The near demise of football as we know it

First up, I would like to say the German model of 50 plus 1 seems the way to go to avoid the excesses of the greedy owners. The power of the fans returned in full throttle over the last ten days, and they all said enough is enough with the prospect of the clubs going in a completely different direction to the desires and interests of the fans. When all seemed lost in today’s world with the power of capital and greed over everything else, it is nice to see that those with the least power by combining and directly effecting the destiny of their clubs. To what extent they can wrestle control back lies with the sport governing bodies and Government of the day. A giant banner appeared overnight at BankWest voicing fans displeasure with the CEO of Western Sydney Wanderers, and the current direction and strategy at the club. Not a dissimilar to the one at Sydney FC when Farina was under the gun. I am wondering just how far this new fan power might manifest itself in Parramatta with the RBBs obvious displeasure of the JTs stewardship.

I agree jb. My point is, once the elite start excluding others, giving them no chance of ever being involved, the masses will revolt. Surely these billionaire club owners must know that. Let them eat cake.

jb what you have written does not answer the original question. Why was Inter-Monaro promoted to the NSL in 1985 after winning the NSW state league in 1984? It wasn't because they paid an exorbitant license fee. It wasn't because they are a big club. It wasn't because they needed a 2nd club in Canberra. It was because they won the NSW state league the previous year. They were promoted because of onfield merit. Surely that's the key point here.

Not sure all are billionaire elites using Barcelona and Real Madrid as an example - both member owned clubs (the only 2 clubs in the Super League left in its current form)

Yes JB - parachute payments kind of spells out what sort of world the premier league is. You and I probably both remember when World Cup finals were 16 teams and you felt they were genuine contenders with the odd exception! We saw it go to 24 and then 32 and now beyond that - it is the world of “inclusiveness”.

Robert - You are entering an extremely dangerous area when you try to analyse the NSL in the mid 80's. These 3 years were when the ASF , in it's management function ,decided to increase the number of "derby" (ethnic) matches all around the country. They formated 2 "conferences" not based on any geographic criteria but where the majority of games would be played, that is Sydney or Melbourne, hence --more derbies. This pathetic attempt at widening the lure of a "national competition" ended after 3 seasons with clubs, hurriedly put together, failing to last the pace ,financial or otherwise. This high 'failure rate" has led some to believe today that the NSL had automatic promotion and relegation. That's just not true, whether you stayed in the league or not depended on your club's financial position, and this saw many clubs actually withdrawing from the league in order to survive, and so ,after 3 seasons, our nation wide league was reduced to 14 teams from the previous 24, not by relegation, but by invitation from the ASF. Cheers jb.

Chris - What "this time" was, was a "test the water", put forward by some club administrators just to see what the re-action would be. In my life time I have witnessed at least 6 like "suggestions" and all have usually ended up by the ruling football bodies making slight changes to the status quo thus keeping all bodies happy. Sorry Chris, but that has been the way it was. Cheers jb.

In its 27 year history, 42 different clubs played in the NSL. It really doesn't get much more open than that. Just noticed this line in Inter-Monaro's wikipedia page: National Soccer League and decline After winning New South Wales Division 1 in 1984, Inter Monaro entered the NSL for the 1985 season, replacing Melita Eagles in the Northern Conference. I tell you what, that reads as if Inter-Monaro won promotion to the NSL by winning the NSW state league. They were effectively the 2nd Canberra based team for 2 seasons. Did they get there because they paid an exorbitant license fee? No. Did they get there because someone thought they needed a 2nd team in Canberra? N0. Did they get there because they were a massive club so were given a free spot? No. It would appear that they got there via onfield merit, i.e. sounds suspiciously like P&R. Can any Australian club progress to the A-League currently via onfield merit? No.

Barcelona and Real Madrid will have to pay for their stadium upgrades somehow :stoked:

Been that way since the NSL started in 1977

No doubt these corporations will keep trying to squeeze even more out of football. But once you start closing things off with closed leagues etc. people will rebel. This isn't cricket or league where a few people control everything. The fan base in football will not stand for it as witnessed what's happened over the past few days. I mean even the British govt was going to step in.

100% spot on. Was never ever going to happen. These suits will never understand.

You are seriously bringing boxing in to counter FIFA corruption and incompetence? Surely you could have thought of a better organisation than the corruption, criminally influenced boxing commissions!

JB the big difference this time around was that this was definitely a closed league. That's what rankles the most. Sure, the current competitions are only ever contested by the rich and elite, but the smaller clubs have the same opportunities. Who's to say next week a rich benefactor doesn't come along and bankrolls Burnley? Unlikely sure.

