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The eighth instalment of the A-League was predicted to be the greatest so far in terms of playing standards by many pundits throughout the preseason.
The extremely long preseason, one of the longest of any football leagues in the world, was used by coaches to implement a distinct playing style and have their teams well drilled for the upcoming five month season.
However, after two weeks, I am failing to see the results of this extended offseason break on the park.
The standard of play has been poor and underwhelming, albeit with some patches of brilliance. This is something that needs to change if the A-League is to continue with the momentum developed throughout the pre-season and opening rounds of play to keep fans coming through the turnstiles.
I’m a football fan, and have been a fan of the A-League since its inception. I enjoy watching football action at a decent time of the day, rather than having to wake up at 2am on a Sunday morning to catch the games from Europe.
I appreciate the A-League for what it is, a young upcoming league with great potential. The growing fan culture on the terraces (especially in Melbourne) is a great sight as fans unveil magnificent tifos before the game and chant for its duration.
I’m excited about the growth it has undergone over the past eight years.
However, not every football fan in the country sees it this way. In fact, many fans refuse to watch the A-League because of the lack of flow and technical ability in matches, especially when compared to the Premier League which is broadcast every weekend here in Australia and available for everyone to watch.
The fact is, there are plenty of football fans down under, after all it’s the most played junior sport in Australia, however many of them prefer to stay at home and watch their beloved Premier League teams rather than get on a train and watch an A-League game in their home city.
These fans have been dubbed ‘Eurosnobs’. However, the only way to convert them into A-League fans is if the standard improves.
Part of this includes bringing in international marquees to play in the league. I commend the Western Sydney Wanderers, Newcastle Jets and Sydney FC for their efforts in this department, and evidence of the impact this can have is in the large crowd that was at Allianz Stadium on Saturday to watch Alessandro Del Piero and Emile Heskey go head-to-head.
However, these are players that are near the end of their careers and are on short-term contracts.
In order to ensure the stability of healthy crowds, it’s essential for all A-League teams to not only continue to sign big name international marquees, but also to develop home grown players that can come together on the park and play with the flow and grace that resembles that of a Premier League team.
When the standard improves, you will begin to attract the ‘Eurosnobs’ and other football fans in this country that have refused to watch the A-League over the past eight years.
So far in 2012, the standard of the A-League has been poor. Apart from the odd passages of play, games are characterised by high rates of turnovers and teams’ inability to hold possession and put a string of passes together.
Surprisingly, I have not heard one analyst in the media support this viewpoint. The only strong 90-minute performance so far has been from the Brisbane Roar in the 5-0 domination of a lacklustre Melbourne on Saturday Night.
I hope that teams are just a little rusty as the season is young. However I can’t help but feel disappointed due to the five month offseason in which teams had time to gel and adopt a certain philosophy for the season.
Regardless, the standard of the league has to improve in order to attract those football fans sitting on the fence.
This is also important for clubs such as Sydney FC, who attracted a crowd of 35,000 on Saturday thanks to Del Piero, if they want to keep the fans coming back week in and week out.
International marquees are the first step, but the overall standard needs to improve. The simple fact is many football fans just can’t get the thrill from the A-League as they do from the Premier League and other European leagues.
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