There is a conversation that Australian football will soon need to have, and it strikes at the very heart of this nation’s sporting identity.
Is the A-League finals series ultimately dispensable?
Even though the new finals structure was unveiled months and months ago, it is a hot-button topic again after the revamped format was openly criticised in the press.
It must have just dawned on reporters that any team from the top six could realistically win it this season – not only because the A-League is possibly the most even competition in world football, but because the finals series itself has changed dramatically.
No longer do the top two teams get the double chance. That’s been removed and replaced with an automatic week off and an automatic home preliminary final for both.
That’s still some advantage. But it is a double-edged sword.
One loss could quite conceivably shatter the dreams of Central Coast or Western Sydney, the two sides that are far and away the best performers this season.
Detractors (first-past-the-post loyalists) call the finals series a glorified cup competition. Unfortunately, this new format gives that argument credence.
Now that David Gallop has assured us the FFA Cup is coming, the argument is that this will replace the need for a grand final, with the cup decider thought to satisfy Australia’s fetish for a sporting showpiece.
It is indeed a national obsession that’s deeply ingrained into our psyche – the demand for our heroes to be crowned not by what some would call the ‘traditional’ method of first-past-the-post, but on a grand, elevated stage.
For more than 30 years it was the case in the NSL. It is so in every major competition in Australia.
We love it. The grand final gives a season a sense of closure. Clearly fans know it takes a special team to finish top of the ladder, but the grand final is a further challenge.
It has shaped Australia’s definition of a true winning team – one that is not just consistent throughout the grind of a home-and-away season, but one that also has nerves of steel, a champion’s mentality and can produce on demand.
It is our preferred method for choosing our legends. And it can’t be replaced by the FFA Cup.
A cup final isn’t the same. A cup final is a cup final – a final to decide who gets to take home a particular cup.
A grand final decides who is the best team over a whole season in the most important competition. The stakes could not differ more wildly.
First-past-the-posters who cry foul of the A-League finals series say you cannot dismiss the performances of a team over a whole season when deciding who is the best.
But a proper finals series doesn’t do that.
A proper finals series is a gauntlet that hands every possible advantage to the most consistent teams – then demands they repeat that consistency in front of a whole nation.
The double chance in particular puts the best sides in the box seat for silverware, with the test how those sides deal with the pressure and weight of expectation.
Australian sport has decided over the years that if you’re a good side but can’t manage that, you’re a pretender.
This is what the new A-League finals series doesn’t quite say, and it’s why this correspondent isn’t okay with how this season will finish.
A home final for the top two sides is nice, but a week off is arguably disruptive to a team’s rhythm and while it might make for enthralling football, removing the double chance and turning the finals into a knockout competition from the get-go favours the lesser sides more than it should.
Then the grand final becomes a little more like a cup final – a pithy addendum to the season as opposed to a true culmination of a full campaign, the last hurdle that needs to be cleared by the champion.
It still might be the rightful team that ends up with the toilet seat but the fabric of the finals has been altered slightly. Without seeding, the purpose it serves diminishes.
You can spend hours pointing out problems with the A-League finals – how it’s stupid that more than half the teams can qualify, how the preliminary final became the anti-climactic problem child of the series, how even the AFC now no longer fully acknowledges the winner.
But the grand final tradition is something to be cherished. It is part of Australian sport – and has been part of Australian football for more than 30 years. The thrill of winning one cannot be replaced.
It can, however, be knocked down a peg. That’s what the new A-League finals series format does, and one can only hope it doesn’t lead to a long-term erosion of our love for the big dance.
Vincent
Guest
The biggest problem with the 2v3 and 4v5 system is that you can have repetition of matches. As an example, consider the current ladder. Week 1 might be Wanderers v Adelaide and Melbourne v Newcastle - let's say the favourites (Wanderers and Melbourne) win. In Week 2: CCM v Wanderers and Adelaide v Melbourne. Week 3: Repeat of Wanderers v Adelaide most likely. Week 4: Repeat of CCM v Wanderers most likely. Repetition of games is not only an issue in terms of seeing the same thing repeatedly (which we've had in previous A-Leagues finals formats) and getting a sense of deja vu, but it also compounds the issue of whether the winners are really deserved. Say CCM beat Wanderers in Week 2 comprehensively... it doesn't seem right that they should have to play them in the Grand Final two weeks later. If they win again, it's a bit anti-climactic. If they lose (especially on pens, for example), it seems unfair. Keeping the Top 2 separate and building to a crescendo in the GF makes for much more satisfying viewing!
Dave L
Guest
We are not in Europe. To grow the code there needs to be excitement. Excitment is not a team like Sydney FC (who have drawn the second highest average crowds) no chance of making the finals. Even ADP would not help the crowds if there was not hope. We all love football however at the moment we are the 3rd strongest code (behind AFL & NRL) and there is a gap. Sports like rugby will reach heights similar from the peak of 99-03 if we dont have finals as all sports fans want their team to have a shot at glory and unfortunately if there is not enough support for the major codes to not have finals we still need them.
