The largest football code in Australia, in terms of participation, a World Cup coming to Australia, another World Cup for men next month to which we have qualified, international football and internationally recognised Australian football stars competing in Australia and around the world! No other “football code” (i.e. rugby league and union and Aussie Rules) can match the opportunities presented to players, fans, sponsors, media, and governments as by soccer. When will Australia’s media and governments realise the opportunities they are missing by not getting behind football/soccer and supporting the game. We can be world leaders in football, as we are in other sports and activities if we were not so constrained by a biased media and shortsighted governments. Give football/soccer equal opportunity in Australia and it will thrive, to Australia’s benefit. It might take a generation to wipe away the biases of the past, but the benefits are too great to keep ignoring.

Nine (Channel 9 and Stan) would love the free to air plus the streaming on Stan rights for a Rugby League competition, plus the Rugby Union rights, making it the home of rugby.
Ten/Paramount need a big winter sport.
Foxtel would be nervous as they have spent a lot on he AFL and have other entertainments packages they are bidding for currently.
Having said that, I doubt there is an appetite for another expensive super league war.

The acronym “ANZAC” refers to the Australian & New Zealand Army Corps. Many soldiers gave their lives fighting as ANZACs. A rugby or any other sport team should not adopt the ANZAC name; it is disrespectful to those who have and continue to serve in our armed forces.
A better name would be the Tasman (add nickname e.g. Sharks).

Football 2032:
The referee has stopped play because the VAR has spotted a Sydney player looking at a Melbourne play with an angry expression on his face. The review has been going for three days and it appears that the VAR has referred the matter to the Court of Sports to confirm their decision and they have decided that the potential Ungentlemanly Conduct was clear and obvious once a screenshot from someone in the crowd was reviewed. The players have been called back to the ground, but wait…..where’s the crowd gone? There were three people here before the foul was committed….

It is clear and obvious that VAR has committed a horrendous foul on football and should be sent off and banned from all future games.

Once the NRL reaches 18 teams and assuming Perth is the 18th, split them into North and South Leagues:
Northern League:
Nth Qld., Brisbane, Dolphins, Gold Coast, Newcastle, Manly, Parramatta, Penrith, Warriors.
Southern League:
Easts, Canterbury, Souths, Wests, St.George-Illawarra, Cronulla, Canberra, Melbourne & Perth.
Each team plays its own League at home and away (total 16 games) and the 9 teams from the opposite League once (rotating the home game annually). Thus, a total of 25 games annually. before finals.
This grouping provides a relatively fair travel loading for clubs, with the North having Townsville and Auckland and the South having Melbourne and Perth. The grouping also preserves local derbies, which are strong draw-cards.

Grem,
Below is copy of my email to admin@sydneyunited58fc.com:

“Dear Sir/Madam,

I write to you to express my utter disappointment and disgust with regard to the behaviour of your football club fans at last night’s Australia Cup final.

I know Sydney United has groomed many great players in the past, but given the disrespectful behaviour of your fans last night, I fear that the club has learned nothing from you exclusion from the A-League to date. It also does not deserve a place in the future, nor a place in the National Second Division when it is formed.

I have been a football fan for 50 years and have yearned for the day that football is accepted fast a mainstream and valued sport in Australia. It has been action such as those from your club last night that has continually let down and held back the game in this country from achieving the level of media and community support it needs and should have.

A public apology to Erin Wilkins, who provided the Welcome to Country, and to all other people who were offended and disgusted by your clubs off field behaviour in the stands should be a first step in gaining back some credibility.

A hard look at and changes to the clubs’s culture and leadership should be the next step, if it is to gain public support and acceptance for any future national competition.

Otherwise, I suggest you drop the football side of your club, as it clearly does not fit with our game or our country.“

Perhaps similar complaints from likeminded, concerned football fans might send the right message. But as you say, the question is, can they change for the good.

Sydney United needs to issue a public and formal apology to Erin Wilkins, who provided the Welcome to Country, and to our First Nations people generally. The club needs to develop a program to educate its members and fans on how to behave respectfully to others, because clearly they have no idea at present.

This disgusting behaviour has demonstrated once and for all that Sydney United has an entrenched cultural issue that disqualifies it from entry into the proposed National Second Division. Football in Australia cannot afford to have these racist fools anywhere near our national leagues and Football NSW needs to take a hard look at their continued participation thé thé NPL.
I know this club has a history for producing great players in the past, but that does not in any way excuse the behaviour of its fans, which clearly reflects the club’s culture. They will never be trusted to be a positive attribute to the national leagues following their fans behaviour last night. I feel sorry for their players and staff who obviously put in a great effort only to be totally let down and embarrassed by their fans.

