The football gods really do have a wicked sense of humour. Yesterday, as agencies began trying to get rid of an overabundance of tickets for Saturday’s friendly between the Socceroos and Paraguay in Sydney, by offering cut prices, Melbourne Heart’s match against their city rivals officially sold-out.
Sydney Morning Herald football writer Sebastian Hassett summed things up perfectly when he tweeted, “Melbourne sells out an A-League game; Sydney can’t give away tickets to watch Cahill, Kewell, Schwarzer etc vs (World Cup quarter finalists). Infuriatingly pathetic.”
There’s a discussion that needs to be had about what is going on in Sydney, but for today, I think the Australian football community deserves to enjoy a success for a change.
While you can bet discussion at last night’s Australian Football Awards lingered on concern over the low ticket sales in Sydney, the news south of the Murray really was special and only improves the closer you look at it.
Melbourne Heart’s low membership numbers, coupled with the fact Victory members had to buy their own tickets to the game, means the overwhelming majority of people attending tonight’s game have purchased tickets specifically for this game (as opposed to attending on their memberships).
For close to 30,000 people to do so is a spectacular number for any domestic sporting event but for the A-League, beset with dwindling attendances, it almost feels like a miracle.
At the very least the derby is the shot in the arm the league desperately needs.
It’s hard to know exactly what the make up of the crowd will be, but a reasonable amount of curious parties without any specific A-League allegiances will be in attendance and that’s the key to this game. Not the result or the capacity crowd.
In my opinion, the derby can only be considered a complete success if some of these casual fans return for future games.
Yet judging by one comment I heard at a packed pre-match press conference on Thursday, I’m starting to worry about whether the A-League will take full advantage of this game.
As the Heart and Victory representatives entered the AAMI Park theatrette, that was filled with a mix of mainstream and football media, one of them turned to the crowd and muttered a snide remark about the end of the AFL season being the only reason so many people were here.
It was a cheap and unnecessary thing to say and it’s not the first time I’ve heard it muttered in public by a member of an A-League club.
For better or worse, the game needs to embrace, and eventually be embraced by, the mainstream media and it comes back to my concerns I raised on this site earlier in the week over the attitude towards media and marketing opportunities that prevails in some parts of the A-League.
I hope Football Federation Australia will endeavour to stamp this out because these sorts of opportunities are rare.
The Melbourne derby might not be Australia’s first intra-city derby, there’s been plenty of those over the years, but it is the A-League’s.
Yesterday Kevin Muscat said, “most players would probably say (the derby)’s just another game, but I don’t think it is,” and he’s right.
Tonight’s match is such an important one for so many reasons and I hope it will be a wonderful occasion both in the stands and on the football pitch.
Now lets make the most of it.
mahony
Guest
Ouch - but football was the winner. I enjoyed the night in a way I have not done so before. The few and far between Canberra derby's in the NSL did'nt 'cut the mustard'....
Andyroo
Guest
I think they get 3rd or 4th no problem but then I didn't factor they would also have the ACL to contend with.
Danny_Mac
Roar Guru
Wouldn't hold your breath about a packed Etihad (I'd like to be proven wrong though!). I think the days of 40k plus for a season match are behind the Victory for now. Maybe one day they'll pick back up again, but for now it looks like they have levelled out at 20k with big crowds being 25-28 last season. Oh and I have family in Ireland that still cant believe that Victory vs Sydney FC pulled a bigger crowd than Chelsea vs Arsenal on the same weekend all those years ago!
Danny_Mac
Roar Guru
The concern is that by the time they come back, they will be too far behind the pack. You really need to finish in the top 2 to have much of a chance... i wouldn't fancy having to travel to Adelaide, Wellington, Brisbane or Perth for a do or die finals match...
Danny_Mac
Roar Guru
Yeah but you don't want to give the south americans a climate they will be comfortable in ;-) But yes, I do think that places like Townsville, Gold Coast, Adelaide, Newcastle, Perth and Canberra should host more Socceroos games. Helps grow the the game in those regions, and in the Canberra case, reassures fans there that they haven't been forgotten by the FFA... Lets face it, it is the Socceroos that have started the revolution, so why not spread the love to those that need some lovin'
Danny_Mac
Roar Guru
Why would you think this? The primary tennants are the Storm, the Victory, the Heart and the Rebels. Storm average crowds sit around 12,000 Victory crowds have levelled off around 20,000 The Heart are an unknown quanitiy, and it is reasonable to expect that they won't exceed the 20,000 the Victory get any time soon No Australian Super Rugby franchises exceed 30,000 average attendance. Given all of this, why would you build a 55,000 seat stadium that will sit half empty for every sporting team that plays there. Empty seats equal dead space in terms of atmosphere. Plus there is the cost of running the stadium on matchday, and basically you end up with a situation similar to GCU where the cost of actually playing in the stadium bleeds the clubs dry. The Roar have had a similar problem. The State government identified the need for a rectangular stadium, and spared no expense on it. they identified that 30 - 35k was an appropriate size, and means that it is viable for the clubs that will play there, espcially given that they all represent minorities in the melbourne market, and the ground won't be able to play AFL matches to help pay/justify the stadium. if they had have gone to 55k, then you'd be seeing rock concerts and rave parties taking place there to help pay for this. even the FA have had to do this with Wembley Stadium to help pay for it. It is disappointing that the stadium cant be used for the WC bid, but again, why risk white elephant status on something that might not happen, and if it does won't happen for another 11 years? What use is it having the stadium host WC games if both of the teams in melbourne have gone bankrupt playing there, or have moved to smaller ground anyway?
