It’s a little ironic that the Central Coast Mariners (who’ve recently confirmed they are interested in trialling the world’s fastest man in Usain Bolt), had the A-League’s fastest player in Trent Buhagiar on their books, only last season.

Yet Buhagiar, probably the only Australian footballer that could get within a tailwind of Bolt, only made the Mariners starting eleven on four occasions during the 2017/18 season. Yes, despite him clocking 10.8 seconds for the 100 metres as a junior. He was released during the off-season and will line up for Sydney FC this coming campaign.

BOLT PUBLICITY BLITZ COULD COST MARINERS

Trent Buhagiar was the A-League’s fastest player last season. Source: Getty Images

It’s a salient reminder that searing pace — while a very desirable attribute — is only part of the story when it comes to professional football.

Perhaps this is why there has been some scepticism around Bolt’s potential move to Australia, with many media commentators (myself included) questioning whether offering a 31 year-old non-footballer a trial on the strength of his aptitude in another sport, is a serious move, or just a gimmick.

As is always the case with football in Australia, offering any sort of opinion, however well-meaning, opens the door to a furious response. In this case, both club and agent have been quick to vigorously defend their pursuit of Bolt.

In fairness, Bolt has certainly brought worldwide attention to the A-League, and there is a school of thought that believes any publicity is good publicity. But is it just me that worries this is the wrong sort of message to be sending out, not just to the world, but within our own country?

Bolt takes part in a training session with German Bundesliga team Dortmund. Source: AFP

Firstly, if Bolt proves himself as being even vaguely competent, then what does that say about the quality of the competition? Not that I think that will happen — John Kosmina (who has pretty much seen it all and got the T-shirt) only last week pointed out the obvious — that Bolt has spent his life running in straight lines, meaning the myriad patterns of pro football are going to be akin to playing golf on the moon. Conversely, if he turns out to be a complete dud, then what was the point anyway? For me it’s a lose-lose situation.

Secondly, at a time when FFA has just raised playing fees again for juniors, how could the governing body possibly justify a marketing spend on a guy who’s never kicked a ball professionally? With only just over a hundred senior contracts available for the thousands of kids aspiring to make it, what does it tell them if a blow-in from another sport (not to mention another country) is handed a huge contract? It should be added of course, that FFA has yet to give any indication that it will acquiesce to this.

There is nothing wrong in trying to add a little magic dust to the A-League. It has worked before in the case of Alessandro del Piero, Dwight Yorke and others too. But they were proven (if ageing) footballers who brought know-how and a track-record of success. Bolt? He brings plenty of track records, but not in our game. Melbourne Victory’s pursuit of Keisuke Honda, and FFA’s recent interest in Fernando Torres & Peter Crouch were not only more realistic, but more likely to return better dividends than the sugar-hit of a superstar from another field of endeavour.

Alessandro Del Piero and Dwight Yorke added some magic to the A-League. Source: Getty Images

At the heart of this matter is — I believe — a continued lack of faith in the A-League and football as a product, allied to the knee jerk instinct to chase the “mainstream” punter at the expense of the core audience. On both counts, I believe the approach is wrong.

The A-League is not the best competition in the world, but by and large, it is respected internationally (much more so than at home) and stacks up well against its Asian counterparts, which should be its measure — NOT the English Premier League.

There are also more than enough proper football fans in Australia. Witness the huge crowds that are drawn to the big games such as Grand Finals, derbies, Socceroo qualifiers. They come to the stadium because they are attracted by the game, the spectacle, the stakes, the meaning, the tribalism, as much as the players themselves.

We just don’t do enough to build on that tribalism. We kill off active support, we sanitise debate, and by initiatives such as this, we put the thought in many people’s minds that the A-League is just a little bit desperate. On top of all that of course, is the ever-present in-fighting that has long stymied the games development.

Hill says the ever-present in-fighting has stymied the game’s development. Source: AAP

What is required is more of those meaningful games. More rivalries built through a bigger, better (and dare I say it), more traditional league system. Football in Australia needs a proper deliverable plan, investment, accountability for its leaders, and involvement for all its stakeholders through official representation.

That day may come soon, with the Congress Working Party set to report its findings next week (July 31st). It may well be that shortly after that, the clubs will be in charge of their own destiny. If that is the case, then it’s to be hoped the collection of seriously rich men who own the clubs can come up with something better than this.

Melbourne City told a posse of invited media recently that they weren’t interested in bringing in proper marquees because there was no “business return” in the A-League. This is the same club that acquired Aaron Mooy for nothing, then sold him on for the best part of $15 million! They will probably get something similar eventually for Daniel Arzani. If that happens, the combined fees for the pair would then have paid for the initial purchase of the club, AND it’s training facility. Yet there’s no “return?”

Aaron Mooy provided Melbourne City with a substantial return. Source: AFP

The Mariners meantime, have probably made more money from outgoing transfers (think Mat Ryan, Mile Jedinak, Tom Rogic, Trent Sainsbury, Bernie Ibini) than any other.

That’s the future — building the clubs, the league, the infrastructure, the facilities. Invest in marquees if you can, but invest in football and footballers first and foremost — they bring the return. There is no lightning bolt to transform the A-League into overnight success. Not even from Usain Bolt.