Football Federation Australia (FFA) has given the strongest indication yet that Queensland’s pair of new A-League franchises will be given a recruiting leg-up when they enter the competition next season.
Gold Coast United and North Queensland FC will both be included in an expanded 10-team A-League for the 2009-10 campaign, although the Townsville club still has some paperwork to finish before they are officially unveiled.
There was no waiting around at Skilled Park on the Gold Coast, where FFA chief executive Ben Buckley declared Gold Coast United a certain starter in the league next year.
Gold Coast chief executive Clive Mensink and coach Miron Bleiberg have both called for the club to be given extra access to international “visa” players for the rookie season, with Bleiberg suggesting six players instead of the standard four.
Mensink said preliminary discussions with the FFA were promising and was hopeful the governing body would offer them some concessions to avoid they don’t debut as easy beats.
“We’ve raised the discussion already. We’re in ongoing talks. I don’t want to pre-empt anything but I’m hopeful there will be an arrangement,” Mensink said.
“Ben’s come a bit forward there, we’ve had a brief talk. We’ll wait and see what the result is.”
Buckley has yet to give a firm answer on the issue, conscious of the league’s need to promote Australian talent and aware that rival clubs are likely to bristle at the Coast and North Queensland being given an easier ride.
Roar coach Frank Farina, who took over from Bleiberg, is one coach on record as saying new teams shouldn’t be gifted a headstart in the form of additional international players.
Buckley said the FFA was walking a tight line but was confident they could arrive at a balance that would satisfy all parties.
“There is a good argument to expand the number of visa players to help the new clubs coming into the competition and not dilute the quality of the competition,” Buckley said.
“Having said that, our number one priority is to give young Australian players a place to pursue a professional career. I think it’s a fine balance between ensuring new teams are competitive from day one and making sure you don’t materially disadvantage clubs that have invested millions of dollars in building their lists and squad on the pitch.”
Attracting players to the Coast is surely one problem Mensink and Bleiberg won’t have to face. Apart from the obvious draw of the sprawling beaches, the new Skilled Park is one of the best venues in the country.
To add to the lustre, Mensink said he had already been in discussion with the NRL’s Gold Coast Titans, the top tenant at Skilled Park, in regards to using a $20 million world-class training centre to be built next to the Robina stadium and due to open early in 2009.
Money won’t be an issue either, given the club is being bankrolled by mining magnate Clive Palmer, the richest man in Queensland with an estimated value of $2.5 billion.
Palmer's bulging bank account will give GC United a blank cheque when it comes to attracting a marquee player, with Bleiberg admitting the sky is the limit.
But he said he would rather attract a player in their prime instead of a crowd-pleaser or big name at the tail end of a career.
“We basically can afford any player in the world, including Christiano Ronaldo. If he (Palmer) wants to or not, I’m not going to push for it. I want a team that’s going to be united in the dressing room instead of someone who will take all the media attention,” Bleiberg said.
He may get the best of both worlds if Palmer listens to his suggestions. Bleiberg is advocating a seven-game stint from a guest player to raise the interest levels, while signing a marquee player of more substance.
The club has already been linked to Harry Kewell, Brazilian star Cafu and a number of current Socceroos. On a lesser note, fallen Manchester United hero Mark Bosnich could also be residing in the GC United goal next year.
“Do you bring a marquee player that’s 26 or 27, that’s a Socceroo player that can do a job for you? Or do you bring someone that’s 36, 37 years old that has won a World Cup. There’s a lot of questions to be asked,” Bleiberg said.
“If it was my choice, obviously the club owner has the say, it would be more of a guest player. There is room to increase crowds and bring interest for a period. I think the rule is seven games. You bring the player, you boost the crowds and he goes, you bring another marquee player.
“One of the main things our boss can differentiate from others is by showing his deep pockets to bring a marquee player. He will decide.”
Palmer wasn’t at the Coast for the announcement yesterday but the club is readying to depart on a 40-day fact-finding mission to Europe and South America, where his chequebook may be given its first airing.
Bleiberg resigned from the Roar in 2006, admitting his hunger had left him. He now returns to shape another club from the ground up, a rare opportunity in elite sport.
He left the Roar on difficult terms but said none of the Brisbane side’s players were on his hit list and he would take no pleasure in weakening their squad.
“I tell you what, if you dispossess the Roar in general on the field, yes. Of dispossessing the Roar by taking their players, then no. I want to prove we can do it without taking players. We do it by being better than them, not by weakening them,” he said.
“I’ve got a list of 16-18 players now and none of them are at the Roar.”
Asked if he had learned anything from his tumultuous reign at the Roar, he said: “I learned. And it’s a trade secret.”