Give the Grand Final to the winner of the State of Origin series each year. Now that would put some spice in it!

Rugby League and V’Landes is always happy to take public funds for it’s own benefit, but when the community has a greater need for those funds to support people in need and distress, it abandons those who have supported it, nurtured it and funded it for over a 100 years, and defects like a disloyal, self-interested rat to someone else that it can suck the life from. So much for all its indigenous, inclusion, women in league rounds and it’s pretence to represent and support the community at large. Rugby League believes only in its own self interest and nothing else. What a disgrace.

“(When) they use the human tragedy of the floods, to spin their way out of why they’re reneging on it, it takes it to another level,” V’landys said.
I.e. I’m am an arrogant, self-centred bully child who couldn’t give a stuff about the need to help victims of natural disasters and diseases, I just want my toys now.
Sorry, Peter, you have to learn that government is there to serve for the community, not you.

It’s a pity league doesn’t have a promotion and relegation system to retain interest in bottom of the table games and to allow up and coming clubs the opportunity to play at the highest level. Otherwise we’ll just have to put up with mediocrity and the same old same old.

Good article, Mike. Always enjoy your articles.

Quite frankly, I’m tired of having to justify the personal enjoyment I get from soccer, whether the A-League or the broader global game. Having to defend the game has worn too thin and I think its time that soccer fans in Australia and Football Australia get more on the front foot and push the game a lot harder than previously. We have the greatest game of all; its global and it’s the biggest. Even in Australia, while not getting the large crowds at stadiums that other get, it is a clear leader in participation, with daylight second.

We are are the only football code where players can go to any country in the world, play a game and discuss football and its stars from competitions around the world. AFL and League fans a struck mute once they leave the very small regions where their game is strong. Soccer is the one football code that Australia can use to build true global relations (beyond PNG and small Pacific islands).

We have the most skilful game. Yes it is low scoring compared to other codes, but that by definition means it requires more skill to score than others. And the silky skills of soccer players leave the ball fumbling, crash and bash of other codes in its wake.

We should push soccer’s virtues hard and work harder to change the mindset that the pretenders and wannabes in the media that push other football codes in Australia are only wasting good Australian sporting talent and sporting capital in sports that have reached their zenith and have no where to grow (PNG….really?). AFL and League are both struggling to find enough talent to get a new team in States that theoretically are heartlands.

It’s time for soccer in Australia to stand up for itself. And so should its supporters. It’s time we talk hard with the media and Government about the benefits soccer offers to the media (that can cover a global sports with far more stories) and international relations. Being clearly by far the largest participation football code in the country, we should demand our share of media coverage and Government support. We should not sit back and watch other codes eat our lunch when overseas clubs come to Australia. We should use these opportunities and loudly proclaim that this is why soccer is there greatest game on earth and why our kids should not be wasting their talent by playing other football codes that cannot offer the same opportunities and rewards as soccer.

It’s time for soccer to claim its place clearly as the game that is the future of football in Australia.

Yep, Roberto, a billion over 5-10years. That is what is required to invest $200m-$400m per year to deconstruct and start again the rotten system that is destroying Australian football. Anything less is just more of the same failure, over and over and over. Take a look at the funds AFL and NRL need to run much smaller established sports in Australia. We have to rebuild ours, not just maintain it. Big number I know, but that is what is needed if it is to be done properly. No more band aid solutions.

All the reasons related to our ability to produce high quality players, managers, coaches, administrators, governance structures, competitions etc, etc, etc all come back to one single issue: a significant lack of money to do what needs to be done. Period.
The most critical task for FA to focus all their efforts on must be to raise a truck load of cash that, used wisely, should be directed at all the issues that we know exist. But without that truck load of money, all the known faults Will remain, because we just don’t have the cash to address them.
So the immediate focus should be to develop a strategy and action plan to raise that cash. And I’m not talking millions of dollars, I’m talking at least a billion that is needed now to invest in the sport over the next 5-10 years. Otherwise we will be stuck in this hole scrounging around for solutions that will only be Band-Aid’s or second best answers to problems because we can’t afford the best solution.
So get to work on how we raise that money and stop wasting time on dithering around with lessor issues.
Oh, and when you get the money, keep it way from the state federations and A-League clubs. If they can’t afford to keep afloat, so be it. If clubs don’t want to play in a competition because they don’t like the conditions of competing (eg pro/rel) let them go. Once you have the money, you can do that.

