IT'S NICE to know that Fury boss Don Matheson reads my blogs.
How else would he know that Miron Bleiberg thinks Robbie Fowler doesn't "look like an athlete"? Miron made the remark to me when the new Gold Coast United strips were unveiled on the beach at Surfers, and the only place it was reported was here.
You'll notice I didn't run Miron's observation as my headline, even though I knew it would get hits. It was just an off-hand comment, and it's hard to disagree with it, so I didn't think it deserved too much prominence.
By the way, what Miron actually said is that Fowler doesn't look like a "footballer". He could certainly be an "athlete". Maybe a rugby player?
Anyway, kudos to big Don for not just reading football blogs but also engaging them. I've been lucky to enjoy some contact with Gold Coast United club officials, and I know the Fury bloggers have had similar chances to engage with Don's team. I wish all A-League clubs would see the value in such relationships.
Similarly, I wish all the A-League clubs would take a leaf out of Gold Coast United's book and learn a thing or two about making the media work for them. You don't have to behave like Miron and Clive to get a story on the back page, but you can't just run closed training sessions twice a week and expect to keep your fans engaged.
Sure, media coverage is a two-sided coin, as rugby players know all too well. Con's Jets learned that lesson last season too. But a few other A-League clubs could certainly be doing more to make the most of their media opportunities.
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Which brings us to Rupert Murdoch.
Roy Masters today reminds us that Murdoch's News Ltd owns half the NRL. Now, given the near-monopoly on news dissemination that Murdoch enjoys in this country, it's no wonder "Soccer" has a hard time competing for the public's attention.
But after yet another thugby media black eye from a top Melbourne Storm player, News Ltd is ready to quit the NRL. Murdoch wants the ARL to quit the sport too, and have an independent commission run the game. Ironically (for real football fans who remember the Cahill incident) News Ltd's negotiating position "has been undermined by accusations it is 'trashing the brand' with stories about the misbehaviour of NRL players."
If Murdoch really did quit the NRL, rather than just rearrange the deckchairs (as seems to be the intention here), the sport would collapse as a professional enterprise. Clubs like The Storm and The Broncos, who are also owned by News Ltd, would disappear. So would the massive salaries that thugby players currently enjoy.
So I think it's time Frank Lowy picked up the phone and had a chat with Rupert. I would hate to get into a situation where Murdoch owned half the A-League, but there's obviously a win-win situation beckoning here. If Murdoch's outlets dropped the NRL and started promoting a clearly better product, then viewers, readers, sponsors and money would follow.
Suddenly, getting another four quality teams into the A-League would not be a struggle. We could increase the salary cap and bring even more top-class players to our shores, thereby making the beautiful domestic game even more appealing. As long as we can get real football back onto Free-To-Air TV, of course!
The alternative is to grab some popcorn, sit back and watch as both the NRL and News Ltd disintegrate in a frenzy of public self-abuse. Personally, I prefer to look away. It's not a very pretty sight.
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Finally, a word on crowd numbers last weekend. I suspect Ticketek had a lot to do with it. When Round One tickets went on sale, it took me half a dozen attempts over two days just to get through to the Ticketek phone number. A mate had to buy a ticket at the Suncorp gates because he couldn't get through all Saturday morning.
Of course, Ticketek is trying to steer customers away from the expensive person-to-person phone calls and get them to use their crap website instead. That's OK as long as you don't mind sitting wherever the computer puts you. Trying to find decent seats online is a fool's errand.
What's going on, guys? Is this just one more example of how monopolies never benefit the Australian public's interest?
