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Brisbane Roar’s terse 25-word statement on Corey Brown may have generated more questions than answers, but there’s no denying it puts both the club and the player in a difficult position.
I’m not going to pass comment on an ongoing legal situation.
Both Brisbane Roar and the Professional Footballers Australia association have released statements in the wake of Brown’s apparent termination, with the long-serving defender now set to take an appeal to Football Australia’s National Dispute Resolution Chamber.
Overnight, veteran News Corp journalist Marco Monteverde published a piece in which he quoted Australian Professional Leagues chief executive Danny Townsend as saying there was no danger of Brisbane Roar owners the Bakrie Group having their licence revoked.
There was also, if you connect the dots, another interesting legal revelation which helps explain who is currently running the club on a day-to-day basis.
And while I’m sure some folks would prefer me to tear strips off Brisbane Roar, or Corey Brown, or the PFA – or whoever’s side you’re on in the club’s latest messy battle – there are a few important reasons I won’t.
Aside from the fact it’s an ongoing legal matter, the simple truth is that I have a relationship with both Brisbane Roar and the PFA – and I gain nothing by jeopardising either.
One of the reasons there’s not a whole lot of investigative journalism into the A-Leagues is because very few media outlets can afford to pay for it.
And even if they could, the same fans who demand you burn bridges for the sake of a story are almost always the same ones who proudly state they would never pay to consume any media content anyway.
No one likes it when I write things like that, but it’s the truth – and I’m fortunate to be in a position where I can acknowledge it.
What I will say about the latest Brisbane Roar saga is that it makes selling tickets for the new campaign that much more difficult.
Corey Brown of Brisbane Roar looks to pass the ball. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
The club has long been on the nose with local supporters, even if they’ve taken steps to try and win some back.
The move to Redcliffe was supposed to provide a more intimate viewing experience – and I can state unequivocally that Moreton Daily Stadium offers a much better football experience than the cavernous Suncorp Stadium – but the sheer distance between the two venues has seen many fans sour on the move.
Add to that the loss of players like Alex Parsons to rival clubs and it’s hard to deny that Brisbane Roar have an unhappy fan base on their hands.
Yet the repeated calls for the Bakrie Group to step down as owners fail to acknowledge one simple thing – at last count they had tipped around $30 million into the club.
No doubt Roar fans would prefer some more hands-on locals to own the club, it’s just very hard to see where a local with tens of millions of dollars to spare might ride in from.
That’s not to imply that Roar fans should be happy with the current situation, nor that they don’t have a right to voice their disapproval.
It’s just hard to see anything changing in the foreseeable future, particularly when the APL has already claimed the Bakries have done nothing to breach their licensing agreement.
So, we await the outcome of yet another legal stoush, while the Roar prepare for an Australia Cup quarter-final showdown with Adelaide United.
And if you’re anything like me, you cling to the hope that the city of Brisbane continues to have a financially stable, reasonably supported top-flight football club to watch this season.
The Corey Brown saga won’t exactly convince any fans to renew their season tickets – and we should remember a player’s livelihood is at stake here – but we need to let the legal process take its course.
But for now, and not for the first time, Brisbane Roar fans could be forgiven for feeling an ominous sense of frustration heading into a new campaign.