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It’s getting down to the pointy end of the A-League season, and we’re seeing a very exciting tussle between Newcastle and Sydney for the sixth and final spot in the playoffs. Regardless of which club prevails, that’s 60 per cent of teams making the playoffs.
It doesn’t take too much mathematics to realise that a team finishing sixth would usually have a losing record.
Don’t get me wrong, I am a big fan of a playoff system and believe the A-League desperately needs big end-of-season games to give it some exposure, especially since so much media space has now been given over to the winter codes.
However, giving a team in the bottom half of the table a shot at the title does stretch the credibility of the playoffs and, by extension, the league itself.
It’s been said if Sydney doesn’t finish in the top four then Frank Farina might be sacked. What if they win the championship? Can a coach be flushed while holding the toilet seat?
The previous system had a top four which, for a ten-team comp, seems about right. However, the playoffs became hard to follow, with some two-legged ties where neither team was knocked out, then some one-off matches, and the undesirable outcome of one team having to sit out a week before the grand final. (I tried to explain the system to my cousin Tony – you know, the arty one – but couldn’t cut it.)
The FFA has improved the situation recently by ensuring all playoffs are knockouts, but the thought of the premiers missing out on a grand final due to one bad game sits uncomfortably with me.
The A-League playoffs should have a four-team playoff, where first plays fourth in one semi and second plays third in the other. These ties are played over two legs, with the higher-placed team hosting the second leg (as per UCL round of 16). The highest-placed winner of the semis would host the A-League grand final.
The only other concession I could make for those who think more clubs need to be involved would be for the fourth team to host the fifth-placed team in a one-off, mid-week playoff to determine the fourth team. This would give the first-placed team a slight advantage for their semi-final tie, which is a reward for finishing top of the table.
I’ll try this one on my cousin Tony… but I’m losing him already.
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