Final is a word that has found much prominence in many different forms of sport.
AFL, rugby, tennis, and nearly every other type of sport has had finals and knockout games in it at some stage.
However, football is where finals have found their best form. Champions League finals, World Cup games, FA Cup runs, and so on have been important features of football for centuries.
These finals have created excitement and popularity more than any other. The World Cup final in 2018 streamed to over one billion people.
So if finals are so important, why they are so invisible among domestic titles?
Premier League, Serie A, La Liga and so on do not have finals systems. In fact, very few major systems do have finals.
Why do we have finals in the A-League? Are they important? These are questions that I have seen many people writing and talking about, not just on The Roar but everywhere.
So if we can change it, what are our options?
Non-finals system
Pros
The non-finals system, which I am going to refer to as the league system, is widely used across many leagues and competitions all over the world. It is very simple: the top team at the end of the season wins it.
The main positive of this is that it is the fairest. When a team wins a league with this system, no one can argue that they did not deserve to win. Overall, fairness is important, and it has gained the league system much respect.
(Photo by Kelly Defina/Getty Images)
Cons
Unfortunately, the league system can just not compare to the finals system in excitement and occasion. Cup runs, last-minute goals, extra-time showdowns and of course the famous penalty shootout can just not be found to this chaotic do-or-die extent in league games.
In league systems, particularly long ones like the Premier League, the title can be determined ten weeks before the end of the season. This is not good at all, and for the A-League this season with Melbourne City clearly on top a long way from home, it would really hit the already shrinking crowd attendances in the last few weeks.
In summary, the league system cannot compare to finals in excitement.
A-League finals system
Pros
Finals, in short, are incredibly exciting. Your team can lose their season or keep it going it in a heartbeat. Watching the Adelaide versus Sydney game was high tempo, entertaining football that was even better in a finals game.
Finals also generate big crowds at the end of the season, something the A-League can really use. The A-League finals system really opens it up for team to go on runs to the end of the season. This retains interest for teams that finish anywhere between third and sixth, which in other systems would not be contending. The A-League finals do have a lot of positives.
Cons
Clearly the systems have identical problems, and the A-League is not as fair as its league counterpart. Not everyone likes the team that finishes sixth going all the way to win it and prefer something smoother and fairer.
This is fair enough and should be respected. After all, what is a tournament when it is not fair? The A-League finals does not give enough advantage to the teams that finish first and second. They still must play two difficult matches to win, compared to three for the teams finishing less than top two. The A-League finals are not very fair.
(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Other alternatives
There are also completely different directions the A-League finals could potentially travel. If six teams are too many to go through, the SANFL finals system could be used, which gives a large benefit to the first team.
Generally, if the A-League continues with finals, they could easily change the format. There are many finals formats that the A-League could use that would be fairer, including the SANFL system or one of the many McIntyre finals systems that are very well known in the AFL.
My opinion
I have given you a brief insight of what I think on each system, so I am now going to tell you where I stand on the matter.
All things considered, I believe a finals system is the way to go for the A-League. It will build up the season right to the end. The A-League should also consider reverting to a finals system that benefits the higher teams more. For example, the SANFL is a smaller finals format, but very beneficial to first-placed teams.
This would add a level of fairness in the A-League finals system that has not been seen before. The top teams would have a much better chance of winning it at the end of the season. A modified A-League finals system is the solution for the A-League.
Rodney McMinge
Roar Rookie
Well, considering the game is about to be picked by a duplex network , what we wan't won't count. It'll be about bums on seats versus advertisers reaching as many viewers as possible. Here in itself is a problem. We all complain about dwindling attendances. Maybe, just maybe, those people not at the game are watching it on the box. Which equates to the sponsors product being seen by more people than it would at the actual game ? Maybe the sponsors don't care about actual attendances . Maybe they don't care about money going back into the game , so long as their logo is getting maximum exposure , is probably what's at the front of their corporate lobes ?....Just a thought.
Rodney McMinge
Roar Rookie
Still nothing. The comp's been won by then.
Rodney McMinge
Roar Rookie
I'd much rather something like this to dead rubber football. Before you say it's not " dead rubber...it is " The comp's been won by the team who had the best season. I'd be more than happy to see it go 2 points for a win and one for a draw to keep the comp closer. But......a 20 team knockout would be a perfect public introduction to teams seeking promotion .That's if we were to include relegation and promotion. At some point, this needs to happen to keep the game moving forward. While that's easy enough to say , the financial backing is a whole other can of worms.
Winter A League is Awesome
Roar Rookie
Another pro finals point is that some of the highest turn outs are at finals so why get rid of that if the fans are coming out. Tickets for the tonights game sold out within a couple of hours and could have easily filled AAMI if we had full capacity. Atmosphere was great.
