QUEENSLAND Roar need a better strike option. We need a player with flair and an eye for goal. Someone who has held his own in some of Europe’s toughest leagues.

A talisman that can inspire his teammates and lead from the front. It may come as a shock to some supporters that we already have such a man at Queensland Roar. His name is Frank Farina.

Imagine the scene, if you will. Queensland Roar is playing out what seems likely to be a nil-nil draw at Suncorp Stadium. There are 10 minutes left in an uninspiring game and the supporters are growing restless at the continued ineptitude in front of goal.

A visibly frustrated Frank Farina exclaims: “Bugger this!” and, in a transformation worthy of Clark Kent, he removes his jacket and rips apart his shirt to reveal a full Queensland Roar kit. He runs over to the fourth official and informs him that he is subbing himself into the game. The crowd goes absolutely bananas.

He would be a game breaker too. It is not too difficult to picture the wily, old fox nutmegging a defender, faking once and then firing home a winning goal. Such a phenomenon would be truly worthy of the hero worship that would surely follow.

A public holiday would be declared in Farina’s honour. Graven images would be cast on an industrial scale. And unusually high numbers of children of both sexes would be named Frank.

Now, before you ring the authorities and plead for me to be straitjacketed, thrown in a padded cell and injected with Thorazine, let me assert that I am not crazy.

Sure, Frank may never recover his full match fitness but he could be used in a purely impact role. His aging body and general common sense may be against him but if anyone can pull it off, our Frank could.

Farina was one of Australia’s all-time greatest strikers. He carved them up in Belgium when he played for Club Brugge - his return of 43 goals from 75 matches for ‘The Farmers’ is certainly impressive.

He was also the first Australian to play in Italy’s Serie A. His personal honours include awards such as the Oceania Player of the Year, NSL Player of the Year and the Best Foreign Player in Belgium.

He has proved that he can score at Suncorp Stadium too – a necessity for any potential Roar striker. He netted the first goal for the Brisbane Strikers at the old Lang Park on a sunny Grand Final afternoon in 1997.

Frank is the big game player we have all been waiting for, the sort of man that could lead Queensland Roar to an A-League title.

I know a few of you will still be unconvinced. Perhaps your memories of Farina’s goal scoring prowess have faded or you may be too young to know about his tireless efforts for club and country.

Unfortunately, Farina’s heroics predate the advent of YouTube - although there is an all too brief and all too grainy posting of his athletic bicycle kick against Canada in 1993.

So what do you reckon? Do you think Farina could be the right man for the Roar forward line? Would you name your child Frank? Or, am I in need of serious psychiatric help? Let me know.

As I final note, I would like to wish Craig Moore all the best in his recovery after undergoing surgery for testicular cancer. I’m sure I speak for all the fans when I say that you are in our thoughts mate.