FEARS FOR A-LEAGUE
THE man who will lead a Gold Coast United team into battle in the NPL Queensland next year believes there is a place for A-League matches to return.
But Danny Maher, inaugural chairman of Gold Coast United FC, believes there has to be a local element there, rather than the promotion of an A-League clash between the Brisbane Roar and Wellington Phoenix at Cbus Super Stadium on Saturday night.
The dour clash drew a crowd of only 5192, maybe reduced by the late-afternoon storm, and there are those who say that figure was more than the ill-fated Clive Palmer’s United drew in the club’s death throes.
Maher was not at the game – he arrived back in Australia from overseas only yesterday – but he was well versed on events of Saturday night, a game that ended in a scoreless draw.
“The problem with games like that is there’s no connection with the Gold Coast community and the grassroots level,” Maher said.
“We have to have something that is Gold Coast and is driven by the football community.
“We’re not part of the Roar and we’re not part of
Wellington. I’m all for bringing A-League here but it is a second option from involving a team based here.”
Maher’s dream is to eventually have a United team play again in A-League and have a Brisbane-Gold
Coast derby. And he also said the turnout again shows there is a desperate need for a medium-sized, boutique stadium here on the tourist strip.
On the subject of the Roar playing A-League games here again, Maher said it would be
an ideal promotion to have a double-header next year with the Roar playing an A-League team after United FC take on the Roar’s Youth team in the NPLQ.
Former Socceroos and Manchester City legend Danny Tiatto, who works as team manager for the Roar now, said the turnout was disappointing and that there could have been more work done in promoting the game to Gold Coasters.
“It was pretty poor, to be honest, the marketing and publicity about it,” he said.
“I put it down to not just the papers and the TV, it has to come from our marketing guys to get out there.”