Adam Peacock: Central Coast Mariners ‘sitting on gold mine’ — Usain Bolt gamble could save club
LET us not get bogged down in semantics here. The Central Coast Mariners are sitting on a gold mine unlike anything they’ve even seen. Hearts of those who run the club must have skipped enough beats to last a lifetime since one man made his intention clear.
Usain Bolt wants to be a professional footballer.
Usain Bolt want to be a professional footballer with the Central Coast Mariners.
The impoverished, battered Central Coast Mariners, once the ‘little-club-that-could’ turned into one ‘that-couldn’t’ now have a man who stopped the world when he performed in his last life as the one who can open said gold mine.
As much as it will grate some in Australian football who believe funding should be growing organically at a much faster rate (or just growing full stop) this much is clear if this comes off.
Sponsors will come running. Seats will fill. Viewers will view from lounge rooms spanning the entire globe. Kids in Kingston, Jamaica will get to know Matt Simon. Old timers in Oslo, Norway will plead with Jacob Melling to get the ball forward quicker. Fans near Mount Fuji will beg Ben Kennedy to claim a cross and ping a 50 metre throw to the legend we all recognise flying down the wing towards the Mariners brass band, hopefully mid-stream on their rendition of Guns of Navarone.
Words and thoughts don’t make sense until you can actually see it in real life.
Today was the start of whether any of this will ever make sense.
Usain Bolt didn’t even tap the door to that gold mine today. The most famous trialist world football has ever seen, certainly the most famous athlete to drive through Kincumber to get to training, barely got beyond half pace in a gentle session.
He came out in gloves, a fresh westerly making a liar of the palm tree-blue sky-blue water combo at one end of Gosford’s cute little football ground. He limbered up, did a couple of run throughs and took part in a light passing drill. He’s all left foot. Malcolm Turnbull is more willing to invite Peter Dutton around for a meal and Jenga than Bolt is likely to use his right foot voluntarily.
This was a publicity day more than anything and to those who planned it smile for the evening it worked. Cameras in numbers not seen and probably never to be seen again at a 45 minute recovery training session for the ‘winners’ of two of the last three A League wooden spoons scattered along the sideline then huddled into a room inside Central Coast Leagues Club positioned directly under a gym, as the dropped weights of a circuit class filled the air before Bolt spoke.
And he spoke like a man not promised anything but a chance. No pressure, just work ahead. Learn the game. Learn the systems. Learn off team-mates. Learn. Learn. Then earn.
He’s not here to do what the lazy assumption is that he’s good at. Partying. Yes, he can relax. Yes, he had the odd bender post competition, but is he not a damn fool if he doesn’t in an Olympic Village?
This is as elite an athlete the world has ever seen, so the attitude won’t need adjusting and you could tell already his team-mates won’t have a king sized ego to dance around.
Many a coach has said quality talent paired with a crap attitude will always make a crap footballer. The A League has seen a few of those walk through customs.
He’ll be treated the same, guaranteed coach Mike Mulvey. Now there’s a man with some pressure. Mulvey will be the judge on whether he can play or not. The doorman on the gold mine. Usain’s workload will increase in the next week and will aim to make a public showing in a trial on Friday week.
They’ll do the hard stuff behind closed doors. Sharpen him up, unstrengthen him from running in just one direction and see if he can do what the best make look so damn simple – make a little round ball talk.
Bolt has so much to gain personally, because this is his ambition in life now.
As for the club he wants to call home, the Mariners have tried things to get itself out of the doldrums in recent years not usually associated with your everyday football club.
Owner Mike Charlesworth once gave a speech via video link to an end of season awards to tell the crowd – who really just wanted to down a few VB’s and unwind – the club would henceforth innovate.
By way of example told the story over the next 15 minutes of the Battle of Trafalgar in which Lord Nelson led Britain to victory through a unique naval battle plan which surprised their French and Spanish opponents. That Lord Nelson died thanks to said battle wasn’t mentioned, but innovation was the point.
Charlesworth also once recommended to coaching staff from attacking corners Mariners players should lift each other up ala rugby union lineouts.
To balance that, to be fair, they’ve given kids from NPL clubs around the country who deserve a chance at A League level that very chance.
This, though, is something else entirely.
This can change the life of an athlete the whole world knows.
This can change the direction of a club desperate to get away from what it has become.
This doesn’t make sense, though it will be entertaining to see if it can.
https://www.foxsports.com.au/footba...b/news-story/cef47d502dc33c497f866b3d9dfc9c5e
