Will East Coast-based National Second Tier sink or swim?

#Midfielder I understand that - - however the question really is whether it's supportable (in particular outside of the soccer heartland that is NSW). The fact that there are 'created' clubs in the A-League mens; and the organic clubs from NSL days that missed out are effectively filling the ranks of the 2nd 'tier'. That screams to me an admission of failure on the plastic fantastic A-League mens. i.e. why would you open up the 2nd tier to any of them? It feels dangerous to me. It's like a major concession. It's a bit like Albo and Bowen going back to coal. This all looks a little like 'chips in' desperation. And if it's a case of not wanting to not try; then good luck. I just don't see if working in Australia............unless............you fully engage Gina, and Twiggy,.....Uncle Clive again??......a couple of Saudi's and under the counter Russian oligarchs.

MM The you raise show me, you and I think many others fail to understand... its none of what you posted and all of what you posted... Confused, JJ is trying to create Football layers like other nations do.... its way to early for P & R, but its coming... This is the start of creating a professional 40 or so clubs nation wide and its were he is starting...gotta crawl before you can walk...

Not even close Rodger.

y'reckon? What exactly is this NST that makes it such a feature for envy as you suggest? It's a bit of a rebirth of the old NSL but east coast only and.......it's neither concurrent with the A-Leagues, nor part of a P&R structure (yes - it's apparently a commitment to it......but no timeline provided) nor associated with the A-Leagues in any way (i.e. as feeder clubs/'2nd grade teams'). The ONLY allure of this is the carrot of P&R one day. However - - that's great in a Soccer nation. In Australia - - it very potentially erodes the support/interest in the A-League and reduces the financial viability but cutting the pie in too many slices. It's arguably a race to the bottom. In Australia each code has their own 'sweet spot' - - their own 'strength'. For soccer and Union.....it's the international side, the Wallabies and Olympics, the Socceroos/Matildas and Olympics. Both those codes struggle at the domestic level......and bewilder their supporters as to why. NRL main sweet spot is SoO. That dwarfs the H&A comp and arguably the SoO dwarfs the NRL GF. The AFL.....it's the H&A season; (highlighted in 2023 by 9 H&A crowds of 80K+ and this year a further 5 finals with 90K-100K crowds. So......each has their sweet spot. This - for soccer - - seems to be a "nice to have" more than a "need to have" and it may be just adding too much cost in an area that isn't actually their sweet spot.

I'm trying to work this out. Is this effectively a rebirth of the NSL......running from March/April across winter in direct competition with the NRL and AFL? In which case it's not really a 'second tier' because it's out of phase with the A-League. It's just - at this point - an East Coast competition that isn't directly associated with the 'first tier' in any way. So......doesn't that actually detract from the first tier?? Isn't this a bit of a race to the bottom??

What is the likelihood of resurrecting the A League Youth by each team participating in the NST to make a 20 team competition, including Wellington Phoenix? That keeps more WA(Perth Glory), QLD(Brisbane Roar) and SA(Adelaide United) kids involved and furthermore gives them many more matches than the previous Y League in a meaningful competition. I haven’t really thought about this deeply but on face value, with pro/rel the highest ranked NST team (ie non A League) at the end of home and away should be promoted. One the other hand, I f, for example, Perth Glory or Wellington Phoenix was relegated to the NST they would do so and be supported appropriately to travel while the team that was promoted would take their A League spot and provide a Youth team to the NST. I actually think the lack of another WA or NZ team in the NST is likely to strengthen their relative depth as NST clubs eat into the talent pool and sponsorship dollars of current NSW and Vic based A League clubs so the likelihood of Glory or Phoenix being relegated is reduced. Nevertheless, there should be a commitment to maintain their presence in the NST should it happen.

