By The Crowd
January 27th 2008 @ 8:32am
Loading ...Central Coast Mariners – Australian sports fans can be proud
Aussies love a battler. John Howard told us. And we love an underdog. That’s why occasionally, just occasionally, you hear the odd Aussie (very odd) supporting the English in the Ashes. So when the Central Coast Mariners fly off to Asia next year to play the likes of Urawa Reds (Japan) or Sepahan (Iran) Lawrie McKinna’s team can expect the support of all Aussie football fans, bar a few one-eyed Novacastrians.
A club which didn’t exist three years ago, now has World Cup hero John Aloisi in their ranks, young local boys Danny Vukovic, Nigel Boogard and Matt Simon on their playing list, have a crowd average of over 13,000, and expect to take 20,000 to a grand final in Sydney should they make it.
No sex scandals. No drugs. Just a team working within the community to build it’s name and it’s image.
And the Central Coast is no big city. But it is an area starved of a football team from any code.
In Coach Mckinna they have perhaps one of the more approachable sports managers in any code. They have built a team, a community image, similar perhaps to the Brumbies in Canberra or the Swans in Sydney.
Flash they aren’t. Not on the field or off. But they have earned the respect of sports fans tired of players grabbing headlines, in all football codes, for the wrong reasons.
It may not last. But for the moment the Central Coast Mariners are a great sports news story.
How they will go in Asia? Who knows but they won’t be lacking support.
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Midfielder said | January 27th 2008 @ 3:38pm | Report comment
As a Mariner supporter I thank you for your kind words.
However after watching sport for to many years, a often important line is the work off the ball is as important as the ball work.
The Mariners have taken this to a new level and in building a club from nothing its their work off the park that has been as important as their play.
Go the Mariners ” THE PEOPLE’S TEAM”
onside said | January 27th 2008 @ 8:46pm | Report comment
Eamonn,
In another of your articles, the limited exposure of the A League due to no free to air was discussed.
I live a couple of hours out of Brisbane. I picked my son up from football training this week along with a
couple of his mates.Most kids (generalisation) in our area do not have an interest in the A League even
if they play football.The reason is socio economic, most kids dont have pay TV..So here we are in the .
football heartland,the local junior football club,and most kids have zero interest in the A League. They
just dont relate to it. I just wanted to mention my experience even though it is off the subject.
Hey Midfeilder,how about that dodgy offside call on Aloisi. Dreadfull.And the poor bugger did a Beckham.
Sport’s like that .
Both CCM and N C have done well haven’t they. It’s no easy task knocking off the likes of teams from capital
cities with huge resources.
I look forward to the Asian Cup becoming front and centre in Australian sporting history.It will happen for sure.
I reckon the CCM will get total support from Australian football supporters in Asia. It happens in the
Premier League when its down to one or two English teams against teams fro other countries in
UEFA or The Champions Cup .
I hope Queensland Roar get a birth.
.
Midfielder said | January 27th 2008 @ 9:27pm | Report comment
Onside, it was a bad dodgy call and we missed a penalty along with Matt Simon having and open goal and hitting it straight to the keeper.
Karma will work I hope and at some stage in the finals the ball my bounce our way.
You make two interesting points, 1 the A-League only on fox and therefore no FTA exposure and small towns being able to compete with capital cities.
There is little that can be done about the Fox deal, however I believe the smaller clubs are touching base with the football associations and local park clubs in a way the big city teams have still not tried. By working with your local associations I believe helps develop all aspects of a club. Its a pity the flying circus still do not know how to work with their associations and it shows in their crowds and management.
One positive about the A-league not on free to air is a don’t think its standard is up to free to air as yet. Rugby when they put the ARC made a similar mistake it was not S14 standard and being FTA hurt the ARC I think rather than helped.
I also hope the Roar get by the flying circus, but not the Mariners.
