Dan Nichols

Following Saturday evening's near-capacity crowd at CBUS Stadium, plenty of fans took to social media to point out that there is plenty of interest in the game in the area.

Calls were even made for the re-inclusion of an A League side on the Gold Coast following the fixture.

Although it was a brilliant occasion, there is no chance the holiday strip should be considered for re-inclusion to the league based on one large crowd.

I feel petty doing it, but I do have to point out that despite being a big crowd, it was not officially a sell-out.

The large majority of the fans at CBUS on Saturday were there to see Manchester City.

Despite their opposition being a Melbourne based side, a major English Premier League side could play anywhere in the country and still attract a huge crowd.

Chelsea recently sold out ANZ Stadium, and Liverpool played in front of over 95,000 fans in 2013 and judging by the colours in the crowd, perhaps 10% of the crowd in each was there to support the A League side.

Those calling for the re-inclusion of the Gold Coast United side were quickly reminded of the horror experience endured during the club's existence under Clive Palmer.

Support levels were so low that the club would close off the majority of the stadium, allowing only 5,000 fans in the ground to save on costs associated with security and ground staff.

When the entire stadium was opened, crowds very rarely topped 5,000 people.

The Western Sydney Wanderers aside, the A League expansion ventures can hardly be called a raging success. Neither the Gold Coast nor the Northern Queensland sides were able to make any sort of sustained inroads into the market.

Melbourne Heart needed a re-branding and new owners to truly thrive, although I have no doubt they will continue to grow this season as Melbourne City.

Of course you could argue that Wellington Phoenix was an expansion side, although they more or less replaced the Auckland-based New Zealand Knights.

Right now the talent pool is not up to a standard where we could include another side. The gap between the top and bottom sides last season was large, and has caused major changes at the likes of the Wanderers and Jets.

The Gold Coast region itself is not in a position to support another code either.

Right now the two major footballing sides on the strip are the Titans and the Suns. Neither are known for attractive huge crowds. In fact the NRL Titans have been out cheered in the majority of their recent ‘home' games.

Although the market is obviously different, there just isn't the interest on the Gold Coast to sustain a team.

I'm very happy that CBUS was almost full on Saturday, but I have my doubts as to how many would return to see a revamped Gold Coast side.

Roma vs Real Madrid Underwhelms

After all the hype, fans couldn't help but feel a little underwhelmed by the nil all draw on Saturday night between world footballing giants Real Madrid and Roma.

Judging by the social media reaction, half the crowd was there to see arguably the best player in the world, Cristiano Ronaldo.

In his 45 minutes of action he was able to show glimpses of his sublime talent, but at times you could have been forgiven for wondering if he was still on the pitch.

Let me just point out that this is a pre-season fixture, and no one, not even Ronaldo, can be expected to be at his best.

But would it have hurt Roma players to act like there was any excitement at beating the European Champions? Sure, penalties in a pre-season friendly seem a little silly, but a victory over Real Madrid at any time is surely worth celebrating.

I'm sure the atmosphere, and players, will be far better when Man City and Real clash later this week.