For Australian football fans to make the distinction between the winners of the league and the winners of the grand final, we should come up with a new name for the A-League champions.
If someone stopped you in the street and asked you to name the current A-League champions and the A-League premiers, could you answer them off the top of your head? Or would you just say Perth Glory won one title and Sydney FC the other?
I used to know the difference. I remembered the alliteration of ‘p’ in plate equated to the ‘p’ in premiers. Then I had to remember that the team leading the league at the end of the regular season holds up a plate.
So the team that wins the league are the premiers. All good so far. But the winners of the A-League grand final are given the confusing title of champions. So we have both premiers and champions.
Which one is better?
I’m not sure what the dictionary says, but in sport the terms champions and premiers are interchangeable. It muddies the waters as to who the best team is. As football fans we need something clearer.
Since in world terms our finals system is quite rare, it is worth noting how our footballing cousins in Australia do it. The AFL and NRL have their competition names bedded down. The leaders at the end of the home-and-away season are called minor premiers, with the grand final winners called the premiers.
The difference is clear but it also implies that one is superior to the other.
(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
In football we don’t tend to make that same distinction. Anyone who follows football to any extent understands the idea that the league champions – the team with the most points at the end of the home-and-away season – are regarded as the best team in the land.
Football in Australia does a better job of recognising our first-past-the-post winners than the other codes. There is a separate trophy – the premiers plate – as well as critical acclaim from players, coaches and commentators.
Yet there’s more to be done. Some would argue that we should do away with the finals series all together but that’s not really what this article is about.
To clear the air, we could rename either the premiers or the champions. It is the champions tag that is the problematic one, because we want to make sure the team leading the table at the end of the season gets the greater recognition.
Another reason for changing the name of the grand final winner is that the working title of the new national second division is the Championship. If we continue with an A-League championship and the Championship, things will get messy.
If a name change is in order, what should we call it?
If we wanted to name it after the early founders of the league then we could call it the Lowy-Gallop Cup.
OK, that’s a joke.
But maybe something as simple as the A-League Cup could work. In concept, the name is similar to the MLS Cup in the United States.
The Stanley Cup for the NHL ice hockey trophy has a nice ring to it, so why not honour a player from the past? I’ll throw a couple out there: the Abonyi Cup, the Richards Trophy, or why not the Berisha Cup? Maybe you can come up with your own name?
The name itself doesn’t matter so much. What we need is something that clearly delineates the winner of the league from the winner of the grand final.
It’s a simple change, but anything that makes following football in Australia a little easier is worth considering.
chris
Guest
Punter in my league (GHFA) its basically the same thing. They have finals but the team on top gets promoted. In previous associations Ive played in, they don't even have finals formally scheduled (KDSA). They will if there haven't been any washouts through the year and they will play semis and gf all on one weekend. It appears that football at grass roots understand the worth of finishing "minor" prems. Yes we all have good fun on gf day and the kiddies love it it. Most people grow up and learn to appreciate what the real achievements are over a season.
rolland
Guest
I am not a fan of finals football i believe the team thats first to the top at the end of the season deserves the title as " A league champions " and all the glory they have done all the hard yards all season long and nothing should take that away from that team. finals football does take the gloss away from first to the post. i know its Australia so we have to have finals football so be it but i would call the winner of finals football" grand final winners" .
Nemesis
Guest
"Everybody loves finals" That's just a meaningless opinion without context. I like the World Cup Finals. I would not like an English Premier League Finals. So, yes. I like finals for knockout tournaments, or tournaments where teams are split into groups & don't play all opponents. I totally reject finals for home & away, league competitions. In such situations, finals are meaningless. Sydney FC has won 3 Grand Finals on penalty shootout. They weren't even good enough to win in open play over 120 minutes. But, some think this is the mark of a the best team in the competition. It's a nonsense.
Maxine
Guest
Congratulations on your success Buddy,great to hear.
Punter
Roar Rookie
In the Manly Warringah association where my team plays. Last year my team came 4th & won the Grand final. The medal we got was Knock out winner. We were not the best last year. The team that came 1st got promoted, we did not. This year my team came 1st & Lost the Grand final. The medals we got was Champions & Knock out runner up. We were 15 pts ahead of the Grand Final winners. We were the best team this year. My team will be promoted. This is how it should be. SFC are the A-League Champions, but not the premiers & was not the best team last year Perth Glory was.
