By Adrian Musolino
January 10th 2010 @ 4:12am
Blessing in disguise for A-League at critical juncture
Simon Colosimo of Sydney during their round one A-League match between Sydney FC and the Melbourne Victory in Sydney. (AAP Image/Jason McCawley)
It seemed like an age between the A-League’s last round, which commenced on Boxing Day, and last night’s kick-off to Round 22 in Wellington. Thirteen days, to be exact, with only one game in between – the New Year’s Eve Central Coast versus Wellington fixture.
In that time, the A-League’s rival summer code (although, it can be argued it’s not much of a competition) has commanded the headlines with the Twenty20 KFC Big Bash pulling bumper crowds across the country and the thrilling Test matches against Pakistan.
The A-League’s hiatus in the fortnight over the New Year period is yet another reason why the league is failing to engage with the Australian public, but that’s a discussion for another day. The A-League can at least head into its concluding rounds and finals series with some good news…. sort of. In failing to definitively convince Pim Verbeek in Kuwait, the A-League Socceroos look, it seems, resigned to their place outside the squad, without the need to seek greener pastures in January.
Alex Brosque was cruelly denied his chance to even impress; Simon Colosimo’s defensive blunder that gifted Kuwait their opening goal probably condemned his chances right then; Matthew Kemp was too often exposed; and Archie Thompson, meanwhile, was isolated, too often allowing his shoulders to drop. He lacked the confidence and touch that marks him out in the A-League when in form for the Victory.
None of the above and the rest of the local based Socceroos put in a solid case to Pim Verbeek, and their less than convincing performances comes at a time when Socceroos candidates in the periphery of Europe are making a case for their tickets to South Africa. Think of Patrick Kisnorbo and Neil Kilkenny, both mightily impressive in shutting out Manchester United at Old Trafford for Leeds United in the FA Cup, while Mile Jedinak, Dario Vidosic and Luke Wilkshire put in a solid case in Kuwait.
With Craig Moore no longer shackled in the A-League, Jason Culina appears the only domestic Socceroo to have a realistic chance of heading to the World Cup, depending on his ability to extend his season beyond Gold Coast’s season.
The inability of his A-League colleagues to impress Pim is, however, a blessing in disguise for the competition. If they accept Kuwait as the wake-up call that they are unlikely to be World Cup bound, they may just bite the bullet and stay in the A-League.
When you consider how much damage could have been done to the A-League’s public image had a bunch of the league’s elite left, as a result of shortsighted scheduling in a World Cup year, the A-League may just be spared such a mass exodus.
Put simply, the damage in seeing Brosque, Kemp, Colosimo, Thompson and Galekovic – stars of this season – heading for the exit door this January, with finals on the horizon, would outweigh the positives of having such players fill out the Socceroos squad in South Africa.
There is a widely held belief that the Socceroos should always take priority and the A-League must play the submissive role to the national cause, and rightly so.
But occasionally what’s best for the A-League needs to be considered, particularly when it comes to scheduling clashes which put the league in a hiatus it cannot afford. And the indirect result of a lacklustre performance in Kuwait that could see some of the stars of this A-League season possibly hanging around for the finals is a positive, and unlikely, outcome of the Asian Cup qualifier.
Let’s hope the momentum lost by its New Year layoff can be regained as the finals approach, with Archie and his mates staying put.
Get Australia's best Football opinion emailed daily.
Like this content? Buzz it up!
Free Email updates:
Our daily emails are only sent if there is content for the sport or that author. You can subscribe to multiple daily emails; or get the daily Roar email with all our content in it. We value privacy. More...
(45)
Marshall said | January 10th 2010 @ 5:25am | Report comment
If they all stay the Ffa dodged a bullet
Eamonn said | January 10th 2010 @ 9:47am | Report comment
What about 2011?
If we qualify for the AFC will the A-League be shut for three weeks in January. next year…..isn’t that when the AFC in Qatar is being run?
Or will all our o/s players walk out on their Euro clubs a la Africa at the moment. Football never dull anymore, on or off the field in Australia is it?
Marshall said | January 10th 2010 @ 11:57am | Report comment
Will the A-League stop for the Asian Cup?
James said | January 10th 2010 @ 12:04pm | Report comment
This is why the A-League will never truly take off in Australia – too many interruptions, stops etc which Australian fans aren’t used to and don’t have happen in their other codes. It’s hard to build a supporter base in a growing code when you suffer these unique problems like players leaving for national team sports and going weeks without games.
