NQ Fury FC The Journal

Sseppuya to Israel

2011-01-13T15:58:00.003+10:00

Ex Nq Fury man Eugene Sseppuya is currently in negotiations with Isreali club Maccabi Haifa.

“At the moment, I am negotiating with Israelian club Maccabi Haifa. We have other possibilities but for now I am in negotiations with them,” he said.

While he didn't end up living up to his goalscoring record with the club, he was always very approachable off the field and we wish him all the best.

NQFC v Melbourne Victory teaser

2010-09-16T15:02:00.002+10:00

NQFC need to get another win on the board if they are to move back into top 3 contention. While premierships aren't usually won in round 7 it is very possible to lose one there, and the same goes for a finals spot!

It is a shame that Victory captain Kevin Muscat won't be playing after the firey encounter last game. The crowd were also looking forward to giving Robbie Kruse plenty after his theatrical antics last match. NQFC will be without the combined creative threats Chris Payne, Dyron Daal and Isaka Cernak.

Match Review- Melbourne Heart Vs NQ Fury FC

2010-09-06T09:06:00.002+10:00

What a match! Unfortunately the result didn't go our way, but sometimes in football you can dominate a match and lose, that's the beauty of it (unless like this week you are on the losing end).

While there were a few notable moments in the game, there were 2 wasteful oppurtunties of Eugene Sseppuya (who in the end was lucky to even put his foot on the ball) and Isaka Cernak, that on another night perhaps would have been in the back of the net. A big positive to be taken out of this match is the resolve shown by the players, not giving up right until the final whistle which vice captain Gareth Edds puts down to team spirit- "People don't like playing against us because we have a great team spirit and they know that we will go at them all the way to the end."

Coach Straka was happy with the way NQFC played - "The way we played was the best performance of the season, we can be very happy with the shape and as a team we did everything (right). I take a lot of positives from the game, it's so very important that we never stopped the work, playing positive ... it was a very good presentation of our club. Not scoring is the only pity."

Big plaudits need to go to Gareth Edds, once again. Had a great match in defence and showed that he also knows how to attack, with only a great save from Clint Bolton stopping him from getting his first goal for the Fury.

Brain explosion of the night has to go to Akoto, who late in the second half played a marvelous through ball for the Heart, forcing Pasfield to pull off another gravity defying save. Aside from that Akoto, Hughes and Storey were solid at the back. McDonald got his debut start on saturday and showed that the boss made the right choice, they didn't get behind him all night, and his speed caused the Heart plenty of concern when he pushed forward down the left.

It has to be said that the Fury really did not get the result they deserved on Saturday.

Akoto out for one match

2010-08-26T11:54:00.000+10:00

Townsville Bulletins report on sentence reduction-
NORTH Queensland Fury defender Eric Akoto has had his two-match suspension for violent conduct reduced to a one-match ban.
But a one-match suspended sentence is lingering over Akoto's head if he receives a further red card this season.
The Fury believed Akoto's push on Melbourne Victory skipper Kevin Muscat, in the 81st minute of Sunday's gritty 2-all draw, was not an act of violent conduct and outlined their case for the red card to be overturned in front of the three-man committee.
While Akoto will only miss Saturday night's home game against Adelaide United, the Townsville-based A-League team is now set to undergo a major reshuffle for Saturday's clash, with Akoto's suspension and that of Chris Grossman meaning the team will go into the game without two key defenders.
Grossman was sent off in the same game but his one-game ban could not be appealed.
Following last night's two-hour hearing phone conference before the three-man disciplinary committee, Fury CEO Rabieh Krayem said that the club knew it had a strong case for Akoto.
"We always believed we had a good case for Eric's suspension to be reduced and are happy with this outcome," Krayem said.
"I think it comes back to the intent of what happened. "At the end of the day I think we proved that there were exceptional circumstances in relation to the red card and the panel came back with what we thought was a fair and reasonable sentence for the incident.
"It's a mandatory sentence, so for us it was about showing the committee that there were exceptional circumstances and why they should look at reviewing the case, and we proved that point."
Krayem said the Fury's close-knit culture on the field had manifested itself in their defence of Akoto before the committee.
"We're relieved, I know the coaching staff are very happy and I think it shows that as a club we work very closely together, and we made sure we were well prepared - we knew we had a valid point," he said.
"As a club we're very pleased it was a team effort to get the result that we got tonight.
"Eric is a quality player and he will be missed this Saturday, but we've recruited well during the off-season and have depth in our squad to cover such eventualities."
The on-field stoush between Akoto and Muscat that resulted in Akoto's red card threatened to stretch relations between the Fury and Victory, but the two clubs settled their differences privately on Tuesday.

The Kevin Muscat Clause

2010-08-26T09:08:00.001+10:00

Read this and thought it deserved more air time-
Writtern By Jesse Fink on SBS the world game website-
Click Here

So Kevin Muscat has got away with it – again. It must be wonderful knowing you can harass, niggle, sledge, kick, elbow, punch, stomp and generally act like an out of control thug on any football pitch in this country and do it with utter impunity.
Now the man can add simulation to his repertoire of unsanctionable misdeeds.
North Queensland Fury yesterday backed off from trying to have Muscat investigated for his conduct during the weekend’s 2-2 gripping draw with Melbourne Victory at AAMI Stadium. The high point for drama came in the 82nd minute when Ghanaian-Togolese midfielder Eric Akoto was sent off for pushing Muscat over for standing on his mouthguard, but only after being taunted all game by the Victory’s king goon.
All power to Akoto. He got a cheer from me.
As usual, in the post-match presser Muscat blathered that it had nothing to do with me, guv: “He reacted. He’ll go around making stories up and accusations just because he’s got himself sent off. As far as I’m concerned he deserved to get sent off and that’s it, finished.”
Oh, how my heart bleeds.
But then, Kevin, you also did something blatant. You simulated, took a dive, to suck in the ref, Eric Boyle. You even admitted as much.
“I’ve been using this gym [at AAMI Park] for quite a few weeks and pretty sure I could have stayed up, but blatantly [he] pushed me and I knew what the outcome was going to be.”
Now, in my book, and the FFA’s, that means Akoto should have his red card rescinded. And it’s Muscat who should be sitting out the next two weeks on the sidelines.
A year ago the FFA announced its match-review panel would have the power to retrospectively sanction players for diving and simulation by reviewing match footage.
As my colleague Philip Micallef said in his story for SBS at the time: “Players deemed by the panel to have dived to earn penalties or get opponents sent off, and their simulations were missed by the referee, will be suspended for two matches. Players who are unjustly sent off as a result of an opponent’s simulation will have their red cards rescinded but results won’t change.”
Now Boyle dealt with the situation on the field but I would ask this: Did he miss Muscat’s simulation? If yes, then why isn’t Muscat being suspended? If no, why wasn’t Muscat given a yellow card at the time?
Muscat has essentially admitted he simulated a fall to make Akoto’s shove look worse. The African was sent off when Muscat could easily have stayed on his feet. So why isn’t Akoto’s red card being rescinded and his two-week suspension lifted?
Former A-League boss Archie Fraser made a big hue and cry about simulation having “no place in our game” yet here is a cut-and-dry example of a player diving to get another player sent off.
What use is a MRP with all its powers to punish players with video evidence if it’s not prepared to use them?
Oh, that’s right. There’s an untouchable individual involved, a bloke above the laws of the game.
The Kevin Muscat clause is in effect.

News Fury to appeal Akoto Send Off

2010-08-23T11:43:00.000+10:00

North Queensland Fury FC Statement – Eric Akoto’s red card

North Queensland Fury FC has this morning exercised its rights in accordance with clause 9.2 of the A-League Disciplinary Regulations and formally submitted an application to the Match Review Panel regarding the red card given to Eric Akoto during Sunday’s Hyundai A-League match against Melbourne Victory. The Club believes this was not an act of “Violent Conduct” and have outlined their case for this card to be overturned based on the Referee making an Obvious Error.No further comment will be made until the Match Review Panel have handed judgement.

News Fury Squad announced

2010-08-20T12:36:00.002+10:00

Head Coach Franz Straka has named a 15-man squad for this Sunday’s Hyundai A-League week 3 match against Melbourne Victory at AAMI Park. Unsurprisingly, Straka has no changes to the squad who defeated last season’s champions, Sydney FC in Townsville last Saturday night.

This season, the NQ Fury have shown they are a team with real ticker who are looking to play attractive football at every opportunity. But this Fury side also aren’t afraid to roll-up their sleeves and tough things as Vice Captain, Gareth Edds explains; “Not all matches will be free-flowing affairs and we know there will be times when we have to get in there and rough a few people up and battle away in the game." “For a squad who has only been together for a short period of time, we are certainly developing a game plan and style which we believe gives us the best chance of achieving success. But as we showed during last week’s match against Sydney, at times you need to be patient and repel what the opposition throws at you before you get the opportunity to play your own game and hopefully come away with the desire result."

Many pundits are suggesting this is the right time for the Fury to play Melbourne Victory as they are missing key players through injury, but this is not how Fury Assistant Coach Stuart McLaren sees it; “When approaching any match, we will always focus on whose on the park and what they can do, instead of consuming our thoughts with those who are missing.

“It doesn’t matter who plays for the Victory this Sunday, they have quality throughout their entire squad and a shrewd coaching team who have a fantastic track record.“The Victory will be disappointed with their previous results and will be looking to bounce back this Sunday, something we will be wary of and are prepared for.”

Match Details;
Sunday 22nd August, 2010AAMI Park, Melbourne
Local kick-off: 3:00pm AEST
Live and exclusive broadcast on FOX Sports HD3 & 3.
Hyundai A-League club broadcast partner is 100.7 ZincFM (Townsville).
North Queensland Fury FC
1. Justin PASFIELD (gk)
4. Eric AKOTO
5. Mark HUGHES
6. Ufuk TALAY (cpt)
7. Gareth EDDS
8. Adam CASEY
9. Eugene SSEPPUYA
10. Dyron DAAL
11. David WILLIAMS
14. Chris GROSSMAN
15. Chris PAYNE
16. Simon STOREY
17. Osama MALIK
19. Isaka CERNAK
20. Matthew HAM (gk)
In: None
Out: None
Not selected: 2. Jack HINGERT 3. Brad McDONALD, 12. Panagiotis NIKAS, 18. Brett STUDMAN, 21. Jason SPAGNUOLO
Injured: 13. Andre Kilian (2-3 weeks – foot injury)

From Franz with Love

2010-08-20T08:16:00.001+10:00

Below is a letter emailed to members from our beloved head coach, Franz Straka.

Dear Supporter,
Since I arrived in Townsville almost two months ago, I’ve wanted to contact all our supporters to thank them for making me and my family feel so at home and for the support you’ve shown the team throughout the pre-season.As Head Coach of the Fury, I’m very fortunate to have a talented and enthusiast squad of players who are eager to improve, have a desire to succeed and above all, play for each other with tremendous team spirit.

It’s this enthusiastic and collective approach to our football which has resulted in our pleasing start to the season.As a player and coach, I’ve experienced many memorable moments throughout my career, but Saturday’s win against defending champions Sydney FC is certainly up there. I was delighted with our performance and the reaction of our fabulous supporters at the stadium that evening. The crowd really made a difference and gave us the lift we needed in those final ten minutes. On behalf of the team and coaching staff, I would like to thank all you all for being so vocal and supportive. [Here are the highlights from Saturday’s match if you missed it; http://www.foxsports.com...7554653-5000940,00.html]

Our next home match in on Saturday 28th August against Adelaide United and we would love to see as many people as possible in attendance. So if you enjoyed the experience last Saturday, whether at the stadium or watching on television, please bring your family and friends to Dairy Farmers Stadium and support the Fury in person – because there is nothing like playing in front a big home crowd. However, before then we have a tough match against an experienced Melbourne Victory outfit this Sunday at 3pm. Last year’s Grand Finalists will certainly pose a formidable challenge for us, but we give it our all and play our football with plenty of heart and spirit. I hope you will be cheering us on whilst watching the match on Fox Sports.

Thank you again for your continued support of my team and I look forward to meeting you all throughout the season.

Franz Straka

Straka for PM

2010-08-18T12:44:00.001+10:00

If you pick up any form of media at the moment, chances are you are going to be bombarded by Abbot or Gillard, telling you they can run the country better than the other, our country needs good economic management, we need better policy blah blah blah...

After a beverage or two at the sensational win on Saturday and then getting home in time to watch a thousand said ads, I got to thinking, if only Franz was running for PM and had Robbie Middleby as his deputy/treasurer, they would have my vote in a second. You couldn't get much better use of your money than the NQFC squad that these 2 men have assembled for the current A-League season. Sure some of the singings (expenditure) has seemed to be on unknown quantities, but the more you see them play, and the more you look into the way the players conduct themselves not only on the field but also the training paddock and off the pitch in the public eye, the more you realise how much time, effort and research went into selecting Fury V2.0.

I know some/most of you are probably thinking- "It's two games into the season mate, don't get ahead of yourself". I am not saying that there will be green and white streamers on the toilet seat come March next year (although you never know), but I don't think there could be many people out there who would deny that Franz, Robbie and the football operations team at Fury have managed to put together a quality squad on a (quite openly) shoestring budget.

The win over Sydney on Saturday highlighted a few things for me. This year's side have a self belief that last year's side lacked and the players (and even the coaching/admin staff) have openly attributed most of that to the faith and relationship between Franz and the players. Fury V2.0 also seem to have a more attack minded play. Even though the boss likes to play only one up front, it doesn't seem to be a rigid defensive style, more a fluid formation, and he is happy for Williams, Payne, and Cernak to get far enough forward to almost play two or three upfront at times when attacking.

Fury this year also seem to be a more flexible outfit, last year would sometimes get a little frustrating watching our team getting outplayed but still continuing to play the same style, working or not, to try get the result, whereas it seems Franz has put together a side that is not only young, exciting, and good value, they are also very flexible in the way they play.

He has got two very capable target men with Dyron Daal and (hopefully) Eugene Sseppuya, although he really didn't impress me on Saturday, I am hoping with a little more time here he will shine, these guys give us the ability to play them in and use our speed and fitness to run off them and try to catch teams on the break.
We also have capable ball players/creative midfielders in Payne, Williams, Talay, and Cernak, meaning that not only can we knock it to DD and Sseppuya and run off them with our pace, but we can also play the ball around trying to get in behind defenders (ala Payne/Daal combo on Saturday).

The Robbie Middleby masterstroke of securing Mark Hughes, who he told us he has been watching since the start of last season, qualifies him to sign off on all the financial/major policy in my book. Hughes' ability to read the game with his communication skills have turned Fury into a much more cohesive unit in defence, and in my opinion, once Andre Kilian is back from injury we are going to be a lot tougher side to score against.
No disrespect to Grossman, as he has scored two great goals and worked very hard but we seem to be a little weak on the left side defensively and Kilian will most likely be the answer to that.

So if the Franz and Robbie can achieve what they have in two months with a tight budget, next to no staff, and no big name signings then why can't they do it for the country?

If they don't start a last minute election campaign after reading this, I'll be adding a box to the ballot paper next weekend!

News Fury side announced

2010-08-14T12:20:00.001+10:00

Changes/omissions to the squad-

In: 6. Ufuk Talay, 9. Eugene Sseppuya
Out: 18. Brett Studman, 21. Jason Spagnuolo
Not selected: 2. Jack Hingert, 3. Brad McDonald, 12. Panagiotis Nikas

News Fury vs Sydney FC Preview

2010-08-13T15:20:00.004+10:00

This match sees this years favourites for the wooden spoon up against this years favourite to win the competition.

NQFC captain Ufuk Talay is back, while he was injured for much of last season, when he was there he was a massive impact on the game hopefully his return can sure up the midfield. We also have the luxury (for the first time in our short history) of being able to omit fit players who are playing well, of particular interest will be the forward combination the boss decides to go with now that Sseppuya is cleared to play. Williams played very well on his own at target man but is also comfortable out wide and in behind a lone striker, Payne, Casey and Cernak all played well in the roving/wide/support roles in behind Williams, which will make it hard for Sseppuya to walk straight into the side. Although it is always hard for a manager to leave a player out who knows where the goal is.

The back line of Hughes, Akoto, Storey, and Grossman seemed to get exposed particularly from Grossman's side, and perhaps the new signing McDonald may get a crack on the left hand side of defense for the next few weeks until Andre Kilian returns from a foot injury. Hopefully the other lads can be a little more careful with the cautions this week though, as we don't want last year's injury problem to turn into a suspension problem.

Midfield will also be interesting to see if Talay heads straight back into a starting role, and who will make way for him. Osama Malik and Gareth Edds both played well against Perth and the last preseason match against Adelaide, and would be unlucky to not start again against SFC.

It seems like Straka has himself quite the dilemma this week in deciding which players deserve to keep their spots, who gets dropped and if any players deserve to be promoted to a starting spot.

NQFFC v Sydney FC
Date: Saturday, 14 August, 2010
Venue: Dairy Farmers Stadium, Townsville
Local kick-off: 5.15pm
Referee: Peter Green
Live and exclusive broadcast on FOX Sports 3, FS3 HD & delayed on Sky Sports 3.
Radio broadcast partner is Zinc 100.7 (Townsville) and SBS Digital.

