To start my blogging career I am going to ask a question - has any club, in the history of the A-League, undertaken such a metamorphosis as the NQ Fury as it enters its second season?
At a guess, the popular answer would be no. Some of our friends from across the Tasman might argue for the horror show that was the New Zealand Knights but I doubt Phoenix fans want their team tarnished with that awful, mind-numbing brush - and one can't really blame them!
North Queensland Fury v2.0 bears little resemblance to its much-maligned predecessor, besides its weirdly endearing name and lime-and-dark-green playing tops. Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing is down to your opinion, and I'm not really keen to fill more of cyberspace's unlimited column inches about the legal and moral rights and wrongs of what happened in the off-season. Suffice to say mistakes were made with NQ Fury v1.0.
Don't get me wrong, I am a huge NQ Fury fan. Last season was a mostly enjoyable rollercoaster ride of emotions for a club in its infancy; I am a North Queensland boy and straight away Fury found their way to my heart. I was one of the few Fury fans in Sydney for our first ever away win, and few feelings will beat the one I had when Robbie Fowler ripped in that goal from 30 yards out to give us the 1-0 victory over the eventual Premiers and Champions. The only home game I missed was due to a Christmas holiday in Victoria, and I sat glued to the radio as we overcame Melbourne Victory.
This season is looming as an exciting prospect. Our playing roster has changed enormously and while some players of debateable quality have departed, we also lost a lot of players who could've formed the heart and soul of Fury for years to come. The most obvious is Robbie Fowler; for mine, he did his job as our marquee and lifted our profile enormously. Would we have landed a manager with the credentials of Frantisek Straka without Robbie's influence? Methinks probably not. But outside the Fowler Factor we also lost some very good players, such as Shane Stefanutto (a local boy, couldn't wait longer for the administration dramas to sort themselves out) and Matt Smith (plucked from the obscurity of the QSL and arguably our best player in the second half of the season). Our loss is definitely Brisbane Roar's gain on these two players. Special mentions to James Robinson
Fortunately our disappointment is tempered by some of the arrivals. The biggest is Straka himself. Last season we had Ian Ferguson, a coaching rookie who did a reasonable job but seemingly couldn't effectively suppress the rumblings that his player management wasn't his greatest strength. Now we have a man who coached a Czech Republic side who were ranked 15th in the world at the time, a man with an extensive playing and coaching career at a good level in Europe and with the expertise necessary to guide our team to the next level. We've also brought in the likes of the man mountain Eric Akoto, the highly-rated Mark Hughes and Andre Kilian, and a slew of young players itching to prove themselves at the highest level, such as reigning Youth League Player of the Season, Panny Nikas. Add to the mix crowd favourites (and a seriously talented duo) from last season in David Williams and Dyron Daal, plus the quietly dependable Justin Pasfield and Ufuk Talay, and we have the makings of a team that can make a finals push.
So, what else does Fury need to do? On the pitch it's obvious - a talented creative midfielder who can break open defences, and maybe a striker who can rack up 15 goals plus (although I trust Williams and Daal to fill Fowler's shoes well in this regard). Off the pitch, a bit more community engagement would certainly not go amiss although this is being partially rectified as many of the pre-season games are being played at Brolga Park, the hub of junior football in Townsville, in an attempt to bring more young fans and their families closer to the team. Fury players are popular additions to many local events. With this said more undoubtedly needs to be done to promote the club in other areas of NQ (such as Cairns and Mackay), and another signing or two from our local QSL clubs to bolster our playing roster would really show young footballers in the region that there is a definite pathway to professional football up here, in an area that is saturated by rugby league.
What can we expect in Season 6 from North Queensland Fury v2.0? Hopefully some good results, some good football, and a real push towards fully establishing the club in the hearts of people in NQ. And an early win over Perth Glory would be nice too!
