Cahill shows where A-League sits in pecking order
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Socceroos player Tim Cahill competes for the ball with Japan's Makoto Hasebe. AAP Image/Dave Hunt
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Tim Cahill was never going to step down from the English Premier League to the A-League. Not just yet, anyway.
His move from Everton to the New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer in the United States of America is possibly an intermediary step to the A-League, or more likely a total snub of a return home.
Read more: Cahill set to leave EPL for New York Red Bulls in MLS
In theory now was the time for Cahill, 32 years of age, to head home considering his recent struggle to find the back of the net for Everton, in a bid to play in a less-competitive and strenuous league to prolong his club and international career. But in practice while the A-League could greatly benefited from his presence, he clearly wasn’t prepared to take that step yet.
Harry Kewell and Brett Emerton may have taken the direct path into the A-League from Europe, but theirs are unique cases and against the trend of Australian players moving to more lucrative clubs in Asia and the Middle East in particular, rather than the A-League.
The concern is they may be too old and too broken down when they do get to the A-League, and therefore of little true worth.
Why the avoidance of the A-League? This is a time when the A-League marquee system is failing to deliver its stated mission of freeing up clubs to dig deep and attract the star names that will put bums on seats. The financial reality, however, is that most clubs cannot afford to do so and aren’t prepared to take the risk of banking such a high stake on one player.
The likes of Cahill, Lucas Neill, Marco Bresciano and co, still regulars for the Socceroos, are seemingly preferring that more comfortable and higher-paying step into more remote leagues, where the standard may not differ too greatly from the A-League but the pressure of performing for club to justify an international spot is far less for far more pay.
What some Socceroos seem to fear is the immense pressure of returning home and carrying clubs, the type of pressure that dogged the likes of Kewell and John Aloisi amongst others.
Remember Mark Schwarzer infamous quotes to the Football+ magazine?
“I have seen too many players go back home and it has not worked out,” he said.
“The biggest example is John Aloisi, and how he was treated so badly by people.
“You are up there to be shot down very, very quickly.
“I don’t want to give anyone the opportunity to do that to me.”
That could very well explain current Socceroos players’ avoidance of the A-League, in addition to the financial limitations.
Imagine, for example, the prospect of Cahill linking up with the new A-League franchise, the Western Sydney Wanderers – a product of the region’s strong football culture coming home to lead the new club on and off the field.
The burden on him would be immense, and in many ways the fate of the franchise would rest on his shoulders. Then there’s the problem of the governing body owning the new club; forced to dig deep into its pockets to fund one player while, on the other hand, robbing the wider league, other clubs and the grassroots of the game of funding it would otherwise have had and desperately needs.
But it’s not all doom and gloom for the A-League. Cahill’s new home, the MLS, represents what the A-League could be one day. The MLS has faced the same growing pains as the A-League not to mention the challenges of being down the pecking order in terms of sporting codes in most major markets it occupies.
But the MLS is riding high. And the backing of individuals such as Austrian billionaire and Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz, who is better known for his exploits in motorsports and extreme sports but nevertheless has two football clubs in the USA and Austria in which he has invested heavily, helps add the financial clout to sign star names such as Cahill.
The A-League, its clubs and governing body, is no position to compete with its American counterpart. Any talk that Cahill should have come home ignores the economic reality of the A-League’s place in the world game’s pecking order.
Perhaps one day the future Cahills will bypass an intermediary stint in the Middle East, Asia or the USA for a direct return home. But that day isn’t here just yet.
Adrian Musolino is editor of V8X Magazine, and has written as an expert on The Roar since 2008, cementing himself as a key writer who can see the big picture in sport. He freelances on other forms of motorsport, football, cycling and more.
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July 26th 2012 @ 1:58am
Mick H said | July 26th 2012 @ 1:58am | Report comment
Excellent article / point of view, I have never seen that perspective, of being constantly scrutinised for a Socceroos spot.
With Cahill it was just about money and the chance to live a few years in NY plus more marketing opportunities or better lifestyle for family, to name a few, lots of reasons.
A-League should try and become a great nursery for not only Socceroos but a solid platform to get noticed across European clubs, that is my hope for the WSW team, a springboard for some of Australia’s finest players.
July 26th 2012 @ 5:45am
Bondy said | July 26th 2012 @ 5:45am | Report comment
It could also be that they dont want to play football in Australia where the sport has never truly been embraced by the media and general public of this country. I understand where the authors coming from but realistically what would you do go and play football in New York or Melbourne, Tim has roughly less than three years left with he’s carrer I wish people could understand that football is global and i’m meant to treat Tim like some form of traitor for not playing in the A League.
