If we were being fair to our players and to the sports integrity and development we would be aligning our season with Asia with a start in March/April and finishing in October. That is because football is really supposed to be a winter sport. This is where we can develop a faster game, playing on softer pitches and helping in the development of our players.

The reasons we don’t is mainly due to a number of factors. The first is the availability of suitable grounds. The next reason is that watching football in the summer months has proven to be quite popular with fans and lastly we are beholden to our sports broadcasters to a large degree.

Personally I don’t think there is as much crossover as you think Mike. I can appreciate that there are obviously people who are fans of multiple sports but everyone always has their favourites. Why should football bend to the whims of other sports and their administrators. It kind of reeks of insecurity and almost needing permission to be ourselves.

In any case football for the sake of the players should be played in the months I suggested even though I enjoy watching football in summer.

As for stadium availability we should have been encouraging boutique stadiums from the get go and we wouldn’t need to worry about when grounds are available or not.

As it currently stands there is plenty of opportunity to start the season earlier in September as you are only dealing with a few matches during finals.

Lastly I want to mention that this idea of clear air is absolute rubbish. The NRL and particularly the AFL have constantly polluted the air well after their seasons have finished. They have purposely done this to try and stay relevant during their off season ie trade weeks, AFL draft, AFLW, AFLX, NAB pre season mickey mouse cup. So in effect their is no clear air. Why do we still pretend there is.

I have to say the stadium is freaking awesome and I cant wait for the opening game of the season. I did go to the season open when they let fans wander around the stadium and the first thing that strikes you is the steepness of the stands. It is something we are not used to seeing in Australia and I have to wonder why not, its a beautiful thing.

The other thing is that this stadium does not get built without both sets of supporters. Both the Eels and the Wanderers fans had real input into the stadium design and I think its fair to say that the Wanderers had a big say in how the stadium should look, from the steep gradient to the safe standing. Make no mistake this is a proper football stadium.

I have also been watching a few games of the Parramatta Eels on tv and the look and feel is amazing. Its great to see the blue and gold army coming out in numbers in their true home at Parramatta stadium. Why you would want to continue seeing sport at the SOP is beyond me, but whatever. I am happy for the Wanderers to be the main tenant.

Lastly it must be said that the city of Parramatta will be glad to have the Wanderers back. All the restaurants, cafes, bars and pubs will once again be packed on game day doing a roaring trade pre and post match. If anyone has been suffering on game days, it has been the them. We are back and it means everything for us to be there. Lets hope we can keep it a fortress because if we do, LOOK OUT.

There is nothing minor about it. It’s not called the minor premiers plate. It’s called the premiers plate.

We should call it the “3 game championship cup”

Mike,

As you have realised football fans are a particular lot. However I am someone who will glad celebrate our successes but also constructively criticize where we are lacking. The FFA competition continues to be a success because it is a true representation of our sport. It is the only true football competition in Australia that follows the principles of football set out by FIFA (except for a rigged draw). The match between Edgeworth and Newcastle was a perfect spectacle of how good football can be in this country if you allow football to be football. So full credit to how this particular match was organised and a credit to Edgeworth for putting on a great event.

Now for the part where I explain on how football lets us down in next weeks addition of the FFA cup. The match between Sydney United and WSW is a perfect example of when the FFA gets things wrong and this drives me absolutely bonkers. Rather than have this match at Endensor Park and a beautiful spectacle on TV with an absolutely pumping home ground with a full house sign we are going to get the match played at Campbelltown. A missed opportunity for the FFA, football and more importantly for Sydney United to get a much needed pay day and for people to experience it. Mental right. From my understanding some excuse was put up that the condition of the pitch was not up to scratch because of flood damage from earlier in the year and that the pitch will need to be replaced in certain spots. If that’s the case then why have NPL matches continued to be played at this ground this year. Why is the pitch good enough for an NPL match but not an FFA cup tie. Something certainly smells on this one and I dont like it. A dream match up fell in the lap of the FFA and they botched it.

How to fix VAR – You get rid of it.

