Nice to read some promotion on the lower leagues – where the real football is played…

I’ve always found that teams coming up from League 2 do well in League 1, the divisions are fairly similar in standard to each other and getting into that winning habit is hard to break.

Hugely biased but I think Southend will go well. Did well to get up through the playoffs after missing out on automatic promotion on the last day… Also signing Noel Hunt is a huge boost for a lower league side and will provide the goals that were were missing last year. If we can hold on to superstar keeper Daniel Bentley (or ideally sell him to a Premiership team and get him loaned back) then we will be a real challenge.

I like what you are saying about the smaller stadiums Luc and Nicholas. I travelled quite widely across Australia a few years ago, and I was really surprised by basketballs popularity in the bush. There is a community called Lyente Apurte (or Santa Teresa) outside of Alice Springs where I spent a few weeks in 2003, and while I was there I watched a local basketball match, and the whole town came out to watch it. It was incredible support and a wonderful evening. So there is undoubtably grass roots support there.

I have been so impressed with the way the ABL has harnessed the passionate, albeit small support for baseball in this country. I have said this before in various ways, but the first time I went to Holloway Field this year, the general feeling I got was that of a small, grass-roots, community sports day BUT tempered by the fact that there was a group of incredibly professionally set up and kitted out team of players on the field and off it. In fact I’d go as far as to say it was the best run and organised sports event I had been to in this country. The Bandits social media presence is awesome, using twitter, facebook and instagram effectively they engage with their fans. And it’s not just me, when I took my girlfriend to a game, she pointedly said that she loved it and would definitely go again and recommend we take friends.

Nicholas, in terms of what you suggested earlier about how the A-League has cornered the summer market, I agree that the NBL could use a similar strategy to get into the winter indoor sports market. It provides something different, and fills a niche, targetting that niche loyal supporter base.

The FFA have started with a fairly strong social media strategy for the A-League and with the regional NPL’s, which operate in winter… There is just so much competition for sports in this country.

The online course would be interesting to do carnivean. Is that due to being an athlete or can anyone have a go? The reason I ask is that at a recent triathlon on the Sunshine Coast (Mooloolaba Olympic Triathlon) they actually drug tested age-group athletes – so some knowledge would be pretty useful! (I know weekend warrior events are hardly the Olympic games, but it would still be horrendous to be disqualifed for drugs!)

I’m such a sucker for suggesting this, but I hope that Park has just made a stupid mistake and was just complacent after a long and glorious career.

Sun Yang’s case really intrigues me, especially as if he had done the exact same thing as he did last year, this year, nobody would bat an eyelid.

The Cielo case is a bad one, becasue I think he was probably guilty. He has given a terrible excuse, and seeing as plenty of Brazilian aquatics competitors have been found to be taking drugs in the last few years you’d have to say it doesn’t look good for him. The way his fellow competitors carried on after he was allowed to compete (and win) in the World Champs was revealing. They were very unhappy…

I guess the positive thing to take out of it is that they are being caught. I read somewhere that aquatics is the second most tested of all sports behind cycling at the moment. Hopefully that wil continue to weed out the bad eggs.

Just when you think it couldn’t get any more ridiculous, 7 club owners are upset that Gallop won’t sanction expansion into Asia… Apparently the current distances and travel times aren’t long enough… Madness…

http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/article/2015/03/27/ffa-loggerheads-clubs-after-quashing-asian-expansion-plan

That’s a decent call NaBUru38. You’re right, the distances are just too extreme. I’m not personally sure having set areas would be popular, but something has to be done – it’s just too much at the moment.

Old Trafford is a cracker SVB. I’ve been lucky enough to get there twice and it’s pretty impressive!

I agree with you SVB. There are plenty of stadiums that are near enough pure football grounds in the A-League. There are plenty of stadiums in England where football and rugby share, and they end up looking absolutely horrendous but are still deemed suitable for football. Look at the Wigan v Broncos game in the World Club challenge. The pitch was in awful state, yet hosts Championship level football without too many dramas.

That’s just one example. Reading and London Irish (RU), Coventry City and Wasps (RU), Swansea City and Ospreys (RU), Hull City and Hull (RL), Huddersfield and Huddersfield Giants (RL) are the main ones.

