David Gallop’s five NRL ideas for the FFA
Columnist By Chris Chard, 27 Aug 2012 Chris Chard is a Roar Expert
- Tagged:
- A-League, David Gallop, football, NRL
Former chief executive of the Australian Rugby League Commission David Gallop. AAP Image/Dean Lewins
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Rugby league in Australia had a little bit of just about everything last week. Everything that is, except a slim, bespectacled, silver-haired man sternly addressing a press conference.
Yes, David Gallop has joined the round ball code and the NRL is all the poorer for it. Papa Frank has picked a winner, and would be keen to for Gallop to stabilise the relatively young A-League competition.
However, you can’t expect a doer like David to just sit on his hands umming and ahhing can you?
No, word on the street is that dangerous Dave has got some big ideas for football in this country, some real paradigm breakers. And, perhaps not surprisingly, many of these ideas have been lifted directly from his former footy flame.
So here they are, David Gallops five NRL ideas for FFA.
5. Less draws
One of Gallop’s lasting legacies at the NRL was his unwavering support for extra time ‘golden point’ matches. The man’s a former lawyer you see, can’t stand a draw.
Considering that football has more drawing going on than after little lunch at a kindergarten, it’s only natural Gallop would be keen to ditch the ties so at least one set of fans can go home angry.
How he plans to do this remains to be seen. Golden goal is the obvious choice, but fans really seem to like those penalty shoot-out thingies… don’t they?
4. More Refs
Have you ever watched a game of football and seen the lonely bloke with the whistle wandering around in circles and occasionally writing in a little notebook? Couldn’t he use some company out there?
It’s about time football moved into the 21st century and adopted a two referee system. The NRL did this years ago and fans have more or less completely stopped complaining about the quality and parentage of refs.
While they’re at it, the game needs to figure out a way to get the video ref involved a bit more too, otherwise the code’s going to continue to struggle for real drama.
3. More cool playing strips
Recently the new A-League side Western Sydney Wanderers debuted their jerseys to the press. Red and black hoops… that’s it.
Sadly this is not just a one off either, with a number of A-League sides choosing to go with designs equally uninspiring.
Are we living in the 40′s here?
Surely in this age of watermark logos, patented wicking technology and integrated thermo shark skin compression, fans should expect something more eye-catching.
Also things like lightning bolts, camouflage print and collector item shirts plugging romantic comedy DVD releases never go out of fashion.
2. Bigger rivalries
Sure the A-League has developed some pretty decent spats between sides, but what about in the press?
Save for when some bozo lights a couple of bungers at the bus stop outside Hindmarsh stadium, and the mainstream press rolls out Youtube footage of Millwall psychopaths from 1978 to get their hackles up, football scribes are generally quite an agreeable lot.
Gallop has witnessed first-hand what great publicity sport can be milked from childish vendettas held by journos, and igniting a bit of niggle would definitely be good for the old media monitors.
Craig Foster can’t do this all by himself y’know
1. Higher international standard
When David Gallop was at the helm of the NRL, the Australian Kangaroos held the number one world ranking.
Imagine his shock then, when he was told that the Socceroos are languishing in 24th place behind a bunch of countries who are searching behind the lounge cushions for money just to put petrol in the car.
Time to sort this mess out. Gallop’s thinking academies, private benefactors, celebrity coaches.
Or alternatively, just playing New Zealand a bunch of times and not letting any countries come here to tour until our ranking goes up a bit.
Follow Chris on Twitter: @Vic_Arious
Chris Chard is a sports humour writer commenting on the often absurd nature of professional sport. A rugby league fan boy with a good blend of youth and experience taking things one week at a time, Chris has written for The Roar, Rugby League Player Magazine, US Sports Downunder, the QRL and People. Tweet him @Vic_Arious
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- A-League, David Gallop, football, NRL
August 27th 2012 @ 8:14am
Punter said | August 27th 2012 @ 8:14am | Report comment
Chris, I hope this was done with tongue in cheek!!!
Points 4 & 5 not Gallop’s decision, he is answerable to the World body.
Point 3 is also now out of his hands & onto the club himself.
Point 2 Yes could not agree more.
Point 1 Beating New Zealand a few times in a game played in every corner of the globe does not improve your ranking!!!!
