As the countdown to the ninth A-League season continues and the belated free-to-air exposure now merely three weeks away,
A-League teams are now effectively in the latter stages of preparing their squads for the upcoming season.
Naturally, much anticipation often surrounds the acquisition of the so-called marquee players and the publicity and impact they bring.
The two Sydney teams are retaining their current marquees, Alessandro Del Piero in the case of Sydney FC and Shinji Ono in the case of Western Sydney Wanderers.
The impact on raising awareness of the A-League and the ‘Sydney FC brand’ in the case of the former and the profile of Western Sydney in Japan in the case of the latter have been well documented.
As has former English Premier League star Emile Heskey’s continuing presence at the Newcastle Jets.
Where there has been movement over this off-season is in Melbourne.
Melbourne Victory have just announced the signing of Chilean Pablo Contreras while the Heart have signed Maltese Michael Mifsud.
Over the years there has been a notion that has been raised in some quarters as to what the ‘marquee’ is supposed to be about – namely to ‘put bums on seats’ and to ‘raise publicity’ amongst other things.
Over the course of the A-League’s eight inaugural seasons, Melbourne Victory have more often than not opted for a different focus and utilised the so-called ‘marquee concept’ in quite a different way.
This would usually involve an acquisition which generally does not carry much in the way of mass appeal in terms of their name, but in terms of the A-League they bring a lot to the pitch.
This approach contrasted to the supposed notion of what the marquee was ‘meant to be’.
The one season Melbourne Victory did toy with the big-name marquee was the year they signed Harry Kewell when there was a changeover at senior administration levels.
The fact that that season is widely perceived as a disastrous and underwhelming campaign by the Victory faithful would merely serve to further institutionalise Melbourne’s cultural perspective on what they want in a marquee.
So despite chasing relatively well known names such as Giorgos Karagounis and Fabrizio Miccoli – who both would have undoubtedly lifted the profile of Victory amongst the respective migrant populations within Melbourne and Australia more broadly – it was no surprise that Melbourne coach Ange Postecoglou would have no qualms end up opting for a much less familiar name to be their international marquee.
Postecoglu’s comments upon confirming the signing of Contreras were quite telling.
“…there’s great excitement around what he can bring to the club,” he said.
“Pablo is a high quality central defender who will be an important part of our journey towards an A-League Championship, and, hopefully, our upcoming Asian Champions League campaign.”
It is interesting to note firstly the focus on what the player ‘brings’ to the club (as opposed to how they can publicise it) and secondly the impact the player will have on their season ambitions (as opposed to how many bums on seats they will supposedly bring in).
Most importantly there is an attempt to avoid a dynamic where the player is perceived as bigger than the club.
The fact that some people were inclined to say ‘Pablo who?’ then leads to some complaining that Victory are somehow using the marquee spot as some kind of cynical accounting exercise to get wages out of the cap.
But Melbourne’s approach to marquees should be recognised as perfectly legitimate and the football fraternity should embrace a diversity of cultural perspectives on what a marquee is, rather than try to get all clubs adhere to a form of groupthink on the matter.
Given the approach has by and large been executed well, it has served to enhance in quite different ways to what has traditionally been the case with some of the more ‘conventional’ hit-and-miss marquees.
No one would argue against the notion that Archie Thompson has been fantastic value for the game domestically.
Even though they technically weren’t marquee status, Fred in season 2 and then Carlos Hernandez in particular were erstwhile unknown foreign players who had a positive cultural impact on the standard of play on the fledgeling A-League pitch.
It needs to be recognised is one thing for a Del Piero, a Heskey or an Ono to ensure people around the world will hear of the A-League, but this is not quite the same as people around the world having respect for the A-League.
Having a club develop a culture of success and making good progress in international competitions (such as the AFC Champions League in this case) are just as important to developing the esteem in which the league is held in the long term.
After all in the football world the brand of a league often goes hand in hand with the brand of its readily identifiable powerful clubs.
For example people think of the EPL and think of Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and now Manchester City.
People can think of smaller leagues such as the Dutch Eredivise and PSV Eindhoven and Ajax come to mind.
