And so the Premier League is underway for another season. Ahead of us is nine months and 38 rounds of football to crown the finest club in England.
It’s a far cry from what happens in Australia, where the home-and-away season sets the scene before a champion is decided after a sudden-death finals series.
Both systems undoubtedly have their merits – and their flaws. But which one reigns supreme? It’s time to find out.
We put the question to Roar Expert Mike Tuckerman and Editor Daniel Jeffrey for them to battle it out, but we also want to hear what you think.
Is a first-past-the-post system how we should crown our champions? Or is a finals series the way to go?
For: The A-League should ditch the finals system
Daniel Jeffrey, Roar Editor
There’s one main reason for ditching the finals and moving to a European-style format: fairness.
No-one can deny crowning a champion based on an entire season’s worth of results is fairer than doing so based on 90 minutes of football. It rewards consistent results, not just a side’s performance over a string of do-or-die fixtures.
Take last season as an example. Sydney FC had sewn up the title with weeks to go and were head and shoulders over every other team in the A-League. Yet they were only an assured penalty shootout performance from Melbourne Victory away from missing out on the main piece of silverware for the season.
Had they lost that grand final, it would have been a serious injustice against a side which had completely outclassed the rest of the competition throughout the season.
One poor match, even if it happens to fall on the final day of the season, should not cost such a dominant side a championship.
The finals-less approach can, of course, take some of the excitement out of the season.
But surely this is the role played by the FFA Cup?
The knockout competition, in addition to providing lesser clubs a chance to step into the spotlight, gives fans the tension and drama of winner-take-all matches, taking away the necessity of an A-League season which culminates in a grand final.
(AAP Image/Ben Macmahon)
And let’s not forget that round robin-style seasons can provide just as much entertainment and intensity as a final. I’d argue the upside of such a competition dwarfs that of a finals series.
Manchester City’s epic, last-minute Premier League victory back in 2012 is the obvious example of this – and rightly so. But it’s not as if the A-League has been devoid of such tightly-run finishes to the regular season.
Had the 2015-16 competition been decided solely on regular season form, it would go down in the annals of history as one of the greatest finishes to a season in Australian sporting history – Melbourne City going from first to fourth in the final two rounds, and three other clubs (Adelaide United, Brisbane Roar and Melbourne Victory) split by just the solitary point atop the ladder.
With the finals, we are depriving ourselves of that drama despite the presence of a knockout cup competition, while at the same time not fully rewarding teams for their regular-season form.
When you put it that way, it’s an easy decision.
Against: The A-League should keep the finals system
Mike Tuckerman, Roar Expert
Many of our most iconic A-League games have been finals fixtures. Why would we want to get rid of them?
Erik Paartalu’s header, Danny Vukovic’s shootout save, Besart Berisha’s tumble… We’d have missed out on all of these memories if the A-League employed a first-past-the-post system.
And for what? So that we can be more like Europe, a continent where the championship playoff final is now one of the richest games on the planet? Where countries like Belgium and the Netherlands are increasingly employing playoff systems of their own?
Yes, they still employ a first-past-the-post system in these nations. But their national leagues have been around for a lot longer than 13 years. And they’re played in countries where football is the dominant code, not fighting for a place at the table.
The fact is we’ve had finals football since 1984, when they were brought in to decide the National Soccer League champions. Should we simply forget about all that history, too?
Of course, this system can sometimes provide drama. Just ask Manchester City fans. Or better yet, look north to the J League, where they’ve switched between championship playoffs and a first-past-the-post system more than once.
Last season, Sydney FC won the premiership with four rounds to spare. With no promotion and relegation at the other end of the table, the finals series adds an extra incentive for teams to keep fighting.
(AAP Image/Dean Lewins)
“The A-League is boring” has been a common refrain over the past couple of years, in which the same ten teams have done battle three times a season. But how boring would it be if there was no finals football at the end of it?
It might suit the Premier League – which boasts 20 teams, including three new clubs each season – but it’s not going to work for a relatively new competition with a fixed number of teams and no promotion or relegation between divisions.
Most EPL clubs attract a full house every week, but the A-League’s biggest crowds are usually reserved for our grand final. Removing that element for the sake of a few football hipsters isn’t smart, it’s commercial suicide.
So leave the A-League finals as they are, and simply enjoy the EPL for what it is. We can enjoy both.
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bryan
Guest
A true Dockers or Glory fan bleeds purple. I have been around during the depths of despair for both clubs, hated it when either of my teams got thrashed, gloried in their victories. Both teams will always draw pretty good crowds, no matter what happens. I remember when we used to sing "Let's pretend we scored a Goal" in the Shed at NIB. We were so bad, but it was still great being there. Same with the Dockers,------I remember the "Connolly days".Arrrrgggghhhhh! One game, the other team was terrible, they kept running into each other, & still beat us. To the purists, sorry to mention that other game----I was going to mention the Western Force, too, but I could hear the clatter of pitchforks, & smell the flaming torches, so I thought "best not".
Doc Disnick
Roar Guru
I thought you were talking about the A-League then.
