The A-League is an embarrassment to football

When I started reading this I just knew it had to be another south fan. You had your shot, you messed it up. Move on. If you can't move on, you're no football fan.

George, your passion is admirable and there is no doubt that the A-League disenfranchised many fans of former NSL clubs. However, the NSL was dead, a moribund league that had somehow managed to survive a long time past its use-by date. Before there is the chance of promotion and relegation to the A-League, there needs to be a viable second-tier national competition, call it the B-League if you like. How many current clubs could viably compete in such a league? The biggest regular season crowd to ever attend a NSL game in its 27 year history was 19,000, drawn by a club that might look suspiciously like a franchise. The A-League broke that mark twice in its very first weekend. There was clearly a demand for the A-League but what the FFA need to do now is find a way to engage the next tier of NPL clubs because you are totally right; they have history that cannot be ignored.

I have followed football in Australia since watching the 1974 Socceroos perform so admirably in the 1974 WC. Now while I didn't follow the NSL as closely as some on here, I did not have a local team in Australia until SFC came into being, I did watch some NSL games. There is no way that the NSL was anywhere in the standard of the game last night (SFC v MV)& either I have no idea what I'm talking about or people are still looking at the NSL with rose colour tinted glasses. Yes I did watch the Perth Glory Woolongong Wolves GF, great game, huge tensions, but nowhere near the standard produced last night.

Gweeds- This was a good attempt at soothing George's complaints but even your comments give away the fact that you may have "come into" the NSL late in the day so to speak for you too seem to blame Soccer Australia as being the huge "embarassment" that caused the downfall of that competition. You mention the "great moments" of NSL football and rightly point out the standard of football achieved but deeper examination of why that was so goes further than the Golden Generation you mention.In the early days of the NSL the standard of football,just as it is today,in the HAL ,was greatly influenced by the importation of men with experience,,at that time mostlly from the "home countries",or European countries still under the influences caused by the recovery from WW11. The team I was with in the early days of the NSL (finished 5th in the league and won the then national trophy) had 6 such players ,all with experience in top British leagues,3 with appearances in Socceroo teams (all age groups) and 2 local young players. Compare that stat. with the 2 teams that put on a great display last night and you will find "the mix" very similar. So I think we have to look elswhere when examining why the NSL failed and Frank Lowy's "life in football" gives a very good pointer in where the league was in fact showing signs of "breakdown" The NSL was only 7 or 8 years old and stil under the auspices of the then ruling body,the ASF,when this man of vision walked away from the game ,and 2 years later was no doubt instrumental in engineerig the leagues most succesful team,Hakoah,etc etc departure out of the league.claiming at the time it was a financial decision. That is just not true,he walked away from the game after being soundly beaten in a vote by the management structure of the time,a structure with very obvious bias to Greek and Italian content. It was that management philosophy that killed off the NSL for such was the level of internal fighting,intrigue,and political maneuvering going on,the "growing" of the game became almost a side issue. The forming of Soccer Australia was just another last ditch effort to try and save a "ship" already heading for the rocks. We all know what happened.After a 20 year absence Lowy was approached by concerned people who wished the game to prosper. It has. Cheers jb

Fadida My comment above relating to the AFL was in reference to their strong crowds and TV audience here in Aust. not to the penetration of the code overseas. I generally concur with what you have written here.

Absolutely MelbCro and we are all football - the NPL and state leagues in every state are part of that growth and all the credit to you. Any football fan in Australia deserves credit for helping the game grow, even if its just taking your kids down to the park every weekend to watch them play. The FFA is trying to reach out to the whole football family and held out an olive branch with the FFA Cup where A-League and NPL teams and fans can sit shoulder to shoulder. It had a lot of criticism before it even started and people predicted it wouldn't work. But its been moderately successful and will continue to grow. Be part of the football family and come and join us. It doesn't necessarily need to be an A-League game, just give credit where credit is due and encourage people to keep striving and getting better, from the Socceroos right down to little Johnny at your local club. I take pride in whatever we've achieved, the Socceroos, the A-League, the NPL's growth and feats in the FFA Cup. I'm never going to write an article in the Roar that says the NPL and ethnic football clubs are an embarrassment to football. If I was a true Australian football fan, why would I? We have all played a very important part in the growth of the game here, from the very first day it landed in Australia. .

MelbCro, did you read the bit where he said he was not Croation. So it's not a slur on his nation. Fans can stop supporting a club if they wish, it's not like leaving the Mafia.

How is the South Coast not big enough yet? Population of Illawarra is comparable to Central Coast and growing at a faster rate.

