Media to blame for A-League struggles
Roar Pro By roarlover34, 30 Sep 2010 roarlover34 is a Roar Pro
- Tagged:
- A-League, A-League crowds, football, football media, Holger Osieck
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2,973 readsThe A-League has really gone off the rails in the last two years. There are many causes for this, but the most central of all is the media.
The media’s perception that football is completely unimportant is a disgrace. You try telling that to the hundred’s of thousands of junior players and coaches in Australia. Football has always been the last highlights shown on the sport report on the news. It has always been on the innermost pages of the sport section. But why? Let’s look at The Australian, for example.
Every Saturday morning the previous evenings rugby league is the front page news. They even published the Roosters versus Titans game on the front page of the entire newspaper last Saturday.
Then you have to look forward four pages to find a postage stamp sized article about an A-League game the previous night. Pages two and three are comprised of AFL pre-game analysis and articles from the greatly disliked Patrick Smith, who was found to be hated by more than 80 per cent of AFL fans on a recent radio poll. How is pre-game analysis more important than an actual event?
A similar train of thought exists for the Socceroos.
The day that new coach Holger Osieck named his first ever squad there wasn’t even an article. The front page had Collingwood players at the beach and the next pages were AFL and NRL pre-game hype.
The odd golf tennis and motorsport article filled the rest of the space. I did find the squad eventually, under the ‘Soccer’ section of the results column. What a joke! Can you imagine if the same had have been done to Robbie Dean’s Wallabies squad?
The great problem for the A-League recently has been publicity. The FFA has very poorly chosen to scrap their A-League advertising campaign, resulting in virtually nobody knowing anything about the games, which has partly led to poor crowds. Well hasn’t that caused a fuss.
The only football writer in The Australian, Ray Gatt, has been nothing short of pathetic recently. Every single article he has written has been about the crowds and the financial issues with the A-League. If he wants to reduce the size of the problem he should write something positive about the league. The standard has increased greatly this year, so has the quality of goals, the quality of imports, and coaching. But has Gatt written about this at all? No.
This focus on the negatives is widespread across all media.
Do you remember how the media was all over the quote from Verbeek that the A-League is low standard? Where are the media now that Les Murray, Holger Osieck and Craig Foster have all praised the quality of the league? No where to be seen. They choose only to report the negatives about football.
The media has had a very large role in the recent struggles of the A-League.
Hopefully a successful Word Cup bid may silence them.
- Explore:
- A-League, A-League crowds, football, football media, Holger Osieck
September 30th 2010 @ 6:08am
Tortion said | September 30th 2010 @ 6:08am | Report comment
Because none of the other sports are never picked on or portrayed in a negative light.
You can play a sport and have no interest in it at the elite level and vice versa. How many people love rugby league in Sydney for instance and have never actually played the game? I’m one for starters.
September 30th 2010 @ 6:16am
bruski said | September 30th 2010 @ 6:16am | Report comment
Agree with Kurt.
Here on the Gold Coast you can not help but think that GCU does not want to be in the A-League, bugger all marketing combined with crowd-caps. How do they expect to drag the Euro-Snobs from the lounge?
On top of that the Gold Coast (community) has obviously said that they do not want a soccer team here. I wonder why the media is not jumping on the band-wagon?
September 30th 2010 @ 6:23am
PeteHarrison said | September 30th 2010 @ 6:23am | Report comment
I don’t comment very often but after reading this I could not help myself.
A few points.
1. Patrick Smith may be hated by a few people on a radio poll, which as we all know is the single most scientific way to decide something, but that doesn’t mean he has nothing to say, or that he isn’t right a lot of the time. When people are not liked for what they say, it often has to do with the fact that they say things that people don’t want to hear, which brings me to my next point.
2. If it was not for the fact that the media now found football in this country to be infinitely more attractive than it was 10 or 20 years ago, you would not have an a-league whose coverage you could complain about. Ray Gatt is not out to ‘get’ the a-league, he wants it to succeed, as, I would argue, a majority of people do. There are a stack of factors to be considered when trying to get a league ‘up’. You cannot expect the media, football pundits included, to sit around writing articles about how fully sick the a-league is for no reason other than “they just should”. The standard of coverage the sport gets now is far beyond what it used to get. These things are evolution, not revolution.
