A fellow Gold Coast United supporter mentioned this week no matter what we do or how we do it everyone just hates us, and he is now at the point of just embracing it.
Cynical - yes, accurate - probably.
It seemed to be clearer to me as the week wore on. Maybe it was a month without a home game or the late finishes from work, but my restless mind kept rolling his idea over. When teams defend well and hold consecutive clean sheets they are celebrated for their organisation, when it is Gold Coast, they are just labelled boring. If the team goes out and attacks with flair like they did to Phoenix and recently Fury and win, this does not appease you - rather their opponents were "off their game".
From media articles declaring "axe GCU to save the Fury" to Kevin Airs comparing our crowds to seagulls (To be fair, it was actually quite a LARGE flock of seagulls, so it was a completely unrealistic comparison - KA), it is a prevalent theme. Maybe it is time to embrace the hate.
If this is Gold Coast boring then so be it. We draw, we win, and we rarely lose. I can see from a competitor's point of view. it may be boring watching your team struggle to get on goal, only to not score for the game then try and stop the quick counter but that is your problem and more pointedly your coach's problem.
Tell me your team was off its game when we beat you. I may not listen and instead look at your form. Even though Fury started brightly it seems to have blinded a few to the fact that the team has lost six games this season and only beaten Sydney and Perth at their most vulnerable. Equally the same for the Kiwis who cannot travel other than to keep Perth's pain going.
Perth have shed 9000 spectators since the season started. I wonder how many of those 9000 were outraged at GCU fans that stopped going to games in protest. Same for the missing fans at Melbourne, Sydney and most teams showing a decline.
As for the media's death knell for United, perhaps you could use your power to engage the public and drive support and awareness on the Gold/Tweed coast. Or if you are really hell bent on axing us for Fury then perhaps you could pool all your cash together and buy Fury, thus forcing FFA's hand?
In the end it won't matter, we are and will be hated. This probably stems from our owner or Miron's strange media sound bites. In fact I dare say if we had our own mini Tinkler revolution and started getting 9000 crowds that it would not make most of you happy.
Notably Clive Palmer has kept away from the media more this season which is probably smart, especially if he does sell the club on as mooted before this season started, then the less controversy the better. Meanwhile Miron's move from the field to the boardroom was delayed after finishing third last season, but if he does win a trophy could we see him step aside a fulfilled man?
Finally the Gold Coast is about to emerge from the live football wilderness which will see us play five home games in seven fixtures including 1 trip 45mins up to Brisbane, ideally this is time for FFA and GCU to 'engage' the community and increase the crowds.
But if the club sold and a new coach came in and the crowds were respectable, what would you hate then?
