As 2017 draws to close, football fans in Australia can look forward to significant change in the ensuing 12 months.
Not only will the sport in Australia be transformed with a new governance structure, but the A-League will undergo a transformation from being owned and managed by Football Federation Australia (FFA) to an independent entity that is fully owned by the clubs participating.
This independence should not be unfettered. The FFA has full control of football in Australia and must set boundaries for the operation of the A-League.
Identifying the boundaries the FFA should impose will stimulate vigorous discussion across the football community and should include salary cap, visa players, player availability for international duty, etc.
Since the formation of the A-League, a cap (and floor) has been used to control wages.
Broadly, the rationale is thought to be to increase competitive balance, and to maintain financial stability for clubs. However, the administration and auditing of any cap is prone to all the failings that attach to administration and auditing of income.
Simply, there are too many ways for creative accountants to remove income from prying eyes.
Even the world’s most advanced governments, with highly resourced forensic auditors who have wide policing powers, are unable to discover hidden money that passes each day. So it defies commonsense to pretend any sporting organisation can accurately monitor income being paid to players.
If the A-League is fully owned by the participating clubs, it seems likely they will remove the salary cap. If this occurs, FFA should impose regulations to ensure the competition will always be focused on providing a career pathway for Australian football talent.
I propose instead implementing a player points system (PPS) that will be impossible to cheat, simple to administer and promotes the professional football development of Australian youth.
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A PPS is currently used to regulate the squads participating in the National Premier Leagues (NPL). The NPL PPS is impossible to cheat, however seems unnecessarily complicated. I would prefer a simpler PPS for the A-League.
My A-League PPS will have two categories: visa and age points. Each player will be assigned player points (PP) valid for the entirety of that season.
The total PP for the 11 players in a team on the park at any time during an A-League match must be less than, or equal to, zero.
(If a player is sent off, his PP will continue to apply towards the total. Hence, if a team with 11 players and total PP of zero had an Australian U21 player sent off, the total PP will be deemed to still be zero, even though the total PP for the ten players on the park will now be ten.)
For example, during the Melbourne Derby last Saturday, Victory’s starting XI would have had a PP of 15. However, by putting Christian Theoharous (PP = -10) in, instead of Kosta Barbarouses (PP = +5), the team’s PP at kick-off would then be zero, and a young Aussie player would have been given valuable match-time.
This PPS will be simple to administer, impossible to cheat, and will ensure Australian youth footballers are essential.
Lionheart
Guest
So Nemesis, if you do see this, what are your thoughts on Berisha gaining Australian citizenship? It doesn't change anything, he'll never be an Australian player (Socceroo) but he'll be able to fill a spot that could go to a potential Socceroo. It's a work-around really, of a flawed rule, although I'd welcome Berisha's citizenship of course. Unlike Henrique who became an Ausy a few years ago and was qualified for Socceroos.
Lionheart
Guest
Really simplified by the Academy system coming into play. If you've developed them (through your academy) you benefit.
Paul Nicholls
Roar Guru
A good discussion piece, Nemesis. The biggest problem with a salary cap is that it creates a lot of red tape. But if you were getting rid of the salary cap what is the point of having other equalisation measures? I am not keen on the idea of a manager having to take into account the age of the player when making a substitution. Maybe in a crunch match the coach will replace a young outfield player with a young goalkeeper just to keep the points down. Why not simplify it a bit - you must have x players in your squad under 21 and y players under 25?
Stuart Thomas
Expert
I'll try Rick, thanks.
Nemesis
Guest
They haven't been coy. I'd say the only owner who I haven't directly read comment about wanting the Salary Cap removed is Bris Roar. But, I might have just missed their comments on the issue. No sensible business person wants to have regulations that limit how they can grow their business. It defies basic common sense. The only people who want regulations are the regulators. Even my Player Point System would probably be opposed by the ALeague owners. But, in my opinion, there needs to be safeguards to ensure the ALeague is always the primary career path for every Aussie who wants a professional football career. That's why I want the FFA to have regulations I've suggested.
Squizz
Guest
The owners have been vocal about a lot, why would they be coy about the salary cap
Redb
Roar Guru
By that logic then if the salary cap is so exploited and HAL use the salary cap, how will removing it assist the HAL?
Doc Disnick
Roar Guru
Thanking me would have been more appropriate, Fuss. You were clearly worried about your post count, and rightfully so. Had it not been for the 50+ comments directly attributed to me, your count would be below 100 (and that of the other article yesterday). Standard on this site is 200+ for articles like this. In fact, I've managed to generate more discussion than your article alone. Despite my best efforts, I just couldn't get you past this mark... sorry. Let's put the BS aside though because as usual, I'm the only one who has actually helped you out. 1. Lose the (+) points for players aged over 30 (it's discrimination and you know it now); and 2. Lose the (-) points for foreign youth players. Point 2 is important if indeed your goal is to promote local talent. Other than that, I think you've plagiarised the NPL's model quite well.
