GCU debacle - GCU gone

Is it meant to be "rasing the salary cap from 2.2 to 2.5 million?" I didn't think the cap was 2.5 million currently. And I thought that money each club received was just a share of tv rights, not specifically linked to a percentage of the salary cap?

News is right, he wants the salary cap completely covered by payments from the FFA (as well as travel/accomodation costs - this probably a bigger issue for us and Perth) at the moment I think the salary cap is tied to CPI can't remember the base it was set at (not including 3rd party payments and marquee spots).

Palmer again on crash course with FFA

Laine Clark
February 23, 2012 - 7:34PM

In what appears to be another raspberry blown at Football Federation Australia (FFA), Gold Coast United boss Clive Palmer has challenged the Olyroos to take on his under-23 outfit in a $50,000 "winner-takes-all clash".

Palmer is again on a crash course with FFA boss Ben Buckley after seeking to have the big bucks game played in order to highlight selection flaws in the Olyroos' doomed London Games qualifying campaign.

"I'm prepared to put up $50,000 for the winning team, which I am confident will be the Gold Coast," Palmer said in a statement.

"We have won the National Youth League for the past two seasons and a lot of these guys have now made their mark in the A-League.

"I'm sure our boys would give the Olyroos a good hiding and show what could have been achieved had there been a fairer selection system."

Olyroos coach Aurelio Vidmar was limited to picking three players from each A-League club and was further hampered when overseas clubs did not release the likes of Tommy Oar and Matthew Leckie because the qualifiers fell on non-FIFA dates.

In the end, the Olyroos missed Olympic qualification for the first time in 28 years with a 1-0 loss to United Arab Emirates early on Thursday (AEDT).

Palmer hoped the FFA would agree to have the fixture scheduled "at the earliest convenient date".

But the United boss picked a bad week to ask Buckley for a favour.

On Monday Palmer was in damage control after calling the A-League "a joke" and soccer "a hopeless game".

An unimpressed Buckley responded by saying he would reassess the Gold Coast club's future at the end of the current season.

Not one to take a backward step, Palmer described the Olyroos' failure to qualify as a "national embarrassment".

"Australia has missed out on playing in the Olympics for the first time in 28 years and this was largely due to the selections," he said.

"The Olyroos have been ordinary in attack yet Gold Coast players who have been starring in the A-League like Ben Halloran and James Brown couldn't make the squad coach Aurelio Vidmar took away for the Asian qualifiers.

"Ben Halloran scored one of the goals of the season against Central Coast last night - imagine what a difference his speed and skill could have brought to the Olyroos.

"Originally there were no Gold Coast players in the Olyroos squad for these qualifiers and they only called up our defender Dylan McGowan due to injury."

http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-sport/palmer-again-on-crash-course-with-ffa-20120223-1tqge.html

Don't know why the media has suddenly decided this is newsworthy. He said the same thing during his Monday rant but then it was $100,000. It pisses me off that he has basically been given a free ride over this whole thing, whether his concerns are genuine or not.

This is getting ridiculous. Palmer has forced the players to wear 'Freedom of Speech' instead of the usual Hyatt Coolum shirt sponser on their shirts. This was not authorised by the FFA, so they have (rightfully) issues the club with a breach of the A-League club participation agreement.

Slightly hipocritical from Palmer, as he sacked Miron for exercising his right to free speech.

There is a time and place for these sorts of aruguments, and on the pitch during a game is NOT one of them.

He filed a lawsuit against Hyatt during the week, so might be why he wanted the take their logo off.

Going for 69-0 in the courts is he?  Palmer v FFA shaping to be number 70 then?

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/hyatt-hit-by-60m-writ-from-palmer/story-e6frg6nf-1226277610371

Rich Bully Boy bludgeoning his way through life. Scoring points at everyone else's expense.
Absolutely there are issues around the FFA, their performance and funding inadequacies with the current ownership model in recent years.The problem is,the confrontational way Palmer goes about raising the issues and his lack of respect for any authority is breathtaking in its audacity and
seriously threatens to damage Football in this part of the world. Worse still, apparently Palmer couldn't give a toss,he doesn't even like the game!