My view on the referee is this. A good referee will referee a match as honestly as possible with every INTENT on making the correct decision. They are in charge of the match and have that authority. This means that even if a player is offside when a goal is given it is still the CORRECT decision. You play to the referees whistle. Believe it or not but before VAR the referees were getting most of the decisions correct, to the tune of 93-95%. Those decisions that they do get incorrect are usually very marginal, its usually a split second in it. With the VAR in place some decisions you are looking at frame by frame footage wondering if someones big toe is offside at the point of contact. This isn’t football. Its beyond a joke and it is RUINING the beautiful game.

“What must be considered here is what happens once the current TV deal runs its course.”

Unfortunately the FFA has done a poor job of selling the A-league to prospective broadcasters and this sits squarely on the FFA. They need to do a better job of finding prospective buyers of the A-league other than Fox which could include Optus, Telstra, Yahoo, beIN sports or even the prospect of doing it themselves or with a third party.

I would much prefer to be a consumer of a Football product rather than a sports product because I know that the current offering from Fox is not worth it. My primary viewing is for football and to tell you the truth that is all I want to pay for. Provide a reliable platform and a fair price and I will be there in a heart beat.

The whole point is if Fox wants to opt out of football they will lose a massive amount of subcribers and I think they would be shocked at how many would leave them. I dont think it will come to that and Fox will ultimately pay a fair price for the content but at least the FFA or the A-league owners need to be prepared for that and allow for that contingency. Otherwise they are not doing their job.

I would argue for the neutral observer the Scottish League would still be a more attractive league than the A-league. At least its more fair.

I also don’t buy into the idea that any one club would dominate in Australia if the cap goes. That is because all the clubs are of similar size and stature. They are all owned by wealthy owners who have the capital and the ambition to spend more in a non salary capped league. Lastly no one club can hoard all the talent they want especially with the limit to the size of squads in the A-league. Hoarding all of the talent can mean only one thing………….a lot of that talent ends up not playing and sitting on the bench. A recipe for disasters for a lot of clubs who attempt it.

Mike,
No amount of marketing will help if we don’t get the product right or the correct processes and structures in place. We also have to understand our bread and butter audience and direct any marketing campaign towards this specific segment of the population. You might counter with “whats the point of aiming to the converted”. Well for a start we haven’t captured all the football fans we want or need, not even close and yet we continually try to market the game towards the non-football fan. I have always found that absolutely baffling. It’s not even that, we are also losing traction with the die-hard supporters who dont like some of the decisions that are being made for the “commercial interests” of the game (Ha).
Some of the best businesses in the world do not market their product and they dont need to. That’s because they trust what they are doing, they know they have an unreal product and that word will eventually get around to everyone. I don’t have a problem with marketing football per se, however I will always contend that marketing the game is not our primary problem. Its making sure we have a cracking competition and almost everything else will take care of itself.
So how do we improve the competition
1. We allow it to be a competition so that would include not having any type of interference like a salary cap.
2. If would include engaging football supporters with the notion that any club can make it to the top tier through investment in an open pyramid. This is an ESSENTIAL PART OF FOOTBALL. This is like our DNA. Fair, Integrous, Egalitarian, sporting merit.
3. How about a fair draw – one with the same amount of teams playing against each other on a home and away basis. We already had a lopsided draw which was bad enough (teams playing each other 3 tims) now we dont even have that. Its utterly ridiculous.
4. How about reducing the security and police presence at grounds so that fans dont feel threatened.
5. How about doing away with VAR which has proven to be unpopular WORLDWIDE and funnily enough coincided with a further drop in interest for our competition.
Its not rocket science and if the A-league clubs want to spend money on marketing they can, but I dont think it will help all that much.

I am not convinced. They have made some good signings and will win more games than they lose this year. I just don’t understand who their market customers are and if they live in a football catchment. They will be travelling around like gypsies for the first couple of years which is always fraught with danger. I should know, as I have seen crowds dwindle while the Wanderers ground was being re-built. In all honesty I thought the FFA could have done better as I thought this was the 4th or 5th best bid out there at the time. There were certainly more compelling bids so I still don’t understand it. At least this augurs well when the Independent A-league starts making the decisions. They can bring in teams like South Melb, Canberra, Wollongong, South Sydney if they are still interested. Lots to look forward to in the A-league if the Tarneit gypsies can form a team, because others have more compelling cases.

