FFA must heed Pim’s warning and move season
Columnist By Adrian Musolino, 5 Jan 2010 Adrian Musolino is a Roar Expert
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Melbourne Victory's Archie Thompson is challenged by Brisbane Roar's Craig Moore, during their round 9 of the 2009 A-League season, being played at Ethihad Stadium in Melbourne, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2009.(AAP Image/Joe Castro)
In all the debate and discussion surrounding A-League based Socceroos candidates needing to look overseas to keep their World Cup dreams alive, the most frustrating aspect is how it all could have been avoided.
The move to start this season in early August, ending in March, was short sighted in a World Cup year, unquestionably.
But there are other clear reasons why the A-League season must realign itself from 2010-11 onwards by delaying its season start til October and ending in May.
In addition to avoiding a similar scenario in World Cup years, an October to May season could potentially avoid some of the mistakes of this current season.
Overlapping with the AFL and NRL season is inevitable, especially as the competition expands to twelve teams in 2011-12, but as this current A-League season showed, starting when the AFL and NRL are heading into their finals’ series makes it extremely difficult to gain much in the way of traction, and that limp start to the season in terms of awareness carried on through to the summer.
Surely, therefore, it’s better to overlap at a time when the momentum is with the A-League as it heads into its culminating stages, coming off its strong summer period and having a full season behind it.
It has a better chance of holding its own in the press when there is something at stake, particular against AFL and NRL seasons in their early stages.
Starting in early October is the optimum scenario. It’s something that the Bathurst 1000 race and spring racing carnival enjoy – happening in the immediate aftermath of the AFL/NRL finals when there is a vacuum in Australian sport.
There are other benefits to this move:
- Allows for a longer pre-season build-up. There would still be the possibility for clubs to try and attract overseas clubs to tour in July, while playing pre-season friendlies against fellow A-League opposition or even some form of a pre-season tournament in August and September (an FFA Cup, perhaps?).
This would fulfill the requirements for an eight-month minimum season as required by the AFC for Champions League consideration and help build-up to the season start.
- The A-League can benefit from a correspondence with the European season. Surely there would be some sort of benefit in having, for example, the A-League Grand Final on the same night as the FA Cup.
- With five Asian Champions League group stage fixtures in March and April (based on the 2010 schedule), the A-League clubs involved in the tournament will be in prime condition.
It could make it more difficult to sort out ACL qualification from Australia, but those issues would not be insurmountable (if required, ACL qualification could be awarded at the end of the season in March/April, rather than at the end of the finals series).
The success of holiday fixtures (averaging over the 10,000 crowd mark in the holiday fixtures just past) also shows that more can be crammed into December and January months if need be, particularly in December.
With FIFA international fixtures and the Asian Cup (in 2011) in January, in addition to ACL commitments, the FFA needs Fox Sports to play ball and allow simultaneous matches midweek so this option can be better utilised over summer.
We’ve already seen this season that the August start intrusion into the AFL/NRL finals didn’t work for the A-League.
It’s time to try intruding at a time when the momentum is with the A-League.
It’ll also mean we avoid the possible exodus of A-League Socceroos in 2014.
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January 5th 2010 @ 12:44pm
Brett McKay said | January 5th 2010 @ 12:44pm | Report comment
great column Adrian, cannot disagree with anything here…
January 5th 2010 @ 1:07pm
Phil E Buster said | January 5th 2010 @ 1:07pm | Report comment
Some good suggestions, the one thing I think would be a mistake is to have the A-League Grand Final on the same night as the FA Cup final. Big mistake.
January 5th 2010 @ 2:12pm
albe said | January 5th 2010 @ 2:12pm | Report comment
also agree on october-may… having a league only with a cup final following would be a nice potential knock-on effect for me lol.
I don’t like the idea of squeezing in too much midweek football. It can work ok here and there, particularly over holiday periods, but not as a way of shortening the season. International breaks are a must going forward … i’ve actually missed the A-L over the last week or so, does help build some anticipation on those weeks off.
January 5th 2010 @ 2:27pm
AndyRoo said | January 5th 2010 @ 2:27pm | Report comment
I disagree about taking international breaks Albe.
I remember their was a bit of a buzz arround the Roar after they beat Nth Qld in front of a decent crowd….and then you find out the next home game is a month later. It’s a momentum killer (luckily the GCU game was basically a home game).
