Greg Norman turned 67 a few days back and what a fit looking rooster he remains.
‘The Shark’ was a hero to me as a kid, with my youthful and ignorant eyes firmly set unrealistically on a career in professional golf.
Norman graced the global fairways like an Adonis, choked a few times, but won 89 tournaments in a stellar Hall of Fame career that makes him one of Australia’s most successful sportspeople of all time.
Those wins also made him a very rich man and along with clever business acumen, the Queensland-born Norman now oversees what could only be referred to as an impressive empire.
Wine production, turf supply, themed restaurants, steaks and a host of commercial partnerships all played roles in the building of that empire and the creation of what would in modern, corporate speak be accurately described as brand Norman.
Brand is image, perception and reputation all rolled into one and something successful people like Norman understand well and master. It is also something that many others get horribly wrong or fail to build effectively.
Right now, the A-Leagues are in dire need of some brand management and urgently.
If people were asked for a short list of words that came to mind with the name Greg Norman as a stimulus, I would hazard a guess that many would feature wealth, golf, millionaire, class, hero, champion and quality.
Should the same be asked of the average person in the Australian street with A-League as the trigger, one can only image the lists that would be formed.
Personally, I would include competitive, unpredictable, development, unique and quirky, however a significant number of people would no doubt head down a far different line of thinking.
Such an exercise is brand management 101 and terms that would undoubtedly pop up in many people’s lists when prompted by the term A-Leagues would include rubbish, boring, B-grade, crap and shit.
(Photo by Brett Hemmings/Getty Images)
As uncomfortable a reality as that might be for many to hear and acknowledge, it is the flat out truth in perception and something that has remained consistent throughout the A-Leagues era and likely to continue into at least the short-term future.
Behind the negative view are numerous causes.
The fly-by-night supporter who checks English Premier League results once or twice a week in a desperate attempt to kid themselves and others that they actually support the game of football will no doubt have written off Australia’s top-flight as a ‘farmer’s league’.
Disgruntled and deluded fools who spruik a return of the NSL days would potentially be even more harsh in their assessment of the A-Leagues, while many rugby league, rugby union and AFL fans would do the same, probably also including a caveat that questions the courage of footballers in general terms.
No doubt there is something of a narrow-minded and unfair nature to such criticisms, yet for the A-Leagues to ever make incisive inroads into the consciousness of those traditionally reluctant, the branding must improve, lest the domestic competition be forever mired in the status quo.
European snobbery and venomous bitterness born of the past are unlikely to be eroded any time soon, yet the powers at be cannot simply write off the poor perception of the brand without taking on some of the blame and responsibility.
The newly published Keep Up website that supposedly provides Australian fans with a one-stop shop to satisfy their football appetites is nothing short of useless.
Seemingly more interested in EPL, Serie A and La Liga content, the space and quality invested in A-Leagues coverage is an insult to the average fan, especially when considered up against the previous site that at least attempted to focus keenly on the domestic competitions.
Whoever ticked off on the site needs a serious lesson in reading the room and a desire to value the A-Leagues in a far more exclusive way.
(Photo by Jono Searle/Getty Images)
The A-League club owners, people supposedly well aware of the value of branding and the imaging required to sell a product, have done little from an advertising and/or marketing perspective to alter perceptions around the competitions, despite now having control over the purse-strings and the commercial vision being implemented.
Despite Network Ten’s fresh involvement in Australian football and some early promise, there does not appear to have been any significant change in approach from those crafting the corporate attractiveness of the A-Leagues from head office.
Rather, a seeming reliance on the broadcaster to carry the load and the same issues with ticket prices, scheduling and over-policing of keen fans dominating the narrative, rather than fans seeing any tangible or real change that could potentially alter the perception of the brand.
Moreover, Ten are far from devoid of responsibility when it comes to brand creation, with at least this football writer butting heads with a shut door in search of an interview with Georgia Yeoman-Dale and her rise as a female and integral member of the analytical coverage of the game.
Neither the network nor her own management have responded to countless approaches from a writer attempting to pump the tyres of both the broadcaster and someone looming as one of their stars.
