It's not time to Palmer off Gold Coast. Yet!

The bundling of the Socceroos is not a solid for "Us", it is a free kick for "Them". The Socceroos belong to all Australians. The HAL licenes belong to the money men.

I'm not so sure Nathan. I can imagine Palmer claiming that the statement that "I have paid Zoltan the hitman from Kiev $500,000 to execute Ben Buckley" was taken out of context, and that he was really referring to the way in which Eastern European referees have traditionally been harsh to the socceroos. I can then imagine lots of soccer fans coming out and saying that Palmer does make some valid points, that Zoltan is after all a very good hitman with a track record of doing some good work for the Russian mafia, and that we shouldn't rush to judgment. Maybe give it a while and see what happens when the survivors from the car bomb at FFA HQ recover enough to put together next season's marketing plan. Message to the moderators and Clive Palmer: The above is intended to be satire. I am not advocating the assassination of sporting officials, nor inferring that Clive Palmer has any connections with either the Russian mafia or hitmen from Kiev. Or indeed hitmen from any other part of Eastern Europe. Thank you.

Aren't you enjoying watching GCU tonight even though there's no crowd? I am. I wish MVFC played like this. Wonderful passing and movement And Mitch Cooper scores a beauty. This is FANTASTIC. Fairytale stuff from GCU.

I wouldn't! This is where you and me are very different people :) Also MVFC have produced fantastic performances against the top 2 teams, Mariners and Brisbane in 2 weeks, in front of 14,000 and 18,500! I still dream of Carlos :oops:

Clive's an absolute saint, with the very best interests of the game at heart. Who could possibly doubt his motivation to put the game first. Rather than a hefty bonus, the players might appreciate a playing contract for next season.

I'd be happy to watch MVFC playing in front of 10 people if they played this style of football - it's fast, it's intelligent use of the ball, they take risks and they look dangerous whenever they move forward.

The empty stands and boo's when he was on the screen says it all. But what a performance from the team in the 1st half.

HT GCU 2- 1 CCM Clive Palmer was quick out of the box and into the rooms before the players at HT. Looks very happy, indeed. He even addressed the players for a couple of minutes. I reckon if GCU wins this the players can expect a very heft bonus again. But, of course, according to some, Clive is bad for football on the Gold Coast and he doesn't want GCU to succeed?

Miron's interview provides some clues. Clive's view is that football is a business and it's being run poorly by the FFA. Clives's problem is with Lowy and Buckley and he wants to be heard by the FFA and taken seriously by the FFA. Miron says that FFA should change their approach to the club owners and not treat them as "pupils in a class". Clive's dummy spat is about drawing public attention to his issues. In his business world, he has usually set the agenda and often got his own way but finds the FFA bureaucratic and not "sympathetic" to owners of clubs who are pouring money into a "poorly" run HAL. FFA can't expect big money, successful business owners to simply toe the line without on occasion venting their frustrations out in public. This is one of those occasions. Maybe Clive will rally owners to form an Owners Union to represent the millions of private dollars that have been pumped into the FFA without representation (as he puts it). I think this brouhaha will actually flush out issues that ordinarily FFA would have been happy to sweep under a carpet. Looking forward to the next installment.

Not wrong, but as the Cat says, there is the potential to make some money if things are run properly. If you want to buy an established business, with existing customers, goodwill and with current stock at hand (the players in this case), then you'll end up paying for it. But yes, there is a massive leap of faith required by people buying clubs.

Fuss, the BWB are grown men (the kids that join in the NT might not be though), they were protesting against the club and the FFA for their treatment by stadium security and police. As a result of last year's protest and silence, the club, stadium officials, FFA and North Terrace are communicating with each other on a regular basis and having meetings raising their concerns to each other, they are having dialogue!! (something that Craig Foster has been calling for since day 1) This is still happening now and as a result the fans have been allowed to support the boys on the pitch without any worries! There has not been a single flare by MV fans at home games and not a single bust up with security as a result, the fans are louder and having fun, there are less 'incidents', everyone is winning! Were you at Etihad on the final game of the season last year against Newcastle? It sounded like a graveyard, a little bit of noise from the South End in bursts but apart from that the majority of the time the stadium was eerily silent! The players on the park were also shocked and this prompted the club into organizing negotiations between the parties involved. The NT have also persuaded the club to open the North and South stands of the stadium to General Admission, unlike the fully reserved seats of AAMI Park like last season, now fans can go to the game and bring their friends (I have gone to games and bought approximately 50 GA tickets for non member friends, compared to 0 last year), and the GA section of AAMI Park is proving to be immensely popular, it is always the most dense packed area's of the stadium and the GA fans are getting involved in the atmosphere, it's great for everyone involved including the players! Louder atmosphere = more passionate players and more intense action on the park, don't believe me just ask the Gold Coast players! ;) This season we've seen more active support, more flags, drums, no flares, no clashes with security and riot police, general admission, higher attendence and better atmospheres, it's been win/win/win/win/win/win if you ask me! Pity about our issues on the park though this season with the Board, Mehmet and our players, but hey it's much better as a fan to worry about on the park issues then off the park! The Gold Coast fans, such as The Beach were merely trying to have a voice in their club and negotiate with Clive, Clive was having none of it and Clive is always right, he pays the money so he can do whatever he wants! The Beach were bringing a great atmosphere to Skilled Park with a full bay, full of chanting and passion for their club despite low crowds (between 4000-7000), but that appears to be long gone now and they have a dead club walking...It has the money, but no fans, the club is nothing without it's fans. It will probably still get somewhere between 500-2000 people for the rest of this season, these are extremely loyal fans, and credit to them for supporting their team no matter what, however I think those that protested and tried to fight for the rights of the fans ought to be commended! They fought for their club but it fell on deaf ears.

If you don't like what I post, or the tone of my posts - why don't you just ignore them?

And far too quick and easy with the disdain and contempt. You would be well advised to be more circumspect and considered in your judgement, Fussball.

Absolutely!

I can assure you I'm not German. And, I'm certainly not angry. Passionate about our Game & our League? Yes. Disdainful and contemptuous of those, who have no stake in our Game and our League, but still try to tell us how our Game & our League should be managed? You betcha! Frustrated because MVFC have played like a pack of losers this year? Don't get me started :-)

Spot on Aka. Do it my way or I'll sue you and ruin the league for good. He cares not one iota about football and the sooner his defenders on this forum realize that the better.

Why does Fuss always sound angry? Is it because he is German?

Dont give guys like Tinkler and Palmer too much credit, they made their wealth from digging stuff out of the ground and selling it to China...if Australia didnt have minerals, then these blokes would just be larger versions of the average Aussie

Axelv Maybe I'm too old, but I can't see the point of not attending games to try to make a point. I remember some of MVFC's active supporters did this in Year 3 or 4 and again last year the kids, who want to jump up & dance at the football also chucked a hissy fit and stopped attending. It was a shame. I simply go to watch & support the players, who are playing for my team. I don't go to watch or support the owners, or the board of directors, or the back office management. The players are the ones most affected by fans not turning up and the players don't deserve that sort of treatment.

I disagree with you Fuss. For me the true GC fans are the ones that stood up for themselves against the bully, despite giving Clive many chances they don't support his rubbish and good on them for standing up against what is right, it takes a lot of energy and guts. Don't be surprised if GCU's crowds dip below 999. Respect to the few fans that are still going but you really can't blame the rest of them for refusing to support Clive Palmer's team.