Danny_Mac
Roar Guru
Again though, maybe this highlights a slight weakness in the 1 team 1 town policy. Although i agreed with it in the beginning, to distance us from the ethnic allegiances of the past, i think that now we are far enough down the road to bring 2nd teams in melbourne and sydney. the off field benefit of a whole town being able to focus on its two teams is immense, and the higher attendances that come with it can only help with the bottom line
Danny_Mac
Roar Guru
You are forgetting the Man City effect. Before their billions, they were the poor cousin, never won much, always in the shaddow of their more illustrious neighbours. But over the years, they have carved out a place as the alterntive the Man Utd, and enjoyed some resonable results in the derby as well. The Heart can use the derby to galvanise thier support, particularly as they will have the underdog tag for many years to come. if they can attract 1000 more people to the club through last nights game, then its all good. GCU and Brisbane Roar have (IMO) done a poor job to capatialise on what is effectively a local derby. And while the M3 derby felt forced at first, there is a real animosity between the cities of Newcastle and Gosford (think Liverpool-Manchester as opposed to intra-city) that is starting to translate into a solid rivalry.
Danny_Mac
Roar Guru
And given that the Victory's home game will be played at Etihad, there is the potential for an even bigger crowd. And given that the Victory's average is well down so far this season, it will artificially inflate their average too...
Danny_Mac
Roar Guru
Look at the support over in Perth the Glory have had this year, or the crowd that turned up to see a 3rd string Socceroos in Canberra on a stereotypical Canberra night! I think that there also needs to be a bit more of a strategic apporach to our friendlies. You play against teams like Greece in Melbourne, you're definately going to get 100,000 at the MCG. You need to play against countries that will draw in the crowds. England, Spain, Italy, Germany, Brazil and Argentina will always draw big crowds, Holland and France will get decent crowds. Countries with strong footballing sides/cultures and large aussie based communities such as Greece, Turkey and Croatia will draw decent crowds too. Games against countries like Paraguay, no matter how good they are, won't get big crowds - even in Melbourne - at this time of year.
Danny_Mac
Roar Guru
There is so much pettiness between the two papers, I wouldn't be surprised if the HS is only running the article to stick the boot into the Age! Actually a similar thing happened a number of years ago in Melbourne with the Storm, where neither paper was giving them much coverage, then (I assume) somebody at news tapped somebody at the HS on the shoulder and said, "you know we own this club right? maybe give them a bit of coverage" and since then there is modest coverage of them each week. Given that via FoxSports, news has a vested interest in Football, i wouldn't be surprised to see the HS take a bigger interest, particularly given the fallout with the Age, and the strength of the game down there...
Danny_Mac
Roar Guru
I agree that we need good investigative journalism, and the Age has alway prided itself on being the "better" newspaper in Melbourne. Legal cases (in defamation cases) are rarely taken all the way to court unless the person pursuing the matter has strong grounds. Because the cases are ususally high profile, the negative publicity (plus the cost) of losing isn't worth the risk. It is disappointing that for a news paper that has been such a strong supporter of football (particularly the Victory) to have gone down this path. I'm not suggesting that they shouldn't write articles about negative things regarding football, but that they would have made sure that such inflamitory articles would have been independently fact checked before going to print. It all stinks of a rush job to get something controversial out to sell papers. Something that again, the Age has always prided themselves as having been above. The simple reality is that if the article was about the Prime Minister or the CEO of a major public company, the article wouldn't have run.
Australian Football
Roar Guru
Hehehe .... like the danish frogs in its diminishing natural environment... :D
Rob
Guest
Newcastle or Townsville would have been ideal for the socceroos friendly.
Kermit is a frog
Roar Pro
oh gosh, they're quality. back to what Fussyballs said, I posit.
Victer
Guest
The socceroo game should have been in perth. They would have gotten a good crowd at Subi
Midfielder
Guest
Heart winnnnnnnnnnnnnn
Ben of Phnom Penh
Guest
It would have meant more if it had been held in Perth or Adelaide. In Sydney it becomes "just another friendly".
Ben of Phnom Penh
Guest
Football Fan, the derby does play a role in galvanising Heart members and generating new interest in the club from the sporting public. Gate receipts are the least issue here, it the 'legacy effect' of derbies that is important.
Rellum
Roar Guru
I am pumped now, can’t wait!!!!! 3-2 to the Heart, 2 two reds, a penalty to Muscat and finished off with an Aloisi tap-in in the 96th min. Go the Heart