Marshall said | January 10th 2010 @ 12:26pm | Report comment
I used to dismiss thinking like that but seeing how much attention and traction was lost for the league over New Year I have to agree. It can’t afford that sort of break.
James said | January 10th 2010 @ 12:47pm | Report comment
That’s the problem. Missing two weeks in what should be your time to really get peoples attention – school holidays and all that, and the league is in recess. Great for the Socceroos and all that but terrible for the A-League.
Marshall said | January 10th 2010 @ 1:14pm | Report comment
Especially with Twenty20 taking all the attention. And with the low marketing, it’s so much harder to get people back after such a break. Would be fascinating to see if crowds are consistently down in rounds after a break.
James said | January 10th 2010 @ 3:00pm | Report comment
Crowds are down this weekend, proving the point. Gold Coast only got 4,500 or there abouts last night.
bever fever said | January 10th 2010 @ 3:05pm | Report comment
Isn’t that about their average crowd ?.
James said | January 10th 2010 @ 3:09pm | Report comment
They got over 10,000 last time out, although a lot of them were Brisbane fans.
Marshall said | January 12th 2010 @ 9:03pm | Report comment
Imagine what Gold Coast are gonna get Wednesday night against the Jets! Could be ugly.
Sam el Perro said | January 10th 2010 @ 3:37pm | Report comment
A disjointed season isn’t unique to football. Rugby Union probably has the most disjointed season of any code, with separate Club (in Sydney and Brisbane), Super 14 and International seasons running all over the shop (albeit sequentially). Those in Queensland and New South Wales would probably agree that this is one of the reasons that Rugby Union in Australia is suffering at the moment, hence the ongoing arguments for a national club competition (not unlike the A League, in fact!).
Perhaps the HAL could simply continue when players have been selected for representative duties. It might not be a traditional approach, but it is employed in the NRL where the top players are skimmed off the competition for State of Origin and Test duties. There it adds an extra element of interest (or frustration) to see how teams will go when they are missing their best players. It is a leveler, if anything.
While football is definitely in a unique situation with respect to its international dimension the FFA could turn this to its advantage (especially at this time of year) with some imagination.
AndyRoo said | January 10th 2010 @ 7:58pm | Report comment
I agree with sam and playing on through breaks. Their is going to be 33 rounds next year, I can live with a few of the teams doing it tough for a few rounds and testing their depth.
Joe FC said | January 10th 2010 @ 1:26pm | Report comment
I think it is fair to say, with the benefit of hindsight, that it was a mistake to have a break in early January in order to accommodate the Kuwait match. We should not be too critical of FFA however, they made a decision based on what they thought was in everyone’s best interest. Hopefully next January (assumming we qualify) the HAL will continue during the Asian cup.
James said | January 10th 2010 @ 1:29pm | Report comment
It cannot afford to break for the month of January. It just can’t.
Sam el Perro said | January 10th 2010 @ 2:21pm | Report comment
The premise of this article is that the FFA is somehow lucky that HAL players are not considered good enough to compete on the world football stage. The logical conclusion to this line of thinking may give us an indicator to why HAL crowds a slowly (and recently more rapidly) declining: if the HAL elite is not good enough for the Socceroos, what does it say about (a) the rest of the players in the competition, and (b) the quality of the competition as a whole?
James said | January 10th 2010 @ 2:42pm | Report comment
It’s a realistic conclusion of the league and something people need to accept. Doesn’t make it not entertaining.
Sam el Perro said | January 10th 2010 @ 3:29pm | Report comment
Not to those in the know, but the general public it fuels a misconception that the HAL is second rate and, accordingly, not worth watching. And in this media age, perception is everything.
James said | January 10th 2010 @ 3:33pm | Report comment
Agreed but the perception of all the potential Socceroos leaving in the transfer window would have been that the A-League is not good enough rather than the fact that the season ended too soon – adding to the negative view of the league to many.
Realfootball said | January 10th 2010 @ 8:52pm | Report comment
The FFA have made some serious misjudgments this year. The various breaks have certainly counted among them. Add in the array of unfriendly kickoff tlmes (5pm in summer in Perth? Seriously?), the puzzling failure to market the season on any serious level, and the calamitous early start to the season (with its atrociously mistimed end) and I think it is fair to say that Buckley and his team have significantly mismanaged this season. Let’s not forget, too, that the FFA approved GCU and Brisbane Roar’s disastrous ticket price increases, then left the clubs holding the baby.