Football will never be understood in this country, look its fairly simple Tim and he’s family have the opportunity to play football in New York you’d be crasy to knock that back antoher worldy experience, Oh and thats right i’m meant to feel he’s betrayed me, Tim along with other national team players owe me nothing.
Is Tim the first Australian to play in the M.L.S. if so nobody has picked that up as a story.
July 26th 2012 @ 6:12am
Kasey said | July 26th 2012 @ 6:12am | Report comment
Is Tim the first Australian to play in the M.L.S. if so nobody has picked that up as a story.
Danny Allsopp played a season(or 2?) with DC United IIRC. Plus there have been a plethora of Kiwis who went over for a college scholarship and just stayed.
July 26th 2012 @ 6:35am
Bondy said | July 26th 2012 @ 6:35am | Report comment
Cheers guys, I remember now Allsopp returned for the Victory from the M.L.S.
July 26th 2012 @ 3:58pm
Ian Whitchurch said | July 26th 2012 @ 3:58pm | Report comment
Bondy,
He’s moving to the MLS – a country that still calls the game soccer
July 26th 2012 @ 5:42pm
mushi said | July 26th 2012 @ 5:42pm | Report comment
Yes but in NY where spending some time is one of the best experiences in the world
July 27th 2012 @ 11:13am
MV Dave said | July 27th 2012 @ 11:13am | Report comment
Absolutely correct Mushi…having spent time in NY a couple of years ago it was wonderful. Amazing to walk around Central Park with all the football games going on. Even in the sports retailers football gear was prominent everywhere. NY has a great love for top class football…the Red Bulls haven’t quite tapped into that yet but maybe the Cosmos in a few years time?
July 27th 2012 @ 11:21am
Nathan of Perth said | July 27th 2012 @ 11:21am | Report comment
God I haven’t been there since I was a kid – must go back some day
July 26th 2012 @ 5:56am
DJ said | July 26th 2012 @ 5:56am | Report comment
Danny Allsopp was the first in 2010, I think.
July 26th 2012 @ 9:39am
Rusty0256 said | July 26th 2012 @ 9:39am | Report comment
The first Socceroo to play in the US was actually Adrian Alston in the old North Americal Soccer League (NASL) having transferred from Luton Town (Div 1 I think) to play for Tampa Bay Rowdies back in 1977-78.
July 26th 2012 @ 7:57am
HK47 said | July 26th 2012 @ 7:57am | Report comment
I thought that it wasn’t just about New York and better wages, but it was a lot more to do with the $$$ that everton would get for selling timmy?
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July 26th 2012 @ 8:40am
Jono said | July 26th 2012 @ 8:40am | Report comment
Agreed, I was under the understanding that he was still contracted to Everton to 2014. Thereby Everton selling him to NYRB netted them some handy cash for Pienaar, as Timmy was effectively their ‘property’. If he came back to Aus, it would be a breach of contract. Normally in these situations your contract continues with the new side, so in 2014, he will be off contract and able to return to the A-League.
I wouldn’t necessarily call his move to NY a snub. I dare say he had little say in the matter.
July 26th 2012 @ 9:01am
Matt F said | July 26th 2012 @ 9:01am | Report comment
Pretty much. With the transfer fee plus wages an A-league club would have been looking at $3 million for the first season at a bare minimum which is crazy money for an A-league side right now.
Given that he was under contract at Everton, the only way he could have played in the A-League would have been if they had granted him a release which would mean missing out on the the 1-1.5m transfer fee.
That’s not to say that Cahill would have chosen the A-League over the MLS if he had the option but, for financial reasons, an A-League stint right now was never a possibility.
July 26th 2012 @ 8:32am
agga78 said | July 26th 2012 @ 8:32am | Report comment
I will put it out there that most of our players are good solid European professionals who’s work ethic and professionlism has allowed them to forge a career at minor teams in the EPL such as Everton, Fulham, Aston Villa etc but are they world beaters a class above I would say not really.
The trouble for other leagues around the world is once a player average or not has played in the EPL for a few years who has been on massive money like 40k pound a week even with with the lower EPL clubs like Neil at West Ham, they demand similar money for the rest of there career, even though they are not world class and really won’t come across as so much better than the average A league or MLS player, they still demand and recieve this massive money.
