In what is turning out to be an intriguing twist to the A-League All-Stars match on July 20, a potentially bitter tug of war is looming of the availability of a number of players. Most significant of these is Alessandro Del Piero.
As Tom Smithies writes in the Sydney Morning Herald Del Piero’s current club – Sydney FC – are in the business of scheduling a friendly in Japan against Sagan Tosu on July 24.
A number of top A-League based Australian players being unavailable due to their participation in the EAFF East-Asian Football Federation Cup which will take place from 20-28 July in South Korea.
This is on top of a number of prominent A-League players no longer being available for selection due to transfers of loan deals, the most prominent of which is young player of the year and Johnny Warren medallist Marco Rojas’s move to the German Bundesliga from Melbourne Victory.
This raises an intriguing number of issues.
Many pundits and commentators have lauded the concept (no doubt adapted from the NBA) of a league All-Stars team where they can fantasise about the league’s best players playing alongside each other.
Unlike the All-Stars game in the NBA where the institution is fairly well respected, the All-Stars concept in an A-League context has yet to determine what its “place” is and command any respect.
This can obviously be said of the FFA, while there are many factors and third parties such as promoters who play a role in determining the dates of exhibition games, the fact that the FFA have committed Australia and by extension a number of the best A-League players to the East Asian Cup which takes place at the same time is not a good look symbolically even if it is not the FFA’s intention.
The above example can be considered an innocent mistake given the FFA committed to the tournament before the concept of hosting Manchester United was touted.
But there is also of course the fact that it appears Sydney FC have quite blatantly organised a pre-season tour of Japan knowing quite full there is an All-Stars game on where there will not only be some desire but an expectation that Del Piero would play.
Hence the prominent use of Del Piero in the promotion of the match.
Needless to say if Del Piero doesn’t end up playing it’s a good thing for the FFA that the vast majority of the patrons are going to watch Manchester United as the headline act, otherwise there might be some uncomfortable questions of false advertising.
What I found intriguing though is the fact that firstly Sydney FC have been as blatant as they have been, but there is even a sense they are willing to dig their heels in over the matter.
One can understand the positions of both parties, for the FFA who effectively still run and have ownership over the A-League, there is a need to put a respectable face on the All-Stars team.
Firstly, this is to act as an enticement to other would-be marquee players who may be watching, but secondly a heavy defeat of the so-called “All-Stars” team would significantly diminish the brand and credibility of the league in some watchers eyes.
In terms of Sydney FC, they have paid a lot of money for Del Piero, and so the owners would want to see a return on that investment.
Not to mention try and do a bit of profile-building given who their team is associated with (if not necessarily through their position on the table).
But to do so in such a way as to deliberately upstage the FFA?
One can argue that with the East Asian Cup the FFA haven’t exactly set a good example and it is no surprise the clubs would follow their lead, not respect the All-Stars concept and be reluctant to release players for the match.
But unlike the FFA and the East Asian Cup, Sydney FC could have quite easily organised their pre-season tour around the All-Stars game.
This particular tug-of-war that goes beyond the realms of the usual “club versus country/National body” row and to this author speaks volumes about the underlying relationship between the FFA and many of the clubs.
Despite what a lot of people in Sydney are terming the “best year yet” of the A-League, a year on from the Clive Palmer and Nathan Tinkler conflicts, the All-Stars tug of war is a reminder that all is still not rosy between the FFA and the clubs.
Fans of the A-League should be under no illusion then that the establishment of Joint-Commission may have taken the heat of the tensions, the underlying issues have not yet been resolved.
Cameron
Roar Guru
SlickAs, First two paragraphs - bang on! Can't argue. The problem currently occurring within the A-League is the costs associated with running these clubs, are not being offset by the benefits they deserve. FFA take a fair slice of the cake in terms of money made by A-league clubs and inturn this is put back into 'Australian football' and not necessarily the competition. Out of the roughly estimated $20,000,000 incurred by A-league clubs this financial year you can associate close to $5,000,000 of that having to be covered by club owners to aim or ensure on field success. With plans for the salary cap to be fully covered, this extra $5,000,000 can now be put aside by the A-league club owners. It has been stated as a recommendation in the Crawford report that the governing body should not have to step in to save clubs or alleviate costs until new owners are found but they do. An Independent Commission would look to ensure the finances of the governing body (FFA) are not affected. It would also look to primarily care for the A-league and it's best interests. The FFA is very busy and is primary objectives are the international scene and developing grassroots. I believe a IC can work but perhaps it may take some now time. The pros as I'm finding, currently outweigh the cons. The only person (entity) standing in the way is the FFA.
