The chances of Usain Bolt appearing in the A-League have passed, with the Central Coast Mariners today confirming the Jamaican’s time with the club has come to an end.
Bolt joined the Mariners for an ‘indefinite training period’ earlier in the year in the hope of making it as a professional footballer. However, while the three-time Olympian made it onto the field for Central Coast in two trial games – the second of which he scored a brace in – it was clear his poor touch and general lack of footballing nous would make succeeding in the A-League little more than an impossibility.
The Mariners did table an offer to Bolt a couple of weeks ago, however the club admitted at the time that, without the backing of a third party, a deal was never likely to eventuate.
Central Coast claimed the split between the two parties was “amicable”, with both concluding a suitable deal would be unable to be settled on.
“I would like to thank the Central Coast Mariners owners, management, staff, players and fans for making me feel so welcome during my time there. I wish the club success for the season ahead,” Bolt said.
Mariners owner Mike Charlesworth spoke in similarly friendly terms in announcing Bolt’s departure.
“Despite the fact that we could not come to an agreement that would continue Usain Bolt’s football journey with the Central Coast Mariners, we’ve been thrilled to have the Olympic champion sprinter and world record holder as part of our Club for these past eight weeks,” Charlesworth.
“For the Mariners, it’s been a pleasure to work with Usain as he pursued his desire to become a professional football player.
“This has been a mutually beneficial partnership that brought an increased level of excitement and attention to both the Mariners and the Hyundai A-League. From day one, Usain dedicated himself to being part of the Mariners. He integrated very well into the team and made great strides as a footballer.
“Most notable was his performance in Campbelltown where he scored two goals helping the Mariners secure a 4-0 win against Macarthur South West United.
“Whilst we understand that Usain will not be part of the Club going forward, the Central Coast Mariners wish him all the best in his future endeavours and we hope that opportunities arise to collaborate in other capacities in the future.”
Redondo
Roar Rookie
It does seem to be an AFL disease - not always, but mostly.
Randy
Roar Rookie
the league tab gets bombarded with haters whenever there is an article about International Rugby league, expansion or crowds in sydney. AFL fans tend to be the worst... some of the folk who follow that game have got some serious problems...
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
I should also have mentioned that last week London hosted two (or was it more) NFL games
Punter
Roar Rookie
If you want awesome, go to a football game. Beats 'insert team' clap clap clap, Dragons, clap, clap, clap.
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
'Sports capital of the world'? now that's an overused overstatement if ever I've heard one. I'm in the UK at present and this weekend London hosted rugby union and rugby league internationals plus four or five 'house full' Premier League matches (the most followed league globally) and a host of 'near full' championship matches. In two weeks, when I'm at Suncorp for the Socceroos v S Korea match, London will host several International football matches. How many will Melbourne host?
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
Disagree too, but I find it rather odd, given the money for Honda, that Roar could not match Victory's offer to young striker Akbahri.
Redondo
Roar Rookie
He’s desperately searching the Roar archives for examples of Football fans trashing other sports on non-Football tabs. He could be quite some time.
chris
Guest
elvis has left the building
chris
Guest
Adam - seriously, the more you comment the worse you look. "People get behind the socceroos at the WC and thats it". Really? You might not care, but the Socceroos are the best supported national team in the country. And your summation that we did better at WC's while in Oceania is such an ignorant comment that you once again make a mockery of your "guru" status.
Kangas
Roar Rookie
So funny The above description of the footy players. So close to the truth , even though I love nrl , it’s so accurate.
