Five days out from an A-League grand final and football chief executives are labelling rival codes a “disgrace”. Only 30,000 fans are allowed to attend the match and the FFA are fielding complaints of ineptness. Does not sound like ideal preparation does it?
The uproar over the decision to play Australian football’s showpiece fixture at AAMI Park has stemmed from a number of areas, and at first glance it appears fairly warranted.
That the biggest game in the A-League season will be limited to a reasonably meagre crowd is disappointing to say the least. This should be the time where the Australian football community shows the rest of the country’s sporting landscape that they are a major player, and what better way than drawing a record-breaking crowd to the finale.
At least that is what some may tell you.
The reality is that the current scheduling drama is only good for the game. The AFL is being forced to talk about the game due to their alleged cooperation with Football Federation Australia in allowing them access to Etihad Stadium.
What better publicity can there be?
The most ardent Australian rules fan would now be aware it is on, with the fact shoved in their face, even if their blind devotion to a single code blocks out all surrounding noise.
FFA reportedly notified the AFL too late about changes to the grand final date from May 10 to May 17. The FFA say they told them before the AFL fixture list was confirmed, while the AFL are blaming their counterparts for giving insufficient time.
Either way, this was all reported on back in October. It is not fresh news.
The AFL are well within their rights to refuse to budge on moving the planned fixture between the Western Bulldogs and Fremantle on Sunday, May 17. They hold priority when it comes to booking Etihad Stadium and the MCG, and given the amount of money and business they have pumped into the two venues you cannot fault them.
They cannot be expected to bend over to suit a rival code’s needs. If FFA did likewise football fans would be complaining that they had surrendered to the detriment of the game. The fault lies firmly at FFA’s feet, but it does not even matter.
AAMI Park may be small, but it is going to put on one hell of a show. It is a football-suited stadium that when full can create a buzzing atmosphere. The fans attending will all be diehards, members who have forked out for season tickets and have followed their team throughout the entire season.
There are 22,000 Melbourne Victory members and hopefully all of them manage to snare a ticket. Unfortunately for Sydney FC fans there will only be 3500 available. It is a huge shame for the members who have attended every home game and a few away games, but their club should have finished first if they wanted preference. Rules are rules, Victory get home game rights.
Sydney chief executive Tony Pignata is understandably not a happy man and has called the AFL “a disgrace” and claimed they may be scared of football’s continuing growth. Credit to the man, it is his job to stand up for the majority of Sydney FC’s 12,000 members who won’t be able to grab a ticket.
But he is wrong. The AFL are not a disgrace, they are just playing the game and taking advantage of their hardly cheap contracts.
The decision not to negotiate with FFA may even come back to haunt them. While 30,000 pack out AAMI Park, with everyone aware that it could easily have been more than 50,000, all eyes will be checking to see how many turn up for the Dockers versus Bulldogs match.
On the other hand the A-League grand final is going to be one of the hottest tickets in Melbourne, possibly for the first time in its short history. Fans will be scrambling for a stub and thousands will pack out bars and pubs to catch the action. They will also have a chance to get Federation Square cranking in front of a big screen.
Fans can blame the AFL all they want, they can bemoan that FFA are not considering the MCG and they can lambast FFA for acting too late. But AAMI Park will produce a cracking finale.
The main problem is that the same scenario is likely to occur again unless FFA make scheduling tweaks, and continued controversy is the sign of poor management. Not all fans are willing to let this slide, which means there needs to be a solution.
There may be pressure on the AFL to be more lenient and there will most certainly be more pressure on David Gallop to finalise a solid date and stick with it. But the problems will continue while the A-League plays its finals series during the AFL and NRL seasons.
“This year there was a mix up in dates which no one has accepted responsibility for, we don’t expect that to happen again,” Gallop said.
How Gallop plans to avoid a repeat is unknown. Even more bizarre is the failure to accept responsibility. But if FFA have not been able to negotiate successfully with the AFL this year, how will it be any easier in the coming years?
It has to be questioned whether it is all really necessary. The best solution would be to hold the A-League finals before the AFL season even kicks off, which would mean an earlier start date for Australian football.
Is it still so important for the A-League to start at a time of year when there is no other football on? Is the grand final more important or the opening weekend?
If the A-League starts while the AFL and NRL finals are running, say in early to mid-September, it would not be a disaster. Football should be at a stage where it does not have to organise its season around other codes for fear of increased competition.
The only reason a change should be initiated for finals football is because stadium rights unfortunately dictate when and where games can be held. That is a problem that will remain until FFA find some money to build their own arenas.
An earlier start would clash with some of rugby league and Australian rules’ biggest matches, but it would also mean an exclusive A-League grand final with no other distractions, which cannot be a bad thing.
It is certainly worth some thought given the troubles FFA have had in organising the 2014-15 A-League grand final.
A lot of people are going to miss out and you have to feel sorry for the hardcore fans, but that happens every day in Europe. But this could be one of the greatest modern grand finals to grace Australian football pitches, and the intimate crowd in an intimate ground will only add to the spectacle.