Eamonn Flanagan said | January 28th 2008 @ 8:39am | Report comment
Onside,
I agree that many the kids who play miss out on watching the A-League and perhaps for them more importantly the Socceroos. And of course this has resricted the growth of the game. (Not that you would know it from crowds etc)
But the FFA need to overcome this. Engaging with their grassroots, their massive player base is the key to increased and sustained growth. It is a missed opportunity, absolutely.
The Socceroos game against Qatar is on Fox on Wed Feb 6th at 7.30pm which little Aussie footballer wouldn’t have tuned in if it was on FTA?
But the point I was making, or trying to, was that the coverage of Australian sports on FTA in Australia is so poor it ruins or would ruin my football watching experience if they ever got hold of football (SBS and ABC aside).
It is amazing to me the game has grown so fast at all, given the limited but increasing media coverage. And interesting that the Jets and Mariners are getting such big crowds.
Is it because the local media TV and Papers in these regions have little else to cover in summer so have really pumped their local teams, where in Sydney the focus would still be national cricket, national tennis and of course all the other codes.
These teams are getting the sort of media coverage normally reserved for AFL in Melbourne, League teams in Sydney etc, which may well be part of the reason the crowds are flocking in.
And at least Aloisi scored the penalty that really mattered, phew…apologies midfielder:)
onside said | January 28th 2008 @ 12:17pm | Report comment
Eamonn,
I think the FFA are on the right track with the A League ,ie,consolidate ,then gradually expand.
As you point out the growth is amazing.There must be a few more tough years to consolidate
considering the money needed to keep clubs afloat.According to the media, Sydney needed
rescueing by Mr Lowie, Auckland failed, and Newcastles wealthy owner has underpined that
club to the tune of several million dollars. So steady as she goes, and stick to pay TV. Tthere is
a lot of work required to gradually improve the standard of football and expand the long term
supporter base. FTA wont do it. FTA is a one night stand.In the meantime games in small stadiums
are a buzz.Everybody is involved. It can be part of the attraction of the A League.The easiest
way to sell something is to tell somebody they cant have it. Small stadiums do that. I am not
qualified to determine stadium size versus club profitability, but when the time comes to consider
FTA, smaller packed stadiums look better on TV, than do one third full huge stadiums.
An aside,
What is the distance between Perth and Wellington,I keep meaning to look it up ,but havent done so.
Is there another local sports competition in the world where a home and away match is so far away
How many other teams have to fly the equivilant of from Perth to Wellington for a home and away match.
Midfielder said | January 28th 2008 @ 1:04pm | Report comment
Eamonn, & Onside
Football is expanding at a huge rate and will continue to do so. However the small stadium thing you both talk about is wrong.
I wrote nd article on football code crowd numbers “Football codes crowd attendance – AFL leads the way” its on this page if you click the table at the bottom you can clearly see the A-League has quite good crowds compared to the NRL.
Football has a national mens and womens teams playing in world cups, Natioanl under 23 / 20 / 17 teams with Olympic games a highlight for the U 23, Asian Champions league, Pan Asian league, A-League and Womens league coming up.
But not all are ready for FTA just yet, the National Matches, Olympic matches, Asian Champions League, be FTA.
In time the A-League will improve its standards and have either 10 or 12 teams, then go FTA.
AS I mentioned by a broadcasting a product not quite ready for FTA you can do more long term damage than good.
As an aside on the Mariners it is interesting what a derby match can do, and I think Roar & Gold Coast could have a similar feel, local media in the gold coast and Brisbane will in time join in.