Redondo
Roar Rookie
The list... 25 = Uruguay | Primera Division 25 = South Africa | Premier Soccer League 25 = Scotland | Premier League 25 = Paraguay | Primera Division 23 = UAE | Pro League 23 = Ecuador | Serie A 20 = Poland | Ekstraklasa 20 = Colombia | Primera A 20 = Australia | A-League 19. Switzerland | Super League 18. Sweden | Allsvenskan 15 = Ukraine | Premier League 15 = Turkey | Super League 15 = Belgium | Pro League 14. China | Super League 13. Russia | Premier League 11 = Portugal | Primeira Liga 11 = Japan | J1 League 10. Argentina | Primera Division 9. France | Ligue 1 8. Netherlands | Eredivisie 7. USA | MLS 6. Mexico | Liga MX 5. Brazil | Serie A 4. Italy | Serie A 3. Spain | La Liga 2. England | Premier League 1. Germany | Bundesliga
Redondo
Roar Rookie
World Soccer...https://www.givemesport.com/342964-top-20-best-leagues-in-world-football A-League is ranked 20th, and it’s quality has improved since that assessment was done. It’s debatable whether some of the leagues ranked higher than the A-League are actually higher quality on the pitch.
Redondo
Roar Rookie
Elvis, perhaps you can tell me why the Football tab draws so many comments from people who either don’t like Football, or, more particularly don’t like local Football. Why do they visit here? Commenters on the other tabs are rarely hostile about the sport they’re bothering to comment on. They might hold strong opinions about particular aspects of the sport and get involved in quite heated debates, but their comments rarely show dislike for the sport itself. Yet the Football tab draws a steady stream of comments from people who don’t like Football and want the world to know, or, whose ignorance about Football makes it clear they have little interest in the sport. I can understand those people reading the odd Football article but it’s beyond me why they bother commenting - some bother with alarming frequency. I think we all know why though...insecurity born of following sports with almost zero footprint outside Australia. Whatever, the Football-haters repeated intrusion into discussions on this tab is so irritating it draws an amusing mix of abuse, scorn and threats. The responses to Adam’s hostile, ill-informed comments under this article are a good example.
c
Roar Rookie
adam a rugby league guru just view his articles as fuss would say why do they come here?
elvis
Roar Rookie
I read about most of the sports on here, even the esports. Soccer "fans" are by far the most graceless with the biggest chips on their shoulders. Their carry on makes reading soccer threads painful, every conversation turns into a war. I'm not a fan of moderation, but if ever there was a case for it, it's right here.
Adam Bagnall
Roar Guru
I think it was more that the CCM couldn't cough up the funds to keep him, they had no sponsors willing to get on board, which isn't a good look for the competition.
Adam Bagnall
Roar Guru
People get behind the socceroos every World Cup, and thats about it. The Kangaroos play more regularly than the Socceroos, but unfortunately the international rugby league scene isn't as strong as it should be. It's kind of hard to get excited for Socceroos vs Kuwait, I mean who really cares? The big games are the World Cup, which we have become terrible at ever since moving to the Asian Federation. Take us back to Oceania where we hammer NZ, but then must beat the 5th-placed South American team to qualify and actually earn a spot. No coincidence our WC failings have lined up with a pretty poor qualifying regime against smaller countries
Adam Bagnall
Roar Guru
Yorke was at his peak at United, but fell away badly after that, even during his time at Blackburn he was hit and miss. He was brought to the A League for his profile more so than his ability, why are A League fans so precious? The competition is never going to attract any player in the prime of their career, like a big name player, that Kylian Mbappe who killed it at the World Cup is never going to play A League while he is in his prime. If you were to rank the top 20 leagues in the world, the A League wouldn't get a look in, yet fans are so defensive and precious about it if you dare mock it or have a different opinion to them
Adam Bagnall
Roar Guru
Sorry no time for that, too busy playing Tonga, creating an awesome atmosphere at a sold out Mt Smart Stadium in NZ. How about socceroos vs the might of Kuwait, must have been a thrilling contest
Virgil Starkwell
Guest
Hardly a compelling analogy. Cox is very tall & still learning, but he’s no permanent fixture. Good luck to him. Folau is good at both Rugby codes. They’re not that dissimilar. No great surprise there. If you’re trying to make the point that Folau was a success at Aussie Rules, you’re sadly mistaken.