Sydney FC are champions and you can hardly say they don’t deserve it. Actually you could, since Perth Glory were clearly the best team all season.
Perhaps a strange semblance of justice was done in the end.
Sydney FC looked like they were robbed in yesterday’s A-League grand final after Adam le Fondre side-footed home in the 28th minute – or was it Glory defender Matthew Spiranovic? – only for his goal to be ruled out by an offside flag.
Was it the right decision? No idea.
I was one of the 56,371 ticketholders in attendance, so having shelled out to attend the game, I didn’t expect to know what was actually happening on the pitch.
Why would I? In almost 15 years Football Federation Australia have never shown any inkling that they care about people who actually purchase tickets.
They’ll claim FIFA prevents them from explaining to fans inside the stadium what’s happening with the VAR, but it’s perhaps closer to the mark to suggest they largely don’t care.
(Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
What do they care about? First and foremost they care about the TV broadcast deal.
And they care about old-school media metrics that were relevant 20 years ago.
They’ll strive to hit the back pages of daily metro newspapers when it’s obvious just as many readers engage with online journalism shared across social media.
Faced with the choice of moving with the times or doing things the way they’ve always done them, it’s no real surprise to see the path of least resistance wins out.
It’s just easier that way.
So a year after Kosta Barbarouses scored the winning goal in the 2018 A-League grand final from an offside position, why shouldn’t we expect video technology to get another vital decision wrong?
After 140 A-League matches this season that’s simply par for the course.
Good on Sydney FC shot-stopper Andrew Redmayne, then, for saving everyone’s blushes with a decisive performance in goal.
He didn’t win the Joe Marston medal though, because why would he?
(Will Russell/Getty Images)
Saving two penalties in a penalty shoot-out is nothing compared to playing some pretty passes in midfield.
But anyone who thinks that Redmayne’s penalty saves from substitutes Andy Keogh and Brendon Santalab were key, not to mention his fingertip save from Dino Djublic in the first half, evidently doesn’t understand the game like the delicate geniuses – or journos – who make these sorts of decisions.
And that’s perhaps the biggest problem with the A-League.
Decision after decision gets made without any sort of transparency.
Important things happen – like a Sydney FC fan getting kicked out of an A-League semi-final – and the response from the game’s governing body is radio silence.
And it’s long past the point where any reasonable fan should be wondering what on earth is going on.
The A-League is in trouble. Who’s responsible for that?
It’s not the 56,000-plus fans who purchased tickets to last night’s grand final.
Nor is it the countless others who filed through the gates at a game this season or those who tuned in on Fox Sports or Kayo or the My Football app.
It’s not even the host broadcaster’s fault. Contentious VAR replays aside, it’s hard to imagine anyone doing a better job than Fox Sports.
But I expect their coverage to change next season. Not enough fans have been putting their hands in their pocket to make it a viable going concern.
And some new-look coverage next season should be the least we expect.
Much as the motivations of those demanding a breakaway competition must be scrutinised, the harsh reality is that an independent A-League can hardly be worse than what we’ve got now.
Because we should be talking about why Sydney FC are the best team in the land.
But we’re not.
Instead we’re talking about the VAR. And first-past-the-post versus finals.
And those who turned up at Optus Stadium and tuned in on TV are probably asking themselves some serious questions about why they would bother doing it all again next season.
Post_hoc
Roar Rookie
And Optus has just announced that every School Kid will be able to stream the Womens World Cup for Free. Great promotion from Optus, great for Football. Well done Optus
Football is Life
Roar Rookie
Mate Andy Harper should be the least of your worries. Robbie Slater is a fully paid up card carrying shirt wearing member of Sydney FC. No more biased narrow minded source of cerebrally challenged diatribe/rubbish have. I ever heard. Martin Tyler should be the standard our bloke's aim for. Simon Hill and Brendan Speed, they get it they understand, hence Tyler's endorsement of Speed
Sydneysideliner
Roar Rookie
Agree it's hard to compare to the States, with such a difference in population. Although individual cities like Seattle are comparable in population to Australia's capital cities, the sheer population size and number of teams across the country must help to keep things fresh and bring people back to each game. Having said that, I'm sure there must be more to it to keep a largely indifferent American population turning up (does Seattle have that big a migrant population? I honestly don't know). I'd be curious to find out what initiatives the owners and the league are carrying out to attract fans to these "franchises" with little to no history.
Needles
Roar Rookie
I have to say I disagree with all the whingers on how bad the aleague is and fox rubbish etc. I found this season extremely entertaining. The skill level is constantly getting better. My only complaint would be Andy Harper. How on earth is he a commentator!! Painful.
