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As one wit remarked recently on The Roar, if there’s one thing A-League expansion has brought about, it’s a preponderance of articles on expansion.…
The financial reports for AFL clubs for last season are starting to come in, and early indications are that quite a few clubs are…
Following a couple of years of agitation, working groups and negotiations, which finally led to a change in the FFA constitution, the expanded congress…
This is the second book review I was intending to do for those interested in some light reading over the AFL off-season, which happens…
Given that the festive season is almost upon us, which happens to coincide with the middle of the AFL off-season, I thought I would…
The pre-finals bye weekend is the perfect moment for some reflection, and what better case for introspection than the club that was the first…
This was the year in which the AFL was meant to have headed towards an untimely fall from grace. For a two to three-month…
It’s that time of year when we review the Australian TV ratings for all the football codes for the previous year. I am relying…
The Doggies Almanac: The story of a magnificent premiership, edited by John Harms and Mandy Johnson, came out just in time for Christmas -…
After a solid week of premiership celebrations, high fives, hearty hugs, back slapping, swapping texts with distant friends, celebratory drinks, special dinners with family,…
With most Western Bulldogs fans relishing their club's first appearance in a grand final in 55 years - for many, the first in their…
The start of the AFL season meant the Easter long weekend was fully booked, with Super Rugby and the NRL having started a few…
Being on the eve of the WNBL finals, now is a good time to pay tribute to one of the great clubs of the…
Yesterday, The Roar reported on the GWS Giants' plans to develop the Manuka Oval to the tune of $800 million. A bit more has…
I am about to enter very dangerous territory – a story carrying a trifecta of controversy. It involves an Australian footballer who decided not…
In Part 1 I briefly touched on the WADA/CAS strands in the cable approach to finding the 34 players guilty of using Thymosin Beta-4…
I should know well enough to leave the issue of the Essendon players' suspension alone. The vast majority of Australian sports fans appear more…
One of the great Australian sporting stories of all time is how at the very inception of Super Rugby, at the dawn of rugby…
It was earlier this year when the AFL CEO, Gillon McLachlan, publicly announced the AFL's intention to have a national women's football competition commencing…
This article continues my series of monthly updates on the ratings and attendances of club football games in Australia across all four codes. This…
A positive about the main winter codes is that we do not man-handle refs/umps, meaning a woman can do the job without needing to fear for her well-being.
This is in stark contrast to soccer overseas where players crowd around the ref regularly, and can lay hands on a ref with no consequence. That would be less than an ideal environment for a female ref.
First female NRL referee is ready to realise her dream
The last time we played Taiwan in any type of qualifier, was in an Olympics qualifier back in 1988.
The socceroos won 3-0.
Arnie scored twice, Farina was the other goal scorer.
In 1985 we played Taiwan twice in the space of four days as part of the 1986 WC qualifiers, winning by a combined score of 15-0.
Mitchell got a hatrick in the first game, and Kossie and Odzakov got a hatrick in the 2nd.
First Socceroos 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying fixtures revealed
I just tracked down Tony Sage’s quote: “But if we had one team in Jakarta, one in Manila, one in Kuala Lumpur and one in Singapore, that is expanding your potential audience by 400 million people. That would drive TV revenues up – then, maybe, we would be looking at AU $1 billion instead of $400 million. ”
TV revenue jumping from $400 million to $1 billion. Anything is possible.
We need visionaries like Sage.
It all presents as a perfectly logical plan.
How A-League clubs should spend Tony Sage’s predicted $80m windfall
Is that meant to be an additional $80 million next season to be shared by the 11 clubs, or is that an extra $80 million in revenue over the next 50 years to be shared amongst 14 to 16 clubs?
How A-League clubs should spend Tony Sage’s predicted $80m windfall
Correct.
Throughout these pages, in the first couple of years of Gallop’s reign, he was hailed endlessly with plaudits.
I can recall one of the more renowned soccer spokesmen during that time, a certain Fußball ist unser Leben, who was breathless in his constant praise for Gallop.
And the praise was deserved. The A-League’s average attendances had hit a record low of 8,400.
Gallop got a 25% increase in his first season, and an 18% increase in his second (and another increase in his third), afterwhich he negotiated the A-League’s most lucrative broadcast deal, which now looks like a master stroke given ratings are rock bottom.
Confirmed: David Gallop stepping down as FFA CEO
That’s ancient history.
SBS’ Premier League ratings were way better than the A-League’s FTA ratings, which hit absolute rock bottom last season, despite the much better broadcast time.
Confirmed: David Gallop stepping down as FFA CEO
Yes, a long, long line of successful achievements appeared to befall Gallop’s reign, despite his clear inability to achieve anything.
We might end up with a more competent leader who fails to deliver even half as much.
Will the new leader get all the plaudits Gallop got in his first couple of years at the helm?
Will it all prove to be equally illusory?
Confirmed: David Gallop stepping down as FFA CEO
The Scottish FA??