3. Don’t pin your hopes on a world cup bid. The sport has to surivive with or without it.
4. ” Where are the media know (sic) that Les Murray, Holger Osieck and Craig Foster have all praised the quality of the league?”
Les Murray and Craig Foster are the media, so I would argue that the media are right there praising the quality of the a-league. I think when you say “media” you actually just mean the media that you don’t like. Media is a fairly broad term.
September 30th 2010 @ 10:02am
Fussball ist unser leben said | September 30th 2010 @ 10:02am | Report comment
PeteHarrison
It is not the negative comments about Football that I – as a football fan – despise. It’s the fact that the people in the media, who make these negative comments are, generally:
a) ignorant about the technical requirements to play The Game
b) ignorant about the Laws of the Game and/or the interpretation of the Laws
c) ignorant about the individual players, who are playing the game
d) ignorant about the coaches managing the teams
e) ignorant about the tactics being employed and how the opposition tries to overcome the tactics.
basically, they the non-football “journos” in Australia, who write about Football, are totally ignorant about football.
Leading up to, during and post-2010 WC we had 1,000+ word negative articles/colums about football in the major Australian print media from people, who actually admit they don’t like the Game and never watch the Game.
Can you imagine a book review, film review or music review written by someone, who gleefully admits “I didn’t actually read the book, watch the film, or listen to the album”?
Such moronic reviews regularly appear in Australian newspapers and highlights the poor standard of sports journalism in this country.
Off the top of my head, I recall derogatory articles about football written by: Rebecca Wilson (News Ltd), John Birmingham (Farifax), Jim Main (Inside Football), Jason Akermanis (News Ltd), Neil Mitchell (News Ltd), Peter Fitzsimmons (Farifax), Richard Hinds (Fairfax).
To a man/woman these “journalists” admitted – either tacitly or actively – they didn’t like Football and didn’t watch football and then went on to analyse the game and tell us why football was an awful sport and the WC was boring!
Whilst I expect such shoddy and unprofessional journalism from those, who write for the tabloids, it’s a shame that such poor-quality journalism is also accepted by the more reputable broadsheets.
What I don’t understand is why such “journalists” spend so much time commenting about a sport they don’t like and don’t watch. Surely, their time and limited cerebral capacity would be better utilised in analysing their preferred sports, which – apparently – are far superior to football … ??
September 30th 2010 @ 4:05pm
apaway said | September 30th 2010 @ 4:05pm | Report comment
Fussball
Rebecca Wilson is a moron, the worst example to her profession. But I’ve got to say, Peter Fitzsimons is entertaining and usually has his tongue planted firmly in his cheek. You can always email him and remind him that he once called the Australia-Croatia World Cup match in 2006 the best sports event he’d ever seen live.
September 30th 2010 @ 7:40pm
Ben said | September 30th 2010 @ 7:40pm | Report comment
This is one of the most accurate posts I’ve ever read on this website, you hit the nail on the head multiple times!
October 1st 2010 @ 10:08am
Dan said | October 1st 2010 @ 10:08am | Report comment
“Such moronic reviews regularly appear in Australian newspapers and highlights the poor standard of sports journalism in this country.”
No, what it highlights is that soccer isn’t the main sport in this country. Go to Germany and see how their papers report on the Rugby World Cup; nothing but stupid comments about egg shaped balls by people without a bloody clue.
Get over it mate, it’s just the way it is when a game isn’t the big show in town.
October 5th 2010 @ 5:10pm
DiCanio said | October 5th 2010 @ 5:10pm | Report comment
No dan, what it highlights is that there is an active agenda by people not interested in football to derail football.
October 5th 2010 @ 7:56pm
Dan said | October 5th 2010 @ 7:56pm | Report comment
Is this conspiracy one that involves the Jews as well? Because I hear Jewish people are a prerequisite for a conspiracy theory.
