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The football on the pitch was outstanding for the first week of the finals, but Football Federation Australia deserve a roasting for their administration off it.
Congratulations to Perth Glory and Brisbane Roar, who each qualified for the A-League semi-finals on the back of contrasting performances.
Glory were hugely impressive in their 2-0 win over a dismal Melbourne City at AAMI Park, with central defender Dino Djulbic turning in a man-of-the-match performance in almost single-handedly keeping City’s much-vaunted attack at bay.
It was a superb all-round display from the visitors – although it must be said City’s total lack of intensity was alarming for a game of such importance.
A campaign that started with so much promise for the A-League’s resident moneybags – and which included a mid-season FFA Cup triumph – ended with barely a whimper.
Is that a good enough result for the City Football Group? Probably not.
But when they neglected to replace the departed John van ‘t Schip with an experienced coach midway through the season, it said much about where the owners’ priorities lie.
Meanwhile, Brisbane Roar took a typically nail-biting route to the final four, coming from behind to beat the Western Sydney Wanderers on penalties following a gripping 1-1 draw at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night.
Substitute goalkeeper Jamie Young proved the hero in a game that had everything, saving Jumpei Kusukami’s tame sudden-death penalty to book a semi-final showdown with Melbourne Victory.
The Roar shot-stopper ended hopes of a Sydney derby in the process, dashing the FFA’s money-spinning dream of hosting two semi-final derbies next weekend.
And with the elimination finals both attracting sub-par attendances, questions must really be asked of the way our game’s governing body continues to handle the game.
At some point, FFA officials need to ask themselves why they run football in this country. Is it to benefit supporters? Or simply to keep themselves in a job?
Because, for all intents and purposes, this season has been another public relations fiasco, with just about every decision seemingly made in spite of fans, rather than for them.
Take ticket prices. Where FFA could have had the easiest sell in the world and attracted a crowd of more than 30,000 for Thomas Broich’s potential farewell, they instead effectively halved the gate by charging fans more than double the price for the same seats they’ve sat in all season.
So not only do they infuriate rusted-on fans, they turn casual fans away as well, who baulk at paying such high prices for what many of them already consider to be a low-quality competition.
And the FFA do it all purely to make a quick buck, with no rationale offered to fans to explain the decision-making process.
One can assume they were satisfied with crowds of 17,000 in Brisbane and less than 10,000 in Melbourne – at 7pm on a Sunday night – but the truth is those figures are embarrassing for finals fixtures.
And when you combine it with how difficult it is to actually buy tickets – that’s if the Ticketek website is even working – it all adds up to a miserable experience for fans.
In fact, the match-going experience has been increasingly problematic for fans all season.
But given that most journalists sit high up in the press box – far removed from the concerns of the average A-League supporter – you won’t read much analysis about that in the mainstream media.
It all contributes to an us-versus-them mentality, and it means the various components that make up our football culture are rarely working in sync.
All of which is a shame, because both elimination finals were high-quality affairs. Here’s hoping it’s a similar story (on the field) next weekend.
And if FFA is hell-bent on continuing with a six-team finals series next season, maybe they could surprise us all by setting some sensible ticket prices and kick-off times as well.