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I’m used to being an underdog. I support West Ham United, it is therefore, in my DNA.
When you cheer your Premier League team for finishing tenth on the ladder and feel that is a great season, you get a wonderful sense of perspective in terms of what success actually is.
The vast chasm between the expectations of a Hammers fan and the supporters of the high flyers and more financially potent clubs such as Manchester City or Chelsea is something worth noting.
It is somewhat similar to where the A-League stands in terms of comparisons with other Leagues. Those comparisons seem to foster a sense of inferiority in many local fans, something which I find quite unfortunate and at times, unrealistic.
The game continues to grow, the league hits its highs and lows and talented young boys head to far flung parts of the globe honing their skills and plying their trade.
The beauty of their reconvening when national teams assemble, still moves me and is something of which we should all be proud.
Rather than bemoaning the unfortunate byproduct of money and experience being accumulate off-shore by homegrown players, a balanced view might enable us all to celebrate this situation rather than lament it.
Seeing eleven Australian men, gathered from all corners of the globe, bonded physically by arm and emotionally through a common goal as the Socceroos, is worth celebration, irrespective of the continent in which they play their club football.
In the same sense, if a realistic perspective can be applied to other issues, perhaps more positivity can be generated around our local competition.
There are many things about the league I express to friends that are met with cynicism and scorn. It breaks my heart and I don’t get the negativity. Summer football is one such example.
I, personally, love it. Sure it can be hot, as Adelaide United and Wellington Phoenix experienced on Sunday, yet this was an exception rather than a rule.
Dusk is a perfectly appropriate time to play football in this country during our hot summer and on very few occasions has the heat put a negative on the contest.
So why do people tell me that the FFA moved to summer to avoid becoming a non entity if pitted against the more traditional winter codes.
They tell me football is only able to pull crowds due to the game’s summer positioning and thus the players are forced to play in stifling conditions that destroy the quality of the matches.
Party poopers I say. Festive football is brilliant, watching midweek games through the warm summer months is a rewarding way to spend an evening with the family and the Australian traditions of Bbqs, partying and relaxation work in perfectly with my A-League experience.
So what else is worthy of celebration in our football landscape? How about our coaches? Whether they be former Socceroos who served the nation proud, expats or visitors from countries such as Spain, Scotland etc or a younger man seeking an opportunity to establish his football credentials further, they all bring something.
Their entertainment factor is high, Graham Arnold, Tony Popovic and Kevin Muscat provide us with pantomime like scenarios prior to Derbies, building interest and drama.
Personally, I reckon they plan it all in a weekly conference call, where they outline how they can poke and prod each other in the lead up to matches.
Moreover, Kenny Lowe’s Dick Van Dyke impersonations in the technical area bring a smile to my face every time the Glory go around and watching John Aloisi slowly lose his pleasant exterior as he delves deeper and deeper into the dark depths of management makes me chuckle.
It won’t be long now until Aloisi will be spitting, swearing and f-bombing all over the place just like Muscat.
Even this is worth celebrating. My nine year old asked me about the Victory mentor just before Christmas, ‘Daddy, what’s wrong with that man?’, I let her know that he gets very stressed and suggested that his dog may have died during the week and he was bit upset.
Perspectives on the game could also be altered with a greater appreciation of the quirky things in our league that, at times, aren’t celebrated to the extent to which they could be.
Wellington’s ‘shirts off’ policy when leading into the last ten is gold. Despite bringing some odd looks from non-football people when conveyed to them, it is a beautiful thing. Not so much the removal of the shirts, more the white, milky flesh exposed after the unveiling.
The monolithic sauce bottles at Central Coast Stadium can now apparently be seen from space. My recent visit there for the Mariners Sydney FC clash reminded me of their iconic nature. I fear the day that Masterfoods see other avenues as more attractive investments for their advertising dollar.
The ‘flying’ version of the tomato sauce bottle that floats in the breeze pre kick-off and threatens to rocket into the fans at different stages, is a clever extension of the theme and the Mariners Management should be congratulated on their spirit of fun and humour.
Moreover, A-League fans are, on the most part, fair-minded people who see the bigger ambitions of football in Australia. No doubt, there have been flash points over the years, however, as I recounted in my recent article, A message for the Central Coast Mariners and their fans, the general atmosphere and culture reflected at matches is top quality.
Derbies sometimes test this, as expressed in my post Sydney derby piece, yet football in Australia is definitely a family friendly activity, populated by decent people.
Our fans are up close and personal with the players, no barricades are required to control football loving Aussies and those who attempt to convey football as a hooligan infested code, have little evidence to support their case. This is something of which we should be proud.
We should also celebrate the coverage our game receives. Rarely a week goes by that I don’t become engage in a debate on the merit and value of a Foxtel subscription and the importance of free-to-air exposure. Non Foxtel people consistently convey to me their refusal to subscribe based on principal.
The discussion on the Foxtel platform is often filled with negativity around its limited exposure (30%). Non subscribers need remember than Foxtel customers have access to free-to-air channels and that their judgement of the cable provider is, I suggest, more balanced than those without the service.
The product is slick, polished and professional and commercial channels have only recently made their foray into HD coverage, something which the A-League has enjoyed since 2009.
Tara Rushton, Simon Hill and Mark Bosnich bring the game alive and while there will always be criticism based on personal preferences, the extended coverage of the game through programs such as Shootout is excellent. It is a class above some of the nonsense produced on commercial networks to which other codes are subjected.
Finally, the ultimate source of celebration for Australian football fans should be our players. Aaron Mooy is a wonderful example of what harm the pessimistic attitude towards out talent can create.
Three years ago a football writer told me that he wasn’t to sad to see Mooy leave the Wanderers because he was a little shaky on the ball. I shook my head in disbelief.
Sure the speed and intensity of the A-League isn’t that of the Premier League, yet its high time that people outside the intensively passionate A-League supporters, were reminded just how good our boys are.
Having Tim Cahill, Alex Wilkinson, Ivan Franjic, Tommy Oar, Carl Valeri and Alex Brosque back on our shores is a reminder of the talent we produce.
Jamie McLaren, Luke De Vere, Josh Risdon, Andrew Naboutt and Jason Geria might be the next wave of talent to depart and that’s okay, because it shows us that our league is producing talent and will continue to do so as older players return to offer insight and experience to the young stars.
There have been cracker clashes this year, along with a couple of very dour affairs, yet the general football being played is pleasing. Crowds numbers are thereabouts, which was to be expected, and the finals race is building nicely with eight teams well and truly in the hunt.
Call me an optimist, a dreamer or someone who has accepted mediocrity for so long due to their affection for a team from East London.
I don’t really mind, but if you are a negative sceptic, a poo pooer or just a frustrated perfectionist, get some perspective and love the A-League.