September 30th 2010 @ 6:42am
anopinion said | September 30th 2010 @ 6:42am | Report comment
Personally I would love to get into soccer. I watch almost every game at the WC and enjoy playing the odd social game. However, the WC is full of actors feigning injuries and Socceroo games are “friendlies” instead of “Tests”. Apologies to al Soccer supporters but these qualities do not fit into my ‘National Identity’.
How are we meant to get into the local league when we can not respect the competitive qualities of the best players in the world?
Don’t blame the media, why would people read about a game they would not watch?
September 30th 2010 @ 12:40pm
Danny_Mac said | September 30th 2010 @ 12:40pm | Report comment
Seriously mate, that is simply not good enough… By making the game conform to fit the “national identity” as you put it, starts to take away from the unique identity of football. If you really wanted to get into the game, embrace what is different about it, otherwise your statement is a flimsy disclaimer to mask having a dig at the game.
As for feigning injury… I’m sorry but have you watched any of the other football codes? this isn’t a football problem… Half backs and Full Backs in RL stay down all the time trying to win penalties, but mysteriously are 100% when the ball comes near them or they make a tackle… Players feigning injury for “high” tackles… it isn’t just a football problem… But because footbally isn’t seen to be as “hard” as RL or AFL, the “simulation” is deemed to be a blight that puts off “real men”.
September 30th 2010 @ 12:57pm
JF said | September 30th 2010 @ 12:57pm | Report comment
Trying to argue that simulation is just as prevalent in other football codes is part of the problem. Your comparisons are laughable, until there is complete condemnation of simulation by the soccer community, you will never get mainstream acceptance.
September 30th 2010 @ 1:08pm
punter said | September 30th 2010 @ 1:08pm | Report comment
There is condemnation of simulation in this country, 2 players who percieved to be diving to win penalties in recent weeks were given suspension by the FFA.
September 30th 2010 @ 1:19pm
Fussball ist unser leben said | September 30th 2010 @ 1:19pm | Report comment
JF-
You’ve got to be kidding if you think football doesn’t have “mainstream acceptance”!! I laughed and I laughed!
Unless you are one of “those Southern Cross tattooed Aussies”, who thinks life stops at the Australian border, you should know that Football IS the ONLY mainstream sport across this planet and all other sports are – at best – “fringe” sports.
Stick to watching your preferred sport and don’t tell us how we should change our Game. We, who love the Game, are very happy the way it is.
Heck, if “simulation” keeps people like you away from the Game then … I’m all for simulation!
September 30th 2010 @ 1:25pm
Jeff said | September 30th 2010 @ 1:25pm | Report comment
Who cares if soccer is the mainstream sport across the world and our sports are on the “fringe’, it’s worked for Australia for over 100 years and is part of our culture now, don’t see any reason why OUR football codes shouldn’t continue into the future
September 30th 2010 @ 1:26pm
JF said | September 30th 2010 @ 1:26pm | Report comment
Mate, this is what the whole article is about, the fact that soccer is continually left out of the media cycle i.e. mainstream acceptance!
You blokes are a laugh,
“Stick to watching your preferred sport and don’t tell us how we should change our Game. We, who love the Game, are very happy the way it is.”
But then also complain ad nauseum that you are continually ignored by the media! Well which is it Fussball?
September 30th 2010 @ 1:35pm
punter said | September 30th 2010 @ 1:35pm | Report comment
I don’t think you understand this whole article JF, it’s not about ‘mainstream acceptance’
I follow football but I can’t remember the financial woes & demise of many NSL clubs being aired in the the mainstream media.
However, we all know about the Nth Queensland, Gold Coast & Newcastle are up against it.
Football may not be the media darlings of an AFL or NRL, but there is media on it, mainly the negatives.
September 30th 2010 @ 1:53pm
JF said | September 30th 2010 @ 1:53pm | Report comment
So you are saying that only negative A-League articles get published in the mainstream media, positives are overlooked. Well, if this is the case, isn’t that an indicator of not a complete mainstream acceptance?