Hi Tim,

I appreciate the effort that has gone into this but you probably went into too much detail, which is fine. I think more than anything we could agree in principle what needs to happen or what we would like to see. First and foremost football should be run in the best interest of the players and the fans in mind. Easier said that done when governing bodies can’t see the woods for the trees and more often than not they make short decisions which are not in the best long term interests of the game.

So what are some of the guiding principles I would like to see in the A-league.
1. An even draw of home and away matches
2. Teams playing each other apart in a reasonable time frame.
3. Teams sharing as much as possible the different time slots.
4. Your Marquee fixtures ie derbies etc need to be on your best viewing time – eg Saturday 7.30pm
5. With more teams you will probably have to look at mid week time slots
6. The idea for the last game of the season kicking off at the same time
7. To try and minimize as much as possible back to back long distance fixtures (sorry Perth and Wellington, not sure how you get out of that one.)

All these ideas are nothing new and if you have a look at all the suggestions they are serving one purpose and one purpose only. To ensure integrity and fairness to the competition which should be sacrosanct.

To be fair it is not easy to have a draw fixture because there are so many variables that go into it. It is particularly difficult when ground availability becomes an issue, which is why we need more vision from clubs revolving around ground purchases and stadium leasing agreements. As much as possible I would like to see the new governing body do away with this idea of taking games away from clubs and having community rounds. They drive me mental and while I can sympathise with regional areas that don’t get many A-league matches, all I can say is tough. Demand an open tiered pyramid system and one day you just might get your team. Again clubs such as the Mariners who sell games to Canberra or to Geelong really gets on my nerves. I understand why they do it, but as a fan of the club it doesn’t serve you, it serves the club when the focus should be on what is best for the fans and the players. We need to re-align our focus and get our priorities right if we want to waken this sleeping giant. Yes I hate that being said as well but I thought I would throw it in there just to be annoying.

Not sure how an uneven draw is supposed to entice more viewers to the A-league. It certainly isn’t helping with the integrity of the league, which should be paramount. The fact that the FFA thinks so is one of the reasons they are “outgoing” and shouldnt be near a fixture or the A-league again (thank god).

Its not really an 8 game tournament either. There is a long qualification process that defeats your point.

What a great article. Unfortunately Tim the players have been trained to be robotic in their responses and so it makes your job to extract gold nuggets all the more difficult. Now and then you get the occasional gem but they sure make you work for it. Keep digging, probing, annoying, asking and the rewards will be there. Top stuff.

I would choose someone like Laurie McKinna, The guy is football through and through. He understands the fans, he engages with people at all levels. He has good contacts. I also think Peter Filipolous would also be a good candidate.

This will all change with a second division and pro/rel. Do you honestly think Wollongong would want to be attached to Sydney FC once this happens, of course not. This idea that a club has a monopoly on certain areas and regions is ridiculous. You win over hearts and minds firstly by getting the opportunity to compete and secondly by serving your community, members and fans well. Do that and you become a pretty well run club. Its not rocket science. I look forward to Wollongong being part of a future 2nd division and then promotion to A-league if good enough.

This is what drives me mental about people like Tony Sage and also the FFA’s mentality.

Let’s think about for a second the bidding process that occurred for two A-league teams. There was so much interest from potential teams that you could almost have formed a second division from that alone. The submissions were all good and in all fairness the two best bids didn’t even come up. That itself was being argued to this day. The appetite and market is there for football and also the willingness to invest. All that is missing is the right mechanism. We don’t need an ASEAN league to make our football league great. Its a lazy argument from Sage who is looking for a short term sugar fix.

Sorry but saying connecting the player base is just a slogan. Its just a glib statement that doesn’t say or mean anything.

Its reading the “tea leaves”. Lol. I have pointed this out on more than one occasion. Whatever.

As for you connecting the player base, you do that with pro/rel. That is how you do it. The idea that your little junior club has the potential to one day progress through the tiers of football to get to the A-league. That is how you bring about tribalism and loyalty. This sense of belonging to something bigger. Of course it won’t happen to every club, but the idea and the aspiration if you choose to go that direction needs to be ingrained in our football culture. This is what we are missing. Football around the world has this idea. Fairness, Sporting merit, Integrity, Tribal, Egalitarian.

But in the era of A-league Independence this won’t be paid by the FFA anymore. Perhaps the independent body would pay for it or somehow equalize tv payments for those clubs who have to travel further. Either way I can’t imagine this being paid by the FFA when the A-league goes independent. It shouldn’t make a difference either way, its a fixed cost regardless.