Plus when we have internationals going on in is when the game gets the most buzz and PR, I know I felt like going to game last weekend. I am sure we would have seen extra stories in the press about how team X is going to cope without it’s two internationals on the weekend and Y will make his debut and such.
Admittedly under strength teams aren’t that sexy though but most of the time if its a real international break their aren’t many A league players involved.
Watching the Socceroos play in say the Asian Cup in January would hopefully just whet the appetite rather than satisfy it.
Edit:I think the big selling point for the A league should be “Live” football and it’s “OURS” i.e. targeting Euro snobs and if that works then playing at times that work in with the Socceroos should be a great media PR campaign for the game.
January 5th 2010 @ 3:35pm
Simon Lee said | January 5th 2010 @ 3:35pm | Report comment
Andy, I’ve just submitted an article that (inadvertently) touches on a lot of points you’ve made in this thread. I think quite a few people can see some serious shortcomings in how the FFA has arranged this season’s schedule.
January 5th 2010 @ 4:01pm
AndyRoo said | January 5th 2010 @ 4:01pm | Report comment
Simon
I have bagged out the schedule a lot this season, it has been horrible for the Roar and I was quite envious of Adelaide getting all their games on a Friday night. I would love for the Roar to have a fixed game day and time like 7:30 on a saturday every second week.
I think it was Michael C that made a couple of good reccomendations like Sydney vs Melbourne on Australia day evey year and such so I had a crack at doing one for next year myself….. that’s when I realised how tough it is, especially with the teams playing each other 3 times!
January 5th 2010 @ 5:28pm
zizou said | January 5th 2010 @ 5:28pm | Report comment
As I’ve said in numerous other forums if the game is ever going to stand on its own two feet in this country we can’t keep trying to avoid the codes. It’s a fact of life in this country. The August start allows for an excellent tie-in with in the EPL. All new leagues go for a stagnant period in terms of crowd figures, research on the J-League shows the exact same thing and that’s without any code conflict.
January 5th 2010 @ 5:42pm
Marshall said | January 5th 2010 @ 5:42pm | Report comment
I disagree. ALeague needs to grow on its own before it gets burnt by being in the spotlight of the other codes.
January 5th 2010 @ 6:55pm
Robbos said | January 5th 2010 @ 6:55pm | Report comment
I totally agree, we can’t keep avoiding the other codes.
January 5th 2010 @ 6:21pm
matty1974 said | January 5th 2010 @ 6:21pm | Report comment
I think that if we are going to continue to mature as a football nation, breaks for FIFA dates are essential. If, as expected, Australia hosts the 2015 Asian Cup, we will have no Asian cup matches for about 8 years to consider. There are usually single or double FIFA dates in Sept, Oct and Nov and then again in March. What I’d like to see is the following:
July Pre season against state leagues and a handful of overseas clubs.
August Group stage of FFA Cup (12 A league teams + 12 others in 8×3 team groups, top two go to knockout stage)
September Following FIFA break, A league proper starts, including round of 16 FFA cup played in midweek.
October Second FIFA break, A league continues, quarter finals of FFA cup played midweek.
Novermber 3rd FIFA break, semi finals of FFA cup played in mid week
December FFA Cup final played on last weekend before Xmas, in national captial. Winner to enter the ACL comp (assuming Oz has 4 spots in future) . This ensures (hopefully) that at least one in form A league team makes it to the ACL.
Jan-Mar A league regular season, with several summer midweek matches and further FIFA break in late March
April Final rounds of A league and start of finals series
May A league GF.
January 6th 2010 @ 8:25am
AndyRoo said | January 6th 2010 @ 8:25am | Report comment
I think that if we are going to continue to mature as a football nation, breaks for FIFA dates are essential.
I think Les Murray wrote about this before, it didn’t make sense to me then and doesn’t make sence now.
We don’t have a lot of players getting called up and because our season isn’t a pure home and away first past the post comp I don’t see the harm in playing on…in fact it seems stupid to not play in the weekend where the sport is getting the most publicity.
January 6th 2010 @ 8:43pm
Robbos said | January 6th 2010 @ 8:43pm | Report comment
We do get alot of Kiwi int’ls in the A-League.
January 12th 2010 @ 9:07pm
Marshall said | January 12th 2010 @ 9:07pm | Report comment
Adrian, just saw the PFA chief on Fox say the season should end in May for the reason you say, ending the season with the finals when momentum is with the A-League not the other codes. Let’s hope the FFAs listening.