Gold Coast Galaxy and Northern Thunder must wait another season to be granted entry to the A-League after failing to convince Football Federation Australia they are up to the task for 2008/09.
The worst fears of the fledgling franchises will be confirmed Monday, by FFA chiefs - a little more than two weeks after both were granted provisional licences by the peak body.
The Queensland outfits believed they were about to sample the treasures of Aladdin’s Cave, only to have the pathway blocked at the eleventh hour.
Galaxy officials will be particularly aghast at a verdict which, while expected by Thunder powerbroker Mellissa Fischer-Massa, comes as a heavy blow to Galaxy front-men Fred Taplin and Miron Bleiberg.
Months of feverish planning, putting potential signings on notice, corralling sponsors and arranging a lease deal with Skilled Stadium have been derailed but not dismantled - with the FFA promising the Galaxy they will be ushered into the national competition without further ado in 2009.
The same goes for the Thunder, whose bid was badly damaged when its backers split into two camps with Fischer-Massa jettisoning erstwhile partners James Gage and Allen St James and pledging $6million of her own money as start-up capital.
In the case of the Galaxy, a reliable FFA source also revealed there were concerns over the leasing arrangement between Skilled Stadium and the club but insisted they will rise from the golden sands of Surfers for season five and remain a pivotal plank of the league’s grand expansion plan from eight teams to 10 - and ultimately 12.
Anticipating the bad news, property baron Taplin remained philosophical: “It's not the end of the world. There were always two scenarios, entry in 2008 or 2009.”
“We’ve always prepared with both in mind. We're just delighted to have been granted a licence and with extra time up our sleeves we should be able to do a better job next year.”
“We're open to whatever the FFA decides and will abide by the umpire's decision.”
“I think the deliberations of the FFA certainly took longer because of what's been happening in Townsville regarding the Northern Thunder bid.”
Determined not to let the momentum that football has garnered on the Coast be washed away with the tide, the FFA have pledged to bring international games to Skilled Stadium this year - probably Olyroos matches - and will also showcase several A-League games at the same venue, along with pre-season duels.
FFA chief executive Ben Buckley will also make regular sorties north from Sydney to preach from the pulpit of expansion he remains committed to.
Taplin and Bleiberg, the former Queensland Roar coach turned Galaxy director of football, feared the worst late last week when the FFA held off ratifying the Galaxy’s inclusion in the competition, despite initially indicating that last Thursday would be D-day.
“We always felt optimistic it would go our way for this season but we will redouble our efforts going forward and make sure we bring a winning product to the public,” Taplin added.
The noise generated by the genesis of the Galaxy has shaken the football grapevine worldwide with players and agents from as far afield as Brazil, Argentina, Serbia and England expressing an interest in joining the party.
Brazilian legend Juninho, out of contract with Sydney FC, and former Manchester United great Dwight Yorke, who won a title with Sydney, both wanted to jump aboard.
They won’t now figure on the radar but Bleiberg and co won’t have trouble attracting plenty more like them when the Coast is finally made clear.
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