Sydney win? Nah, A-League needs a Melbourne win
Roar Guru By NUFCMVFC, 17 Mar 2010 The Crowd is a Roar Guru
- Tagged:
- A-League, football, Melbourne Victory, Sydney FC
Melbourne Victory's Kevin Muscat is tackled by John Aloisi of Sydney FC during their A-League major semi final leg1, played at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Thursday, Feb. 18, 2010. Melbourne beat Sydney 2-1. (AAP Image/Joe Castro)
I can see it now, when the microphones are turned off, perhaps many in the Sydney-based football media will be kicking every ball as it passes from the feet of the likes of Kisel, Bridge and Brosque hoping for a Sydney win.
And just as Mike Tuckerman’s article suggests, perhaps the FFA are as well – Frank Lowy may even bring out his Sydney FC cap again!
After all, Sydney is the biggest “market”, albeit a fickle one. And as Les decried recently on the World Game website, the Sydney media don’t do the A League or its beloved “bling FC” proper justice.
Sydney supposedly need to win for the good of the league, simply because Kevin Muscat has already held aloft the “toilet seat” a few times already.
Unfortunately, despite the fixture advantage of playing the second leg at home and the “whingeing” Melbourne having to contend with playing an ACL match two days later, and being without “controversial” signing Nick Mrdja, the Sydney football media and market were “robbed” of the chance of a home Grand Final.
Now we have to put up with the substandard and spongy Docklands pitch.
But whereas there is an argument that Sydney FC should win so that the more “cultured” and sophisticated continental style of Viteslav Lavicka is taken more seriously, one can argue that this has been achieved with a Premiership win.
There is also the equally legitimate argument that the continued Trophy success of Melbourne Victory is important for the A League so that the progressive and high quality off-field administrative and governance structure is taken seriously.
It is the same structure that sees Melbourne with the leading edge in recruitment, with a Grand Final victory vindication for taking the calculated risk of forking out a transfer fee on Hernandez, and recruiting players from central America and South East Asia – facilitating integration with the South East Asian sub region of the AFC.
Then there is the “brand” of the A League.
One can argue that synonomous with the “league” brand, there is a consistently successful and well run club that fans can immediately identify with when they think of the league.
While there where forces that wanted “Bling FC” to automatically have this stature, merely because “they are from Sydney”, Adelaide did well for themselves with their run to the Asian Champions League final; while Melbourne are in the process of staking their claim as Australia’s instantly recognisable powerhouse club.
I can’t help but feel that a Melbourne win would be good for the A League in the long run, as the A League struggles to credibly assert itself in the Asian and international football scene.
Melbourne’s crowds have dropped, but their membership base rose on season 4 levels and currently stand at about 20,000. Melbourne’s crowds have propped up the dive in attendances at other clubs and lifted the overall A League attendance to vague respectability.
With the “Melbourne market” becoming a two team city from next season, the A League needs as many Melburnians interested in the A League as possible to avoid the controversies and problems with this seasons expansion “franchises” Gold Coast and North Queensland.
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- Explore:
- A-League, football, Melbourne Victory, Sydney FC
March 17th 2010 @ 11:33am
David V. said | March 17th 2010 @ 11:33am | Report comment
That Sydney FC have taken it this long to get back to a Grand Final is more an indictment on their ineptitude over the three seasons between them. The club has been forced into a rethink and go back to basics, which has paid off so far, but still are a work in progress.
March 17th 2010 @ 12:20pm
dasilva said | March 17th 2010 @ 12:20pm | Report comment
The league neithers need either side to win.
The leagues just need the best side on the day to win just like any other competition. Hopefully a grand final without any referee controversy lor any send offs like the previous two GF.
Mike Tuckerman’s article was a bit of a disgrace
good on you for having cheeky rebuttal.
March 17th 2010 @ 12:32pm
Dogz R Barkn said | March 17th 2010 @ 12:32pm | Report comment
I thought I was seeing double when I saw the title of this thread.
To my eyes it seems a silly argument that a league would desperately need one or another team to win it to gain some sort of … what? I’m not even sure I understand the argument that people are trying to make.
The best team is meant to win it – that’s the result sports fans want – everything else will take care of itself.
March 17th 2010 @ 3:28pm
dasilva said | March 17th 2010 @ 3:28pm | Report comment
I don’t think the author really believes that they are doing the A-league a favour by winning the GF. In the end the winner will just do a favour to their respective city.
I just think it’s more of a cheeky rebuttal to Mike Tuckerman who believed that the A-league needed a Sydney victory.
