Season 2011/12 was where it all ended for Gold Coast United on and off the field.
Season 2011/12 was where it all ended for Gold Coast United on and off the field.
Off it things unravelled at an alarming rate culminating in the FFA revoking the club's licence, while on it the club failed to make the finals for the first time in their history in spectacular fashion, finishing last.
Despite that throughout the season they provided plenty of opposition for... well their opposition, especially at an often empty Skilled Park.
Defence
They may have conceded 42 goals, but that was by no means the worst in the A-League this season. In fact Sydney FC finished fifth with the same amount of goals leaked.
While Michael Thwaite led the defence, his experienced head at the back was the only one there after the departure of Bas Van den Brink, and at times it showed, especially when youngsters committed errors leaving goalkeeper Jerrad Tyson exposed.
The other bright light was Zach Anderson, the young defender coming along in leaps and bounds throughout the year to be a real strength at both ends of the park.
Midfield
Much like in their defence Gold Coast were reliant on the improvement of their young midfield players and they sure did improve throughout the season.
Ben Halloran and James Brown stamped themselves as players of the future with exciting performances on a weekly basis. Brown more capable of scoring goals than Halloran, but Halloran-s pace ultimately more exciting throughout the season.
Between the two and Peter Jungschalger they created plenty of chances for the team from the glitter strip and fed their strikers, but ultimately it was Halloran and Brown who ran the show, scoring nine goals of Gold Coast-s 30 between them.
Attack
With the losses of Bruce Djite and Shane Smeltz, this is the area Gold Coast United fell in a heap. Without those two they lost out on 21 regular season goals and left it to an underperforming Maceo Rigters and an injury- riddled Dylan Macallister to pick up the slack.
With both suffering injuries throughout the season Gold Coast lacked a true target-man up front and it showed. Their two key strikers scored just five of the club-s 30 goals.
Coach
Gold Coast United went through two coaches in the season, Miron Bleiberg and Mike Mulvey. Bleiberg of course, left the club in dramatic circumstances, his departure ultimately signalled the end was nigh for the fledgling franchise, Mulvey then picked up the slack.
Miron Bleiberg: 21 games, 3 wins, 12 losses, 6 draws; 15 points from a possible 63.
Mike Mulvey: 6 games, 1 win, 2 losses, 3 draws; 6 points from a possible 12.
Overall Grade: D