Former Central Coast Mariners coach Lawrie McKinna revealed how the novelty signing of Usain Bolt completely derailed the club’s season.
Bolt, regarded as the greatest sprinter of all time having won eight Olympic gold medals, was given the chance to pursue his dream of becoming a professional footballer in August 2018 by the Mariners.
Given the media circus that comes with Bolt and the fact the Mariners are a small market club in Australia, their powerbrokers sensed the opportunity to gain worldwide media attention.
Bolt was subsequently brought on board to trial as he trained with a squad that included former Championship marksman Ross McCormack.
He even made a substitute appearance for the Mariners in a pre-season friendly against a team made up of players from the local area on August 31.
But it quickly emerged Bolt did not have the skills required to cut it at the top level.
And it proved to have a detrimental effect on the Mariners’ A-League campaign.
How did Bolt negatively impact the Mariners’ form?
“I talked to quite a few of the boys, they went into that season totally underdone because at training, the training tempo wasn’t as normal because he (Bolt) couldn’t do it,” McKinna said.
“So in training with the first team, the tempo was down so he could take part in training.
“I honestly believe the team wasn’t fit when they went into the season.”
The results back up McKinna’s claim as the Mariners endured a 11-game winless run to start the 2018/19 campaign.
In fact, Central Coast won just three of their 27 league games that season as they finished bottom of the ladder.
Bolt never featured in an A-League match for the Mariners, although he did make one more appearance in another friendly.
The sporting icon was handed a starting berth against Macarthur South West United and made his mark as he scored two of the Mariners’ four goals in a 4-0 victory.
Although he got on the scoresheet, Bolt’s lack of all-round ability was glaring.
Commentators gagged from telling the ‘truth’ about Bolt
During the game, McKinna was in touch with former Mariners striker-turned commentator Daniel McBreen.
Their conversation revealed the dark side to the Bolt sideshow.
“I remember watching them, it got the crowd up,” McKinna said.
“But then he (Bolt) was playing out in Campbelltown. I think (Daniel) McBreen was commentating.
“I’m texting him, ‘Why can you not tell the truth about him?’
“He said, ‘We’re not allowed to.'”
Bolt’s two goals against the Macarthur-based club proved to be his final act in a Mariners kit as he departed in November 2018.
Just two months later, Bolt decided to call time on his short-lived professional football and sporting career.
“I don’t want to say it wasn’t dealt with properly, but I think we went about it, not the way we should and you learn your lesson, you live and you learn,” Bolt told Reuters.
“It was a good experience. I really enjoyed just being in a team and it was different from track and field and it was fun while it lasted.
“I’m just doing many different things… the sports life is over, so I’m now moving into different businesses, I have a lot of things in the pipeline, so as I say, I’m just dabbling in everything and trying to be a business man now.”