August 27th 2012 @ 9:10am
Mark Young said | August 27th 2012 @ 9:10am | Report comment
Punter I can say, hand on heart, that Chris has never written anything tongue in cheek.
Ever,
August 27th 2012 @ 9:28am
Kasey said | August 27th 2012 @ 9:28am | Report comment
So absurd are some of the points raisedthat this has to have been written tongue in cheek, but I’’l play the Bud Abbott to your Lou Costello this fine Monday Morning.
5. Less draws
Golden goal lasted barely a poofteenth of time in International football – It produced negative football in extra time as with each passing minute the consequences of making a mistake were ratcheted up.
In the United States where it was felt that Americans wouldn’t be satisfied with Ties (Draws to the rest of the normal football world) The Yanks experimented with a variation on the Ice Hockey Penalty shoot out from the start of MLS in 2006….5 seconds to dribble from half way and shoot one on one w/ the keeper.
In 1999-2000 they came to their senses and realised that they were alienating people that loved Soccer but were turned off MLS by the gimmicks, they instigated a scheme called Game First. This involved returning to the IFAB LOTG, no more count-down clock or OT wins.
Interestingly, this was but one plank in a game improvement strategy (one cannot underestimate the effect of building Soccer specific Stadia and moving out of cavernous NFL/NCAAFB stadia that often were too narrow for a regulation field). They have been on an almost constant upwards curve ever since.
4 More refs:
A huge LOL. When I was a child watching SANFL footy, there was one solitary field Umpire and a pair of boundary umps. Since my childhood, the kneejerk reactions of the VFL have created a third team out there with the aid of video replay for goal decisions and they STILL can’t get it right. By and large the solitary Referee and his two Assistants get it right an acceptable amount of the time, when they don’t is what makes the game the most talked about on the planet. If the HAL strikes gold with its new TV deal and football has a bit of extra coin to spend, I’d love to see the introduction of the GoalRef GLT rolled out to the various HAL Stadia.
3. Playing Strips.
I could reiterate my point regarding staying loyal to the traditions of the game as in point 5, but I think that would be redundant. Tradition matters in football. One way to build that is to have simple, classic looking football kits that allow all games to pass the “know who is playing just by glancing at the TV for 5 seconds – test” I will link to the abortion like MLS kits of 1996 launch, which is what happens when you let marketing w@nkers are allowed to have free reign with no idea what football fans really want in their teams identity. WSW appear to have gotten it 100% correct in listening to ther potential fans, Well Done to them!
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=1996+MLS+Jerseys&view=detail&id=B844ECE3EBDECFE2C674FC26F9E4F05EB8270046&FORM=IDFRIR
As collateral damage you end up with vomit inducing team names such as San Jose Clash(since rectified to SJ Earthquakes, Dallas Burn(FC Dallas) I must admit when I first heard it Perth Glory had a certain naffness about it, but as 2-time Australian Champions they’ve written themselves into football history and will be forever remembered as the first club to point to the future, away from ethnic community based clubs of the NSL and forwards into the broadbased clubs like Glory and eventually the A-League. Now the name glory is synonymous Purple with Western Australian football.
2. Rivalries.
as shown with the Ashes, the Bledisloe and Carlton/Collingwood True rivalries cant be manufactured, modern fans can smell plastic and fake at 100 yards.
Only time and events that transpire in that time will allow the simmering rivalry between a few HAL clubs to develop into truly mouth watering rivalries. In this regard, the Best thing Gallop and Lowy can do is to ensure the League survives so today’s fans can pass on the lore of today to their kids and build these rivalries. Perhaps in 50 years time, the cross Border Rivalry between AU and MVC will become must watch TV for more than just football fans and the dedicated fans of each team.
1. International standard.
The major changes required to improve our standing in the world of football have already been implemented. SSG will improve the first touch of our juniors from the start. We have been blessed in the last 20 years with a once in a generation golden crop of players. Once they retire we will likely have to get used to a more realistic position in the FIFA rankings (I estimate about the 20-30 range.) Of course as the HAL continues to improve in standard, by the time it comes to qualifying for the WC in 2018 and the 2019 Asian Cup I expect about 50% of the NT squad to come from the local league, and not just token additions like Archie Thompson, who scored in a trial game so has probably extended his tenure now all the way up to Brazil: (
August 27th 2012 @ 9:48am
Kasey said | August 27th 2012 @ 9:48am | Report comment
From a football fan POV the following are 5 things I’d like DG to actually concentrate on.
