It has been 20 years since the Central Coast Mariners nearly died in utero. Back in 2004, just two days before the A-League’s eight foundation clubs were to be unveiled, merchant banker Lyall Gorman received a rather dramatic Sunday night phone call.
And thus, the Mariners were born – the only regional club in the A-League, servicing the second-smallest market across all four of Australia’s major football codes . Danny Vukovic, the captain of the Central Coast Mariners, played in their first A-League season back in 2005-06 - and is the last active player left from the old NSL.“I remember rocking up on the first day,” Vukovic said. “The training gear was like triathlete apparel – like running shorts and a generic Reebok shirt. So yeah, it was pretty unorganised early. But we still loved it.”
“To his credit, every time, Mike came up with the money within 24 hours to get us out of that bind. But in any one of those moments, if he didn’t, it was done.” The Mariners played two one-off fixtures at North Sydney Oval, in 2013 and 2014, but Mielekamp estimates he had at least 30 meetings about a part- or full-time move there, while the club also hired staff at one stage to sell sponsorships in the area. The most recent push came only three years ago,with Charlesworth about buying his A-League licence and moving the club to North Sydney or the northern beaches.
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