NQFC squad:
1. Justin PASFIELD (gk)
2.Jack HINGERT
3.Brad McDonald
4. Eric AKOTO
5. Mark HUGHES
6. Ufuk TALAY (C)
7. Gareth EDDS (vc)
8. Adam CASEY
9. Eugene SSEPPUYA
10. Dyron DAAL
11. David WILLIAMS
12. Panagiotis NIKAS
14. Chris GROSSMAN
15. Chris PAYNE
16. Simon STOREY
17. Osama MALIK
18. Brett STUDMAN
19. Isaka CERNAK
20. Matthew HAM (gk)
21. Jason SPAGNUOLO
Injuries: 13.Andre KILIAN (up to 3 weeks - foot)
*squad to be reduced by 5*

Sydney FC squad:
1. Liam REDDY (gk)
2. Sebastian RYALL
3. Stephan KELLER
5. Hayden FOXE
7. Brendan GAN
8. Stuart MUSIALIK
10. Nick CARLE
11. Kofi DANNING
12. Shannon COLE
13. Antony GOLEC
14. Alex BROSQUE
15. Terry MCFLYNN (c)
20. Ivan NECEVSKI (gk)
21. Scott JAMIESON
22. Sung-Hwan BYUN
23. Rhyan GRANT
*squad to be reduced by 1*
Injuries: 9.Mark BRIDGE (Hamstring – 1 week)

News Fury's newest sponsor

2010-08-13T10:38:00.004+10:00

NQFC yesterday announced another brick in the foundations of the club. A sponsorship deal with People Resourcing, a major player on the East Coast of Australia in the recruitment industry.

The deal will be worth more than $450,000.00 over 3 years to the Fury and sees the firm receiving branding rights to the recently closed Northern stand, as well as major broadcasting rights through the club's radio partner Zinc FM.

A proud NQFC CEO Rabieh Krayem said- “I’m delighted to welcome People Resourcing to our growing family of well-respected club partners and sponsors. People Resourcing is a specialised recruitment and labour hire services company with strong brand identity throughout Queensland who see this new partnership as a way of growing their business. Last week, the club announced a 3-year partnership agreement with Mission Australia to work on projects with Indigenous youth throughout North Queensland and Northern Territory. People Resourcing already run a series of Indigenous programmes throughout the Gladstone region and see potential growth for their business as the Fury’s partnership with Mission Australia develops. We hope to announce in the coming weeks some further sponsorship agreement which will not only bring important funds into the club but help with the long term sustainability of the Fury.”

It is very good to see the club putting some more dollars in the bank, but more encouraging to see that the 2 latest sponsors have the belief in the club to sign multi-year sponsorships.

Expect some more sponsorship news to be announced in the next couple of weeks!

TOGETHER WITH FURY 1ST EDITION

2010-08-12T23:04:00.015+10:00

To see this in full screen mode, click on the square with the four arrows in it.

TWF0810

News Fury Sign McDonald

2010-08-12T15:38:00.004+10:00

photo from NQ Fury FC

NQFC have today announced the signing of 20 year old Brad McDonald from Brisbane Strikers.

An excited Brad was unvieled today at Dairy Farmers Stadium- “I’m obviously delighted to be given this opportunity and it’s one I’m determined to make the most of. There is great energy around the club and the football set-up is excellent. Although I hope to play an important role in the team’s success this season, I’m also looking forward to continuing my footballing education under our head coach, Franz Straka, who has such a wealth of knowledge and encourages the team to play an attractive brand of football. I’d also like to take the opportunity to thank the Brisbane Strikers who have released me during their Finals campaign to allow me to pursue my goal of playing in the A-League. Without their support, this dream move would not have been possible at this time.”

Brad will join fellow Queensland juniors Adam Casey, Isaka Cernak, Matthew Ham, Chris Grossman and David Williams, showing the clubs commitment to follow through on their promise to promote young local talent. Assistant coach Stuart Mclaren was quick to note that while the club is after results they are also about helping locals progress- “Results are obviously important to all clubs no matter what sport you’re involved with. But for any national side to succeed, it needs to have a pool of talented players with the experience required to excel on a global stage. Here at the Fury, we believe that we can create the opportunity for local Queensland players to get that exposure and experience required to not only help the Fury reach its own goals but to help the players achieve their own ambitions. By doing this, we aren’t sacrificing quality or depth in our squad, but we are showing a development path for those players coming through grassroots and representative programmes”.

News NQFC's first home game

2010-08-10T09:49:00.002+10:00

News David Williams says Fury have more

2010-08-09T10:14:00.003+10:00

Following the draw on Friday night David Williams, who scored the Furys 2nd goal, said he thinks the team is still getting better-

“It’s been excellent, the team’s coming together well,” Williams told au.fourfourtwo.com. "It’s been a tough lead in but it’s been exciting.

"We’ve got our 20-man squad and hopefully there may be few more coming later on in the season." Said Williams, confirming the state league signings the club has already spoken of.

NQFC were still understrength on friday night missing skipper Ufuk Talay and noteably the new Ungandan striker Eugene Sseppuya. Both are believed to be in the mix for this weekends first home match against Sydney.

News Fury on track to break membership record

2010-08-09T09:01:00.001+10:00

With less than 7-days until the North Queensland Fury play their first home match of the Hyundai A-League 2010/11 season, new Membership application forms are still flooding in.

As the Fury’s new Management and Administration team only started in early July, the Fury were late to market in announcing the details of season tickets for the new season. However, the attractive pricing structure and the growing supporter base for the Fury throughout North Queensland has seen the club inundated with renewal and new membership forms in the past fortnight – with Fury bosses expecting the number of 2010/11 Members* to break the 3,500 mark going into Saturday’s match. This figure represents a 30% increase when comparing figures from this time last season.

Ticketek, the club’s official ticketing partner, are working as fast as they can to process all these applications by Wednesday (11th August) to enable the Fury to put on general sale remaining seats in the Eastern Terrance for Saturday’s match v Sydney FC. General Admission tickets are already available to purchase for both hills, Northern and Southern, and as demonstrated last season, are always extremely popular with families and larger groups of supporters.

Commenting on this encouraging situation, North Queensland Fury’s Chief Executive Rabieh Krayem said;
“The key to any successful sporting club, particularly those with longevity, is the number of members and supporters you can attract. We felt that last season’s ticket and membership pricing structure was not affordable when you take into consideration the financial pressures everyone is experiencing. “So for the 2010/11 season, we heavily reduced our membership and match day ticket prices across the board plus offered a further 15% discount to those involved in Football Queensland or the Defence Forces, to encourage more people to attend our home fixtures and soak up the unique atmosphere which is generated at Fury matches.

“The Fury is a family-friendly club and as such our family tickets this season have been priced accordingly. But the response from around the region has been staggering, with almost 500 family memberships already sold.

“Although we hoped for a good response, the amount of completed application forms we’ve received in the past fortnight has been positively overwhelming and supports our ethos of being community minded in everything we do.

“We had hoped to put all remaining tickets for our Sydney FC match on sale last week but due to the high volume of applications yet to be processed, we can only make available at this time general admission tickets on the hills. By Wednesday we should be in a position to put on sale any remaining silver and gold seats in the Eastern Terrace for this Saturday’s match.

“I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the team of workers at Ticketek in Brisbane who have been putting in the long hours to help us meet our deadlines.”

To buy match day tickets, go to www.ticketek.com.au or call 132 849.

News Fury's new partnership

2010-08-05T13:46:00.007+10:00

Photo by Stephen Lane
NQFC have announce a new partnership with Mission Australia, with the aim of working together to address indigenous disadvantage within Norther Queensland and the Northern Territory.

To help promote this partnership, the Mission Australia corporate logo will be displayed on the front of the Fury’s playing shirts (home and away) and will enjoy strong branding at Fury home fixtures. Mission Australia will also be the Fury’s “charity of choice” during this period.

“This is a landmark day for North Queensland Fury FC and sport in general,” Fury CEO Rabieh Krayem said.

“This partnership provides much needed funds into our club and helps our sustainability, but just as importantly it is an active demonstration of our commitment to make a difference in the community."

“The partnership benefits strongly from Mission’s deep knowledge and experience and the Fury’s potential influence across Northern Australia.”

Also attending the press conference was Dr Prins Ralston, who said Mission Australia was excited about the partnership and the opportunities it presented to improve Indigenous welfare at the grassroots level.

“All around the world, sport is used in communities suffering disadvantage to motivate, build skills and transform people’s lives.

“Football is a great way for people to engage in a safe, non-threatening team environment, and offers plenty of opportunities to build meaningful support programs that are attractive and fun.

“We see the work of Mission Australia and the community ethos of the Fury as a terrific natural fit and we are looking forward to building a lasting relationship and delivering lasting legacies,” Dr Ralston said.

Clubs around the world have already done this, the most notable being Barcelona FC with Unicef. It is good to see that the club will have a sponsors logo on the front of the shirt in time for the season opener with the Glory.

Mr Krayem also said he hoped to make announcements regarding new sponsors in the next few weeks.

Fury worth a Pinepple

2010-08-05T10:25:00.000+10:00

Unless your surname is Trump, Packer or Fowler chances are your careful about how you spend your hard earned bees and honey. To most $50 represents dinner, a night at the movies, or a few beers at your local. This week, I’m going to forego the latest blockbuster and put it on the Fury, because as far as I am concerned at $5.50 (as of writing this) they represent better value than $3 pints!

Looking over the NQFC line up, there aren’t many names that jump off the page (aside from Mark Hughes, as we recently found out there is more than one), however before writing them off because of that there are a few things to note. Mark Hughes, Andre Killian, and Eric Akoto all come with impressive footballing pedigree that will sharpen our defence. To be honest it would appear as if our weakest player at the back this year is Pasfield. Seeing his form at the end of last year and knowing our financial situation, if someone had given me odds on that 2 months ago I wouldn’t have taken 100-1, but it now seems as though it would’ve been smart money.

Because our side lacks any Socceroos or players who have made a name for themselves in the A-league, I had to do most of my research online reading about them and the odd youtube clip. One thing that most of our players seem to have in common, is that they have all been praised for their hardwork on the field and the training paddock, I believe it showed in the Adelaide match, and that it got us close to the finals last year with a weaker side.

With that knowledge under my belt and seeing how hard the team worked on the field against Adelaide makes me confident that the boys will work their bollocks off to do the job and prove themselves in the league. This week represents a tough challenge for our defence coming up against Fowler, Sterjovski, Burns and the gang, particularly knowing that the majority of the Perth side played together last year, but could there be a better way for Hughesy and Akoto to show their worth? I think the quality of our defenders and the strength of Gareth Edds as a holding midfielder should be able to hold the Glory boys at bay, particularly if we can get them to come at us through the middle.

Our attack will be the key. If Isaka Cernak and Chris Payne again put in the performance and effort they did against Adelaide out wide, it will make it hard for the Glory’s wide players to get forward, making sure that they will then have to try to go through the middle. Up front both Dyron Daal and David Williams can finish if given the service from the midfield. Unfortunately Talay in note yet recovered from injury, so won’t be there to deliver, however I am sure that Edds, Spagnoulo, and Nikas (if they are selected to start) will do the job.

Given NQFC’s offseason dramas, and that fact that we have only just signed our 20th player, the Glory deserve to go in favourites, but with the quality that the we have signed, the attitude that they have shown, and the attacking style of play that Straka seems to encourage (and that we seem to have bought our team to suit) the odds on offer are very generous and ill be heading down to the bookies with a nifty $50 this week (and watch Shrek 3D next week).

News Fury announce squad

2010-08-04T08:07:00.001+10:00

North Queensland Fury Head Coach, Franz Straka, has named a 16-man squad for the club’s opening Hyundai A-League 2010/11 fixture against Perth Glory this Friday night (10pm AEST) at nib Stadium (Perth).

Missing from the travelling squad is Captain Ufuk Talay, who has returned to training in the past week but is still short of full match fitness. Because of the travelling involved and the loss of training time, it was decided that Ufuk would remain in Townsville to get himself ready for the Fury’s fixture against defending Hyundai A-League champions, Sydney FC, at Dairy Farmers Stadium on Saturday 14 August. In Talay’s absence, Gareth Edds will wear the Captain’s armband. The Fury’s latest addition, Ugandan striker, Eugene SSeppuya, will also remain behind to prepare for the club’s second fixture. Although the plan was always for Eugene to make his Hyundai A-League debut against Sydney FC, there was a very remote chance he could be ready for Perth. However, this hasn’t worked out and the club and its supporters look forward to seeing him pull on the green and white next Saturday night.

Andre Kilian (recovering from recent ankle surgery) and Jack Hingert are the other two members of the current 20-man NQ Fury FC squad who are not travelling to Perth. Fury Head Coach, Franz Straka, speaking about the challenge of his first Hyundai A-League fixture; “When compared to other teams, we’ve only had a short amount of time to prepare for the new season. But I’m happy with how well the players have gelled together and how hard they have train, so I feel confident that we travel to Perth in good shape.
“Perth have a very experienced squad and will be difficult to play at home. However, if we play as well as we can and keep to our game plan, then hopefully we’ll be rewarded for our efforts.” Fury Assistant Coach Stuart McLaren speaking about Ufuk Talay; “Ufuk has been training well this week. But in light of our travelling schedule and our fixture falling on a Friday, this match has come a little too soon for him. “As much as we would love to play Ufuk this week, our priority is to ensure that when he returns to football it’s when he is 100% fit and able to play a full part in our season. “Ufuk will remain in Townsville with the other non-selected players to continue his training programme ahead of our fixture against Sydney FC.” Commenting on Eugene’s availability, Head of Football Operations Robbie Middleby said;“When we signed Eugene we were realistic in thinking his debut match would be against Sydney FC but hoped we may be able to get him cleared for our match in Perth. It’s a shame he isn’t able to play this week but we knew this was a real possibility, so the coaching staff and team have prepared accordingly.”

North Queensland Fury FC 16-man Squad:
1. Justin PASFIELD (gk)
4. Eric AKOTO
5. Mark HUGHES
7. Gareth EDDS (cpt)
8. Adam CASEY
10. Dyron DAAL
11. David WILLIAMS
12. Panagiotis NIKAS
14. Chris GROSSMAN
15. Chris PAYNE
16. Simon STOREY
17. Osama MALIK
18. Brett STUDMAN
19. Isaka CERNAK
20. Matthew HAM (gk)
21. Jason SPAGNUOLO

Match details;Friday, 6 August 2010
Perth Glory v North Queensland Fury
nib Stadium, PerthLocal kick-off: 10:00pm AEST (8:00pm in Perth)
Coverage details;
Live and exclusive broadcast on FOX Sports 1 & 1HD. Hyundai A-League club broadcast partner is Zinc 100.7 (Townsville).

News Fury Sign Ugandian

2010-08-03T12:45:00.004+10:00

Photo By Stephen Lane

The North Queensland Fury are delighted to announce the signing of Ugandan International, Eugene Sseppuya for the forthcoming Hyundai A-League season. The 27-year-old striker joins the Fury from European side, FK Sudova and has extensive experience playing for teams in both Serbia and the USA.
This out and out striker has an impressive strike-rate, scoring a goal every 114 minutes. His strong build and instinctive skills inside the 18-yard box will complement the other forward options within the Fury squad. SSeppuya arrived in Townsville on Saturday and successfully passed a stringent medical examination. It’s hoped Eugene will be available for the Fury’s first home match of the season against Sydney FC on Saturday 14 August.
On finally securing the signature of this prime target, the Fury’s Head of Football Operations Robbie Middleby said; “This year we play 30 fixtures and it’s important we have a quality strike-force who can cover all eventualities. Eugene came highly recommended to us from our overseas contacts and from our head coach, Franz Straka. He is a different type of player to Dyron (Daal), Chris (Payne) and David (Williams) and his inclusion should help the team score the number of goals needed to have a successful season.” “This is a very good signing for the Fury. Eugene will provide more competition and further options for us up front, and hopefully we’ll see this translate into more goals scored by the team this season.” said a happy Fury head coach, Franz Straka. After a long 30 hour flight from Belgrade and a thorough medical on landing, a tired but happy Sseppuya said; “I’m very happy to have finally signed for the North Queensland Fury. From what I’ve seen and heard, the A-League is a very good standard; physically demanding and has a growing reputation around the world. As a striker you like to score goals, but if I can also assist others to find the back of the net, then this can only be a good thing for the team.”

News Fury Squad for Adelaide friendly

2010-07-30T14:11:00.001+10:00

Fury squad announced for Adelaide match
North Queensland Fury head coach, Franz Straka, has named an 18-man squad to face Adelaide United tonight (Friday 30 July) at Townville’s Brolga Park.
This will be the side’s last match ahead of the new Hyundai A-League season, and will give the players and coaching staff a further indication as to how far they have progressed since coming together 6-8 weeks ago.
Following their 1-0 last Sunday to Gold Coast United, the team have been putting in the hard yards this week to further prepare themselves for the season ahead.
The only player not available for selection this week is Andre Kilian who is recovering from recent ankle surgery. However, newly appointed skipper, Ufuk Talay, is getting closer to being match fit and is hopeful of getting some game time under his belt before next Friday’s season opener in Perth.

NQ Fury squad v Adelaide United:
Eric AKOTO
Adam CASEY
Isaka CERNAK
Dyron DAAL
Gareth EDDS
Chris GROSSMAN
Matthew HAM
Jack HINGERT
Mark HUGHES
Osama MALIK
Panny NIKAS
Justin PASFIELD
Chris PAYNE
Jason SPAGNUOLO
Simon STOREY
Brett STUDMAN
Ufuk TALAY (cpt)
David WILLIAMS

Match Details
NQ Fury vs Adelaide Unitedb
Friday 30 July, 2010
Brolga Park, Annandale, Townsville - Get Directions Here!
Kick-off 7:30pm (gates open 6:30pm)
Children under 16 – free of charge16 and over - $5 per person with $1 from each ticket sold going to the charity “Eat So They Can”

News NQFC's McCall to join Liverpool

2010-07-29T15:02:00.000+10:00

Today is a bittersweet day for North Queensland Fury FC, as it confirms that Head of Sports Science, Alan McCall, will leave the Fury this Friday to take up a similar role with English giants, Liverpool Football Club. 30-year-old McCall joined the Fury from Scottish powerhouse, Celtic Football Club, back in January 2009 and was headhunted by the five-times European Champions to become their new Sports Scientist. Speaking about this once-in-a-lifetime move, Alan said; “This decision really hasn’t been easy for me. I love everything about the Fury, its supporters and the fabulous landscape of North Queensland. But it’s not every day you get offered a job at one of the most famous football clubs in the world and this opportunity is what dreams are made of. “It’s been a real privilege and an honour to be involved in creating something fantastic here at the Fury and I’ll be sad to leave a club who are on the verge of great things.” Although everyone at the Fury will be sad to see Alan leave, it highlights the quality of personnel working at North Queensland Fury FC. Robbie Middleby, former Fury captain and now the club’s Head of Football Operations sums up the feeling amongst Alan’s colleagues; “Alan is truly in a league of his own when it comes to the field of Sports Science. He combines traditional and progressive approaches to injury prevention and rehabilitation, whilst using the latest technologies and insight to help each member of the squad reach their potential.
“Not only is Alan a leader at what he does, but also has an exceptional knowledge of football and played an important role in helping assemble this year’s squad.
“Although Alan will be sorely missed by everyone at the club, we are immensely proud of his appointment at Liverpool FC and look forward to welcoming him back to Townsville in years to come.”

