Source: AAP
The new head of the A-League says there’s no reason why crisis-torn Brisbane can’t be as big an off-field success as Western Sydney or Melbourne Victory.
Greg O’Rourke, who has commenced his role as Damien de Bohun’s successor at Football Federation Australia, met the Roar’s new leadership for the first time at an intimate corporate event on Wednesday night in Brisbane.
It comes as the club begins to recover from two months of turmoil, with the shrewd recruitment of former Socceroo Brett Holman this week a sign things are back on track under the leadership of managing director Mark Kingsman.
O’Rourke, a former chairman of Football NSW, said he was “surprised” the three-time champions haven’t been able to garner stronger support in Brisbane over the years.
“But I’m really excited that we can build it,” he said.
“There’s no reason why we can’t be as successful in Brisbane as we are in Sydney and Melbourne.
“There’s just as many kids playing the game, the game is played in the alternate season to our number one competitors.
“I see this as an open door but it requires a belief that we’re not going to see another year of what we’ve seen before.”
O’Rourke said the first step towards stability was a firm commitment from owners the Bakrie Group to remain in control of the club, which has been provided.
It’s understood the Indonesian conglomerate are staying put and won’t entertain any buyout proposal worth less than $20 million.
That’s likely to put an end to interest from a local consortium that was keen to rescue the Roar from a seemingly endless spiral of drama.
It’ll also displease some fans who are boycotting memberships while the Bakries are still involved.
O’Rourke called for supporters to instead focus on football, support the team and trust that their off-field issues were being sorted.
“Leave the back end and the ownership to be sorted out by the suits,” he said.
O’Rourke, meanwhile, described as “lunacy” former A-League coach Miron Bleiberg’s plan for a second team in Brisbane.
Bleiberg even said he’d be willing to invest $500,000 of his own money in the cause, claiming competition would rejuvenate them the same way the introduction of the Western Sydney Wanderers did for Sydney FC.
“I think Queensland as a state has the possibility of having a second team but it also has a short history of second teams not working,” O’Rourke said.
“You have to be very conscious of that.
“We want to expand the league but we want to do it when it makes sense.”
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