This has happened so many times in the A league where good solid professionals like Aloisi, Emerton and Craig Moore have come home and not lived up to expectations and have been called a waste of money etc by the supporters, but is just a reflection on the silly money these average Euorpean footballers have been payed for there careers in europe and not their ability as a footballer which is very good but not on another planet to local players and Cahill would also fall into this category.
July 26th 2012 @ 8:42am
Tigranes said | July 26th 2012 @ 8:42am | Report comment
Differant perspective, but very refreshing.
My view would be that its up to up to the other leagues to offer wages equivalent to the EPL – this is taking place in some places like the Middle East. It could eventually happen in the US. The HAL is somewhat limited by the salary cap, but with billionaire owners like Frank Lowy, they could well recruit a team of superstars.
July 26th 2012 @ 8:43am
Kasey said | July 26th 2012 @ 8:43am | Report comment
I am constantly annoyed at the ex-Socceroos who peddle this Aloisi was mis-treated by Aussie fans crap(are we lesser minded fans expected to put up with crap playing because we should feel grateful?) as the reason for them not coming back to Australia. Aloisi, had a shocking season on Marquee wages[and stuck around to make amends the following season helping them to win the title– but no body mentions that aspect of it], what were SFC fans supposed to do? Cheer him as if he was a world beater while he missed sitter after sitter simply because he scored a very important goal in our World Cup history? I think these players, the ones that have ventured home have greatly disrespected the local league by leaving it one or two seasons too many before coming back, grossly underestimating just how competitive our local league is. Local fans aren’t mugs. If we feel we’re being taken advantage of by being expected to cheer starts that have left it one or two years too many so they could chase one last Euro paycheck, then we have a right and an expectation to make or feelings known.
July 26th 2012 @ 9:09am
Matt F said | July 26th 2012 @ 9:09am | Report comment
Absolutely. Aloisi came back with much fanfare and on massive wages yet he was awful in his first season at SFC. The SFC fans were judging him on his SFC career. What he did in the earlier stages of his career wasn’t much good to SFC. What he did in his second deason with the club was.
The quotes by Schwarzer seem strange to me. Are they coming back to be worshipped on a well-payed farewell tour/ego boost or to actually play football?
July 26th 2012 @ 1:07pm
Chop said | July 26th 2012 @ 1:07pm | Report comment
It was only the SFC fans that mistreated John Aloisi, he was adored by the CC Mariners fans before he went to SFC and got treated badly.
July 26th 2012 @ 2:26pm
whiskeymac said | July 26th 2012 @ 2:26pm | Report comment
exaclty. his first foray was good with the mariners, his next season was a shocker. bosnich also had a good run for his limited comeback up in gosford.
and i think its worked out pretty well for Aloisi now hasnt it with a coaching gig already….
July 26th 2012 @ 8:39am
JAJI said | July 26th 2012 @ 8:39am | Report comment
The writer misses one important point. Everton have pocketed over 1 million quid for Timmy’s transfer. So add in his wages and thats a total deal in the first year of $3M odd. No code in the country can afford that (unless the AFL fund it directly) so the A League was never in the hunt in the first place. You cant blame Timmy for wanting to head to New York for 1-2 years before he heads home. Brazil 2014 also is on his radar….
July 26th 2012 @ 12:12pm
tm said | July 26th 2012 @ 12:12pm | Report comment
Exactly right. Kewell and co were uncontracted when they came back.
July 26th 2012 @ 8:41am
Emric said | July 26th 2012 @ 8:41am | Report comment
Posted this in the wrong thread before I’d had my morning coffee. It was meant to go here
I’m a die hard rugby fan first and foremost but I do watch the A-League so take what i say as completely unknowledgeable.
TV negotations are just beginning with the major tv channels in Australia. Why not negotate a “development and advancement” clause as part of the TV package – effectively – whatever tv station comes onboard and hires the A-League rights for the next 5-years should be encouraged to provide an additoinal 10million or so dollars over 5 years for marquee player purchase these players would remain under contract to the FAA and can be sub-let to a club for the duration of the contract. These players will be paid more and serve 2 functoins 1. To play the game and 2. to be used by the tv station in promotional advertising under whatever conditions the contract between the FAA and TV station to promote the profile of the game.
So far the TV stations has had a hands off approach to enhansing the products they lease the rights too, and some serious incentives would need to be provided to get them onboard with the idea. I’ve no idea what incentives could be offered but I’m sure there has to be something that the TV stations would want to make it workable.
