As the MLS and Chinese Super League suck up has been star players with zillions of dollars like a vacuum cleaner the A-League needs to think outside the box to compete.
In the upcoming A-League season, Keisuke Honda is being held up as the biggest signing since Alessandro Del Piero, but stars like these are few and far between. Not only that, but they are also becoming even rarer when the MLS and CSL can offer far more money for their services.
The FFA see marquee players as a way to boost attendances through the interest they generate, but if the A-League can’t compete for them on money terms then there needs to be a different strategy. The Central Coast Mariners have seen an opportunity and have taken a risk on pursuing Usain Bolt and this might just be the new normal going forward.
Usain Bolt. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
While his footballing skills may be somewhat lacklustre, what he lacks in skill he more than makes up for in his ability to generate publicity. And it’s that publicity which is the new currency of modern football, not traditional football values. This has been clearly demonstrated by the expansion battle between Southern Expansion and Wollongong Wolves.
The following passage is from the Illawarra Mercury
“The A-League metrics – the criteria a bid is judged on – has trumped tribalism. Was always going to. Why?
Because the number of eye balls on a screen boosts television ratings, which in turn lifts advertising revenue, which super-charges broadcasts rights deals, resulting in more cash for the game.”
In other words, the success of a marquee player isn’t dependent on their football ability on the pitch, but their ability to generate publicity for broadcasters. While traditionalists recognise a name like Honda they also know that by the time these kinds of players come to our shores they will be past their peak. The general public meanwhile might not even know them at all.
So, if traditionalists who don’t watch the A-League aren’t impressed by ageing washed up players anyway and the general public don’t even know who they are, then going directly for the celebrity factor actually makes a lot of sense. Usain Bolt has more cut through with the general public than all the other marquee players this season put together.
Traditional football fans aren’t the A-League’s target market, the A-Leagues primary target market are non-football fans who want entertainment, and celebrities like Bolt have that appeal.
The path ahead for FFA going forward is clear then. It’s time for FFA to implement a celebrity marquee fund to bring big celebrities with real star power to the A-League.
To illustrate, I’ve selected some well-known celebrities and paired them with A-League clubs.
Central Coast Mariners – Usain Bolt
The world’s fastest man, nine-time Olympic gold medallist and current world record holder has already done wonders for Central Coast even in training sessions. Just think what he could do during the regular season.
Newcastle Jets – Michael Phelps
Phelps is the most decorated Olympian of all time with a total of 28 Olympic medals. With an arm span of 201 cm and a height of 193 cm he would be an excellent choice as a goalkeeper.
Brisbane Roar – Shane Warne
While some might question his age it’s important to note that his skin still looks youthful and smooth and that he still has a good head of hair. If he can do a flipper from a throw in to nutmeg an opposition marker and reach a team mate he’ll become an instant legend in two different sports.
Wellington Phoenix – Dennis Rodman
With his close personal friendship with North Korean president Kim Jong Un, Dennis Rodman could open doors to a lucrative market in Asia to the Phoenix. This could really turn things around for the struggling club.
Adelaide United – Gordon Ramsay
Not only would Gordon Ramsay turn up the heat on the opposing team (and possibly the ref) but he’ll do it in style as he once trialled for Glasgow Rangers. I think red suits him, don’t you?
Perth Glory – LeBron James
I don’t even really know who LeBron James is but I know he’s some sort of basketball megastar from the NBA because I see him on the news a lot. I don’t even know which team he’s on, but who cares? I mean who would create more excitement in the news media, Diego Castro or LeBron James?
Melbourne Victory – Roger Federer
The ‘Swiss Master’ has won 20 Grand Slam singles titles making him the most successful men’s tennis player in history. Unlike Usain Bolt he never struggles with his footwork and should be able to make the code switch without a problem. Melbourne should feel like a second home to him.
Roger Federer. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)
Melbourne City – Zach Galifinakis
I have no idea if he’s ever played before but that doesn’t matter. Melbourne City targets the urban, street, hipster demographic and hipsters like beards. I think that he could also have a mentoring role a bit like Tim Cahill, taking young players under his wing.
His age and sense of maturity should help him to keep them in line off the field, rather than getting into trouble at parties and what not.
Western Sydney Wanderers – Jason Statham
This part of Sydney needs a celeb with attitude, an old school tough guy, no Robbie Williams types around here thanks. Jason Statham fits the bill.
Anyone care to disagree?
Sydney FC – Lewis Hamilton
This part of Sydney needs a different kind of celebrity, one with bling factor and a lifestyle to match. As a multiple championship winning Formula 1 driver known the world over, as well as his personal jet-set image, I think it’s fair to say that he has the right stuff.
Welcome to the new age. Selecting players for their celebrity factor will no doubt horrify the purists, but for the FFA’s target market of casual non-football fans it’ll be a huge ratings winner.
