Board have failed to build a proper footy culture at Suns
THE Suns were woeful last Saturday, but don’t blame the coach and players.
A football team is reflective of its football club and a football club is reflective of the people who run it. For the Gold Coast Suns this is the board who, from the outset, have lacked the skill and knowhow to create and operate a football club.
Because of the board’s longstanding failures, after eight long years the Suns remain devoid of genuine football culture and are still more interested in grandstanding with the likes of the ridiculous China junket for a select 100 or so than rewarding members with building a footy fortress.
And best not ask how much it cost for Amy Shark to perform hidden in a tunnel shrouded in fireworks smoke. It seems a Disney day out remains the club’s priority and, in this environment, it is little wonder the football team struggles.
Even the cheer squad has become so entangled in politically correct club rules it is now a place better suited for knitting than cheering (let alone booing).
There is no more meaningful evidence of this sideshow than the fact the Suns do not have a former AFL player on their board. Further, the Suns promotional line is “We Are Your Suns”, yet the Board lacks genuine grassroots football representation.
The Suns’ board is mostly a collective of feel good appointees where gloss appears more important than know-how and while that may sit well with a business start-up, their combined lack of football knowledge is cavernous and reflective of where the club is at.
A football club can become a business, but a business will never become a football club.
It is not the coach nor the players who should be left to carry the can for making change at the Suns, it is the board. There must be a cleanout from the top through and a change of direction, so the club can develop a backbone of steel for the distinct purpose of becoming a real football club.
It’s also when we can expect, demand, and likely receive, more from our coach and players. And who knows, some players might like being at a proper football club and stay.