Perhaps it was because I was subjected to some truely horrendous stadiums and surfaces in the UK watching lower league football, but I really think too much is made of the quality of the surface of Lang Park. I really don’t think it looks half as bad as people make it out to be.

“Our match schedulers seem hell bent on making it as difficult as possible for our ACL competing teams.”

Too right Roary – having just a three day break between playing on a Wednesday night in Asia and fronting up on the Saturday evening is crazy.

In the EPL managers would shoot someone if they were forced to play Wednesday/Saturday. It tends to be Tuesday/Saturday or Wednesday/Sunday. And in Europe the distances are virtually just down the road compared to flying from Australia to the Far East.

The issue with that seems to be the need/necessity/desire to have every game on TV live.

It’s probably a debate for a different time, but fitting the teams into their allotted TV time-slots simply has to come second to the welfare of the players and the competitiveness of the league. Becasue it can boil down to a welfare issue, and even affect the league.

Results have not shown this much (The Roar won their last game four days after an Asia trip – but the WSW lost both their returning matches off a three day break), but if you were playing Brisbane or WSW wouldn’t you rather play them after they just completed a three day, 16,740km round trip to Beijing with only limited rest?!

It does have the potential to affect results…

I can defintely see your point LordBrucie, particularly when the Roar and Wanderers play twice in two and a half weeks, and when the Roar again host the Victory twice in three days. That’s when the lack of variety does start to hit home a bit. And it can’t help attendances.

I do think time is needed before the expansion though. I can’t see how teams that are starting to struggle to pull in decent crowds would benefit from having that interest diluted further by new teams yet.

Having said that its an discussion worth having becasue everyone has a good, valid, different opinon.

Some valid points on both sides there guys. I wonder would there be a case to have a bye week after our teams travel to Asia for Champions League matches?

I know there are three times this would happen during the season so totally unfeasible to do so after each game, but if there is some sort of split round this time of year, followed by international window breaks etc, it could free up some time and allow our teams to recover after the lengthy travel.

I’m not sure on whether there are rules regarding that in terms of the AFC – something about competitiveness or something in that teams can’t be rested before or after to gain an unfair advantage…

It certainly could be managed better. The only real thing I can think of to cope with injuries is bigger squads, but qualit players don’t just pop out of thin air… And adding to squads would affect talks on salary caps etc… It’s a minefield but it certainly needs to be navigated at some point…

I definitely think the point is that the season needs to be spread out over a longer time frame melbourneterrace. Reducing the number of games wouldn’t work you’re right, either from a competition point of view or from a commercial one.

It would be a bold move to open the season in the midst of the NRL and AFL playoffs – regardless of your point that football fans are their own people. The fact is that casual fans or people with a passing interest in sport are distracted by the big games – most of which are on free to air – and the big statement the FFA use to say football is back could be lost in the frenzied activities of the other codes.

Considering we had a break for a month in the middle of this season for the Asian Cup, the sort of timeframe we had this season could open up effectively 4 spare weeks – which could be used for international breaks or even FFA cup weekends.

Ye I’d agree with you there Tom. It always sounds too convenient doesn’t it… I was particularly suspicious of Cesar Cielo’s excuse, especially as it seems now that the Brazilian Aquatic Federation has a real problem controlling the substances its athletes are getting caught taking. Not just swimmers, but Water Polo players too.

Id just be so upset if I was an athlete, and a doctor made a cock up on my behalf. Or there was actual contamination based on you picking up your mates water bottle (and he was using an non-ratified supplement) instead of your own.

Here’s another example. Aldershot v Southend at the Recreation Ground, Boxing Day 2011 (I think).

We were winning 1-0 at half time, they had a man sent off. Their floodlights failed. Game abandoned, re-arranged for later in the season, we lost the rearranged game, missed out on automatic promotion by 2 points. Lost in the playoffs to Crewe.

Interestingly, had they played on in the remaining light until it got dark, the probably could have satisfied the A-Leagues criteria of the second half starting and not finishing. But it’s a mute point.

That rearrangement (and subsequent defeat) cost Southend thousands of pounds, and cost a good man his job. I would argue it also raises a supplementary question, if the home team cant provide a suitable environment to play (i.e. the pitch is deemed unsafe or the floodlights fail) should they forfeit the game and the points be awarded to the away side?

