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After five years the A-League Marquee can be assessed. And with a couple of significant exceptions, in my view, the idea has failed.
It has failed mainly because those buying the marquees don’t seem to understand what football fans want of their marquee.
We football fans are hard to please but we know a marquee when we see one. Paul Agostino, John Aloisi and Joel Griffith ain’t such.
Now Melbourne Heart want a marquee and are said to be toying with Mark Viduka, more like he is toying with them.
The Duke would lift the profile of the Heart immediately, thereby fulfilling one of the criteria of a Marquee. But could Viduka really regain fitness after such a long break at 34, would he last beyond a few games, or even perform adequately in any game?
I doubt it.
I thought the same about Robbie Fowler but he passed, just, I guess. But will he bring in further crowds and interest next year, probably not.
Dwight Yorke, Archie Thompson and to a lesser extent Jason Culina have been marquees that worked. Anyone else?
Paul Ifill possibly, not Mile Sterjovski, Paul Agostino, Juninho, John Aloisi, Joel Griffiths, not even Craig Moore.
And it’s with interest, great interest we hear Nicky Carle is being chased by Sydney to be their marquee.
He’s still young, has flair to burn and he’ll be great, again, for the A-League. He fits the bill for a marquee, and he’s Australian!
But few other marquees come without risk. Most are too old, yes even Fowler.
Most strikers, who are most sought after marquees, have lost their pace; Paul Agostino and Dwight Yorke were in this category, although Yorke was a rare striker who could be equally effective in a new midfield role, but he was also young, so young he went back to play in the EPL!
Harry Kewell, Tim Cahill may be two genuine Aussie marquees, we don’t have many, but if and when they come home is a long way off. Like Ryan Giggs and Alessandro Del Piero most top players are good enough to play at the top … until they retire.
Will Harry ever come home? I doubt it.
Defenders in my view should never be marquees. Not even an ageing Lucas Neill. Fans really want exciting players; defenders in my view do not excite sufficiently to warrant marquee status in our league.
So here’s a six-point guide to what makes my marquee:
1. Skill and buckets of it. (Think Dwight Yorke, not John Aloisi.)
2. Significant pace. (Midfielders like Juninho, rather than a forward like Fowler.)
3. Media savvy. (Archie or Dwight over Mile Sterjovski.)
4. Must be under 32 years of age. (Jason Culina, not Craig Moore.)
5. Never a defender or defensive midfielder. (Paul Ifill over Craig Moore.)
6. The non-football fan must be aware of who they are … before they come. (Dwight Yorke or Robbie Fowler.)
Our best? I’d tip Archie over Dwight. Archie’s relatively cheap and has given fantastic value over time.
Our worst? Too many but Aloisi, Moore, Juninho, Sterjovski for various reasons are some who didn’t make the grade.
Which tells us clubs still aren’t getting it right.
If Nicky Carle or Mark Viduka are to be our next two marquee’s then one out of two success rate is still not good enough.
For a million dollars you’d want to know your player can run and perform wouldn’t you? Especially in a league with a salary cap of just $2.5 million, excluding young player and marquee wages.
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