First of all Tony Sage is talking out of his proverbial ass. There is no 80 million until they sign a contract.

Secondly at what cost do we sign an 80 million contract. If it means alienating football supporters with his ASEAN League then forget about it. I don’t know many football fans in Australia who support this stupid idea, only Tony Sage is pushing for it. If it comes to fruition I will take my hard earned to the NPL, the EPL or hell even the NBL. There is no chance I will support a home and away format with an ASEAN league, we have the Asian Champions League competition for our Asian fix.

All that needs to happen is to provide clubs with their share of the TV dividend and let them spend how they see fit, whether that is building stadiums, investing in big name players, investing in youth or whatever. It should be discretionary. The clubs themselves know their clubs and where best to spend that money.

What I would like to see is for the A-league clubs to start exploring other options. They cannot rely on Fox sports as a long term partner. To some degree we have allowed them for better or worse to have too much influence on how football is governed. They are not the governing body no matter how much they like to think they are.

If you run this sport with transparency, integrity and look at the long game you will be a winner and the clubs and the league will be in a better position to dictate the direction of the sport, including to potential broadcast partners.

The frameworks and mechanisms need to be correct eg How many teams, pro/rel, how does pro/rel work, how many tiers, how many players, transfer fees, minimum salaries, no salary caps, discretionary spending (No forced marquees, up to clubs), no marquee funds, no rigged FA cup draw, do we have finals or first past the post.

So many areas to look at before we even start looking like a proper football league its ridiculous.

The headline will be – Mitchell Pierce can’t get it done…………………………..yet again.

Hi Stuart,

The way I see it football in Australia has no choice but to move forward with an Independent A-league and moving forward towards a model of pro/rel, transfer fees, the whole works. There is no moving away from this. Now there are two schools of thoughts here, in one camp you have the Phil Mosses of the world who honestly believes that a “strong A-league” is needed before pro/rel is introduced. I call absolute rubbish for those who sit in this camp. A strong A-league can only be achieved when pro/rel is introduced not the other way around.

If the clubs do not feel comfortable working in this new environment then they are doomed before we begin and football in this country will go no where. Of course in the process there will be winners and losers that is what we want. We want to weed out clubs who are non-competitive and who need to reset themselves in a 2nd tier. We want well run clubs who know how to develop players, sell them for decent amounts in the transfer market so that they can plough these funds back into developing their players and their clubs. We want responsible owners who can balance running their clubs with a long term view and not this boom / bust that so many clubs around the world are accustomed to. This is nothing new, this is how football is run. I am absolutely confident that the clubs can do it far better than the FFA. We certainly don’t need the FFA holding the hand of each club in the A-league getting involved in every facet of running a club (ridiculously including marquee purchases). I am confident that if clubs implement the football tenets that most competitive European leagues provide ie England, Germany, Italy, Spain or even France then we will have a fantastic league. One that is run with integrity, fairness and built on sporting merit. We are not unique, every football nation has its challenges as does Australia. If we tackle each issue in the right way we will come out of this dark period in much better shape and our football will be all the better for it.

I can’t believe we are actually entertaining this. I sincerely hope we do not bid for a world cup ever again. Its just fraught with too much risk. To bid for a world cup you need the support of government, you need the support of the nation and you need to all work together. I don’t believe we have the support of government and if we do its only tepid support. I do not think we have the support of the nation, particularly in light of our last bid. Our last bid was a waste of tax payer funds with very little reward for our efforts, not to mention one of the most cringeworthy bid submissions on record. For our efforts of $40M we managed to get one vote, we wasted tax payer funds, we trashed our reputation, our bid was not above board with brown envelops and arse kissing on whole new levels never seen before. We also have to consider that other sports would be operating during the world cup and that the level of compnesation required to appease these sports would again put the bid at risk. In all honesty every time the FFA needs to deflect from important issues in the game we inevitably have them raise the possibility of some sort of major tournament held in Australia, whether that is Junior, womens or mens World/Asian Cups. Let’s get our own house in order first, keep our eye on the ball and getting to the real issue of making the game of football the best it can be in Australia before we even consider holding the greatest and most prestigious tournament in the world.

Folau WAS a rugby player. Carry on.