William Doughty
Roar Rookie
Les Murray Cup every day of the week
Buddy
Roar Rookie
Yes, no argument from me on that one. Trade opinions, stick to your guns but no need for insults and personal attacks. We believe and argue passionately and it is all highly subjective stuff. I love watching the lower league play offs but I hate the idea of the top team not being crowned champions no matter how close the margin. I have just coached my first ever ladies side this winter season and they won the league title on goal difference albeit we were way ahead but the semis and the final could have given a very different feel to the season. As it was I’m very proud to say they won the final by quite a margin and the feeling amongst players and supporters was absolute elation. I was asked why I wasn’t so excited and simply said, well I’m a bit torn really, I wanted to win and am very pleased but it was the league title that I wanted so much!
chris
Guest
ahh yes nuffing like aussie kulture. Love it when football followers get told to do things the aussie way. The aussie way is to follow and glorify sports that noone else in the world plays. How aussie is that?
Maxine
Guest
Hi Buddy...fair enough,I think you're talking about tradition which is great. And you're right,some countries are different,but imagine how exciting an EPL finals series would be? But they get that with FA Cup etc. Anyway,whatever people think of finals,it should be able to be discussed without claims of not understanding Football. Australians love finals and we are trying to grow our reasonably sub standard local competition. Finals are certainly needed here.
Johan
Guest
Western United and the team to be placed in Sydney’s far south west near Campbelltown will be proven to be huge errors by the FFA- right up there with the North Queensland Fury and Gold Coast United. I suspect gallop knows this and that was one of the reasons why he has exited stage left!
Johan
Guest
As an Australian of Dutch aristocratic background, I feel the winner of the a league grand final should be called the toilet seat warmers. It reminds me of one of the tasks of my butler, Jeeves, before I take to the throne of a morning!
Buddy
Roar Rookie
Maxine, I agree the play offs for promotion are kind of fun, full of tension, create a revenue stream and are a great day out if your team gets to Wembley. However, ask any team, any supporter and I’d be willing to bet they would prefer to gain promotion by finishing first or second. The other way is a lottery and that’s the difference. They do not relegate in the same way though which is interesting in itself.
Buddy
Roar Rookie
It isn’t to fans though. Ask any uk supporter of an EPL side which trophy they would rather win and you’ll find that the vast majority want the win that comes with the long haul…best team over 38 matches. Champions League is good and it is fun but it doesn’t carry the same weight – not in UK anyway.
Maxine
Guest
Nemesis...everything you're saying people get. How is finals being a good idea not football? Football is a sport is it not? Everyone loves finals. That's why Grand Finals have big crowds,parties,lots of talk leading up to the games,huge tension. Maybe football needs more finals internationally.
Nemesis
Guest
Maxine, if you actually follow EFL in the lower leagues then you should understand the difference between finishing Top & winning the title, or finishing 3-6 and qualifying for Play-offs to decide the final promotion spot. I'll gladly embrace Finals when we have Relegation & the finals are a playoff to decide which team gets relegated from A-League Div1; and/or promoted into A-League Div1.
Nemesis
Guest
The Champions League is a tournament. Every team doesn't play every opponent Home & Away. The World Cup Finals is not a league competition, it's also a tournament. So is the FFA Cup, FA Cup, League Cup, DFB Pokal, Coppa Italia, etc. All tournaments. Not league competitions. Anyone who follows football knows this. If you don't follow football, then anyone with basic common sense also knows this.
RbbAnonymous
Roar Rookie
There is nothing minor about it. It's not called the minor premiers plate. It's called the premiers plate.
Maxine
Guest
Hi Brian..I follow the EFL lower leagues,and while the champion is decided by who finishes on top,other promotion positions are decided by a finals series. It works well. Also the World Cup is a finals series. And Nemesis,why are people who enjoy finals not football followers? Finals are great...big games under real pressure. It is what sport should be all about.
Nick Symonds
Guest
Wanderers average attendance before nomadic years = 17,746 Wanderers average attendance last season = 9,312 - If WU have half the number of members of CCM and that translates to average attendance then that would mean an average attendance of 2,781. Then if you halve that again for the nomad factor it's 1,390 which would look utterly hopeless at a 36,000 seat oval stadium like Kardinia Park. There's a hell of a lot riding on those derbies...
Brian
Guest
WU over Casey was a bad decision made by people who seemed to have never travelled to Tarneit or lived in Melbourne