Ex-Cosmos officials: Canberra’s A-League hopefuls must learn from past errors (Repost - April 2017)

Canberra’s A-League hopes follows a history discord

On a sweltering Sunday afternoon, Canberra received A-League action in form of the Central Coast Mariners vs Adelaide United.

As I walk up the slope on the outskirts of GIO Stadium, I enter to see a mostly empty ground.

Complete contrast to the sight I saw a little more than a year ago for Australia versus Kyrgyzstan, in a World Cup Qualifier.

The stadium that night packed to the brim, with a terrific an infectiously vibrant atmosphere flowing around the ground.

As I sat in my seat, the MC was getting the fans hyped up for the fixture.

He asked the Adelaide fans to make some noise, soon after it was Mariners fans turn.

“Canberra make some noise; for YOUR A-League team, the CENTRAL COAST MARINERS!!!” he said.

A paltry reaction was received at best, as most of the audience were just neutrals watching a game of Football.

This remark from the MC left a bitter taste in my mouth.

Not only did it remind me yet again that Canberra does not have an A-League team, it just dawned on me that this is most likely the best that we will have for a while.

The nation’s capital gets thrown a team that is struggling at the bottom of the table from Central Coast with which the Canberra community has no affiliation and the league expect people to come in droves.

After half time, some local fans had a banner to petition Canberra’s A-League hopes, it even got caught on Television.

The dream is still alive for those faithfuls and many around the city, however, a new team would not be Canberra’s first interaction with top tier Football.

The predecessor to the A-League was called the National Soccer League (NSL).

It was created in 1977 and one of the first teams involved was Canberra City.

This was Canberra’s first taste of top flight Football.

The club went all-out and appointed legendary former Australian World Cup 1974 Captain Johnny Warren as their manager for the inaugural season.

With the new team Warren wanted to promote youth along with the experience.

Foundation player Daniel Moulis recalls it being a great experience.

“I was called up by Johnny to train with the team at sixteen years old along with some other young players in Canberra.

“It was unbelievable I thought what was going on here?” said Moulis.

Moulis set the original record for the youngest player in the NSL in 1977 and came runner up to future Socceroo John Kosmina for the Under 21 Player of the Year.

City finished in second last place in the first season of the new league.

Canberra City remained a competitive team throughout their 10-year tenure in the NSL, but they never made the finals series.

A restructure of the league caused them to get dropped to the NSW State League, where they garnered more relative success.

It was interesting to see that finances were not the main reason for the relegation of the team.

But this is the main theme that concerns Australian clubs leaving the A-League.

Financial concerns led to the demise of the club that followed City in Canberra, the Cosmos.

The Canberra Cosmos were founded in 1995 but were forced to close its doors in 2001.

Like their predecessor, the Cosmos did not achieve grand heights in the NSL.

Former Cosmos General Manager George Lemon believes the structure left their club doomed from the start

“The Cosmos was set up to be defeated from the beginning, with the whole structure that was set up before the last few owners tried to turn around the club,” said Lemon.

Lemon pointed to issues within the club besides the finances.

“We seemed to go from hand to mouth most times, and to be honest the people of Canberra at that stage were fickle and did not want to come out and support the club.

“When teams in Canberra have some lean years, like we were having, they would not come out to Bruce,” Lemon said.

Lemon did acknowledge today is a different place and time for Football in Canberra.

Football is a lot more popular now though, and in Canberra we have this untapped professional sports void that an A-League team could fill in the capital, during Rugby League and Union’s off season.

If a proposed club is set up properly unlike the Cosmos, then the people of Canberra stand a better chance of having a team with stability and can hopefully compete,” said Lemon.

Near the end of the club’s days one man tried possibly harder than anyone else and was closer than anyone to turning them around.

The man was Daniel Moulis.

Moulis got involved with the club by doing pro bono work with transfers and administration.

“I settled a transfer dispute with a German club not paying the fee for a player they bought from us,” said Moulis.

Providing this kind of support to the club caught the attention of the Cosmos board.

He was approached by departing bosses Ian Knopp and Steve Doszpot to run the club.

Moulis inherited the team as Chairman for the 2000/2001 season.

The club were $4.2 million in debt.

Despite the significant financial handicap, Moulis felt he had to help in some way.

“I realised that without a national Football team in Canberra there would be less opportunities for young people to have some sort of stage and goal for their professional development.

“I saw it as very important to keep the Cosmos going,” Moulis said.

As Moulis joined the job he put the Cosmos straight into administration.

“After lodging the administration papers a whirl-wind two months followed where we had to negotiate with debtors, agree a deed of company arrangement and essentially re-launch the club,” Moulis said.

With their future in the balance they did not know whether they would be re-admitted into the NSL.

“There were a lot of politics those days that seemed to be getting in the way of good sense,” said Moulis.

The Cosmos along with the Brisbane Strikers were kicked out from the competition.

Moulis went out on the front foot to begin to appeal the decision.

“I stated that decision was an example of monolithic stupidity, and I’m still the number 2 search on Google to this day,” said Moulis.

After pressure from the board members of the NSL and the cities of Canberra and Brisbane respectively, they were both re-admitted into the league.

