As we all know by now, the FFA has changed the rules to the marquee system to allow duel marquees with an additional Australian marquee allowed to be exempted from the salary cap.
The obvious benefits of this system are that clubs will be able to sign returning Socceroosm, and you can bet there will be a few after the World Cup and Asian Cup. This will no doubt help the standard of the league and can spark real excitement amongst fans and supporters.
The names such as Marco Bresciano, Scott Chipperfield, Grella, Nicky Carle, and even the greats, Harry Kewell and Mark Viduka, have been talked about in regards to joining clubs and lighting up the league.
Conversely, the new rules threaten the very balance and survival of the league.
It’s no secret that a number of clubs in the A-League are financially struggling, to say the least. This rule will no doubt benefit the richer clubs such as Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory.
With clubs such as Fury and Gold Coast on a knife edge, you have to question if this is going to harm the League in the short and medium term.
Some people have also said that the rule neglects Asia and should be either an Australian marquee and/or an Asian marquee to show the AFC we are open to better our relations with the AFC Confederation.
Whether you think this move from the FFA is smart, brave, bold, or stupid, it’s important to consider the benefits players such as Robbie Fowler bring to the A-League, and how people from all clubs came to watch the former Liverpool legend ply his trade.
There are about 140 Aussies in overseas leagues. Many of them won’t be returning anytime soon. However, in years to come, many will want to come and give something back to the League.
I feel this rule will benefit the A-league in the long term, no matter what. But in the short to medium term, it is highly debatable.
Billy
Guest
come on Glory, storming the league next season, loving the new marquee rule now that we signed fowler, imagine an attacking line up that consists of fowler, sterjovski, jelic, then at the back the likes of todd, burns and coyne. Come on Glory!!!
whiskeymac
Guest
i posted this last night, and well, will post it here again. not all clubs will be able to afford or employ 2 marquees. for those that do it may be an advantage that will see them (ie am thinking of the bigger clubs (MV, SFC, GCU (maybe) and PG) pull ahead. not all salary caps can now be said to be equal, or at least level, where there is a potential for such a massive discrepancy between the haves and the have nots. personally i like the idea, not least because it has the potential to allow those large clubs to bring in some wow factor players and bring in curious crowds and stubborn neutrals, but i wonder what it does to the marquee and salary cap concept. sure the cap is still there and stops clubs overspending and encourages a degree of fiscal responsibility, but if one of its designs was to act as a means of levelling the squads and or being a mechanism to even the competition, this now appears to be a small but discernibile economic and philosophical shift away from the enforced sporting socialism seen in the first few seasons. or maybe not. maybe this was always a plan to continually improve the leagues appeal. but can many clubs really afford 2 marquees? its going to come down to someone like the nix boss and or Sage or Palmer to make the most of this and accept the financial loss. are there now 3 or 4 marquees? 2 kids, one Aussie and one Johnny foreigner?
Con Stamocostas
Roar Pro
If Viduka signs for an A League club next season dibs on calling the Australian Marquee the "Viduka Rule"
Mister Football
Roar Guru
140 players overseas - at least one hundred of them would not raise the standard of the A-League one bit. Does the return of aging Socceroos looking for one last pay cheque really help? Season just past, Perth had three of them. Milicevic has come and gone. Even two greats like Zelic and Okon were there in the earlier years. Culina returned very much in his prime, absolutely blitzed it in the early rounds, as did GCU, talk of the town, no shortage of hype, could barely break 4,000 crowds.
Midfielder
Guest
All helps in the fight to retain your best talent.