Great chant from the Mariners yesterday made me laugh to the tune and song
“Were not gonna take it
No were not gonna take it”
Some Newcastle fans were singing there sides victory and a big song wenr out from the Mariners
Were not all related
No were not all retaled.
onside said | January 28th 2008 @ 2:53pm | Report comment
Eamonn
re stadium size
Big tiime National games in large stadiums ,sure.But an A Leaugue crowd of say 15.000 , ,in a 60.000
seat stadium can look a bit light on However you might be correct, I just dont know enough about it.
re comparisons with AFL
AFL is probably the only football code in the world that is better live than on TV. I am not saying
I dont enjoy the atmosphere of live games, not at all. But the biggest percentage of sports fans
never see a game live.They watch sport on TV. Cost of tickets etc must also play a part
Great camera work make Rugby, League,Football and GridIron excellent sports to watch on TV
AFL works to a degree on TV , but the game is far far better live . The reason to some extent is
the ball is always in the air and in view. Plus it is not possible to get the feel of the size of the
ground ,and the lengths of the kicks on TV..The game on TV lacks perspective.
The compact nature of the other codes ,all played on similar size grounds are perfect for TV viewing.
This is even more important in codes where disguising which player has the ball, makes it impossible
to see who has the ball from the stands.As much as I enjoy rugby it can be frustrating waiting for the
result of a try under all those bodies.TV does a great job of showing what is going on in the scrums.
Forget trying to figure that out if you are at the ground. Football works well on TV , especially showing
subtle things like vital offside decisions or replays of sublime touches. Once again, for either the fortunate
or the fanatical, there’s nothing like being there . But TV is an adequate substitute..
I recall reading somewhere , that the new stadiums being built in the USA were smaller rather than larger
The reason given was the power of TV was more financially rewarding than trying to fill stadiums for all
games, including both blockbuster ‘top of the table’ clashes and lesser contests.
There’s an intimacy in ’smaller ‘ crowds where supporters are are right on top of the game.I love Suncorp
Stadium in Brisbane. But the A League must strike a balance between stadium capacity and intimacy.Once
patrons feel too removed from the game ,they wont come.
So even though AFL has experienced huge success with massive stadiums, I am not sure it serves the
needs of domestic football
I long for the day though when football can be played on a surface not butchered by other sporting codes.
At the moment ,thats Playstation
Midfielder said | January 28th 2008 @ 3:16pm | Report comment
Onside i agree with you, except for one minor part. Football too with the speed of movenment and the off the ball work plays much of the game outside the view of the camera. not to the extend of AFL mind. League, Cricket, Tennis, GridIron, Golf, and mostly Union you get most of the game on the box.
I watch a lot of football live and when you see sweepers directing play or a skillfull mid fielder make a defensive or attacking run that comes to nothing……….however if the run had not been made or space closed down or opened up the game could have changed.
Tim Cahill, Vince Griller, David Beckham, these guys and some many others do so much work off the ball never on camera.
But the general thrust of your arguement is correct. At Bluetounge (Central Coast) stadium it rocks with anything above 12, 000.
There is also a certain knowledge between the non AFL codes in understanding how each game works without needing to be told. In both league & union drive up the centre and then try to spread it wide, angles and runs off those angles are similar. So too football with trying to spread the ball wide then cross into the centre and the angles are similar because the fields are similar.
Being honest I have only been to a handful of AFL games, but found them scrappy and untidy due to the passing and the amount of dropped ball. I guess its just my up bringing in rugby league but thats my view. Also the constant scoring drove me mad, no great build up to be repelled by a defence. I guess its what your brough up with.
In closing Onside you should look at the A-league crowds they are bigger than most people think and when the Gold Coast & Townsville come inI think crowds sizes will become much more even.
Second closing …………Go the Marniers
DJ of Sydney said | January 28th 2008 @ 5:35pm | Report comment
Well i am a football fan. I also watch football, football and football. I tend to agree with you all that football is better watched at the game than on tv. And that football is a game that is watched on tv more. I also think that most sports lovers will only watch their sport on tv.
I however am someone who has grown up watching football on tv, while also attending the occasional match. I played football when i was a kid, idolising the footballers on tv as well as my local team footballers. There are a lot of football lovers who enjoy watching football on tv and at the ground equally.