I find the soccer communties arguments confusing, on one hand you want positive, mainstream media coverage yet you jump down the throat of anyone from outside making comments about your game. It is the eternal trade-off between commercial success and critical acclaim, you can’t have both.
September 30th 2010 @ 2:02pm
punter said | September 30th 2010 @ 2:02pm | Report comment
JF, I think you would find football fans can handle constructive criticism & most football fans at present do realise there is many problems with how the A-League is run in this country.
It’s when RL or AFL writers decide that they want to kick a dog when it’s not well that is not appreciated, the likes of Rebecca Wilson, Richard Hinds, Patrick Smith & Paul Kent.
I suppose abit like Craig Foster providing analysis on the NRL or the AFL, it’s not required.
September 30th 2010 @ 2:20pm
Fussball ist unser leben said | September 30th 2010 @ 2:20pm | Report comment
JF
I don’t expect only positive articles about football … although a couple such articles occasionally would be nice!
I think it’s outrageous when ignorant people are paid to talk about issues – not just sport. So, if a journo doesn’t watch football he/she should not be commenting on the Game – it’s shoddy journalism and shows contempt and disrespect for the readership.
I have no issue with any article anaylsing Football – the Game, the business, the administration – provided the analyst has taken the time to get fully acquainted with the subject matter.
Surely “research” is still taught in Journalism School … or is “hair and make-up” more important these days?
And, whilst 2nd hand research tools – like Google – may be fine for “hack analysts” like myself, I reckon a professional sports journalist/analyst has to get off his/her chair and talk to people – do some primary research.
October 1st 2010 @ 11:12am
Danny_Mac said | October 1st 2010 @ 11:12am | Report comment
To imply that the “soccer community” embraces simulation clearly highlights that you’ve had very little exposure to said “soccer community”
September 30th 2010 @ 1:23pm
Jeff said | September 30th 2010 @ 1:23pm | Report comment
And those simulators in league get slammed for it by the commentators as well as the spectators, it seems soccer followers merely encorouge it.
September 30th 2010 @ 1:26pm
punter said | September 30th 2010 @ 1:26pm | Report comment
Jeff, what game are you watching?
October 1st 2010 @ 11:16am
Danny_Mac said | October 1st 2010 @ 11:16am | Report comment
Watch a game, attend a game… ask people in the stands what they think of simulation. Its a blight on the game that everybody lothes…
My point was that in any sport where there is an advantage to be had by “staying down” players will do it.
You watch, any half back that springs straight back up gets ridiculed for being too hasty to get back on his feet, he has cost his side a penalty. Don’t believe me? pay attention to the commentary next season. Both CH9 and FoxSports commentators do it.
October 1st 2010 @ 1:45pm
Lazza said | October 1st 2010 @ 1:45pm | Report comment
Australians are OK with match fixing, drug taking and assorted forms of thuggery but a bit of play acting to win a free kick will put them off a sport?
September 30th 2010 @ 6:47am
VooDoo said | September 30th 2010 @ 6:47am | Report comment
Get over it mate. Soccer’s a fringe sport in Australia, undeserving of coverage by State-focused newspapers, let alone papers like the Australian, with a national focus and more sports to cover. If the quality and public interest in soccer ever improves, it will be reflected in the media. But until then, stop whingeing about your lack of coverage – in the digital age you have access to an endless range of media outlets so that you can pick and choose the sports reporting that you expose yourself to. Choose pro-soccer outlets and ignore the Australian, and if enough people like you do the same, soccer coverage will attract more attention.
October 5th 2010 @ 5:14pm
DiCanio said | October 5th 2010 @ 5:14pm | Report comment
missed the point Voodoo. It’s not about lack of coverage, its about the coverage being one sided and being made by people with less interest and knowledge in the game then my 4 year old nephew and clear negative agendas.
September 30th 2010 @ 7:15am
Chris said | September 30th 2010 @ 7:15am | Report comment
Where did this idea that soccer has a god-given right to media interest come from? The media writes what people want to see – otherwise they don’t sell papers.