Horto Magiko
Roar Rookie
Wow really insightful comment mark.. That was ace how you did that.. Can you do it again?? Let me guess you're another lost AFL fanboy who turned left at Albuquerque? The e99ball tab is thataway
Madge
Guest
"They do. Every year they design a lopsided draw to ensure that big games are on exactly when they want them. It’s ridiculous" As do every code - are you serious - the A league doesn't...that's the beauty of getting the AFL draw out early but the A league draw is already out..if the A league who have more to lose cant get their administrative act together how come the AFL gets the blame- bizarre - gallop should be fired unless he did it deliberately to get the Govt to step in to control fixturing - odder things have happened...funny how gallop punished perth Glory and the players for salary cap issues but not the Melbourne Storm players when his bosses team went over the cap - makes you think it was orchestrated to get Victorian sympathy for a club that couldn't make a dent in melbourne.
Justin Mahon
Guest
deehboy, Fair point. There is a line that has cropped up repeatedly over the past six months to the effect of 'football is a simple, skilful and enjoyable game for everybody'. It is quite calculated and consistent - but still very new. I agree with you that that message, in some refined form, could be a key one. The trick is not to have too many at once. One a year is about the right number. One of the messages I left out of my list above is the 'football is now in the mainstream of Australian society'. That should be read as 'we are not going anywhere and FTA TV should take the punt' :-)
Justin Mahon
Guest
I accused you of 'getting it'. I was wrong.
Mark
Guest
You're absolutely deluded. It's frightening.
Mark
Guest
Or the FFA could have put something in place before October. Changing a fixture after it has been put in ace just isn't going to happen, regardless of the code.
Mitcher
Guest
You know it's not the best rectangular stadium in the country right?
Squizz
Guest
If Melbourne is true to its self-proclaimed title as "the sporting capital of the universe" then it must consider that they should have a decent sized rectangular stadium of around 60,000 that could handle games such as the Grand Final. Wallaby games, RL Test matches and the like. When 3 of the 5 major sporting codes in the country are so poorly served then maybe Melburnians should change their proclamation to the "the sporting capital of the AFL universe".
fiddlesticks
Guest
na, football had its time in the sun. back to the bad old days. sorry
kevin dustby
Guest
labelling rival codes? plural? what Codes are invloved?
Ian
Guest
I recall Casper's JW comment and his defence it wasn't really that bad. Put together with his insistence that the Australian football team is not really that ethnically diverse adds up to a person who does not like football or what it represents. Keep posting on football articles though.
Paul
Guest
I wouldn't consider that to be always the case but there are differences with the rugby codes in the northern states and ARF in the southern states: 1. Common vested interests - namely the building and upgrading of rectangular stadiums. AAMI Park only became a reality because of the rise of Melbourne Victory, the Storm had been successful for years but had not garnered sufficient case for a rectangular stadium alone. After the stadium was constructed the Melbourne Rebels became a reality too - the initial application had failed for lack of a suitable ground. Then take Parramatta Stadium, only being upgraded after the arrival of the Wanderers. However, every dollar of government and private money that goes to a rectangular stadium is a dollar that cannot go to an oval, and this doesn't suit ARF at all. 2. Lack of complete dominance - two rugby codes competing with each other meant neither were able to completely capture the imagination of the public. As such this left an opening for football to exploit, no surprises that NSW and Queensland have made huge contributions to the game over decades. ARF however does command dominance in the south, making it much harder for football to get a toehold in public imagination.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
After all the snide remarks & over-reaction about allegedly huge declines in ALeague crowds, if the ALeague GF attracts 30k fans as expected, the total attendance for 2014/15 after 140 matches will be 60k less than last season, when we had a record 1,887,006 came to watch ALeague. And, that's after a massive season where football fans had to invest time, cash & emotions for the 2015 Asian Cup. Next season, I'd expect the record attendance to be smashed.
Ian
Guest
AAMI is the best for 25,000 odd thousand seat venue. Suncorp is the best for 50,000. Apart from the pitch we can be fixed, what is the issue with Suncorp? I don't see any. Location, transport, view, adjoining facilities. I don't mind sitting in a larger venue with a fantastic set up.
Horto Magiko
Roar Rookie
"But Melbourne seem more obsessed with it than we are." Ok if you say so.. Pretty ironic though. I only hear two sydney folk talking about the rivalry right now. Truth be told we really don't notice what's going on outside of our bubble both in footballing and non-footballing terms.. The only fans we notice (and secretly admire) are wsw. Outside of our two fanbases all other clubs fans look like bandwagoners ready to jump ship at the first sight of rain.
Bondy
Guest
AR Have a break for a while you're extremely busy ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHMxyD0LpCw) ....
Horto Magiko
Roar Rookie
Haha nice work SVB. Keepin ya on your toes. Yeah we share a common enemy. They're blue, they're inbr3d and they come from smurf land ;)
cm
Guest
They do. Every year they design a lopsided draw to ensure that big games are on exactly when they want them. It's ridiculous.
SVB
Guest
Fair enough Deehboy.
SVB
Guest
Horto I just did it as a test to see if you would be alert to it :) I can see you are still following me around and reading all my posts. Just for you I'll try to stop lol. Don't worry mate. I will be slightly supporting your team in the GF ;)