Comments on: A-League quality means big World Cup presence

By: jimbo

jimbo — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 07:25:36 +0000

The last NSL game I went to in Sydney, the crowd was announced at “about 800” and the NSL ran for 27 years.

Have a look at some of these highlights:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=actAiZ27I6o

Maybe its not the EPL, but its provided us with some good entertainment in 4 years so far.

By: Towser

Towser — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 04:00:18 +0000

Dont forget also the contribution overseas clubs can make to our improvement as per this TWG article:-

http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/blogs/philip-micallef/silly-season-comes-alive-204782

By: Towser

Towser — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 03:53:20 +0000

“The fact that people already laugh when I tell them about that game suggests how much the mainstream perception of the sport has changed in a short amount of time.”

Kazama people have short memories unfortunately(or they didnt have a clue about the history of football in Australia) when judging the massive progress from a low base since Frank Lowy took over.
Similar to your Adelaide experience I’ve lived in Brisbane for nearly 30 years. I’ll limit crowds to that time frame. Prior to FL era there was one crowd the 1997 grand final of 41000 that stood out. Next game after that the Strikers failed to capitalise & it was 6000 against Sth Melbourne. Towards the end of the NSL ,lucky to get 2000. The next Highest crowd down from that GF was from memory around 18000 for a World youth match Australia vs Uruguay around 1993. After that dont remember any over 10000. As most matches were at Perry Park lucky to get 5000 even for the biggest games. This is remember over 30 years. Prior to that it was from talking to locals worse.

Contrast that to the crowds from the start of FL era.

Roar averaged(from memory) Season 1 -14400 season 2 -14700 season 3-16900 season 4-13000

Socceroos Paraguay-48000 Iraq -48000 Qatar -35000

Celtic-31000

I for one aint complaining about that sort of improvement.

Agree with this article. The 4th season was a watershed. Clubs like SFC & PG realising that the bar has been raised & you cant sit on your laurels & hope. GCU were fortunate Miron knew what was required by his experience at the Roar to be competitive from the start, NQF were somewhat naive in the larger world of Association football,but they are learning. The hard way maybe,but its sometimes the best way.

By: Tom

Tom — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 03:15:31 +0000

Agree with GA on punching above weight.

By: Kazama

Kazama — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 01:05:38 +0000

Agree with the General, we aren’t there yet, but we need to stay positive. This year should be an improvement on the last and it will be great to see A-League clubs represented at the World Cup.

Watching Adelaide City play in front of 3,000 people at Hindmarsh seems like a different lifetime now, yet it was only six years ago. I’ll never forget that in 2004 I watched the Socceroos (including Tim Cahill, who scored a hat-trick) play a World Cup Qualifier at Marden in front of 2,000 people. The fact that people already laugh when I tell them about that game suggests how much the mainstream perception of the sport has changed in a short amount of time.

By: GeneralAshnak

GeneralAshnak — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 00:29:00 +0000

The sentiment is spot on, the actuality of it at the moment is not there. The HAL is going to get better and better. However this will take time, I personally am amazed at how far we have come in such a short period – I feel the HAL is punching well and truely above its weight.

By: Tom

Tom — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 23:29:20 +0000

Love the article and agree with the sentiment.

Nonetheless, its amusing to read after the piece on cultural cringe.

By: collin

collin — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 15:55:07 +0000

amen brother. love the a-league, dont care about comparisons with the epl, its still damn exciting and great fun to watch. a huge contributor to the future development of the mighty socceroos (the greatest sporting team of Australia)