Football Federation Australia CEO Ben Buckley during the launch of the A-League season in Sydney, Monday, Aug. 2, 2010. (AAP Image/Dean Lewins)
Football Federation Australia was already having a bad week before former A-League boss Archie Fraser stuck the knife in with a remarkable attack on the governing body and CEO Ben Buckley (above) on The World Game website.
Fraser, who quit as CEO of the A-League in April and worked to save the North Queensland Fury, didn’t mince words in his attack, addressing a number of issues of great concern for football in this country.
Fraser’s attack is important for a number of reasons: for raising and openly discussing the leadership at the FFA and Ben Buckley’s role; what impact the World Cup bid is having on the league; asking why there has been so much personnel change at the FFA; raising questions about the Sydney Rovers’ viability; asking why it took so long to step in and help the Newcastle Jets; and shinning a light on the major issues of scheduling and promotion.
The “Archie Fraser manifesto” deserves a deeper examination as we need to understand the reasons why the A-League is faltering (and so we can challenge the fallacy that it’s the sole result of a lack of interest).
Archie said:
– “The only focus right now at the FFA is the World Cup bid and the A-League has been left to become a basket case.
“The A-League is suffering. Hopefully it will still be there in December when FIFA decides whether we do or don’t get the World Cup.
“The structure of the league is wrong. It needs more autonomy and to be separated from the FFA and allowed to look after its own affairs.”
Without autonomy within the FFA, the A-League has become the forgotten child.
The attitude that the league will grow on its own has corrupted the FFA’s thinking since the very beginning. They underestimated the task of developing the league and the extent of the shift of resources and attention from the A-League to the World Cup bid has exposed that flawed logic – failing to secure its foundation, which it should have been doing.
All new leagues in the modern football era, from the USA to Japan to China, have suffered a dip in popularity after the initial boom, so it was imperative that the A-League was nurtured during this period rather than ignored.
We can only hope the bid is successful or that the FFA’s resources and finances are switched back to the A-League before it’s too late.
One shudders to think what will happen if the bid in unsuccessful. With all its eggs in the World Cup basket, what will become of the A-League?
– “It needs some grunt in a competitive market at a critical time for the game. Right now the league is paralysed. The FFA has taken its eye off the ball and that’s why I quit.
“The other codes must be looking at us and thinking how good is this? They will be saying, ‘Thank God they haven’t been able to get it right yet. Because when they do we will be in a bit of trouble’.
“My question is why are the directors not doing anything about it? Why is the FFA board sitting back and allowing this to happen?”
This speaks for itself.
Where is the “grunt” in competing in the overcrowded Australian market and determination to address the issues around the decrease in crowds?
– “There is no promotion of the game and no cohesive strategy. When I was head of the A-League I couldn’t make any decisions, and no decisions were ever made until the last minute. Everything went through Ben Buckley.”
If this is true then it’s little wonder the A-League’s promotion has been so non-existent.
The A-League’s running, therefore, needed to be more autonomous during this World Cup bid period, and more power given to current boss Lyall Gorman (who has been almost invisible throughout this crisis).
Promotion and marketing, when compared to the A-League’s launch, is completely inadequate.
More needs to be done and Buckley must be more proactive in outsourcing that promotion if the FFA cannot handle it.
– “The organisation is purely reactive and never stands up for the game. We never take on the other codes and a lot of people within the FFA seem to be happy with that.”
We saw this when the likes of Andrew Demetriou so easily hijacked the World Cup bid agenda.
Where was the equivalent amount of chest beating from the FFA supporting their cause?
The FFA had the higher moral ground – trying to win the rights to host an event bigger than the Sydney Olympics that would be for all Australians to enjoy – and yet that message was buried in semantics dictated by rival codes (Etihad Stadium’s availability, the impact on the AFL/NRL seasons, etc).
– “Questions need to be asked over why (chief commercial officer) John O’Sullivan, (operations manager) Matt Phelan left, and why were (head of corporate and public affairs) Bonita Mersiades and (chief financial officer) Ian Lewis given the heave-ho.”
