Goods News story for the A-league · Yellow Fever Nga Wana Kowhai

Very good article about the Mariners in Sydney press today, near a full page on my Mariners.

Its all good for the A-league, and being in a rugby league strong hold, it has been an amazing journey so far.

To share and enjoy, I only copied the first parts if you want to read the whole story then click on the link.

You guys have that similar feel to us so good luck as you advance into union territory and you beat Perth so the season is snot lost.

Anyway have a read and I hope you enjoy, share the dream..............

http://www.smh.com.au/news/a-league/the-mariners-miracle/2007/12/08/1196813076587.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1

The Mariners miracle

December 9, 2007

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The little football club that could has succeeded where the mighty NRL couldn't, writes David Sygall.

As you drive over the Brian McGowan Bridge at Gosford, you have a choice. Look to the right and you'll see a panorama of Brisbane Water, backdropped by national park. Look to the left and you see straight into Bluetongue Stadium, a modern football ground that gives fans a sense of big-time sport and small-town intimacy.

Along the bridge, about 20 flagpoles boldly state the name of the local football team: the Central Coast Mariners. In another time and place, such mainstream promotion of a football club might have seemed uneasy. However, take a look around Gosford and surrounds today and you sense that such a brash statement is apt.

While other sports have spent years talking about capitalising on the Central Coast, football has done it - and the results are outstanding. Two-and-a-half years after the code was reinvented through the A-League, the Mariners are proving to be the competition's leading lights. Crowds and membership numbers are increasing, merchandise sales are strong and sponsorships and private backing are solid.

Just one person has left the club's office staff in three years - because she was commuting from Sutherland Shire. The coach and chairman have been there from the start, and the playing roster has barely changed. Oh yeah, and they're leading the comp - and another win today, against the Queensland Roar, who were second leading into the round, would put them further in front.

There are problems: mustering a population spread over 70 kilometres is hard. Also, the NRL's failed Northern Eagles experiment left a legacy of distrust of national sporting bodies. However, clubs looking for a blueprint on how to steer their ship could do little better than examine the reasons for the Mariners miracle.

"It's a very well-run club," A-League head of operations Rob Abernethy says. "They've done a lot of things right and stuck to their original vision, which was to build a foundation around the community of the greater Central Coast. They've galvanised that community to get behind this single entity.

Socceroo/ Mariner / Whangarei