The falloff in attendances is due in no small measure to the FFA. My suspicion is that their time and energy has been spent on the World Cup bid. They are only a small team with finite time and resources. Given this, it is a real loss that the A League has been so neglected in what I personally believe is Frank Lowy’s tilt at an unobtainable windmill. Mr Lowy has done wonderful things for the code, but the WC bid is a costly miscalculation.
ItsCalledFootball said | January 10th 2010 @ 9:53pm | Report comment
If you like something you see all the positives and look to a brighter future.
If you don’t like something you keep pointing out what’s wrong.
The FFA is always making “serious misjudgements”, while the AFL can do no wrong.
This time last year you were complaining that the A-League was played at the same time as qualifiers and all the A-League stars were missing.
No pleasing you is there.
Realfootball said | January 11th 2010 @ 6:21am | Report comment
Re. the qualifiers, I was wrong then and this year has shown that. The other “negatives” are simply observations of demonstrable fact.
Did the FFA promote the season? No.
Did launching the season at the other code’s finals times work? No.
Is the timing of the season end a problem in a WC year? Yes.
Did GCU and the Roar’s ticket price hike damage the clubs? Yes.
Did the FFA approve the raised ticket prices? Yes.
Are the at times bizarre kickoff times affecting attendances? Well, attendances are down a full third, so something is, and this is the only presumption in this list, but at the same time a reasonable conclusion that the kickoff times are certainly a factor in some cases.
Attendances are the only real measure of success for a code in a competitive market place, and in that respect this season has not been a success.
If you “like something”, and I much more than “like” football, you express your concern if you see it being mishandled and its future jeopardised. I have supported the FFA strongly in the past, but this season I believe that there have been problems, serious problems, with their handling of the A League.
As the the AFL, pardon me? Where did I mention the AFL? I nail my colours to the mast here: I am a life long real football supporter. I have no time for AFL as a code, personally – but I also recognise that the AFL runs a tight ship with marketing a speciality. I also recognise that they have the funds to do it properly.
Simmo said | January 11th 2010 @ 9:16am | Report comment
I agree wholeheartedly with Realfootball, in fact ” I am a life long real football supporter. I have no time for AFL as a code, personally – but I also recognise that the AFL runs a tight ship with marketing a speciality.” describes me perfectly too.
It’scalledfootball: not all criticism is founded in opposition. Constructive criticism such as that offered in this thread and other recent articles is exactly what friends of the game should offer. If we keep mum then eventually we’ll have an “Emperor’s New Clothes” moment. We’ll be much better off making the necessary changes to scheduling next season.
ItsCalledFootball said | January 11th 2010 @ 4:35pm | Report comment
Apologies Realfootball,
I’ve got you confused with another blogger.
There seem to be so many bloggers with football in their name now its getting confusing.
Maybe that comment was meant for “Mister Football” aka Pippinu, who is an AFL supporter who has gone feral on Australian Football and the FFA lately.
AndyRoo said | January 11th 2010 @ 8:42am | Report comment
The Scheduling and Ticket pricing (for Roar and GCU) have been horrible and it seems more by good luck than design they will avoid a mass exodus of players from the A league out on loan.
In these instances it’s right to admire the AFL’s administration…. even if the product their selling doesn’t float your boat.
I wouldn’t be surprised if with much less interest the GWS AFL team pulls a bigger crowd than Rovers. Their will be plenty of free tickets and other strategys but a crowds a crowd and if you get one it gets you press even if 2 men and a dog are the only ones watching on TV.
So while the AFL will be succesful in selling ice to eskimos we have 13 day breaks and turning off fans with huge pricing increases.
Like realfootball I admire how well their game is run…. don’t enjoy the sport.
