Australian football season still needs restructuring
Columnist By Adrian Musolino, 7 Sep 2011 Adrian Musolino is a Roar Expert
- Tagged:
- A-League, Australian Football, FA Cup, ffa cup, football, Football Federation Australia, Harry Kewell, State League
A-League Melbourne Grand Final fans
And so we wait, even longer than we initially expected. It’s this time of the year that we’ve become accustomed to the A-League season starting. But in order to let the AFL and NRL, who suffocate air space for every other code, finish their seasons, we wait till October for domestic round ball football.
Fair enough, too. The A-League season inevitably started with a whimper as the meagre advertising and buzz it could generate was buried under the weight of popularity and media attention for the other football codes – little to no traction or momentum launching the season.
Now the selling points for the league – Harry Kewell and co – have the clean air to breath, as was the case for last season’s postponed first Melbourne derby, held the week after the replayed AFL grand final.
So, again, we wait… The likely postponement of the showpiece match of the first round, Kewell and Melbourne Victory hosting Brett Emerton and Sydney FC, to Tuesday October 11 as opposed to the weekend before due to the Socceroos home World Cup qualifier, adds an extra degree of anticipation. And so we wait.
But something needs to fill the August-September void – something more tangible than the current sporadic pre-season matches and trials.
It’s certainly not good for the development of A-League players to have such a long lay off, with other leagues around the world getting a two-month head start.
If our national team is to be on a par with the best around the world, and our league just as competitive, it needs our players conditioned to a similar degree, playing in the same window with competitive and regular football from August/September till April/May.
This is particularly the case for Socceroos aspirants. With the likes of Kewell and Emerton now plying their trade in the A-League, our Socceroos need to be playing competitively at this point of the year. How would the Socceroos fare in the current qualifiers against Thailand and Saudi Arabia if a large number of the squad were still in pre-season mode with their A-League clubs? It would certainly limit selection options.
While it was previously derided as an irrelevance, an organised pre-season tournament, akin to the AFL’s NAB Cup, could not only keep the players fit and competitive for a longer period, it could help provide a bit of a springboard into the season, satisfying fans’ demands.
But there’s another option worth exploring. Why not stage the proposed FFA Cup, the knockout competition involving A-League and state league clubs set to commence in 2012, during this time of the year?
Rather than the March to Australia Day time frame proposed by the FFA, why not stage the competition when the state leagues are culminating across the country? After all, a number of A-League clubs are already playing pre-season friendlies against state league opposition. Let’s just make it for an official competition.
Rather than running concurrently with the A-League season, hidden behind its shadow or, conversely, detracting attention, it could assume the dual role of providing an organised competition to lead-in to the A-League season, while still achieving its goal of uniting the football tiers.
In this landscape, as opposed to England, host of the competition the FFA Cup will be compared to, the FA Cup, it is surely better to have the knockout competition run in a condensed period of the year, maximising its potential effect. In the current landscape, spreading the competition across eight months makes little sense.
I may be underestimating the logistical and practical difficulties involved in such a proposition, particularly for the state league clubs, but it just seems there’s a timely overlap at this time of year that needs to be taken advantage of.
Surely if the motivation was there to make it happen, such issues could be adequately addressed. The FFA Cup is too good an opportunity for Australian football, so the FFA needs to resist the temptation of modeling it too closely on the FA Cup, for it’ll operate in a very different market.
And something needs to fill this current void, so we don’t have to wait so damn long for some competitive football!
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September 7th 2011 @ 5:45am
Cpaaa said | September 7th 2011 @ 5:45am | Report comment
it would have been a good question to ask the fans in the latest FFA survey. It sounds romantic to play the FFA Cup final on Australia but it does give the power to the HAL clubs. I think most fans would rather see A-League clubs work harder for the Cup whilst the States are at the peak of their season, it will also give a sharper and more talked about start to the A-League.
September 7th 2011 @ 6:42am
Eamonn said | September 7th 2011 @ 6:42am | Report comment
Good idea Adrian.
I’d like to see the Semi Final and Final held over to the normal season – say Semi’s in November, Final in December.
Gives another bit of spice during the normal season – and would like to see the winners get a place in the ACL.
September 7th 2011 @ 4:13pm
jetfan said | September 7th 2011 @ 4:13pm | Report comment
Double edged sword really, what if a lower league team wins, they wont meet the ACL criteria and will get nothing. With the currently proposed Aus day final, it will still be too late for the winner to enter the current years ACL competition, so they will again have to carry over to the next season.