The benefits are obvious – Clubs would not have to pay a fortune for marquee players – new up and coming top players MIGHT be encouraged not to leave for Europe if they can make a great deal in Australia and the competition would be improved without breaking the back of the clubs. This would also give the FAA more leverage over where these top players could be spread.
Anyway its just another dumb idea from a rugby supporter.
July 26th 2012 @ 10:06am
Titus said | July 26th 2012 @ 10:06am | Report comment
It’s not a bad idea Emric.
The thing with Football in this country is that it will basically be as big as the money you want to put into it. The a-league coasts along quite nicely for the money being invested. The standard is improving and clubs can see a sustainable light at the end of the tunnel.
If a media company like 10 or Fox or both said, look heres $100 mill a season, but we want each team to have a salary cap of $7 mill including 2 star players, then they would have a product that is as popular nationally as either the AFL or NRL and is part of a global community.
Just needs the people with the money and the vision.
July 26th 2012 @ 9:25am
Christo the Daddyo said | July 26th 2012 @ 9:25am | Report comment
And the simple fact is the MLS is a step up in quality from the A-League. Hardly a surprise move for Cahill – good luck to him.
July 26th 2012 @ 9:45am
Fussball ist unser leben said | July 26th 2012 @ 9:45am | Report comment
How much MLS have you watched in the past 2 years to reach this conclusion? How much HAL have you watched during the same period?
Can you even name the MLS teams?
In which areas is the quality ” a step up”? Which particular areas do you think MLS is superior: technical skills, tactical sophistication, physical attributes, other?
Maybe, MLS is superior. But, I doubt the average non-football fan in AUS watches enough MLS & HAL to form an intelligent opinion.
July 26th 2012 @ 9:50am
Kasey said | July 26th 2012 @ 9:50am | Report comment
Watching a few MLS games on ESPN, MLS is only superior in one area I have noticed and that is in fan participation, the tifos particularly in the Pacific North West teams have been nothing short of spectacular. I can only imagine it’s the anti-authoritarian nature of Aussies that holds us back from really going to town in this area…no matter how much effort goes into a pre-match tifo, you’ve always got one Aussie bloke up the back of the active support bay thinking” screw you guys, I won’t do what you tell me”
July 26th 2012 @ 10:19am
Brick Tamlin of the Pants Party said | July 26th 2012 @ 10:19am | Report comment
Well i recall hearing about a purple and white skull and cross bones flag being not allowed into NIB because apparently it was too threatening.Obviously Perth Glory’s supporters rampant history of hooliganism over our 15 year history worked against us on that one
July 26th 2012 @ 11:36am
Kasey said | July 26th 2012 @ 11:36am | Report comment
Brick you should know about the unfair perception problem football has in this country. Thanks to our English cousins inability to control themselves on the terraces in the 1980s unfortunately the lazy Australian Media has decided to forever link the words hooligan with Soccer. Look at the posture and mindset of the security goons employed by stadium management these days, they turn up expecting to see crowd trouble, whereas if they were honest with the situation, they’d be more likely to experience anti social behavior at the cricket or the Aussie rules than they would at HAL football. What ca be don? Buggered if I know, there is no easy solution, not while football illiterate’s can get easy column inches out of beating up every sing-song into some sort of riot/pitched battle.
July 26th 2012 @ 12:45pm
Brick Tamlin of the Pants Party said | July 26th 2012 @ 12:45pm | Report comment
I’ve just accepted it now and don’t really care anymore,the football fans in this country behave fantastically and if putting the most minor incident in the paper is a ploy to put off Afl fans or League fans to attending a game then so be it.I also couldn’t care anymore if other codes fans go to a game,its getting the football fans off their backsides to support the local league that i care about.A-League attendances are nowhere near a true reflection of much support there is for the game in general in this country.
July 26th 2012 @ 2:34pm
Christo the Daddyo said | July 26th 2012 @ 2:34pm | Report comment
Fussball – I watch a bit of both to be honest. Obviously more A-League than MLS though. The playing standard is a bit more in MLS, not a great deal, and the infrastructure around the teams is streets ahead of the A-League. There’s just more money in the US obviously, and the MLS has been around longer, so I don’t really have any problem with MLS being better than the A-League.
July 26th 2012 @ 10:10am
Titus said | July 26th 2012 @ 10:10am | Report comment
I agree with Christo to be honest, the MLS would be like the a-league if we retained the bulk of our home grown players, and had marquees the quality of Henry, Cahill and Keane.
