A-LEAGUE RETURN
Q Could you ever see the day a Gold Coast team returns to the ALeague?
A I don’t know if the right way to go about it is for Gold Coast United to go straight into the A-League. I like the idea of having a second division with promotion-relegation. I think the club really needs to have a solid foundation and an income stream that doesn’t just come from sponsors. I’d like to see Gold Coast United try to build something from the ground up with a good business model where they can make money and have a solid foundation there. It’s shown with sports that the region is quite hard to get a solid following, even if you look at the rugby league with the Titans and the basketball falling over. So I think you’ve got to build a club with solid foundations and see how it goes.
Q While we’re talking about the ALeague, how do you think it’s travelling at the moment?
A I think it’s really good. I watch it religiously and people have a few gripes about the standard but I think for me when you watch it and when you’re playing, it’s a lot harder when you get out there with the conditions and the heat. The speed of the game is so much faster when you actually get out on the pitch. There’s still a lot of boys that come through every year and do well and then every year in the transfer window they’re off to Korea and China and Japan. It’s a great competition and now with the Western Melbourne team coming in next season and west Sydney the season after that, it’s going to add a new dimension with a few more derbies. I really enjoy it and I think the standard is excellent.