News Talay Fury's Captain

2010-07-29T09:15:00.004+10:00

Photo Courtesy of NQ Fury

Foundation North Queensland Fury player, Ufuk Talay, will today be unveiled as the club’s Captain for the forthcoming Hyundai A-League season. The experienced 34-year-old midfielder, one of eight players retained from last year’s squad, was selected for the honour by new Fury Head Coach Franz Straka. Talay, whose signed his first professional football contract at age 16, will follow in the footsteps of last year’s inaugural captains Robbie Fowler and Robbie Middleby in leading out the Fury: “It goes without saying that being named captain of North Queensland Fury is a great honour and definitely a career highlight. These are exciting times for the Fury, we now have in place a new coaching team and a close group of players who are working very hard to prepare for the challenges of the new Hyundai A-League season.
“We have a very good blend of youth and experience and although I’m captain, everyone has leadership qualities and I’ll be encouraging all members of the squad to play their role in leading the team, whether through voice or action.”
To assist Ufuk this season, Straka has announce a Vice Captain, Gareth Edds, and these two players will join three other senior players to form a Leadership Team. These five players will act as mentors and role models to other members of the squad both on and off the field. The leadership team is Ufuk Talay, Gareth Edds, Eric Akoto, Chris Grossman and Mark Hughes. Speaking on the appointment of Ufuk as captain, Franz Straka said; “Ufuk is a very experienced player who has played football at the highest level both here in Australia and abroad. He is well liked and respected by everyone associated with the club, particularly his fellow teammates, and his strong on-field presence makes him the right person to lead the team forward.”

News Sports Minister to Attend NQFC pre-season match

2010-07-28T15:04:00.003+10:00

Minster for Sport to attend NQ Fury pre-season match this FridayThis Friday evening (30th July), Townsville’s Brolga Park will not only play host to Adelaide United during the Fury’s final pre-season match ahead of the new Hyundai A-League season, but arguably Adelaide's number one supporter, Member for Adelaide and Federal Sports Minister, Kate Ellis MP.
This week has been an important week for Australian football, with FIFA's inspection delegation visiting parts of the country during a fact-finding tour into the nation’s 2022 FIFA World Cup™ bid. Ms Ellis, who continues to play an important role in Australia’s World Cup bid, will be visiting North Queensland’s largest city, Townsville, on Friday and will address the local football community during half time of the Fury’s pre-season match vs Adelaide United (kick-off 7:30pm).
If on 2nd December 2010, Australia are awarded the right to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup™, then North Queensland, particularly Townsville, will benefit enormously as one of ten host cities throughout Australia. Whilst the region would experience massive economic benefits including improved stadium and training facilities, upgraded infrastructure would deliver a once-in-a-lifetime legacy for the people of North Queensland.
"Australia's bid for the 2022 FIFA World Cup™ is a truly national bid and would be a great boost for football in Townsville and the greater North Queensland region," said Football Federation Australia CEO Ben Buckley.
"As one of Australia's fastest growing football regions, Townsville, as a host city for the FIFA World Cup would leave a legacy that would deliver enormous benefit to the city, to the region and to football in Australia."
“The North Queensland Fury look forward to hosting Kate Ellis MP at our match on Friday and hopefully a healthy attendance at the home of Townsville Football, Brolga Park, will reinforce why North Queensland is ready to welcome the world in 2022," North Queensland Fury FC Chief Executive Rabieh Krayem.
“At grassroots level, more people play football than any other sport in this region and the long term effects of hosting the FIFA World Cup™ will benefit all North Queensland residents and the region’s own Hyundai A-League side, North Queensland Fury.
“Although we hope Ms Ellis has a very enjoyable evening with us on Friday, as an Adelaide United supporter, we can’t promise she’ll like the result.”
Match DetailsNQ Fury vs Adelaide UnitedFriday 30 July, 2010Brolga Park, Annandale, TownsvilleKick-off 7:30pm (gates open 5:30pm)Children under 16 – free of charge16 and over - $5 per person with $1 from each ticket sold going to the charity “Eat So They Can”.

I wonder if she will get upset when her home town lose to NQFC!

News GCU Wrap

2010-07-27T08:23:00.000+10:00

Not getting to see the game myself, I have added a wrap that was in the local paper-

THE Fury were given a wake-up, but were far from disgraced in their maiden hit-out against an A-League opponent.
North Queensland FC tasted defeat for the first time in five pre-season games yesterday afternoon, going down 1-nil to Gold Coast United at a cold, wet and near-empty Carrara Stadium.
A first-half strike from United's Golgol Mebrahtu proved the difference.
Despite the closeness of the scoreline, after a month of smooth sailing, it was the reality check the Fury were hunting.
By their own admission, the sharp step up in speed and precision following games against predominantly State League opposition caught North Queensland hopping in the opening 20 minutes.
"We didn't do too badly, but there are certainly a couple of things that were highlighted to us that we can improve upon, but we were aware of that coming into the game," Fury assistant coach Stuart McLaren said.
"It was good from our perspective and the players' perspective (to find out) directly where we were in comparison to a good A-League team and the Gold Coast are a good team.
"In the first half there were situations where they had a couple of chances that we almost invited the trouble on to ourselves - some mistakes playing from the back - but we know we can improve on that."
North Queensland improved as the game wore on, adapting to the pace and the class of a Gold Coast squad benefiting from being near-identical to the one that reached the 2009/10 finals.
The Fury, on the other hand, are all but starting from scratch, with just eight players from last season back on the books.
They now have one more game to get it right ahead of their A-League kick-off against the Perth Glory on August 6, when they take on Adelaide United at Brolga Park on Friday night.
McLaren conceded that with the squad still forming combinations perfection may still be a few weeks off, but was adamant NQFC would be ready for the battle with former skipper Robbie Fowler.
"I don't think there is any doubt ... that we will be ready for Perth in two weeks' time," he said.
"We know we have to focus and work on a couple of things, so we'll be ready for that match.
"But I think what we can look forward to is that four, five, six weeks into the season there will be a good level of improvement as we play more and more A-League opposition."
Striker David Williams, who made his return after a niggling knee complaint playing in behind Dyron Daal up front, said he was pleased with the team's development.
"It was only 1-nil, we looked good in patches and from that I think we can take it into the Adelaide game," he said.
The Fury trialled QSL Brisbane Strikers forward Brad McDonald during the game and, like Sunshine Coast's Tyson Holmes, he will be invited to train with the squad at some stage to further press his claims for a contract.

A welcome reality check for NQ Fury Townsville Bulletin Sport

News Fury ready for Gold Coast clash

2010-07-23T10:31:00.001+10:00

North Queensland Fury’s preparations for the new Hyundai A-League season steps up a notch this Sunday when they play fellow A-League side, Gold Coast United, at Carrara Stadium (3pm kick-off). The Fury, under the direction of new head coach Franz Straka, have won all four pre-season matches to-date and the quality of their football has improved match by match, culminating in an impressive 4-1 win over FIFA Club World Cup qualifiers Hekari FC last Saturday in Townsville. However, with only a fortnight until the new season starts, Sunday’s match will provide the test the squad needs to give them a clear indication as to where they lie in terms of competitiveness and cohesion ahead their first Hyundai A-League fixture away to Perth Glory (Friday 6 August).

Striker David Williams returns to the Fury line-up after missing the previous two friendlies with a slight knee complaint but Ufuk Talay and Andre Kilian will not make the trip south. Talay resumed full training late this week after recovering from a leg injury sustained whilst training in Mackay and Kilian is still 2-3 weeks away from full match fitness following recent ankle surgery. Isaka Cernak will also miss Sunday’s match after the club was informed the 21-year-old accumulated 5 yellow cards during last season’s National Youth League competition whilst playing for Brisbane Roar - this equates to a one match suspension.

North Queensland Fury's 16-man squad vs Gold Coast United;

Eric AKOTO

Adam CASEY

Dyron DAAL

Gareth EDDS

Chris GROSSMAN

Matthew HAM

Jack HINGERT

Mark HUGHES

Osama MALIK

Panny NIKAS

Justin PASFIELD

Chris PAYNE

Jason SPAGNUOLO

Simon STOREY

Brett STUDMAN

David WILLIAMS

Match Details-

Gold Coast United vs. North Queensland FurySunday 25 July, 2010Carrara Stadium, Broadbeach-Nerang Road, CarraraKick-off: 3:00pmFor more details on admission prices, go to http://www.goldcoastunited.com.au/

Introducing Rebecca Trbojevich

2010-07-20T11:57:00.002+10:00

As we are all aware it was not only on the field that NQFC was overhauled, the back office also received a much needed revamp. I was able to get in contact with the new Corporate Communications Manager Rebecca Trbojevich.

Originally from Sydney, Rebecca has come to NQFC from the Lancashire Cricket Club in England where she was the Communications Manager, and has spent the last 10 years in radio and cricket administration. This bodes well for the Fury v2.0 who seemed to lack anyone with experience in sports administration or marketing last season (not that I think they didn’t try their best or that some of the staff didn’t do a sterling job). As CCM Rebecca will cover a broad range of tasks- “My principle responsibilities are to look after the PR, Media, Marketing and multimedia platforms for the Fury. However, we are a team on and off the field at the club, so we all muck-in to help each other out to achieve our goals.”

While everyone was focused on the concern of NQFC not having coaching staff or a long playing roster, one thing that was lost was the fact that we actually had NO administration staff aside from those directly involved in the football department- “Until the 2nd July, the only staff at the Fury were employed in the football department. Since then, six others have started at the Fury, completing the small but dynamic administration team who are working their socks off to get the club ready for the start of the season.”

Just like the “cut price” playing roster, the FFA have cut back on staff. NQFC v2.0 have 6 staff doing the job that over 15 did last season, it is sure to be a challenging environment but one that Rebecca says the team are well and truly up for- “By the end of the season we all hope to look back and say we did the club, the supporters and the community proud of what we achieved in such a small amount of time. The 2010/11 version of the NQ Fury is a club that represents the values of the local community, whilst providing inspiration to the next generation of soccer players that they too can represent an A-League club in their own backyard.”

I am sure that all the fans will join me in wishing the Tottenham Hotspur (and NQFC) fan and the rest of the team (who we might even get to know soon as well) the best of luck for the coming season.

One thing is for sure, it is great to know that the team on the field has a productive and experienced team working off it, especially knowing that if the WC2022 bid is not successful the world will be a very different looking place for NQFC.

Fury News NQFC do Hekari United 4-1

2010-07-19T22:24:00.001+10:00

Unfortunately I was unable to attend the match on saturday night. However the Townsville Bulletin seems to have produced a very good article on the match-

STRUCTURE, poise, precision and a touch of flamboyance - welcome to the North Queensland Fury 2010/11.
OK, so it's only game four of the pre-season and they are yet to battle an A-League opponent, but the Fury showed enough in thrashing Hekari United that they have the quality to prove a handful in the upcoming season. It is probably also worth noting that FIFA Club World Cup qualifiers Hekari are no mugs, despite the 4-1 scoreline.
From the rubble of near club collapse three months ago, the Townsville-based club appears to have found some gems.
With Eric Akoto and Mark Hughes standing firm at the back, Chris Grossman and Jason Spagnuolo linking beautifully on the left and Chris Payne and Dyron Daal doing their thing up front, the 1300-strong crowd at Brolga Park liked what they saw.
And that's not even touching on the class and instinct Gareth Edds, Simon Storey and Isaka Cernak showed in the midfield.
But what stood out most was the structure and shape coach Franz Straka has brought to the outfit.
At the risk of going off too early, gone were the shaky, heart-in-the-mouth moments when the attack reached the Fury's goalmouth, while the patience in the build up to an attacking raid was just as promising.
"Franz has come in and brought in a few different ideas and it's very, very structured this year," Grossman said.
"Every player knows what their job to do is and every player is really fighting for each other, which is bringing a good mentality to the squad this year and hopefully it'll bring a finals spot or a good finish."
Grossman is one of eight players still remaining from last season's Fury squad.
Asked why Straka, a highly respected coach and former World Cup player, had made such an impact in such a short amount of time, the versatile 23-year-old midfielder replied: "I think he commands a lot of respect.
"Where he's been, he's got a good track record and he brings a lot of respect and he expects a lot back, so the players are prepared to work for him," Grossman continued.
"Everyone's prepared to dig for themselves and we know we've got a good shot this year to make better than what we did last year, so we're all out to prove a point."
Ahead of Sunday's maiden A-League trial against Gold Coast United, the good news is the Fury should get even stronger.
The win against Hekari was achieved without Socceroos striker David Williams, inspirational midfielder Ufuk Talay or German defender Andre Kilian, while an international striker is just days away from being announced.
North Queensland FC led 1-nil at halftime courtesy of the first of a Chris Payne double and they were genuinely forced to fight for that lead against a PNG team boasting plenty of flair and fancy footwork.
But when Payne banged in his double soon after the resumption thanks to a superb ball from Cernak, the class of the Fury shone through as Daal and NQ product Casey put the visitors to the sword.
Straka, who has coached the Czech national team, was satisfied with the result, but is also a perfectionist.
While his troops looked good, he expects further improvement in the final two hit-outs before the August 6 kick-off.
"It was a good taste for us, they're a good team and at the beginning they were very fast it's what we need," Straka said.
"It is very important we play in our shape system (but) we have our good fazes and our bad fazes don't ask me about the fazes but we will talk about the points, what we did well and what we didn't."NQ FURY 4 (Payne 2, Daal, Casey) d HEKARI UNITED 1 (Jack) at Brolga Park.

Fury News

2010-07-19T22:19:00.002+10:00

NQFC has released the ticketing information for the upcoming season. The club has managed to keep pricing at a reasonable level this year again (in the words of the CEO"cheaper than a night at the movies". ALL the upper stands will be closed as they have been sold off to sponsors for some much needed funding meaning F-Troop will be moving (temporarily) from the northern stand, although the heart, soul, and level of sound will follow them wherever they go I am sure!

Check it out at the website- www.nqfury.com.au.

For those of you wishing to sit with the F-Troop, email- ftroophq@gmail.com for information on pricing location etc.

Fury Membership Release

2010-07-12T15:19:00.002+10:00

The club has made the following announcement in regards to the sale of memberships-

The newly appointment management team at the North Queensland Fury can confirm that Membership renewal letters for the Fury’s 2010/11 Hyundai A-League season will be posted out on Wednesday 14th July, 2010.

New Membership FormsMembership Forms for the new season will be available to download from this website on Thursday 15th July, with hard copies also available from this date by contacting the NQ Fury office in Townsville (Monday-Friday, 9a-5p)

Address-North Queensland Fury FC
43-47 Dalrymple Road
PO Box 420, Garbutt East QLD 4814
Fury phone- (07) 4758 0101

Individual Match TicketsMatch ticket prices for all NQ Fury home matches will be announced on Monday 19th July, with tickets for the Fury’s match v Sydney FC on Saturday 14th August, going at sale at 9am on Monday 2nd August via www.ticketek.com.au only.

Player News NQ release Ouma

2010-07-10T09:04:00.003+10:00

The Local paper has reported that NQFC have released Kenyan League Golden Boot and International Francis Ouma.

Assistant coach Stuart Mclaren said- "At this time we have decided not to offer Francis a contact for the forthcoming season,"
"He is a good player, and has shown improvement during his time with us, but with only one visa spot remaining in this year's squad, he isn't the type of footballer we are after to complete our line-up.
"We will continue to offer support and advice to help his development and monitor his progress closely.
"Francis returns to Kenya with the best wishes of everyone at the Fury and knows he can always turn to us for support in the future."

Turning Ouma away leaves open a few possibilities for the fans to think about, already having Dyron Daal you would assume that they will not be looking for another big man to hit up front, so they could be using the visa spot to look for a "10+ goals a season striker". They may also opt for a creative midfielder to add to the ranks and be happy with Daal, Williams, and Payne up front. It also wouldn't be an altogether silly idea to leave the spot open in case of injury or a handy visa player becomes available at some point.

Whatever they decide, the closer we get to the start of the season the more exciting it becomes and the better the team looks. I can't wait to see them take on the GCU and see how they handle some A-League competition.

See the full Townsville Bulletin report here.

Fury News The $7.5M question

2010-07-09T10:25:00.006+10:00

The local paper reported last week that the buyout of the club by a Singaporean business has hit a new hurdle. However the Asians aren't running for the hills, instead they have opted for plan B in the form of a two part attack. According to the report part 1 would be to sponsor the club for $500,000.00 for this season, before part 2 of taking ownership on the last day of the season.

Malaysian football identity Subramaniam Rasamanickam has said that the concern from his syndicate is the request of FFA to increase the required guarentee from $2M to $7.5M for 3 years (they didn't say whether they would need to guarentee for $2.5M a year or the full amount up front).

