While many death knell the A-League, others simply enjoy it on face value. The modern reality of sport being a product means that some will always attempt to assess value.
So where is the A-League after 12 rounds and on the cusp of a new decade? Expectations were high pre-season, and if the negativity around the competition in the less-than-supportive mainstream media is pushed aside, an opinion can be formed.
Prior to the season, there was much excitement around some of the quality foreigners arriving and Robbie Fowler’s second foray into coaching.
It seemed likely that Perth Glory and Sydney FC would be formidable with Adelaide, Western Sydney and Melbourne City the likely improvers. Fans were intrigued by the inclusion of Western United and hopeful that Alen Stajcic’s impressive start in Gosford would continue and return Central Coast to respectability.
Most felt Melbourne Victory would rear their head at some stage of the season, yet many feared for the plight of the financially restricted Newcastle Jets and a new-look Wellington Phoenix that had seen much of their best talent leave.
The normal negativity around so-called recycled players and attendance metrics lingered and some still held serious concerns over the general competitiveness (or lopsidedness) of the competition.
With an important period of time ahead for the Olyroos after stand-out performances by some of Australia’s best young talent in the FFA Cup, there were also hopes that the next wave of Socceroos would take another stride forward and become more than merely promising players.
What has transpired over the first three months of the competition both confirms and/or allays much of the above. The arrivals of Alessandro Diamanti, Daniel Lopar, Panagiotis Kone, Ulises Davila and Javier Cabrera have been impressive to say the least.
(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
The youth has indeed announced itself en masse. Al Hassan Toure, Samuel Silvera, Reno Piscopo, Tom Glover, Denis Genreau and Connor Metcalfe have all made their presence felt and demanded the continued attention of Graham Arnold.
The level of parity in the competition has been pleasing. Aside from Sydney FC careering into the distance, a mad rush of Boxing Day sales’ proportion is taking place behind them.
Separated by just ten points, the remaining clubs have jostled continuously, all still hopeful of finals play. Despite sitting 11th on the ladder, Newcastle have picked up points in half their matches, as have Brisbane.
The tightness in the six where Perth, Adelaide, Wellington and Western Sydney are engaged in a weekly game of musical chairs will only increase as Melbourne Victory snip at their coat tails after a slow start.
The overall standard has been pleasing. Sydney FC and Adam le Fondre have been outstanding and a pair of A-League recyclables are in the race for the golden boot.
Jamie Maclaren’s early goal production was nothing but astonishing and Besart Berisha returned by reminding us all of the talented and hungry competitor he is. The rebirth of Nikola Mileusnic appears complete after a frustrating period of injury and Adelaide are also enjoying the rise of Riley McGree.
Mitchell Duke has been the heart and soul of the Wanderers’ attack, former Socceroo Scott McDonald has provided Mark Rudan with exactly the experience and poise he needed in Western United’s first season and Gary Hooper looms as a popular draw card for Wellington once at full fitness and form.
(Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images))
Frankly, it has been fun.
The naysayers were quick to jump on early attendance figures. Journalist Will Swanton referred to the A-League’s early crowds as being akin to an own goal in his piece in The Australian on November 17.
It was, in fact, nothing more than a predictable swipe at the A-League and an effort to concoct a seasonal code war. The NBL is drawing around 6900 per game, a terrific achievement and a solid rise from last season.
Swanton’s summation was that the A-League was sinking in comparison. Yet if he was to dig a little deeper, he would now uncover some interesting statistical realities.
After labelling the A-League as floundering, he may be interested to know that fans have returned to Western Sydney. Attendance is up 80 per cent on last season’s average. Brisbane Roar, despite their lowly position, have seen an 11 per cent increase, as have Melbourne City (six per cent) and Central Coast (11 per cent).
Adelaide and Perth crowds have been slugged by heat and hazardous conditions, which have drawn concerns from supporter groups. Yet with both teams pushing for a top-four position, it is likely those numbers will improve considerably in milder conditions.
Victory started poorly yet a familiar run is looming and their fans will be there to see it. With another 15,000-plus at Kogarah this weekend for Sydney FC’s match against Adelaide and Wellington’s base becoming incredibly excited about their team’s current form, both will be tracking on or above 2018-19 averages very soon.
If Western United’s home matches are removed from attendance data – they are a new club we knew would struggle to draw impressive crowds until they gained traction in the local community – the result is curious.
The average of 10,881 fans per game is astonishingly close to last season’s final figure of 10,877. Not too bad, all things considered.
It has been a tough summer for many, with a scar placed on much of the country by oppressive heat and fire. All the while, the A-League trucked along as it always does, maligned yet resilient.
That is football in Australia.
Happy new year to you all and have a great 2020.
Treys
Guest
Sometimes a lie hurts less than the truth, right Nemesis?
David V
Guest
The decline of Australian players at the highest level is regrettable but hardly unique (Ryan and Mooy are the only two), there's not that many Scottish players cutting it in the English leagues like they used to do either. Australia can hardly be unique in a high degree interest in big European leagues - it's the case all over the world, especially on our doorstep in Asia. Wall to wall coverage of EPL, EFL, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga, Ligue 1, even the Portuguese, Dutch, Belgian, Russian, Brazilian, Argentine, etc leagues. Irish and Scandinavian fans have been following English clubs for decades, and can and do travel to England and the Continent to watch games. Should we try to resist such an entrenched cultural reality? European football has long been an entrenched global cultural phenomenon, and even smaller English clubs benefit from that. Australian football and the A-League must embed itself in this reality rather than create an alternative universe.
