G'DAY Clive - First up, thanks for choosing to support the new Gold Coast A-League team.
I know it's already been a great source of joy for you and your family, and I hope it continues to bring you pleasure and reward for many years to come.
Who am I? Well, I am a big Gold Coast United fan, and someone who is blessedly free to speak his mind. I have kept a respectful distance to date, but I think it's about time we had a little chat.
I began writing blogs for au.FourFourTwo.com while Miron Bleiberg was still putting the team together. I was there in the press room when you predicted an undefeated season (and I was "on board" enough not to worry when it didn't happen). I was there to shake hands with both Jason Culina and Joel Porter when they first arrived for training at The Southport School. I have been sitting beside you in the cold, wind, and wet, watching countless trial matches and Youth League games. My beat up old van is covered in Gold Coast United stickers, including one that proudly says "MEMBER". 'Nuff said!
Of course, I was not even a fly on the wall when you had that first, seminal meeting with Miron, so I have no idea what motivated you to buy the club. I presume, however, that it was more than just boredom and the promise of a money-making ego trip. I suspect that it was the promise of an exciting adventure in all new terrain, a chance to recapture the adrenaline rush of your sporting youth.
If so, you have chosen wisely. Football truly is the world's most beautiful game, and the global footballing community has plenty of room for everyone, even a big guy like you.
To date, Miron has been an excellent guide and teacher for you. He has not only assembled a fantastic squad within the salary cap, he's also patiently explained the finer points of the game, including back-room politics involving other clubs and the FFA. I can see that you two have forged a close friendship - you even drive the same black Mercedes! - but I sincerely hope that his voice is not the only one you are listening to these days.
Let's be honest - that performance against Wellington on Sunday was a disgrace. The whole team played without commitment, and poor Scotty Higgins had to wear the result. Even Jason Culina played like rubbish. What can we do about it? Me, I cannot do anything. But you, Clive, you can do a whole lot.
Tell me something, what has been the single best moment of the season so far for you? For me, without a doubt, it was when Jason Culina ran across to the visiting Melbourne fans at Skilled Park, proudly kissing the badge on his shirt. Now that's a gesture you seldom see in Australia's new professional league - pride in the shirt. And for a brand new club, it was doubly significant.
Culina has put his name on the line for that badge. He has risked his professional reputation, his World Cup position, and a lifetime's endeavour, in order to give something meaningful back to Australian football. The critics, including Pim Verbeek, have cynically labeled it a fool's errand. Are you going to let them prove him wrong?
Given how much money Culina has sacrificed to come home, I am astonished that all his efforts could be undone by petty penny-pinching. Because that's what's going on, isn't it?
Our players flew off to Wellington on commercial flights, stunned by the realisation that you are seriously planning to limit our home game next week to 5,000 spectators, and push all the fans over to one side of the pitch. Sure, it could save you $100,000 in match-day costs, but believe me, it will cost you much more than that in the long term. Gold Coast United, who just last week reclaimed top position on the ladder, will become the laughing stock of the football world.
In fact, you won't even get 5,000 people at the game. Members just won't show up. But you will still have to keep their seats available in case they do. So I think you might be lucky to break 3,000. And I don't think you'll ever see Jason Culina kiss that badge again.
Now listen. I am not the only club member who is thoroughly pissed off at the thought of being shifted to the Western Stand. There are many other passionate fans who will not only refuse to attend next week's game, but who will give up entirely on Gold Coast United if you go ahead with this.
I have said before that I don't care if it's just you, me and two dogs at Skilled Park watching home matches. But when it starts affecting the players, as it obviously is now, that's where I draw the line. Enough is enough.
You have helped put together a brilliant team and a potentially legendary club. Now you need to start spending some real money on attracting fans. Put up billboards on the motorway at Robina. Commission some cool adverts for prime-time TV. Bring in some decent pre-game and half-time attractions. Move the Youth League games to Skilled Park and promote them as free pre-game entertainment. Shoot $5,000 worth of fireworks into the air every time we win a home game. Whatever it takes.
And if it's not too much of a burden for your ego, admit that you were wrong and drop the cost of tickets! Hell, give away 10,000 free tickets next weekend just to see what happens! I bet you we'll win, and I bet you'll enjoy the game more than any other!
Obviously, football is not like real estate or mining. While the world goes to hell in a handbasket, the football field is a place where human grandeur can be still experienced on a weekly basis. And isn't that the whole point, Clive? Isn't that why you got involved in the first place?
Footballing accolades are not necessarily limited to the players, but the players must always be first and foremost. If you want some inspiration, look at people like Barcelona's founding father, Hans Gamper. You see, the game doesn't belong to you, Clive, it belongs to the masses. And the Gold Coast United club doesn't belong to you either, even though your name is on the papers. It belongs to me, and all the other fans, perhaps for generations to come.
So treat it with all due care, diligence and respect, or else just give up and walk away. I'm serious. If you are not going to treat the fans and the players with respect, I'd rather go back to having just one club in southeast Queensland.
The ball is at your feet, Clive. Think carefully before you give away possession. Your whole team will have to run long and hard to win it back again.