March 17th 2010 @ 4:01pm
NUFCMVFC said | March 17th 2010 @ 4:01pm | Report comment
Right on dasilva, had a chuckle when I saw Tuckermans article, so rather than just add comments I thought I would twist the structure and wording of his article around to make the counter arguments in a lighthearted way, besides, nothing wrong with lightheartedly stirring the pot of parochialism in Grand Final week!
I think Doz also has a point, there is an argument that it is in the best interests of a league and more specifically the A League for a variety of teams to “win, eg Perth to re-stimulate their 90′s days and 15k corwds, even Wellington to help popularise football in NZ and even provide the groundwork for an eventual second team in the several million strong “NZ market”, to Gold Coast where you would help consolidate the “A League brand” in an important growth area where there is a lot of expansion competition amongst the various sporting codes and I could go on…
Ultimately whoever wins it on the day wins it, you can’t even say the “best team that deserves it most” won’t necassarilywin because in football a team can dominate and not score and then get hit with a sucker punch, that is the beauty (or heartache) of football as many a Cup final will attest
March 17th 2010 @ 4:12pm
Dogz R Barkn said | March 17th 2010 @ 4:12pm | Report comment
You raise a good point – only one, two or three teams can have a truly “successful” season, some will do ok, others will do disastrously, in any given season – so naturally support for various clubs will wax and wane in these early years – that’s just the way it is – hoping one team does well, merely means another team is doing not so well.
But there seems to be an idea that’s quite prominent that it’s better that certain teams do better than other teams, for the good of the comp, and I’m not sure how strong an argument that is.
Although one could say that if, say, Melbourne and Sydney dominated the comp for the next 20 years (unlikely given our set up, but a common occurrrence overseas), unsuccessful clubs would die a natural death, as sure as night follows day.
March 17th 2010 @ 4:19pm
AndyRoo said | March 17th 2010 @ 4:19pm | Report comment
I know what would be bad for the A league….if the Mariners won it playing the way they did this year!
That one’s for you Midfielder
March 17th 2010 @ 8:07pm
Midfielder said | March 17th 2010 @ 8:07pm | Report comment
Andy
Look we got Marvin the tewletubby as a mascot, we are considered by the unwise, the long ball team, the dirty team, not to mention Nikgate and appointing Arnie as the coach…
So nobody rates us…. we don’t care… next season we will be back to kick arse and anything else players have .. shins, legs, heads…
March 17th 2010 @ 12:58pm
Ghost said | March 17th 2010 @ 12:58pm | Report comment
I am a proud Sky Blues fan (yes proud enough to have my flights andtickets booked for Saturday… and no I won’t be hiding in the away supporters end either). But I have some sympathy for this article.
Sydney have not got it right off the pitch for our entire existence. Even on the pitch its only this year that we have got it right. And if its like this now, I can’t imagine life when the Rovers start up in earnest out west. I will be there every week whether we fix ourselves as a club and reach our potential or not, but currently we cannot look at ourselves and say that we have used the 5 years of exclusivity in Sydney well.
On the other hand Melbourne have done great things on and off the field. I might hate them with a passion within the A-League (dirty tards that they are) but yes they are the benchmark of the league. They are to the A-League what Perth Glory was to the NSL. So while it will hurt, and while I don’t want it to happen, if Melbourne win another dunny seat I will say well done and I will be proud of what they represent for Australian football in Asia alongside us.
Does Sydney FC “need” to win this GF? I’d love if they did but the honest answer is no. A second championship and a week of joy might give a temporary upwards blip – but is not a substitute for concerted, sustained marketing and community linkage which seems to be where the club has failed thus far. If the AFL – which means basically nothing to people up here – can get 20Kish regularly to a game through decent press/TV exposure and savvy administration and marketing then surely we must have huge red lights flashing if we cannot even match that with a game that is well entrenched and loved at community level.
On the game I think it will be 1-1 after 90 mins and go to extra time. My gut says Sydney will go ahead early and then lapse late in the game to concede an equaliser as Melbourne will be fresher. From there, who knows… (and in fact though it will be a hoo-haa in the short-term, if there is a bit of controversy in the final result it will only add further needed spice to the early history of the ‘Big Blue’).
March 17th 2010 @ 2:16pm
Simmo said | March 17th 2010 @ 2:16pm | Report comment
no one hides in the away end. You REPRESENT
March 17th 2010 @ 2:29pm
Millster said | March 17th 2010 @ 2:29pm | Report comment
Well I’ll be one of the ones “representing” in the normal A-Reserve section and antagonising a bunch of Lygon Street boys without the comfort of physical separation and the “protection” of the Vic Police.
