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Gazumped Galaxy group to battle billionaire rivalDavid Lewis
31May08
THE gazumped Galaxy A-League soccer consortium led by property developer Fred Taplin has declared war on Gold Coast rival bidder, billionaire Clive Palmer.
Taplin and his team, who were granted a provisional licence in February, are enraged by the emergence of the mining mogul who will jet to Sydney on Tuesday to meet soccer kingpins Frank Lowy and Ben Buckley to seek a rubber-stamping of his audacious money-no-object counter bid for the licence on offer to a Gold Coast franchise.
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A board meeting that day should seal the deal. It's likely Queensland's richest man will be able to forge ahead with a planned official launch of his wholly-owned outfit next Friday.
But Taplin is refusing to easily yield to the Palmer whirlwind, with his group declaring yesterday it has sought clarification from the FFA and still expects to be granted a full licence in the teeth of Palmer's arrival on the scene.
The statement also confirmed that Miron Bleiberg, the former Queensland Roar coach, is no longer a part of the now apparently doomed Galaxy bid. While refusing to take calls, it's believed Taplin is also considering legal redress. He is receiving no succour from the FFA, who have been unimpressed by the Galaxy's failure to meet requested financial guarantees to back up its grandiose schemes.
As recently as Thursday, Taplin and his consortium were asked to produce $5 million in funds necessary to start a franchise.
They were unable to do so and asked for an extension.
There are no such concerns from Palmer, whose official fortune is rated at $1.5 billion. He has already pledged the start-up costs and a war chest for marque players to add glitter to the as-yet-untitled outfit when it makes its grand entrance.
His representatives have sent all necessary paperwork to the FFA and a leasing agreement with Skilled Park will be signed early next week.
Buckley confirmed last night: "Discussions are under way and Clive Palmer's standing and success in the business world make him a very strong candidate for an A-League franchise."
Buckley didn't rule out official confirmation as early as Tuesday after a board meeting which will assess the merits of Palmer's bid along with other would-be A-League entities from Townsville, Wollongong, western Sydney and Melbourne.
He also said Taplin's submission was also still being looked at.
Palmer, who has huge iron ore dealings with China, has already earmarked a top player from that country as one of his four allotted visa players -- and has offered to fly his team to matches in his 120-seat private jumbo jet.
Bleiberg will head up the team's football operations with Gold Coast Soccer chairman Peter Gray tipped to be its general manager.
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