suns than there were people who attended Sunday night’s 3-0 win.
Clearly the quality on the park is up to scratch. The club has reclaimed third spot on the ladder, and looks a real chance to make an impact in the finals. Even with the likes of quality players such as Culina, Djite and Pantelidis in full flight, it is still not enough.
You don’t have to be an expert in business management to know that Gold Coast United are a failure. They have failed in every sense of the word, in every possible fashion.
Dreams of sold out crowds and record memberships have vanished, and it now appears the Gold Coast Suns will go head to head in a gripping cross-code showdown with the Titans from 2011.
The fact that Gold Coast United will play the very, very poor younger brother to this rivalry means that it is unlikely they will grow and build a sustainable club. You have to wonder how different things may have turned out if the FFA had gone with substance over style, and given its ninth licence to the ‘Gold Coast Galaxy’ bid ahead of Clive Palmer’s riches.
Alas, that is confined to the pages of history and fantasy. Gold Coast United are a club missing a key ingredient; support. Community engagement was non-existent in the club’s early stages, and they are now paying the price.
Yours truly can see only one solution. Unless the club wins the League and gains qualification for the Asian Champions League by season’s end, it must disband and professional football on the Coast must be left alone in the short term.
Once the hype over the Gold Coast Suns’ arrival subsides, the FFA can then go about starting this process all over again, but in the right way.
They must establish a club that is for all Gold Coast residents that appeals to a broader age group than what United currently does.
In short, give the Gold Coast Galaxy bid another chance. Have the star players out in force with open training sessions and community clinics. Entrench the club in the community and give the Suns and Titans a reason to look behind their shoulders every once in a while.
Having a new club will be fresh and different, and will surely be better than flogging a dead horse.
At the moment, the Gold Coast United Football Club are the laughing stock of Australian sport, and a complete embarrassment for the A-League, so soon after being embarrassed on the world stage in Zurich.
Soon after losing that World Cup bid, FFA Chief Executive Ben Buckley said the goal was to concentrate and improve the A-League.
Perhaps delivering the final nail in the coffin of the Gold Coast United Football Club and starting all over again is the best way to go about this improvement.
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