5. Raise the standard of refereeing.
From the inaugural season through to last year, every year has seen the playing standard and pace/skill of the game increase. Anyone that wrote-off the HAL based solely on the first season really ought to check out a game in the upcoming season! the difference is like Chalk and Cheese.
Unfortunately I and many other fans believe the men in the middle have failed to mirror this improvement in their part of the game. Losing Mark Shield as Refs Boss is not a good start, but for the league to move to the next level it really needs the whistle blowers to also make a significant improvement. If there is spare money in the kitty, I’d love to see GLT(GoalRef introduced League-wide ASAP.
4. Centralised Marketing Strategy.
As a non Rugby League fan, I still know the taglines from NRL Seasons past, showing the value of a strong centralised marketing Strategy for the domestic game. Football is not at the level yet where it doesn’t need to advertise. Even AFL with its mega million dollar eals including lots of contra advertising and cross-promoting on friendly TV networks, runs regular advertisements for their game. What made FFA think they could go without a TVC in season 2011-12.
IMO the very first season’s “Football, but not as you know it” should be dusted off , re-shot with the current players and teams and given another run to follow up on last years much talked about We Are Football campaign.
3. Coordinated Proactive Media engagement.
If the recent incidents at Campbelltown and Edensor Pk have shown anything, besides the ability of those supposedly within the game to harm the image of the whole game they have shown that the Mainstream media are still very happy to paint the whole sport in a negative light for sensationalist purposes(it sells papers!) rather than factually reporting.
This means we need FFAHQ to be on the ball and proactive when anything that could harm the image of the game occurs(Gallop of all people should be all over this given his experiences with NRL players defecating, committing drunken shenanigans on a regular basis over his ten year reign at that sport.
2. Repair the disconnect between the owners and the FFA.
It appears that the mechanism put in place to prevent anymore Tinkler-like Dummy spits (the JALSC) isn’t quite the panacea that we had hoped it would be. This doesn’t mean it should be abandoned, maybe just tweaked (Losing Ben Buckley could be the deal-sealer here)
1. Build a plan to a future.
Football still has the feel of a sport that lives from payday to payday.
I would love to see a publically stated goal (Be the best domestic League in Asia by 2020?) and then a 5-15 year plan implemented to achieve this.
It is impossible to hit your target if you don’t know what you’re aiming for. What do we want out of out National League? What is the Plan to get there?
Most of all a plan gives you a structure and a perspective. If we have a one off bad season for whatever reason, but over the three year period, the KPIs are still trending upwards and we are still on target to achieve ‘the plan’ then naysayers can be quickly put back in their box.
August 27th 2012 @ 10:31am
@Mo_mackie said | August 27th 2012 @ 10:31am | Report comment
Whats with all the pointless abrieviations.
August 27th 2012 @ 11:49am
Kasey said | August 27th 2012 @ 11:49am | Report comment
Which abbreviations are pointless to you Mo?
August 27th 2012 @ 11:06am
Australian Rules said | August 27th 2012 @ 11:06am | Report comment
Wow.
Serious responses to THIS article..?
Wasn’t there an article awhile back about soccer fans having no sense of humour..?
August 27th 2012 @ 11:30am
Kasey said | August 27th 2012 @ 11:30am | Report comment
I’m bored at work.
As you can see by my first response, unusually for a football fan I detected the placement of tongue firmly in cheek, but I thought I’d give a reasoned response hoping to trigger a discussion and further alieviate my boredom.
You’re here…nothing interesting going on in the world of ARF? I’d have thought you’d be occupied with the boilover Suns beating Carlton & thuis likely ending Brett Ratten’s coaching career, or with ways Port can not be an embarrassment to SA footy.
Seriously, if their crowds get any lower, the president of the club(whoever that turns out to be) will be able to greet each person as they enter the stadium and still make it to his corporate box before bounce down!
August 27th 2012 @ 2:01pm
Australian Rules said | August 27th 2012 @ 2:01pm | Report comment
I’m not sure that’d get more people through the gates Kasey..but it’s maybe worth a look!
I do get a giggle from anti-AFLers choosing “crowds” as the issue to isolate when having a dig at the Australian code. Priceless stuff.