While the offer seems good, it would be nice to know the full details, and also what the FFA's concerns are. I spoke to one of the people driving the development of the North Queensland Football Supporters Association Patrick White about what his views on the current bid would mean to NQFC supporters, and the "franchising" of modern football in gerneral- " I fear the franchise approach that is taking root in modern football. This system has professional clubs acting only as a corporate brand. They have little contact or significance to the city or region beyond the 1st team. Historical sporting clubs are rooted in the community in which they claim to represent. These clubs foster strong links to the local community and have a direct interest in developing players. They have other roles and legitimate interests across the community. NQFC is a young organisation and I hope it focuses on a model that entrenches itself in north Queensland's community. It has a direct stake in the development of local football at all levels. I would hope that a foreign investor will recognise these points and share the community's interests as well as those of their back pocket."

While most people who aren't overly involved in football wouldn't understand why most of us "sockah nuts" show contempt toward most overseas owners and investors you only need to search the Glazer family or the owners of Liverpool FC and read some comments to find out why.

But back to NQFC and I asked Paddy what he thought about foreign ownership of NQFC in particular- "It depends on who the investors are, what model they believe in and what interests they articulate. If a foreign investor heads in the direction highlighted previously and develops international connections and partnerships that enhance the club's ability to perform across the spectrum of interests and initiatives then this might be an advantage."

Last season in particular the club has been accused of having a lack of transparency, something that since the new admin team started 2 weeks ago was still lacking is finally getting better. However this is something that Paddy believes is crucial to the clubs growth and commercial success- " Transparency within reason is crucial to retaining legitimacy and maintaining positive relations with your membership and supporter base. NQFC has suffered throughout 2010 for a number of reasons and members have suffered from a lack of transparency. The inaugural membership base were rarely contacted or engaged throughout the troubled times and this led to a deepening frustration among fans. The lack of information caused rumours and speculation to develop and this type of environment is not positive. Members and fans deserve transparency and should be engaged."

New CEO Rabieh Krayem has said that the new organisation is working towards a community owned club. While the majority of fans would be happy for this to happen White said that this approach should also be taken with care- " I'll suggest that a serviceable mix is the best option. We are seeing a growing trend in Europe where fans are growing tired of foreign or external ownership of their clubs. People can become disenfranchised from their club by corporate interests. Clubs appear increasingly held at the mercy of the external interests of the wealthy individual or company that owns them. A fan ownership model appears to be one way of taking back some of the power and direction and retaining the focus. However, it is a complex beast. This approach demands significant research, consultation and development. Clear and agreeable goals need to be identified and then processes must be enacted to achieve these."

While the future of NQFC is safe for now, most know that there is a lot hinging on the WC2022 bid. Should Australia be unsuccesful in this bid NQFC will most likely need to come up with a profitable/workable solution by the end of the current season. There is no doubt that with NQFC's proximity to Asia it would be in the interests of the FFA to keep us around, but they are not likely to keep a financial basketcase alive, particularly when that side has no hope of playing in Asia (assuming we became a consistently poor peformer due to having to cut costs and play with below standard players).

Personally I feel that the FFA probably wouldn't want to own any of the clubs, and would be jumping at any "reasonable" ownership offer. This, and the approach the investors have taken of trying to scare the public by going to the media and saying they will take their money elsewhere, says to me that the FFA have got it right this time in being extra careful in the owners they give the Fury.

At the end of the day the chances of NQFC surviving another offseason like the one we just had are next to nil, and hopefully the sole concern of the FFA is the longevity of the club.

Panny visits National Title Hopefuls

2010-07-02T10:46:00.004+10:00

The Townsville Street Soccer program had 3 players named to play in this years Street Soccer National Titles being played this weekend in Sydney. To help Matt, Suak and Ray with their trip, Panny Nikas from NQFC came along to share some pointers and present the players with letters of encouragement from the club.

After he finished having a kick with the whole Townsville squad, Panny took some time out to have a chat with the guys not only about football, but also about Sydney and the Sydney lifestyle, as it is his hometown and the boys have not experienced Sydney before.

It was great of Panny and NQFC to take some time out of their busy pre-season to go along and get involved with the local Street Soccer community and everyone who was involved really appreciated it.

Fury require some help

2010-07-01T17:24:00.002+10:00

Anyone who might be interested in volunteering to help out Fury this year please see below-

Volunteer roles will include;
Accreditation – signing people into Dairy Farmers Stadium
Field of play – must have FIRST AID Certificate
Match day operations – administration duties on game day team sheets, referees reports etc.
Player Mascot Supervisor – pre match and half time supervision must have blue card.
Precinct – Assist with precinct set up as directed by Precinct Co-ordinator
Runners – general duties on game day.
Ticketing – game day distribution of VIP tickets

Fury intend to have a meeting on Sunday 10th July around 3pm as an orientation for people that are interested.

For more info contact Dave Volunteer Co-ordinator for NQ Fury 0415 305 705.

Player News Togo to Townsville?

2010-06-30T14:07:00.005+10:00

Internet reports are saying that Togolese international Eric Akoto is arriving in Townsville this week to sign for NQFC.

Currently playing for coach Franz Straka's previous club Crete, Akoto was a member of the Togo side whose bus was shot at on route to the African Nations Cup.Although born in Ghana, he became has earnt 32 caps for Togo scoring 1 goal.

The 1.93m defender has played professionally since 1998 and most notably spent 3 seasons with Austrian Vienna signing for 2.5M Euros. Akoto played 40 matches for Vieann from 2002-2004 and was a part of their highly succesful 2003 season where they won the League, Austrian cup, and Austrian Supercup.

If the reports a true this would be a great signing for NQFC and would add to a roster that is getting stronger every day!

Player News NQFC to sign Mark Hughes

2010-06-29T09:35:00.006+10:00

The Walsall website has confirmed that former Everton Premier League squad member Mark Hughes has been released so that he can sign with NQFC.

It is a signing that shows that while the Fury are assembling a young team, we are by no means assembling a team of fringe players that will be played off the pitch in the coming season.

The well known defender came up through the ranks of the Everton youth system and, like our new German defender Andre Killian, was captain of the reserve team. Since leaving Everton in 2007 he has spent his time in the English League One, with 2 seasons at Northampton Town and most recently captaining Walsall.

Hughes saw it as a suprising oppurtunity to try something new and is excited by the prospect of playing in another country - "The offer came a little bit out of the blue," explained the departing Hughes."It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and if I don't go for it I think I'll always be thinking 'what if'.

"I have no ties to this country. I'm not in a relationship and I don't have any children, so this is the perfect to try something completely new.

"These opportunities don't come round very often and, after much deliberation, I want to give it a go.

"It's not a decision I've taken lightly. I've really enjoyed my time at Walsall and will miss the players, staff and fans. It's a good club and I wish them well."

Football operations manager Robbie Middleby has confirmed that the club have almost finalised the deal. Although it seems that it would just be the final formalities to be done (the player coming here to have a first hand look at the facilities to make sure that he won't be playing at Greenwood Park in front of 500 people etc) given the announcement of the skippers departure on the Walsall official site.

The Fury are now starting to put the finishing touches on a very respectible and competitive roster, and it looks as though it will come down to the proven ability of coach Franz Straka to get the most out his young, exciting and enthusiatic line-up. Hurry up August and get here quickly!

Article from the Walsall website

Mark Hughes career stats.

Player News Fury sign 'The Next Duke'

2010-06-29T08:53:00.005+10:00

NQFC have today announced the signing of Sydney FC's Chris Payne.

Most known for his controversial goal in the preliminary A-League final against Wellington, Payne is a noted goalscorer something that the Fury are desperately needing after releasing last years marquee Robbie Fowler.

His A-league career has been short so far, with Sydney not offering him an extension on his contract that ran out last year, however with the Fury's new 'exciting youth' policy they have given him another shot at A-League fame. Payne has also had 13 U20 Australia caps and scored one goal in those matches.

Given the title as the next Mark Viduka by former coach John Kosmina, Payne's goals are much more simple- "I'd like to just be known as a goalscorer," he said.

The local paper has also suggested that the Fury are 'just a penstroke away' from signing an international striker, which would suggest that the coach is happy with triallist Francis Ouma who impressed coaching staff and fans alike in a recent trial match against current state league flyers NQ Razorbacks.

With more signing announcements on the way, NQFC's 2010/11 season is looking better and better each day!

Read the full Townsville Bulletin article on Payne here

Player News Fury's New Recruit

2010-06-24T09:30:00.003+10:00

NQFC has announced the signing of defensive midefielder Gareth Edds. Edds has spent his last 3 years with Tranmere Rovers in League One in England and has 14 years of professional English football under his belt.

Edds will add some much needed experience into the youthful Fury side according to Football Operations Manager Robbie Middleby- ''I just think his experience, where he's been and being Australian (makes him a great fit at the Fury), I think it's great that we're the ones to get him back in the country and at the right age.
''We've got a lot of young players in the team, but with his experience what he's done it's tremendous for us.''

His most notable accomplishment to date is scoring the winning goal for former club MK Dons to avoid relegation on the last day of the 2004/5 season, however when the club won promotion in the 2006/7 season, he was no longer required at the club and moved on to Tranmere.

At the end of the last English season Tranmere made him a free agent and after weighing up his options decided to look at A-League clubs, find NQFC and the NQ lifestyle to good a chance to pass up!

Lets hope his experience can help guide our boys around the park this year!

Coach Straka to Arrive

2010-06-12T12:41:00.002+10:00

NQFC's new head coach Franz Straka is due to arrive in Townsville Sunday 13th June, the club has asked for anyone who would like to show the new coach how much we love the Fury by turning up tomorrow at 10.55am to welcome him.

He also wrote an article for the Townsville Bulletin for the world cup-

Straka's World: Spain can reign

June 12th, 2010
Fury coach Franz Straka writes exclusively for the Townsville Bulletin

FOR the 32 teams that qualified, the time has come. For millions of football fans around the world, the wait is over. The first World Cup on African soil kicked off overnight and so begins a month of late nights and early mornings in my new home country.

I AM thrilled to move to Townsville with my family and have been really impressed by the quality of the facilities and the attitude of everyone involved. It's very exciting to be able to build something that is so new.
While my priority is obviously preparing the Fury for the upcoming season, the drama of a World Cup is always captivating.

I was lucky enough to represent Czechoslovakia at Italia '90 and it remains one of the greatest moments of my life. To play alongside the best players in the world on the biggest stage is every footballer's dream.
The opening game was against the USA and I will never forget the atmosphere. It was like having a home crowd in the stadium with so many Czech fans travelling to Italy.

We surprised a lot of people by qualifying for the round of 16 and, after defeating Costa Rica, we faced the mighty West Germany in the quarter-finals. This was a very special game for me as I was playing in the German Bundesliga at the time and had lived there for years.

West Germany was the best team in the world, boasting legends of the sport in Lothar Matthaus, Jurgen Klinsmann and Andreas Brehme. They defeated us 1-0, going on to win their third World Cup.
Now, 20 years on, my adopted home takes on a foe I know all too well.

Australia will face Germany in their opening match and while the Germans have not won the World Cup since those glory days, they made the semi-finals in 2006 and the final in 2002, despite not being favoured in either tournament.

This is why there is a confidence with every German team. There is a belief that the weight of history will always be on their side, despite poor form or injuries.

The Socceroos will have to be very disciplined and take their chances from set pieces and counter-attacks, but the quality of Germany will make it very difficult to win.

Despite this, I think Australia have a good chance to progress from the group stage. They have a team of quality players with experience from the last World Cup, where they managed to surprise the world under Guus Hiddink.

Success in South Africa is very important for the future of the game in this country. It will be the performances of Tim Cahill, Mark Schwarzer and Harry Kewell that inspire the next generation of kids to play the world game.

Now the big question. Who will win?

There are four or five teams with legitimate chances.

Argentina has a quality team and the best player in the world in Lionel Messi, but we will have to see what effect Maradona has on the team. He could inspire them or derail them.

Of the African teams, I think Ivory Coast have the best chance to make the later rounds, but we will have to see if Didier Drogba will be fit.

Germany will always be a threat and England has some great players with a world-class manager in Fabio Capello.

But for me, Spain is the best team in the world. They have the most gifted midfielders in Xavi and Andres Iniesta who control the play and have the luxury of playing together every week for Barcelona.

Their biggest threat will be injuries, but if Fernando Torres and Cesc Fabregas can be fit, they should be crowned the new world champions.

It will be a magical month of football, it always is. A new group of players will carve out their own piece of history.

Fury Coach Straka agrees to terms

2010-06-06T11:43:00.003+10:00

Czech news outlets are reporting that former Czech national coach and defender Frantisek Straka has agreed to a one year deal as the new head coach of NQFC.

When quizzed by Czech news about whether or not he was the new Fury head coach he replied- "I can only confirm your information is correct".

Straka, who is also a German citizen and is also known as Franz Straka, has managed various professional sides in the Czech Republic, Austria and Greece over the last 11 years, however is most known for his playing and managing days with the Czech giants Sparta Praha where he led the side to a nil all draw against Manchester United in a Champions League match in 2008.

I have not been able to find anything on whether or not he is fluent in English, although he is fluent in German, but there are bigger clubs in the world with communication barriers and I am sure the club will sort something for him.

He was also influenced by Syndey FC coach Vitezslav Lavicka- "Yes, we talked about it several times. And Vita recommended it to me clearly," said Straka.

Straka seems to come from a great football background and has been known to employ a 5 man midfield with a lone striker up front. NQFC have been very lucky to have landed someone with such a fantastic background and can now get on with the business of playing football!

While the club is yet to announce this formerly, all sources indicate that he is the new head coach, and will be presented to the media (and more importantly start coaching) tomorrow the 7th of June.

See one of the article's here.

See Franz Straka's Wiki page here.

Player News Mariners Nikas Signs with Fury

2010-06-03T10:55:00.004+10:00

NQFC have announced the signing of exciting young talent Panny Nikas.

Panny Nikas, currently playing in the NSW Premier League, was captain of the Central Coast Youth league side last year and was also named in the NSWPL All star team. Nikas is a noted goal scoring midfielder who can also create oppurtunities for his teammates-

''Yeah, they reckon I'm renowned for my goalscoring but I reckon my main attribute is my passing,'' he said.

''I really don't mind where I play, in the modern game you have to adapt."

Nikas adds to the younger looking Fury roster as the 14th player so far.

Meanwhile, there is still no news on the coaching front, with NQFC officials still not releasing any information on the candidates. There is however growing concern amongst the fans that the current administration is actually less transparent and keeping us less informed than the much criticised (in particular by members of the board) former administration.

Player News Fury Sign Isaka Cernak

2010-06-03T10:37:00.009+10:00

NQFC have signed Brisbane Roar's Isaka Cernak. The 21 year old is an exciting prospect and will work hard to prove himself in the A-League.

Cernak is a fast attacking midfielder who has represented Australia at the U17 & U20 level. He signed for the Brisbane Roar in the 09-10 season playing in 11 matches and scored 1 goal. He has also managed 2 goals from his 14 appearnces for the U20 Socceroos.

While I have not seen him in action, he fits the theme of team that we will assemble this year, players who are on the fringe at their own clubs who are looking to break into the A-League.

See his Roar Profile here

Onwards and upwards- The Future Fury (Pt 3) Build it and they will come

2010-05-28T15:40:00.003+10:00

That’s the on field message for NQFC. Build a successful team and the following will come.

It doesn’t really matter what style the Fury play, whether it’s a direct Socceroo’s style game or a passing possession type football mastered by Barcelona, the important thing is that they do it well! With the plethora of national league teams available to the NQ public they cannot afford to miss out on the finals this time. The NQ sporting public have shown 2 things in recent times- Firstly, they will throw their support behind a winning team (regardless of the sport), when the Crocs were going well they had a record 69 game’s sold out, everyone in town was wearing or at least owned a Croc tail and it was hard to find a local shop that wasn’t green. And secondly, no-one likes a loser, the local NRL team who have been known for their loyal passionate supporters, are in a current form slump which has also turned into a crowd slump.

It is no secret that the better the crowd numbers, the more the FFA/any future owner will be willing to invest in NQ, and the way to do that is to get a good side on the field. The old adage “you have to spend money to make money” comes to mind!

With the players we have to date, and the way football in Australia is heading, it would seem as if we are going for a direct 4-3-3 formation, a formation which can be played by both skillful and athletically gifted players. Playing this formation is a safe option, and from the photo in today’s paper it seems to be the assistant coaches preferred method of play. Which could be a major factor in the decision to not offer last years captain Robbie Fowler a new contract.

Until the head coach is announced, although I think that he is already running the show from afar, we will not know how the team will play. We will also not know which (if any) aces he holds up his sleeve player wise. This could throw the above style of play out, and also possibly some of the currently signed players could well be stuck on the bench or left on the outer of the squad list.
Regardless, lets just hope that we can put a successful team out on the pitch that will play hard for the jersey and football that is good to watch (although it always seems good when your winning!!)

News Fury's New Studman

2010-05-24T08:56:00.003+10:00

NQFC today announced the signing of Brett Studman for NSW Premier League club Bankstown City Lions.

Football operations manager Robbie Middleby says he has had his eye on Studman ever since the midfielder starred in the Fury's preseason trial match against Singapore club Tampine Rovers, however then manager Ian Ferguson decided he wasn't what the club was looking for.

Studman has been signed to a one year deal with the Fury and is under no illusions about the fact that his price tag would have been a major contributor to his employment offer- ''It's a start. I would rather take it and prove my worth over the course of a season and see what I can muster rather than let it slide. I'm just worried about establishing myself, winning and doing a good job,'' he said.

Good luck Brett, let's hope for the sake of NQFC that it is your breakthrough year!

News Fury's New German Star

2010-05-21T07:58:00.003+10:00

Football operations manager Robbie Middleby has told the local papers that NQFC are on the verge of securing the services of 23 year old German Bundesliga fringe player Andre Kilian.