Chopper
Guest
I have read all the replies to your excellent article Nemesis and I admit that I am a naysayer when it comes to artificially encouraging youth to get better so I reflect on what I would like to see. I would abandon the salary cap and introduce transfer and loan fees. These fees would go down the pyramid to the smaller junior clubs at the base proportionately. I personally do not favour the overblown accadamy status that clubs like Brisbane are trying to initiate because it negates the enthusiasm, ambition and desire of junior clubs that have and are still battling to bring the game to so many. Of course there would be no need for this article and my response if the FAA actually did what it was elected to do and that is run the sport. (not ruin it). Expansion is the answer and pro rel along with a separate body running the professional game. At the moment there are too many divided opinions on what is right for football but there is one thing we can all agree on and that is players like Mooy, Rogic, Kewell, Johnson, Schwarzer and Viduka did not need a compulsory selection in any team. The will to win, to succeed cannot be a given, it has to be earned. This is true not just for the players but also for the clubs and may I add the FAA board. The latter has failed miserably and that should be our main focus and when that is fixed we can get on to the next item, expansion.
Nemesis
Roar Guru
@Stuart Thomas You have the patience of Job to continue to engage with someone as annoying & immature as Disnick. If I hadn't seen the photos of him next to his Bogan Mobile, I'd have thought he was a kid at High School; such is his level of insecurity. No doubt even in your profession you don't deal with such puerile minds. Don't know what happened to this bloke growing up, but the way he constantly like to pretend he has a great intellect is a sure sign of "small man's syndrome" - intellectually and, most likely, anatomically.
Doc Disnick
Roar Guru
Stuart At least I'm an upfront smarta$$. Your subtle belittling intellectual comments, that you quite often direct at other Roarers, does not go unseen. Pretending to be polite does not hide this fact. I can understand why a teacher would not endorse discrimination. You appear a man of average intelligence, which means you'd realise this idea also promotes the development of international youth rather than local. The best part is: it's a poor man's equalisation system, which is why the editor changed the title. Fuss, of course, doesn't realise any of this, but you do, which is why you never answered my question. Have a nice New Year.
Stuart Thomas
Expert
I'll try again. I hope you had a very Merry Christmas and I hope the New Year brings you all that you could wish for in 2018. As naive, unintelligent, educationally bereft and exclusively aligned to Nemesis as you think I am, that's okay, I still hope you have a great day everyday.
chris
Guest
LH some good points but how do you really police who indeed are junior clubs for the senior club and have been viewed as developing that player? It can get quite complex and clubs can get quite ingenious at making things work for them.
chris
Guest
Not sure what Mr AFL is writing as I just scroll past. Looking at the responses though you wonder how much more ridicule he can take before he changes his name (again). He is literally shot to pieces and his posts are now just laughed at.
chris
Guest
Loved it when Marcia got her braces! Talk about self reflection!
chris
Guest
Seriously Rick just go away
chris
Guest
What the system does at the very least is "force" coaching staff to think more about the local talent. Yes its subjective whether local player A is better than foreign player B but the clubs will at the very least have to consider the local talent.
Nemesis
Roar Guru
The FFA's role is to ensure the development of football in Australia. The ALeague will be vital for this development. I want the FFA to have strict control over the basic principles regarding the type of ALeague competition we want. I don't care how popular the EPL is. I never want ALeague to be filled with foreigners who are there just for the money. In fact, I started watching English football about 40 years ago. Well before the big PayTV money arrived. Clubs were filled with local players, whom they developed & the majority of players became part of the fabric of the club. I enjoyed that type of English competition far more than watching "Dream Teams" of mercenary footballers who just follow the big money around the world. The player regulations for participating in ALeague right now is reasonably well structured in terms of foreingers to Aussies. The main 2 things I'd like to change are: 1) remove the Salary Cap so we can get whatever foreigners, or Aussies we want 2) include regulations to ensure u26 players are pushed up the ranks rather than just the same 30 year old players who've never pushed themselves beyond moving from one Aleague club to the next over their professional career.
Doc Disnick
Roar Guru
Stuart That would make sense if I said you were candid. However, I said: let's be candid. This reminds me of the time when you told me to never use double negatives. Unfortunately, you later realised I didn't use two negatives in the same sentence, rather two negatives in two separate sentences for effect. Remind me again what the ATAR is to become a teacher? Now I would have much preferred your candor on the matter, but instead, you've decided to go down the path of a pseudo intellect. In other words: you think this idea stinks too, but you're too embarrassed to let your mate know.
chris
Guest
Thanks for the article Nem. It makes sense to provide the pathways for local talent and the system you provide is simple and as you state, impossible to cheat. The current system used in the NSW Premier Leagues, is cumbersome, easy to manipulate and just plain confusing!