This blog from Kathy In 442 mag puts it perfectly...

http://au.fourfourtwo.com/blogs.aspx?CIaBEID=2684

http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/news-display/Gold-Coast-free-their-speech/45701

Gold Coast United have responded to their breach notice from the FFA claiming they intend to continue to wear a strip emblazoned with 'Freedom of Speech' for the rest of the season.

In a statement released on Monday, the club launched a staunch defence of its decision to display the slogan 'Freedom of Speech' on the front of its jerseys and on advertising boards at its home ground, Skilled Park on Saturday night.

United did so against the permission of the FFA, leading the governing body of football in Australia to slap the club with a material breach of their club participation agreement.

The message was used in place the club's usual major sponsor, Hyatt Regency Coolum, because chairman Clive Palmer is embroiled in a legal dispute with global hotel management giants Hyatt, the company which operates his recently-acquired resort.

FRANK Lowy has declared war on Gold Coast United and its owner Clive Palmer in a televised speech to business in Melbourne, branding the club a "spectacular failure".

http://au.fourfourtwo.com/news/232983,lowy-gold-coast-a-spectacular-failure.aspx

Cap'n SBS The World Game
BREAKING: The @FFA will make a major announcement about Gold Coast United at 2pm this afternoon #theworldgame #aleague

Clive Palmer ? @CliveFPalmer
Our licence is being rekoved by Frank Lowy and FFA cohorts .. I will issue detailed response shortly

Effective immediately according to Twitter. Interesting 48-hours ahead for the Nix if this the case/

FFA say they'll do their damndest to finish the season, like they did with the Knights. (Hopefully unlike the Knights they won't start winning now!)

Cripes, that rapidly went from bad to worse.

Easiest 3 points EVER!!

This could get real messy for the FFA.

They didn't have much more of a choice. Palmer out was always the best option, hopefully they can find someone else to take over the club and keep it at GCU.

9 team league would mean byes. Byes =

Dumb move by the A-League. Whole thing is two idiots trying to show everyone who has the biggest balls.

Oh Noes!

This can't end well. The FFA have nowhere near the financial power to defeat Palmer in the courts. Look for an out of court "arrangement" over the coming days!

Yeah C-Diddy the FFA might not have the $$ but Frank Lowy has.
 Do you think he's going to let an upstart litigious prick like Palmer get away with this? After all he's put into football in Australia? Lowy will bury him. Get ready to lose Palmer.

So 68-1 you reckon?

None of this is the fault of the FFA, in paticular Frank Lowry.

To get a record like he has, he will only go to court if he knows he will win. I would expect this to be sorted out in a backroom deal.

Agreed, sorry Colvinator. Lowy has a football pedigree..Palmer's just a mongrel.
 
IMO, there's a very good reason there was a spectacular failure by GCU around "community  engagement" ....
Palmer just hadn't found a way (yet) to take the football fans of Gold Coast to court to force them to come.

My impression is that for all his raving lunacy, wild accusations and insults Palmer has a fully worked out plan here and is well up for a court case.

Was going to say, StopOut, no sign of a plan, he just rants and makes it up as he goes...but then I thought....

But what's to actually win here? Hearts and minds of the Aussie footballing public? Not bloody likely. Its a PR nightmare with the only likely beneficiaries being the other codes.
Hmmm..
He did state that Rugby League was a better game in his recent rant, didn't he?
Hmmm..
 Perfectly timed to throw the game into turmoil when the A League should be reaching a ratings/seasons climax and playoff finals time (and compete with the new NRL season?)
Next prediction...
Palmer buys an NRL franchise, having "seen the light and the error of his ways"

The sooner this lot are wound up and dissolved, the better.

Clive Palmer has just launched Football Australia to replace the FFA.
Live on Sky at the moment.

Im guessing no one has bothered to tell Clive about an organisation called FIFA.

Yep, thats going to be awkward

"Football Australia created as a group that can ask questions of the FFA & it's operations". Foxsports News.

So more a "keep the bastards honest assoc"?

This is nuts, the nrl starts tonight & this is actually grabbing headlines..even on Ch-9.

Strange week.



Traitor2012-03-01 20:21:14

Goes further than that though also says its there to try and run the game at some levels.Clives a great one pointing the finger at people to keep things honest.

This is very bad news. I can't see how this isn't going to do massive damage to the game.