Indeed the Dutch Eredivise, despite being a small league, is held in some esteem because of the capacity of their top clubs able to punch above their relative weight and make good progress in continental competition such as the UEFA Champions League and Europa League.
A marquee who can underpin competitive success and good quality of play on the pitch is just as important as a big-name marquee signing who can capture the public and media imagination (and Corporate sponsorship money for that matter).
More broadly, it would be fair to say that the optimum mix for the A-League overall lies in having a a mix of both marquee styles.
AZ_RBB
Guest
It's Shinji's birthday today :D ONO! ONO ONO! ONO ONO ONO! SHINJI!
Premy
Guest
I'm not a SFC fan but hands down they have had the 2 best Marquee's since the Inception of the A-League ADP and All night Dwight. Sure the likes of Ono,Ifil,Broich,Smeltz and Heskey have been successful but not even close to the same as Yorke and ADP.
NUFCMVFC
Roar Guru
From what I remember, the idea of the Australian marquee was when all the top golden generation players were playing in Europe and it was there to try and lure them back Though it is becoming a bit of a moot point with some A League or Asian league players increasingly making national team squads plus there are some players opting to go to the Mid East for retirement cash etc in Bresch's case and perhaps just the cash in the case of some of the others because they have got to the stage where they realise they aren't going to quite crack it at the very top level
NUFCMVFC
Roar Guru
I would have thought most of the learning comes from feedback and in training etc where they point things out and what they could have done better in the previous game etc? Also I would imagine there is a lot of learning by example, eg they just look at a lot of the small things the experienced players who have been at the top do?
Arto
Guest
I think you need a spell-checker and/or proof-reader to look at your articles before you post them! Other than that, spot on. One interesting point to note is also that whenever discussions about marquee players, there tends to be a comparison between either current or former marquees (eg: ADP, Fred, Jardel, etc.) and this comparison is almost always coloured by the fans' team allegiances. I'll use myself as an example: as an SFC-fan, I'd go as far as saying ADP is the best marquee A-League can have (ever?) and that whilst Contreras may have a great season with MV, he won't be as good a marquee as ADP based upon the 2 main criteria above (as well as a number of other benfits an ultimate marquee player brings to a club, such as improving club culture, improving other players, etc.) - even if they win the title this year.
Matt F
Roar Guru
Obviously the perfect marquee player does both but the most important aspect would be on-pitch success. More importantly it's that they contribute to team success. Crowds may swell initially because of a big name, but they don't tend to hang around for too long if the player does poorly or, more importantly, the team does poorly. The big name might bring them in but entertaining, winning football will keep them coming back for longer.
Midfielder
Guest
Good story JB.... I am only going on my Mariner experience ... Perez was in part brought in to guide Musty and Dutchie has guided Sainsbury in particular and Anderson ... Comes down to the player in question... Arnold expects all his senior players to guide the younger ones ... my ""guess""" is AP holds similar views... My personal experience is some players talk on the field and some don't some are a bit of both ... I was / am a talker [almost never quite] constantly pointing and always listening for calls... some of the best players I have played with talk and some of the best don't ... Often the best advise I received was in the pub when a far better player than I would explain and we would use beer glasses and coasters as players ... God I used to love sitting in our local club after training and matches and talking shape, off the ball movement, some players even had their own style in talking.... one guy would say JB drop left 10 , 6... meaning drop back 10 meters and mark their player 6...
j binnie
Guest
Mid - A little tale from the past that may lead to sorting out a few misconceptions of how "young" players learn from "older " players.!!! Scenario,- the NSL in it's early days & a Socceroo central defender injured,causing a young, brilliant defender to be promoted,where he played alongside probably the best other central defender playing in the league at that time. Half time came and we spoke to the kid asking him if he was learning anythig from "---------". The reply." He hasn't spoken a word to me in 45 minutes". !!!! Second half we watched from behind the defensive goal & the kid was 100% right, his partner never spoke a word.Such was the level of this guy's concentration in his own game he expected the kid to look after himself. Now I ask you,think about this & judge, was the experienced man right or wrong??????? Your mate jb
j binnie
Guest
Victory Fan .How right you are my friend,but the thing that has been overlooked is not just the crowd figures, it is the ability of your coach to recognise a problem that has been evident in Victory's make up for at least the last 2 years.and that is the performance of various central defender combinations. This latest signing shows Ange has a brain between those ears.Put a well credentialled,proven performer into the heart of his defence and work at integrating his influence to those less experienced players around him.Not such a silly signing considering how important that improvement has been needed. jb
Midfielder
Guest
MV Youth with experienced players around them and a top coach .... could be their year ... Contreras will also train and develop other players around him... Troisi the icing on the cake...
