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- #1
CENTRAL COAST MARINERS executive chairman Lyall Gorman believes the club is finally starting to appreciate the "dimensions" of its partnership with Sheffield United, with the arrival of a senior Blades player on loan in the next few weeks providing the first real evidence of the benefits.
Former Northern Ireland international Keith Gillespie, 33, and former England international Lee Hendrie, 31, are both contemplating offers to spend the next few months in the A-League, while 22-year-old Ireland international Stephen Quinn has also been mentioned for a possible loan deal. But Socceroos utility David Carney, who has failed to break into the first team at Bramall Lane, definitely won't be returning to the A-League, with the Blades set to sell him to another English side during the January transfer window.
While Mariners fans will be excited by the prospect of a fresh face arriving at Bluetongue Stadium, Gorman is quick to emphasise player exchanges are not the key component of the deal.
"I know a lot of fans only think about the playing side of things, but players aren't the major priority here," he said. "Think local, act global, is the slogan Sheffield United use, and that also applies to us. This is about consolidating and building an international brand."
Indeed for the first time since the partnership was announced in May, the Mariners have begun to understand the extent of the possibilities following last week's visit by the Blades' international director, Mike Farnan.
Sheffield United own both Hungarian side Ferencvaros and Chinese Super League club Chengdu Blades, and have a partnership with Brazilian giants Sao Paulo as well as the Mariners.
"We had three very interesting days with Mike, and it's fair to say we've really learnt the potential of the relationship for the first time," Gorman said. "It's the first time we've had a chance to sit down and look at this. We've finally got the time to be proactive rather than reactive. I think we can also say that Mike was exceptionally happy, exceptionally surprised, to see what sort of club we've built in such a short space of time.
"From our side, we finally understand the dimensions of this partnership. For instance, we could end up having the same naming rights sponsor across all our shirts, or we could end up getting a major sponsor for our [Asian Champions League] campaign through these contacts.
"We could also end up, over time, getting new investors out of this. There's also the coaching and player exchanges, there's things like talent identification, we might send our staff over there for a month at a time, and there's the chance to play matches. For instance, we could send the team over to Chengdu for a camp to prepare for the ACL [Asian Champions League].
" There's a range of opportunities which really are quite amazing. It's been an eye-opener for us, that's for sure. We've now got a to-do list, 30 items are there, and we'll start to prioritise them from here on. Sheffield are also having a seminar in Malta in January for all the clubs, and we'll be going over there to take this to the next level."
Former Northern Ireland international Keith Gillespie, 33, and former England international Lee Hendrie, 31, are both contemplating offers to spend the next few months in the A-League, while 22-year-old Ireland international Stephen Quinn has also been mentioned for a possible loan deal. But Socceroos utility David Carney, who has failed to break into the first team at Bramall Lane, definitely won't be returning to the A-League, with the Blades set to sell him to another English side during the January transfer window.
While Mariners fans will be excited by the prospect of a fresh face arriving at Bluetongue Stadium, Gorman is quick to emphasise player exchanges are not the key component of the deal.
"I know a lot of fans only think about the playing side of things, but players aren't the major priority here," he said. "Think local, act global, is the slogan Sheffield United use, and that also applies to us. This is about consolidating and building an international brand."
Indeed for the first time since the partnership was announced in May, the Mariners have begun to understand the extent of the possibilities following last week's visit by the Blades' international director, Mike Farnan.
Sheffield United own both Hungarian side Ferencvaros and Chinese Super League club Chengdu Blades, and have a partnership with Brazilian giants Sao Paulo as well as the Mariners.
"We had three very interesting days with Mike, and it's fair to say we've really learnt the potential of the relationship for the first time," Gorman said. "It's the first time we've had a chance to sit down and look at this. We've finally got the time to be proactive rather than reactive. I think we can also say that Mike was exceptionally happy, exceptionally surprised, to see what sort of club we've built in such a short space of time.
"From our side, we finally understand the dimensions of this partnership. For instance, we could end up having the same naming rights sponsor across all our shirts, or we could end up getting a major sponsor for our [Asian Champions League] campaign through these contacts.
"We could also end up, over time, getting new investors out of this. There's also the coaching and player exchanges, there's things like talent identification, we might send our staff over there for a month at a time, and there's the chance to play matches. For instance, we could send the team over to Chengdu for a camp to prepare for the ACL [Asian Champions League].
" There's a range of opportunities which really are quite amazing. It's been an eye-opener for us, that's for sure. We've now got a to-do list, 30 items are there, and we'll start to prioritise them from here on. Sheffield are also having a seminar in Malta in January for all the clubs, and we'll be going over there to take this to the next level."
, you have to wonder what he'll look like in an orange Blackpool shirt though!
