JOHNNY Rotten once famously asked his audience “Ever feel like you’ve been cheated?” Mariners fans could be forgiven for asking themselves the same question last week, in more ways than one.
Despite the team's gutsy performance against Kawasaki we ended up with nothing to show for it, although for much of the match I felt proud to be a Mariners' supporter. To come back and face the team that had crushed them two weeks ago and keep them at bay for so long showed incredible fortitude. To let all that good work slip once again in poor defending of set pieces was heartbreaking.
Still, it was great to see Kwassie back and firing up, not to mention fantastic performances from Clark and Simon. If they can perform this well after all they've been through it speaks volumes for the tenacity and dedication of Lawrie McKinna. No-one will ever convince me he's not the right man for the job.
It's been a pretty tough year for the Mariners: fans and commentators alike have criticised their tactics, coaching and player recruitment (or lack thereof). With the club now promising new recruits from Europe, next season was supposed be a fresh start for the Mariners and a chance to get things back on track.
So how come The Mariners Season Five draw looks so incredibly disappointing ? The FFA promised fans "more teams and more games" in Season Five, but Mariners fans only get eleven home games while every other team has 13 or 14. Yes, that's right - the same number as last season. The Mariners have apparently chosen to play two of their 'home' games elsewhere, Canberra being the most likely suggestion.
No big deal, you might say, except for the fact that this leaves us with two yawning gaps of three and four rounds each without a home game, both in the first half of the season. Let me simplify this : between August and the end of November (that's fifteen rounds) we have only FOUR home games. This is insanity !
How can a team possibly hope to gain any momentum of fan support with such irregular home fixtures ? Even if the Mariners win every match 4-0, I'll bet you my limited edition Bobby Moore t-shirt that crowd numbers will drop significantly during these gaps.
Can you imagine the outcry if Sydney had only four home games in the first fifteen rounds? Fox Sports FC would dedicate at least twenty minutes to discussing it. But hey, this is The Mariners : only a few "lunatics" like me seem to be bothered.
Of course, Ben Buckley said the FFA had "bent over backwards for all the clubs", but it appears some teams are more equal than others. Sydney and Melbourne have been gifted the most advantageous draws possible : 14 home games, no more than two rounds away, plenty of Sunday fixtures for Sydney to draw in the apathetic city slickers.
But let's not blame the FFA : in the absence of any public objections by the club, I can only presume they are happy with the draw. Lyall Gorman stated that the two "home" matches we are losing are because of the necessity for pitch maintenance at Bluetongue. Now we all know that the pitch looked terrible at times last season and no-one would like to see players put at risk, but how come other clubs don't have this issue ?
And why do we have four home matches in a row in rounds 18-22, over a mere four weeks? How come this isn't a problem for the pitch ?
At the risk of sounding paranoid, is there something else going on here we should know about ? There have been hints in the past that the Mariners are considering spreading their wings and seeking to widen their fan base outside of the Coast. Fair enough - but let the club be upfront about it.
Like many Mariners' supporters, I am handcuffed to the team and will follow them come what may, but not everyone is so fanatical. Sure we can watch these matches on TV, but there's no substitute for the smell of the Dencorub and the roar of the crowd. In the words of the old advertising slogan "it's hard to have a gaytime on your own".
Adrian Caceres was also cheated this week, when he failed to win Cleo Bachelor of the Year. Superiority is its own reward, Adrian.