And it all started in Gosford…
Article written by Nick Symonds
peeeko
Roar Guru
where is the HA next to this article?
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
The ratings were won by the Invictus games, where just a royal celebrity presence in the stands outdid the rugby league national team. If the A-league had any sense the number one priority this season would have been to get Bolt to be playing in every match for the Mariners. Only the delusional think Honda has any great marque value. How he has been compared to Del Piero is completely beyond me. He is nowhere near Yorke, Fowler,Kewell even behind Heskey. So the FFA first wasted it on Cahill when he was on his last legs and his marquee value had reduced to a fraction and now spent a record amount on Honda. Bolt is the only chance the FFA had to get something and they blew it massively.
Kangas
Roar Rookie
It’s not a fund to even out the contest. It’s a fund given to the richest club in the league, to help with the ratings
oldpsyco
Guest
The whole concept is WRONG! Football or any sport for that matter is about Winning or Beating your opponents, Survival of the fittest if you prefer. The idea of a fund to facilitate evening out the contest, is just basically wrong, and nothing more than an excuse for those teams who don't work hard enough at the Off-field side of the business!
At work
Roar Rookie
Kangas while I wholeheartedly support and agree with you about the inclusion of both Canberra and Wollongong, but you need to stop stating incorrect population figures. Your population figures are only capturing the cities and not the full metropolitan/urban figures. It’s like saying Sydney only has a population of 224k because that’s how much the city of Sydney has, where in fact as we all know it’s about 5 million or so. Here’s some more correct figures for yours and others benefit: Liverpool (England): 2.3m Manchester: 3.2m Turin: 2.2m Dortmund: 5.3m It’s reasonable to include Wollongong, Shellharbour and Kiama council areas for the Wolves which is close to 300k. That’s a north to south stretch of about 74km with Wollongong and its stadium in the middle. I imagine the central coast and Newcastle are similar to this. Which is fine but we can’t compare these towns/regional cities with much larger European cities and regions. Remember our population is tiny for the size of our country.
Mister Football
Roar Guru
Kangas I will be keeping a close eye on those metrics.
Nick Symonds
Guest
Just for the record, a poll by the Illawarra Mercury in the story I linked to in the article found that 86 percent of fans wouldn't support Southern Expansion. That makes Southern Expansion about as popular as asbestos. - Here's another extract from the article - "On Thursday, after Wollongong and Ipswich were voted out at the A-League Expansion Survivor tribal council, Southern Expansion boss Chris Gardiner was joined by Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery and Football South Coast chairman Eddy de Gabriele to triumphantly declare their bid is No.1." - The "A-League Expansion Survivor tribal council" The media are already treating the A-League like a reality TV show, why not just make it formal? - "Southern Expansion boss Chris Gardiner was joined by Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery and Football South Coast chairman Eddy de Gabriele to triumphantly declare their bid is No.1." It makes them sound like big game hunters, you could just imagine them together standing over the carcass of the Wolves mascot with their guns and dressed in safari gear.
Kangas
Roar Rookie
The metrics tell us the people of Dandenong, West Melbourne , Cambelltown and Cronulla are hankering to see the likes of de Jong
Mister Football
Roar Guru
Some left-field thinking, and then the punchline was delivered in the very last line! Honda is certainly the pick of the signings, heard him talking on Fox the other night and he clearly was attracted to living in Melbourne, at least that's what he said. In fact, there are good signings across the league, especially in the Victory and SFC...but...for the most part, they are not the sort of signings that are going to engage those with a passing interest in soccer. In fact, take a player like Siem de Jong, who has been on the periphery of Ajax's best XI for years, and there were many soccer fans on this board who had never heard of him (having said that, he had some ordinary moments last night). If the soccer fans aren't getting excited about a quality signing, you can bet that the occasional soccer fan will have even less interest.
Kangas
Roar Rookie
Yes metrics have trumped tribalism in the corporate world , but do it the right way and tribalism will build you metrics that last a long time rather then a quick fix sugar hit . Re the A league metrics are so bad in Sydney and Melbourne why would you bother with a sugar hit , they need to Reset and grow from the bottom ....Build a professional competition with massive community engagement and grow the game from the bottom up . At the moment, 60 percent of A league games are turgid in quality, there is no way one marquee is going to fix that , even a celebrity player like bolt becomes a laughing stock very quickly . Build the game locally , get Aussie players that the community can identify with , create Australia’s Lionel Messi’s of the future and we will have a product that will survive long term successfully in Australia. By the way, for those who think Sydney and Melbourne should have more teams , that Wollongong or Canberra a quick google search of cities under a million people show that Manchester Liverpool , Dortmund and Turin ( juventus ) plus many others have massive clubs in cities about a fifth the size of Sydney. The lunatics are running the asylum at the Ffa