Perhaps the A-League should actually earn that media interest by getting a decent crowd once in a while? Remember, in business, the consumer is ALWAYS right. The A-League can’t keep blaming others for it’s own fate.
September 30th 2010 @ 10:12am
punter said | September 30th 2010 @ 10:12am | Report comment
Please do not fall into the trap that all football fans in this country follows the A-League.
I would say 99% of Aussie rules fans in Australia follow the AFL, there really is not much else.
I would say 98% of Rugby League fans in Australia follow the NRL, again not much else, yes English super league.
I would say less than 50% of football fans in Australia follow the A-League, yes many reasons for that, lack of history, NSL fans, the list goes on & most of our own doings.
But please do not fall into the trap of thinking that the interest in football in country reflects the crowds in the A-League
September 30th 2010 @ 10:30am
Fussball ist unser leben said | September 30th 2010 @ 10:30am | Report comment
Very well said, punter
Football is the sport we all follow. Some will follow the local product; some the o/s products.
At various stages I will watch the HAL, ACL, EPL, UCL, Serie A, La Liga, Bundesliga, Copa America, African Cup of Nations, European Championships, South American club football, etc. etc.
The past 2 mornings I’ve woken at 440 a.m. and have watched 6 hours of football with 8 clubs from 6 different countries and players drawn from diverse cultures across the globe.
October 1st 2010 @ 2:15pm
JimC said | October 1st 2010 @ 2:15pm | Report comment
Fussball it’s obvious from the hysterical nature of your usual comments that your a zealot…the 4.40am anecdote has just proved it. For the record I have played competitive soccer my whole life, i grew up 6 miles from Old Trafford and have followed England around the world.
But just because soccer is a global game it does not mean parochial sports like Gridiron, AFL, rugby league or hurling should automatically take second billing…..A-league gets it’s fair share of coverage.
October 1st 2010 @ 2:40pm
Fussball ist unser leben said | October 1st 2010 @ 2:40pm | Report comment
JimC
Thanks for the compliment!
Given the global appeal of your old home team, I’m sure I wasn’t alone in getting up at 4:40 a.m. to watch UCL matches – it’s what every football fan that I know does when the UCL is on SBS. And, of course, morning meetings/patient and client appointments are cancelled to allow for a slightly later start at work!
And, I would guesstimate, perhaps, several hundred million people around the world probably tuned in to watch the UCL match between Man United & Valencia.
PS: Not sure why you think I desire “parochial sports like Gridiron, AFL, rugby league or hurling should automatically take second billing…..”? I’ve never ever said that!
October 5th 2010 @ 5:17pm
DiCanio said | October 5th 2010 @ 5:17pm | Report comment
Missed the point JimC
The point is not about coverage, its about fairness of existing coverage and the clear negative agendas of mainstream media outlets.
September 30th 2010 @ 7:22am
Redb said | September 30th 2010 @ 7:22am | Report comment
Walking, swimming and cycling are the most popular activities in Australia, apart from Olympics I dont see them dominating the sports pages.
Sports pages are about spectator interest not who has the most participants.
September 30th 2010 @ 11:35am
JamesP said | September 30th 2010 @ 11:35am | Report comment
I belive netball and tennis are also very high on the list too.
“Sports pages are about spectator interest not who has the most participants.”
That is something many soccer supporters failt to grasp.
October 5th 2010 @ 5:18pm
DiCanio said | October 5th 2010 @ 5:18pm | Report comment
Missed the point. Its not about coverage amount, it is about the bias of the coverage and the lack of footballing knowledge that exists in mainstream sports journalism.
September 30th 2010 @ 7:49am
Midfielder said | September 30th 2010 @ 7:49am | Report comment
Most of our problems are self inflicted…. having said that the AFL & NRL enjoy massive advantages build up over decades with the media… it does make it very hard to break in…
Football will break in … however it is going to take time… be patient …
September 30th 2010 @ 7:54am
punter said | September 30th 2010 @ 7:54am | Report comment
Well put Mid, patience is not a word that football people in this country understands.
