When it rains it pours in the A-League, which is probably why Keisuke Honda’s first visit to Brisbane threatens to be blown away by a tropical cyclone.
Wait, what’s that? No one really cares about anything happening on the pitch?
One of the stranger things about the A-League is that fans regularly get online to claim they’re only interested in talking about the football – and then steadfastly ignore practically every single outlet which attempts to do so.
But is it only supporters who have taken their eyes off the ball? Hardly.
Football Federation Australia has just spent three years wasting everyone’s time, delaying and denying and generally doing very little to benefit the game.
However – and this is a big one – they’ve more or less got their expansion plans right, with at least one obvious exception.
There’s not a lot more to say beyond what my colleague and The Roar editor Daniel Jeffrey wrote in his excellent summary yesterday – although that’s never stopped me from trying before.
Dan’s right when he says that Canberra is crying out for a team, and a Brisbane derby is something that would certainly benefit the competition.
But both of those are things that can happen further down the line, and anyone demanding a quick fix would be well advised to remember that Wellington Phoenix’s current four-year licence expires at the end of the 2019-20 campaign.
Given the Phoenix’s current metrics – or lack thereof – why would the FFA renew that licence? Watch this space for a Canberra bid to become the next expansion side, at Wellington’s expense.
Then there’s the question of why the Western Melbourne Group were preferred over Team 11 from Melbourne’s south-eastern suburbs.
Again, as Dan wrote yesterday, it’s a simple case of preferring private financing of a stadium build over public funding that was far from guaranteed.
When the A-League is crying out for purpose-built football facilities, it seems strange to so vociferously criticise the one bid that promised to build one.
The FFA has approved two A-League expansion bids. (Photo: Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)
As for South Melbourne, they should be the flagship club of a newly created second division.
When might that happen? Well the Association of Australian Football Clubs, representing clubs in the National Premier Leagues, say they’re aiming to get a second division up and running by 2020.
But one thing that’s unlikely to win the four-time National Soccer League champions too many sympathisers is the sort of unhinged conspiracy theories – and outright abuse – some South Melbourne supporters unleashed across social media yesterday.
At the end of the day, the FFA’s expansion decision was about as logical as it gets.
About the only thing that didn’t make sense was delaying the entry of Macarthur-South West Sydney for a year, supposedly because the Western Sydney Wanderers wanted to bed down in their brand new Western Sydney Stadium.
Surely the two clubs – who aren’t located particularly close to each other as the crow flies – should have just slugged it out on the pitch for regional supremacy?
Some fans have argued that the addition of new clubs in Melbourne and Sydney means there’ll now be too many derbies in the A-League, as if there aren’t already currently six London clubs in the English Premier League alone.
(Photo by Speed Media/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
But the reality is that yesterday’s announcement should be just the start of expanding the A-League – not the end of it.
Adding a new team in each of the next two seasons is a case of some short-term pain for long-term gain.
Hopefully those bids that didn’t make the cut aren’t lost to the game forever, particularly in the case of cities not currently served by the A-League such as Canberra.
And with any luck we can soon get back to concentrating on some football.
FFA have been so preoccupied with so many other issues that once again the day-to-day running of the A-League seems like an afterthought.
con tripodis
Guest
I dont understand all the papers and media outlets and football sites had polls on who the general public preferred to be in the A league extension and EVERY poll was in favour of south melbourne and sometimes double to its closest rivals ,so what the hell happened to the popular view ,is this russia, does the FFA ever read what is going on out there in supporters land, are they in fairyland , And everyone talks about protecting a dying clubs [melbourne city] fan base they are boring and a foreign run club, so unpopular, its a total joke, talk about FLOGGING A DEAD HORSE
Rusty
Guest
At the end of the day, the FFA’s expansion decision was about as logical as it gets" At the end of the day there was only one clear, logically sound winning bid: south-west Sydney. Deservedly they got through and I don't think another year in situ is a problem. Logistics is in question over FFA's second choice. Right or wrong a team was chosen with the greatest financial backing and the promise to build their own 'custom' stadium ( watch this space it seems like this is been touted as the latest silver bullet for the league) . Not much else impressed in this bid. While maybe not the worst decision to grant a license in the future, FFA's vote nade way for this team to enter the league next season and play 3 years in a round stadium in AFL heartland before relocating 50+ km away. Finances can't ducktape over a shocker like this!!! If common sense prevailed allow entry to the league in 3 years,only once the silver bullet is built. But how the FFA got this wrong. While we do need expansion, not necessarily next season but in the next few years, we also need a team which can jump into the league and start building a stable and loyal fanbase from the offset. What we are getting is a team which will lack identity and fans. Oh but wait the silver bullet is coming - a pity by the time it arrives any silver lining will be covered in rust with more cracks than the khumbu icefall running through it!