Before they were accepted back though, they needed to prove they had insurance and pay affiliation fees despite not knowing their fate.

Moulis understood they needed financial restructuring and proceeded with a strict budget.

“I made it clear to everybody that we would be running on what is called a commercial/community model.

“I am a very strong admirer of the German Bundesliga and how those clubs are run.

“I tried to foster that sort of model here with those set-ups and budgets in place,” said Moulis.

Throughout the season they raised $1.2 million, which serviced the side for the rest of the campaign.

They raised the money through fundraisers, newly gained sponsorships and the ACT Government.

At the end of the season Moulis stepped down as chairman.

“It was a wonderful experience; however, it was extremely hard work and it took up a lot of my time and legal career,” Moulis said.

Around the time in 2001, the news of the A-League concept had been swirling around, and the exclusion of many of the NSL teams including Canberra was a realistic possibility.

After failing to raise funds to get re-launched for another season, the Cosmos folded in September 2001.

If Canberra are to get a team they must have a strong financial backing and learn from the mistakes of the Cosmos.

After talking to Moulis and Lemon, I have realised one underlining theme, a need for a strong community basis.

Whether it is as simple as promotion or relationships with other clubs, a community basis is needed for a Canberra team.

George Lemon remembers some issues with the Cosmos players lack of interest with the community at the time.

“A whole bunch of players were lazy, they thought they were gods.

“It was so hard to get them out and doing community things.

“Besides the Captain Norman Kelly, a lot of the players just did not have the same desire to give back to the community.

“It was just embarrassing at times, for a club to succeed you need to engage positively with the community. Just look at the Raiders and Brumbies,” said Lemon.

Getting to the schools and academies can inspire kids to continue to develop or begin to get involved in Football.

Along with the fans, a club needs a good understanding with its local counterparts.

Moulis recalls the issues his side had at the time with local clubs.

“The shareholding in those days at the Cosmos was the ACT Soccer Federation (Capital Football) and several local clubs.

“I do not think these clubs and the Cosmos were as collaborative as they could have been.

“It had to do with the fact that at the time there was a clear misunderstanding from the Cosmos and these clubs, as to what they were offering each other at the time.

“There needs to be a clear unity and assistance, with clubs helping each other with player development for a Canberra team and sharing the benefits the local sides will receive,” said Moulis.

Despite this lack of unity, there was one moment where Canberra stood united, it was for the Canberra4A-League bid.

The bid was run by Ivan Slavich and raised $5 million.

According to bid member George Lemon it was about $200 a person or more.

They also raised a petition signed by more than 20,000 supporters of the bid.

“We thought it was a really good plan. Unlike the Cosmos this was really well thought out.

“There was plenty of money. Even the ACT Government were prepared to put in $2-3 million.

“It was going to be independently run without Capital Football’s involvement, to avoid issues that the Cosmos had,” Lemon said.

Despite having a stronger bid and better financial backing, Canberra was overlooked for the Western Sydney Wanderers.

To Canberra’s detriment they were told they fell $1 million shy of the target.

“We were quite optimistic that we would get accepted, considering the funds we raised.

“The FFA though had different plans and did not want a team in Canberra at that point.

“I think it hurt us a lot and really took the wind out of our sails,” said Lemon.

Canberra’s home if a team is created would be GIO Stadium.

Over the years there have been rumblings of a new stadium being built in the Capital.

It was highlighted originally as a part of the Australian FIFA World Cup bid, where a 40,000 seat Stadium was proposed.

Former Cosmos General Manager George Lemon believes that a new stadium would be beneficial in the city centre.

“Either Braddon or near the lake, it should be in the city.

“Like in Sydney and Melbourne you can get in a bit early, go have dinner, coffee or a drink with friends then walk to the game.

“Then afterwards people can do the same or go out.

“It makes it more exciting unlike the location at Bruce which is quite sterile,” said Lemon.

For an A-League team though maybe a new specific Football Stadium could help add to the atmosphere and development of the club.

Former Cosmos president Daniel Moulis believes it is imperative.

“It is a bowl, the environment of it secludes the fans further away from the pitch than a rectangular stadium.

“It is not your classic square-sided densely packed Football Stadium that enhances an atmosphere,” Moulis said.

This has been successful in places like the MLS in the United States, as their atmospheres and crowds have been growing since most clubs have changed.

It would be a signal of intent if Canberra were to build of a Football specific stadium on the heels of being announced as a team, as not many A-League clubs have that sort of experience.

FFA Chief Executive David Gallop, has recently stated for the expansion teams they are looking for cities in the millions, not the hundreds of thousands.

This statement alone would seem like a strong sign that Canberra will not get a team anytime soon.

The closest chance, besides having a millionaire wanting to organise a club, would be inclusion in the new Australian Second League.

This is assuming the league gets the backing of the FFA.

Canberra for A-League Facebook page admin Warren Rowland believes it can help create a buzz.

“This experience would allow Canberra more exposure and would add another dimension and proof to the FFA that the support is here,” said Rowland.

Is a Canberra team an inevitability or a long shot?

I left the Mariners game in disappointment, not knowing if Canberra will ever get that opportunity.

For those who are wondering how the game ended, Central Coast won 2-1.

The long wait continues.