Although, not as irrational as Clive Palmer's decision to elevate a 17-year-old debutant to captain of an A-League club, ahead of an experienced club stalwart such as Kristian Rees. And certainly not as irrational as Palmer suspending coach Miron Bleiberg for having the gall to suggest the farcical move was more symbolic than practical. My flag has been firmly hoisted up Gold Coast United's mast since the club's inception three or four years ago. Sure, our home crowds are the thing of ridicule, although the homely Cheers effect I feel when standing with my fellow supporters can't be understated ("Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name...). We may be small in number, but we're a passionate bunch who love our football. But, right now, it's hard to love our club.

And that brings us to Palmer. Palmer came into the league with all the bluster of a championship-winning prize fighter. And, while many of us were bemused by his first season antics, in which he proclaimed we'd go through undefeated and take the league, we were willing to forgive his grandstanding. After all, we had a team featuring the likes of Socceroo Jason Culina, Kiwi World Cup hero Shane Smeltz and, well, Robson. But while Palmer may be a successful businessman, his understanding of football culture - indeed, community culture - has been non-existent. And the club (no, it's not a club, it's a billionaire's plaything) has suffered, badly, as a result. As has the football community on the Gold Coast.

Palmer's shambolic performance at Gold Coast United has alienated the city. There is a market for A-League football on the Gold Coast, as was demonstrated by the 5000-7000 gates in the first season. That was a base to build on. Not a base to alienate. Instead of engaging with fans and widening the support base of his plaything, he declared war on them. A handful of teenagers get into a brawl outside the ground and he closes the Beach, accusing fans of "hooliganism". It was like closing down the Victory Hotel because someone got into a fight outside the Exchange. Totally lacking in logic. And on the field, too, the team that got us just one game away from a Grand Final derby against Brisbane Roar was all but let go, because Palmer refused to offer the security of contracts of more than one year in length. Sadly, Palmer has set football back decades on the Gold Coast.