We want it & we want it now.
But we have to be patient….
September 30th 2010 @ 10:11am
Australian Football said | September 30th 2010 @ 10:11am | Report comment
I think more then a 100 years of patience is more then enough…
September 30th 2010 @ 11:36am
JamesP said | September 30th 2010 @ 11:36am | Report comment
Yet you keep reminidng us how young the A-league is…”Give it time…its going through a plateu…MLS did the same…blah blah blah…”
September 30th 2010 @ 1:54pm
Australian Football said | September 30th 2010 @ 1:54pm | Report comment
Yes I am glad you brought that up about the MSL. You may be interested in reading this:-
“Incredibly, in April it was revealed that the MLS had surpassed both basketball and hockey in terms of average attendances for the 2009/10 season. While gridiron ran away with an average of 67,508 and baseball notched up 30,213, coming in above basketball (17,149) and ice hockey (16,985) was the MLS with an average of 18,452.”
http://au.fourfourtwo.com/features/6692,notes-from-america.aspx
Read the whole article it make for interesting reading.
September 30th 2010 @ 6:06pm
Jayrev said | September 30th 2010 @ 6:06pm | Report comment
Though I dont doubt that the MSL is doing well. You must remember that the NBA and NHL are played in arenas which can only hold a limit of about 16,000. MLS is played in large stadiums wich can hold well above this amount.
I think you would find that a large proportion of NBA teams such as the Lakers or Celtics would have far bigger crowd numbers if their arenas had a greater capacity. When given the opportunity, the NBA can pull huge crowds. They played the All-Star game in a stadium and pulled +100,000 fans.
September 30th 2010 @ 6:46pm
Mister Football said | September 30th 2010 @ 6:46pm | Report comment
17k averages for basketball and ice hockey look pretty damn impressive to my eyes!!
September 30th 2010 @ 6:48pm
Australian Football said | September 30th 2010 @ 6:48pm | Report comment
Jayrev—I am sure no one is stopping them building bigger arenas like the MSL are now doing for themselves.. You should read the article and you will see how many Yanks followed their national football team on TV at the SA football world cup.
September 30th 2010 @ 7:10pm
Fussball ist unser leben said | September 30th 2010 @ 7:10pm | Report comment
Jayrev-
You make a valid point about lower capacities at NBA & NHL stadia compared to MLS stadia.
But, how about the following stat that puts everyone on an equal footing …
The 2006 World Cup final attracted more television viewers in the US than baseball’s 2005 World Series pulled in on any single night….
October 1st 2010 @ 11:24am
Danny_Mac said | October 1st 2010 @ 11:24am | Report comment
where these figure also get distorted is the cost of attendance… tickets to the NBA (if you can get them) are many many times more expensive than rival codes so why have large stadia where you might not sell out every week, when you can have smaller stadia and artifically inflate the price of a ticket. meaning that people will pay top dollar to see ANY game, as opposed to struggling to fill a venue when the rubbish teams come to town?
As for the MLS, they are building SMALLER stadia. they had been using NFL stadia and was costing them a fortune, now the league/clubs are building smaller ~20k capacity stadia specifically for football, meaning lower cost of hosting an even, resulting in lower ticket prices and an upturn in attendances.
September 30th 2010 @ 7:52am
punter said | September 30th 2010 @ 7:52am | Report comment
Looks like the Anti-football bigrade are up early today.
Isn’t there some sort of AFL GF replay on this weekend after a boring low acoring draw last week.
isn’t there a RL GF this week, Go the dragons.
Both the pinnacle of their respective sport yet half the country won’t give a hoot about the AFL GF & the half won’t give a hoot about the RL GF.
At least with the WC, we have a united country.
September 30th 2010 @ 6:18pm
Tortion said | September 30th 2010 @ 6:18pm | Report comment
Until they get thrashed 4-0 in the first game when we all get off the bandwagon.
This ‘nation united’ talk is utter rubbish.
