There's life in the A-Leagues yet, so let's appreciate what we've got

this is what i dont get, based on what i said above. he should have that fighter mentality inside him, he's had it in him during his childhood and playing career

I’m in the same boat, Grem. I find myself supporting most teams, as I want a great A-League. Having said that, I’ve got my favourites too!

That bit's all done now Grem, happy to move along. I do hope they've learnt something, but after many years I've become cynical and have my doubts. And no, I don't believe it would have cost a cent more to have a more agreeable schedule. Do these guys at the APL ever attend matches outside Sydney? or listen to clubs and their fans outside Sydney and Melbourne? Didn't hear any mention of attendance at the Adelaide rainbow match. My bet is that none of them have ever been to Dolphins - I've only missed a couple of games and have never noticed them. Or maybe express a bit of empathy for the long list of clubs (not A League) that have lost all in the floods these past few days. I don't think I'm expecting much on the little things either, they're just as important as the big things if we want the A League to be part of football in Australia.

I’m a member of Sydney FC and do like the club. I enjoy following them, but as I’ve said before, I’m more of a football follower. I enjoyed The Roar’s success possibly as much as many of The Roar’s fans and would love to see them do well again. I enjoy watching Adelaide and loved their grand final success a few years ago. I’d like to see Perth Glory win a grand final – for their fans and Tony Sage. I’m disappointed that The Wanderers aren’t doing better and pulling in crowds like they did. Who doesn’t admire The Mariners? I could go on. Like all on here I just want to see the A League succeed. And I’m not sure about how other supporters from Sydney teams feel, but I feel like we’re always copping a lot of criticism from other fans and we’re the victims! The VAR, refs, salary cap, old players, FFA favouritism, APL favouritism, fixture favouritism, I could go on again. It seems like a lot of resentment is directed at the club.

This is what I think... NRL and AFL are cashed up sports. They can afford to go into hubs, not worry as much about crowds and just satisfy their TV commitments that bring in huge revenue. The NRL is basically a 2 state sport - NSW and Qld. With Covid high in NSW and sport being stopped in NSW when we went into lockdown they had to move out of the state to keep their game alive. They decided to go into a 14 day quarantine in luxury accommodation for players and their families on the Gold Coast and then kick start their comp again. They then played all games and all finals in Qld. The AFL could not play their sport in Victoria and NSW as both were in lockdown and no sport was allowed. They moved into hubs in SA, WA and Qld and continued to play. When we had Covid issues at the start of the season we had to look for cheap alternatives that would work. That's what I believe the APL did. If we had the money and television audience of AFL and NRL we could have and probably would have gone into a hub in Qld or SA or WA. Unfortunately, we have to work harder than the other codes to survive. I wish it wasn't so. Personally I'd have loved to see our code go into a hub in any other state and lie back and watch the game in high definition on free to air, but that wasn't a financial option. Perhaps that's incorrect, but I don't think it is.

I'd also add that a bit of effort is required to gain the trust of non-Sydney fans. Like it or not, there's a very strong perception that our League is too Sydney-centric. A bit of empathy with other clubs and regions would go a long way, instead of being the first to Tweet on SFC issues. We need to attract fans, not repel them.

Not so sure about all of that Grem. NRL and AFL both had successful seasons, and travel was ok to QLD and SA for most, just not for NSW and Vic, so why schedule their matches there? Especially as at that stage, they were all talking about opening up dates so it was only the opening rounds. Could just as well have postponed a couple of rounds, like they did this weekend due floods. As to Keep Up, I really did expect a return to club's websites, some individual stamp at least on each club's website like we had (in a way) before FFA took charge of them some years ago. Keep Up takes it to another level pretty much destroying completely club individuality on the web.

Monty seems like a genuinely nice bloke, but he lacks a certain bite. Take Paddy for example, he’s quite intimidating for City, & no one - not even a referee - would question him. Monty needs a bit of drive - something to inspire the Mariners. Injury time is destroying that team. Basically, CCM are SOFT.

You’d like to think over 10,000. Optimistically - for WU supporters. With great marketing & discounts, maybe a few thousand more. Possibly 12,000. Only a guess.

Good to read that the Adelaide supporters took that action and that the club is taking it seriously. All supporters and clubs need to follow this lead.

And I certainly don't pretend to know or have the answers. That's why I love reading articles and points of view on this forum. I appreciate the ideas and knowledge that I see on here and have a bit of a giggle or shake of the head at some of the "conspiracy" theories I read on here. They're always Andy, I mean handy to read! I hope our leaders are listening in.