Interestingly in the NRL on the wknd, there was just 1 game above 20k and 5 games below 15k! But let’s not wade into that…I agree it’s far more interesting (and meaty) to dig into AFL.
And yes, there’s certainly plenty going on in the AFL at the moment, but soccer is just one of the many other sports that I like and follow…and I like CC’s articles. All the very
August 27th 2012 @ 3:43pm
Bondy. said | August 27th 2012 @ 3:43pm | Report comment
Australian Rules.
Your not talking about that Australian code proudly sponsored by Japan’s biggest motor firm are you,sought of makes a mockery of the Australian angle you lot run with ,Australias game proudly sponsored by Japans biggest motor firm,it’s not meant to read that way though is it.
August 27th 2012 @ 5:32pm
Australian Rules said | August 27th 2012 @ 5:32pm | Report comment
Bondy
It just wouldn’t feel Australian if it wasn’t sponsored by Japan or China… or Korea in the case of the A-League!
August 27th 2012 @ 9:50pm
amazonfan said | August 27th 2012 @ 9:50pm | Report comment
“You’re here…nothing interesting going on in the world of ARF? ”
Not to speak for AR, however quite a few Roarers are interested in more than one football code.
August 27th 2012 @ 8:28am
Johnno said | August 27th 2012 @ 8:28am | Report comment
Rivalries can’t happen anymore in Australian football. Until australian football fans learn how to behave at there game the football code, rivalries are bad for footballl in AUstralia do more harm than good. Barcelona and real madrid behave impeccably at there football matches, as does the manchester derby, and the everton v liverpool derby. If the europeans can do it why can’t we.
So local derbies and rivalries can’t be intensified until australian football fans take electution lesson on how to behave at there code. The old ethnic stuff need at the old NSL, clearly with wets sydney wanderers, coming back it has heightened that stuff. Sydney united blew there chance for A-league admission and now i can’t see the FFA cup chiming back for the time being due to crowds behaviour.
August 27th 2012 @ 8:53am
Brick Tamlin of the Pants Party said | August 27th 2012 @ 8:53am | Report comment
Please read the article by Andrew Howe on this topic please sweety and educate yourself.
August 27th 2012 @ 9:12am
Football United said | August 27th 2012 @ 9:12am | Report comment
So we should stop MVFC vs Adelaide or CCM vs NUJ just be because of a few scraps in Sydney? Just shut up please, you clearly have zero clue on this as usual. If you think A-League has half the fan issues of the European Clubs (who’s problems these days are small as it is), let alone the other codes in Australia, then you have zero right to have any sort of opinion of Football. Manchester United fans always light flares during blue moon if the away match at Eastlands is a Night fixture and both sides always cause scraps in the city centre and El Classico fixtures are notorious for fan trouble after matches, especially on the trains travelling between Barcalona and Madrid.
August 27th 2012 @ 10:01am
Kasey said | August 27th 2012 @ 10:01am | Report comment
Johnno
A severed Pig’s head on the pitch says B/S to your claim Barca and Real fans behave impeccably in their rivalry. Rivaldo’s first match back at the Nou camp IIRC.
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=severed+pigs+head+at+barca+game&view=detail&id=A513E51E58073DCB2F36693F596250E6D5E06602&FORM=IDFRIR
could you imagine the media response if AU fans did the same at MVC’s first game at Hiondmarsh this upcoming December?
August 27th 2012 @ 2:36pm
Ian Whitchurch said | August 27th 2012 @ 2:36pm | Report comment
Kasey,
You’re making the mistake of thinking if Johnno says it, it has some basis in reality. He’s Johnno. He makes stuff up. Its who he is, its what he does.
August 27th 2012 @ 2:42pm
Kasey said | August 27th 2012 @ 2:42pm | Report comment
IW:
Yes I particularly enjoy his musings about how amazingly perfect the NSL was and that we are all on a fools errand with the A-League.
I honestly think the Edensor Pk incident has done so much more to increase any divide between Old Soccer & New football than any misguided words by Papa Lowy at the HAL launch.
August 27th 2012 @ 1:10pm
Bondy. said | August 27th 2012 @ 1:10pm | Report comment
Johnno.
Perhaps I should read whats in front of me Kasey’s posted the response I was going to give..
