The time has come for the A-League to embrace an existence as a pure football competition by doing away with its finals system, and adopting a ‘first past the post’ system of determining its champion.
Football in Australia shouldn’t align itself with competitions such as the AFL and NRL, where a Grand Final win is the ultimate goal, as this is not the case in almost every other football competition around the world.
Currently, the ‘traditional’ champion of the A-League – referred to as the premiers – receive far less acknowledgement than the winners of the Grand Final.
In the seven year history of the A-League, the team finishing as premiers has also gone on to win the Grand Final four times. Based on such data, an argument could be made that nothing needs changing; if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
However, in two of the three years where the premiers haven’t won the Grand Final, they have failed to even qualify for the season ending showpiece. These teams were the best for the entire season, but weren’t given the recognition the achievement deserves.
Winning the premiership is met with considerably less fanfare. When the Central Coast Mariners secured the premiership this season playing away against Wellington, the A-League didn’t even think enough of their premiers to have the premiership trophy on hand at the game to present to the team.
The team themselves didn’t seem like winning the premiership mattered all that much either, only clapping mildly at the final whistle once the title was secured. Contrast that with Sydney FC’s wild celebrations after securing a finals spot on the final day of the season.
Premiers act nonchalant; the team that finishes sixth cavorting as if they’ve won the World Cup – surely there is something wrong with this.
Adopting a system whereby the season’s premiers were considered the league’s champions would allow the A-League to legitimately crown the best team throughout the entire season, not simply the one who can get their act together for the last few weeks.
This is football after all, and football leagues traditionally crown their champs as those ‘first past the post’. The English Premier League is set for a fantastic final day this weekend, with the league title still up for grabs because a team isn’t ‘past the post’ yet.
In this era of professional sport, money – particularly TV money – rules, and removing the seven games of the A-League finals would undoubtedly cost the league significant revenue.
A solution to this loss of TV dollars would be the introduction of the long-overdue FFA Cup. A knock-out cup competition, comprising teams from the A-League and top teams from state premier leagues would more than replace the games, and therefore the revenue, lost by the removal of the finals series.
Seven finals games would be replaced by fifteen knockout cup games (based on a 16 team cup competition) played throughout the season, culminating with a season-ending showpiece – the FFA Cup final – which would replace the Grand Final.
The removal of the finals series would give adequate recognition to the A-League’s true champions, whilst paving the way for an FFA Cup, which is itself long overdue. These moves would allow the A-League to distinguish itself as more than just another Australian footy code.
philk
Guest
agree with you Dinoweb,I too like the finals series as a cup-type competition, short and sweet as it is, it certainly keeps fans entertained for longer than the 27 round competition and brings in much needed revenue for the FFA. The finals series winners are worthy of the 2nd ACL spot (similar to the cup winners in Japan, Korea, China etc). However, they will never be A-League Champions so let's get the names right.
Dinoweb
Guest
I agree entirely that the champions are the team at the top of the table at the end of the season. I'm a Roar supporter and from a purely footballing point of view, I'd prefer to have seen the Roar crowned winners of the competition, and was very dissappointed that they finished second. Aboloshing the finals series would rectify this and make the premiership far more important. From a what is best for the sport point of view, there can be no argument that the A-League currently needs the grand final showpiece to increase its presence in the minds of the general sporting public. Once again as a Roar supporter, the past two GF's at Suncorp have been fantastic, and this year was certainly a decent consolation after the dissappointment of the regular season, but personally I do not put the same emphasis on that win as the Premiership. The contentious penalty decision certainly goes a long way to highlighting why the Premiership is far more important in football than a grand final. Knockout comps have been tried and failed before in Austrlia. There just really isn't the depth of competition in this country at the moment to make it a genuinely worthwhile contest. I'd much rather go to Suncorp and watch Roar play agianst any A-League team for the grand final then West Gulugubba for some trophy with no real history or point. The article also conveniently misses the point that there are European Cup places up for grabs in the EPL, and relegation battles at the other end of the table to keep fans interested for the majority of the season. ACL places don't have that sort of prestiege here at the moment, and there is no relegation battle. This is replaced by the finals competition, something which I am more than happy to see continue.
JohnL
Guest
I think people forget that when Roar were crowned Premiers, they didn't receive the trophy until their last home game of the season. And they won this title a few games before this.
rip Enke
Guest
Didn't read all the previous comments, but I do agree with the spirit of what you are saying. For me the winner of the HAL finish top of the table at the end of the season, the finals are more like a cup competition, the the standings at the end of the HAL, decides who gets to play in said cup. Promotion and relegation competition is so far away, I do not understand why it gets mentioned? We only have ten team's for God's sake.
philk
Guest
philipcoates, You obviously have trouble understanding plain english, I said that it doesn't matter how many rounds are played ,that is determined by the size of the league, I can understand you're frustration as a Victory supporter, big on expectation, poor on execution. You obviously can't stand the fact that the "little club that could" DID despite the many hurdles that they had to overcome!!
philipcoates
Guest
philk, one minute you are saying "let's do the thing the way World Football does it" and the next thing you are saying "it matters not" that we do things differently. At least TRY and be consistent. It's hard to argue with a moving target that changes his mind from one reply to another.
philipcoates
Guest
Which bit dont you understand ... the Mariners got their reward for being top of the table ... they were named Premiers, they won a Plate ... congrats to them. They were the best team over the season. Secondly there is a finals comp and it was won by another team. The FFA happen to call that the Champions. It's only a word. They could have called them the Unholy Bollocks for all I care but they chose the word Champions. I didn't say that would make them the 'best team in the land'. It would only make them winners of the finals series. You're creating an argument for yourself. I said they are called Champions. Such is life. If we had an FFA Cup, and that was won by a State League side would that make them the best team in the land? Of course not, it would make them FFA Cup Winners (or whatever word FFA chose to call it).
philk
Guest
philipcoates...here is another point to debate in your scenario of GRAND FINAL winners being the best team in the land....if Melbourne Heart had managed to win the GRAND FINAL, possibly via a couple of "lucky" wins, by your reckoning they are deserved champions of the A-League despite being 14 points adrift of The Mariners at seasons end. To any sane,clear-thinking football fan this is ABSOLUTE NONSENSE!!!!!