Dear George, I get you. I agree 100% that teams like South Melbourne are based on community. I get that they are not 'franchises' like in the A-League. I get that promotion and relegation are a great way to refresh a league - but saying that the A-League is an embarrassment to football? Really? The NSL had great moments. And I am prepared to accept that the standard of football reached in some years levels higher than the A-League, and of course it provided great players (just see the 'golden generation that culminated in the 2006 World Cup) but at the end the whole NSL and Soccer Australia was a huge embarrassment to football. Much more than anything the A-league's current problems. You may find the predicament of some A-League teams 'truly hilarious and exhilarating' probably the same way you found the demise of my NSL team 'Carlton SC' 'truly hilarious and exhilarating', or perhaps Eastern Pride? Or Northern Spirit? Sorry George, but your schadenfreude shows a bit of bitterness. There seems to be a bit of 'NSL revisionism' going around. That it was a golden era of community teams nirvana where diverse communities enjoyed their football. But in fact the latest stages of the NSL were characterised by bitter feuds and paltry attendances (usually 6,000 was the norm). You are right. The crowd trouble was overblown (as it is now) but the issue wasn't the violence, or even whether the teams had a following by a particular group. The issue was the PERCEPTION of these teams. You are right. I do remember teams like South Melbourne trying to be comprehensive, but when some neutral see chants of 'Hellas' and Greek flags may feel that there is no attachment to the team. As a Non English Speaking Background person myself there is nothing wrong with chanting Hellas or Greek flags per se. But following a team is an irrational emotional thing. If you feel it is not part of your crowd (even if the reality is different) you won't get people to the games. Wishing the demise of the A-League like some of your kindred spirits, will only send back football in Australia to that irrelevant marginalised sport it became with the NSL and Soccer Australia. The sport doesn't just belong to you.

MelbCro, Horto had attempted to give 100% credit to SMH for the development of Messrs Postecoglu and Muscat, ignoring the last 20 years of their development since leaving. I believe jb has implied that while SMH played a role in their formative years there have been many contributions and factors in their success. Are St Mirren claiming credit for Ferguson's 13 titles and 2 champions leagues?

Savvas, given that "new soccer" had only been around for a decade it is logical that anyone in admin positions has been around for many years and may have been involved in the NSL in some capacity. If not there'd be 10yo CEOs! Many of them consider themselves football people I'd reckon, rather than old or new.... Noone is denying the contribution of those around pre A-league.

My comment is aimed primarily at the author and one or two other posters who seem to blame Frank Lowy for everything , with no recognition that the NSL was a dead duck that needed to be reinvented. There is also no recognition that the A-league has succeeded, and is vastly superior to the NSL. That's right, succeeded. The author chooses to ignore all of this and claiming the league is an "embarrassment" and he wants it to fail. That his club average 300 fans suggests it was the right call to abolish the NSL. Where are these myths you accuse me of? A dying league, dying crowds? These are facts. Where are these stereotypes? Give me an example. The only stereotype I am seeing is NSL fans blaming Frank Lowy, rather than looking inwards, when evidence suggests he was right. As pointed out by elsewhere, people can be fans of both the NSL and the A-league. I watched the NSL religiously. I can acknowledge the contribution clubs made to football as it is now. However the A-league kills it in every respect. Unfortunately some NSL fans believe Australian football no longer exists. "New dawners"?

Sorry, the AFL is one of the 2 most successful in the world? I must have missed the thousands of AFL shirts fans wear in every city I've visited across the globe

+1

Perhaps South Melbourne Hellas and Anadoluspor err... Hume City could form a joint venture and bid for an A-League spot... oh wait.

There is no innate virtue in promotion and relegation. It's a fact that even in Europe many in Europe at least are question its value . The two most successful football leagues in the wor;d ie the AFL and NFL don't have P and R. Give it up Nordster. Your laissez faire libertarian rantings are passe. Stick to websites showing how to make tin foil hats and banging on about climate change skepticism.

What an absurd comment Jbinnie to say that South did not play a role in making Ange in a football sense. And then to go an say lets 'bury this South connection', what an incredibly embarrassing comment to make.

Really Fadida? Pretty sure no one was more aware of the dieing status of the NSL then the supporters. I should know because I was there, but you are lecturing me about what I experienced? What a laugh. Having read your comments, more than anything you are driven by myths and stereotypes.

Emmanuel Drivas was the one who hired Postecoglou for Brisbane Roar job. It was a shock appointment. And if Brisbane was seen as a Greek club, the usual naysayers would have been out in force. It appears to me that it took a member of 'Old Soccer' (Drivas is Greek so would have had affinity, I assume, with the old NSL) to identify true talent.

Agree Kasey. They also never recognise that the NSL was rotting from the inside , nor do they take any responsibility for their clubs own roles in it. It's blame FFA, let's hope the (vastly, vastly superior) A-League collapses so that our clubs with attendance's of 300 will rise again