The FFA is a desperately understaffed organisation. A staff of 106 is not enough to handle the Socceroos, A-League and the World Cup bid.
So any clashes or tensions within that staff need to be addressed and overcome immediately if those 106 people are to maximise their abilities for the cause of growing football in this country.
They need to be working beyond their means to compensate for the shortfall, not in a poisonous environment.
– “The dire financial straits at Newcastle have been brewing for nine months. The FFA knew all about it. Nobody sat down and talked to them and offered to help until the very last minute. It’s really a disgrace.”
Was Con Constantine’s uneasy relationship with the FFA the cause for their lackluster response to the Jets’ financial situation?
Only they know.
But with North Queensland Fury and Adelaide United in the FFA’s hands, and clubs such as Gold Coast United needing more than just a helping hand, how can the FFA, with its modest size and financial clout, support so many clubs?
When the MLS went through its financial crisis, it had the support of a few corporate high flyers who could bankroll the clubs.
The FFA needs to keep the likes of Constantine and Clive Palmer involved in the game and actively reach out to corporate Australia, for it cannot bankroll the whole competition itself – certainly if it doesn’t have the prospect of an Australian World Cup in 2022.
It needs to be cutting down the $25 million loss it makes per season.
It also needs to release the shackles on clubs so they can be more active in finding their own revenue streams.
The clubs will be able to do their own apparel deals next season, which will help in a small way, but they need to be given more freedom in other areas.
– “They (Melbourne Heart) only got 4,000 odd and the game should never have been played. The draw is nothing like the one that was under consideration back in April.”
Scheduling needs to be maximised in this crossover period between the A-League and the AFL/NRL seasons.
As fans now concede, the league can’t compete with these rival codes and the A-League is being buried in terms of attention.
So why have idiosyncrasies in the schedule such as Adelaide United hosting Newcastle Jets twice in the first six rounds, giving Gold Coast United (struggling at the best of times) two byes within the opening month of the season and scheduling a Melbourne Heart home game so close to an AFL finals match (knowing it would more than likely be staged in Victoria)?
Why hurt your cause by giving the media and fans even more reason to switch off or take no interest?
They need to accept the crossover into the AFL/NRL seasons just doesn’t work with the limited amount of promotion they can give the league.
– “I don’t think you will see them (Sydney Rovers) next season because the backing just isn’t there at the moment. There were other more deserving causes for an A-League licence.”
The circumstances in which the Rovers were handed the 12th A-League licence are deserving of their own investigation. But now they are in and set to make their debut in less than twelve months, we must ask where are they at in terms of backing and how the can learn from the Fury, Gold Coast and Melbourne Heart and build a sustainable supporter base before their entry.
Unlike Heart, they do have a wide and distinctive geographical base to their cross-town rivals, but with the NRL notching up record numbers in western Sydney, and the AFL making serious noise in the region with a seemingly bottomless pit of reserves to throw at Greater Western Sydney (GWS), how can an A-League franchise survive and prosper with feeble support from the FFA?
Fraser certainly provided us with some serious questions to ponder.
And what’s even more concerning is there remain some issues he didn’t touch on, such as the limitations of the Fox Sports television deal and the options for the next, the concerns over ticketing prices relative to the product, the viability of Gold Coast United, and the reasons why A-League crowd numbers are down.
These issues need to be discussed in a public forum, and Fraser should be praised rather than condemned (just as football fans that discuss these issues shouldn’t be branded as anti-A-League).
The crisis is real and to say nothing is to allow the FFA to steer the A-League down a path where it appears doomed.
Sitting idly by and expecting the A-League to grow of its own volition is the sort of shortsighted thinking that’s led the league into its current malaise under the FFA’s control.
Also, by not shinning a light on and openly discussing the various reasons why crowds remain lackluster, the football community will only fuel the anti-soccer brigade who argue a lack of interest is solely to blame for the stagnation.
Fraser’s attack should act as the impetus for the custodians of the game – and many of its fans – to wake up before it’s too late and the A-League morphs into the NSL Mark II.