What’s Ernie Merrick doing for the next few months?

But I’d rather they stay in or near Hawthorn (perhaps at Box Hill) and remain Hawthorn Hawks,

Eastside Hawks

Hi Mr Right. I’m fine with South’s move to Sydney and the Lions move to Brisbane, because in both cases they adopted their new environs and changed their names to recognise the new regions they chose to represent. Sure many of the old fans may have ceased support, but many recognised that by adopting a new name and region at least the clubs retained some of their history in colours and nicknames. The point is they clearly made their new domain their priority and through their adoption of this new regional names they have successfully morphed into clubs with large new supporter bases that will sustain the clubs for many years. What I would not like is if they just became the Swans or Lions without adopting their new regional names. Which, in the case Hawthorn, is the issue. They have left Hawthorn in search of increased supporter bases, but have not been brave enough to recognise this in the name of the club.

What we need is a truck load of money and some indépendant, non-conflicted administration to oversee investment of the funds to grow the game and provide development opportunities for the 1.4 million people who play the game in Australia. That’s what we need!

I hate exhibition games and meaningless so-called cup competitions played in the off season. Its like attending a concert when the band is made up of substitute musicians and they mime the songs – and still charge full price. Rubbish and a rip-off.

Should be the Washington Republicans. Then they could deny they ever lost a game, try to force the umpires to change the results/scores and claim the game was stolen from them.

Brisbane Northside Dolphins allows them to settle in the area north of the Brisbane River, while still capturing their home base in the Redcliffe region. It also allows for further Brisbane teams to be included in the future representing other parts of Brisbane, something the NRL must consider in approving a name. I don’t think keeping the Redcliffe name will work. While it has history, it will be too limiting in its appeal. While the Redcliffe Dolphins organisation might own the franchise licence for NRL, it s endeavouring to establish an NRL club seperate from the Redcliffe QLD Cup club, and with a broader regional market. Brisbane Northside speaks to that market which best suits them without impinging on other potential future teams. If the net is cast wider than Brisbane Northside, they will become too geographically dispersed and find it too hard to service the region effectively. Better to drive the nail a mile deep and an inch wide and let the fissures expand, than a mile wide and an inch deep resulting in a superficial impact.

I’ve watched several games this year and granted it is early in the season, the standard for some reason seems poor. There seems to be a lack of urgency about getting the ball forward and taking scoring chances. Everyone seems to want to create the perfect scoring opportunity and to work the ball too close to goal before taking a shot. There is very little adventurism in the playing styles, with a “hold the ball” mentality and a take it back to start again system, rather than accepting half chances at goal or pushing forward to force opportunities. The focus on holding possession play is becoming boring. It slows the game and frustrates fans. It creates long intervals of not much happening. Where are the long, reaching, cross field switches or defence piercing passes; they seem rare. Are the players being coached not to take any chances, just keep the ball. If so, that is resulting in a boring style that will/is turning fans away.
The sooner we bring in a second division with promotion and relegation to force teams to search for goals, the better. People watch AFL and rugby league because they believe those sports are more entertaining and exciting. We need to make football as exciting and entertaining as possible and differentiate its points of interest from other codes. Promotion and relegation won’t do that alone, but it will provide a point of difference and it will help to force more urgency in play in order to avoid the drop (or to gain promotion), as the importance of winning becomes greater right through the competition.
We also need to push coaches to adopt more adventurous styles. This endlessly pushing the ball around the field seeking the perfect shooting opportunity more often than not ends up in no shot on goal and rarely getting the ball into the penalty area with sufficient players in scoring positions, before the ball is lost or the play breaks down. Quick attacking football is what excites fans.
If our coaches and players don’t have the skills to work the ball forward quickly and confidently and create early scoring opportunities, then we will never see football in Australia achieve its potential. No-one wants to sit in a hot stadium in the middle of summer to watch the players endlessly passing the ball from side to side and backwards. It’s boring and low skilled, and will never create players capable of competing with the best countries at an international level. Teach our players how to score, how to strike the ball at goal under any half chance scenario and how to pass the ball through the defensive lines to create more scoring chances. Stop making time in possession a key success criteria and focus more on shots on target and defence piercing passes and runs with the ball. Defence is always important and wins championships, but not without a potent attack that scores goals and is supported by a vocal crowd urging on an attacking team! Going sideways does not win games or bring fans.