What to expect ahead of A-League season 11

Question: With the owners of the Roar in trouble, lets say they pull up stumps and move on without a new owner for the club. The FFA have to step in again (well not again here, but again as in to support a club). What does that say for Football in Brisbane? People keep telling me the league is going from Strength to Strength but Im just not seeing that.

My take MVC and SFC fighting for the plate then Adelaide Roar, ,CCM, City, Wellington fighting for positions 4- 6 (one to miss) WSW, Glory, NUJ - fighting for the spoon

That's good news Kasey .

The biggest signing for Adelaide United this off-season has not been a player but the signing of an agreement with the city of Playford to enter a partnership that will involve construction of a brand new training facility. The shovel is already in the ground building Adelaide United's first permanent training facility at Ridley reserve, Elizabeth South, about 25 minutes North of the CBD. Hopefully this helps keep the best XI on the pitch more often than not. Until this year, AU has had to rely on a number of FFSA Premier League clubs for access to their pitches to train on. A couple of times it has been speculated that switching between regular turf and training on artificial turf has caused a litany of soft tissue injuries that seem to pop up with annoying regularity. That is plainly less than professional, so I'm not alone in hoping the improved facilities lead to bigger and better things for my Reds:)

@Waz I think 100m would be the upper mark that the tv stations would be willing to pay, but, after hearing that the NRL is aiming for 1.7B then it doesn't seem as far fetched as the figure they are bandying about.

Once you go to more than half the games though it would just make more sense to buy a membership anyway wouldn't it? I would, even if I knew I wasn't going to go to about half the games. Better value for money, or close to it, less hassle, no ticketek fees, guaranteed entry to the derby and first dibs on finals, you are supporting the club by doing it.

Waz: You have Adelaide United as a big unknown, yet 2 sentences prior you predict they will struggle. I don't follow?

And there it is folks...typical Fuss: Reads the facts, realises he's wrong, still won't admit it, continues to call everyone liars, and then bails out of the discussion with "You make stuff up & have poor football knowledge". Priceless.

RBB Decent post.

@AR It's no point attempting to have a sensible discussion with you Egg Ball fans about any football issue. You make stuff up & have poor football knowledge.

Fuss wears hotpants ?.

So Fuss, in closing, when you referred to Mister Football's comments as "pure fiction" and then sneered "You are just pulling stories out of your hot pants." ..well, someone was pulling stories from their hotpants, but it certainly wasn't MF.

I think you guys will surprise. Have been playing well from the little I have seen. I think Aloisi will surprise some people as well.

Fuss, take a deep breath. Despite you eagerly insisting that - The SBS CEO has categorically stated the network never made any such moves to off-load Aleague - sometimes you have to read between the lines a little... In a Senates Estimates hearing, Communications Minister Stephen Conroy stated to SBS CEO, Mr Ebeid, that he was aware that that there are negotiations going on between SBS to off-load the (remaining two years of) A-League. And Mr Ebeid's response was this: “Their confidential conversations, Senator” (sic). Now, you can huff and puff all you like, but that's the transcipt. It's a public record of a network chief talking about how a particular product is costing them money, and the options they have in relation to that. Or you can read more here: http://nelbie.com/kevmarl/2015/5/28/sbs-chairman-indicates-he-will-dump-underperforming-a-league-rights

I'll take third place after last years mess :)

@AR I repeat: The SBS CEO has categorically stated the network never made any such moves to off-load Aleague. I never said contracts cannot be broken, or amended. But, when 1 party (SBS) has shown absolutely ZERO interest in having the contract amended or broken, then no court will allow the contract to be violated.

Fuss, not sure why you're so angry about this. It's been widely reported that SBS a) were unhappy with the FFA's public criticism of it, and the Asian Cup bidding process; and b) have been continuously losing money on the ALeague since they bought the rights (i.e no ROI). On account of these facts, SBS considered offloading the ALeague rights to a FTA broadcaster (with the FFA's blessing I should add). However, no offers came and so SBS will likely hang on to the rights for the final year. You can read more here if you like: http://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/after-wanting-out-sbs-now-firming-to-hold-aleague-rights-this-season-20150723-giizk9.html So when you ask me: "Do you even understand the basic concepts of Contract Law?" Yes Fuss, I certainly do. Do you understand contracts can be broken/amended/revised..? Basic concepts indeed...(chuckle)

It seems appropriate when a poster uses a profile image of a ballet dancer wearing hot pants

Pulling stories from hot pants ? WTF Is that an actual saying ?.

I am expecting a decent season to be fair. We were heading in that direction last year until we had the Asian Cup pause during the season. We were heading for record numbers in all areas and then a few specific things happened. The appearance and disappearance of David Villa, which was a huge disappointment after so much hype, the Wanderers winning the ACL, the blow up with Mike Mulvey and Brisbane Roar and then a clear divide in the A-league between those who would make the finals and those who would not. I think that is what is really concerns the FFA, hence this idea for an Apetura and Clausara type league, which I am not a fan of. There is a clear drop off for the A-league from about January onwards and this has occurred throughout the years. Until we get the bottom teams playing off for something then this disinterest will continue to occur. As much as I would like to see promotion/relegation it just wont happen yet as we are not really a mature market in terms of teams able to compete in the A-league. What I am hoping to see though is more efforts from owners and the FFA working closely to stabilize competition and make it more sustainable. The FFA needs to allow teams more flexibility in terms of allowing them to be profitable. This would mean relinquishing some control to the clubs eg merchandise, branding. It might mean easing some of the issues on the salary cap like the salary floor. It is still up to owners though to quickly sort through what works for them as a club, some of these clubs are operating with too many overhead expenses and they need to trim the fat. An example of this is Sydney FC, who has the ridiculous idea of housing players in hotels for home matches. I understand that the Sydney FC owner has deep pockets and that this idea might be done as a bonding exercise but it is extravagant and its not needed. There are other ways to achieve this without going to this excess. In terms of the season I think it will be an interesting one and will be a lot closer this year and this is due to both Melbourne Victory and Sydney FC playing in the ACL. Even though the draw is a little more favourable it is still difficult to compete in and then not seeing any fallout in the A-league. The two best teams are Melbourne Victory and Sydney FC but the ACL will take a toll and this is why other teams will close the gap. This leaves the top very open and my surprise for the premiers plate is Adelaide United. I think Amore has outstanding credentials and it is clear that the players want to play for this coach. They have made some good signings least of all Eli Babalj who I think is a very good striker. Always loved watching him play, menacing when he gets going. As for the Wanderers I think we will have an up and down year. I think we have recruited well but there is still so much to do. It is very hard to gel a new group of players into a potent team. There will be no lingering effects from last year as it is virtually a wholesale clean out, something that continually bugs me. I want a solid core of players to progress from one year to the next and the clubs insistence to only hire players on short term contracts doesn't sit well with me either. I am predicted 5-6 spot. My table for the premiers plate 1. Adelaide 2. Melbourne Victory 3. Brisbane Roar 4. Sydney FC 5. City 6. Wanderers 7. Newcastle 8. Wellington 9. Glory 10. CCM