Would much rather have the FFA Cup winner get a spot in an expanded ACL qualifying group stage if its an HAL team or a spot in the AFC Cup for the rest. The FFA could structure it so that should the final be between two HAL teams the next highest finishing state league team wins the AFC Cup spot. The same would apply to the HAL’s ACL spot should something crazy happen and all the HAL teams be eliminated before the final. In this way, no matter who won, they would have a year to prepare for the ACL qualifier/AFC Cup. By entering semi-pro teams in the AFC cup we can be seen to actually be helping the next tier down of Asian leagues improve and by only requesting an ACL qualifying spot we wont step on anyone’s toes whilst trying to get another team in the ACL. The best bit is that it would result in the clubs getting additional games against varied opposition which can only help with the development of the game & its players, as well as generating greater respect for the Asian club teams.
September 7th 2011 @ 4:24pm
Nathan of Perth said | September 7th 2011 @ 4:24pm | Report comment
It probably wouldn’t be that difficult for the FFA to step in to arrange ground leasing for a state league team that gets that far but as a practical matter I would expect that the A-League teams with their far larger resources shouldn’t have an excuse for not locking out the top 4 or so.
September 9th 2011 @ 9:22am
jetfan said | September 9th 2011 @ 9:22am | Report comment
stadium leasing is the LEAST of the problems with state league teams eligibility for the ACL. The whole point of revamping the ACL and introducing the qualification spots etc was to remove semi-pro teams that would become whipping boys for the likes of the J, K & CSL leagues.
For example here is a few things off the top of my head that state teams would struggle with
-corporate structure, meeting the strict ACL entry regulations
-Minimum crowd averages, min 3000 required for the league that the team comes from
-youth setups, are they ACL standard (HAL has exemptions at the moment soon to end)
-Coaches, to they meet the AFC A license, or do they need to bring in a puppet coach ala Adelaide
-Location, the ACL requires that the home ground for the club be a set distance from an international airport, with a maximum travelling distance by road/rail (could be overcome by moving games to regional or capital venues)
The current regs might be different now, they may have even risen, as I have not had a look at them since back when the jets last competed.
If the winner went to the AFC cup on the other hand, the regulations are reduced significantly as they are in place for developing leagues where teams can build up and work their way up to the qualification level then on to the ACL level, earning the right to be exempt from certain criteria because they are the winners of each level below.
September 7th 2011 @ 7:18am
NY said | September 7th 2011 @ 7:18am | Report comment
I kind of like the August and September trial matches against state league clubs. There is still some pretty competitive matches and some decent crowds ranging from 2000 to 5000 people. The state league clubs certainly are up for the challenge and have even taken some HAL scalps. The thing as well is that it gets into the smaller communities and doesn’t cost a bonanza. For me it is a good build up until the real season begins and gives us good football at a local gound for a cheap price.
The FFA Cup for me should be a local affair up until the Round of 16 where teams travel interstate to play. A-league clubs should come in at the Round of 32. For me it is something more to offer state league clubs than a-league clubs. Although someone mentioned previously that a ACL spot could make the comp of far more relevance. This is another good idea if it is able to be done.
September 7th 2011 @ 8:18am
TomC said | September 7th 2011 @ 8:18am | Report comment
Makes sense. The Mirabella Cup is running to its conclusion in Victoria right now.
One problem is that this limits some of the possibilities for an FFA Cup. If it is used as a warm-up to the main affair then it’s unlikely to ever be seen as more than a pre-season comp, rather than a serious tournament in its own right.
Another issue is that it increases the chances of A-league teams being beaten by state league teams. At the moment the A-league teams are trying to piece together their squads and trying new things, while the state league teams are pushing towards their peak performance. It might be a little embarassing for the FFA if their flagship brands (Victory, Sydney FC, Roar) in their major markets were beaten by semi-professionals.
One small question: what does Adrian mean when he says: ‘The likely postponement of the showpiece match of the first round, Kewell and Melbourne Victory hosting Brett Emerton and Sydney FC, to Tuesday October 11 as opposed to the weekend before due to the Socceroos home World Cup qualifier’?
Isn’t the qualifier on the Tuesday? Why would they postpone the match to the same day as the qualifier?
September 7th 2011 @ 9:22am
Futbanous said | September 7th 2011 @ 9:22am | Report comment
Dont disagree that we probably need more matches. How many more well weve got 27 this season coming up.
The Roar have been continually playing trial matches against local opposition since 3 June see following(scroll down).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011%E2%80%9312_Brisbane_Roar_season#Pre-Season
So far they’ve played 12,all up they will play 15.
Sure their not for competition points & only 3 are against A-League clubs. However the local teams are up for it. One because its against the Roar & two because a local player may be spotted by Ange.
Is that enough?
Think we need to consult coaches who have coached senior teams or been involved with senior teams in some form or another to make that judgement.
September 7th 2011 @ 9:34am
Matt F said | September 7th 2011 @ 9:34am | Report comment
I like the time-frame of the FFA Cup. Starting in March means the state league clubs can contest the early rounds during their seasons and given that they, in all likelihood, will be knocked out by the A-League clubs when they enter it makes sense for the latter stages of the tournament (which will realistically involve only the A-League sides) to be contested during the A-League season and the final played on Australia Day. No matter what time of year it is played the A-League sides will still probably steamroll the state teams and having the final in pre-season will make the tournament look more like the NAB Cup rather then the FA Cup.