MV Dave said | January 11th 2010 @ 8:37am | Report comment
The A League is going through a consolidation phase where clubs are finding out their true level of support (not including bandwagoners). Both the J League and MLS have gone through similar phases and come out of the other end much stronger. The fact that HALs attendances have slipped is disappointing but not entirely unexpected. Now the long road to consolidation of the brand continues. The FFA are learning as are the clubs, the broadcaster etc. There are many issues to address and hopefully solutions will be found sooner rather than later. For my two bobs worth see below;
1. Match scheduling-clubs should be allowed around 75% or more of the times they want home games scheduled…obviously Foxsports paying the money, will also have some say but…starting games at 3pm in the middle of Summer with the temp hovering 35-40C is rediculous eg Newcastle Jets. When games are broadcast live on Fox into the home city then many fans will sit at home in comfort and watch on the box.
2. Ticketing and pricing…major blunders it would appear by some clubs/FFA have resulted in some fans (who knows the exact number) staying away. Most grounds should have 2 ticket prices plus corporate deals. Most tickets should be $20 per game with a flat $10 for students/concession. People who are football club members in the Juniors/local leagues should also receive a further discount.
3. Game publicity – has been pretty much non existant outside of those that are stakeholders eg Fox sports (do a great job), The Age (Melb for MV) etc. The new program on One HD (starts next month) will help as that will focus on HAL, with news and highlights (they will do overseas stuff as well)…a great step in the right direction. Lift your game FFA/clubs
4. The use of Marquees…Robbie Fowler tick…Craig Moore cross. Doesnt mean Moore is not a top player but marquees are there to excite the fans and garner interest…think All night Dwight.
5. Timing of the season…October to April then finals April to May please.
6. International breaks…HAL to play on even if clubs are missing 1-2 top players. Continuity in the season is required unlike the recent New Years period where the HAL rested.
7. Suitable grounds…MV and MH to play at a real rectangular stadium will give fans the proper atmosphere for a football game…a taster was seen when ES configuered to rectangular for one game. For other clubs it may mean changing to a smaller ground eg BR from Suncorp (or at least deals in place that mean the clubs dont lose money).
8. Suitable playing surfaces…NJs surface a disgrace and greater pressure nees to be put on the grounds to provide a decent surface.
9. Greater community invlovement…no doubt clubs do have some involvement but greater effort needed, players doing clinics etc
10. Clubs/FFA to work with Fan groups and not against them…active fan groups are unique to our sport and need to be encouraged not shunned. MV and SFC active fan groups are terrific and should be celebrated for the color and noise they bring to the games.
11. The HAL will have 12 teams for 2011-2012 season . 2 more and that should be t for at least another 5-10 years. After that look to introucing a 2nd tier.
12. FA Cup style comp should be looked at in the next 5 -10 years to see if it is viable. It is way too soon at the moment.
13. Next TV deal (rumoured to be 3-4 times the current one in value) needs to have at least a highlights show on FTA (if not one game per week)
14. Socceroos to maintain a top 20 ranking.
Australian Football said | January 11th 2010 @ 9:44am | Report comment
MV Dave,
But in saying that, I agree with what you have written here, well done lad…
you have made some very accurate points in this comment—too bad you can’t choose good teams to follow…
~~~~~~~
AF
Joe FC said | January 11th 2010 @ 4:41pm | Report comment
Some very interesting points there Dave particularly your last one. It opens up the debate on the national team vis-à-vis the national league vis-à-vis football in Australia. Can the HAL and/or Australian football move forward if the Socceroos do not? If (God forbid) the Socceroos failed to qualify for Qatar 2011 what ramifications might that have for next sesaons HAL? Certainly the success of the national team is an important component in the development of Australian football and our premier league, but there will also be factors unique to each element that will have limited effect on the others. I think that it is reasonable to expect and hope that as football matures in this country its constituent parts will become more resilent and less dependent for survival on each other.
MV Dave said | January 11th 2010 @ 7:51pm | Report comment
Agreed Joe particularly with your last sentence. At the moment l think there is a need for the Socceroos to stay in the top 20 and qualify for all available tournaments but as the decades pass HAL should not be reliant on the strength of the Socceroos…however it would be nice to think that HAL can provide a good number of Socceroos and that would be a testament to its improvement.
AndyRoo said | January 11th 2010 @ 9:09am | Report comment
The A League is going through a consolidation phase where clubs are finding out their true level of support (not including bandwagoners). Both the J League and MLS have gone through similar phases and come out of the other end much stronger. The fact that HALs attendances have slipped is disappointing but not entirely unexpected
I know others agree with this and it might be true for some of the teams. Perhaps in a place like the Central Coast where 5 years of Lawrie Mckinna is wearing thin but the 2 biggest losers (Jets and Roar) and the biggest disappointment (GCU) all have obvious reasons. If not for the ticket price increases (approx 75%) I think Roar would have matched or grown on their last seasons average (it was their biggest fan day ever). Gold Coast coming in had created more interest, more than enough to make up for a slight slit in the fan base.