Micko
Roar Rookie
I think he'll be happy. :thumbup:
Trung
Guest
I think football is mature enough to handle multiple trophy. It’s part of Australian football culture (finals is part of the NSL history and state leagues)It’s nice to have the ambiguity over who is the best team. The premier or the champions. Keep the finals however give the premier plate equal prize money as the champions. Encourage the debate and the ambiguity.
Harry Selassie
Roar Rookie
Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Uruguay. United States all of these countries determine their league champion through a finals or playoff. It works for them and this format works for Australia too.
Timmuh
Roar Guru
(Outsider view to an extent) I think finals are probably necessary for two reasons. Firstly, the Australian market is different. There are more major sports and Association Football is not the (locally) biggest in revenue, media coverage, viewership. Participation is a different story of course. Finals, and not having the same few teams dominate endlessly, are expected in the Australian marketplace. Finals have a marketability that the regular season lacks, to many multi-sport followers. Secondly, in the big European leagues qualifying for the Champions League is itself a goal - even for the bigger teams - once the title is no longer realistic. The Asian Champions League doesn't capture the fans, or seemingly the clubs, in the same manner. Even with promotion-relegation presumably coming at some point, so many teams may often have little to play for later in the season without finals places on the line. What is successful in nations where the sport is often practically the only major sport going around is going to be quite different from Australia. Is a finals system best for the on field component (the most important part)? I doubt it makes any real difference either way, except some clubs, and therefore players, get a slightly longer season.
Winter A League is Awesome
Roar Rookie
Another pro finals point is that Pep is watching them today https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theage.com.au/sport/soccer/designed-in-manchester-made-in-melbourne-pep-talk-drives-city-20210626-p584gm.html
Grem
Roar Rookie
Sunday would actually be the worst time as the NSW v Qld State of Origin is on Sunday - but later.
Grem
Roar Rookie
I think this is a Covid time. Saturdayvwas the preferred day but Covid changed all plans. Our grand final time has always been at a time we have chosen - before Covid.
Winter A League is Awesome
Roar Rookie
If we had more teams, than the off season would be shorter. If there were 20 teams in the A League, the finals may drag on the season for too long especially if there is the FFA Cup and potential ACL break/A League fixture delays for the ACL entrants with fast turn arounds.
Jordan
Guest
It will be intriguing to see how Perth, WU, Newcastle and Victory approach those play-off (probably should be called play-in) matches, which should indeed be the very first football matches shown on Paramount+. A new era! All had poor seasons (some worse than others of course), so it would probably be unwise to treat the FFA Cup as a nothing competition this time around and risk doubling-down on the disappointment for your fans. Victory especially will be wanting to right some wrongs in Poppa's first match in charge, away to one of this former clubs no less. Win this play-off match, and you are five wins away from lifting a trophy (and competing in Asia) which is a pretty good way to move on from disappointing performances in the league in 20/21.
Jordan
Guest
Being that the author concludes he is pro-finals I think that camp is pretty vocal as well. Of course regular fans of the AL all year round are going to watch the finals even if they aren't supportive of them on principle, as those people want to support the game in this country. The GF is likely to receice an uptick in viewers today, many of which will be casual viewers that have not particularly followed the league until this point. Those are people that should continue to be worked over to convert into regular fans, but attempts to appeal to them has stagnated across the league. Crowds and viewers are down. So perhaps instead market to those individuals that buy memberships and watch the league throughout the season. Some of those would be fans of finals, some won't. Show me the stats that diehard fans wanting first past the post are the minority. Hopefully the $30million digital platform the APL is developing includes forums such as this and they can gauge fans opinions on such matters directly.
steaker
Roar Rookie
good point. All I'm saying is that as a whole over all sports in Australia, Friday/Saturday Night in going to be more poplar. In my option I'd much rather watch a Friday Night game instead of a Sunday Afternoon (both on TV and at the ground.)
Winter A League is Awesome
Roar Rookie
The ffa cup wasn't a real comp because the semis were loaded so a npl club ends up in it. But since the winner gets a play off for an acl place than I think they got rid of the semi final NPL spot for upcoming ffa cups.
Roberto Bettega
Roar Rookie
I'm glad you mentioned that. I had a vague memory of watching past grand finals on a Sunday arvo or evening. Sunday twilight is actually a very TV friendly time.
Waz
Roar Rookie
Pretty sure Sunday finals used to sell out and draw 500,000+ viewing
Waz
Roar Rookie
“ I think another thing that would make a finals series a bit more palatable for many” …. you mean the vocal minority right??
Jordan
Guest
I would watch this.