True Tah
Guest
Fly on the Wall what you said shows exactly why we Australians are spoilt for choice when it comes to professional sport. To be frank, following the NRL finals, the Bledisloe and the AFL final is a bit overwhelming. Having said that, futbol can also be exciting, but outside the FIFA WC, it struggles to dominate mainstream interest. Maybe the 2011 Asian Cup can get some decent publicity.
jimbo
Roar Guru
Football is the number one code in Australia, its the most popular played football code in this country by a long way Australia wide - not just in one or two states.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
Fly on the Wall I doubt there are (m)any people in Australia who have actually "grown up" with all 4 codes - three, perhaps, but, most likely, only two. For me it was AFL & Football. On Friday, I tuned in to the Geelong v Fremantle semi-final (why it called "semi-final" when there are 6 teams remaining, suggests English may not the the primary language of the AFL hierarchy?) After 15 minutes the contest was over. I switched over to ABC TV' which was screening "Waking the Dead" ... a remarkable irony when you consider what was occurring on Channel 7, don't you think? ;-) I applaud the AFL fans, who staunchly still sat in the cold & rain at the MCG for the next 1.5 hours when there was no contest. I then watched one of the most dramatic football matches, thus far, in the EPL - Everton v Man United. Man U were 3-1 up with only injury time remaining - a seemingly invincible position for one of the most powerful football teams in the world. But, as Timmy Cahill showed the world - perhaps, 1/2 BILLION people were watching Timmy last night - in football the game is still alive and anything can happen right until the final whistle. The nature of the scoring in football simply means no sport can produce the same drama as football does in the final minutes of a match.. http://player.sbs.com.au/theworldgame#/twg_08/GlobalGame/EPL_Highlights/playlist/Everton-v-Manchester-United
Fly on the Wall
Guest
I realise there are a lot of diehard soccer fans on this forum, and in this blog, but if you have grown up with all 4 football codes and have followed them to some degree for most of your life then there is just no way you could ever rank soccer in the top 2 based on the slowness and unattractiveness of the game. Take Saturday (yesterday): two cracking NRL finals, a thrilling AFL final and a Bledisloe Test - all 4 were decided a combined margin of 12 points with loads of excitement.
Victer
Guest
Fussball, it is there to promote attacking intent from both sides in order to open up the game. i.e no points for a draw means teams will be forced to attack from the get go. especially if they have to have a goal difference of three to get maximum points as time isn't on either teams side. If a goal is scored then it is at this time the winning team usually retreats to defend it and one side of the field is bottled up, i want to avoid this by giving the winning team incentive to get another goal and then maybe another. Of course the other team will also have incentive to attack to get level and then to increase their GD after. The reason why many football games have become defensive as over time teams around the world know they can hold on to a 1-0 or a draw and get points. It's the incentives that have to be changed, the game itself is absolutely fine.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
MF That's fantastic! I recall your saying you no longer watched the full 90-minutes of Football matches but I'm delighted you've returned to watching football. I agree, once you've been bitten by the football bug all other sports become pretty pedestrian. ;-)
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
Victer That's an interesting initiative you've outlined. But, I don't see how it promotes "attacking football". a) MVFC v Perth * MVFC never stopped attacking for 90 minutes and had 15 attempts on goal and 11 corners - much more than Peth but .... Perth won 2-0! b) MVFC v NQF * again MVFC never stopped attacking for 90 minutes and had 31 attempts on goal and 15 corners but .... final score 2-2, which is a GD of ZERO! So, in my opinion "attacking football" does not always result in goals and, for the football purists, a 0-0 draw is usually more exciting than a 4-0 win.
Mister Football
Guest
fussball I would probably watch as much A-League as I watch AFL each week (when the seasons overlap). I try and catch most of the Heart and Victory games, and if SFC is losing, I might watch the last 15 minutes. So it's only a small cross-section of games, and personally, at this early stage of the season, I believe the case for a massive improvement in the quality of the A-League is over-stated. For instance. you would have seen the CCM vs Victory game - now surely you noticed it followed a very similar theme to just about every other time they have met over the course of the A-League's history. I don't need to upset CCM supporters, but I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. I've seen snippets of one or two AU and Roar games, and I have seen examples of quality passing and goal scoring opportunities - but for the time being, it's a long bow to extapolate that over all 11 clubs. I should add - I'm not fussed by that - it's a second tier league, and I watch it from that perspective - I don't have huge expectations, and what's more, there are unique aspects of the A-League that you don't see in competitions of the same standing.