Rob Gremio
Roar Pro
Noice, Nordster... :) I think the fact that we don't have promotion and relegation makes it different here to what goes on in Europe. None of the major codes over here have promotion/relegation at the national level, and the finals series is a way of maintaining interest. Sure, if we were to have a second division - a proper one - like they do in European leagues, then I would support first past the post (especially if we were to have an even number of games between the teams, not 3 rounds like it is now). However, until such time as we do have a second division, with promotion and relegation, the finals series is the best fit to maintain a competitive league until the end. I would support a longer A-league season, where each team plays each other 4 times, rather than 3. THEN it would be an even league, and first past the post (FPTP) would make sense as the way to designate champions. However, while we have 3 rounds, I am not convinced that FPTP is the best way (alongside my argument about promotion and relegation.
philk
Guest
A bigger feat than winning the most games over 27 weeks? I DON'T THINK SO!!!
Melange
Guest
But the World Cup is the competition we would most want to win and anything we can do to put players in a competitive, meaningful environment to replicate the pressure of a cup final is good by me. That's why I like the GF so much. It's also a point of difference to our football. I don't have to have 'everything the same as it is in Europe', football is a world game and seeing the different ways it is practised and experienced all around the world adds to the romance. Actually I believe Belgium or Romania have changed their format to have a finals series. And last point to my rant, regardless of a GF and final series I still have utmost respect for the top team at the end of the regular season, as much as I do for the GF winner.
nordster
Guest
Why must we ape the way things are done in rugby league and AFL? Why cant we enjoy how things are done in football leagues in europe? And appreciate them as superior if thats our personal experience of it. :)
TC
Guest
Of course, we are all talking hypothetically, naturally.
TC
Guest
I agree with what you wrote. I'm just saying that the article that was linked talked about massive increases in TV audiences for the ACL mentions Australia - and the ratings thus far indicate that bugger all Australians watch the ACL, with or without Australian sides in it. Even when Adelaide made the final, bugger all Australians tuned in. That's not inconsistent with the article (I guess), because a 50% increase on a figure which is next to zero is still an exceedingly low number.
Reynoldsinski
Guest
No its all about performing when the pressure is on. If the sixth team wins the grand final then they will have beaten 3 teams above them in consecutive weeks, which is a big feat.
philk
Guest
I posted a question to Damien de Bohun on the Foxsports website forum asking which team would play in the ACL next year if we are given only one spot,would it be the Premiers or Grand Final winners, with the possiblility of the sixth placed team (currently 16 points adrift of the leaders) winning the GF and being declared Champions ie:best in the league. He did not answer this but pointed out that the GF was a huge commercial success.Maybe that answers the question...the hell with consistency it's all about the money.
Titus
Guest
Oooh Errr......a bit of nudity, cover your eyes and giggle like a 6 year old. I'm sure you can see a lot more on the inter-webz these day........... not that I would know.
MV Dave
Guest
Just like bugger all Asians watch AFL. However when MV or SFC reach an ACL final all that will change Mr. TC...
Reynoldsinski
Guest
You and MV Dave are absolutely correct. To get rid of the finals would be insane.This is Australia, and in Australian sports we play finals.
TC
Guest
If niche viewing is your thing, then SBS2 is definitely the place to be.
TC
Guest
I tell you what, watch out for movies on SBS2, you never know what will be revealed next.
TC
Guest
The article mentions Australia, but the truth is that bugger all Australians watch the ACL, with or without Australian sides in it.
MV Dave
Guest
Double post
MV Dave
Guest
Yep either of those would draw a record domestic Football attendance and being televised on SBS would smash the record TV viewing figures. These type of events attract more people to the game and that can't be a bad thing...instead of hanging onto the European way we should continue to embrace our own uniqueness in World Football.
Arthur fonzarelli.
Guest
Imagine An FC vs wanderers grand final at homebush or victory vs heart at maybe the MCG or an absolutely electric etihad . . They would be serious sporting events with crowds and atmosphere to rival anything Europe could produce . Events like that are what will really see the A league reach it's peak in Australia .
MV Dave
Guest
Thank goodness the FFA won't do that...how to kill the goose that lays the Golden Egg.... The following are GF attendances which you obviously don't want to continue; 2012 - 50,334 2011. - 50,168 2010 - 44,560 2009 - 53,273 2008 - 36,354 (neutral venue) 2007 - 55,436 (highest ever domestic game attendance) 2006 - 41,689 That is 7x Grand Finals at an average of 48,000 per game as well as some of the most thrilling and amazing matches in Australian sports history...games that not only drew the biggest crowd of the season...but had the most TV viewers also. Why would you want to get rid of this?? Ask the players, coaches and officials if they would like to give these occasions up?