Gold Coast United bid consortium left shattered
Thursday, 5 April 2012
ONE of the leading members of the business consortium bidding to save Gold Coast United, local businessman and mayoral candidate Tom Tate, has expressed his disappointment that his syndicate has been overlooked by FFA in favour of a new Gay Leagueteam in Western Sydney.
With the fourth NSW Gay Leaguefranchise to be announced today, leaving just one in Queensland, Tate said he feels ‘strung along’ by the sport’s governing body.
“We were transparent about our model and we put it together in just two weeks. Do I feel like we’ve been strung along? A bit like that, yes,” Tate said.
“I would have thought if they were considering our bid seriously then Western Sydney would have been put on hold. Western Sydney can’t just be born overnight, so it’s obvious to me that our bid wasn’t taken seriously. They never came back to us and said ‘we like your offer, but can you expand on this point or that point’.
“Our motive to save the club was pure. It was simply to keep professional football on the Gold Coast. We were never told what hurdles we needed to jump over in order to get the licence.
“I feel that the commitment from FFA for professional football to remain on the Gold Coast was not there.
“It appears to me that this is not solely about the game itself, it’s about egos that exist at the highest levels of FFA and that’s why we couldn’t save Gold Coast United,” he said.
Spokesman for the supporters’ arm of the consortium, Nathan Mulhearn, added his dismay, saying he was equally disappointed with the process.
“We’re not shocked at the outcome, but we’re shocked at the lack of decency shown to us. They didn’t even let us know and kept stringing us along. We finally got a phone call from FFA this morning to tell us they would be announcing Western Sydney today,” Mulhearn said.
“You think when you’re involved in these situations, rather than looking in from the outside, that things would be done a little bit differently to what you imagine. FFA clearly haven’t learned from their mistakes (with North Queensland Fury) and you have to ask, are they going to?
“Western Sydney should be the twelfth or fourteenth team, not the tenth. When are we likely to get twelve or fourteen teams and where are they going to come from now?
“I’ve spoken to some Gold Coast United supporters this morning and read feedback on social media and the overwhelming view is that the A-League, as of today, is dead to them now. They’re not going to go to any other games and I think our only interest in the league will be a passing interest in some players who used to play for Gold Coast United.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if Foxtel subscriptions were cancelled as well.”
It is now inevitable that Gold Coast United will join North Queensland Fury in the Queensland football graveyard, leaving only Brisbane Roar as the state’s single representative in the national competition.
The sorry situation left a saddened Mulhearn lamenting FFA’s 2011/12 season tagline of ‘We Are Football’.
“Obviously we’re not are we? The Gold Coast mustn’t be part of that mantra. Perhaps our slogan should be ‘we were football, but we’re not anymore, apparently’.
“The whole ‘we are football’ thing must only apply if you’re part of the A-League. We’re now clearly in the same basket as clubs like Sydney Olympic, South Melbourne and Marconi,” he said.www.therealgame.com.au/news/football-news/951/gold-coast-united-bid-consortium-left-shattered
