A Rose By Any Other Club
The departure of Josh Rose is just another body blow for the Central Coast Mariners. The 34-year-old left back makes the 947 kilometre journey to AAMI Park to join title favourites Melbourne City for the 2016/17 season. Although his best football is most likely behind him, Rose could become a vital cog in the City defence, something the club has been lacking over the last few seasons.
Whilst the move was rumoured months beforehand to all in the Australian football circles, it has caught most by surprise. Over the last six seasons Rose has been one of the Mariners most constant performers at Gosford and over the last few seasons one of the first picked. The departure comes just after Tony Walmsley was relieved of his duties on the back of the FFA Cup exit to Green Gully.
Last season the team only won three games, and collected only 13 points in their worst season on record, only four seasons after their momentous 2-0 Grand Final win over perennial runner ups Western Sydney Wanderers.
Central Coast is a wonderful community club, with great values but we have slowly seen the club sink deeper into the A-League abyss. Not even the most optimistic fan would rate the chances of the club this season and back to back wooden spoons beckon for the club. The refusal of the ownership to spend sufficient money on on-field talent deeply impacts the clubs chances on the field and when you see a coach and a 165 game veteran fall in quick succession you fail to see any glimmer of hope for the upcoming season 2016/17.
The A-League needs clubs like Central Coast in the mix. Whilst it would be easy to become dismissive of a club with a bleak future and low attendances we need a Gosford club in the league. At this stage in the development of the league we cannot be cutting teams because they are having a poor run or because an owner won’t shell out for marquee players, but we also cannot stand by and watch the Mariners go through another season like last year.
From a selfish point of view I welcome Josh Rose to Melbourne City but I also fear for the Mariners and the immediate future of the club. As a foundation club the Mariners are a welcome addition and their fan base is one of the most knowledgeable in the league.
Whoever is the newly appointed coach at the club has plenty of work ahead of him and will be working under the current financial restrictions of the club. Football fans across Australia (Ok, maybe Newcastle) want Gosford to once again become a tough place for opposition clubs to visit, and not just a quick stopover point where you can see some palm trees and collect the three points. Central Coast has their work cut out for them over the next few months; hopefully it won’t be the car crash many are already predicting.
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