Palmer rant misses the point

The controversial Gold Coast United owner has gone on national television to tell us of his deep frustration at having to deal with Football Federation Australia.

He accused FFA and its top five executives who he claimed are paid “more than $5 million” a year of thuggery, backhanded deals and secret commissions and said the administration was insolvent and there was no light at the end of the tunnel.

Palmer also said that it was time football washed itself of pay television and gave every media outlet a chance to bid for the right to show the game.

He also said that people who invest heavily in the game should have a bigger say in the way their clubs are managed.

He finally warned that he would fight FFA in the Supreme Court “to a standstill” if the governing body kicked his club out of the competition.

Palmer's strong comments on The World Game program generally made sense and surely will resonate with several club owners who have lost a lot of money since they became involved in the game.

Thousands of fans at large who cannot afford pay TV would also relish an opportunity to watch their favourite game on free-to-air.

However in his 15-minute tirade that left no doubt as to his complete lack of confidence in FFA's ability to administer the game, Palmer refused to explain one major concern.

Gold Coast United as a club is a disaster and a huge embarrassment to the game, mainly because it has failed to connect with its own market.

Its crowds are abysmal and the sight of football games being played at a quasi-deserted Skilled Park is a constant blight on the image, credibility and marketability of the competition.

Palmer, who bizarrely contended that his club is successful essentially because it pays its bills and has lots of money, has caused massive damage to the A-League since 2008 when he was welcomed into the fold with open arms and with no questions asked, so to speak.

FFA naively gave him the licence that eventually would drag the game into disrepair.

Palmer has been a public relations disaster since day one when he put his coaches and players under unnecessary pressure by declaring that his side would win the league unbeaten in its first season.

That outlandish approach was seen as a cheap publicity stunt and derided by most level minded fans, even though there were those within the club who privately cringed at such a misguided attitude that was bound to backfire. And it did.

But then came the more serious PR blunders like failing to engage with the community, putting a lid on the capacity of the Skilled Park Stadium to save costs, his failure to ensure that star player Jason Culina was adequately insured, his refusal to pay after tearing up German player Peter Perchtold's contract and last but not least his bizarre appointment of 17-year-old Mitch Cooper as captain for the weekend match against Melbourne Heart.

An extraordinary chain of events led to the dismissal of coach Miron Bleiberg, who commented adversely to the decision, and a spectacular war of words in the media between Palmer and FFA chief executive Ben Buckley.

It would appear that Gold Coast has now reached a point of no return and realistically has no future, even allowing for the distinct possibility of a messy legal stoush.

Yet this is a disaster of FFA's own making because it is pretty obvious that not enough due diligence was made on Gold Coast's application to join the league four years ago.

”What we say to every new club is 'what is your strategy around these criteria?' and I must say the Gold Coast's one was well put together,” Buckley said on Monday night's show.

The general feeling, however, is that FFA must have more than likely said something like 'hey, this bloke is seriously rich so let's lock him in'.

FFA is paying dearly for its gross misjudgment and it could well be in a lose-lose-lose situation.

Firstly, it must realise that it has been cast in a straightjacket by Palmer, who knows that unless he does something legally or contractually wrong FFA cannot afford to kick him and his club out of the competition.

Secondly, it also must realise that it can ill afford the embarrassment of having to admit, a year after the North Queensland Fury and 2022 World Cup bid fiascos, that letting Gold Coast into the A-League fold was a major blunder.

Thirdly, it might be stuck with a sub-standard young side that plays in front of a few hundred fans for the next two years until its licence expires.

Every Tom, Dick and Harry could see that a football club on the Gold Coast would never work, especially if it is run by a man who has no real passion for or understanding of the game and who obviously was in it for commercial gain.

Well, Palmer got that one wrong, alright, even though he bragged on television that he has more money than the entire FFA will ever have.

So the million dollar question is how to fix a problem that won't go away and is more than likely to end up in the law courts.

The solution is straightforward, I believe, and Palmer holds the key.

If Palmer is true to his word that his club is only a small portion of his business empire and he only wants what is best for Australian football, he should save himself the angst of having to deal with FFA's so-called fat cats and do us a massive favour by going away and letting the game pick up the pieces of the wreckage he will leave behind.

Even a nine-team competition would be much better than having Gold Coast in its midst, although that might not be the case after reports have surfaced that the A-league is having secret talks with a group of wealthy businessmen with the view of forming a second club in Sydney.

This is a very sad state of affairs especially for the young players who will have no football club if Gold Coast ceases to exist.

But such is the genuine talent within the group that they will not be without a club for too long, that's for sure.

It is so unfortunate that the Gold Coast experiment has come to this but the unequivocal fact is that Palmer has given nothing but trouble and bad headlines to the game except for a handful of polished team performances in season one and a few home truths on Monday night.

North Queensland was another major blunder on FFA's part.

The good people in Townsville did their darndest to make it work but they failed and when Fury folded everyone felt sorry for the club.

There is no such sympathy for Gold Coast and no one outside the Glitter Strip would weep at its demise.

Football simply cannot afford to let this farcical situation drag on and on.

It's time to move on, Mr Palmer. Let us football people manage our own little game so you can concentrate on your big business ventures.