The Seven year itch – Season 2011/12 Timeline

 

With Season 2011/12 finally over I look back at some of the more significant dates of a controversially season.  The season ended with yet another PR disaster, and one can only hope we have reached of darkest days.  The inclusion of Western Sydney looks a good one, but Frank Lowy, Ben Buckley and the FFA will have to work significant overtime to win the fans back in their droves.  Hopefully through hard work, on and off the field, combined with a few good Socceroos results the turnstiles will continue to turn when Season 2012/13 kicks off in October.

Until then hopefully you keep reading my blogs and we get a bit more positive press over the off season.

21^st June 2011 – Fred signs for Melbourne Heart

Former Victory superstar Fred signs on with bitter rival Melbourne Heart.  It is announces through a bizarre video link, but gets the big signings rolling.

20^th August 2011 – Harry Kewell signs for Melbourne Victory

Will he, or won’t he.  After weeks of innuendo Harry finally announces he will play for Melbourne Victory.  A massive coup for not only the biggest club in the league, but for football in Australia in its entireity.

25^th August 2011 – Brett Emerton signs for SydneyFC

Wait, first Harry, now Emmo.  Emerton signs for glamour club SydneyFC, and everything is looking rosy for the A-League.  Two of the biggest names in the code sign for the two biggest cities.  Gee I wish we could go back to this day, Football and the A-League was splashed all over the front and back pages for all the RIGHT reasons.

8^th October 2011 – A-League kicks off

Finally after months of waiting football is finally back.  Clubs have all signed big names in the pursuit of the all conquering Brisbane Roar.

18^th December 2011 – Rini Coolen is sacked by Adelaide United, with John Kosmina taking over the role

Heavy expectations combined with disappointing results end in Coolen being the first coach on the chopping block.

1^st February 2012 – John Van’t Schip announces he will not seek another term on his Melbourne Heart contract

The man given the task of taking of building a club from scratch decides to move on at the end of the season.  JVS would continue his tenure with Heart and not only experience Derby success, but would finish ahead of the higher fancied Victory.

3^rd February 2012 – Vítězslav Lavička and SydneyFC announce they will part ways at the end of the season

A third coaching casualty, Lavicka finds the going too tough even with the Carle/Emerton combination.  Both parties finish on good terms, with SydneyFC making it through to the second week of finals football.

19^th February 2012 – Miron Bleiberg walks out/sacked from Gold Coast United

Give a 17 year old the captains arm band and this is what happens.  No one is completely sure what happened in the weeks leading up to Bleiberg’s departure but he did not see eye to eye with Palmer, and this was the beginning of the end for the club on the beaches of the Gold Coast.

29^th February 2012 – FFA strip Clive Palmer of his Gold Coast Licence

This where it starts going bad, the ‘freedom of speech’ kit is the final straw for the FFA as they strip Billionaire Clive Palmer of his licence.  Palmer threatens substantial legal action, but this is quashed early in the courts system.  We haven’t heard the end of Clive Palmer involvements in Football, but one can only hope his next tenure is more successful.

17^th March 2012 – Melbourne Heart seal their debut Finals appearance

Just thought I would throw this date in as a personal favourite.  Most of you who read my blog will know I’m a passionate Melbourne Heart fan.  Knowing we would be part of finals action was a credit to JVS, Scott Munn and our growing supporter base.

25^th March 2012 – Central Coast seal their Premiers Plate title with a win over Wellington

Graham Arnold and his men were duly rewarded for all their hard efforts.  Winning the Premiers plate was a reward for their consistent season.  CCM showed no frills and a hard work ethic could pay off against bigger, better financed clubs.

4^th April 2012 – FFA announce a team from Western Sydney in the 2012/13 season

Twitter was going nuts, there were whispers all over the place, but finally Julia Gillard and her bystander Ben Buckley announced significant funding and a new team in Football’s heartland.  At present no names, colours or players have been announced but I think the right steps have been taken.

5^th April 2012 – FFA announce the demise of Gold Coast United

#SAVEGCU wasn’t enough for those who run the FFA.  This day it was announced that Gold Coast would no longer take part in the A-League.  Personally, I think it was the correct decision, but the timing and the way it was handled was poor to say the least.  How to win friends and influence people isn’t at the FFA library shelves.

10^th April 2012 – Nathan Tinkler hands back Newcastle A-League licence

In a shock to all, Newcastle owner Tinkler handed back his club licence.  There were many reasons behind this decision but the inability to trust those running the FFA was the ultimate decider.  This issue is still ongoing, and I cannot see this being resolved in the near future.

14^th April 2012 – Perth Glory make their first Grand Final appearance since the final NSL season after defeating Central Coast in the Grand Final qualifier

In a shock to most, Ian Fergusson’s Perth Glory were Brisvegas bound and heading towards their first grand final.  For the first time all season Central Coast lose three matches on the trot and were eliminated in straight sets.  It was a sad exit for the resilient Mariners.

22^nd April 2012 – Brisbane complete back to back titles with a controversial last minute penalty win over Perth Glory.  FFA complete their horror season by announcing incorrect Marston Medallist

Wow, I’m not going to lay the boot in like most, but a day where 50,000 fans turn up to watch football in this Country should be a good one.  2,500 fans travel from west to east coast, paying hundreds (if not thousands) to see their beloved team in the big dance.  Once again thanks to poor refereeing and a three stooges administration error football is again a laughing stock to the countries media departments.  Referee Gillett performed admirably for 95 minutes, unfortunately he will only ever be judged on one incorrect call.

Let’s all take a step back for a moment, take a deep breath and think about things before we take one big swipe at the game.  Without us, the fans the game is nothing.  Football is having a hard enough time as it is, and those who love the game must ride these dark times out.  The inclusion of West Sydney excites me, and who knows what Socceroos will be making a return home, hey Chippers.

 

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