Football is a game that can draw large crowds because of the stadium size as well as the popularity. But as the ball can go anywhere on a large football field it is harder for the tv crew to manage the picture shown, unlike football and football where the football is constantly moving up and down, and across with the occasional kick. Or like football where the ball is in clear view the whole time. Football has been made to work on tv because it has a huge commerical aspect to it.
onside said | January 28th 2008 @ 8:47pm | Report comment
Midfeilder,
I dont get the Townsville thing. The Gold Coast ?, well Ok, But surely Wollongong deserve a start before either
of the above. Economically the fringes worry me,Perth andNew Zealand. Cost cost cost. Rugby has a similar
fixation, of needing to be seen as a National body. I am not so sure. Firstly, be seen as a profitable league.Then
in time maybe expand. In the interim there is plenty of room and population on the eastern seabord.
My son spent time in UK and told me SKY TV offer a choice of which part of the ground you can view the game.
Say, behind either goal,the stands or amongst supporters. And all locations with legitimate local crowd noise.Plus
a choice of dedicated camera that follows one player around for the whole game.Maybe Lucas Neil,thats what
you get,every where Lucas goes so does the vision.
And all the way back to the Central Coast Mariners. I am sure many people have a vague idea of the area ,sort of
north of the outskirts of Sydney somewhere , between Woy Woy and Newcastle .Seriously ,I wonder just how
many people outside of NSW know where the CCM home ground is located. No, not the street mate, the town.
Midfielder said | January 28th 2008 @ 9:28pm | Report comment
Onside I agree the Wollongong re Townsville arguement, But Wollongong need to get their act together otherwise they will loose out to Townsville.
My guess is the FFA also want Wollongong but how long can the FFA wait for Wollongong to put it all together.
The Central coast name is to associate the Mariners with the region they live in. There is no real major town in the Central Coast just a number of small towns of various size, Gosford has only 32, 000 people but there are at least 6 other areas of similar size and heaps of scattered villages. The reason for this is the Central Coast has a river, three and a bit lakes, Brisbane Waters whick is actually the head waters of the Hawkersbury but it is a very big body of water, plus nemerous beaches. So the name is an attempt to get support from the region who have never been football watchers in the past.
The Mariners have branded themselves well in the region and used that often used phrase think local act global.
The UK thing is pay per view in the main and I don’t think any of the codes has that kinda of pulling power as yet.
DJ I think you may be wrong on people will only watch one code. The World Cup in football and to a lessor extent the WC in union says that when Australia play in a meanful match people watch. I watched the AFL & NRL grand finals this year so it depends on the match. I am also aware of FFA data at all the capital city teams and around 70% of the crowd at football also go to AFL, and NRL matches so TV viewing would I think follow with these people. So many people are not hard core mono sports followers, and enjoy a good game of most sports.
Go the Mariners
Millster said | January 30th 2008 @ 10:20am | Report comment
Eamonn – great post mate! You were probably writing this just at the same time as I was writing my ‘Aussie fair go’ piece that has just appeared today as well, and you’ve encapsulated exactly what I was trying to get at. The Mariners have a formula that works in their community, and that has taken them to Asia. I just wish they could use some of the revenue from their time in the ACL to get more players and/or facilities and really start building a legacy up there. Nevertheless, despite my ‘day-team’ being the sky blues in Sydney, it is with happiness and admiration and pride that I’ll be following the progress of these guys from an hour up the road as they take on the big clubs of Asia.
And as for the geography thing, its a hard one. I would have thought that moving to 3 Queensland teams was a bit unbalanced in terms of population. Maybe one more up there (Townsville) and then priorities should be to get a second Victorian team (Geelong?) and then Wollongong and Canberra into the league. But maybe I’m too focused on getting the “national balance” right rather than on just letting in organised teams with backing and a plan for success wherever they come from…
PS: On the ’small town’ thing. Just a reminder that there are plenty of European clubs with a long tradition and real success that are based in cities in the 200 to 500 thousand population range. So that’s not a problem in itself and Midfielder points out very well how the Mariners have harnessed the entire region.