I’d like to see football doing well but those sort of statements don’t stand up when I head to the pub during a soccer’s match, bring it up at work or amongst friends. Good luck getting most people to list more than 5 Australian players. Viduka always comes up still. I’m sorry Punter but I just don’t see it.
September 30th 2010 @ 7:27pm
punter said | September 30th 2010 @ 7:27pm | Report comment
You do have a point there Tortion.
But the same would happen in NSW / QLD on AFL players
Likewise in Vic, they don’t even know there is 2 Rugbys.
October 3rd 2010 @ 6:27pm
roarlover34 said | October 3rd 2010 @ 6:27pm | Report comment
Tortion what you lack is national pride. If the national chess team won the world trophy would you be poo pooing their achievement just because you don’t play or like chess. With the Soceroos this is about Australia not a code war. If you ‘national pride’ as restricted to a sport were the is no national team (AFL) then you need a reality check. I don’t personally follow the NRL or Super 14 closely. But i support the Kangaroos and Wallabies.
September 30th 2010 @ 7:52am
Eamonn Flanagan said | September 30th 2010 @ 7:52am | Report comment
Actually the reason the A-League has gone “off the rails” is due to the FFA’s failure to grasp the opportunities of Two World Cup runs, season 3 high averages of 15,000 and various individual record crowds of 50,000 in Melbourne, 32,000 Brisbane and 19,000 Central Coast.
Add in the amount of money owners have pumped into the game, again another missed opportunity by the FFA to support and encourage some of this money to be used more wisely.
The FFA strategy to target and build the grassroots support with club assistance over the last five years is reaping it’s rewards……what have they done?
Don’t blame the media mate, that’s victim stuff.
The FFA have all the answers, so Ben Buckley says.
Win the World Cup Bid (chances?) and await the new Fox TV deal (in 2013).
That’s not a strategy as we’ve seen the World Cup run of 2010; did diddly squat for A-League crowds so how will a bid win “save” the A-League? And the TV deal…pap!
Ben that’s not good enough is it. Time for Plan B.
Can’t hear it, not even in the media!
September 30th 2010 @ 8:14am
Midfielder said | September 30th 2010 @ 8:14am | Report comment
Agree FFA management over the last two years has not been what I expected and the ball stops at BB desk…
October 1st 2010 @ 11:34am
Danny_Mac said | October 1st 2010 @ 11:34am | Report comment
Its tough, because there an been an undobuted upturn in the quality of the players we are producing (domestically), and it became apparent a few years ago that we were heading towards a vacuum of playing talent at the highest level (we still are, but although this has been offset slightly with better quality players in the 28-32 bracket in the A-League IMO). The FFA have diverted attention to this area, and it has been somewhat successful.
But no matter how much they tell us, this development focus coupled with the WC bid has led to some level of “taking the eye off the ball” in the A-League.
An assumption was made (i assume) that with steady improvement in the quality of the game, the crowds would either grow or at least remain stable. This hasn’t been the case, and after this season we should see some improvement on this front. Either we will win the bid, which will be great in terms of exposure and finance, or we wont, and we will no longer have the distraction.
September 30th 2010 @ 9:03pm
Hamish Alcorn said | September 30th 2010 @ 9:03pm | Report comment
Agree Eamonn, no point blaming the media, or Pim Verbeek for that matter. As you say, the FFA has had its opportunities.
As to why, I have far too much to say and I’m a bit over it, but the short story is that Leagues are made of Clubs, not the other way around. To establish a League and then see who wants to form a club according to the League’s criteria was never gonna work. The consumer ‘value’ in sport is emotional experience, community feeling, identity and authenticity. You’re not making a hamburger.
So when you lose half of an already disillusioned crowd by putting the price up 50%, as they did in Brisbane, the crowd isn’t gonna just come back if you put the price down again. You’ve already blown the value.
I think the situation is almost hopeless. The way forward is through community engagement at a club level. Community engagement, which Canbera clearly has, is so much more valuable than a billionaire with a purse.
October 1st 2010 @ 11:28am
Danny_Mac said | October 1st 2010 @ 11:28am | Report comment
Just hope they havent missed the boat in Canberra…