Let’s start off by stating that the A-League is not in peril, despite what the non-football media will be espousing after the dumping of the North Queensland Fury.
We have to know our unique place in Australia’s crowded sporting landscape and tailor our competition accordingly. It will always be hard for football as we face challenges no other code faces.
For example:
– Even though we are truly national (as in the recognition of our sport) we are clearly at best number three in each of the markets.
– We have over 120 of our country’s best players plying their trade overseas, and even if we are to get the majority back the real cream will always be overseas. Without the true stars it is very hard to form a marketing campaign as our country is used to having the best of the best (even if there are only two other countries in the world playing the game).
– Certain parts of the country are so parochial to their certain codes of football that it is part of the culture of the area, it is virtually impossible to break through into the psyche of the fan.
I have heard that Mr Buckley has responded to the sacking of the Fury by stating that the J-League and MLS have had the same contractions before they became the healthy beings they are now.
I have to say that besides the fact that lessons should have been learnt from their problems before we expanded, that our sporting landscape is so unique, and our population so small that these lessons may not even apply here.
I try to liken the expanding of the A-League to my blowing up of a balloon for my youngest daughter. If i blow it up too quickly I lose traction and the balloon flies away into the atmosphere. Short, well measured bursts are needed, with time taken before each expansion to save yourself from running out of puff.
Finally, you get to a position where it can be tied up as a neat package.
Every football fan in this country knows that the heartland of our game is in Western Sydney. Everyone knows that the heartland of rugby league in this country is North Queensland. So rather than taking the measured breath and going to Western Sydney, we got all puffed up and blew our way into Townsville.
That balloon has now blown away.
At the same time Western Sydney was still ignored for a team on the Gold Coast. Besides my yearly family holiday to Surfers Paradise, I will be the first to admit that I am not in tune with the Gold Coast’s love affair (or lack of) with the different sporting codes.
But from my armchair in Western Sydney I would think it would be rugby league-crazy (as per the rest of Queensland) even though it is now in its third incarnation of franchises (Seagulls, Chargers and now Titans), and from reports I hear that the Titans struggle to make a quid.
In addition to this the biggest game in the country (AFL), with the deepest pockets, has decided to go at the region hell for leather. Our game does need private investors (every code does at the moment), but unfortunately it is only Mr. Clive Palmer who is keeping the balloon filled with air at this stage.
He will either decide to let it go without tying it up, which will create a hell of a noise, or tie it up and let it go. With no base created if he ties it up and steps away, it will, in all likelihood, just float away into the atmosphere.
So what to do? I truly believe that measured expansion is the safest bet. Consolidating in our key areas is the only way. Western Sydney must have a team, if the Rovers were not ready then that is fine.
Take your time and do it right.
The second team in Melbourne was a success – not a roaring success – but time will only make it stronger. With the Fury gone and assuming the Gold Coast makes its inevitable exit, that will make 10 teams (including Western Sydney).
I believe a 12 team league is the best option giving 33 rounds (playing every team three times) or 27 if you want to split the teams into two conferences (playing the other conference twice and each conference member three times). That leaves another two teams to find with either:
1. Southern Sydney/Wollongong. The biggest junior area in the country (Sutherland) combined with Wollongong (which has always been a fruitful area for supplying Socceroos).
2. Tasmania. They are crying out for a national sports team in any league. We will never beat the AFL down there, but it is a chance to create a niche.
I have left out Canberra at this stage. It is another congested sporting market with rugby league and union and the AFL dipping a toe in via the Western Sydney Giants.
Their bid to join the A-League previously seemed extremely professional and it does have history in the national competition, but as a public service area I believe it would also struggle in a congested market for corporate support.
The key is that we cannot worry about the other codes as we are and always will be facing different challenges to the other codes. We have to recognise our strengths and weaknesses and find our niche in each individual market.
With a representation in every state (including a true Tasmanian team) we will have coverage that not even the AFL has. It is only then that the balloon can be tied up and presented as a package for the TV networks.
With this, we can pursue second position in every state.
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