With his contract with FC Schalke 04 expiring Middleby jumped at the chance to sign the youngster- ''For us, to have a young up-and-comer from German football, that's got that pedigree behind him and got that position at left back to strengthen our defensive stocks is a massive thing,''

The 183cm Kilian was the Captain of Schalke's reserve side last year and Middleby was impressed with his attitude on and off the field- ''At 23 he's still young but I think being from a professional club, and knowing how the Germans are - who are always in high regard - he can give a lot to the team and a lot to the other players as well.''

NQFC are negotiating a one year deal with the German, but are hopeful they may keep him longer.

It would also appear that the Fury's new coach is now a done deal, with Middleby confirming that the youngster had recieved the leading coaching candidates blessing, something that surely wouldn't be done (and until now, apparently hasn't been) unless the Fury were serious about the coach.

In other news Middleby confirmed the signing of Sydney Fc and former Townsville Premier League player Adam Casey.

News A-League Draw Announced

2010-05-18T12:00:00.002+10:00

The 2010/2011 A-league draw has been announced!

The Fury get to revisit last years skipper Fowler in Perth first up on August 6th, and the following week host defending champions Sydney FC.

Fury have not lost at home since the middle of November (6 games) and will have a hard time keeping that record going if they can't get the coach and preseason started soon.

See the full list here.

News Fury close to new signing

2010-05-18T09:08:00.003+10:00

NQFC football operations manager Robbie Middleby has confirmed that the Fury are close to signing for Townsville local Adam Casey.

Casey is a right sided midfielder who is known in A-League circles for his incredible pace. He represented Australia U23 and U17 (and scoring an impressive 9 goals from 16 appearances), and spent most of his professional career with Sydney FC.

Casey was an exciting prospect and at one stage during his late teens was linked with a move to a big English club which unfortunately never eventuated. I am sure that, given the chance, Casey will be an integral part in the NQFC lineup in the future.

This does however raise, once again, the question of whether the club should be signing players before we have a head coach. Archie Fraser told us not to worry, that we had plenty of time and that there are hundreds of players wanting to play for NQ. If this is the case, why are we signing players without a head coach? In the local paper they say one of the main reasons Casey is moving here is to get a regular spot in the side, however how can anyone actually guarantee him a spot without knowing who the coach will be, let alone who might be signed by the new coach before the season starts. Don't get me wrong, I think he is good signing, but just worry about the direction of our re-born club when we don't have the man who will be choosing the team, signing the team.

Read the Townsville Bulletin article here.

Adam Casey's Profile here.

News Fury Fans Ownership Proposal

2010-05-14T18:09:00.001+10:00

A local group of Fury fans have come together to establish the North Queensland Football Supporters Association.

The North Queensland Football Supporters’ Association has recently submitted two proposals to Football Federation Australia. The proposals aim to kick-start a community ownership model and increase the participation of north Queensland football fans in the locally based A-League club.

Any consortium or wealthy individual that makes a bid for the NQ A-League licence risks alienating the fans and the local community if the ownership model is seen to exclude NQ football fans, or ignore the support and goodwill generated by the local community during the ‘Save the Fury’ campaign in 2010.

A proposal on how to achieve the potential inclusion of fans in the ownership model, at no extra cost to the community, has been forwarded and the association awaits a response from the FFA.

The association has also offered itself as a collaborative partner to FFA in any future negotiations with potential owners of the North Queensland based A-League club. The inclusion of the association will ensure that the fans’ wishes are heard at the highest level and are part of considerations during any negotiation process.

“The association’s proposals open up a significant opportunity for greater inclusion of the local community in the north Queensland based A-League club and we anticipate a positive response from the FFA,” said a representative of NQFSA.

The association has been formed to promote the interests of north Queensland football fans and is in the advanced stages of the application for incorporation with the Queensland Government. All north Queenslanders will have the opportunity to become a member of the North Queensland Football Supporters’ Association and further information on association membership will be dispersed in due course.

News Former Roar Player Furys New Assistant Coach

2010-05-13T09:39:00.005+10:00

Current Brisbane Strikers head coach Stuart McLaren is to be announced as the NQFC assistant coach for the coming season.

McLaren is highly respected in the QLD football community, having captain coached the Strikers in the now defunct NSL.

He has also played in the Hyundai A-League for the Roar and Perth Glory.

Read the full Townsville Bulletin story here.

McLaren's playing and coaching career stats here-

Fury office firing up

2010-05-12T11:37:00.003+10:00

The first edition of the Fury e-newsletter has been sent out this morning. I have been informed that this will be a fortnightly newsletter getting the word out there to the fans.

If you are not currently on the list or haven't recieved it you can register here. This is a link to the Save the Fury compaign but I have spoken to people at the club and they tell me this is the best way to recieve the newsletter.

For those of you who missed out and would like to read it- Click here.

I for one am glad to see the club committing to getting the word back out there to the fans, letting us know what is happening and that there is people in there working on OUR club's future!!!

So show your support to the club by registering today!!!!

Fury Coaching News Grant, Kluivert and Rijkaard in the picture?

2010-05-12T09:09:00.009+10:00

With this morning's announcement, after yesterdays 'leak', that Argentinian Osvaldo Ardiles had a red line through his name some time ago it appears that the club would like us to just sit back and wait for the announcement. They forgot however that we are passionate fans and that we analyse, reanalyse and then voice our opinion on everything that the club announces, leaks, or slips to us.

So with that in mind I decided to make up a list of possible candidates with the information that the club has given us. The list includes (with the help of some friends)-

Patrick Kluivert- He has already shown his willingness to work in Australia at the Roar, is currently employed by FFA/Roar as an 'ambassador', has managerial experience/qualification's and had a fantastic playing career.

Avram Grant of Portsmouth and Chelsea fame, his current team are in the FA cup final later this month ticking the box that his side are currently in the hunt for Europe, he has managed the Israel national team and also Chelsea FC. He also won a string of titles in the Israeli league and is known for giving young players a crack at the big time which also fits with the new club ethos that Archie Fraser wishes to instill.

Frank Rijkaard- who is also rumoured to be in line for the Socceroos job. He is currently coaching Turkish giant Galatasary SK (the team that Harry Kewell and Lucas Neil are currently playing for) who are now in the battle for the title which would give them European qualification for next season. The fact that Rijkaard could do both the domestic and international job would be of enormous benefit to the FFA and the Fury might be the sweetener they need to have him lead the national side. He has managed and played for his national side and is a legend in his homeland, Italy and Spain where he spent time playing and managing sides such as Barcelona.

Now depending on which day you open the paper or which report from the club you read there is either 3 or 4 candidates on 'the list', for the life of me I cannot work out who may be the 4th person given the criteria and achievements the club is telling us the new manager may have, and the fact that I do not have enough time to go through the whole list of clubs that are currently in the running for Euro qualification.

All of these guys would 'change the way we see the A-League' are qualified to do the job and would definitely attract a high calibre playing roster to the north.

But, with the Fury showing the level secrecy of a US Egyptian terrorist interrogation camp would be proud of, the NQFC faithful will just have to sit on the outer, speculate on our forums, and wait to be told what's happening, who we will be supporting and what to do next.

Fury Coaching News Argie in the mix?

2010-05-11T10:07:00.005+10:00

Reports in the local papers suggest that Argentinian Osvaldo César Ardiles could be in the running for the Fury top job.

Ossie, has a reasonably impressive management record taking on clubs such as Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspurs, Club Deportivo Guadalajara and winning J-League manager of the year while in charge of Shimizu S-Pulse in 1998. His last job was in Paraguay in 2008 in charge of the succesful Cerro Porteño.

He also had a very succesful playing career, being a part of the 1978 Agentinian side that won the world cup. He also played for Tottenham for 10 years from 1978- 1988 and was part of the side that won the FA cups in the 80-81 and the 81-82 season as well as winning the UEFA cup in 1984. He was rewarded for his efforts with Tottenham in 2008 when he was inducted into their hall of fame.

However of notable concern is his departure and short term stints at many clubs. His longest stay has been 3 seasons at 2 different clubs, but aside from that has many 1-2 year appointments and has coached 14 clubs in 20 seasons. While you could argue that this would make him worldly, experienced and say that he has been in the wrong place at the wrong time, it could also point to something more negative.

Once again the club has not confirmed who is on "the list", and at this stage all is just speculation.

Lets just hope if Ossie does get the job his somewhat journeyman ways slow down for at least the next 3-4 years so that our club can get some much needed stability!!!

See Ossie's career (according to Wikipedia) here.

News Fury signings imminent?

2010-05-08T11:07:00.003+10:00

The forums are buzzing and the rumour mills are milling that NQFC are due to announce the signing of 2 new players this week.

With the club not happy at the possibility of having 8 (assuming that every coach in the world would want at least 2 goalkeepers) players who don't fit into the system he wants to play, it is rumoured that they are going to sign another 2, leaving the new coach (who could be anyone from Patrick Kluivert, not forgetting his brief sting with the Roar, to an unkown from Italy) with the unenviable position of being allowed to choose but 13 of his own players.

You only have to look just down the road and see what has happened at the Roar with Ange Postecoglou ruling a line through half of the side (even a current Socceroo) to realise this is not the ideal (re)start for the club, however interim CEO Archie Fraser and his crew all must think that a playing roster will attract a new coach and who am I to tell him any different?

News Mccall acting head coach for Fury?

2010-05-08T10:40:00.005+10:00

Fury strength and conditioning coach Alan McCall will be filling the shoes of the head and assistant coaching this week when NQFC commence pre-season training. The 10 currently contracted players will start in the absence of any coaching staff.

On a positive note, interim CEO Archie Fraser has released an all too familiar wheres Wally statement regarding the clubs assistant coach confirming that the club will not be considering Stewart Petrie (last years assistant) or ex-Socceroos mentor Frank Farina, but once again not saying who actually is being looked at. But they will announce the new assistant by Wednesday this week.

The assistant appointment has been made necessary due to the club not being in a hurry to appoint the Head Coach- ''Given we won't have (a head coach) on the ground for another four weeks or more, it's very important we get the system in place and they (assistant coach) can start to communicate with the head coach and be involved with the recruitment of players,'' Fraser said.

The local paper has suggested that the list of coaches is now down to 3 and that they are all internationals. Fraser said- ''There is a view to have some offers confirmed by the middle of next week,'' Fraser said.

''I think the process will involve a confirmation and then I think we'd have to bring our preferred option out here to Townsville to have some final face-to-face discussions.''

Whoever these mystery men are, and it would be very nice to know who the club is looking at, lets hope they get here poste haste!

WC10 News German team to take on Aussies at WC10 announced

2010-05-07T09:04:00.003+10:00

German coach Joachim Low has announced his provisional squad to compete in WC2010.

Aside from goalkeeper Rene Adler, who will miss the WC due to having an operation on his ribs, all the players expected to be named have been named-

Goalkeepers: Hans-Jorg Butt, Manuel Neuer, Tim Wiese

Defenders: Per Mertesacker, Heiko Westermann, Philipp Lahm, Jerome Boateng, Andrea Beck, Arne Friedrich, Serdar Tasci, Marcell Jansen, Holger Badstuber, Dennis Aogo.

Midfielders: Michael Ballack, Sami Khedira, Piotr Trochowski, Marko Marin, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Christian Trasch, Mesut Ozil, Toni Kroos.

Forwards: Lukas Podolski, Miroslav Klose, Stefan Kiessling, Cacau, Thomas Muller, Mario Gomez.

With proven match winners in the side such as Klose, Podolski, Ballack and Schweinsteiger plus the fact that the Socceroos have the Germans in the first game where they are sure to want to get off to a winning start means that the Aussies are going to have their hands full in game 1 of the WC2010 finals.

See the official FIFA German site here.

*News- PFA to Sue Fury

2010-05-05T16:45:00.000+10:00

The Professional Footballers association are joining the queue of creditors at the Fury office doors.

It must seem like a never ending drama for interim CEO Archie Fraser at NQFC, in a week that has produced many positives for the NQFC and when it seemed they were beginning to make headway along comes another spanner in the works.

Read the full report at the TB website below-

Legal action not ruled out | Townsville Bulletin Sport

*News- Fury's New Owners?

2010-05-05T08:26:00.004+10:00

Te future of NQFC is looking brighter as every day comes along with today's local paper reporting the club is close to a 3yr $8M dollar deal with Singapore based betting giant Mansion88. Mansion88 already have an interest in football, sponsoring EPL outfit the Tottenham Hotspur.

While Mansion88 spokesman Subramaniam Rasamanickam has confirmed they have not yet tabled a formal bid for the club it is understood they have already done the initial research into the club and are close to submitting their offer to the FFA- ''We hope to have a letter for them to consider and get back to us as soon as possible,'' Mr Rasamanickam said. ''We are looking at football as a business entity,''

''The game can open doors that corporate and government contacts cannot do locally in Townsville, across Queensland and Australia. This is very much a business venture, we are not so much on board as sponsors or (financial) donors, but as partners who want to grow a brand.''

Archie Fraser, interim CEO of the Fury, confirmed the interest of Mansion88 said that a final deal is still a little while away, and that the FFA has some due diligence to do themselves- ''There are a lot of boxes yet to be ticked, but it's great that this sort of interest has been generated,'' Mr Fraser said.

''There are financial guarantees that all investors need to meet and approval FFA need to give before any licence is handed over. We have had some very frank discussions about them wanting to be involved and we have been very open with sharing information because if they are to buy in then we want to make sure they have a clear picture.''

In the meantime, Fraser said that the club will continue to push forward with naming a new head coach- ''We will stay on the path we are on, building the club, list and appointing of a coach,''.

The possibilities with a company involved in the EPL set the mind alight, sharing coaching and youth academy staff to help build our club. It could also give NQ youth a direct pathway to the EPL if they were to send staff here to help us from time to time, not to mention the extra pulling power it would give the Fury when negotiating with players that with NQFC there is the chance to be noticed by an English powerhouse.

But lets not get carried away just yet, the deal is still to be done!

Read the full Townsville Bulletin report here.

Onwards and upwards- The Future Fury (Pt 2) The Office

2010-05-01T12:12:00.003+10:00

The Fury need to sort out their back office and fast. Without any staff in the back office, there is no-one to do the most important jobs (off the pitch). They don’t have anyone to constantly update the fans. Emails (E-newsletters) , website updates, media releases, press conferences and public visits (local football clubs/schools etc) are all things that help bring a sense of belonging within the community.
School or local club visits can give the kids a chance to meet the guys they look up to, or even find a new hero that before the visit they didn’t even know played.
Regular updates, such as finding out who the Fury are trialing, where they are scouting, which young players they are looking at in the Razorbacks match this weekend etc would also not go astray, and would provide great football conversation at the local watering holes and various football forums in the north.

A very important process that needs to be begun is a succession plan to be put in place which includes local people. With a multitude of local clubs, there are many people who are already in the local football community who might do a great job for the Fury. Even if the ‘key’ positions are initially filled by people from out of town (with football management experience), it would be great to see some locals in the back office, this would make the eventual shift to a locally owned and run club more achievable.

Sponsorship and corporate relations needs to be seen as one of our most important areas. Some of the most successful clubs worldwide derive at least 30% of their income from sponsors, and have more gate receipts than us. NQFC need ensure that they have the right people in the corporate positions that will help our football club breed a successful corporate culture, which can once again be enhanced with the involvement of the right local people in the club. The current situation of not having a major sponsor could also be seen as an opportunity to mould this the way we would like it to be done. Starting off the communication with sponsors in a professional and mutually beneficial way would show businesses and fans alike that we are a serious brand that they want to deal with.

An area that definitely needs to be improved is the clubs transparency. The club needs to include fans in decisions, and explain fully the reasoning behind them. As everyone sees things differently, the fans may not agree with the reasoning behind the decision, but at least they know. Lately this has been a massive point of contention and ultimately leads fans to feel as though the club doesn't appreciate them, and to ignore them would be foolish.

A very good guide for the Fury’s new staff is written by Peter Wilt, former manager of the Chicago Fire MLS and other professional sporting sides. Click here to read it.

News Palmer walks out on Fury

2010-05-01T10:02:00.004+10:00

Archie Fraser has confirmed in today's Townsville Bulletin that Qld Nickel (who is owned by mining magnate Clive Palmer) has withdrawn their 'verbal' offer to sponsor the Fury.

Fraser was just as surprised as the rest of us when told of the decision- ''This is disappointing for the club and comes as a surprise after what were very positive discussions with the local senior management team at Queensland Nickel just last week,'' he said.

''I had a call from local management early today (Friday) and shortly afterwards received a letter stating the sponsorship would not be renewed for next year, despite recent conversations that were open and positive.

''When we met with QNi we discussed some proactive community-based initiatives targeted to staff, which would assist and position Queensland Nickel as an employer of choice in the region, with the help of the Fury players and brand.''

Fraser was also surprised at the level of support QNi got from the Fury when he initially saw the sponsors deal- ''I was surprised with the level of benefits Queensland Nickel received last year for the level of investment, and similarly the benefits they were expecting to receive this season were also substantial in comparison to the proposed investment,''

This opens the door for NQFC to negotiate a more favourable deal with other sponsors, and there has been reports since the club started of interest from large Asian companies.

With pre-season training just around the corner Fraser gave his usual positive reply to what has been a turbulent offseason for NQFC- ''This is just a little bump in the road and presents an opportunity for the club to partner with a national sponsor who will grow with us over the next few years,'' he said.

''The good news from this is it now opens up the opportunity to international and national companies and sponsors who can benefit from a partnership with the Fury brand, as we reposition and grow the Fury in the national sporting marketplace.

''We had strong interest from large national companies in the past who understand partnering and we are confident that we will secure the right major partners for the club.

''If anything, this makes us even more determined to build the club and make it stronger so that we can show people what is possible from this region.''

This just re-iterates the need for the club to get on with the business of being a club, the honeymoon period is now well and truly expired, the fans want some action and with limited staff in the Fury HQ and an interim CEO who we have to share with the 2 other QLD A-League clubs it's no wonder that things aren't coming along quickly.

