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It ain’t over till the fat lady sings, or perhaps in this case, the fat man. This week, Gold Coast United Pty. Ltd. ceased to exist as an A-League franchise after what was dubbed ‘material’ breaches of their contract with the FFA.

This followed a media furore in a week where the club’s head coach was sacked, the owner came out and decried football not as good as Rugby League.

What a change this is from the heady heights of three years ago when owner Clive Palmer came out and said that his glamour club would have full stadiums, capture the championship in its first year, and complete the season undefeated.

So just three years after expansion clubs Gold Coast United and North Queensland Fury joined the fold, the FFA, despite their insistence that they are still looking for options to field a Gold Coast team in next years A-League competition, are staring down the possibility of a … Continue Reading

Turn the clock back to March, where a resolute North Queensland Fury seemed to have enough funding to at least secure a place for the next season in the Hyundai A-League. Benny and his crew rolled up in Townsville in their suits and blue ties to assess the criteria they had placed on the Fury and decide whether or not they would remain in the competition. Many believed the decision was made long before meeting with the Fury hierachy but still, the verdict was such – to the FFA, the Fury were not viable enough to ‘prop up’ and had to go.

Fast forward four months – the North Queensland fire sale seems to be nearing its end, as the more skillful players found homes at greener pastures, the FFA-Owned Brisbane Roar are currently undisputed champions of Australia and football seems stable enough – especially with the expected ACL cash windfall for the Roar making them … Continue Reading

The FFA has a dilemma on its hands. No, it’s nothing to do with the expansion of the A-League. And no, it’s nothing to do with the salary cap either. It’s to do with one solitary match this year, one match out of the 135 matches that will make up the 2011-12 A-League season.

On December 14 this year, the Wellington Phoenix will play reigning champions Brisbane Roar, in one of the league’s ‘regional matches’, at a venue to be decided. And that’s the kicker. Because no stadium has been allocated to this fixture as yet, and because neither club has rights to the match as a home game, two towns (one in New Zealand, and one in Queensland) have put their hands up to host it.

Let’s meet the contestants…

Contestant number one is Dunedin, New Zealand. A South Island city with a population of roughly 125,000 people, Dunedin has the distinction of … Continue Reading