In short, despite so much recent change and hope, the A-Leagues still appear as they ever did to the average Australian sports fan. Some might suggest that is nothing to be concerned with, citing the fact that people not interested in football will never be.
I differ, quite strongly actually, believing that earning the respect of even those not particularly interested in your game through creative and effective brand management, betters the game itself and will ultimately sneak a few new fans along the way.
A-League football might not be every Australian’s cup of tea. Yet presenting a slick version of the game with extensive promotion and matching digital content should be a no-brainer in current times.
At the moment, the seemingly absent brand management of the A-Leagues is making it very, very easy for many people to continue to dislike them.
Sunshine Tiger
Roar Rookie
What’s this about referees stopping the game for in game tv adds?
Beach
Roar Rookie
Coming late to this and I'm sure others gave pointed this out, Stuart, but you picked an horrendously bad example in Greg Norman, currently in the pay of the Saudi regime. Hero. Sure.
chris
Guest
My kids love it lol
chris
Guest
So a match played in a foreign country for the "home" team played a team from another city at an hour most people are still at school and at work. I'm surprised 38 people attended. But I see you got Pip all excited. Were you one of the 38 Paul2? Have you ever been to a match?
Andrew Nagle
Guest
You can start with the ‘theme song’ of the A League … It’s a monstrous piece of crap done in a Rap style that’s so awful as to be funny. Nothing to do with or engaging with Football Fans. Whoever came up with this should be dealt with.
Stuart Thomas
Expert
Read every comment on every article ever posted. Not all of us writers are pigs.
Kewell
Roar Rookie
Remote, I am very concerned about our poor results in Asia, both for men, women, and for both World Cup qualifiers and Asian club games. I’ve said this many times. We need to being our juniors through to youth league though all options possible, spend more money if we need to. We must get these high perforce athletes to world class. We need organic growth not imported growth apart bringing in good technical trainers. Better giving the kids a game than some has=been import.
Kewell
Roar Rookie
Thanks for reading my post. It proves you do take note.
Stevo
Roar Rookie
On another matter but equally important in terms of engagement, why has this website dropped match day in-game comments? Like the ability for fans to leave comments during matches? It creates a nice atmosphere if you’re online and not at the game. Baffling.
jbinnie
Guest
David V - You are a little out in your timing and observation as to when the game began to change in its on field configurations. The year is the early 1920 when a manager by the name of Chapman moved his central midfielder back into a back 3 thus setting up the formation known as WM, (3 at the back ,2 in defensive midfield position 2 in attacking midfield positions and 3 forwards. This system of play was ultimately changed ,not by anyone in England but actually in Europe where, before WW11 the Austrian national team played with a deep lying centre forward, a system not seen in England until Don Revie played in that position for Manchester City in 1957. Some 12 years before that,1945, a team from Russia visited England playing various teams and in the process never losing a game. This team puzzled spectators with their constant movement of players all around the field and it was this that is widely thought to start the term "Continental Football, in the UK. The message was driven home when the Hungarian team of the early 1950's thrashed England in two matches in 1953/54. Still the message was slow to break down the English psyche and it was not until 1966 that controversial manager Alf Ramsey drove the message home loud and clear by winning the World Cup with his "wingless wonders" By then we had Brazil playing with 4 forwards in Sweden in the 1954 WC and changing that to 4-3-3 by 1956, a style widely claimed as "Dutch", a country that did not have professional football until 1957 !!!!!! Your nominee ,Charlie Hughes was the technical to the FA in the early 1980's By that time football statistics had entered the game and it was only after an examination of the English game was undertaken by a man called Bernard Benjamin that Hughes aligned himself with the long ball system. Since those days of change the game has gone through a myriad of positional systems that today many coaches use as a measure of their knowledge. Cheers jb.
David V
Guest
In the early 1980s, the English FA ran a coaching course featuring the ideas of one Charles Hughes which became known as POMO - Position of Maximum Opportunity, which was code for the long ball game. Tragically it began to spread through the English leagues like cancer, and only quite recently have they been weaning themselves away from this. Quite a few players and managers were disillusioned with what was happening. I know that John Lyall, longtime West Ham manager as successor to Ron Greenwood, was. He would be, as his West Ham teams were philosophically attuned to passing and movement with such players as Brooking, Paddon, Devonshire and the rest of them. That may be why managers like Brian Clough and Ron Atkinson have been so fondly remembered - two managers who more or less resisted this lamentable trend by having their teams always trying to play attractive football.