The opening game despite the price increase was only 1k off the Roars best opening day crowds (season 1 and 2 were 20k) and bigger than the last two seasons but I know a lot of people who went to that game but felt miffed about the price and weren’t going to the next game. Since then their has been a lot of drama off the field so though prices have been somewhat remedied. Though the corner $15 sold out very early on (for a crowd of only 12k) for the Fury game leaving a lot disappointed.
GCU then matched the Roar prices and added on them (better team so should charge more I guess was the thinking). Very hard to grow the game (like Fury have done) in a new market with strategies like that. I bet the new AFL teams won’t charge as much in GWS and Gold Coast….and then everyone will compliment them on their success even though their gate receipts may even be less.
Jets have their own dramas with Con and selling their entire team. They also finished dead last (though someone will always finish last).
I think those 3 teams massive under performance (crowd wise) is hurting the leagues reputation but all the other teams have been doing fine for mine with a slight dip that is probably like you say the novelty factor.
Oh and points 1 to 13, hard to say anything other than I agree
MV Dave said | January 11th 2010 @ 10:12am | Report comment
You are spot on Andy in that apart from league wide issues such as marketing each club then has their own set of issues which have effected attendances such as your examples with BR, GCU and NJ.
Wellington are doing very well and hopefully now with a couple of home games to follow they can build on the 9,000 who are coming to games. Their future is another issue that needs to be sorted.
Just to remind that J League attendances went from 19,000 plus in their 2nd year to 10,000 by their 4th and 5th seasons and are currently about 19,500 per game.
MLS high from over 17,000 in their 2nd season (1996) to less than 14,000 by 2001. They are now over 16,000 per game and have added 6 teams with 3 more to come in the next 2 seasons.
Simmo said | January 11th 2010 @ 11:53am | Report comment
those rebounds don’t just occur naturally. The governing body has to step in with a strategy to stop the slide and get the crowds back. We’re all anxious to see what the FFA will do about remedying this season’s failings.
Realfootball said | January 11th 2010 @ 12:47pm | Report comment
One thing is certain – the FFA have to do something.
Just some basic marketing and promotion would be a start. I, like many others, assumed that this year the money was being held back for after the AFL and NRL finals, but no. There was nothing. I would be very interested to see what the FFA advertising and promotions budget was this year. If visibility is any guide, close to zero.
If you are trying to sell a product in a competitive marketplace, you have to promote and advertise. Until the FFA takes this seriously, the slide will continue.
Sam el Perro said | January 11th 2010 @ 10:46pm | Report comment
Agreed. The sooner the J League meme dies (ie. they had a dip and recovered, so it is an immutable law of nature that we will do so) the sooner the FFA can do something about ensuring that the HAL gets stronger in the future. Believing, on the other hand, that things were okay in Japan so we’ll be right will leave us in deep trouble in 4-5 years time. Now is not the time for complacency.
Realfootball said | January 12th 2010 @ 8:32am | Report comment
Agree Sam. The J League is completely irrelevant. Japan has no AFL or NRL to compete with. The respective market places are like chalk and cheese.
The hidden cost of our WC bid is this season’s A League.
MV Dave said | January 12th 2010 @ 8:47am | Report comment
SP RF
You guys are missing the point…that being that when something new starts there is a lot of hype and people, l would call bandwagoners, jump on board. When the hype and newness wears off the attendances (in this case) drop off. This has happened elsewhere (as per examples…noticed the MLS eg was ignored and they have a very similar scenario to us). It does not mean the end of the world etc rather that steps (see my post containing 14 points above) need to be taken and l believe, whilst the FFA havent done well this season, the FFA need to and will make improvements to HAL to see the numbers slowly increase again (as per the other examples given). It certainly wont happen if the FFA and clubs sit on their hands and do nothing. The MLS scenario in particular has many lessons which the FFA and clubs could take on board to help the local version of this great game grow again.
