Like so many others who frequent FourFourTwo on a daily basis, I read the confirmation that North Queensland Fury have been axed from the A-League for season 2011-12. I will admit that it brought a little tear to my eye.
Other bloggers have dedicated their blogs over the past few months to the more joyous things an A-League club can offer their fans. For some it was justifiably looking forward to the finals and further glory (Brisbane), for others the knowledge that surely next season could be no worse than this one (Perth and Sydney), and even a look ahead into Asia (Melbourne and Sydney). For me though, the last six months have seen a recurring theme that has limited exactly how many blogs I wrote.
Nobody wants to read the same thing over and over again. Fury on death's door. Fury's future uncertain. Players leave the sinking SS Fury.
And yet I honestly believed that the club would be okay. Some might call me naïve. I took in the news that the FFA told us to raise $1.5 million to guarantee our future. I watched the calendar nervously as deadline after deadline after deadline not only came and went, but came and went without so much as a murmur from the corridors of power.
Then last week a miracle seemed to occur. The Fury confirmed they had not only reached the $1.5m target, but were also on the verge of securing a significant sponsor worth $2.5m over five years. For once there was light at the end of the tunnel, and some Fury fans dared to dream that the club would survive. We had achieved everything the FFA had asked for - why on Earth would we not have a club next season?
As depressing as our departure from the A-League is, I would like Fury fans and sympathisers alike to remember the good times we brought the league. I am not in the mood to attack anyone for this decision, and enough of that will be happening on fan forums around the country - my criticising anyone will do no good. I do however want to leave you with the memories that the Fury will always retain for me:
The fans
From the F-Troop to the ball boys and everyone in between, the Fury fans have shown themselves to be some of the best in the A-League. Our status as true fans was cemented in October last year when, in driving rain that would have made Moses and his menagerie rather nervous, we stayed on to cheer the boys to a sodden and famous victory. Others might attack us for not getting the crowds we should have, but in a town where the football culture is still in its infancy and rugby league is king, our attendances proved that the game has (had) a future in North Queensland.
Franz Straka
Google got a workout when the club announced the capture of an ex-Czechoslovakia World Cup player as the coach to replace the rather unamusing Ian Ferguson. Franz's legend was perhaps born in the second week of the season, when he whipped the DFS faithful into a frenzy to help the boys over the line to a brilliant victory against Sydney. The passion and enthusiasm he has not only injected into his job, but into football in the region, cannot be underestimated. The fact he was too emotional to front media at the end of the season, with the club hanging on for grim life and seemingly little to play for, only helped to endear him to us.
The players and the football
As cool a marquee signing as Jade North might have been, the arrival of a certain Scouser made NQ Fury the hottest ticket in town in our first season. Although well past his best, Robbie Fowler brought an aura and credibility to the club that money simply can't buy. This season the club focused on developing young talent from around the country, and the careers of the likes of David Williams, Isaka Cernak, Osama Malik, and Chris Payne have now surely been (re)launched, thanks to the opportunity the club provided. When it might have been easier to sign a team full of journeymen professionals who could do a safe job, youth was given a chance and the team played some fantastic football this season.
I urge other football fans to list their good memories of the Fury below - let this blog and its comments be a testimony to the good the Fury brought to the league. There are plenty of other places to point fingers elsewhere.
To NQ Fury FC - thank you for the good memories and the sense of belonging you provided. This club had the potential to be great, if given the chance, and sadly it has been taken away.
FORZA FURY!!
