Clive Palmer believes in “freedom of speech” but has no qualms doing business in a repressive regime like China. Such is the hypocrisy of the man currently dominating A-League headlines to the detriment of the rest of the league.
Of all the headline-grabbing stunts Palmer has pulled over the past fortnight, it was hard not to chuckle at the sight of Gold Coast United running out bearing the slogan “freedom of speech” across the front of their jersies against Melbourne Victory.
Mainly because the sentiment was so laughable – although it didn’t look like a stony-faced Ben Buckley was in on the joke – but also because the relentless Palmer just won’t give up on his campaign of faux-outrage and staged indignity.
You’d think he’d be more worried that his side hasn’t won for an eternity or the fact barely 2,000 fans bothered to show up against a star-studded Victory (yes, it rained), but such is Clive’s dedication to the cause he was never going to let a mere game of football stand in the way of making his point.
With all the doom and gloom surrounding Palmer’s dogged attacks on Football Federation Australia, crowds at this weekend’s games weren’t actually that bad.
The Jets and Perth Glory posted respectable figures and Sydney FC are lucky more than two men and a stray goat show up during the dying embers of Vitezslav Lavicka’s often catatonia-inducing reign.
Gold Coast’s pathetic crowds will never improve, while the worrying reversal in Melbourne Heart gates will surely have the FFA beancounters concerned.
Why write about crowds? Because the football on the weekend was nothing to crow about.
For me, the most depressing sight – more than the Gold Coast freakshow and the empty stands at AAMI Park – was the vision of Glory captain Jacob Burns goading Brisbane Roar attacker Henrique into committing a red-card offence.
That a niggling destroyer like Burns stayed on the pitch while a creative talent like Henrique took an early shower just about summed up a forgettable round of action.
Burns’ schtick is as old as the game itself but it’s still hard to know how to take a Glory side which installs him as captain, turns a blind eye to his incessant on-field indiscretions and then rewards him with a new contract.
And for what? Burns’ most significant impact against the Roar – a thuggish elbow, a predictably spittle-laden rant and a theatrical fall to the ground – all came when the Glory were already 3-0 down against a far superior outfit.
It’s a shame the only way certain teams can dream of stopping the Roar is by employing such a negative brand of football, but Perth’s performance on Saturday was largely in keeping with the vibe of the past seven days.
Surely it’s with some trepidation A-League administrators view a table with the likes of Perth and the relatively one-dimensional (pass the ball to Paul Ifill) Wellington Phoenix finals-bound.
It would be a shame if the 2011-12 campaign is remembered not for what happened on the pitch, but for the burgeoning public relations nightmare threatening to engulf the league off it.
But at the moment it’s hard to focus on anything else.
The football this weekend may not have been entirely uninspired, but it was hardly as engaging as what transpired off it.
And that could be a problem for the A-League – one of many, it seems – because the media is concentrating ever-more on the Clive Palmer conundrum and it’s detracting from the rest of the league.
If FFA executives wanted to prove their leadership credentials, now is the time to do so – lest the farce on the Gold Coast overshadows the remainder of the premiership campaign.
jbinnie
Guest
Come ,come now Cattery,the game as we know it is only 150 years old and in that time has grown from a meeting of like minds in England to the global phenomenon it is today,and yet you appear to want a century for the HAL to evolve.Your tongue is squarely stuck in your cheek with that observation my friend,shades of Buckley's response when he talks of the HAL "maturing" around 2020-25. You do go on to mention a very valid point however when you seek to put a measure on the "quality" of the game being played. This of course is a matter of individual opinion for, being as we are, we all appreciate different things in life and football is no different. So how can "quality" be measured? Not as easy as it sounds, but a good starting point is the numbers being attracted to the games,not necessarily to a "derby" match, or a "Kewell / Emerton debut", but an overall increase across a broad range of matches over a set time period. Hence the use of "average attendances" as a measure This year to date,taking ALL gate attendances from Victory's opener to GCU'S lowest, that increase is standing at 34.5 % and any statistician will tell you that that is a huge leap in anyone's language, so,could be taken as a genuine guide that whatever is being purveyed on the field is attracting people,an increase in standard/quality.????. However that does not mean the people who run the sport and the clubs can relax,sit back, and enjoy their gains. In today's competitive world, especially for sports dollars, there is a never ending requirement to improve and stay ahead of the competition.Maybe that's what is making "the owners" edgy. Cheers jb.
Stevo
Guest
If the article by David Davutovic is correct: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/soccer/ffa-chief-frank-lowy-has-had-enough-of-a-league-turmoil/story-e6frfg8x-1226282071586 then Clive is having an impact already on shaking things up at FFA HQ.Not a bad thing IMO. Frank's speech this week in Melbourne should be interesting.
Midfielder
Guest
asanchez Hope your last post is correct.....
Axelv
Guest
"Palmer is an immoveable object." :lol:
The Cattery
Roar Guru
asanchez If CP walks away willingly, without resorting to court action, or being paid out, then that woudl be a huge, huge win to the FFA. Unfortunately, it might mean one season with 9 teams, but thereafter, they would be able to take in a 10th that would solidify the comp for many years to come. As for the youngsters, they won't be lost to the game - teams would be checking them all out as we speak. There's also the option for the FFA to maintain the GC youth team, it wouldn't cost a lot, and it seems like a good place to develop young talent - why lose it?
asanchez
Roar Guru
I can see Clive walking away from GCU after the season. I've loved watching their youngsters all season, playing with no fear and giving as good as they get. But sadly, if Clive walks away, then the club will shut up shop. The FFA won't step in, they didn't step in at NQ and they were getting triple the crowds of GCU, which wasnt seen to be good enough. Clive will never surrender to FFA's demands, and will never admit his failures, Clive does everything on his own terms, so I'm afraid this is how it will end. The current TV deal doesn't include a club on the Gold Coast, so I can see a 9 team competition next year, with 4 games a week and a bye. It'll be disappointing, but theres also a massive positive to come out of this saga. If GCU folds, that'll teach the FFA a lesson, to do their homework properly and to not expand too quickly in future. Losing yet another club will be another PR disaster, getting all the knockers and haters out of the woodwork to tell us that Football in this country is dead once again. Not doubt we'll hear from our old friend Beck Wilson and the like on this one. But it'll also make the FFA take a good look at their model, and their structure, and hopefully re-jig things to make the game and the league better. I also cant help but think that if GCU fold, heads at FFA will roll for this.
