There were 24 goals scored on another wild weekend of A-League action, but none of it matters much if clubs forget it’s their job to get fans through the gates and not just to play.
Florin Berenguer’s curling long-range strike in Melbourne City’s win over Perth Glory on Sunday was a Montbéliard-made work of art.
It was the pick of the goals in a wildly entertaining clash from a player who looks a million dollars one minute and like he’s got himself lost on a professional football pitch the next.
City’s 3-2 victory was thrilling stuff in a contest between two sides jostling for second spot on the ladder. How many people watched it, though?
There were 8107 fans in attendance, many of whom were forced to squint their way through in a stadium offering practically no shade from the harsh glare of the autumn sun.
The 3pm local kick-off did little to help, however the time difference with the eastern seaboard makes scheduling tough, particularly as Fox Sports prefers to broadcast their fixtures back-to-back.
Diego Castro starred in an A-League thriller… but how many people actually saw it? (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)
Yet all it will take to fill the stadium next time – if you believe some of the online chatter – is for clubs to bundle Sunday’s goals into a neat little package sharable across social media.
Because that’s really what we’re talking about when we say that A-League viewing habits have changed.
It’s become almost a reflex to suggest that even though TV viewing figures have collapsed, the A-League is actually going great guns because so many fans are streaming it.
But are they? How do we know? And how much of the match are they actually watching?
I’m old enough to be inconvenienced by the inexorable march towards streaming, but savvy enough to know it’s the inevitable way forward.
If a football highlights package is what it takes for a telco company to shift a few more handsets, then bring on the future.
But just like newspapers lost their so-called rivers of gold in the form of the lucrative classifieds that bankrolled their entire operation, professional sports in Australia might soon be about to experience their own watershed moment.
Because unless streaming rights end up being as lucrative as what broadcasters like Fox Sports are willing to pay, then competitions like the A-League are going to have to cut back.
It’s already starting to happen. Simon Hill and Andy Harper called yesterday’s Glory game from the studio in Sydney, instead of at the stadium in Perth.
And for some fans that’s not a problem. But I’d hazard a guess they’re not the same fans willing to shell out for the cable TV subscriptions currently keeping the A-League afloat.
One of the easiest ways to stem the over-reliance on TV money is for clubs to start selling a few more tickets on match days, and it’s here that certain attitudes surely need to change.
Empty seats are all too common at the A-League this season. (Albert Perez/Getty Images)
Melbourne Victory charging Sydney FC fans $53.86 plus booking fee for tickets to Saturday’s showdown is beneath contempt, and the $38.56 seats one bay over were no better.
The dismal attendance of 15,102 fans who filed through the gates at the hated Marvel Stadium was exactly what Victory officials deserved.
Why should they care, though? It’s not like they paid to get in.
But unless officials start to remember why they’re in this business – to entertain fans, not run teams nobody watches – then the competition is in trouble.
Because what the A-League has right now is a genuine perception problem.
The standard of football is great, but you wouldn’t know it from the headlines.
However, ticket prices are too high. And clubs still don’t listen to fans. And there’s too much emphasis on running the football side of things purely for the sake of it.
Something needs to change.
Otherwise we’ll soon be spending our Sunday afternoons watching cat videos on TikTok, instead of a professional football league that everyone seemed to think was too big to fail.
Micko
Roar Rookie
I was put off by a terrible experience probably around a decade ago (Glory vs. Jets) and paid little attention since. When you give it a go and watch, it’s surprising how much superior the quality of the A League now is to around a decade or so ago.
The Ball Bobbled
Roar Rookie
Yes, Soccer in this country has a death wish. The A League in its current format is dead but refuses to lie down, yet!
Christo the Daddyo
Roar Rookie
Just voicing my opinion mate. Didn't realise there was a problem with me doing that on a site like this...
steve
Guest
Its not an argument mate. Settle down.
David V
Guest
The A-League may well need outside expertise to make it work. Australian sports administrators are all cut from the same cloth, with the same ideas drummed into their heads. They are representative of a managerial class which is failing, and sets the tone from the top down in terms of failure.
Punter
Roar Rookie
He might not know what he is talking about, but Elvis sure could sing!!!!
