- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
The stage is set for this weekend’s final round of the A-League. Four teams can win the premiership, the ultimate in final day drama, in weekend capable of producing Australia’s own home-grown Sergio Aguero moment.
So with everything on the line and four teams in play, why do we need a finals series afterwards?
Three points separate Brisbane Roar (47), Adelaide United (46), Western Sydney Wanderers (45) and Melbourne City (44).
It’s simple enough, but the full drama will play out with pivotal games on Friday (City versus Adelaide), Saturday (Melbourne Victory versus Roar) and Sunday (Wellington Phoenix versus Wanderers).
It’s great in theory, high drama and all that. But these games should be played at the same time – and the finals system should be scrapped, because some moments just can’t be beaten.
The beauty of Aguero’s title-winning goal for Manchester City in 2012 was that it came only seconds after Manchester United’s corresponding game at Sunderland had finished.
“I swear, you’ll never see anything like it again!” the voice of football Martin Tyler cried – and he is right.
A-League chief Damien de Bohun wrote recently that the “Australian tradition” has led to this final-round drama.
It isn’t the tradition that has led us here, it is four very evenly matched football teams who have earned the right to be in the mix with only 90 minutes of the season remaining.
Why shouldn’t these games be played simultaneously, ramping up the drama and ensuring the ultimate fairness in what is as close to do-or-die as it gets?
That way we could finally scrap this artificial finals series. If it so worked out that a late Bruno Fornaroli winner for City won them the premiership with only seconds to go, there would be no topping that, grand final or not.
The ‘traditional’ Australian ending to a season had merit when there was no knockout competition to speak of (as is the case in other codes), but the FFA Cup has rendered it null and void.
The FFA Cup should be allowed room to breathe as the premier knockout cup competition, which would allow the A-League to align with European football, where consistent excellence is rewarded by the ultimate prize.
Scrapping the finals series would add character to the FFA Cup as well, with a discernible difference between tactics and approach in league and cup games, while also stripping the current reward for mediocrity.
With respect to Perth Glory, who have finished marvellously, and Melbourne Victory, who have had to juggle a punishing schedule, there should be no reward for finishing fifth or sixth. As hard as it is to win the grand final from there, it remains a possibility, when none should remain.
The only reward should be for those who finish first and this weekend will prove that once and for all.
Are you the ultimate team manager? Pick your own superstar team and go head to head with other football fans for glory and cash prizes on Draftstars. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.