No more gimmicks in the A-League, please

id rather they back the traditional inter-colonial series between NSW v VIC

I’m actually a big Johnno fan. His stream of consciousness approach to posting is classic. His ability to contradict himself within the same post brilliant. His lack of attention to the use of proper English and ability to leave readers baffled is an art form. While he has some common themes about sacking coaches, bringing back NSL teams and doomday prophesies I don’t think even he knows what he is about to type. The man once suggested bringing Chess/Boxing in to the Olympics (google it). I have no doubt that he is NOT a troll, his style is way to chaotic and random for even the most creative troll and every now and then he throws a few words together and somehow makes a good point. Keeps me entertained.

My first thought was to agree with you Joe but after reading sone of the comments i am starting to think it might actually be a good idea.

The world stars v socceroos was a bit of farce, it would of been much better if Brazil played Australia etc. The a-league all stars would be different though as it would be an achievement to make the all star team, the world stars at the time were made of an assortment of players. Was Wynton Rufer even playing at the time? I know I will get shouted down but AFL make a big deal about the all australian guernsey with gala dinners and debate on who missed out etc maybe we can do the same with the a-league. Make it an honour. It will at least cause discussion. I agree there have not been too many memorable exhibition matches, but you dont turn down the likes to see messi, ronaldo, rooney, balotelli in your own backyard. For many international travel is not an option for financial reasons or young families and to see a particular superstars is once in a lifetime chance. Maybe its because I am from Perth and are a bit starved of seeing big teams, the only teams that have come over in the last 10 years have been the might of Indonesia, Fulham and Wolves B teams. Maybe Celtic and Roarcelona were ok hehe.

I don't like these types of games. For thr true football fans most will probably pass on seeing an All Stars v Man Utd kick about. And if we think it will encourage the casual observer to a HAL game think again. How often do people come away from these friendlies thinking "gee that was an awesome exhibition of skill and atmosphere" I always find them dull and boring when i have attended them (i.e. Udinese, Tottenham and Juve tour in the 1980's, Milan tour in the 1990's where the second half facically ended early in Melbourne and the opening of the Sydney Olympic Stadium game in 1999).

We've had EPL sides out here in recent years for pre-season and it hasn't been a massacre. ALLSTAR HAL side will consist of a bunch of local lads who will struggle to get into a rhythm with team mates who they don't play with against an EPL side whos players know each others jock sizes - to not to put a toooo fine a point on it :) Anyway, I really don't care 'coz I probably wouldn't front up for a game like this but maybe many others would.

Yes...does anyone remember the 4 team tournament in the late 70s/early 80s between Red Star Belgrade, Celtic, Arsenal and the Socceroos? Fantastic games with real commitment and atmosphere played off for a monetary prize. Saw Red Star vs Celtic at Olympic Park and a 35,000 crowd...brilliant. Now if you could organise something this big l would pay to go and see...remove the Socceroos and put in the A league All stars.

Its an interesting one. Good chance most top clubs in each league would knock over their respective national teams perhaps....football as a sport is very much about flow and the familiarity of day to day play would edge it to clubs. The allstar concept is not well suited to our game on a technical and by extension entertainment level imo. Just hope its a one off deal, personally.

LA Galaxy played Victory in a match exactly like this last year. It was a star vehicle for Beckham. The game was a bit of a laugh, a park style match with no real care of defending. The crowd were not soccer people, they were a different mob altogether. The usual Victory supporters were not even there. It is good for the venues and theatre/event crowd I suppose. Personally I prefer a serious match for points. We have the Socceroos World Cup qualifiers to look forward to, how much more do you want?

What gets my goat is the persistent misguided appeals for ex-NSL clubs to be brought back. FL, the fans and the FFA haven’t worked their tails off to rid the game of its 'ethnics-only' tag(only partially successful thus farIMO) just to go back to the dark-old days. The fact that Johnno can’t see this automatically places him at credibility=zero in the eyes of most football fans on here.

It depends on the calibre of the opposition as well. Top or high profile Spanish, German, English and italian clubs you would expect a- league clubs would really struggle against. Others like Celtic, A-league teams could give them a good run (yes I know they beat barcelona last week) and hence would expect the all star concept not to create as much interest. I would say in a one off big game the all star team vs Barcelona, Barcelona would be more inclined to play the first team rather than their reserve team, like juventus did when they played victory. Most touring teams play more than one game anyway when coming this far. So who says an A-league team and an all stars team vs an overseas club could not be organised on the same tour. Personally I would like to see the socceroos v a-league all stars, or socceroos v pims rejects. Maybe Perth could finally see the socceroos again. Last game in Perth Milicic scored, thats how long ago it was.

I didn't say Johnno puts his brain beyond first gear when he writes things... just that he is genuine about it all ;)

This match would be in July while the A-League doesn't start until October. If a one off game played 2-3 months before the start of the season completely stuffs up a teams preparation for the new season then that side has got much bigger issues

and why should it be sydney fc of all teams ? Start winning int he A League then maybe go up against a Man Utd team. Im a Wanderers supporter but even i know it would probably have to be Central Coast to play them. But that doesnt do any good for the whole of the A League, hence the All Star event sounds a better option, If they train together for a few weeks before hand, some of our best young talent at other clubs such as Rogic, get to learn beside Del Piero, and not just against him. With the team selected by the public, 2 players from each team, coach selects the captain, and a charity gets $1000 for every goal scored. We get to see all the names we want to see, and we get to see where the best of the A League is at.

KR the All-Star game in the MLS is played during their mid season, so it does not impair their team continuity. Where as this game will be during the preseason potentially ruining a teams chance to gel. Just look at the team work within Sydney FC with the late arrival of ADP, especially early on. I also noticed of the seven players you mentioned only one is Australian.

I'm not sure if he's deninitely genuine but he is pretty consistent across all the sports covered on here. At the very least he's an equal opportunity troll!

How can every post he makes be so provocative if he's genuine? As for UVB-76, it sounds like ghosts! :)

Man U get requests from governments all around the world to play exhibition games, so the conjecture is unlikely to turn into reality. Why don't they get ManU to play Collingwood at the MCG, Cantebury at ANZ and the Broncos at Suncorp - sure to get the fans in. And Man U get to choose which sport they play, so it doesn't look like a gimmick. If they assemble an A-League all stars team in the pre-season, they will all be playing for Sydney FC by the time the season kicks off.

Replace Liverpool with a good English team and you might have a concept :)