Interesting comments ranging from outright fatalism to cynical defensiveness about a quite simple and straightforward article. The game like life has its roots in communal engagement but like so many aspects of modern capitalism we buy into what we do not see until it is too late. YES- Football like the the property market which many Australians have unabatedly bought into as a speculative material acquisition ,not a human right for each of us to have adequate housing, has been driven at the elite level, by unmitigated human greed and ignorance- but does that make it right ? That is the simple question this article seems to pose. Maybe it is time to join the dots and look at sport as just another extension of a world we are all too willing to expediently profit from as humans while causing irretrievable damage for the next generation... just because it has become the norm does make the ESL ethical. So, to have both fans and wealthy EPL players & coaches speak up against their boards and owners may be a prelude to an activism more necessary in other parts of our lives not just football, if our comments are to have some integrity ,and responsibility taken not just for our living , but the legacy of that living. Thought - producing discussion & article. K

The near demise of football as we know it Well, well we don't know it in Australia, where we have a closed league, which is likely to remain for the forseeable future.

A super League will happen down the road unless Clubs and FA's take back more control of the game from TV and stop mega wealthy owners buying what they want.

Buddy -All true but, they have even expanded the World Cup, no doubt using the excuse that with the break up of the USSR something had to be done. We here in Australia also benefited from that decision, making it easier for Hiddink to advance, than it was for Rasic, some years before. So ,where will it end ,if ever?. As you say business is business and the real money in the game no longer comes from match attendances but from statistical analysis of TV ratings. It is hard for local fans to comprehend why relegated clubs in England are paid huge amounts of money for 3 years so that they can keep contracted players happy, and player's unions stifled. Some of these "payouts" would keep our A-League running for a few seasons. Cheers jb.

MAX -You pose some very interesting questions. Let me take you back to 1955 when a new competition was introduced, the European Cup. Entry could only be attained by winning the championship i n each country. Note well. The outcry was huge, championship winning teams all over Europe being condemned if they showed the slightest interest. Five years later the idea ,and it's critics had all quietened down and the final was played between the Spanish champions and the champions of Germany. The final was booked to be played in a "neutral " country, Scotland, and as an indication as to how the opposition to the idea had changed, 127,000 people paid to watch this game on a mid week afternoon. The European Cup had finally "arrived' Since that day in 1960, 61 years ago, there has been almost constant friction between the controlling bodies of the game in Europe and the owners of the "big' clubs spread across that continent. The owners of these "big" clubs ,some answerable to shareholders, were constantly on the lookout for more games that could be sold to the public as "out of the ordinary" and so the "powers that be" ,in order to silence these complaints, saw fit to increase the opportunities for clubs ,other than league champions to participate in this 'new" area of the game. With travel becoming a cheaper commodity almost every year ,and improving lifestyles in most countries the men at the top ,over the next 5 or so years introduced a Cup Winners Cup, a Fair Cities Cup, the Uefa Cup etc,etc, always opening up more and more avenues for other teams to participate. They even toyed with the original concept changing the European Cup format to a European Champions League where by up to 6 clubs from each country (depending on their drawing power) could play in what was once a comp. set up for a team from each participating country. So you see, MAX, change is not new, in fact it's been around for 65years,and this latest episode is only a continuation of the battle that goes on between the power men in our game, the highly paid administrators, and the wealthy owners. This latest "test" will fade away but the "seed has been planted" and there is little doubt in my mind that history tells us that something will have to happen to "calm the waters" again. Could we finish up way down the road to " Club World Cup" .featuring clubs from Europe, the Americas, The sub continent (India),Africa, and Asia. Can you start to imagine what the world wide TV audience would be tuning into those games. Never forget Max, the top administrators would continue to do as well as the clubs involved. All you have to do is study the history of the expanding game and let your imagination do the rest. Cheers jb

It’s been a few decades at least since football moved from being a sport to big business and although there have been numerous attempts to develop some kind of super league that have all failed, I suggest it is only a matter of time before big business finds the answers and we will see a step change in the sport that we currently know. The television broadcast deals that are in place for EPL surely set the ball rolling some years back? They changed the game completely for fans who live in the country and want to go and see live football. Saturday afternoon predictability changed to Friday night, Saturday lunchtime, Saturday evening, Sunday lunchtime, Monday nights and fans have had to adapt or go elsewhere for the weekly dose. Those changes were not made with fans in mind. It was all to suit television networks and broadcasts across the world which would bring in more dollars, euros or pounds, whatever you prefer. The re-formatting of European competitions and the World Cup for that matter has been about “doing good business” and making more money for the controlling bodies.Nowhere along the way have fans and players been considered. The question on many business owners lips must relate to why such poor decision making from controlling bodies, do they end up with larger pots of gold? Therefore it will come as no surprise when the next attempt at a coup takes place whether it be in 12 months or 12 years, there will always be plots and sub plots. Meanwhile, those of us who genuinely don’t like what has happened or is currently happening switch off and go to pastures new. I don’t even watch the FA Cup,final,since they made it a 5-00 pm kick off in England. Someone explain to me how that decision was made with fans in mind?