http://au.fourfourtwo.com/news/255890,turnbull-well-be-a-powerhouse.aspx
Turnbull: We'll Be A Powerhouse
CENTRAL Coast Mariners want to be the powerhouse of Australian football, and even club chairman Peter Turnbull is now struggling to keep up the pretence of the “small club” line.
The 7-2 thrashing of Sydney FC last week also shoots down any chance of “flying under the radar” – a well-worn expression of head coach Graham Arnold.
Turnbull laughs off the sudden focus on the Gosford outfit suggesting a more circumspect drubbing of the Sky Blues, say 4-2, may have avoided the subsequent media scrutiny.
But with those kind of results on the park and off the park, a multi-million dollar Centre of Excellence is nearing completion at Tuggerah, Turnbull sees the club hitting new heights.
“We’re hoping we’re going to be a powerhouse of football in Australia for a long time and we intend this season to retain our A-League and Youth League Premierships,” Turnbull said. “And then we’ll go for what Arnie calls the end of season miniseries.”
Of all the emotions Turnbull felt last weekend when his boys sent the big end of town packing the one that comes to mind most readily is vindication after seven years building to be the “club of choice”.
“I felt mixed of emotions after the Sydney win,” Turnbull said. “I felt obviously happy, and kind of vindicated in the way the Mariners conduct themselves and the way that the whole organisation is run. By that I mean supporting Australian youth and Australian coaches and predominantly Australian players.
“I think we had our own (Alessandro) Del Piero on the field in Tommy Rogic who had a blinder. But unless you give these young guys first grade competition against internationals and against men and against people of the calibre of the Del Piero’s of the competition then they’re not going to grow.
“I think it was vindication of everything we stand for.
“So I guess when you think that we’re the A-League and Youth League premiers with our own place, our own property, then I guess it is pretty hard to depict us a small club.
“But I think it’s the way we do things which is different. That is we promote from within, we encourage Australian boys and we’re not scared to give them a go.
“I think a lot of the other clubs seem to take a more direct approach, let’s say, and ours is a more long term approach and especially over the last few years it’s paid dividends.”
Proud of its marquee-less status, the club, fans and players thrive on others' low expectations.
When Fox Sports commentator Robbie Slater predicted the Mariners to come last a couple of seasons ago, rather than bin the offending article, the players displayed it in their dressing room.
“We just use all that as positive motivation,” Turnbull said. “Maybe that will be the end of the Mariners run if they stopped having a go at us.”
Twice Premiers and perennial Championship bridesmaids they have built their success on a level of stability rare in the A-League.
When Turnbull left ever-changing Sydney FC at the end of Season 2 and threw his lot in with the Mariners, he knew it was the right decision. During their short life, the club has had just two chairmen, one CEO and two coaches.
Now the winning partnership between the property developer and the club is about to get a whole lot better. Whether the much-talked about Russians are coming to loosen the financial squeeze is hard to say. The chairman says they are still on the scene but then so too is a $70 million Tuggerah centre which promises a steady revenue stream to underpin the club. It is all about self-sufficiency.
The final phase of the centre – which includes football facilities, 130-room hotel and aquatic centre – should be completed by the end of next year. Already 25-year leases have been signed with Travelodge and the Soccer 5s complex.
“It’s true we haven’t got one, two or three billionaires to pay the bills,” he added. “Every time there is a shortfall it’s family money that goes into the club which in these kind of times becomes pretty painful.
“But I would suggest we would be as a benchmark in the top three performing clubs in the A-League – in the smallest band of losses.”
The centre of excellence, he said, will bring independence and so much more – a new sense of professionalism unheard of in a regional club. The European class facilities are smaller but comparable to what you would find anywhere in the world. The centre has an FFA approved competition field and Asian clubs are looking to centre as a pre-season base.
Turnbull added: “The whole approach of the club is to be the club of choice – that’s the catchphrase.
"So if you’ve got a talented teenager you want them to go to the Mariners for a number of reasons: number one, best facilities; two, best coaches; three, a club that actually rewards youth.
"Now those three things should make us the club of choice for any talented young player.
“I think it’s very exciting and when look around at the other clubs I would suggest our future is the most exciting.”
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