Griffo
Roar Guru
+1 to your last paragraph Mid, as well as the structure of how it operates overall for football... ...I think it might be Andyroo that has commented on the Korean situation... ...question yesterday was to get some thoughts on risks of de-unifying the game again where Crawford recommended the opposite.
Midfielder
Guest
K With huge respect to yourself may I offer you some advise... Craig Foster says lots of things and most would see him as a zealot.... Craig says many insightful things however what he often says about the financial side of the game and how it should be run verge on some of stupidest things ever said... If I may offer a Rugby Union esample when JON left and came to football the new boss a guy called Flowers set up the National Rugby Competition ... he paid the ABC to broadcast the matches and almost sent the ARU broke... So K when Craig says run a 42 competition and go up against the NRL & AFL ... while he is right on match play and experience the financial affect would be the A-League would collapse ... Back to the main point Crawford called for an independent commission to run the national competition... AFC want us to have an independent commission as does the PFA [remember Craig has huge influence inside the PFA] ... the A-League clubs want one .... so I certainty understand your point ... My point is given we are just eight years in with a number of inexperienced people involved .... and a limited media deal is the time right ... as I said with all the ongoing issues I do wonder aloud if a commission is the solve all it's supporters suggest ... should we have one in the future I think without doubt but the timing of it is important...
Cameron
Roar Guru
Heading off to work SlickAs. Ill get back to you on that.
SlickAs
Guest
Nearly every club in the world overspends on player salaries. Essentially on-field success means higher attendances, and therefore higher matchday revenues as well as higher sponsor value (more people following the club means more eyeballs on sponsor ads) meaning more sponsors are prepared to pay more to be associated with the club. Good players are worth money because they "buy" you on-field success which lead to those higher revenues. The temptation is to overspend on player salaries anticipating the on-field success it will bring, counting your chickens before they hatch, paying those high player salaries with higher revenues you believe you will achieve because of those expensive players. However all clubs are doing the same, ending in an arms race of sorts and sucking football club coffers dry. This is as much the case at Barcelona as it is at Newcastle Jets. There is nothing stopping the A-league clubs from living within their means. That is, to play with a team whose salaries are less than the revenues you expect to make given your probable and realistic on-field success (subtracting out overheads). The FFA are not forcing the clubs to sign contracts with their expensive imports. If the clubs would spend within their means, player salaries would fall across the league. What is to say, if the TV revenues to clubs were doubled, the clubs would not all double down on player salaries and still loose money and be in massive debt like they all do in Europe? The club owners are businessmen, and not naieve. Blaming the FFA because they loose money seems facile to me.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
Very useful footballer ... when he wants to be. Very inconsistent, although Ange seems to bring out his best. I'd expect Nichols to be competing with Flores for the "False 9". Finkler is in a league of his own - no one can compete with him!
Ballymore
Guest
Thoughts on Nichols? I thought he was unfairly maligned during his stint in Brisbane, inconsistent yes, but no more than other plays in Brisbane team. Where does this does leave Finkler?
Stevo
Guest
Good for SBS. Saves on the travel budget and gives them a Sydney centric opening to get the juices flowing.
Cameron
Roar Guru
*********A-LEAGUE SEASON 9********* ****11TH OCTOBER 2012 FRIDAY 7PM**** ******SYDNEY FC VS WANDERERS****** ***********ADP VS ONO*********** That's my guess. When you look at the calendar it makes sense. As for Sydney derby to open? I just think it looks GOOOD!
Stevo
Guest
When does the next season start for God sake!
NUFCMVFC
Roar Guru
lol, got me! I often have multiple tabs open at once so obviously got my wires crossed there (don't know my Sydney papers, would never mistake Michael Lynch as working for the HUN down here for example lol)
Brick Tamlin of the Pants Party
Guest
He is a real talent.Hes on the list next to Da Silva,Caceras,Duke,Taggart and a few others as the young players who will take the league by storm next season.
