Rah, Rah, Rasputin!!?

Before I finally quit this blog, a few things are worth saying. Let's start with the positive stuff.

Firstly, despite a disappointing end to the season, it's been fun having a local A-League club to support. I wish all you fans in Tassie, the Gong, Canberra, and elsewhere all the best in bringing the show to your home towns.

Secondly, well done to the players for finishing third. You should all be proud of yourselves under the circumstances. I hope we can see some stability over the off season. I still think we have the best squad in Australia, and I'm confident we can win the double next year without too many changes on the park. It's the backroom issues that concern me.

Thirdly, say what you like about the GCU, at least we haven't been boring. We've brought a new level of flair and excitement to the A-league, and boy, wasn't it needed! So now bring on Rovers and Heart, bring on more Socceroos marquees, and bring on a more attacking, fluid, exciting style of football in Australia.

Finally, bravo The Beach!!! Stung by early ridicule, the Beach boys (and girls) went out of their way to bring in more members, creating a vibrant match day experience for fans and players alike. The results speak for themselves. When a local Titans fan who grew up in Liverpool with Robbie Fowler's family praises the atmosphere you're creating, then you know you're making magic!

And now to a few not-so-positive matters also worth discussing...

First of all, who was the idiot who decided to dump Paul Okon? Paul is a living legend of the Australian game, and like Craig Moore, he deserves a bit more respect than his A-League club has provided. 

Apparently, if Unted had won the league, Miron would have gone upstairs and Okon would have been taking over. So was that deal set in stone? Nobody is saying (and I've talked to a few people since it happened). It's Howard and Costello all over again.

Personally, even without having any idea how good a coach Okon might be, I'd sooner have him in charge next season than Miron. And that's even after I called for Miron to win the Best Coach award this year. At the very least, they should have kept Paul as an assistant. Here's my reasoning...

Clive Palmer is a self-confessed football novice. He's in the game for entertainment, and he needs someone to hold his hand. Miron does a brilliant job of it. Seriously, if you've ever sat behind the two of them and eavesdropped on their conversations, then you'd know what I am talking about. Miron is the Rasputin to Clive's Tsar Nicholas II.

Of course, Miron did a brilliant job of recruiting the A-League's best squad, but his performance as a coach this season is open to debate. Don't get me wrong, I love his attacking style and even his cheesy interviews. But he has let the team down when it comes to keeping them focussed, and protecting them from off-field distrations.

If Miron were instead taking a Director role, and leaving Okon to coach the squad, it could have been a perfect balance. Alas, it's not to be. And that makes me very worried about our chances next season.

Okon is a player's kind of coach. In business, you get some managers who are very popular with their staff but never seem to get a promotion. Others who are totally despised by their staff seem to slide up the ladder without blinking. This is the way of the modern world. The boss man is the only one you need to please, right?

But in football, as the Crowd Cap proved, you need to keep the players happy too. Last year everybody in the A-League was desperate for a Gold Coast contract. But if this is the direction the club is moving in, who's going to want to come to Skilled Park next season, and the season after? And don't even get me started talking about the crowds!!!

Meanwhile, from all I've heard, Clive Palmer is still considering reinstating the Crowd Cap. If he does that, the club is dead. Seriously. You don't build a bigger fan base by disrespecting the fan base you have. And once you lose fans, you don't get them back. Not without a new owner anyway.

Few people up here knew who Clive Palmer was when this season began, but now many locals are starting to think he's just a rich cheapskate. People are struggling to understand why he hasn't spent more of his money on promoting this club. I don't have the answers.

I can understand that any new club has a lot of priorities to juggle, particularly in the pre-season. And with the available staff, it clearly wasn't possible to do everything at once, which is why GCU didn't have a women's team this season. The early focus was on the senior squad, and deservedly so.

That probably explains why we didn't engage more with local clubs. There's a level of political complexity involved when you step in at the top of the local football heirarchy (as Sydney fans would know), and engaging in anything more than some routine trial games probably seemed too difficult at the time. With hindsight, perhaps the engagement should have started earlier, with more staff brought in to handle it.

Now the club has an opportunity to show that they really have learned a few lessons. The local leagues are just beginning again, thousands of kids are running out onto the parks, and we've got a good few months to work with. There's a lot of work to be done!

I suggest that every junior on the Gold Coast who registers to play should get a GCU goodies bag including at least a free three-game pass, if not free entry to all Gold Coast United games next season. I'd also like to see Gold Coast United funding part-time Junior Directors at all local clubs, and sending coaching staff (hello Giggles and Fitzy) for guest training sessions.

The club also needs to repair bridges with the FFA. And I think the only solution there is for Clive Palmer to sit down with Frank Lowy and hammer out their differences. Next season, let's leave the backroom stuff out of the media, and let the players concentrate on their game. OK, Clive?

Lastly, in case you didn't know it, our Youth League team are playing the AIS at 4pm on Saturday, with only one further round before the finals. We've got some brilliant youngsters coming through the ranks, and I hope a few extra fans come along to support them. It's a great spectacle, and there are absolutely NO media dramas!

Rock on...