Victer
Guest
I agree mister football. That style will not attract Aussies to the a-league. Games have to almost be all out attack to get the average person to turn their head. The only way I can think of doing this is by attaching the points system to goal difference. i.e goal difference of one = 1 point goal difference of two = 2 points goal difference of three = 3 points no points for draws. That'll teach them not to sit back and protect their one goal till the end of the game.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
MF In forming your view, can you kindly tell us: how many A-League matches have you actually watched for the full 90 minutes - at the ground this year or, at least, on TV? You have mentioned on numerous occasions that you don't watch football any more - in fact, did you not mention you only watched the last 15 minutes of matches during the 2010 WC?
AndyRoo
Roar Guru
I disagree there Mister Football, I think it's only Heart that fit your description. Theres not a lot of passing it backwards. Brisbane, Adelaide and Nth QLD are all playing much better than they were last year. Brisbane have been fantastic to watch. CCM are also a lot better..... but then there coming of a pretty low base. I haven't seen a lot of Victory but I will remedy that this week since they are hosting the Roar.
Mister Football
Guest
People are saying the games are better - but in that slow, continental tactical defnsive sort of way - it's not necessarily everyone's cup of tea - nor will it get people new to soccer queuing up.
Aussie born Croat
Guest
I hope I will be proven wrong but it is starting to look like that the only chance for the Hyundai A League to survive is if the World Cup bid is successful. If not then potential investors will be weary of entering a Palmer or Constantine scenario.
Realfootball
Guest
Ironic that Sydney are notable for a lack of promotion and free falling crowds. And Lowy part owns the club. Does Lugt have any real credibility? If you think he does, Fuss, good for you. I don't. He simply said what I would expect him to say.
Realfootball
Guest
Well said. Could not agree more. Put up or shut time for the FFA.
AndyRoo
Roar Guru
how about a mixed zone at A elague games...that's also free :) My idea would be one training session at every socceroos camp would be mufti training. they could wear whatever A league shirt the players feel most associated with, if they never played in the A league or don't support an A league team they can wear the normal Austrlaian training shirt. Would be great to see Oar, Vidosic, Jedi, Ruka and co in there a league top. Then next camp get each player to wear the shirt of their junior club.
hp
Guest
I think people overly criticise Ben Buckley too much. As you said he's not a football person, but a negotiator. The guy plays diplomat for the FFA. I agree, if Lowy thinks he's the manfor the job, it was purely for business reasons.
dasilva
Roar Guru
The thing is Victer, people have been saying that the standard of football this year is to be higher then any previous years of the A-league and that majority of the sides in the A-league has been playing attacking football. Even SBS who were previously the biggest critics of the A-league is basically saying that. However does anyone actually knows that? Outside the few football circles, who's spreading that message People assume that the A-league is more boring and less entertaining then overseas league. Even if the league is improving in standards the public wouldn't know about it. It doesn't help when there is no FTA coverage where football fans can't check the progress of the A-league It would help if we have someone from FFA spreading the gospel of hte A-league and trying to change the perception of the A-league being boring.
Victer
Guest
Leaders don't sell the product, the product sells the product. Promotion might get someone to a game once, but if they see a defensive stalemate they will not return. We can't offer people the best players in the world, so we have to make sure the football is attacking and entertaining each and every week. You want more long term customers you have to give them something in return, a guarantee it will be worth their while a majority of the time.
Midfielder
Guest
Victer HHHHHHHHHMMMMMMMMMmmm we want a leader ... many see a leader as someone who gets out in front of the cameras does door stops talks up the local product appears confident etc... but a camera shy person who looks very uncomfortable on TV or to listen to on radio and who gives the impression he would look it all to end does not put bums on seats...