I am far from the biggest A-League fan, so with another season completed, I got thinking: am I the type that Football Federation Australia (FFA) need to work hard to win back?
Or do they need to defend the home front and ensure the core group are still engaged?
There’s a perspective the league has become a bit stale or hasn’t maintained the momentum gained during what now seems like a peak from 2012-2015, highlighted by the persence of superstars like Alessandro Del Piero, Shinji Ono and Emile Heskey.
The FFA Cup was introduced to broaden the footprint of the game and connect it to its roots, the Wanderers were a hot new commodity and powering to a grand final in their first season in front of passionate home fans, the league’s bigger clubs were all a chance of winning titles, and the almighty City Football Group acquired a fledgling Melbourne Heart to transform them into Melbourne City.
But the next step was never taken.
FFA likely hoped that expanding would be the next catalyst of growth and excitement, adding teams in Melbourne and Sydney to create more derbies to manufacture tribalism and atmosphere.
Obviously COVID-19 has stalled momentum with the two new teams and the big derby crowds those events bring, for which administrators can hardly be blamed.
Another theory could be Sydney FC’s dominance. It seems as if they have been a certainty to win from the get-go, finishing as champions in three of the last four seasons, which affects the interest of fans who aren’t rusted on.
(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
However, apart from delivering the much-needed commercial benefits of bigger crowds and TV viewers, the FFA’s hope is that the finals series keeps interest and intrigue alive – that fans will be overcome with passion to push their side to finish the job as the league leaders or cause an upset.
But if it is the purists the league must appease, is this the way forward?
The case in point could be the 2017-18 season, when Sydney FC finished atop the table by a huge 14 points and were surely the best team all season, but missed out on the grand final after an extra-time semi-final loss.
Is this how Australian football fans want their champions crowned?
Although the grand final this season featured the two best teams and was exciting, albeit with controversy (I’m sure someone will throw the VAR in as another factor affecting interest), would fans prefer to see the champion of the league crowned based on the team with the most points on the table?
Most purists also dream of promotion and relegation to go with a single winner atop the table, but most would likely recognise the lack of funds required to deliver this.
So, what if a new solution was created? With the addition of a 12th club in 2020-21, what if the finals series was replaced by an end-of-season standalone League Cup?
The draw would be determined by ladder positions and if the premiers didn’t win the League Cup Final, it wouldn’t result in any confusion about who was the best team over the course of 27 rounds (or possible 22 now), it is simply another challenge.
The League Cup could work as follows (assuming all the higher placed teams win for the sake of explanation):
Round 1
5th v 12th
6th v 11th
7th v 10th
8th v 9th
Top four teams receive a bye.
Round 2
1st v 8th
2nd v 7th
3rd v 6th
4th v 5th
Semi-finals
1st v 4th
2nd v 3rd
Final
1st v 2nd
The League Cup would give every game context, with even the 12th placed team striving for form in the hope of moving up higher in the draw or causing an upset.
The top four teams are rewarded with a better draw and home advantage, while the mid-ranked teams gain home ground advantage in Round 1.
The team that wins the A-League might have the chance at achieving a double or even triple title feat if they can win the FFA Cup as well.
Commercially, the League Cup would feature 11 games compared to five in the finals series, so has potential to attract greater revenue.
The biggest barrier may be that it could feel like a finals series that every team has qualified for, however the knockout nature and separate trophy and tournament structure would hopefully combat this and could help give Australian football fans a taste of what they crave the most.
Rodger King
Roar Rookie
@ JB - You are so right, the current generation and the next one, and ones after that, are going to be enticed by what they see, hear and read. I remember with fondness the first time I saw an add for the new A League, well before the season kicked off. It excited me and old fart who still clings to an old way. Why do I? Maybe it can be best summed up in an old cliché "The old men have memories, while a child has dreams". Yes marketing works and done well works even better. In my opinion we as a sport need to look at what the top league is and isn't doing. Right now the governing body does 95% of the clubs collective marketing. The clubs do some with their members but nothing out side of that. The FFA doesn't have sufficient funds to do a long term marketing plan for the league. 3 months leading up to the start of a season. I also believe that under the current license agreement it isn't the clubs responsibility to market themselves or the A League. Of course all that changes once the FFA hands over control to the clubs, Once the dying embers of the current broad cast deal flickers to an end, then we should be expecting the clubs to become more pro active, after all it is in their best interests to do so. I know many will start screaming that that time for them to be pro-active is now, however, these are smart business people [debatable at some level] and I'm certain if they could be they would be. But back to your point JB, yes we need a complete marketing plan to reach out to the fans who have either been driven away or have chosen to walk away. We need the atmosphere created by the RBB, yes that includes the robust singing [insert profane words here], the 'safe smoke' [which was promised to be introduce for the 17/18 season] we need to see all stadiums buzzing with a mixture of young and old, families and teenagers, of young males and young females. We need to see our sport on the TV [paid adds] in the print media, on radio, both FM and AM and more importantly on social media. [ facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and online gaming adds] everywhere where eyes are focused these days. They need to appeal to me [a 68yo] to my son and daughter, [in their 40's] my grand kids [between 9 and 20] both genders, we need to use every piece of advertising muscle we can secure. IMO we need to push the fact that we are Australian, we are Asian, we are Global. I use to worry about the effect we had on mainstream media, now I realize they aren't important. All they care about is their bottom line, hence their 'passion' for the NRL and the AFL. We should ask ourselves the question, would their attitude change towards us if we were 'spending' millions of dollars with them annually. YES it would, maybe there would be some very positive articles appearing. One of the biggest assets we as a sport have is us, the fans, and right now we are a disenfranchised rabble, we bicker, we argue, we fight with ourselves. And the other sports laugh and rub their hands together or worse still ignore us. So YES we need to market ourselves not only to us, but to a whole new group of younger Australians.
