La Regista: Golden days no more for United, A-League

COMMENT

By Vince Rugari

Gold Coast implodes, ramifications massive for all

If La Regista may paraphrase rugby league writer Steve Mascord, to say Gold Coast United are rooted to the bottom of the A-League ladder is perhaps to use seven words too many. In fact, chairman-cum-public enemy No.1 Clive Palmer may have read that line from Mascord himself last year - after all, it is the mining magnate's view that rugby league is a better sport than football. One year on from the shameful loss of North Queensland, the mining magnate's play-thing looks highly likely to join the professional sporting graveyard on the Gold Coast. But how will it go down? That is the question. Palmer will not give up his license without a fight, or a sweetener. The FFA cannot take it off him unless he has done something to break their agreement. They are at war, plain and simple. Whatever happens will be massive for football in Australia, with the new TV rights deal around the corner and a governing body docked in tempestuous bays. Without United, there is one less match every weekend, one less city tuning into domestic football, and a generation of potential fans in one of the fastest-growing areas of Australia lost to the 'eggball' codes of rugby and Australian Rules football. The worst part is that three years ago, the hope was that with nouveau riche Palmer and his open chequebook, Gold Coast United could have been a powerhouse of not just domestic, but Asian football. As Mehmet Durakovic might say, what can you do? That's football.

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Youth system starting to pay dividends

It appears the National Youth League is beginning to bear fruit, in the form of a fresh army of spritely humanoids programmed to play beautiful football. Just look around the A-League and which players made the difference on the weekend. It kicked off with Gold Coast United's NYL team and their sudden elevation into the top-flight against Melbourne Heart. Most were predicting a massacre, but the likes of Zac Anderson, Jake Barker-Daish and Golgol Mebrahtu kept their cool and left with their heads held high. For Heart, one of their best was left-back Craig Goodwin, who is probably not in absentee Aziz Behich's good books right now after marking his territory in the last few matches. Sydney FC's two goalscorers in their 2-1 win over Adelaide were youngsters Mitch Mallia and Joel Chianese, and the former made it known after the game that together, they had "torn up the youth league" and were ready for the step up. Then there are the Mariners, who have successfully blooded gun pair Mustafa Amini and Bernie Ibini. At one point, youth graduates would stumble their way into the A-League and their nerves would get the better of them. Not anymore. Now, there is a good chance that if a coach looks to the NYL, he will find someone ready to take the next step.

Champions League saga drags on for Adelaide

This is a good one. Just days after Adelaide put an end to their AFC Champions league 'will they, won't they saga', it looks as if it is about to flare up again. A few wily observers in the Twittersphere (La Regista included) noted that Reds full-back Cassio may possibly been potentially suspended for their 3-0 win over Indonesian side Persipura on Thursday. Maybe. Nobody really knows. He was sent off in Adelaide's last AFC appearance in 2010 - their 3-2 loss to Jeonbuk in the Round of 16 - but never served a ban. The laws state he was meant to have against Persipura, but of course, rules in football do not mean much. The AFC match commissioner cleared him to play, but chances are he did not know the Brazilian was suspended - nobody else did. FFA sidestepped the issue in trademark style, the AFC is giving nothing away for fear of looking silly again, poor Adelaide United do not know whether to start booking flights and all of it still depends on what magical conclusion the Court of Arbitration for Sport comes up with. With all the political confusion surrounding Persipura and their involvement in a supposed rebel league, everyone seemed to forget about the basics. Graham Poll wishes he got off this lightly.

Quote of the week

This week Clive Palmer's verbal assault on football takes not only the cake, but the whole bakery. He let rip in Queensland's The Sunday Mail in trademark fashion - dismissing the sport, calling the A-League a joke and claiming he would never speak to Ben Buckley again. But the day before was when he came out with the best of the lot. After suspending Miron Bleiberg for having the audacity to bring some common sense to the farce surrounding debutant captain Mitch Cooper, Palmer said: "He's been spectacularly unsuccessful this year, so he can't complain." But was he referring to himself in the third person? It was Palmer's decision to slash the club's operating budget to around $13.95 per season. It was his call to offer only one-year contracts, leading to the departure of a swathe of quality first-team players at the end of last season. It was his choice to move United's training base from the lush surrounds of The Southport School to the swamp that is Carrara, which has barely enough facilities to get by. And on top of all of that, Palmer has been interfering with Bleiberg's job all year long - so if anyone has been spectacularly unsuccessful, it is the billionaire himself. With that quote, he showed either unprecedented levels of self-awareness, or he is just pulling our collective legs.

Player of the week

Let's give it to Harry Kewell. Why not? It is a bit late in the season now for Melbourne Victory, but the newly crowned King of Moomba is certainly starting to find some form. Decent timing, too, with an Australia international at AAMI Park a matter of days away. He deserved his recall on Tuesday by Holger Osieck in the squad for that fixture against Saudi Arabia.  His brace against Brisbane Roar brings his goalscoring tally up to a terrific six in eight games. Remember when cynics were saying his old injury troubles were going to flare up again and that he would be spending more time in the stands than on the pitch? They were wrong. Kewell has only missed two games this season. Keep at it, 'Arry.

Youngster of the week

It would be not only dumb, but insane to go past Tom Rogic here. The kid is dynamite. Priority number one for Central Coast's prospective Russian owners has to be shoving a fat new contract under Rogic's nose. He has only signed on for the rest of the season, after coming to the Mariners when his UK work permit was turned down, forcing him to come home despite agreeing to terms with Reading FC. But every minute that goes by brings Mustafa Amini closer to Borussia Dortmund, and he will leave a massive gap in attacking midfield. Well, he would do if Rogic was not there. But he is. So comrades, hurry up and buy the club and tie him down before he escapes.