I agree that many of the issues you have listed are problems that need to be fixed. 1. I understand he is the person at the front, but the broadcast decision would have been a group decision. I know most football supporters saw the deal as wonderful (I certainly did) as it injected much needed money that we weren’t going to get from anywhere else back into our sport. A year ago I, like many, thought the A League was gone. Paramount is far from perfect, but we have football on tv and a future. 2. The broadcast is quite poor and hopefully will be improved. It needs to be done much better. True 3. They acted and the drinks break is gone now after criticism. I, again like quite a few others, felt we could live with it, because at the moment we need Channel 10 more than they may need us. We need to work in with the people financing our game, but if it doesn’t meet FIFA regulations it can’t happen. 4. He has admitted he needs to communicate with fans, volunteers, etc. better and I hope that does happen. 5. Unlikely to happen, but if you aim high and don’t meet expectations it’s better than aiming low and not meeting expectations. Teams should be aiming to win the A League and not just getting into the top 6. Your former coach, like Johnny Warren, never wanted to just reach the World Cup, he wanted to win it. 6. Keep Up is another chance for me to read about football. I think that’s great. Hooefully it continues to improve. I hope you’re regularly sending in feedback for these improvements to occur. 7. Magic Round works in other sports. Shouldn’t initiatives be given a trial? If they’re unpopular get rid of them, but we need to try things to get more people at games. 8. If fixtures are unfair during a normal season, then I’ll agree with you and Andy and others. We haven’t had normal for 2 years. With Wellington based in NSW and omicron numbers sky-rocketing, NSW teams weren’t allowed out of NSW. With half the teams in NSW it made absolute sense to play them as a conference. Perth? What can you do when noone is allowed in? They’ll get their run at home now, hopefully. Brisbane? Anna wasn’t very obliging towards anyone from Covid states coming anywhere near the border. People weren’t allowed to visit loved ones and sick or dying relatives so Sydney FC had little chance of getting over the border. I couldn’t care who our leaders are. I just want to see our sport being looked after and he seems to have some ideas that hopefully work. He seems to be a good operator who will listen to criticism. I think we’ll have a better idea after next season is completed, especially if it’s close to a normal year.

Let me create a list: 1: Allowed a broadcast partner to proceed with a totally unacceptable broadcast package. 2: APL is in charge of broadcast from stadiums - it is totally inadequate and often looks like there’s only one camera. 3: Allowed Broadcasters to call a “drinks break” so they could show Ads. 4: in June last year he said “ every decision it makes will have the fans as front and centre” - he’s failed to deliver on that (drinks breaks in games, scheduling etc). 5: “ football will be the biggest sport in Australia in 2030. That’s our goal.” …. Really? A Gallop line that he felt worth regurgitating on numerous occasions?? 6: KEEPUP - is a flagship product of the AL and it is a shambles. He’s the CEO, he’s accountable for a failure in this; one of the major marketing initiatives for this season. 7: MAGIC ROUND - seriously? How does taking a home game away from fans and moving it to a neutral venue put “fans at the Center of every decision”??? 8: Shambolic season scheduling that favours some clubs over others. Have you got a list of what he’s got right??

Nice article, Mike. So much doom and gloom on these pages lately - and in many cases for good reason - but it was a good weekend of footy as you rightly highlight.

We're certainly very Sydney centric and your fourth point has some validity Grem, but the early rounds, repeating the routine of max home games in Melbourne and Sydney was a disaster for some clubs and showed zero thought in catering for all in a challenging environment. I agree your final point too.

the issue is the mariners havent got the money to splurge on a 'quality'coach, they'll either have to promote from within the organisation (ala monty) or try and bring up an NPL level coach. monty makes perfect sense from a mariners managemen point of view - cheap, understands the culture and coached several of the kids in the youth team i dont know if he gets a second year if they finish bottom 2 - any club that finishes bottom 2 should be looking at a coaching change. if the mariners want to look at NPL level then they need someone that is known for developing kids, has an eye for recruiting players that other clubs wont fancy and culturally would be a fit for the club and NSW mark crittendan ticks all those boxes alternatively from interstate, i would look at barney smith (and im not just saying that, as hes a friend of mine lol) done extremely well with comets - meticulous with details and a big focus on youth (all the things his dad was lauded for when he was in charge of the AIS)

agreed and pity the team that gets Corica. I believe he'll go to another team/club and when you take away the stash of high quality players and all the creature comforts of Sydney, he will find it hard. If the man proves me wrong, kudos to him.

I really thought Monty was a great choice coming in to the season. In Cummings-Urena-N'Kololo-Bozanic there is enough quality to be scoring plenty of goals, even if I'm not sure Moresche has found his feet yet. You could get rid of him, but who comes in? GVE?

Johnny Aloisi is not getting a lot of credit is he. All the talk is of Kisnorbo and Corica heading for greener pastures, there may be some life in the handsome devil just yet.