Nemesis
Guest
Punter, I'm sure, if Nick21 did send his football advice to any A-League club, it would be treated with the same respect as his advice is treated by A-League fans on this website.
chris
Guest
Is it ignored though Randy? AFL is ignored in Sydney and Bris. League is ignored in Victoria and SA. Cricket is dying (even BBL - who would have thought?) So your statement is probably true for just about every sport. But good to get your input.
Randy
Roar Rookie
Is the A-League really that maligned? it's ignored more than maligned. Football in this country for a lot of spectators is socceroos and big european leagues. The problem is Australians are not doing that well in either of those things. The socceroos have been pretty uninspiring for a number of years, at least compared to what they were in the 2000s. There is also a lack of aussies playing in the major competitions overseas. Personally I am interested in seeing this country produce high quality international players on a regular basis ,A League can be a part of that, it has to work out how.
chris
Guest
Sponsors come and go all the time. Caltex is being re-branded to be called Ampol blah blah blah. So no point having their name on a NT shirt right when they wont exist pretty soon in this country under the Caltex name.
chris
Guest
"Face it soccer is finished". That is just quality frapino bro.
WanderingKooka
Guest
Yeh ok. There is absolutely no way it is even slightly accurate.l for anything let alone +- 5k of the actual viewing audience but you keep believing the figures if you want.
Frapino
Roar Rookie
But he's got the runs on the board, speaks sense and you live in a fantasy land. Who are people gonna believe.
Nemesis
Guest
I encounter people like Nick21 all the time on this website. They're ignorant about football - on field & off field. They have nothing to add to any football discussion & you have to just hope they find some joy in life in 2020.
Christopher
Guest
Across other codes, AFL fans are watching an average of 3.5 hours each week, with some regular-season games reaching over 100,000 users. NRL fans were also watching an average of 3.5 hours each week, with some regular-season games reaching nearly 70,000 users. NRL need to be worried Waz as based on your numbers more are watching the A League. Neck and neck with the AFL, now that is impressive. https://ministryofsport.com.au/kayo-sports-data-reveals-surge-in-content-consumption-and-subscriber-numbers/
Christopher
Guest
"We have turned the corner and starting to show growth once more. Goodbye Fox! Enter a new TV partner, Telstra TV, Kayo, or Optus, or any other streaming outlet or even a FTA TV partner." Growth in? Telstra (partially) and Kayo are Foxtel Optus, if someone else produces the content, count take the rights. Just remember through that only 700,000 (October 2019) had registered for Optus Sport vs 3 million who have Foxtel/Foxtel Now/Kayo. Yes, obviously not all have access to the sports package. We needed to look at growing the exposure of the league, not shrinking it. Optus has shown by ending their relationship with SBS that they have no interest in content being shown on FTA (Champions League/EPL) and are more interested in forcing people to go to them for content exclusively. Kayo provides much better value for most general sports fans at $25 than Optus does at $15. A League tragics that are with Telstra/Vodafone might be willing to pay the $15 a month but casual fans won't be and therefore we would lose many casual fans. Optus are not going to be our saviour.
Roberto B
Guest
cambrai, christopher agree with both of you, the game will always exist, it ain't going nowhere, people need to wake up and smell the coffee
anon
Roar Pro
It’s close enough. We don’t need to know the exact number. Approximation to the nearest 5k
Nick21
Roar Pro
I have just told you I provided solutions and engaged an A-league club. And you still say I am an arm chair critic. Shows you aren't been rational because I just proved your statement to be false. Let me ask you. Have you actively tried to engage clubs like I have? Or are you the arm chair critic that you are accusing me of being?
Christopher
Guest
True, I'm a bit over it myself. There will always be a national league in this country.
Christopher
Guest
You are spot on, the base is still there and that is a positive. However, like you have mentioned we can't rely on it to always be there. There was a genuine buzz around Melbourne in the early days of the A League, even amongst people that had until then had no interest in the game. I attended a few big blue derbies at Etihad/ Marvel where there were 40,000 fans. At present the best such a match might see is around 22,000. That is a large drop off. While it is possible that some were not regular Football fans, it is worrying that so few converted/remained on board. The Kayo viewing numbers that were released should not come as a surprise, but they will be explained away by some that comment on here. It shows that around 1 in 75 subscribers tunes into a game, which is around the same as what we see with Foxtel Set Top Box subscribers. There is not some massive clandestine group of fans lurking in the streaming shadows devouring A League content. Until we are truthful about where the league is at we won't be able to look at the way forward.
Nick21
Roar Pro
I encounter people like Nemesis all the time when I am hired to turn around companies. Rule is you try to engage them twice then work around them (or move them on). Unless they are empowered by management (in which case you have a toxic culture) they are just back ground noise. Ultimately while others live in the world of feel good theory my results speak for themselves. I have turned around multimillion dollar divisions and am hired because of my reputation to understand core strategic issues and market places. The A-league team I was working with had visionary leadership and they were all for my proposition. When they left the club fell apart and my project was binned. There is a variety of reasons people are in denial. Ego, false sense of security, fear to not wanting to admit they were wrong. I will tell you the ingesting thing. Even when I do turn divisions around … Some of those people who opposed the change will still oppose what i did. Even though the division is now profitable and arguably their job was saved.
Frapino
Roar Rookie
“Everything he said had factual errors?” Wow bro. Talk about head in the sand. As someone who is involved in the game and has been at an elite level I can tell you Nick is spot on. You’re directing your vitriol to the wrong person. How about you direct it to the people running the game into the ground not people who call them out for it.
cambrai
Guest
How often we hear from "soccer haters' "Soccer will not survive". Does this mean people will stop playing the Game? The Socceroos and Mathildas will stop playing No more World Cups or Champion League? No more EPL? We will wake up one day to the announcement that the game has died because it has become too poplar around the world. I wish people would not come on the site to make such 'stupid 'comments.