New A-League season launching with a whimper, not a bang

As the dust settles on the dramatic crescendos of the winter codes, many could be excused for thinking that there is something of a void in the sporting calendar.

A black hole perhaps, as television networks wind down their coverage, fans take a breather and thoughts shift to Bathurst, the Ashes and the Australian Open in January.

I will be at Rod Laver Arena in the new-year with my family, that same family who clear the lounge room when Mount Panorama comes to life on October eighth and, I too, am lamenting my NRL and AFL allegiances that met sad endings in 2017.

However, unlike many, I haven’t forgotten that there is an event wedged somewhere in the middle. Just before the running of the ‘great race’ and well before the upcoming summers of tennis and cricket.

It is hard to blame people for not realising it, or for their ambivalence towards the opening round of matches in the A-League, such is the understated promotion of the season launch.

Foxtel subscribers won’t feel that way, nor will anyone following A-League news on social media.

Club members should have received their new hats, key rings, bottle openers and scarves; they will be fully aware of what is about to happen. As will the non-member supporters of each club as they plan for the matches they will attend, those that fit into their schedules and travel plans.

Obviously, Roar members and followers of sites such as Goal and FourFourTwo will also be fully versed in the games scheduled and their team’s opponent in Round 1.

Sadly, for those outside the paid members and staunchly loyal football community, the chances of experiencing some entertaining and persuasive promotional material aren’t too far removed from Buckley’s.

I spent the weekend just past, doing an analysis of the media coverage that the A-League received.

I read Sydney’s tabloid and broadsheet newspapers, both in hard and soft copy, set my recording device to tape a total of six hours of Channel Ten television in hourly blocks throughout the weekend and listened to my normal dose of sports talkback radio.

What I discovered was deflating.

Well, deflating at first, until the realisation kicks in that the A-League has started with a media starved whimper in recent years (Yoshi excluded) and 2017-18 appears to be no different.

The most alarming evidence is drawn from the sports sections of the Sydney newspapers. While expecting the back (and front) pages to be littered with NRL and AFL news around the grand finals, surely the A-League promotional machine would be in full swing and the journos had come along for the ride?

In reality, double page spreads for the racing industry, rugby union and detailed coverage of events in world cricket were the norm.

Saturday’s Telegraph was particularly alarming with one ninety-five word football story on Sergio Aguero’s car accident. Thank goodness for Dominic Bossi’s piece in the Herald where he examined Graham Arnold’s mindset going into a title defence.

Ray Gatt’s column on the back page of the sports section of The Australian provided the only other sustenance to my Saturday football diet. Together the articles totalled approximately five hundred words.

Sunday saw much the same, with Bossi’s take on ten of the key new signings proving a breath of fresh air and Robbie Slater’s, Guide to the A-League actually including a banner along the bottom of the page listing the match-ups for week one.

In total, three and a half pages were dedicated to football across the weekend in five separate editions of the three competing publications.

Either the media sees no value in covering the game, promoting the league or producing any future revenue for itself as its popularity increases, or more alarmingly, people aside from hard-core and faithful football supporters in Australia don’t give two hoots about the most popular participation sport in this country.

Surely it has to be a little of both, with sloppy newspaper coverage of football being reflective of a traditional disinterest and dislike of the game and a failure of the local league to capture and hold the attention of the millions of local players, many of whom, still see the competition as inferior.

Television proved just as disappointing a source when it came to the promotion of the A-League.

Watching six hours of Channel Ten broadcasts late on Sunday night made me value the fast forward feature on the remote more than ever.

While I picked up a few Christmas shopping ideas, spotted some bargains at a market where prices are always ‘down’ and got to know every staff member who has ever worked at a certain hardware chain, football was absent.

I had hoped to see an advertisement for the ‘big blue’ on Saturday night which will see the A-League debut on Ten’s sister channel One. There wasn’t an advertisement in sight.

Looking ahead in the television guide, I found reference to the first game to be televised by One.

(AAP Image/Dean Lewins)

It was a brief and passionless listing more like the description of a late-night movie in which no one is interested yet a small group of insomniacs will be watching.

A great deal rests on Ten’s involvement and if the weekend advertising support is reflective of their commitment for the entire season, it is difficult to see any real traction being made.

Football was also absent in radio coverage, where sports bulletins were driven by the grand finals and the thumping the International team were receiving in the President’s Cup.

The real pity is the fact that so much has been happening amidst each of the clubs.

Trial matches have offered hope for many, season launches, unveiling of new kits and player’s corporate appearances have all been fascinating to read about, yet without ‘following’ in the social media realm, those outside will remain oblivious.

This is all particularly disappointing considering the matches slated for week one. A Saturday night ‘big blue’, preceded by an interesting M1 derby on the Central Coast and a high stakes season opener as Melbourne City play host to Brisbane Roar on Friday.

(AAP Image/Dave Hunt)

Every club will hope for a fast start and Round 1 will tell us much about the new signings, combinations and where potential improvement lies. It’s a shame very little of this has been played out in mainstream media.

While criticism could be levelled at the FFA and the financial investment made in promoting the season launch, no amount of money can create artificial interest or re-educate the disinterested journalists. Sure the FFA can do much better, however, an onside media might be their most valuable asset.

With only three days to go before City and Brisbane take to the field on Friday let’s hope there is a flood, an absolute barrage of interest.

The winter codes should be done and dusted by Wednesday and newspapers, websites and television will hopefully be littered with images of our A-League stars, pristinely groomed pitches and fans adorned in their new kits.

Just quietly, I won’t be holding my breath.