The U.S development is also improving substantially.
I would still rather watch the a-league though, but definitely keen to catch a few Red Bull games.
July 26th 2012 @ 10:10am
AGO74 said | July 26th 2012 @ 10:10am | Report comment
Besides clubs like LA Galaxy and NY Red Bulls with massive spending power and maybe one or two others with half-decent spending power, I think you’ll find most of the clubs in MLS are of a very similar standard to here. This is then in fact a compliment to the A-League as we are only 7 years in compared to the MLS’ almost 20 years.
July 26th 2012 @ 10:10am
Bondy said | July 26th 2012 @ 10:10am | Report comment
Couldnt agree more this is a false claim and as Kasey has pointed out that the crowd or game day experience is better than ours.
Theres not a great deal in it technically if you know what to look for.
July 26th 2012 @ 12:24pm
Brick Tamlin of the Pants Party said | July 26th 2012 @ 12:24pm | Report comment
I remember in the post match interview in the Victory vs LA Galaxy game last year Landon Donovan saying in the games he’s played and watched there isn’t much difference at all.Now before anyone says oh he was just saying that,Landon Donovan is real straight shooter(ask David Beckham)and doesn’t come across as someone who would just say something to please somebody else.As far as wages and stadia though the MLS is alot better.
July 26th 2012 @ 12:51pm
Roman said | July 26th 2012 @ 12:51pm | Report comment
Being Nice, it not a huge difference, but it is a distance.
July 26th 2012 @ 1:08pm
Brick Tamlin of the Pants Party said | July 26th 2012 @ 1:08pm | Report comment
Maybe it is a little better and so it should be,but i’ll take Landons opinion as honest.Obviously it was a friendly at Etihad last year but they were the US champions playing a rubbish MV(MV fans would have to admit you sucked last year)and they never looked superior in any way,shape or form.Had it been Brisbane they were playing against it could have been abit embarrasing for them.
July 26th 2012 @ 1:17pm
Roman said | July 26th 2012 @ 1:17pm | Report comment
Its a friendly at the end of their season, in the middle of ours. They came for the pay, that’s it. I think the Roar would struggle in MLS, A-league clubs let Brisbane pass the ball around.
July 26th 2012 @ 2:34pm
AGO74 said | July 26th 2012 @ 2:34pm | Report comment
Roman – MLS publish salaries on their website (not completely sure why). Anyway, what you’ll see when you look at this is that the overwhelming majority of their players earn salaries comparable to their A-League counterparts. Granted their are some exceptions such as Becks, Keane, Donovan and now Cahill but the point remains that the overall majority of their players have a salary (and pedigree when you look at their playing background for non US players) to our own A-League. I said it elsewhere, but having watched a bit of MLS on ESPN (which by the large I enjoy) there is not a very discernible difference between our league and the MLS.
July 26th 2012 @ 4:05pm
Ian Whitchurch said | July 26th 2012 @ 4:05pm | Report comment
AGO 74,
The MLS not only run a hard cap, most of their players are centrally contracted.
Basically, it’s as communist a system as you’ll find in sport, anywhere.
http://www.mlssoccer.com/2012-mls-roster-rules
http://www.mlsplayers.org/salary_info.html
July 26th 2012 @ 12:57pm
Bondy said | July 26th 2012 @ 12:57pm | Report comment
Tamlin, I remember when the Jets played the Galaxy the Jets went well albeit it was the Galaxy’s off season but they went well I think its splitting hairs with the difference in leagues between the two other than Becks Keeno and Henry are the features of course.
July 26th 2012 @ 9:45am
Minister for Information for the Democratic People's Republic of Football said | July 26th 2012 @ 9:45am | Report comment
Just on Dietrich Mateschitz the Red Bull owner, I wish he would spend 10% of the outlay he pumps into N.Y. Red Bulls into his first and original franchise RB Salzburg. Maybe he could actually buy some decent imports instead of C-grade nobodies.
Salzburg have just been eliminated in the first round of QF in the UCL by a team from Luxembourg. What a disgrace! They are the ultimate butt of jokes in Austria at the moment.
July 26th 2012 @ 10:19am
Sports Candy said | July 26th 2012 @ 10:19am | Report comment
What about the difference in pay Adrian?
If the A-League could pay the same as the EPL it would be a no brainer and why would you want to leave our great country.