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
The broad objectives for every professional football club are to: a) be successful on the pitch b) be successful off the pitch Hence, every player that is recruited must have the potential to help his club fulfill one (or both) of these broad objectives. A "marquee player" is simply a player, whose value exceeds the constraints imposed by the A-League's wage-fixation system - i.e. Salary Cap I consider ADP to be the benchmark "marquee player" - he fulfills both objectives stated above; to the maximum expectation level. From what I've read, Ale Del Piero is costing SydFC $2m/yr. (Note: Some reports say this is "net after tax", which means his actual cost to SydFC is $4m/yr. If this is true, then the value proposition becomes questionable.) If we agree, ADP - at $2m/yr - is the benchmark marquee player, then it is close to impossible to identify any player - anywhere in the world - who will be able to replicate ADP's marketing power & playing power ... for $2m/yr. In the first 3 years of operating, MVFC introduced 2 foreign players - Fred & Carlos - who would have been unknown to AUS football fans. But, they were outstanding performers & helped make MVFC the most successful A-League team - on & off the pitch. That is, Carlos & Fred - 2 unknown foreign players - achieved the outcomes we expect from foreign marquee players. I am supremely confident Finkler will be as outstanding for MVFC as were Fred & Carlos. Based on video footage from last season, I think Pablo Contreras will be the best central defender the A-League has ever seen.
Victory Fan
Guest
One thing that has been over looked here is that Victory don't need the extra pull of a marquee name to get bums on seats like other clubs do. When you look at the largest crowds over the years, the majority of these games involved Melbourne Victory.
Towser
Guest
IMO there are two reasons to bring in a marquee. First to put bums on seats. Any sport is being negligent if they dont try to tap into the largest possible market in the country for their sport. A-League fans constantly bemoan the "Eurofan" sitting on their backside watching the EPL etc,nevertheless they are fans & Del Piero,Heskey do get some of them off their lounge chair into the stadium as noted by SFC's increase in average crowds,Newcastle's best average ever I believe & other clubs benefitting from their visit. Same with Ono amongst some of the Japanese & maybe broader Asian population in Australia. Second reason is as NUFCMVFC says to add to the club football wise on the park. Playing winning,exciting football also is a lure for fans. I would add to that though that wherever possible the marquee should play the sort of football that is seen as succesful at International level. If we want the NC to provide the coaching mechanics to produce the World class player for the National team, we need to add to that(NC), practical examples of the end result of such coaching on our doorstep as per Del Piero & Ono. Bottom line is we can only get so many bums on seats name players in a world market for football with other leagues such as MLS,C -League vying for similar players. So we keep trying for Del Piero's no question to continue to provide the two reasons to bring in a marquee,but we need another player category that provides the second reason I mentioned. Having watched a few video clips of this guy & just how comfortable on the ball he looked I would consider Pablo Contreras fits into this player category. I would also put Ono in this category & Hernandez & arguably Broich ,Hersi mentioned by Punter above. So we can have two international marquee categories, an A class marquee like Del Piero paid $1 million plus & a B class marquee like Contreras paid 500,000 to 1 million . We can either keep the Australian marquee or scrap it to be replaced by the B International marquee. Personally I am in favour of scrapping the Australian marquee. IMO no Australian marquee has put bums on seats or played the right sort of football on the park that will carry the National team into the future,Harry being the exception.
Punter
Guest
I totally agree, while I love the extra attention, locally & O/S the likes Del Piero, Ono, Heskey & Kewell brings, I think for football fans the likes of Broich, Flores, Hernandez & even Hersi have been revelations. Some clubs are bling like SFC & as a fan I love it, while a club like MV are a little more substance & will look for different marquees.
Statler and Waldorf
Roar Guru
I think that your last sentence sums up the situation perfectly