September 7th 2011 @ 10:01am
j binnie said | September 7th 2011 @ 10:01am | Report comment
Adrian -the long layover has been caused by another boo-boo made by administrators over the years since the days of “summer soccer” in the NSL. This layover is being done so that we can get back to the original starting date which in season 1990 was October 4th, surprised????.The FFA Cup as you call it probably could,& should be played at this time for it is common sense,the State League teams will be at full fitness while Hal teams are eagerly looking for games to get themselves fit for their “OFF”. Again you have one little problem. Before we start to discuss WHEN the Cup should be played we have to know one very important factor,HOW is it going to be set up to facilitate a country wide format that won’t send everyone (except the tv channels & the airlines) stony broke.Get that first and you can open your discussions with a serious bent.I think you can be sure of one thing,even after a year’s discussion it ain’t going to happen during this upcoming HAL season.jb
September 7th 2011 @ 10:22am
Fussball ist unser leben said | September 7th 2011 @ 10:22am | Report comment
I disagree.
Playing the FFA Cup final on Australia Day each year makes sense – the Day provides an immediate natural focus that will be a godsend to a fledgling National Cup Competition.
And, what better way for Aussie football fans to celebrate the National Holiday than watching a sporting event that is the Final of a Cup Competition of the most participated team sport in Australia and will be the largest sports tournament in Australia – geographically & number of participating teams?
What we need is a longer season – 36 rounds NOT 27.
We need to make the fixture fair and equitable by playing having each team play every team TWICE home & away – not the ad hoc current situation where some teams play a particular club twice at home and once away, and play other clubs twice away and once at home.
September 7th 2011 @ 11:11am
Futbanous said | September 7th 2011 @ 11:11am | Report comment
Agree,but until theres more teams how can they do that?
To play a 30 round proper home & away season you need 16 teams.
34 round -18 teams.
I’m not saying its not possible,but given expansion so far the FFA need a lot of soul searching & a crap load of money
to find a way forward.
Also an FFA cup the same. As j binnie indicates a cost effective formula has to be decided upon first. Until thats in place an FFA cup is but a pipe dream.
September 7th 2011 @ 12:44pm
Matt F said | September 7th 2011 @ 12:44pm | Report comment
Currently they all play each other 3 times i.e. 27 rounds. To make it 36 they could simply play each other 4 times. It would even the draw up as each team would play everyone twice at home and twice away but would probably lead to a bit of boredom playing the same teams so many times.
As for the FFA Cup being cost effective, the biggest concern would be travel costs. The easiest way for this is to make sure that, in the earlier rounds when only the state league teams compete, they only play teams in their own state to avoid travel costs. Once you get down to the best of the best state teams and the A-League teams enteryou can make the A-League teams travel to the remaining state teams as they can most afford it, or the FFA can subsidise travel costs or at least provide anough prize money for state teams who get that far so that they can cover their own costs.
September 7th 2011 @ 11:31am
Ben Carter said | September 7th 2011 @ 11:31am | Report comment
Hi Fuss (and Adrian). Interesting idea from Adrian, but I agree with Fuss – wouldn’t want the FFA Cup to be mostly over before October, etc. By all means, start it in Aug-Sep (perhaps with some games at state league/regional venues to add interest before the A-League season proper starts) but still finish it with a “Cup Final Day” on Australia Day (I’ve always thought Homebush as a venue myself)… As for the league season – probably agree with Futb – 27 rounds, as irritating as it is at the moment, is probably enough. Yes, expansion later, but seems okay at present. Consolidation for a bit, then growth.
September 7th 2011 @ 1:52pm
apaway said | September 7th 2011 @ 1:52pm | Report comment
Adrian and Fussball, I think you’re BOTH on the right path, but I also agree with jbinnie about HOW a Cup competition will be staged (man, I am in such an agreeable mood today!)
Once it is determined who will be in the competition and how it will be funded and administered (4th tier State League clubs do not have the resources to fly across the country) the cup could enter its final 32 in August, with 22 State League clubs and the 10 A-League clubs. Rather than trials, the HAL teams are now playing cup games. Round of 32 in August, Round of 16 in September, Quarters in October, Semis in November, then promote the hell out of an Australia Day Cup final.
September 7th 2011 @ 10:25am
Ben said | September 7th 2011 @ 10:25am | Report comment
It’s hard with the prominence of AFL/NRL, but something needs to be done.
September 7th 2011 @ 11:08am
Nathan of Perth said | September 7th 2011 @ 11:08am | Report comment
Wonder if we’d ever have a Perth Glory v Melbourne Knights grudge match out of that cup…