The A-League Is Back! Starts July 17th 2020!!!

[General Giant]

Football in Australia is doomed to be a marginal sport unless its leaders show vision | Football | The Guardian

After many false dawns, football in Australia must finally realise its vast potential by learning from past failures

amp.theguardian.com

 

[General Giant]

This will be interesting.

 

[giggler99]

A-League bosses eye emergency Queensland move for competition restart | The World Game

The Queensland government declared the Campbelltown and Liverpool areas in south-west Sydney as COVID-19 'hot spots' in the wake of the outbreak.
The declaration has prompted A-League organisers to prepare a 'Plan B' option where all 11 clubs will be located in Queensland to play out the remainder of the season.
Under the plan, from Saturday at the earliest, seven clubs would join the Brisbane Roar in Queensland.
The league's three Victorian clubs, currently in quarantine in NSW after their departure from Melbourne last week, would join them at the end of their isolation period.

FFA head of leagues Greg O'Rourke was hopeful that option won't have to become reality.

"We've been speaking to government today at many levels, many different departments in New South Wales about the current restrictions and what they feel the impact would be at this point in time," O'Rourke said.

"Knowing that these things can change quite dramatically ... our position would be that we would continue to play all our games here and that we would be able to operate as a workplace.

"We would continue to do that until we were advised otherwise."

It means the league will resume as anticipated with Sydney FC taking on Wellington Phoenix at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium on Friday.

Sunday's match between the Roar and Adelaide United on the Gold Coast is the only fixture to be played outside NSW under the current schedule.

The COVID-19 situation does mean that Perth Glory will finish their season without captain Diego Castro.

The Spanish marquee has opted not to travel to Sydney with his teammates on Thursday, saying the NSW hub is an "unacceptable health risk" for himself and his family.

The 2015-16 Johnny Warren medalist is one of several international players who have opted not to play out the season including Western United's marquee Panagiotis Kone and Melbourne City winger Markel Susaeta.

O'Rourke said players had a right under a revised collective bargaining agreement not to continue with the season if they did not want to and he wasn't surprised by the withdrawals.

"Players could make their own conscious decision about whether or not they wanted to relocate and join in the hub model," he said.

"That trigger, if you like, that was in the extended CBA was always there. I'm not surprised at all that a few players have chosen to exercise that."'

O'Rourke has already confirmed the finals series will be pushed back by six days, meaning this year's grand final is set to be held on August 29.

A-League bosses eye emergency Queensland move for competition restart | The World Game

A new outbreak of COVID-19 in Sydney could force the A-League to make an emergency move to Queensland as competition bosses put together a contingency plan to ensure the final rounds of the season are played.

theworldgame.sbs.com.au

Probably gonna happen at some point if the NSW cases keep tracking high!

 

[giggler99]

Football in Australia is doomed to be a marginal sport unless its leaders show vision | Football | The Guardian

After many false dawns, football in Australia must finally realise its vast potential by learning from past failures

amp.theguardian.com

Simon Hill is always on the money in the direction the game should be heading in. Pity no one within the FFA listens to him.

 

[General Giant]

Very interested to see the skill level as the games go on. Once they are back in the groove does everyone think the quality will be higher than summer?

 

[GREENESHOOTS]

Very interested to see the skill level as the games go on. Once they are back in the groove does everyone think the quality will be higher than summer?

Should be a more consistent higher tempo, less waiting around trying to get breath back.
If the world leagues are anything to go by should be lots of clangers and gifted goals from playing out of the back when we restart.

 

[gaskin]

Very interested to see the skill level as the games go on. Once they are back in the groove does everyone think the quality will be higher than summer?

Doubt it. There isn't really enough time for them to get into any sort of rhythm.

 

[General Giant]

Doubt it. There isn't really enough time for them to get into any sort of rhythm.

But a week or two in there will be

 

[gaskin]

But a week or two in there will be

Not necessarily. I don't know about the other sides, but Glory only has 6 games left. I'd hardly call 6 games enough time when you would expect the teams to be rotated heavily with so many games in such a short window.