Nemesis
Guest
We're talking specifically about Optus Sport. You made a typically snarky remark referencing potential sponsorship with the profile of Aussies watching watching the Faroe Islands on Optus Sport. You clearly missed the core point the Optus executive was making & which Georgina Robinson actually spelled out for you. Regardless, of your inability to understand the article, what has sponsorship got to do with Optus Sport selling mobile phone contracts, or nbn contracts?
Glorious
Roar Rookie
I think that’s a perfect explanation. And telcos and other streaming services may pay ‘over the odds’ (relative to ratings) because it is in their best interest to do so.
Roberto Bettega
Roar Rookie
If sponsorship isn't important to the new A-League, then there's nothing to worry about.
Wanderersfan
Guest
Sounds like he knows alot to me. Care to point out exactly why he doesn't know what his talking about? What he described is exactly what happened.
Nemesis
Guest
What have sponsors got to do with it? Optus is a telco. It makes money from selling Mobile Phone & NBN packages. This is not an advertising revenue broadcaster. Regardless. The customers for Uefa content & EPL content will have significantly different football preferences to the customers who are primarily focused on Australian football competitions.
Roberto Bettega
Roar Rookie
I think that was a good article by Georgina. I'm just wondering out aloud, if our youth are streaming the Faroe Islands vs Kosovo in large numbers, will this be enough to attract sponsors to the A-League?
Christopher
Guest
You have gone off the boil Nemesis. Might be best to take a two week break from the Roar and collect your thoughts. You are becoming way too aggressive on here for what should be a friendly discussion about a sport we love. Take it easy and come back refreshed.
Samuel Power
Roar Rookie
Didn't go back before 2010 as the finals series was a bit different, but I will for the sake of this: 2009: ADL v MVC - Sold Out 2008: CCM v NEW - Sold Out 2007: ADL v MVC - Sold Out 2007: MVC v ADL - Sold Out 2007: ADL v NEW - Sold Out 2006: ADL v SYD - Sold Out 2006: CCM v NEW - Sold Out There has also been many Semi Finals with great attendances, for example the NEW v MCY 2018 Semi Final, almost 20,000 people in attendance while it was pouring down with rain. Just quietly on a completely seperate topic, a bit weird how often the same teams meet every year in the finals, but that's probably because there was only 8-10 teams for so many years.
Nemesis
Guest
I've not verified your list, but I'll assume it's accurate. We've played 14 seasons of A-League, which means there have been 28 semi-finals over the 14 seasons. You have listed 8 semi-finals, which amounts to 28% of the total. A 28% frequency of an event occurring does not prove that an event is occurring "REGULARLY". In fact, it proves it is the exception. You have proven my point: A-League Semi-finals do not REGULARLY sell out.
Samuel Power
Roar Rookie
Semi Finals do not regularly sell out? Since you love your stats so much Nemesis, I've quickly gone through and listed all semi finals that have or been closed to selling out: 2019 - PER v ADL SOLD OUT 2016 - ADL v MCY SOLD OUT 2016 - WSW v BRI SOLD OUT 2015 - MVC v MCY SOLD OUT 2014 - WSW v CCM SOLD OUT 2013 - WSW v BRI SOLD OUT 2011 - ADL v GCU SOLD OUT 2010 - WEL v NEW SOLD OUT
Micko
Roar Rookie
Exactly Andy. I was going to attend my first A League game in around a decade (Glory vs Phoenix on Fri. Night) a few weeks back, but bailed out due to the time and cost. I grabbed a couple of six packs, chucked a pizza in the oven, and fired up me Kayo instead. :thumbup:
Kanggas2
Roar Rookie
Scheduling is garbage This year like every other year the jets started with one home game in 5 weeks , that’s ridiculous, out ground is available it’s just that fox spirts are trying to schedule lots of big blues or big derby games. How about we get out home games every 2 Nd week at the same day same time to build momentum into a season . The jets have at 4 games a season in 38 degrees days .. what clowns put sport on then . That’s fox sports wanting a 5 pm kickoff in January and February. That’s one issue down.
Micko
Roar Rookie
Well who's answered the call? Didn't the FFA ask for interest in a new 2nd division last week? South Melbourne fans are always having a sook, so they would probably be first in the queue.
Nemesis
Guest
We need at least 24 teams in a national league and they need to be ranked into 2 divisions. Below that will be a couple of hundred teams ranked by State Federations into 2 or 3 Divisions. Below that will be several hundred teams in each State ranked in 2,3, 4,5,6 Divisions depending on how big the state.