Days gone by: Less than 12 months ago Richard Houston was announced the saviour of Parkmore Football Club. Now, just weeks after raising the Division Three premiership cup, Houston has quit the Pirates and accepted a position at Division One club St Kilda City.By Glen Atwell
IT was the question no-one wanted answered.
What would become of the Parkmore Pirates if its financier Richard Houston walked out on the club?
Just weeks after Parkmore won the Southern Football League (SFL) Division Three premiership – in the same season it won its first ever senior game – that question will be answered.
Scepticism surrounded Parkmore’s affiliation with Houston from the beginning and though the doubters were silenced during the Pirates’ successful season, it can now be said that no amount of cash can buy success.
Parkmore football manager Mike Smyth said Houston only paid players during the season and didn’t offer any direct financial support to the Wachter Reserve club.
“Richard did not contribute one red cent to the club directly,” he said.
Among the conditions of Houston staying at the club was Parkmore rebranding itself as the Bayside Demons – a move the Pirates refused to make.
“When we first agreed to give Richard the coaching job, like everyone else, there was plenty of scepticism that he had ulterior motives, but we were in a pretty bad position,” Smyth said.
A “bad position” is an understatement.
Last year – Parkmore’s first voyage into senior football – the Pirates failed to win a game, copped multiple 300-point thrashings and looked unlikely to continue operating.
But with chequebook in hand, Houston did some extensive recruiting and managed to coax some big names into Pirate jumpers.
Former Doveton great Danny Casset, ex-Melbourne Australian Football League player Alex McDonald and Sean Millane were among the new recruits.
But not even a first-year premiership could convince Houston to stay.
“We thought he’d at least stick around to defend the premiership in Division Two,” Smyth said.
“Personally it hurts, but as a club we have to be professional and start to move on.
“Richard has no affiliation with the spirit of suburban football, no loyalty, we gave him the chance to build his coaching profile and he turned around and kicked the little Aussie battlers in the balls,” Smyth said.
Assistant coach Gary Connolly, who has since parted ways with the club, was widely recognised as the ‘real’ coach of Parkmore this season and said the news of Houston walking came as no real surprise.
“Not much in football surprises me any more,” he said.
“I thought the premiership might have been enough to make him stay.
“The writing was on the wall throughout the year, it was just a matter of putting the pieces of the jigsaw together.
“I’d be surprised if Mike Smyth and Paul Dowling didn’t see it coming,” Connolly said.
One person who did see stormy seas approaching was SFL executive manager Bob Caine.
“It was always a possibility that something like this could happen. It’s an unfortunate situation,” he said.
Asked about the integrity of ‘chequebook premierships’, Caine said it was a means of success he would advise against.
“Personally it’s not something I would be recommend,” he said.
Caine said the league would work closely with Parkmore to ensure the club did not fall to failure as quickly as it climbed to success.
“They’ll probably find themselves in a better position than they were in at the end of last year, but at this stage Parkmore will remain in Division Two,” he said.
Smyth is confident that with or without Houston, Parkmore can look towards next season with optimism.
“We’re on the lookout for a new coach,” he said.
“We wish Richard the best, but at the end of the day we’re the Parkmore Pirates, not the Bayside Demons.”