Qantas supports Australian Football
Guest
Yes Phil this finals thing scenario to find a champion is a cultural cringe.. and quite frankly I am embarrassed by it.. First past the post are the real Champions... The six finals playoffs is really a shortened FFA Cup... Let's get real.
philk
Guest
What do you mean "good luck to them", by saying that you have destroyed your own argument, you now say to be the best team in the A-League depends on being "lucky" in a few rounds of a cup style tournament!!
philk
Guest
It is not a " cultural cringe" or any other kind of "cringe" to proclaim the team which has the most points at the end of the season as league champions. It matters not whether they play each other 2,3 or 10 times they have still accumulated the most points over however many rounds is deemed a " season". It also matters not when the season is played, for sound commercial reasons the A-League is played in summer.
Philip Coates
Roar Guru
Why is it a joke? It's no more silly than the sixth team in a 18 team comp winning the final. In reality, playing away from home and with no rest break it is unlikely the sixth team will win it, but if they do good luck to them. Was the World Cup 2010 a joke because teams ranked 45th in the world (Japan), or 47 (South Korea), or 78 (New Zealand), or 83 (South Africa), or god forbid the 105th ranked team in the world (North Korea) were all given a chance to be called World Cup Winners?
Philip Coates
Roar Guru
Fuss, Wembley is a neutral venue (ie not the home ground of any team). A rotating venue is fine but typically that becomes a neutral venue as well. Canberra on Aust Day is a good idea. It's a neutral venue, but a smallish ground and a public holiday would encourage a good crowd in a 25000 seat stadium. But it also validates my point that it wouldn't be 50000 and it wouldn't have the atmosphere of Brisbane at Suncorp or Victory at Etihad on grand final day.
Philip Coates
Roar Guru
philk, it's time people got over the cultural cringe and the belief that everything overseas is better than what we might do ourselves. In case you missed it somewhere, we already DONT do things the way world football does it. We play each other three times - not two as is common. We have a salary cap - a very "Australian' thing to do. We play in summer - football is usually played in winter. Should we change all these to fall in line with World Football? We still crown the top of the table like the rest of the world, we just happen to call them Premiers. And we have a finals series which is very popular - get over it! As I have pointed out, a finals series is NOT an Aussie Tradition. It is used all over World Football to determine the winner of a limited competition just like the A-League finals series is a limited comp among six teams. The word "Grand Final" is slightly tautologous which is why i put it in quote marks. It's just a term to differentiate that match from the quarter final, or the semi-final or the preliminary final. It just means the final final.
John B
Guest
To have the sixth team possibly in reality close to twenty points behind the top team in a ten team league given a chance to be called A-League Champions is a joke.
philk
Guest
philipcoates, I follow the A-League religiously,I subscribe to Foxtel for that very reason. This discussion is about who should truly be called Champions and I believe the Champions are the winners of the 27 round competition, the same system used the world over. My reference to a 10 team cup competition was a suggestion for those who can't get over the 'AUSSIE TRADITION' of a finals series!! It is TIME we got over this , the author's point of discussion is WE ARE FOOTBALL so let's do the thing the way World Football does it. By the way, those world football competitions have FINALS not GRAND FINALS!
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
Phil Why does the FFA Cup have to be played at a neutral venue? Why can't we have it played at one designated venue (e.g. Wembley & FA Cup) or rotating venues (e.g. Copa del Rey, UCL, Europa League?) Why not start a new Australian sporting tradition & have the FFA Cup played on Australia Day in Canberra every year? The smaller stadium should ensure a full capacity & the match will be telecast live around Australia - hopefully on FTA Tv.
Nathan of Perth
Guest
And only the second one gets you a credited with a Title in Football Manager *fist shake*
philipcoates
Guest
The problem with an FFA Cup is that the final has to be played at a neutral venue to be fair to all teams. If Bris played Perth, where is a neutral venue? Adelaide? Melbourne? Sydney? Wherever you put it, you'll never get 50,000 to a neutral venue.
philipcoates
Guest
philk, you obviously dont follow the A-League very much. The winners of 27 rounds are called the PREMIERS. There is no such thing as a 10 team knockout cup competition! There is a 6 team finals competition, it features currently a two match home/away between 1st and 2nd and knock out games. The winner of the finals are called the CHAMPIONS. And WTF does club championships have to do with it. In case you cant read I'll repeat,the author said, "Grand Final win is the ultimate goal, as this is not the case in almost every other football competition around the world." Please note "football competitions". The World Cup is a football comp. Euro 2012 is a football comp. Euro Championship is a football comp. Europa Championship is a football comp. ACL is a football comp. This list is endless. All have a "Grand Final" win as the ultimate goal.