August 27th 2012 @ 8:32am
Cpaaa said | August 27th 2012 @ 8:32am | Report comment
If this was on the right hand side of the Page i would just brush it off, but a Roar Expert ???
…. and if it was a shot at comedy, well, then lets just put this one down as a massive fail.
i still dont get it?
August 27th 2012 @ 10:37am
Happy Hooker said | August 27th 2012 @ 10:37am | Report comment
If you don’t get it, then no-one can help you.
August 27th 2012 @ 8:50am
Brick Tamlin of the Pants Party said | August 27th 2012 @ 8:50am | Report comment
Yes i agree more lightning bolts must be included on our strips.Plus we need tougher names for teams,are there any vicious animal names left?
August 27th 2012 @ 2:15pm
Kasey said | August 27th 2012 @ 2:15pm | Report comment
The Darwin Demitrious? This beast appears impervious to any form of attack yet is able to slay whole WC bids with a single sentence to certain journalists;-)
August 28th 2012 @ 4:47pm
PeterK said | August 28th 2012 @ 4:47pm | Report comment
Love it, Kasey!
August 27th 2012 @ 9:04am
Matt F said | August 27th 2012 @ 9:04am | Report comment
Nice work Chris, though I think the tongue-in-cheek nature of the article will go over the heads of some people. Actually it seems it already has…
August 27th 2012 @ 9:07am
Winter Is Coming said | August 27th 2012 @ 9:07am | Report comment
Lol, hilarious article. Great wind-up! Please people, its obviously tongue in cheek, keep the overeactions to yourselves haha.
August 27th 2012 @ 9:25am
Rusty0256 said | August 27th 2012 @ 9:25am | Report comment
I read the first couple of paragraphs and then looked at the bullet points; that was enough to tell me this was a nothing article written by another condescending ‘Expert” from an eggball code.
Chris, you are probably very good at writing League articles (I wouldn’t really know as in my world your code is as boring as bat-s); they no doubt reflect your love and passion of the game.
Unfortunately over here on the Football site you may think you’ve come across all witty and Oscar Wilde, when the reality is the only reason we’re all laughing at you is because your journalistic pants have fallen down.
August 27th 2012 @ 10:05am
AGO74 said | August 27th 2012 @ 10:05am | Report comment
Rusty – I think you need a Bex and a good lie down mate.
August 27th 2012 @ 11:51am
cos789 said | August 27th 2012 @ 11:51am | Report comment
Rusty, its a satirical joke post. If you know anything about Gallop, its very clearly having a go at him.
The article points out things he has done wrong in Rugby League, and says that similar initiatives will be attempted in Soccer, by the king of the “ummm, arrr… Err.”
Ladies and Gentlemen, may I give you, D Gallop.
August 27th 2012 @ 4:19pm
Ken said | August 27th 2012 @ 4:19pm | Report comment
You’re calling him condescending… oh the irony, Mr Wilde would be proud.
August 27th 2012 @ 9:26am
langou said | August 27th 2012 @ 9:26am | Report comment
Well, I enjoyed the article anyway
Got a laugh from me
August 27th 2012 @ 9:34am
pete4 said | August 27th 2012 @ 9:34am | Report comment
Completely pointless. The worst article I have ever read on this site.
Author – please use the other tabs next time.
August 27th 2012 @ 2:13pm
Brick Tamlin of the Pants Party said | August 27th 2012 @ 2:13pm | Report comment
Yeah guys lets get real,theres been plenty of football bashing this past week but this is just abit of fun.
August 27th 2012 @ 9:51am
Lucan said | August 27th 2012 @ 9:51am | Report comment
Stop taking everything so serious, people. Clearly a jesting article.
August 27th 2012 @ 9:56am
Kasey said | August 27th 2012 @ 9:56am | Report comment
We Are football, the sense of humour has been beaten out of many of us by decades of oppression and disappointment
August 27th 2012 @ 10:07am
Lucan said | August 27th 2012 @ 10:07am | Report comment
As a long time football supporter, you would know we have to laugh sometimes.
The other option is far too tragic.
August 27th 2012 @ 10:35am
Kasey said | August 27th 2012 @ 10:35am | Report comment
Yes Lucan, for preservation of my mental health, I try to see the lighter side of my tragic football obsession if I can. How long until Rebecca Wilson’s Opinion Pieces on football are actually moved from the Sports section to adjacent the comics?