You’re ‘avin’ a larf.
He’s ‘avin’ a larf!
Confirmed: David Gallop stepping down as FFA CEO
Waz
I bow to your superior knowledge.
I wasn’t aware that the FFA had shareholders. You clearly have access to info not widely available
Once again, I’m sure all the changes happened with zero administrative support from the FFA – it all just happened in a vacuum, by osmosis.
Confirmed: David Gallop stepping down as FFA CEO
You were living in Eastern Europe when Gallop was appointed.
You won’t be aware that just prior to Gallop’s appointment, average attendances had nose-dived to 8,400. The A-League was on its knees.
In Gallop’s first year alone, they jumped by 25% and then by another 18% in his second year. We may never again see the likes of such boosts in attendances.
Confirmed: David Gallop stepping down as FFA CEO
His salary was nothing special when compared to the heads of other sporting organisations.
Confirmed: David Gallop stepping down as FFA CEO
I’m sure it all happened in a vacuum, by osmosis.
Confirmed: David Gallop stepping down as FFA CEO
No, that’s the most appropriate response.
Gallop’s reign was far from a disaster, and in fact, he ushered in some many positive things, including the current re-set of the governance structure.
Best of all, he negotiated a record-breaking TV deal which now looks like an absolute master-stroke.
The next person might achieve more, then again, he or she might achieve less.
There are no guarantees either way.
Confirmed: David Gallop stepping down as FFA CEO
RF
We all make mistakes, but I’m one who looks at the positives.
It was Gallop who ushered in the Wanderers and the FFA Cup, and sealed a record lucrative TV deal. Looking at the complete collapse of TV ratings, locking Fox into such a lucrative long term deal now looks like an absolute masterstroke.
Confirmed: David Gallop stepping down as FFA CEO
Eden
When Gallop took over, A-League attendances were at the all-time low of 8,429, and the A-League was on its knees – I’m not sure how you conclude that it was about to catch the leading codes.
In Gallop’s first year at the helm, attendances jumped from 8.429 to 10.497 and the following year they jumped to 12,347. These are jumps of 25% and 18% respectively.
It is likely we will never again see such increases in average attendances.
Gallop actually saved Australian soccer from complete collapse.
Confirmed: David Gallop stepping down as FFA CEO
Thank goodness he returned from Eastern Europe to save Australian soccer.
Confirmed: David Gallop stepping down as FFA CEO
David Gallop has oversighted considerable change in Australian soccer.
He may well be remembered as its greatest ever administrator.
Confirmed: David Gallop stepping down as FFA CEO
UP to a few weeks back, St Kilda was still well in the hunt for finals, not sure why they would be mentioned in any discussion about priority picks.
Re the Suns, I’d be happy for them to get another first crack at any second tier mature footballer. It’s a great way to get such players into the system, and such players will be jumping out of their skin to catch the first plane to Surfers.
A priority pick for the Suns? Sorry, Saints first, please
Most teams follow a similar pattern of focusing on locking the footy in forward 50, although the Lions look a bit different.
Anyway, invariably it means putting huge numbers forward of centre to lock it in. If successful, you get a huge amount of ping ponging forward of centre and the goal square in a mass of bodies, if unsuccessful, you get two or three opposition players streaming forward and outnumbering the last line of defence.
Either way, getting so many numbers forward to lock it in and then stream back when the footy is lost requires huge amounts of energy, the ground is a bit bigger than a basketball court isn’t it?
This helps explain why things can open up in the final 20 minutes of a game, the players can’t sustain those defensive structures for the full 120 minutes, it’s physically impossible.
Footy is in a funk
These things can work out in an unpredictable ways.
Sometimes the 3rd generation has little to no interest in the birthplace of their grandparents, other times, the 3rd generation feels more attached to the old country than the 2nd generation.
New identity policy takes Australian football back to the future
The US womens soccer team has been the yardstick for nigh on 20 years now, probably longer.
They are the standard every other soccer team should aspire to meet.
I read this recently in the Dutch media, and it’s so true:
Nee jongen, voetbal is voor meisjes!
I am reminded of the end of The Lord of the Rings: the age of men is over.
When you play like the USA, you can say whatever you want
The biggest problem with an odd number of teams is that you have an extra mouth to feed but you are playing the same amount of games.
Like others above, I don’t buy the talent argument. When you create a new top tier team, that comes with new facilities, new coaches and an elite training environment, you create a scenario where those on the fringe of first team football can improve to reach the higher standard.
As a general comment, personally, in the AFL, I find 18 teams to be a lot of teams, it felt like, and still feels like, a very big jump from 16.
NRL expansion: What the NRL should do
Settle down Bt, I don’t hold much sway out there in the sports industry.
You have provided the reasoning why the women deserve equal pay.
USA untroubled against Netherlands to claim fourth World Cup
Tarek Elrich might have been the missing ingredient in the socceroos’ last three failed WC campaigns.
Diego Maradona: An accurate yet incomplete summary of the Argentine's life