Mister Football
Roar Guru
Patrick Know it well, home to Sunshine George Cross - but it has already been sold off to developers. How about the home of the Melbourne Knights at Somers St. The Knights still own the ground. If owning a stadium in the burgeoning western suburbs is such a sought after thing - it's already here! Alas, we know the Knights are persona non gratis.
Mister Football
Roar Guru
c Wyndham gifts the land in the hope that the presence of WMG accelerates population growth.
Mister Football
Roar Guru
Except he's right.
Nemesis
Guest
This is a football discussion. Why would Egg Ball fans understand anything about this issue?
Jack Russell
Roar Guru
Why would a new licencee pay around $15m for a licence to join a league only to see that right completely evaporate if P/R came in? There will be no P/R anytime soon, for at least as long as the FFA see new clubs as more a revenue raising opportunity than anything else. Never mind that no club would be in favour of it.
c
Guest
if you check Google Maps Tarneit does appear to be a one Lane Road surrounded buy sheep paddocks are they expecting population growth around that spot
c
Guest
starting to work seriously for a Second Division around 2020 sounds like a good idea
Nick Symonds
Guest
Wynd Ham United
Kangas
Roar Rookie
Victoria bitter
Kangas
Roar Rookie
Western plains zoo
Timmuh
Roar Guru
According to "ausstadiums" the site is the site of a future train station, so public transport might not be an issue after a few years. I have my doubts about it as well, Melbournians (unlike Sydneysiders) are used to first class facilities in the middle of the city for all major sport. The city centre is central, and there isn't the same geographic divide as Sydney. However, its a growth region, not far from a major hub in Werribee, or from the increasing housing of Laverton and Point Cook, and is going to get a rail connection. Plus as a greenfield site there isn't the problem of trying to upgrade in the middle of established housing and all the development objections that usually entails (often with good reason). I'm not sure it will work, but in some ways it seems the low risk option to get into a broader area with a large population and not directly covered by other sports - and possibly not cannibalising Victory or City all that much. (Its Western Bulldogs territory, but their home is considerable distance away. It will be no early days WSW; while it used to exist, there isn't that same level of divide in Melbourne.)
Redondo
Roar Rookie
Western Plains FC
Redondo
Roar Rookie
That would be a Div 2.
chris
Guest
Mid the fact that the new board has put pro/rel on the radar tells me that things will happen sooner rather than later on that front. The FFA are delivering (and looking to deliver) all the things that football has been crying out for. Purpose built stadiums, teams in growth areas and pro/rel. Regional teams will no doubt get their opportunities when the league expands to 16 teams and pro/rel is operational. These are the reasons why big money investors are looking to buy into the A-League. The youth of today want to be involved with global sports and the dying colonial and backyard sports will just have to deal with it.
chris
Guest
"The right path". That in a nutshell is what this is all about and it appears the new FFA board is building the road. This is not about whether the new franchises are successful in year 1 but where they will be in 5-10 years time and beyond. Purpose built stadiums, growth areas, the vision for Pro/Rel to allow regional teams the opportunities to come into the A-League.
chris
Guest
AR are you going to any games? Have you ever been to a football game?
Kangas
Roar Rookie
So fans from Werribee are supposed to watch their team in Geelong Or Geelong people are supposed to turn up to support a team called Melbourne. That’s like Sydney fc playing home games in Newcastle
Kangas
Roar Rookie
Just let the 6 Sydney and Melbourne teams have their own competition . The whole of Australia can play in a proper national league.