Let's hope the next announcement out of the Fury camp is either the name of our new head coach or the name of our new major sponsor... with a price tag that allows us to sign some quality players to go with it!

Onwards and Upwards- The Future Fury (pt 1) Engaging the fans

2010-04-30T09:21:00.005+10:00

In an offseason that has produced more twists and turns than Ryan Giggs in his famous run down the left against Arsenal in the 99 FA cup semi final replay, and not many real messages coming from camp Fury, I have had time to think what I believe needs to be done/improved to secure a successful Fury in the long term both off and on the pitch.

First and foremost, they need to remember that the fans are king. A-League teams really belong to the community, they represent their communities and have the opportunity to engage them in a way not possible through more conventional businesses. Yes, having an A-League team in our town is a privilege, but they wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the fans, which means that the executives wouldn’t be here without us either.

Ultimately, all the fans want to go and cheer for (and spend their money on), is not just a winning team but a team we can call our own. We want to feel like we are a part of the club. Anything that is good for the fans will ultimately be good for the club and the fans go to the matches to cheer on the team, not the CEO’s or the governing bodies. We believe in the badge! The people in the boardrooms need to remember that we will get the bums on seats, the fans who feel as though they are bringing in other people to watch ‘OUR’ team play. Once this is done, regardless of if the FFA want to keep ownership of the club, it will be a truly community based club. Engaged and active fans will be the best salespeople and generate more publicity than any media outlet could dream of!

There are good examples of this all around the world, but the best that I have seen is in an article I read that compares the German Bundesliga and EPL. It might not be very well known that the German league actually has the highest average attendance in Europe and this article suggests this is largely due to the way they treat their supporters. Now I don't want to compare the sorts of long established following most of the German clubs have compared to ours, because theirs is not only a regional belief, but also a generational belief. But if we are starting out (again), we should be looking to embrace the culture and philosphies from the best we can find. More and more, the world is looking to the Germans, and so should we.

What concerns me, is that the A-league as a whole, is trying to quiet the active supporters. I certainly don't agree with crowd violence or over the top language, but having active supporters is a part of the "beautiful" game. Having the fans there singing, chanting, and sometimes even crying for 'their' team is what creates the loyalty, not just among those fans, but also the fans that are their with them. The others that see this passion will be more likely to get involved as well. After every home game the first 2 questions that I get asked are always- Did they win? How loud was the F-Troop? The more wins and the louder the crowd, the more 'extras' will come. The time has come for the Fury to embrace the F-Troop, I know that with the support of the club, the Troop will be the sales and publicity machine I mentioned earlier, and the bigger the crowd gets, the louder that stadium will be. The more people that are there, the more money we make, which allows us to bring in higher quality players (who will also WANT to come here to play in front of our crowds), which will see more wins, and more people again. It really is the football circle of life.

Read the Bundesliga/EPL article here.

Watch the famous Ryan Giggs run here.

Breaking Fury Player News Ham, Storey sign for 2010/2011

2010-04-29T17:39:00.007+10:00

North Queensland local, and current Roar custodian Matthew Ham (Hammy) is joined by defender Simon Storey, who is currently playing for Airdrie United in the Scottish Football League, as the newest signings for the NQ Fury.

Hammy returns to the Fury (he had a brief stint as an injury replacement when Justin Pasfield was injured last year) from Brisbane Roar, where he played as the number 1 stopper after the departing of Liam Reddy due to professional differences with Roar boss Ange Postecoglou. Hammy had a strong finish to the season, and will push Pasfield for the number 1 spot in the green and white for season 2010-11.

Storey previously played for Melbourne Victory for 2 seasons and was a part of the first A-League side to win the Premiership- Grand Final 'double' in the 06-07 season. While Storey played at right back during the successful victory campaign he has also played at sweeper, centre midfielder and also left back for his previous Scottish club Patrick Thistle, when they narrowly missed promotion to the Scottish Premier League in the 08/09 season. After missing out on promotion, Storey then moved on to Airdrie where he has played 30 matches for the Diamonds in there latest campaign.

It is great to see 2 players who are coming into their best footballing years (Ham 27 and Storey 28) signing with the Fury, and hopefully the chant that was heard in the junior grounds back in the mid 90's - "Hammys on a rollll"- will come back in to fashion next season!

A-League Views

2010-04-28T17:17:00.002+10:00

Came across this article today... not overly keen on the title, but worth a read for any A-League supporters. It has some very genuine points and hopefully the FFA takes some of them on board for the future of football in Australia.

Fury debacle shows our code's leaders have learnt nothing.

Fowler Update

2010-04-27T18:04:00.004+10:00

It's official, Robbie Fowler has signed for Perth Glory...

So long Robbie, it was a pleasure to call you one of our own, best of luck (until you play the Fury).

See the report for Perth Glory's official website here.

Fowler News

2010-04-27T16:15:00.000+10:00

Stay tuned for an announcement from Perth Glory this afternoon regarding the signing of Robbie Fowler, Foxsports has reported that Glory have announced a press conference at 5pm, and they expect that it will be to announce Robbie Fowler as their new marquee signing.

If this is the case, it flies in the face of media reports last season on the Fowler him or me ultimatum to NQFC regarding former Fury boss and now Glory assistant Ian Furguson.

See the full report here-
Fowler set to join Perth - A-League - Fox Sports

Fury Views Time to get out the Pitch Forks and Cane Knives!

2010-04-27T14:37:00.005+10:00

With a report today that Sydney FC are at an impasse with Robbie Fowler after they offered him a deal in the vicinity of $400,000.00 for next season, the NQFC faithful are setting the forums alight. With the Fury’s interim CEO Archie Fraser last week announcing that Fowler was being offered well over what he was being paid last year by other clubs(reported to be around $750k) , NQFC had been forced to not table a formal offer to Fowler. However once the fans were made aware of the Sydney FC offer, fans are questioning the FFA’s intentions for the Fury, and once again are asking for more information regarding the direction of the club.

Throughout the last few months, we have been waiting with baited breath daily to see what will be served up in the local papers, new signings, new coaching panel appointments etc. but with these coming few and far between the fans have been having to rely on articles from southern media outlets, who continue to report “leaks” and quote “sources” to find out some sort of update from the Fury.

I would like to point out that, I am a Fury fan, and can appreciate that Robbie Middleby would be under the pump over at NQFC headquarters doing everything from the cleaning to the player and media announcements, and that it would be a difficult job as a consultant to FFA for Archie Fraser being the Interim CEO, but what needs to be understood by the FFA is that even in the off season we are still ACTIVE Fury supporters and would like to know what is actually happening. Reports like this one, coming out with contradictory statements to that which was released by Fraser last week make it even tougher as a Fury supporter to stay positive and have faith that we will have the best team and preparation available for the 2010-2011 season (as we are continually told we will).

As a supporter, my main concern is that if the FFA don’t get the 2022 world cup that they will no longer have an interest in keeping NQFC around. So to keep the club, we will obviously need to be self funding and the only way to do that is to get bums in seats. The Crocs and Cowboys have both learnt in recent years that you can have a “cult” following, but in NQ you need wins on the board to keep the people coming. I am assuming that the crowd averages we had this year is more than likely the supporters that will turn up regardless of the teams performance, but to be profitable we need the extra supporters, the supporters who want to be a part of a winning club, who will buy the Robbie Fowler (or highest profile player) shirts, the supporters who after watching 5 games still don’t know what offside is but will join in with the crowd to tell the refs they don’t know what it is either (bandwagon supporters). Unfortunately the FFA seems to have bigger problems to worry about than us (or so it seems).

We have been told not to worry, that there are “hundreds” of players out there who would love to play for the Fury, including a player who has over 50 international caps (no country named though), but never a mention of who any of those players are or where they are currently playing. We have been told that there are over 40 coaches who have applied and that they will have a shortlist soon, are they going to tell us who any of those coaches are who have applied? I understand that they can’t tell us who they all are, but treat us with the names of those who can be named (who are not under contracts that will be jeopardized by the mention of their interest) so that we know it is not 38 local under 6 coaches plus Frank Farina and Paul Tokesi.

To date- we have been told the FFA was looking at a community based program and as far as I am aware none of the business’ or local people who indicated their interest have been approached, and since the FFA decided they would take full rather than partial ownership that blows the community based model out of the window for a few years. We were told that all players contracts will be honoured, then once they saw them (I could only assume that the previous administration would have lodged the contracts with FFA meaning they really ought to have already known what they were) decided that our players were getting paid too much and that they would have to let some of our higher paid players leave (some of them even said that by the time they had left they still didn’t receive an offer). Now to top it off we are given the Robbie Fowler story (knowing that Fowler himself has repeatedly said he is not just here for the money) where Fraser said that they withdrew the Fury’s interest in Fowler because of him being offered too much money by rival clubs. Given that we were told that the club would do “everything possible” to keep Robbie here, would it not have been possible to offer Fowler the best we could, telling him that we wanted him to help grow the club (and given his experience it is a safe bet to say he could) on and off the field over the next 3-5 years, then let him decide and answer to the fans? If, as we keep getting told there is plenty of time, why the rush to withdraw our offer for him?

At the end of the day, the FFA may decide our fate, but it is the fans that dictate our existence, and if the FFA want us to have faith and believe in them, they also need to give us a reason to do so.

Read the full Foxsports report on Fowler here.

PS- Archie and Robbie, if you need any volunteers to help, I have time contact me on the questions comments feedback link on the right, I am sure there are other fans willing to do the same

Farewell Fowler, we hope to see you again

2010-04-24T09:40:00.005+10:00

In one of the saddest days in football in our short A-League history NQFC have announced in today's Townsville Bulletin that they have withdrawn from the race to keep Robbie Fowler (that was hard to type).

At this point it is reported that he is considering Sydney FC and Perth Glory, putting to bed the much publicised rumour mongering regarding Fowler's him or me stories with the now Glory assistant Ian Ferguson.

'After weeks of negotiations trying to keep the English striker in Townsville, the Fury yesterday exclusively told the Townsville Bulletin they could not compete with massive offers from rival clubs.'

It is reported that interim CEO Archie Fraser was told that Fowler had been offered more than what the Fury paid Fowler last season (a figure sources have maintained is around the $750k mark).

Fraser, looking to the future without Fowler, went on to say ''It is disappointing for us and for our fans but we have to acknowledge that it is most likely he will be playing elsewhere and we need to now move on...The positive news for our fans is that it now does free up a substantial amount in our salary cap for the Fury to aggressively seek a number of quality players for the club.'' Although with the speed that the club has so far been negotiating contracts and by the time they choose a manager, it will be interesting to see how many 'quality' players will be left around, with all signs pointing towards a team that is largely made up of players from the fringes of other A-League sides like last season.

For all fans wishing to pay their respects to Robbie Fowler's achievements with the club, there will be a commemorative meeting at Finnegans the afternoon of Fowlers return in different colours, at that point we will decide on how best to greet him.

Click here to read the full article from the Townsville Bulletin

Fowler Views Remember Us Robbie!

2010-04-23T17:42:00.003+10:00

With all the talk about the Sydney CEO wanting Robbie Fowler (and at one stage there were even reports that he had signed there) and the Perth CEO wanting him (he even went to England to speak with him… via telephone) it made me realize that the Fury are the only side who do not have a voice in the race for Robbie Fowler.

Now considering we do not have a full-time CEO or a head coach and Robbie Middleby is short of time (at the moment he is responsible for all player contracts, media contact, opening and closing the doors, keeping sponsors and FFA officials happy, and making sure the bills are paid on time) someone needs to remind Robbie that we want him too.

Who better than the fans? We have to be the vocal leaders for NQFC to retain the most prized signature in the A-League. In Sydney there is considerable mention about his ability to attract crowds, while in Perth they are sure that it will boost their revenue with extra merchandise sales etc. we just want our captain back!

Not only was Fowler our golden boot and player of the year last season, but he was there scoring goals when we needed them most. His amazing finish against Sydney FC, which could have been added to an EPL highlight role, secured our first ever win.

So Robbie, if your reading, know this- If you go to Sydney you will live in a bigger city, you will play in front of bigger crowds and you will most likely get to play in the ACL next year, as a part of a team that has been there and done it all before.
If you go to Perth, you will be able to be a part of a club that has a proud football heritage, you will be near beautiful beaches, but you will be a part of a team that has done it before.

I believe if it was those things you were after, you would be playing in England still. And you openly said that you wanted to help kick off the Fury.

Should you decide to stay with the Fury in Townsville, not only will you have the Great Barrier Reef at your doorstep and the tropical Whitsundays just down the road, you have an opportunity to do something that hasn’t been done here before. You will have a blank canvas to work with, you will be able to mould not only a football team, but a football community. You will be able to instill a winning culture, you will be able to instill the ‘Fowlerness’ that has made your signature so valuable around the world today, and I for one would love to see it!
I know I am not alone, on the fan forums there are polls where 100% of the fans who voted want you here, all of your former teammates that have re-signed have publicly said that they want you here, your mate and football operations manager Robbie Middleby says he wants you here. But most importantly the young footballers of tomorrow, the ones who will benefit the most from your ‘Fowlerness’ all want you here.

So Robbie I dare you (in the words of the A-League themselves) be a part of something bigger, be a leader of the NQ Fury!

* Breaking News* Fury Coaching panel named

2010-04-22T17:19:00.004+10:00

The much publicised and anticipated NQFC panel to select the new coach has been decided. In a media release this afternoon the fury have announced- 'FFA National Technical Director Han Berger, former Colchester United owner Jonathan Crisp, North Queensland resident and former English first division player Peter Brine, and Fury Interim CEO Archie Fraser head up the selection panel, announced in Townsville today. '

Fraser said: “We will be appointing a coach for North Queensland who has the credentials to lead the Fury to its first premiership. We have brought together a panel of people with many years’ experience in the football industry and an excellent understanding of the technical aspects of the game, to select the right coach for the new Fury.

“Coaches from across Australia and around the world have already applied for the head position and we are talking to several coaches who we have identified as having the right set of credentials for the role.

“The coach will have at the minimum an A-Licence badge, which is now a standard for the Hyundai A-League.

“They will also be eager to exploit the competitive advantage the Fury can have over away sides during the North’s humid summer and be passionate about working with the local community to grow the game in this region.”

Brine, who has lived in North Queensland for 24 years, brings to the table first-grade playing experience in England and a vital understanding of the local community. Brine played 102 first team games for Middlesbrough AFC from 1972 to 1977 in the English first division before a serious knee injury cut short his playing days at age 24. He moved to Townsville in 1986 to pursue his career in the casino business before opening A Touch of Salt restaurant with his family. “The selection of a coach is paramount to the future of the Fury going forward,” Brine said. “We need to find the right style of coach for our local community. Our fans want a coach who has the credentials to win them a premiership and they want someone they can connect with.

“With the selection panel Archie has formed, I am confident we will find the right coach for the new Fury and I’m excited to represent North Queensland in that process.”

Fellow panel member Jonathan Crisp is a former owner of Colchester United and is based on the Gold Coast, where he has lived for a number of years. Crisp is a successful businessman with particular expertise in the areas of management and marketing, and has been a board director of the PGA Tour for 16 years. Formerly of the UK, Crisp founded and ran the largest independent management and marketing consultancy in Europe, which advised a number of sports organisations specifically in football, including Ipswich Town and Leeds United. He was also a board director of the World Sport Group for 10 years, which is the largest sports marketing company in Asia. '

As a fan of the Fury it is nice to get some positive news from the club and lets hope that these men can now get on with the job of selecting a coach so that the Fury can get their pre-season up and running and put all the off-field drama behind them.

Player News Fury ready to make move on Fowler

2010-04-19T15:52:00.008+10:00

Photo:Cameron Laird

Archie Fraser has confirmed the Fury are finally making an offer to last years marquee player Robbie Fowler. Although I am sure that until NQFC secure the new head coach, Fowlwer would not agree to terms.

Fraser also acknowledges the need to get a coach appointed ASAP, which is why they are frantically working to appoint the 4 man committee (of which 1 has been named) that will work to get a shortlist, and then work through the shortlist to appoint a new head coach, so that the head coach can work to build his squad. Good luck to him there, by the end of May most players who are around would be players who have been unable to secure a contract anywhere else.

On a side note, I spoke to Jeremy Brockie on Saturday, who mentioned his utter disappointment with having to leave the Fury and Townsville. His need to secure his future was the only reason he left. Brockie said that he didn't know if the Fury intended on offering him another contract, and he even asked Newcastle if he could wait until he knew what was happening with the Fury before he committed to the Jets, but they wouldn't allow it. It's a shame to see such a talented young player gone. The Journal would like to wish Jeremy all the best in the upcoming season, although I am sure he will get a reception when he comes back in the wrong coloured shirt!

Read the full Bulletin report on Fraser's announcement here-
Fury to make Fowler an offer Townsville Bulletin Sport

Townsville photographer (and Fury Fan) Cameron Laird spends an afternoon at the beach with Robbie Fowler

Ben Buckley's thoughts on the A-League

2010-04-17T09:47:00.004+10:00

Just read this article by Ben Buckley on the SMH website- Very good reading and he makes some very good points in relation to the progression of the A-League thus far.
____________________________________________________________

The Hyundai A-League has been a bold plan from day one.

Building a national competition in capital and regional cities around the country involved pushing the boundaries, taking on the establishment and taking calculated risks.

It started as an eight team competition with the vision to expand in a controlled and progressive manner.

We pushed into the territories of the Gold Coast and North Queensland and are set to welcome teams in the major markets of Melbourne and western Sydney.

Those markets were identified as ripe for new football teams due to their size, business activity, high youth demographic and existing sporting culture including a rich history of football.

In its first year North Queensland Fury averaged crowds of almost 8000. When you consider no professional football was played in North Queensland before this team it is a very positive step.

We expect teams in Melbourne and Sydney to help build excitement through rivalry and help us tap into the huge numbers of listed football players in these areas.