THATS commitment buddy!
March 17th 2010 @ 3:03pm
Art Sapphire said | March 17th 2010 @ 3:03pm | Report comment
Best thing FFA have done is to reconfigure the ground to a rectangle for the Final by bringing in Level 1.
This will guarantee that the game will be played in the best atmosphere ever at an A-League final.
Both sets of active supporters supporters will be closer to the action and better placed to REPRAZENT
March 17th 2010 @ 3:11pm
Millster said | March 17th 2010 @ 3:11pm | Report comment
By the way just as a gauge should I have got a ticket in the Cove? How feral do you think it will get in the normal seats towards a Sydney guy? (I don’t particularly want to bring a balck eye back to Paris!!)
March 17th 2010 @ 3:40pm
NUFCMVFC said | March 17th 2010 @ 3:40pm | Report comment
You’ll be fine Millster, fan intermingling is the norm in the AFL, so it is the notion of supporter segregation that is probably the more unusual, to the point where the infrastructure of AFL stadiums like Docklands hasn’t been constructed with supporter segregation in mind, which was one of the factors that allowed the previous “problems” to arise. Have seen some Melbourne fans on TV walking around the wing areas at the SFS during the finals series, same with Adelaide, where even at Docklands you see opposition fans mingling quite peacefully around the concourse
Agree with Art Saphire, the atmosphere should be quite fantastic with two ends of sizeaable active supporters and both teams having to go all out, but unlike the Jets vs CCM at the SFS (Which was still nice and atmospehric) if the roof is closed or half closed it should come out very well in Docklands. I wonder if the match will go into extra time for the first time in the A League,
March 17th 2010 @ 3:41pm
Simmo said | March 17th 2010 @ 3:41pm | Report comment
you’ll probably be fine. I’ve been in the medallion club for MVFC – SFC before. No-one took particular notice of Sky Blues boys. I reckon the MV Home end should be avoided like the plague.
March 18th 2010 @ 7:52am
Derby County FC said | March 18th 2010 @ 7:52am | Report comment
I heard away supporter bays are sold out.
March 17th 2010 @ 3:45pm
MV Dave said | March 17th 2010 @ 3:45pm | Report comment
Game fast approaching a sell out (as it should be). Wonder if the Melb media will actually give some decent press now in the lead up to the game (of course the Hun this morning AFL players ‘filler’ stories front and back page…what a joke). Anyway the game itself should be tight with MV needing to score first (SFC have won all the games this year they have scored first) which will open up the game. Looking forward to a great, noisy, intimidating (to SFC) atmosphere which will be equal to (probably better than) anything in domestic sport in this country.
Looking forward to seeing some of the NYL GF and hoping the newly laid turf doesnt fall apart after the first sliding tackle.
March 17th 2010 @ 10:01pm
JamesP said | March 17th 2010 @ 10:01pm | Report comment
The attendance will be below 50k due to the lower stands being brought in…not a bad move as i doubt they would have got 50k anyway. lucky the gf was not against CGU or Wellington as that would cost 10k easy. MV attendances have been down this season…makes you wonder what they will be like if they have a bad season…hope for their sake the heart invigorate the a-league.
“what a joke” – settle down mv dave. this is melbourne buddy and much more people would rather be reading about the afl season a week out – its as simple as that.
Hun devotes nothing to a-league but that should be of no surpise. lets face it, if the age was not a mojor supporter of the victory, it would probablyh be the same level as the hun.
March 18th 2010 @ 6:33pm
MV Dave said | March 18th 2010 @ 6:33pm | Report comment
Hey James…guess what…l know its Melbourne. Dont care if ‘much more’ people in Melbourne would be reading about the AFL soap opera. What l care about is a fantastic game of football in front of another capacity crowd with an atmosphere better than any other domestic sport in this country…whether the Hun or the media in Melbourne pubicize it or not the ground will be full (just goes to show how strong football is here). The game will be broadcast live around the world to a potential 80 million viewers. Great stuff.
March 19th 2010 @ 10:56am
MoJo said | March 19th 2010 @ 10:56am | Report comment
Sydney is hardly “Bling FC” anymore. Gold Coast have that honour.
March 19th 2010 @ 5:40pm
Andrew said | March 19th 2010 @ 5:40pm | Report comment
NUFCMVFC please keep writing you may get stick for you’re long posts on the forum but they are always interesting reads.