Wouldn’t apply in this case (or this country) as the teams don’t own the grounds – it’s the council, but an interesting point I thought (especially driving back from Aldershot in a foul mood that evening!)

Ironically, Aldershot’s ground is now called “The Electrical Services Stadium”… And happily (for Karma purposes) they are now out of the Football League and play in the Conference.

Absolutely Tim, everything you’ve said makes perfect sense.

I really enjoy watching league (although I prefer Union), and I think they have one of the best rules in sport (the 40-20 kick). But they also have the worst – and that is the “on report” call we get after thuggish incidents.

The number of times you watch someone get taken out high and the first thing most people think is – ouch, he’ll be gone for 10 – but it never happens.

The referees are too scared to make a decision and hence the players are allowed to get away with blue murder on the field.

God to see some NPL coverage Jeff. What did you make of the quality? I was pleasantly surprised at the standard in the Queensland comp when I went the other week. A bit more exposure to it will have people going back after the A-League finishes I hope…

Hi WCR,

I reckon the format as such for the NBL does need tinkering, but not to the extent that they remove all the teams and just focus on the capitals. Cairns and Townsville have shown they are hotbeds for basketball support in recent months, despite the team going into administration.

What I would suggest though is that the NBA ownership would provide strong direction, robust decision making, and a clear model of how to move forward. These major American organisations are nothing if not thorough.

My experiences with with ABL is that baseball should – owing to its marginal support – feel like a few mates and big family watching people they all know play the games. Where the ABL surprised me, and others I’ve since taken, is just how professionally run it is, and how the who feel of the games is one of solid professionalism – from the players and umpires on the field, to the girl who takes your money for tickets.

I’d argue the NBA would know how to push for a decent tv deal, and arguably a decent model for how the game should go forward in this country. But that’s just me. 🙂

Fair enough Josh, I guess I got kinda into the baseball this year so looked out for news about the Bandits. But that was becasue I was actively searching for it I guess…

Also it’s a great point you make about the player talent, becasue you’re right, The Boomers (?) are awesome. But then that is the case with so many Australian sports teams.

If the NBA sent players over that would add some level of prestige I guess, but only in the sence that they are US based players. Much like the ABL – the players sent over see prospects from the minors. Not that they aren’t good players – the Bandits selection this year were excellent. But not “big” names.

With the money involved in American sports though I can see why they wouldn’t need the meagre top up on their salaries that a season in our leagues would get them!

Ye in saw that Waz, in a sense that sort of thing adds a fair bit of credibility to the NPL, and if any of these guys go on to pick up an A-League contract, it would provide a huge boost for others at that level.

The quality of the NNSWNPL (wow that’s a mouthful) is quite impressive – and good to see.

Thanks Justin, I appreciate your kind words and for taking the time to read. Cheers.

Good stuff guys… I should have read your comments before submitting my latest piece on what the NBL can learn from baseballs NBL though… hopefully that’ll go live tomorrow! :-/

Ye that’s not a bad call Realist – I think the overwhelming majority of fans get more upset when matches are stop-start with frequent whistles than anything else. Letting the game flow is the best way, problem is that teams need the rest due the sheer size of the players – so infringements allow the teams to rest their lines etc…

Funnily enough, I do see your point Daniel.

Tight games decided by 1 try is much more exciting than a 10-0 try-fest. So I definitely get what you are saying.

I must have missed that article – brilliant ode to the scrum, excellent reading.

I see your points and you’re 100% right. And does need a lot of thought as to how to present it right. It’s an increasingly complicated game to quantify into nice little bite sized morsels for the media… It’s a complex game after all…

Do you mind sharing this “significant evidence that points towards performance enhancement being widespread at the London olympics (certainly in athletics, swimming and weightlifting).” please?

Seems like a pretty out there statement.

I know of two doping cases in swimming off the top of my head, but I certainly wouldn’t describe them as “widespread”. Particularly the set of circumstances surrounding one of the cases.

And as for Atheltics – yes potentially from one team – not necessarily everyone though.

Weightlifting I don’t know much about to be honest…