Roar Rookie
Joined August 2010
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With the finals upon us, I began thinking about the players that will shape the business end of the 2010 season. Obviously the ball-magnets…
[caption id="attachment_26147" caption="AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou (R) addresses the media. Slattery Images"][/caption] Sometimes sport can take you to unexpected places, and last week in…
[caption id="attachment_22635" caption="England\'s Graeme Swann, right, takes the final wicket of Australia\'s Brad Haddin, 4th right, to dismiss Australia to win the Ashes on…
Interesting you should see it like that because from where I am (in Melbourne) it feels as though the A League is getting more coverage than ever – and legitimate coverage at that, not just patronising ‘oh throw a few lines in about wogball’ like it used to be.
As for the crowds, I’d need to look at some stats but surely the early form of previous outsiders suggests these may pick up as word of the performances of Perth and Adelaide for example spreads.
The length and timing of the season is an interesting factor though. Potentially the A-League should have an open goal to score match day fans when competing almost solely with cricket for attention. I think this still needs some serious marketing though.
Here's an idea: the AFL should buy the FFA
Fantastic, provocative, well-written article. Great stuff.
Clearly the idea would never happen but there are some obvious infrastructure merits for soccer and potential financial gains for AFL.
There’s a presupposition however that the AFL would put its business imperative before its competitive imperative and so long as the game is run by ex-players and with such fierce animosity to rival codes I can’t see that changing. I get the impression, and without casting judgement, that the AFL would be happier to see soccer simply disappear than try to profit from its growth.
I’d love to be in the room when Demetriou pitched the idea to Buckley though!
Here's an idea: the AFL should buy the FFA
Cheers Mister Football. Nice spot, fancy a job as a proof reader?
I think I was lost in a coaching amalgam of Nathan Buckley and Mick Malthouse…
Saluting those about to ruck in the AFL Finals
…I’ll make sure my next article is titled “AFL Zealots, defensive much?”
Is Demetriou a great leader or great at spin?
I know I’ll regret beginning this conversation but here goes…
Mr Tron,
The purpose of the piece wasn’t to provide a verbatim account of Andrew Demetriou’s speech – I’m sure that’s available through Monash University, the lecture’s host if you are interested.
The intent of the piece was to actually praise Demetriou and show that while some people (specifically soccer and NRL fans) may see him as an aggressive Footy-above-all-else bully, there is actually much more to him and his organisation. As I indicate at the end, I could not imagine Gallop for example delivering a similar lecture with the same credentials.
However, what I also wanted to raise was the question of whether I/we are perhaps believing too much of what is being said and how it is being presented. In other words, a call to The Roar message board for their opinions on The AFL and its CEO and to ascertain whether there is agreement that he is good for his code and the communities he claims to support or whether it is just good commercial PR.
The Wayne Carey example I think is indicative as Demetriou and his organisation publicly support campaigns and programs to prevent violence against women but then celebrate the achievements of a man well-known for being involved in violence involving women.
Is Demetriou a great leader or great at spin?
That’s more like it Davstar – but, as with TomC’s point, surely it doesn’t whether his goal is commercial gain or social benefit as long as the league is doing good?
Is Demetriou a great leader or great at spin?
Thanks for the comment Redb,
Like it or not (and whether they chose to or not) outside of the game’s immediate followers it is the Cousins and the Careys who define the code. They are the blokes who get the broader media coverage. They are the blokes who have set two of the most major recent footballing agendas (for whatever reasons).
Is Demetriou a great leader or great at spin?
Hmmm, I’m not really sure what you’re getting at Joel, with any of your points..
Firstly, where is the condemnation? I thought I was being positive to Demetriou and was wondering what the opinion of others was on him – especially considering this site has carried a lead article on David Gallop recently, who I think is a joke.
Secondly, while the title may not be mutually exclusive, the list of successes The AFL is keen to promote is very long. My point is to ask whether anyone believes it to be meaningful. The Wayne Carey issue for example, is that hypocrisy or just unfortunate?
Is Demetriou a great leader or great at spin?
Agreed Ian. It’s interesting isn’t it that batting averages are through the roof in recent years with numerous players averaging close to or over 50 yet actual batting technique arguably becoming poorer. It looks like we’re in a generation of flat track bullies.
Test cricket is really under threat from itself
Gallop is a News Ltd puppet whose strings almost visibly move every time he sits awkwardly at a press conference.
Any comparison with AFL is delusional. The NRL should be more concerned with shoring the defences against Soccer overtaking it rather than challenging upwards. I couldn’t help but laugh watching Benny Elias on One HD last night talking about poaching Rugby Union’s best players. What is the incentive?
And as for people comparing Gallop to Demetriou – do me a favour. Only this week Demetriou (Chair of the Federal Government’s Multicultural Advisory Council) delivered a Human Rights Law Centre Annual Lecture. I assume at the same time Gallop was asking his News paymasters what his next public statement on the state of appalling video-refereeing should be…
Meet the new David Gallop, a tough talking NRL CEO
I tried to steer away from even acknowledging that scenario, although I fear you’re correct.
But here’s the paradox – boring cricket = poor attendance, low public interest and ultimately lower advertising revenue.
Test cricket is really under threat from itself
Brett – I have to disagree with you about Australian wickets mate. The WACA is neither a fast-track nor anywhere near its best. And with Adelaide there’s a difference between a flat track which it always has been and a road which it has become.
I guess my specific Australian question is how many Ashes squads will be picked specifically for the ground? Answer, possibly a second spinner (depending on the Smith / Hauritz situation) at Sydney only. I would love there to be more localised variations – such as picking a genuine quick at Perth simply to frighten the opposition or for Brisbane and Melbourne to offer something consistently ground-specific for the side to prepare for.
Perhaps it’s because of the volume of cricket across the various formats but it feels as though curators are preparing pitches by numbers, resulting in pretty up-and-down cricket.
Test cricket is really under threat from itself
Thanks Vinay – Quick question, following my own train of thought. When was the last time you were excited about a contest because of a side’s specific skills at a particular venue? For example, watching Lillee and Thomson in Perth, Warne and Macgill in tandem at Sydney or the great swing / seam bowlers like Alderman, Reiffel and McGrath on English greentops?
You’re right that scheduling plays a big part but with the poor standard of wickets around the world bowling is becoming a means to an end to serve up runs.
Test cricket is really under threat from itself
Lolly – Great point about Pakistan’s bowling. However, the point I was making was more about how English wickets allow that particular type of bowling to flourish – and that being a novelty. Wickets in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia, West Indies are now so lifeless that any local variation has almost been removed from the game. The examples of Johnson and Bollinger show how conditioned they are to bowling a certain way as most of their cricket is played in Australian ‘drop-in’ conditions with Kookaburra balls.
Test cricket is really under threat from itself
VC – Thanks, and I agree with you about scheduling. I could easily have strayed into that territory but 500 words is not much to work with! The ECB has really dropped the ball this year with a month’s break in the international summer to allow for domestic T20 – and don’t get me started on admission prices…
Test cricket is really under threat from itself
Ah, I see, you KNOW. Thanks for explaining that for me. Is Fussball ist unser leben also wrong? And are you going to grace us with any kind of explanation or do we just take your word for it?
Here's an idea: the AFL should buy the FFA