NUFCMVFC
Roar Guru
Ah you and Kellett are touching on the big underlying issue here and the fact the TV money is bundled, which is to say where the balance of power is going to lie, A-League or Socceroos In the past Socceroos for certain sure, but who is earning the bulk of the money Also, if the clubs definitively cotton on to the fact that it is the A-League that worth more of the pie then there will come to be increasing pressure for the TV money to subsidise more than just the salary cap There is also a finer question which is raised by SBS showing all the Eastern seaboard games, which clubs are worth a higher proportion of the A-Leagues portion of the TV money pie? This would be the two Sydney clubs, MVFC in particular going by the stats you once posted showing the TV figures (Broar = maybe). Similar to some of the EPL tensions over the years, will there be pressure for the clubs to do a continental style deal like Italy and Spain and have the clubs directly negotiate their own rights in some distant future That's an article of mine for another day but mark my words, MVFC fans are unhappy enough they have to subsidise FFA imposed franchises like Heart, then of course I can see there being a furious debate as to who the most precious TV commodity is, WSW or SFC
NUFCMVFC
Roar Guru
At the time of writing the research was current, even referenced an article The issue seems to be diffused but in terms of the A-League All-Stars concept while it suits some A-League clubs there will come to be a question as to whether some will be happy with the idea of their stars being injured in a glorified exhibition match It suits the clubs purpose to have their players in the Socceroos lineup and the national team even if it is towards the fringes but mangers are already hearing whingeing about A-League matches being played when there are important qualifying matches (MVFC suffered a few bad defeats when their best players were absent), let alone an All-Star match that doesen't even market their clubs directly. It's kind of a matter of "watch this space" for the future U guess I'm not sure I would say it's a gripe on my part but an observation if the FFA want to add prestige and a strong Australian flavour to the concept then it is important to try and ensure the best pool of players are available for selection. There is a bit of conjecture as to what the "place" of the All-Stars concept is, and how the FFA, the clubs and the fans recognise it
Cameron
Roar Guru
Punter and Dave, I have done a fair bit of research today and the hard thing to collate is the facts (which are there) of today that are efficient and resourceful and then put them together to formulate a decent article (the wording is the tricky bit). Its no wonder no one has done it yet. There is a lot to take in. I am trying to wrap my mind around it, but I hope to have it finished soon.
Cameron
Roar Guru
Fair enough Mid, Though when club owners, the PFA, Craig Foster and a Report all seem to meet at one point then that surely is a concern. Maybe the game does need more time before a thing such as a commission is considered. I just hope that those who vest their time, money and interest into our wonderful sport aren't losing out to much that will in-turn push them away from the game. I can foresee our current owners mulling over what's fair and what isn't. They are ultimately the ones incurring the losses and it really isn't the responsibility of the FFA to continue funding the A-League, especially if we want grassroots and the international scene to improve. That is where the FFA should focus, but with all the money they need to do this, I am sure the FFA are getting by thanks to our competition and not the other way around. Hopefully the new CBA can be sorted out diligently and effectively in time for season 9 of the A-League and with the next TV in place who knows we may see losses between our ten clubs decrease to potentially $10 million collectively. It should be at least guaranteed to drop to $15 million granted the full salary cap will be covered but who knows. Times are good for football, but addressing the points that aren't will always ensure focus is sustained. I am sure we are on the same page and just want what is best for the A-League and football in Australia.
Punter
Guest
More interesting facts Mid. Keep it coming.
Dave
Guest
Have to agree with your 4.32pm comment wholeheartedly Midfielder. I'm yet to see any convincing arguments about what benefits an independent governing body for the Aleague would bring. BUT that doesn't mean I can't be convinced! I see you said you are trying to put something together on this subject Kellet (I take it you mean an article?). I look forward to reading it. As I said on another thread the other day I always see this issue get mentioned but no one ever goes in depth about the pros and cons for the league and game as a whole. Good luck with the research and I'll certainly read it with an open mind, but at this stage I'm philosophically against an independent governing body for the HAL.
Punter
Guest
Interesting Kellet, love to hear more on your views on what action is required?
Midfielder
Guest
T I like Robin Van Persie ... maybe Cranky should take someone else out .... OK I get your point...