AndyRoo said | January 12th 2010 @ 9:15am | Report comment
I think most people agree with you Dave that a dip isn’t the end of the world but those examples the MLS and J league did something about it. The crowds didn’t just go up on their own. The points you mentioned before are the type of things that have to happen.
We don’t want the FFA just to say it’s a natural trend and accept it, we want them to improve the comp so it does pick back up.
Realfootball said | January 12th 2010 @ 9:22am | Report comment
Absolutely. Its the inaction from the FFA that worries me. Why wasn’t the slide in attendances (and a very significant slide) addressed with countermeasures (advertising, pr) months ago? Why is there still no response? Has the FFA given up on this season and is waiting to hit hard next season after the WC? There is a certain symmetry to that idea. Strategically it would make sense long term.
hazza said | January 12th 2010 @ 10:35am | Report comment
It was a mistake to expand by 2 new regional teams. Crowds in every regional centre are pathetic at best. Crowds in the cities are holding up well. The city teams are averaging around 12000 (despite Brisbanes calamities). Lets bring in the new teams from Sydney and Melbourne and get the derbies going. After that lets stop expansion for the next 5 years.
Realfootball said | January 12th 2010 @ 11:24am | Report comment
The logic for expansion into Western Sydney is rock solid. The second Melbourne team is much more of a gamble. If both work, they will make a big difference to the A League. It is very unfortunate that they aren’t both coming in the tail of the WC.
The only real expansion possibilities after that would be, logically, Canberra and Auckland (AFC permitting). Tasmania is AFL through and through with a small geographically divided population and if the AFL don’t have a team there, an A League team certainly won’t be viable.
danny said | January 12th 2010 @ 11:33am | Report comment
i disagree with you about tasmania. the state is fiercely proud and i reckon they’d get right behind an a-league side. plus, costs are less for an a-league side than for an afl team so i don’t think just because the latter isn’t financially viable, don’t discount the former. if townsville can support an a-league team (and, despite low-ish crowds, they seem to be doing a pretty good job, particularly regarding community engagement) then i have no doubt that tasmania can. populations are comparable, although tas is slightly larger. tasmania is closer to a lot of the other cities in the a-league than townsville. i reckon it’s doable.
in addition to your list (canberra and auckland, both of which i think would be great for the league) i think woollongong could also support a team. reasonable sized population, strong footballing history and culture, good stadium. i’d certainly consider the nsw south coast a good option for future expansion.
Realfootball said | January 12th 2010 @ 5:01pm | Report comment
How could I forget about the Gong? A major oversight.
Re. Tasmania, the only thing I would point in is that in contrast to Townsville, which can access mining profits for sponsorship, Tas is a relatively cash poor economy. The debacle of the “mystery sheik” who was going to come in with millions to buy Tasmania a team underlined their paucity of options (not to mention their amatuerish approach). I just can’t see it happening. Do you really think the AFL would not be there already if Tassie was a viable proposition?
James said | January 12th 2010 @ 11:56am | Report comment
Melbourne Heart or any second team in Melbourne is the big gamble.
Realfootball said | January 12th 2010 @ 5:02pm | Report comment
If it comes off the FFA will look like visionary geniuses. If it doesn’t, well…
My hunch is that it is going to work just fine.
Androo said | January 25th 2010 @ 3:28pm | Report comment
Adrian.
personally I cannot believe the a-league screwed up on this one so badly. when the league/ffa was questioned over poor attendances at the start of the season Buckley said soothing words to the effect ‘all’s well, the league’s prime time is the xmas/NY period, that’s when to watch crowd figures’ >fast forward> so we get to the xmas/NY period and find the league has left a sign on it’s door ‘closed for business come back in 2 weeks’. xtremely pissed off as i was i lost interest in the league with this extra unnecessary break in proceedings and i’m finding it impossible getting interested again this season.
so when we’re told by the ffa that starting the a-league in july next year to cash in on the wake of the world cup will be a gr8 idea, all i can think is “FBS” and especially so if australia bombs out.
‘In that time, the A-League’s rival summer code (although, it can be argued it’s not much of a competition) has commanded the headlines with the Twenty20 KFC Big Bash pulling bumper crowds across the country.’ statistics tell their own story: the Big Bash pulled in over 18,000 spectators per match. A-League is struggling to scrape 10,000 per match.
so here’s a bit of advice frank, ben, and archie. management of the a-league should be outsourced to the afl because at least the afl can properly manage a league.