Qantas supports Australian Football
Guest
Sorry to say, I've not seen those ads on Gold Coast TV---not one to date. Please any Gold Coasters out there can you please tell me what network have they appeared on---has anyone seen the "We are Football commercials on the GC TV network?
Nathan of Perth
Guest
Questionable possibly pharmacologically altered ideas, but still they are definitely ideas!
Nathan of Perth
Guest
Was a pack of old Poms on the train home after the somewhat calamitous outing on saturday that were all saying "Oh yes, rather a shame but its all just pub football you know." Were happy with the atmosphere though, which was nice. Frustrating people. Defence mechanism or honest opinion I couldn't say for sure but I think its pretty common amongst the immigrant English segment of the community. The younger supporter base coming through is taking a much more life or death approach to the team though, so I'd say that as time continues to go on we are developing better and better foundations.
Nathan of Perth
Guest
I'd agree that I would absolutely hate to see Gold Coast leave the competition. Should be every effort made to turn the situation around. Only got to see, ironically, Gold Coast's goal at the pre-game pub and we marched right after that, but what we did see looked pretty good. Laughed my backside off when I saw what Clive had them wearing though......
Futbanous
Guest
QsAF The biggest tragedy of the GCU is the fact that these talented youngsters are not playing in front of larger crowds,because frankly they deserve too. MIke Mulvey has done a good job with the youth teams & we see the result in their A-League performance. IMO placing blame finding out who is right or who is wrong is detracting from the real issue,GCU deserve a bigger audience than their getting. That for me is the real issue. As I said the other day theres nothing written in black & White that says that GCU should not be a "Club for Clive" & yourself if you like as long as he keeps funding it. But as professional players playing for the Gold Coast area they deserve to be recognised more than they are currently. You mentioned the Roar,yes we have had 3 owners the Bakrie group the latest. However our issues were directly related to the crap we put on the park & putting up ticket prices when the football clearly wasn't improving. Now were improving & ticket prices are reasonable crowds are coming back. This is the opposite to the Gold Coast where the team is decent(Ticket prices OK?) yet crowds remain low. Clearly there are other reasons at play. This club can continue as I say being funded by Clive even if the crowds don't improve,but these kids deserve better than 2000 people a match. In the end the players will determine the fate of GCU not Clive or the FFA .James Brown is leaving for NUJ. Players want to be appreciated by the largest audience possible in relation to their talents. For me GCU is not providing that.
Nathan of Perth
Guest
Yes, Brisbane was very exciting to watch ... the filthy bastards *fist-shake* What, biased, me? Never!
Axelv
Guest
I've seen those we are football ad's many times on free to air tv, have also seen it on pay tv. I have also seen google ad's, advertising the A-League 'We are Football' on random internet sites that have nothing to do with sport or Australia. Why was there a sign in the Beach saying 'FFA save GCU', what did they mean by this, save them from what? Why is it that when Clive is posted on the big screen that the stadium boo's him? He sounds like a popular guy amongst the Gold Coast football community.
Nathan of Perth
Guest
Bobsleigh is brilliant, don't knock it =D
Titus
Guest
Lols.....you're an ideas man Johnno, I'll give you that.
Qantas supports Australian Football
Guest
Here you go turning to abuse now.. Heaven forbid, we GCU supporters can't stand up for our club and owner.?. I've asked you to make the amendment in Wikipedia if you say you know the truth about Clive's family wealth.. What are you waiting for---your mate gave you the drum?
Johnno
Guest
Get rid of the FFA and set up a new soccer federation in Australia.
Qantas supports Australian Football
Guest
Stupid comment, the man is saving 130k a match trying to keep the club running within its own means. I'm a supporter of GCU and I understand that only too well, It's a black hole at present in his stable of companies---any other owner would have pulled out like all of the Roar FC previous owners have done. At least Clive has said he intends to stay the course and he has spent $18m on GCU to date. The only lies have come from the FFA's Ben Buckley with the sacking of the Fury that Clive also sponsored as well. He has ploughed a lot of money into grass roots football on the Gold Coast and still does with the GC premiere league and all the FFA have done is benefited off the good will from Clive's generosity. Of course he has made some mistakes, but the FFA have contributed to that by not promoting the HAL as they had promised they said they were going to do this season. Do you see any TV commercials in the media? They made an expensive TV commercial and it's only shown at the grounds where the games are played. Not even in prime time SBS viewing do you see it---let alone on the commercial TV stations; again zero promotion on the TV networks.
Realfootball
Guest
QSAF, you have waaaaay too much time on your hands.
Realfootball
Guest
Mods, any chance of filtering this kind of unbalanced personal vilification? It drags down the level of every thread, and it's reached the point where QSAF is pursuing a personal vendetta. I don't think that is appropriate. I'm not sure what QSAF's problem is, but this is absurd.