Football is Life
Roar Rookie
I have to question what facilitated the thinking that resulted in this article!!! What is not to come back for; Adelaide: This is a teamt hat played some cracking football this season. Their never say die attitude, their fast counter-attack, their endurance what a football team to watch. Brisbane: I feel for the Roar in that they have fallen hard, but when look at young Wenzel-Halls, what an endorsement for the youth talent in QLD. Who else is out there, what can Fowler do with Wenzel-Halls under his tution? What team will Fowler build Newcastle: Ok, the Jets didnt keep O'Donovan, but who will they replace him with. A smart buy to compliment the likes of Petratos, Ugarkovic and Champness will see a team next year that is going to be right in the mix again. Sydney FC: Yes, I am not a fan to Sydney Fc, but my draw to come back to the A-League is to see who is going to whoop them next year. But you cannot deny that Ninkovic is a class act. Wanderers: Now this is a situation where you cannot wait to see the next episode. What will Babbel do to rebuild in the off season. Surely the rest of you cannot wait to see a packed Wanderers Stadium (Paramatta NRL will never fill it.) going absolute nuts. Victory: Well if there's not something to be interested about here, then ya not a football fan. Will Kurz or Kewell take over Muscat's position? With the departure of Honda, will they manage to sign Okazaki? Are they now in decline? Cant wait to see the next episode. City: Ahhh, the eternally restless child that just cannot settle down. Now that Mr Joyce has returned to the dark, cold weather who is going to step up? Western United; The new boys seem to have recruited rather well so far,. Scott MacDonald, Connor Chapman, Josh Risdon etc. This could be a team to watch especially with Rudan in the drivers seat. Coasties: if the owners come up with some coin, Stajic is no mug coach, he could just make them a bit of an annoyance to all the other teams as a first step. Perth: What else is there to say, but when the heck is Popa going to win a domestic title. Wellington; These boys played cracking season this year and with the bulk of the team reamining and maybe a few improved additions, I hope they go hard next season. So Mike as I said the other day, surely we have plenty of subject matter to promulgate positive media that enables us to step away from the negative tripe that is pumped out on mass by the commercial media.
Winnie the Pooh
Guest
Difficult to compare USA and Australia. USA has 350 million people, with 80 to 90 million migrants from PASSIONATE soccer nations. Australia has 25 million and a lot of migrants from nations that are apathetic to soccer,ie India and China. Compare Australia to Canada that is a bit closer to where we are realistically as a nation and the Canadians do not even have a league, but a few teams playing in MLS. Generally speaking Australia is doing okay, we just need to keep qualifying for World Cups and produce some decent players that can sell the sport. Problem is how do we pay to keep the pro game going in Australia? Fox Sports wants out as noone is watching A-League. Who will replace Fox? Youtube? Optus? SBS and ABC has no money as its budgets are being slashed by the Liberal government. The commercial networks are not into soccer because it does not rate.
Mister Football
Roar Guru
The US has a grand history in the game. Finished equal 3rd in the 1930 world cup, and back in the 1970s, the New York Cosmos was one of the most famous soccer clubs in the world, regularly getting 50,000 attendances to games.
AR
Guest
“Fox have become a curse on our code and the sooner they are gone the better.” I’m stunned people talk this way about Fox. Fox has provided almost all the funding for the ALeague since it’s existence, not to mention all the best personalities - Hill, Peacock, Bozza etc. Can you really blame Fox for poor ratings? And if the gripe is about Fox’s decision-making power re expansion, fixture etc, again, isn’t that just a reality of being dependent on one media company? And that’s been FFA’s choice.
Stevo
Roar Rookie
"I’d rather they explain over the PA why that odious little scrote Grant is allowed 3 yellow worthy fouls before he finally gets 1?" Yep.
Stevo
Roar Rookie
'BRFJ' for short would also work for me :)
Sydneysideliner
Roar Rookie
The Tonys should talk to MLS clubs about how they've grown attendances over the years. Some clubs like Atlanta and Seattle have maintained excellent support since they formed a few years ago. Surely that's not accidental, or because Americans inherently love "soccurr" and were waiting for their team to arrive. I fear Glory will just squander this groundswell of support though, given Tony Sage's fixation with starting a SE Asian league and playing games in Singapore...
Ab13
Guest
Who do you think is going to do a better job than Fox? Or more to the FFA's point of view, pay as much or more than Fox? None of the FTA channels are going to shell out the money for a loss leader that frankly doesn't bring the required eyeballs. Nine baulked at the sum being charged by CA for the Cricket and instead decided to poach the Tennis for a measly 300 million over 5 years for a basically two week commitment. That commitment delivers massive ratings into the start of the ratings period. Football in this country in its current form does not work. Outside of the A-League finals, big Socceroos and Matildas games and foreign tours it does not generate the eyeballs or the bums on seats it should. I don't really watch it myself, so how would you fix it?
Sunny
Guest
Hmmm, Tuckerman, perhaps it’s best to highlight the positive experience you had yesterday whilst sitting in the bleachers with the other 56,ooo + people. Or is it shoot the game of football in AUS in the foot time and pile on my negativity on the highlight reel that is 18-19 season. Know wonder this game is in need of help!?
Jordan Klingsporn
Roar Guru
But not Y-League!
Jordan Klingsporn
Roar Guru
I won't chip in for Son as i'm a Spurs fan. But i'll chip in $3 for Robben if Sydney keep Rhyan Grant so we can keep booing him (Pest)
Buddy
Roar Rookie
So sorry..... I hate the general description of “final” being anything post regular season. We have semi finals, preliminary finals, elimination finals, and even a grand final!
Punter
Roar Rookie
Kangas, I've never disliked the Grand Finals, this is Australia we love Grand Finals. But the premiership winner for best team in the competition was decided weeks ago. We came 2nd & won the finals series.
Redondo
Roar Rookie
Yes to Son Heung-Min! Drop Robben - too injury prone. Now we just need to remove the salary cap and do some crowd-funding.
Onside
Guest
Ha ha, and perhaps some electioneering own goals.
Jordan Klingsporn
Roar Guru
Why should the A-League remove the finals series? To be more like Europe Why should we remove names like Victory or Roar? To be more like Europe. C'mon. Lets be unique.