waz -The story of who gained entry to the NSL is cloaked in enough mystery as to warrant the intervention of one, James Bond. The then president of the QSF ,B. Waddell called a meeting to be attended by all First Division clubs to discuss as to who was to enter, and represent Qld in the soon to be NSL. Very quickly the meeting was "brought to heel" when it was said the entry fee was to be $15,000. Ther was only one club present who could come up with that money and that was Brisbane Lions (who had, under orders from the ASF, had earlier changed their name from Hollandia) and in fact it was then City, represented by 5 delegates, walked out of the meeting declaring loudly City would never play in the NSL. (NB) After further discussion the meeting was closed and the aforementioned president asked two people to stay behind. One ,representing St George (Hellenic), the other, myself representing Bardon Latrobe. It should be noted here that both these clubs used Perry Park as their "home" ground. It was made clear to us that the QSF needed four teams to stage "double headers" all though the season. George, a lawyer by profession, then set up a meeting to be held at the Greek Club The following Tuesday and it has to be said only 2 clubs were absent, Lions and City, both for apparent different reasons. After 5 hours of heavy discussion it was finally agreed that the teams present would pay $1500 each for the entry fee. This wasn't the only benefit , it was a fact at that time players could play in two divisions with different clubs so that under that agreement the new club would have approx. 150 players to choose from. The final decision was that the new team would be called Brisbane United. Needless to say it never happened and 2 weeks later the Qld. reps in the new NSL would be Brisbane Lions, and ,wait for it, Brisbane City. When City and Lions finally fell out of the NSL an attempt was made to resurrect the name "United" ,but there was no real unity in that attempt and so the Strikers were born in the dying days of the NSL with another long- term failure almost guaranteed. jb

As a group we need as a Football community to unite... One thing I can say is all the teams in the NST are local and community based.... they also play in winter... hopefully they can get players from the grass roots park teams to grounds... My gut tells me, the clubs realise the NSL ways failed and will adopt a more professional way of running that the NSl... also FA are a totally different beast to the old NSL administration. Hopefully it works and works well and helps heal old wounds...

i remember the fights at hells juventus, hindmarsh when i was a young boy early 1970's :football: any venture needs funding, management, publicity and demand (amongst of things) to succed . we have a chance if we can get these things right. think of the publicity we will get with all the brawls

I agree. PnR is fraught with dangers. I would worry more about losing Victory and the Smurfs than Adelaide and Perth or Wellington or Brisbane. The concept of a National League is always an issue when states or regions are left out. But the name "National" only is spoken about by us fans or in the media. The ALM/W are not referred to as National Leagues by the powers that be.

The biggest issue I see is what happens to the A League non Sydney and Melbourne teams all get relegated? If could take less than a decade to only have a Sydney and Brisbane A League. Even losing Perth and Adelaide in successive years destroys the concept of a National Competition.

They might have been considered, but their goalkeeper was a major sticking point -,often suspended for inappropriate comments.

wise words for every sports club in the country

NSD isn't supposed to be another A-League. It's a low cost model, semi-professional. The existing 8 clubs already spend upwards of $500k playing in their respective NPLs, and that's with little fan interest. There's way more fan interest for those clubs going into a national championship. They'll make more money. No vast riches. Just a few million more per year. And they give much better competition for 16-21 year old players to develop in than what they currently get with the NPL. If they're a future Socceroo, they'll get blooded in the NSD at a younger age, then move up to the AL much better prepared, and then a big league o/s. It's a talent pipeline. Just imagine RL was a legit international sport and the ARLC decided that Australia needed to compete better in international games. They realised that the NRL was a bit lousy at developing talent compared to world's best practice. They identify that the transition from amateur grassroots football to the NRL was broken, so they want to establish a new, semi-pro national comp below the NRL to concentrate the best young talent that is currently spread across 8 state leagues, into 1 elite comp. Sounds good? So which clubs do you want in it? You don't know so you go to market and find out who's willing and able. And you end up picking North Sydney, Newtown, Toowoomba Clydesdales, South Logan Magpies and other next best clubs to be the next level. That's what's happening here. Don't get hung up on pro/rel as its not part of the immediate future

Putting a further nail in the coffin of P/R.

The problem with expecting to double revenue is that you will double your expenses and then be in deep s#!t if revenue doesn't come in how you expected. If everyone keeps their expectations (I.e spending) low then it should be just fine.

Whilst a NST may improve our youth development, I have my concerns as well. For good reasons, when the A-League was formed the decision was made to include teams more appealing and inclusive to the wider communities rather than with strong ethnic links. It seems the thinking may have changed. But apart from that, whilst I'm all for expansion when it is feasible, talk of promotion and relegation has always concerned me. Australia is not Europe. What happens if one team cities lose their sides? The financial consequences and consequences for upcoming talent could be great. No-one wants to see the A-League end up becoming more like the South East Coast-based National TOP Tier.