Potential rivals keen to help rattled Roar

Oct 18, 2017 - 4:33 PM One of the main men behind the push for a second Brisbane A-League team is ready to pitch in to help the embattled Brisbane Roar if called upon.

Robert Cavallucci, the bid chairman of A-League expansion candidates Brisbane City, is in line to join an advisory board to support the Roar's newly-installed managing director David Pourre.

Pourre, who served as CEO for a season but quit due to frustrations with maligned owners the Bakrie Group, has been lured back to the crisis-plagued club following the axing of Mark Kingsman earlier this week.

One of his first moves on Wednesday was to resurrect the advisory board.

The board was supposed to have taken effect in mid-2016 upon Pourre's departure from the club, and was designed to provide a level of oversight that would help prevent further off-field dramas.

Pourre, Cavallucci and former Matilda Alicia Ferguson-Cook were named as the board's initial members.

But Pourre's short-lived successor Daniel Cobb dumped it when he commenced his disastrous reign as managing director and Kingsman - who at one stage was in talks to join the board - deemed it unnecessary.

A spurned Cavallucci decided to channel his energy into Brisbane City's expansion bid instead.

But despite City mounting a strong case to join the A-League, there will be no hope of a second Brisbane team if the first remains a basketcase.

Asked if he would join the Roar's new advisory board if approached, Cavallucci told AAP: "If David, as the new MD, and the chairman Rahim Soekasah thought it was in the best interests of football, I'd be more than happy to serve that interest."

"Football needs them to be as strong as they can possibly be, because a strong Brisbane Roar means a strong Brisbane City, and together we can deliver a stronger football culture in Brisbane."

Cavallucci, who admitted it was "no secret" he was close friends with Pourre, said there would be no conflict between his position at the helm of City's bid team and any advisory role with the Roar.

"I've always publicly stated that I'm committed to working alongside the Roar if Brisbane City was to enter the A-League," he said.

"Ultimately, we want to grow football into the strongest sport in Australia and to do that, we need to work together every day.

"Brisbane City will (still) be a great addition to the A-League, make a great local derby, and create a great atmosphere for football fans to embrace in the city."

The full make-up of the Roar's advisory board is expected to be announced next week.

Source: AAP