We can't demand more A-League marketing then complain when we get it

Some other CCM news is doing the rounds. It looks like they have released the talented Liam Rose to allow him to pursue his dream of playing in the Armenian Premier League. I think one of the two Gyumri clubs is favoured to get his signature. They both play out of the 2,844 capacity Gyumri City Stadium, the oldest in the country.

The difference between Welsh teams playing in the EPL and the Phoenix being in the A-League is that Wales is in the same confederation as England, whereas New Zealand is in a different confederation from Australia.

These people just complain. Build it and they will complain.

At this point caring about the current core fans too much wont help the team. Five thousand fans is not enough to allow the team to exist in any meaningful way. They cant afford to be dicks to the fans but they need more fans, the current ones are not enough and what they are doing so far isnt enough. Bolt is almost a hail mary

Mike yo write some good stuff, but that headline has to be the silliest thing you have said in years. The Bolt issue will hurt football nationally, turning the A-League into little more than a circus. We need marketing, but understand what marketing is, first. And it is not bringing in the clowns!

Marketing is one thing. Steategic marketing based on thorough market research, insights and long term goals of achieving loyal fans are another. None of the examples you gave demonstrate this. We want marketing for sure but it needs to be based on what the fans want, identified through research (they are after all the consumers of the product). Yes, Bolt got CCM media coverage that would have cost millions, but if the majority was negative, was it worth it? I think not. So a fair few people around the world know that CCM exists now that didn't before. Great. Will they ever come to a game as a result? No.

The "A" League must survive in the Australian market, like it or not. It's nice that they play a game which is dominant throughout the World, but " nice" doesn't put "Bums on seats". "Australian Rules Football" State based teams did well for many years before the formation of the AFL, but the WAFL & SANFL have become a shadow of their former prominence. The VFL is but a " seconds" competition. The "A" League is in a similar position with the huge overseas competitions, hence people end up watching the EPL, etc on TV instead of the local competition. I have in the past expressed a lack of interest in those great competitions, asking "Why would I be interested in the EPL? I am more interested in the local competition." A suitable rejoinder would be:- "if so, why do you not follow your old WAFL team instead of the AFL?" That said, two things which would improve the "A"League's prospects:- (1) Embrace "cross-coders" & for people on this forum to give up their anti AFL vendetta. ( I know it will never happen, as you are so wedded to your victim narrative) (2) Ch10 to get off their bum & promote local teams in their home cities. I've seen more coverage of the Glory's doings on TVW7 than either of the supposed host broadcasters.

I'm not going to presume to know what Usain Bolt wants from his life & I certainly won't be accepting what some cricket fan tells me Bolt wants from his football career. For many years, Usain Bolt has said he dreams of pursuing a football career. Like millions around the world who want a career in football, Usain Bolt needs to prove he has the requite attributes to be a professional footballer. I realise a lot of PlayStation heroes think they're the best judge of football talent; thankfully no one in the real football industry pays any attention to the recommendations - positive, or negative - made by PlayStation heroes.

Do you realistically think Bolt, with his personality and lifestyle wants to spend the next couple of years slugging it out on thw central coast. At best he spends most of his time in Sydney with their celebrity obsessed culture luving it up. I can see him lasting out a 10 game old school guest stint.

Another possible reason could be the decline in atmosphere at the stadiums. I guess you could argue that this is a consequence of lower crowds, but I'd suggest it also serves as a cause. Whilst diehard fans will attend regardless, for many who traditionally follow other codes, the atmosphere is a real drawcard. With the North Terrace disbanding, and problems involving the RBB (coupled with the temporary loss of Parramatta), the atmosphere at Victory and Wanderers games has significantly declined. Sure this doesn't explain the problems leading to dropping crowds for the other 8 clubs, but it serves as one factor in the decline for 2 of the competition's largest.

It is like a broken record. Both the AFL fan boys AR & MQ, always falls into the same trap as they equate the following of football with just the domestic league, (A-League). This is because that is all the AFL has got the domestic AFL league, after that nada. As we see with the crowds that turn up for the Socceroos, the Asian cup, the touring O/S teams, the TV viewership of the World cup, massive following of the sport of football. However, if all they are talking about is the A-League, yes they are not far from the truth but football in this country, any country for that matter, is far bigger then the domestic level.

Did Andrew Johns say he wanted to pursue a career in cricket? If he did, then it's the same thing. If he did not, then it's just a gimmick and nothing like the situation with Usain Bolt.

I think you confusing marketing with a gimmick. Understandable in todays celebrity obssed world. It is a bit like Andrew Johns play cricket gor NSW

The people who always complain are fake sokkah haters anyway.

lol clipper, The Titans had to take 2 home games to towoomba and mackay which have tiny capacity stadiums, less than 10k. Didn't the Suns get to take a home game to the new Perth stadium?

@AR you continue to parrot the same nonsense that is a result of your intellectual immaturity. If you want to discuss the "spectator numbers of a SPORT" - not of a competition, but of a SPORT - then let's do it. Let's identify the total number of people in Australia who watch football: - those who stand on the sidelines at grassroots around Australia - those who watch football broadcasts: La Liga, SerieA, EPL, Bundesliga, UCL, UEL, MLS, J-League, ACL, ALeague, NPL, WLeague, FIFA competitions, AFC competitions, Conmebol competitions, etc. etc. AFL competition has the highest attendances in Australia. A total of around 7 million people attend AFL competitive matches each year. A fine number. But, more people attend grassroots football across Australia every year. That's why participation is king. AFL has big numbers for 1 competition. That's it. After that, AFL is nothing. And, that's why the AFL HQ is desperately keen to push participation numbers up. That's why AFL HQ is suddenly keen on attracting women participants, immigrants, and creating new forms of the sport. The ignorant masses might not understand the crisis facing AFL moving forward, but those in charge of the AFL future realise the sport has come as far as it can. After 100 years, it's just a sport for southern cities of Australia.

The FFA is definitely on track to catch up to the largest sport in Australia. I recently did the calculations and the hard, cold evidence is there. If we start with the FFA's current annual revenue of $107 mill (compared to the AFL's $570 mill) and apply their current growth rates (3% and 2% respectively), I've calculated that the FFA will catch up to the AFL in 180 years. It might take a little bit longer than many expected, but it it will definitely happen, it's happening before our very eyes, albeit at an extremely low rate.

@SocStoppageTime Independent Media Monitoring Report - In 30 hours - 130 million people read the Usain Bolt story around the World. Media Value - if CCM FC were to pay for the media generated in one day yesterday it would have cost $4.5 million. #incredible

Honda's a good footballer but I wouldn't be considering him marquee status ..

I know it was a minor part of the article but that Perth Glory back four is frighteningly good if they can all keep fit.