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It’s a constant debate in football whether the way you play is as important as whether you win or not. Should the style of play matter be entertaining for the neutrals or does the end justify the means?
A lot of time you will hear from fans, “I just want my team to win and I don’t care how.”
That is a legitimate position to have.
However, from an Australian prospective we have to realise that the A-League isn’t part of our national consciousness and not as well supported when compared to other major leagues in the world. We also want to increase the amount of fans watching the A-League, especially when the crowds have dropped this year.
It’s okay to say that style doesn’t matter and that clubs are just obligated to please the fans of the club and no one else when you are supporting a large club with many fans with an international presence like a Celtic, Rangers, Chelsea, Manchester United or Liverpool.
However, I argue that for the A-League, the “style doesn’t matter attitude” is counterproductive.
When new viewers first watch the A-league, they are watching it from a prospective of a neutral, especially the Eurosnobs. Entertainment is what a neutral wants from watching a match. We want to turn those neutrals into a fan of a particular club. I believe that the style of play is the most important way of doing that.
We could say that these people who expect entertainment don’t really understand what it’s like to be a true fan of football. And there is certainly some truth to that statement.
However, can we afford to be up in our moral high ground and look down on people we want to convert? It’s the FFA responsibility to attract fans, not the other way around.
If neutrals leave the match after being thoroughly entertained, irrespective of the result, they may come back. If they aren’t, then they switch the channel and watch the EPL or another sport.
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