It needs to be remembered that the Hyundai A-League is only five years old.

The product is strong, it is getting stronger and every year we gain more spectators, viewers and media space while continuing to generate more excitement and passion for football fans.

Of course there will be some hiccups along the way, a little bit of turbulence if you like.

Not every decision will be right but we will not stop the growth of our competition.

There is rarely expansion without growing pains.

We learn from the past and we will continue to build our competition as it is based on a vision.

That vision is growth.

There is still more work to be done and we are implementing changes each season that will help boost both the business of football and the attraction of the competition.

We will make some exciting announcements soon around fixtures, regulations and player recruitment intended to attract more Australian players back from overseas, create more professional opportunities for young players and boost the depth of player squads. We are also looking into our own Cup competition.

The football community should be hard markers and football fans deserve a national competition that is accessible.

They have waited a long time to win the respect of their peers and it is understandable they are impatient about the development of the competition.

The Hyundai A-League is in its infancy and while celebrated leagues around the world have been established for decades with little or no serious competition we are forced to compete for our place in Australia's sporting culture.

Our national competition is no longer the joke of the Australian sporting landscape.

There is recognition that Hyundai A-League football clubs can play on a truly international stage and have the potential to tap into markets in Asia and the rest of the world.

This is evident in our growing involvement in the AFC Champions League where Hyundai A-League teams are receiving high levels of exposure in international markets including China, South Korea and Japan.

We have made some giant steps in recent years and there are more to be made very soon as we continue to develop and grow.

We are building on a platform that is growing year-by-year and there are bound to be some challenges and issues along the way.

This year more than 1.5 million people came through the gates to our games and we averaged more than 10,000 per game.

The A-League has come a long way in five years.

As we all focus on how far we have got to go it is also important to focus on how far we have come.

Ben Buckley is the chief executive of Football Federation Australia

____________________________________________________________

Well said Ben, and good to hear some positive words coming from the head of the FFA, now get us the World Cup and a new coach for the Fury!

*Coach Update Farina's Two Cents

2010-04-17T09:29:00.004+10:00

Frank Farina has again weighed into the debate on the appointment of the NQFC's next head coach. This time not to improve his own prospects but to point out the increasing difficulty that the new coach is facing- ''It would be incredibly hard,'' Farina said.''So much time has already been lost... First and foremost, leaving myself out of this, the club needs to sort out what's happening up there and a priority is to appoint a coach. I guarantee that it comes along very quickly in terms of the season and trying to build a team... If I was still at the Roar, the squad would have been finalised by the end of last season with possibly one or two others to look at in the off-season, which is how most clubs would work."

''In terms of what players are on the market and who you can get from overseas, it's getting late now.''

Given the financial drama that hit the Fury, it made it nigh on impossible to have the roster ready for this season at the end of last. But every day this drags out, more and more players contracted to the previous administration are finding homes with other clubs, most notably Shane Steffanuto and just yesterday Matt Smith.

It seems that the need to find a new head coach and appoint them quickly is less obvious the the man who is responsible for the appointment, Archie Fraser who has only just announced the appointment of FFA technical director Han Berger as one of the four men responsible for the appointment of the coach.

Meanwhile, Farina, who has openly admitted his desire for the Fury job already has a squad in mind should he be favoured for the position- ''I've always got a list of players in mind,'' he said "There are a few I've passed on to Graham Arnold at Central Coast, players I was thinking of signing at the Roar ... good young players.''

Farina has also been in contact with his former assistant FNQ Bulls coach Paul Tokesi- ''It would be naive and silly not to get local people involved, they are not only at the grass roots level but at the coal face,'' Farina said. Plus he is interested as well in the local players- ''Getting players for the first team is one thing, getting in there to set up infrastructure and feeder set-up is another. The Fury is in a perfect position with state league sides (FNQ Bulls, NQ Razorbacks and Whitsunday Miners) that should make up the feeder group of players you need for an A-League squad.''

* Player Contract News* Matt Smith moves on

2010-04-16T15:09:00.003+10:00

End of season injury replacement Matt Smith has signed a new A-League deal with Brisbane Roar. Matt, who was playing in the QSL for Brisbane last year, jumped at the oppurtunity to move back to Brisbane to ply his trade- "Once Ange made contact there was no hesitation in taking the chance to join the club," Smith said "At 27 I'm not one of the younger players anymore, so I really want to take the opportunity to become an onfield leader...I want to try and establish myself in the starting 11 and really help out some of the younger players."

After moving his family north to join the injury ravaged Fury, Matt Smith became a regular first elevan player. He was solid at the back and obviously impressed Roar mentor Ange Postecoglou- "He plays with the passion and commitment that I am sure will be appreciated by his teammates and Roar fans," he said.

Unfortunately Matt adds to the growing list of players who are finding contracts with other clubs amongst the uncertainty surrounding the future direction of NQFC, who are still without a coach. There are also reports that players who were contracted to the previous administration are not happy with the handling of the re-contracting process with the club.

The Journal wishes Matt all the best at the Roar.

Read the full Brisbane Times article here.

Player Contract News Fury now have enough to play

2010-04-15T12:00:00.003+10:00

NQFC now have enough players to take the field, with Ufuk Talay signing to become the 8th player to sign, one more than the required 7 (provided they don't get the same run of injuries the endured last season).

Re-signing Talay is a boost for the club given Talay's experience and involvement with local football (Talay is an assistant to the Razorbacks Ken Mitchell).

Talay joins existing players- Justin Pasfield (goalkeeper, whose shot stopping and distribution made a major impact at the end of last season), Jason Spagnuolo (quality player reaching his prime and improved dramatically last year), Osama Malik (Fury's U23 player last year, Ozzie is a young and exciting prospect), Dyron Daal ( was an excellent find for the Fury last year and scored 5 goals from only 8 first XI appearances), and David Williams who became a cult hero with the F-Troop and Fury Faithful last year.

Fury Coach Update Farina wants Fury post

2010-04-15T11:29:00.003+10:00

Frank Farina has again come out publicly acknowledging his eagerness to take on the head coach roll at NQFC.

"Definitely, I'll be throwing my hat in the ring," Farina said."Whenever something comes up, it's always something you'd look at. I'm definitely interested.

"I've still got family up that way, a lot of contacts, a lot of people that I still know from up there... I think it's a good fit, but ultimately I think there'd be a lot of people that would be looking at it."

The role presents something of a unique challenge and certainly has its positives. As the new coach there would not be a great deal of pressure coming into a club that is, in its second year, in a rebuilding phase.

On the otherhad you would have the unfortunate situation that the FFA seems to be intent on having a playing roster filled before they fill the coaching position, having already re-signed 8 players from the former administration. Which is somewhat unusual in the football world, most clubs have the head coach pick the squad, as he is the one who determines the formation and style of play that will be implemented into the club, something that would be hard to do when handed a ready made side.

To read the full foxsports article on Farina click here

Fury Coach update "Appointment made by end of may" Archer

2010-04-15T11:12:00.004+10:00

The Courier Mail has reported that Archie Fraser expects the Fury top job to be announced by the end of May. "There'll be a panel to select the coach and I'm still waiting on confirmation of who that panel will be... We'd like to have an appointment made by the end of May on the coaching position."

With Archie Fraser in Townsvile today to speak with Fury representitives hopefully we will get an announcement on the direction of the club before the end of the week.

Let's hope that leaves the new boss enough time to pull together and build a competitive side for the next A-League season!

To see the full report click here

Fury Coaching News Tokesi wants Farina re-union

2010-04-15T10:02:00.003+10:00

Ex-Strikers assistant and now FNQ Bulls head coach, Paul Tokesi, has told the Townsville Bulletin that he would be excited to link up with his former head coach Frank Farina. ''Yes, certainly, I would,'' Tokesi said. ''Under those conditions I'd love to do it again. I worked with Frank for a lot of years and have kept in regular contact with him.'' Farina and Tokesi were the coaches responsible for Brisbanes sole national league success in 1997 when Farina was player/coach of the now defunct NSL team.

Tokesi believes that with Farina and himself, they would get more response from the NQ public and in particular the regions outside of Townsville. With the report going on to say 'that is something the image-challenged North Queensland Fury needs. The club was universally criticised outside of Townsville for neglecting the region.' "We (FNQ Bulls) were supposed to have had two games against them, we publicised them, and a few days before they were to happen the Fury called them off." Tokesi lamented.

''Local knowledge and local people, you need them,'' Tokesi said. ''I think Ian Ferguson last year brought in his own team and alienated a lot of people. Sure, bring in your own team but there has got to be some local knowledge in there somewhere".

Let's hope for the sake of the fans and players that whoever the coach is, the FFA appoint them soon!

Tokesi keen on Fury | Townsville Bulletin SportEx

Fury Coaching Update Ex Real player linked with job

2010-04-15T09:54:00.003+10:00

The FFA have still not released a list of coaches that they are considering, however a new name has surfaced in the race for the next Fury head coach.

The Fury are believed to have been in contact with ex-Yugoslavian and Real Madrid player, and now Cairns local, Milan Jankovic. Jankovic spent his playing career with Real Madrid, Anderlecht and won 2 national titles with Serbian powerhouse side Red Star.

Jankovic holds UEFA A and B licences. His coaching career includes the Tongan national team head coach for 3 yeras, and he spent time in the mid-90s at the AIS with Steve O'Connor and Ray Junna. He has also worked in the Northern Territory as a development officer.

"At the moment I'm looking for different options to move," he told au.fourfourtwo.com. "I'd like to coach in the A-League or even youth A-League. And I think the A-League is getting better and better.

"I think it's very comparative. Look at the Asian Champions League and I think Australian teams have been tactically dominant.

Click here for the full fourfourtwo.com article

Daily Telegraph's Fowler photo foul

2010-04-13T21:27:00.008+10:00

The photo that was used in the Robbie Fowler article by The Daily Telegraph's Tim Smithies to emphasise Fowler's enthusiasm to move to Sydney is actually from 12th of July 2007 (unless Robbie and the official pictured agreed to wear the exact same outfit as last time), the last time Sydney failed to sign Robbie.

To date there has been NO word from Fowler's camp aside from the conversation he had personally with Robbie Middleby on his birthday last week. Middleby told the Townsville Bulletin ''I've been in contact with Robbie and it's still a situation where they are (Fowlers management and the FFA on behalf of NQFC) trying to work out things and there's going to be a lot of speculation in the meantime... my gut feeling is I'm optimistic, I'm desperate to get him back here, absolutely desperate, and I'll do everything in my power to get him back here. I spoke to him and he said he had not made up his mind on what he was doing.''

So until there is a guarenteed word from Robbie Fowler, his management team, or a club we can only continue to guess. One thing is for sure, Fowler's presence on the A-League and football worldwide is just as strong as ever, part of the lure for any team looking to sign him.

To support the Fury's bid to keep Fowler follow this link

To see this weeks aricle with photograph click here.

To see the photo from July 2007 click here

Player Contract News Sefanutto

2010-04-13T12:36:00.006+10:00

Reports that Shane Stefanutto has signed with the Brisbane Roar have been confirmed on the NQ Fury website. Having an active head coach has most likely helped pull the Socceroo away from the North.

“As a player I always want to win, I always want to be the best and speaking to Ange he had similar thoughts, plans and goals,” Stefanutto said.

“He (Brisbane coach Ange Postecoglou) wants the club to be successful and that’s what really made me feel good about the decision to come to Brisbane.

“I want to be successful, I want to achieve things, I want to play Asian Champions League and I want to win a title.

“That made me excited about football again because it has not been an easy couple of months or even an easy year in terms of my injury.”

This will come as a major disappointment to the fans of NQFC as we really didn't get to see much of the defender last year, as he was on the very overpopulated injury list that former coach Ian Ferguson had to work with.

This once again demonstrates the need for the FFA to appoint a head coach to the Fury post haste(and we are sure they are working on it). Players, prospective players, and the fans alike know from last season that you need to have your team working together as early as possible to ensure success in the A-League.

Draw announced

2010-04-13T10:21:00.005+10:00

The draw for the local leagues have been released by the TFA.

click here to veiw the draw.

A Link has been added to the page on the right hand side.

Player Contract News Spagnuolo, Stefanutto

2010-04-12T21:04:00.004+10:00

Unconfirmed reports are popping up everywhere suggesting that Jason Spagnuolo has signed with the NQ Fury on a one year deal that will see him with the Fury until the end of the 2010/11 season. 25 year old Spagnuolo finished last season with a bang creating plenty of goal scoring opportunities and becoming known as a Fury impact player from the bench. He also has a wealth of experience in the A-league having started with Adelaide United in 2006, and also playing for Adelaide city in the now defunct NSL and NSL youth league since 1999, until moving to the Fury last season. If this is accurate it's great to see Jason putting his faith in the club, I am sure the club and fans won't forget that come season start!

There have been some rumours around that Shane Stefanutto has signed for the Brisbane Roar, fortunately at this stage (unless it has been kept very secret) I have been unable to uncover any truth to this. Let's hope for the sake of the Fury it is not true and we keep our first capped socceroo in the North!!

On another positive note the Brisbane Roar owners, Emmanuel Drivas, Emmanuel Kokoris, Claude Baradel and Serge Baradel, have assured the FFA and the fans that they are in the A-League for the long haul Each one of the owners has a passion for football and in particular our club, the Brisbane Roar,” Drivas said “We won’t deny it has been a difficult 12 months, but we now believe things are turning around for the better and we’re determined to see it through...
The four of us aren’t here for profit. You have to spend some money to make money and we’ll be working with management to make the club competitive both in football terms and commercially.”

After such a negative end to last week, it is good to see this week start off well for the A-League, and in particular the Fury.

See the full Roar owner story here.

Don't forget to join the KEEP ROBBIE FOWLER movement if you haven't already by clicking here.

* Keep Robbie Fowler in NQ*

2010-04-12T09:10:00.003+10:00

A group of local Fury fans have started a facebook page dedicated to showing our support for Robbie Fowler to stay in the green and white!

If you have facebook, you can sign up here, or search Robbie Fowler for NQ in pages. If you don't have facebook, please leave your message as a comment on here, or you can also text the editor in the local paper on 0416905531.

NEWS*** Gold Coast United Update

2010-04-11T19:20:00.003+10:00

When Professor Clive Palmer was asked about tha rumours that he is pulling out of the A-League has been quoted by the Courier Mail as saying- "It's bullshit, made up, bullshit."

Maybe the news reporter who ran the story should check the validity of his stories before running them.

That is both of his "Breaking News" rubbished from where it came, after Sydney FC CEO also refuted the claim that Robbie Fowler is signing with Sydney was not even close to being accurate.

More to come soon on more Fury player signings.

See the full Sunday Mail article here.

Update** Signings Williams, Fowler

2010-04-10T12:16:00.005+10:00

By now no doubt you all would have read, heard or seen that David Williams will remain at the Fury for at least the next 2 seasons. This is great news, and good to finally see some positives coming from the Fury. Williams is an exciting attacking player, and one that would have been heavily chased given his impact on the A-League last year, and his inclusion in the current Socceroos training squad. I am sure we all look forward to watching Super Dave flying down the wing and banging some more goals in this coming season!

Fury's current operations manager, pictured above, (A-league legend and I think only back office employee at the moment) Robbie Middleby has announced that the Fury were still hopeful of signing inaugaral marquee player (and most likely the biggest name ever to grace the A-league) Robbie Fowler. ''I've been in contact with Robbie and it's still a situation where they are trying to work out things and there's going to be a lot of speculation in the meantime,'' he told the Townsville Bulletin ''My gut feeling is I'm optimistic, I'm desperate to get him back here, absolutely desperate, and I'll do everything in my power to get him back here. I spoke to him and he said he had not made up his mind on what he was doing.'' Well Robbie, we are all desperate to see him come back and it's great news that, with all the ramblings of the club not being able to afford him, we are actually hearing that the club wants him as much as we do!

Middleby also confirmed what has already been mentioned in The Journal about the delays currently facing the Fury at the moment ''It's a situation where (FFA) have to work through things ... and we could be in a risky situation with what's going on in that we could lose Robbie Fowler, he could go to a Sydney, he could go somewhere else,'' he said. ''Because of that it is always going to be tough for us ... you could lose him and it's the same with other players, it looks like there's interest in other players in our squad we could lose as well, and that's what could happen.''

Meltdown? Time for some perspective

2010-04-10T11:04:00.006+10:00

Like drama to our soap opera's, so are the days of our A-League.

Some local media has suggested the A-League is in crisis, highlighting reports that have been disproved, and reporting what is shown to be rumor mongering by other media outlets. Of course if they record/print their reports at 7 am the morning before they go to air/print then they had no chance of knowing that these reports were just in fact mere speculation. If however the stories were recorded/printed after they were refuted, then perhaps these stories should have been reported in a much more positive light “A-League overcomes a day of turbulence”?

What should be made out of all this?

Here are the facts to date-

Gold Coast United- GCU CEO Clive Mensink has said that owner Clive Palmer has no intention of backing away from the club. Mensink even quoted Palmer as saying “don’t worry (about what is happening), move on”. Southern reports that Palmer wrote to the A-League handing in his A-League licence also appear to be pure speculation, with no sources quoted or any real evidence in the story. However, it is a known fact that Clive Palmer along with other A-League owners would like the distribution of income to be reworked in favour of the clubs and that Professor Palmer is happy to be the leading voice for the clubs. Perhaps this is just another chapter in that particular story. The A-League is not alone in that.

