Private Ownership - Australian Soccer

[RugbyReg]

Gold Coast United football players have been stunned by reports the team's backer, billionaire Clive Palmer, is about to cut the club adrift.
A Sydney newspaper has reported Gold Coast mining magnate Clive Palmer has decided to stop funding of the club this month.

That would sound the death bells for the club after only one season in the A-League.

Goalkeeper Scott Higgins said he had woken to hundreds of text messages asking about the reported demise of the club.

"I don't know if there is any truth in it," Higgins said.

Higgins said Mr Palmer had been with the players a month ago when the youth team won the national competition in Melbourne.

"He was putting in plans for the future of Gold Coast United and was getting ideas off players," Higgins said.

"Hopefully, fingers crossed, it will be all Okay."

A spokesman for United's supporters group The Beach, Nathan Mulhearn, said he was surprised at the reports.

"I haven't heard anything," Mulhearn said. "I would be shocked if Clive Palmer walked away."

"He flew all the players and their wives down to Melbourne for the youth team match."

"I was down there for the game. Everything seemed okay."

The Sydney report claimed Palmer, who has been at odds with Football Federation Australia since GCU was launched, had confirmed he will stop funding the club next week.

FFA is considered unlikely to step in to try to salvage the situation and it is expected the A-League will remain a 10-team competition next season, with newcomers Melbourne Heart replacing Gold Coast.

Gold Coast's crowds were the lowest in the A-League with an average of 5392.

Media reports suggest the FFA is likely to allow the club in its current form to fold and concentrate on building a new broad-based ownership structure for a possible re-entry into the league in 2011-12, when Sydney Rovers are scheduled to join the competition.

Gold Coast had one of the most talented playing squads in the competition, headlined by Socceroos star Jason Culina and golden boot winner Shane Smeltz.

Many of the players are on multi-year contracts.

worrying stuff on the Gold Coast. I heard Terry Jackman, a powerful businesman who headed the Gold Coast S15 team bid, say the other day that he was actually relieved they didn't get it (as if they had a chance) as he reckons its too hard to raise the funds on the coast.

That private ownership mdoel is very scary for the above reason alone.

In saying that, the QRU should be all over Palmer - if just for sponsorship.

 

[RugbyFuture]

I think the major problem the a league has is that they are still building in terms of people willing to support. They don't have that much of a fan base and theres still people loyal to the NSL so it keeps the soccer people away. Also i think that the administrators have had some demands (take note JON) which he couldn't take, i think it could be extremely viable for rugby in australia however. especially with the established teams.

 

[RugbyReg]

yeah, I can't believe they expanded as quickly as they did. No surprise that their two newest teams (NQ and GC) are struggling.

 

[Pfitzy]

I was just on the Gold Coast for a week. The paper today had 6 frigging pages about the fucking Titans, a few more on league, and a total of one page on rugby. They're taking the piss!

 

[waratahjesus]

there was an article a while ago on the gold coast and how its being used in the tv bidding wars between the NRL and AFL, it basically suggested that the AFL wanted two new teams to boost tv rights when they renegotiate there contract in a couple of years and as with the new super 15 the main problem was local derbys rate much higher than teams from other states. So they put western sydney and the gold coast on the map to create those teams,

then the NRL decided to admit the Titans even though they had said that no new teams would be involved and they did it as a reaction to basically get a heads up on aussie rules. This is dispite three clubs in the region already going broke for them over the years.

basically is suggested that the figures and sustainable growth for a sporting team in the area is nil to nothing and that anyone backing a team would soon go bankrupt. seems soccer is just ahead of the curve.

 

[RugbyFuture]

theres even an articl ein the daily telegraph about how the titans are basically bankrupt

 

[chief]

I think the Gold Coast AFL Team will fail. The Karmichael Hunt signing will attract a few decent crowds, after that, I think they will struggle to get 15,000 crowds. Reports in Sunday mail today saying it's all false about Palmer.

But I agree, it was a mistake having included NQ and Gold Coast with A-League Clubs, they will fold within the next few years. Melbourne seem to be the only team actually getting decent crowds and support.

 

[Scotty]

I was just on the Gold Coast for a week. The paper today had 6 frigging pages about the fucking Titans, a few more on league, and a total of one page on rugby. They're taking the piss!

That is what we cop with the Courier Mail and the Broncos.

Not that I've read that particular paper for a while.

 

[waratahjesus]

the A-league model for me just seems strange all round. The initial 8 teams were all selected based around large regional centres and basically to attract the TV money required to run the competition. they held off on expansion for a few years but now it seems to be happening faster and faster and without the quality of players or backing that was there initially. If rugby league and union clubs in the top levels of there competitions run mostly at losses year in year out i just dont see how most of these areas can sustain a soccer/football team for any length of time unless they have backers willing to lose money.