Nemesis
Guest
I'm a huge Aleague fan and I will categorically state: The ALeague will never attract more interest in Australia than AFL, or NRL. The ALeague is the elite football competition for Australia and the only people who will potentially be attracted to this competition on a regular basis are people who enjoy watching football, regardless of which player is on the park. They are purists. They watch football for the enjoyment of the Game; not the celebrities playing the game. FoxSports needs ALeague as much as ALeague needs FoxSports. But, the power in this relationship will change as the ALeague develops. Just like the power relationship between club owners & FFA has changed. When the ALeague started, the FFA had all the power. Now, we're at the tipping point where the FFA's power over ALeague clubs has nearly evaporated. This is like life. At birth the parent holds all the power & nurtures the child to be the best he/she can be. Eventually, the child becomes the best he/she can be & they can survive on their own.
melbourneterrace
Guest
MLS is garbage. No one should take them seriously.
LuckyEddie
Guest
No it's standard business practice to protect your major investments , in this case FOX looks after NRL/AFL. It's also standard business practice to buy out any opposition to your major product, in this case football. It's the oldest trick in the book, pay a reasonable amount to snuff out any challenge to your major investment. The only sport that could have taken ovrr NRL/AFL was football but FOX have made sure that can never happen. Do you really think they will put football above their billion dollar investments in NRL/AFL?
Doc Disnick
Roar Guru
"every country plays to this model" MLS doesn't. Try again.
Nemesis
Guest
@Brian Neither the World Cup, nor the UCL is a league system of football competition. If the ALeague were 2 groups of 5 playing 8 matches Home & Away and at the end of the 8 weeks the top 2 in each group qualified for the Finals, that would equate to what we see at the WC & UCL. Maybe that's what Aussies want? Maybe, we should have 2 groups of 5 playing 4 tournaments each year? Spring Champions Summer Champions Autumn Champions Winter Champions
Markfromcroydon
Guest
They are both short 'cup style' tournaments. A full league season is what we're talking about.
Brian
Guest
I am pretty sure both the World Cup and champions league use finals and seem to suit football
Matt dustby
Guest
It's not British, every country plays to this model Try again
Matt dustby
Guest
You started off well, yes this is not an EPL thing it's a global norm Then you ruined it by going on a rant showing your chip on the shoulder mentality
Redondo
Guest
Also, before introducing promotion/relegation, there's nothing to stop adding the top 2 NPL teams to the bottom 6 home and away series (without promotion). It would give a great indication of relative quality (A-League versus NPL) and drawing power of the top NPL clubs. If an NPL club finishes above an A-League club it would drive the case for pro/rel.
Redondo
Guest
Nemesis - I quite like the Australian tradition of a final so...maybe add to that with the top 2 after the top 6 home and away series playing off for the championship at a large capacity neutral stadium e.g. ANZ Stadium or Etihad (alternate years). That provides a guaranteed climax to the season and recognises there's a clear difference between managing performance over a season (which often depends on club wealth and the size of the squad) and performing in a single game. I reckon the EPL Home and away format misrepresents quality sometimes. Man Utd under Ferguson for his last 5 or 6 seasons might be interesting to look at. I'm pretty sure (but too lazy to check) that Manu underperformed against the top 6 but compensated by grinding out 1-0 results against weaker teams. I say that as a Manu fan - even during the Ronaldo years they were bloody boring and pretty ordinary for long stretches but still won titles.
Grobbelaar
Roar Guru
Luckily for us, we are in a position where we don't have to worry too much about that dinosaur on its last legs. We will be completely unaffected when it dies. Re Gallop, a couple of journos on twitter have quashed the rumour as untrue.
Grobbelaar
Roar Guru
With an 18 team league with a complete home and away season, you end up with 34 games per season, throw in the odd international break, a weekend for the FFA Cup, etc, and you end up with a 9 month season, which would run from the start of September to the end of May.
Nemesis
Guest
I've heard NRL fans on social media complaining every week about FoxSports scheduling NRL matches at times that are not user-friendly for NRL fans. So, it's got nothing to do with FoxSp treating football badly. FoxSports spends the money & they exert influence on the product they're buying. It's standard for any business in any industry. Don't be naive.
LuckyEddie
Guest
Mark best direct your concern to FOX they set the play list and the yes men at FFA just have to go along with it. To all concerned there have been some great suggestions but FOX runs football in OZ and pay tv runs football overseas. Sadly people can suggest what ever they like and no matter how clever, FOX run the show and will ensure that football goes no where while it protects it's bigger assets NRL/AFL. FOX just uses it as a summer filler and that's why there is no structured home and away fixtures and why players play in 40 degree heat on a Sunday afternoon. The first step to helping football is to drop payments to FOX or Optus and see if they do something to help, highly unlikely.
Ben Talintyre
Roar Pro
It works well in the EPL but that season is substantially longer. Shortening the season through the exclusion of finals would hurt the A-leagues revenue. When the season is longer and there are both home and away games it would be something that could be considered. The expansion of teams in the A-League should be considered before. If there was to be a A-League second division then the first past the post idea would be ideal then.
mattq
Roar Rookie
good news if true. this article is also relevant http://www.msn.com/en-au/money/company-news/free-to-air-sports-at-tipping-point-warns-seven/ar-AAqan2Y?li=AA54Gb&ocid=spartanntp
Nemesis
Guest
BREAKING Only a Twitter source so far, but it's being reported that David Gallop has resigned as CEO of the FFA....