Archie Fraser- saying that Archie Fraser has quit the A-league is simply not true. Archie has simply removed himself as CEO and taken a post in QLD, where he will be working with each of the 3 A-league clubs to try to sure up there future. Archie himself brings a lot of experience in not only management, but sports management in general to the table. As well as being a former professional player himself, showing that he has a passion for the game. More on Archie Fraser to come…

Robbie Fowler- I am afraid that this seems to be a reporter who, as Ian Ferguson would say has “put 2 and 2 together to get 5”. Robbie’s time at NQ has seen him under some immense media scrutiny. I don’t know how he felt about it ( sadly I haven’t had the chance to have an in depth conversation with him), but I know that it seemed to me that if he walked past a travel agent and looked toward the window, it would be reported he was unhappy in Townsville and heading back home to England… no matter how many times he said that he loved it here (not sure if he was red in the face while saying it because he was sick of saying it or because he was still acclimatising). And lets not even get started on the reports surrounding his wife. There was the unfortunate Fowlergate incident at the Roar match, which once again, not having the chance to talk with either Fowler or Ferguson in person, I couldn’t be 100% on what actually went down.

An excellent little saying is that if you assume something, you will make an ASS out of U and ME. Let’s hope that the Fowler and GCU story turn out to be nothing but assumptions.

Until I see the draw without GCU, Archie Fraser in a press conference resigning in full from the FFA and Robbie Fowler pulling a shirt other than a Fury top (which by the way I will be watching through the bottom of an empty pint glass with a tear rolling down my cheek), I refuse to believe or report, any of this as true.

Update** Fergie to sue after sacking...

2010-04-09T18:06:00.006+10:00

Former NQ fury boss Ian Ferguson reveals his disappointment over the treatment that he and the current Fury players have received since the FFA involvement in the club. Ferguson lamented "I don't know whether I will be paid this month or not" however he went on to add that with the FFA now involved in managing the club he was no longer worried about the clubs future. He did however state his shock, dismay, and his own personal feelings toward the fact that he had not just brought players and coaching staff to the club, but that he had brought up 23 families, brought 5 players over on temporary visas (who will now need to find sponsors or risk deportation) who came here on the understanding that they could settle their families. These same players are now being told they might not be getting paid the same wage, or even not have a place in the club anymore, and that is not good enough.

There are also reports from some players that they have not received wages, which is of great concern, these guys have bills to pay just like the rest of us! On top of that, whether there is a new administration or not, this whole debalce is being broadcast to the world football community and is going to tarnish the reputation of the club. This will make it harder to attract players and supporters in the near future.

Click here to hear the full Fergie interview with ABC radio

Update** Fowler leaving, say it isn't so...

2010-04-09T13:16:00.003+10:00

It seems as though the Sydney reports were a little premature this morning with Sydney FC CEO confirming that they have not yet in fact made a formal approach to Robbie Fowler or his management. They have however sought approval from the FFA to approach Fowler in regards to becoming the new SFC marquee player. They like the style of striker he is (we like his style as well, 11 goals in 25 matches who wouldn't!) as well as being able to utilising him as a left midfielder.

We are still waiting to hear Robbie Fowler's take on the whole situation, but once again, lets hope this doesn't continue to drag on.

Update Fraser quits A-League

2010-04-09T12:56:00.004+10:00

Well it it is confirmed that Archie Fraser has quit as CEO of the A-League, but not the A-League altogether, it seems as though Archie Fraser will be the new "interim" CEO of NQ Fury. SBS world game reported 'He will be in charge of the restructuring and revamping of the Fury, who have been saved by a $1.3 million cash injection by the FFA, with his first task to sort out the playing roster and find a successor to former coach Ian Ferguson, who jumped shipped for Perth Glory after discovering he would not be reappointed for 2010-2011. Fraser will act as a consultant to the FFA with his focus on the fortunes of the three struggling Queensland clubs - the Fury, Brisbane Roar and Gold Coast United, who are on the point of quitting the competition.
After his mission at the Fury is complete his next task will be to find a way of helping dysfunctional Gold Coast United - assuming erratic billionaire boss Clive Palmer has not followed through on his pledge to walk away from the competition - find a way of forging ahead and connecting with the local community.'

So I guess now with the GCU saga cleared up, and the announcement from Ben Buckley regarding Archie Fraser, the only thing left to be cleared up is Fowler's future, which will hopefully be sooner than later.

Read the full The World Game story here

Gold Coast CEO denies rumours

2010-04-09T12:42:00.004+10:00

The Gold Coast news has reported- GOLD Coast United CEO Clive Mensink has denied the club is set to hand back its A-League licence after a Sydney newspaper reported the club's billionaire owner Clive Palmer was set to withdraw funding for the football club.

He said of the rumours ``Clive is still involved and I don't where talk of him withdrawing is coming from,'' said Mensink ``We have been in touch with the FFA of late but nothing about us pulling out. Our contact has been about normal business affairs...I view this is all as a distraction and as far as I am concerned there is nothing to sort through, other than to prepare for next season"

A Sydney report claimed Palmer, had sent `written confirmation that he would stop funding the club beyond the end of next week'. But Mensink has insisted this simply is not accurate, adding "I am not here at the club spending my time for nothing making sure everything is in place when the boys come back for training (in May).''

Seems the rumour mills are in overdrive. Lets see what the next announcements are, we are still waiting to here about the Archie Fraser quitting story, and the horifying rumours of Fowler's departure to be cleared up.

One positive to come out of this is the extra publicity for the A-League... as they say 'any publicity is good publicity'.

View the full Gold Coast news story here

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROBBIE FOWLER

2010-04-09T11:12:00.002+10:00

With all the hoopla regarding the Fury, and Robbie Fowler, and the Gold Coast, and Archie Fraser, I nearly forgot the most important story of the day.

HAPPY 35TH BIRTHDAY TO THE NQ FURY'S 1ST MARQUEE PLAYER ROBBIE FOWLER. WE WISH YOU A HAPPY BIRTHDAY AND HOPE THAT YOU HAVE A GREAT DAY (AND SEASON WHEREVER YOU MAY PLAY) AND CAN'T WAIT TO CHEER YOU ON NEXT SEASON (PROVIDED YOUR STILL IN THE GREEN AND WHITE!!)

Fraser quits A-League?

2010-04-09T10:36:00.003+10:00

The Daily Telegraph is reporting that the head of the A-League, Archie Fraser is planning on resigning from his post as head of the league.

This would add to the current woes of the league, after the Fury debacle, then reports today of Gold Coast (Clive Palmer) pulling out of the competition.

We are at a point now where we are all waiting with baited breath to find out about all the drama surrounding the A-League, one thing is for sure it has certainly created some publicity... Anyone know who is playing when in any other code this week?

Read the Daily Telegraph report here

News** Robbie leaving, Say it isn't so... Bye bye Gold Coast?

2010-04-09T06:33:00.004+10:00

Newspapers in Sydney have reported that Robbie Fowler has decided to join Sydney FC. The report suggests that Fowler, who nearly signed with Sydney, 3 years ago, has now decided to join Sydney. With John Aloisi signing with the Melbourne Heart, Sydney have been trying to attract a big name for their marquee player and they don't come much bigger than God.

The article is at this stage just speculation, as it does not quote Fowler's camp, or Sydney FC as the source of the article, however if correct, Fowler becomes the first player to officially leave because of the financial troubles of the Fury and now the dilly dallying by the FFA to get the Fury back on track.

While I would prefer not to fuel the speculation of Robbie Fowler back in a sky blue shirt (having previously played for Man City for 3 seasons), it emphasises the need or the FFA to get cracking on securing the Fury's playing roster.

Newspapers are also suggesting that Gold Coast United are set to fold, with Fury's last season saviour Clive Palmer, deciding to withdraw his support of the A-League side. Unlike the Fury, the community support for GCU, who won last year's youth league and boast names such as Shane Smeltz and Jason Culina, is not expected to be strong enough to inspire the FFA to step in to save them. It would also be good timing for the A-League with both the Fury and newcomers Melbourne Heart looking to boost the playing ranks, and would reduce the A-League to a more convenient 10 team competition.

This has also not yet been confirmed, but would be a big blow for the league to lose such a high profile businessman.

The Time Has Come to Make a Time!

2010-04-08T22:22:00.004+10:00

Tonight's news reported that Archie Fraser is heading back to the FFA base, with the appointment of a new head coach no clearer, and reports of multiple players being unhappy with how the negotiations are going.

However one of the biggest surprises was the announcement that they have appointed Don Matheson as an adviser to the club. All due respect and thanks to Don for getting the team started, but I am pretty sure he couldnt get it right himself last year. I'm not sure what area Don will be working in. Perhaps this is a thank you to Don for getting the team in and planting the roots for what could be an amazing club. It is also a surprise considering there have been reports that local business' would be more comfortable being involved in a Don'less Fury. It seems that the FFA are not getting amongst the local community when making decisions on the future of the club.

Now is the time for the FFA to tell us who is being considered as the new head coach and when the decision will be made! If they want to give themselves time (eg- till the end of the month) and not rush the decision that's fine, but at least give us a light at the end of the tunnel. With names such as Farina and Okon being bandied around, surely there is no need for this to take longer than a week to sort out. Local support for Frank Farina seems to be growing, and given his time in football management in Australia, as well as his ties to the local community (click here for previous article on Farina), seems to be an obvious choice. If that is the case, most fans would like to see Paul Okon as an assistant to Frank, this might allow Okon the oppurtunity to get involved with the local youth excellence program with a view to taking control of the Fury youth side when it starts.

Lets not forget some of the biggest losers out of all of this, our current players. Perhaps if the FFA would release a date for the signing of a manager, then the players might be a little more lenient on the club, although I do feel for them, while all this rubbish is going on I am of the understanding they aren't getting paid. All this talk of needing to get a comittee to sign a new coach is making us sound like the bowls club from the movie Crackerjack, what's next a sub-comitee to decide the flavour of Gatorade in the watercooler?

I don't know about any of you other Fury fans, but I am starting to get sick of getting kicked while we are down by all the eggballers out there ("your a Fury fan are you? Who is your favourite player... oh that's right, you don't have any!").

The bottom line is, the longer this drags out, the harder it will be to attract quality players (who will want to commit to a club that doesn't have a coach?), the less time the team will have to prepare (arranging friendly matches to work on tactics etc), and the bigger job that the new administration is going to have in convincing the general public that the Fury are here, serious, and ready to mount an attack on the play-offs in the 2010/11 season (let's not forget the following a succesful team gets in Townsville compared to a team that is doing average) because those extra fans are the ones that are going to help pay the bills!

Manager update Farina or Okon?

2010-04-08T11:05:00.011+10:00

Frank Farina is popping up more and more when the Fury top job is mentioned. Taking up the whole back page of today's Townsville Bulletin is an extensive article from a press conference with Frank himself. As previously mentioned on The Journal, Farina believes that his current legal stoush with the Roar will be his biggest hurdle to overcome in getting the nod- ''Well I have a legal issue with the Roar and the FFA have a stake in that club,'' Farina said. ''Now the FFA have a stake in keeping the Fury alive so I'm not too sure that really works out in my favour.''

''It would be the perfect job,'' Farina said. ''I do want to get back into coaching ... I'll definitely throw my hat into the ring for a job up there.'' As for his ability to attract players to the club, Farina had this to say about his time with Brisbane Roar ''I don't need to go to much into my philosophy on coaching, but I brought eight young players into the club (Roar), Three of them were last week picked up overseas and I'd imagine a few more will follow.''

Farina also might be able to engage the locals for assistance, with Current FNQ bulls coach Paul Tokesi being the assistant to Farina at the Brisbane Strikers (in the old NSL) during their victorious campaign in 1996-97 season.

As for moving up north Farina, spent time playing in Mareeba in the 80's- ''I've always loved that neck of the woods,'' Farina said. ''I still have so much family, so many friends up there. It's where I started, where I enjoyed so much of my younger days that it would seem to be a good fit to return. When I was playing in Mareeba in the early 80s the area was screaming out for national representation and I always said that if the FFA allowed the Fury to fall over now, it would be scandalous."

In other managment news Fury fan forums have been buzzing over the last couple of days, it seems that the fans would like to see Paul Okon considered for the position. For anyone not familiar with Okon, he is most famous for his time with the Socceroos, earning 29 caps over a 12 year period. The FFA has seen enough potential in Okon to make him a part of an inaugural three year scholarship program for Elite Coaching Development. Last year Okon was assistant Gold Coast United. He has also spent time involved in the management of the U23 Italian side and is also currently leading an Australian youth side towards the 2012 Olympic games (which would lend itself well to the Fury looking for quality youth players, as mentioned previously on The Journal). Okons GCU contract was not renewed in February this year, and if approached, the prospect of being Number 1 for an A-League club might be too tempting an oppurtunity for Okon to miss out on. For a more detailed view of Okon's career click here.

At this stage there has been no official announcement regarding any managers being approached in regards to the Fury post. It would however be a massive step forward if the FFA are able to secure a long term decision soon and I will endavour to keep you up to date...

To see the full Farina article click here-
Farina could be perfect fit for Fury role Townsville Bulletin Sport - NQ Fury

Player Contract News

2010-04-08T10:29:00.002+10:00

Local news is reporting that the Fury will be looking for young talent when rebuilding the team for the coming season.

After the impact of players such as David Williams last season, FFA chief Archie Fraser is reported to be looking for an exciting youth orientated squad. This is most likely due to the Fury's attempt to lower the current wage bill.

So far no players have put pen to paper for the Fury. However the focus is currently on those that were contracted to the former administration (minus the players signed elsewhere of course) before any new players are approached. Having said that, maybe the focus should be on getting a manager, so that he can be involved in the decision making. I am sure that any manager coming in would like to have an input on who they would like signed, and who they are happy to let go before the issue of money is even raised. After all, they will be the one who is complemented or criticised for who is on the field and who isn't when season 10/11 kicks off.

To read the full report from the Townsville Bulletin click below-

Face of Fury will get younger Townsville Bulletin Sport - NQ Fury

NEWS Farina interested in Fury top job

2010-04-07T18:02:00.004+10:00

And why wouldn't he be! He would be coaching one of the best supported teams in the A-League, who are moving forward both on and off the pitch. It would also allow him (or any other prospective manager) to start with almost a clean playing roster, giving him freedom to mould his own team and playing style. While at the same time, having players such as David Williams, Robbie Fowler, Shane Stefanutto, and Justin Pasfield (to name a few) who are more than keen to re-sign with the Fury for another A-League campaign.

Frank Farina coaching the Fury wouldn't be the worst result we could get. And also might be convenient for the FFA with the current legal proceedings between Roar (who FFA have a major stake in) and Farina.

Farina believes that the legal proceedings would work against him, but hopefully that can be overlooked and the major focus will be what is best for the club when deciding who to appoint as the new manager (Farina or otherwise).

One thing is for certain, that is that the new administration need to appoint a new manager to the club to start scouting, signing and re-signing players for the upcoming season.

Click here to read the full Wold Game report-

Farina admits Fury interest: A League: News: The World Game on SBS

News** Fergie to sue after sacking

2010-04-07T12:45:00.001+10:00

Another sad Chapter in the Fury off field drama.
There are also reports that more people are lining up to sue NQFC. What will be interesting is whether they can sue the new company or only the old company that had the Fury licence, and if so, what they will actually achieve from it...

The Journal will not be taking sides on any potential law suites involving the Fury, I will just be reporting the news as it comes through.

Ferguson set to sue Fury Townsville Bulletin Sport

NEWS - Ferguson Moves On

2010-04-06T16:09:00.003+10:00

Perth Glory have announced that they have signed NQ Fury's Ian Ferguson as assistant coach.
This opens the door for a new manager, and is a shame considering the excellent job Fergie did for the Fury in our inaugaral season.
The Journal wishes Fergie all the best in Perth, and is sad to see him leave.

The press is indicating that Robbie Fowler might be interested, however there are a few people close to the club saying that Fowler is not interested in coaching the Fury as yet. However it would be nice to see him involved in the running of the team somewhere! Another possible name being bandied around is Frank Farina, a Cairns local, who has played and coached Australia, and in the National League.

So any ideas of who will now coach the Fury?

Click here to read the full Perth Glory story.

Local Football* Razorbacks Get Up 1-0

2010-04-06T12:15:00.005+10:00

As mentioned I will now be adding local football stories, reports, scores and league tables where available. Please also feel free to comment on your local club games where local football is mentioned.

Razorbacks got up 1-0 on the weekend against their more fancied rivals the former NSL side Brisbane Strikers. Anthony "Gazza" Galliozzi scored the winner in the 80th minute from a Lee " Mr Squiggles" Mayberry corner. Mayberry also had a good game at the back, marshalling the troops to what will hopefully be one of many clean sheets in the QSL season.

Click here for more on the Razorbacks .

The Razorbacks also conducted a local coaching clinic on the weekend, more info here-
Razorback clinic sharpens skills Townsville Bulletin Sport - Sports Junior

NQ Fury FC The Journal

Sseppuya to Israel

NQFC v Melbourne Victory teaser

Match Review- Melbourne Heart Vs NQ Fury FC

Akoto out for one match

The Kevin Muscat Clause

*News* Fury to appeal Akoto Send Off

*News* Fury Squad announced

From Franz with Love

Straka for PM

*News* Fury side announced

*News* Fury vs Sydney FC Preview

*News* Fury's newest sponsor

TOGETHER WITH FURY 1ST EDITION

*News* Fury Sign McDonald

*News* NQFC's first home game

*News* David Williams says Fury have more

*News* Fury on track to break membership record

*News* Fury's new partnership

Fury worth a Pinepple

*News* Fury announce squad

*News* Fury Sign Ugandian

*News* Fury Squad for Adelaide friendly

*News* NQFC's McCall to join Liverpool

*News* Talay Fury's Captain

*News* Sports Minister to Attend NQFC pre-season match

*News* GCU Wrap

*News* Fury ready for Gold Coast clash

Introducing Rebecca Trbojevich

*Fury News* NQFC do Hekari United 4-1

*Fury News*

Fury Membership Release

*Player News* NQ release Ouma

*Fury News* The $7.5M question

Panny visits National Title Hopefuls

Fury require some help

*Player News* Togo to Townsville?

*Player News* NQFC to sign Mark Hughes

*Player News* Fury sign 'The Next Duke'

*Player News* Fury's New Recruit