James
Guest
Good point about communication! A lot of people on here are criticising mainstream media but I honestly don't think it matters as much as the past. Anyone under 35 (I say this because I'm 35 and can't speak for anyone older) gets the bulk of their news from social media and conversations with friends/family. As a result, I think there are massive untapped opportunities for clubs to cut out mainstream media and communicate with fans directly – I'm not just talking about a daily insta post either. If the rules around fans were a bit more relaxed (flares, drinking, rowdiness etc), the mainstream media would have a field day tearing football down like it has in the past... but... maybe it wouldn't be a bad thing if you believe any news is good news. My old man is a rugby league fan and used to tear the a-league to shreds anytime it's 'troublesome' fans were in the news... It used to drive me mad. But now things have gotten so much worse... he hasn't mentioned the a-league for a good few years. Anything is better than being ignored! Yes, some sponsors will go but the ones that genuinely want to be involved in the game or want eyeballs on them will stay or even arrive.
surfside66
Roar Rookie
James Johnson as FFA Boss should have made his number one priority to ENFORCE a switch to winter for the A-League. This summer madness was initially bestowed on us by Andrew Dettre (Soccer World newspaper) and Johnny Warren in the belief it would shift the game away from British "long ball football" into South American skills type development. Instead we have the turgid, tedious back four passing garbage as characterised by the endless slow motion crap served up by the Socceroos and the Matildas. Summer soccer automatically plants in the minds of kids that the game is not really on a par with real "football" codes, which are always played in winter. There are so many problems with the A-League and the game itself in this country but nothing will ever be put on the right path without eliminating this summer insanity once and for all. The season - both men and women - should start on the last weekend of February and finish in the last weekend of October. Forget all the excuses about television requirements, ground shortages etc. Football is a winter sport and from that platform you can then build on skill, attacking play, etc. Leave summer to Cricket, Basketball (indoor air-conditioned stadiums) and going to the beach.
chris
Guest
SOO is good for AFL and NRL because that's basically all they have. Australian football has over 200 teams to play against globally and regularly does so in World Cups, Asian Cups, Olympics. Mens, womens, youth. Do you really think there is an appetite for such an insular game as a SOO?
Andrew Potter
Guest
Try living in Perth. The game has disappeared,the fact they are going to play in Tasmania barely made a mention AFL dominates the media and not to have some sort of a presence will destroy it.
Jimmy
Roar Guru
This is a fairly accurate take from what i can see. I am a fairly casual unengaged fan of SFC but I did live in Liverpool for a time and I can understand why people get drawn into being an engaged fan of the big clubs over there. The brands of these mega clubs are built around a model of no matter how far away you are, you are part of something special, even Liverpool's YNWA mantra immediately makes people feel part of something, the turn their stadiums into cathedrals spoken about with reverence and their former players are held in such high esteem they are only mentioned in hush tones. I am not an LFC fan by any stretch but I am just saying they are an extremely slick operation and it is not as simple as people choosing a club like them over their local Football team in the suburbs, people are desperate to be part of something epic, almost mythic and these organizations fill that void, Aussie Football teams do not from my experience unfortunately.
Randy
Roar Rookie
i said something similar on the other doom and gloom article, chris said i was thinking like an over 50 year old... not sure he understood my post
McCheesburger
Guest
My take is this. Soccer is like McDonald's takeaway, it's the same all over the world. Our branch is okay, but still a long way short of the world's best practice. I'll watch soccer in it's homeland, not some cheapened version here thanks!
Football is Life
Roar Rookie
Ok, that sounds pretty good and if you're going to Seattle, nice place enjoy
Shorky
Guest
Just to note, Facebook is old news now ;) Mainly only older people are left on it. Keep an eye out for your kids using Tik Tok, Instagram, and Snapchat