Micko
Roar Rookie
The fact is though that euro leagues also incorporate finals/playoffs into their structures too. The Championship has playoffs between 3rd & 6th to determine the third team to be promoted to the EPL and so on in the leagues under that.
Micko
Roar Rookie
Which one?
chris
Guest
Micko let me guess...your favourite show is the Footy Show!
jbinnie
Guest
Waz -Your figures tell the tale of Australian football psyche. Grand finals in this country have a special place in the hearts and minds of all sports fans and a simple look at grand final crowds as compared to fortnightly attendances spell that out loud and clear. IMO where the top clubs have failed miserably is in recognising that their top management have ignored the obvious,that their team is no longer attracting their "potential attendance". That being the case at most clubs, the onus then goes back on these people to ask the question,"Why is it so?" and more importantly "What are we going to do about it"? Too often it would appear the antiquated "committee system" of running what is in fact a multi million dollar business is still in vogue and as long as this lasts so to will interest in our game wax and wane. Is there any advantage in marketing??? I am in the middle of reading a book just now that points out the best overall crowds ever attracted to a World Cup competition was in USA of all places,a place where many of the delegates at the decision making brotherhood stated, "USA? That's not even a "football country." Today,some 26 years later, those "pundits" are still trying to work out how that tournament attracted high 5 figure crowds to every match, while at the same time criticising the Yanks for their use of "glitz" and "glamour". Will we ever learn? There is competition out there and we had better recognise that fact or suffer the consequences. jb
Waz
Roar Rookie
Correct. Three Grand Finals. Three 50,000+ crowds. (Not a chance of getting that in the regular season). Three Grand Finals. Viewing 4-5x what an average league game gets. And it’s the same for every club. There isn’t a club that shouldn’t fill their home Grand Final.
Micko
Roar Rookie
They receive a trophy for coming first though? Plus euro leagues like the EPL have an even home & away format for the season that's categorically equal, which means rewarding the top placed team makes sense. Plus they have lots of other cup competitions to play in, and jostle for positions to qualify for future cup comps. So they also have teams who are guaranteed not get first place, but are still fighting for ladder position to qualify for a cup comp, similar to our teams here in leagues like the AFL, NRL etc, who want to make the finals, or improve their position inside the top eight or whatever.
Micko
Roar Rookie
You're as big a clown as him then. If you don't like a sport based on the skin colour or/and ethnic/racial heritage of the participants, then I can't believe I need to tell you that's the wrong philosophy to have. Give yourself an uppercut son. :angry:
chris
Guest
I didnt know FIFA didnt allow those countries to let women play? Was it Sepp Blatter that introduced that? Surely not Sepp!
Coastyboi
Guest
Women in particular countries are banned from playing certain sports. Yes, it’s a “world gene”, but not 100% inclusive.
chris
Guest
Hmm no it wasn't obvious to me. It made you sound bigoted in your response. Which is the point Andy was trying to make.
chris
Guest
I dont want to imitate anything actually. I actually think it just makes sense. You quickly dismiss any free thought as "euro snobbery" etc. How do you justify a team coming middle of the table in league for example, becoming GF winners and totally obliterating the history of who came first? All I'm saying is that the team that comes first should have much greater recognition in what they have achieved.
Rodger King
Roar Rookie
@NoMate - I think you misunderstood what Waz actually was saying. They have already done those figures. So it isn't 'pie in the sky' it is based on history. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A-League_attendance 2015/16 Adelaide United had 50k at Adelaide Oval for the Grand-Final and they only average around 8k per home game unless Victory come to town, then the numbers go up. To knock the Brisbane crowd numbers you need more than just a dislike for the club.
NoMates
Guest
LOL @ Roar getting 55k to a final, they barely get 6k or less now at home games but increases the numbers magically for FOX sports.
Micko
Roar Rookie
People who keep saying that buzzword like Andy to justify their bigotry...wasn't that obvious chris?
At work
Roar Rookie
Considering that Fox Sports won't be covering the FFA Cup then it removes the shakles and we can have a better run cup, without the rigged draw and hopefully A League teams coming in at the round of 64 instead of 32.
Micko
Roar Rookie
I don't care chris, they can do what they want. The team that finishes first know the job isn't done yet, so they go in knowing what's at stake. You guys want it because you want to imitate your favourite euro leagues. You realise that a team that finishes sixth in the english championship can possibly get promoted to the EPL via a finals system don't you? Why does 6th deserve an EPL promotion ahead of the 3rd place finisher?
chris
Guest
"What is this “multicultural” crap you people spout?" Which people are you referring to Micko?
Micko
Roar Rookie
I can follow whatever sport I like buddy. It might shock you but people can follow multiple sports…and have no issue with the ethnicity, race, skin colour, gender etc of the people that play that sport. You need to have a good look at yourself buddy. This weird buzzword of “multiculturalism” doesn’t justify your bigotry in any way shape or form. :angry:
Micko
Roar Rookie
What’s wrong with being “85% anglo-saxon”??? :shocked: Why do you consider this a bad thing ? :angry: What is this “multicultural” crap you people spout? Sport is literally a part of culture. Why do you care about the ethnic makeup of a sport anyway? Do you complain about the NBA basketball too and it’s ethnic makeup?