Gold Coast, FFA on collision course

Centre of drama... Gold Coast United club chairman Clive Palmer (right) and head coach Miron Bleiberg (AAP Images)

Dismayed A-League boss Archie Fraser has told Gold Coast United chief Clive Palmer his controversial decision to cap crowds at Skilled Park to under 5000 is "not in the best interests of the club."

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United, who are averaging just 5651 after five home games - with an A-League season low of 4209 against Wellington in round nine – will save $100,000 per match under the downsizing scheme.

But the ploy has divided the few supporters who shell out the competition’s highest prices to watch the expansion club.

And it has caused consternation at Football Federation Australia headquarters where chairman Frank Lowy has been called in to try and persuade fellow billionaire Palmer to ditch a plot hatched in reaction to a ground rental which jumps from $40,000 to $140,000 each time the gate is in excess of 5000.

The FFA wrote to United on Tuesday, voicing its concerns, with Fraser telling The World Game: "We have pointed out that what the club has proposed does not fit into the parameters of the original ticketing program that was submitted to the FFA.

"Capping ticket sales is not in the best interests of the club, the A-League, football or the people of the Gold Coast.

"We are reviewing our options in response to what the club is doing in regard to capping ticket sales."

Some supporters have threatened to toss away their memberships while others are sympathetic to Palmer’s plight and have vowed to stick by a team in desperate need of vocal backing after its 6-0 humiliation against Wellington Phoenix on Sunday.

Palmer has vowed to instigate the crowd capping scheme for Saturday night’s visit of Robbie Fowler’s North Queensland Fury, who attracted a crowd of 7,526 to Skilled Park when they crashed and burned 5-0 back in round two.

By capping the gate, United do not have to pay a state government levy of $3.15 per ticket, which covers the cost of train and bus rides to matches.

The levy only applies when crowds exceed 5000 because a traffic management plan is then required.

TV cameras will pan across an empty east stand, leaving viewers perplexed and cable TV executives aghast.

United used the capping plan for pre-season matches against Central Coast and North Queensland, and Palmer sought to reinstall it seven weeks ago after initial gates fell below the 10,000 break-even mark.

The off field dramas mirror on field ructions with Miron Bleiberg's No.2, former Socceroo Paul Okon, fending off speculation that he has applied for the assistant coaching role at Melbourne Heart.

It’s understood Okon, who has a one-year deal, is ambiguous about his long-term future at the club and has private concerns over the path it is taking, on and off the field.

Fraser was careful not to wield the big stick, adding that the FA would rather work with United, than against them, on an issue which does little to enhance the cachet of a competition already under siege from falling attendances, particularly in south-east Queensland where the Brisbane Roar’s gates have hit an all-time low.

"We want to work constructively with the club through this issue for the best outcome for all," added Fraser. "We need to understand United's concerns and try and hep them address them."

Palmer is seeking to renegotiate the terms of the five-year deal with Skilled Park, owned by the Queensland State government.

But a long-running feud with Labor Premier Anna Bligh doesn’t bode well for a favourable outcome for Palmer, an avowed LNP supporter and financial backer.

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