The on topic thread

[SM]

How pathetic from West Ham.

 

[SM]

City and CCM are on track for their worst crowd figures ever this year.

I don't think 4 new sides will boost anything. It'll just spread the current crowds across more games which is a bad look

Melbourne City vs Woolongong isn't going to get 5k if south Melbourne are brought in.

CCM vs a second Brisbane side would do the same.

You should only ever expand when nearly all clubs are doing well. Unless the new club was coming in with extreme money in an area that desperately needs a side. For me there's only 3 areas that really do Woolongong, Tasmania, Canberra and maybe Auckland. None of the 3 markets likely to get a billionaire want to move a side there

Incredibly simplistic view mate. Did WSW cause Sydneys crowd to fragment?

The only way to grow the league is through expansion, to suggest we need to wait for people to start watching the current league set up is simply nonsense.

You suggesting Auckland as a viable candidate at this stage is even more laughable. It needs to be areas with established clubs and supporter bases. As you say, Wollongong is a no brainer, South Melbourne arguably another, Adelaide city another as well. There's three already. Geelong as a fourth and all of a sudden we have a proper league.

 

[Cruyff14]

Frank Lowy got knighted. Wtf.

 

[SM]

Frank Lowy got knighted. Wtf.

He was great. Pity about his son.

 

[Latro]

The only great thing about Lowy was when he fell off the stage.

 

[Bojan KantKick]

The only great thing about Lowy was when he fell off the stage.

hahahaha

 

[Cruyff14]

He was great. Pity about his son.

Turns out it was for 'services to business and philanthropy.'

 

[SM]

The only great thing about Lowy was when he fell off the stage.

He completely reinvigorated Australian football.

 

[Art Vandelay_]

How pathetic from West Ham.

Everyone thank your lucky stars these twats don’t own your club. Little miss bitch included.

 

[jd2010]

Incredibly simplistic view mate. Did WSW cause Sydneys crowd to fragment?

The only way to grow the league is through expansion, to suggest we need to wait for people to start watching the current league set up is simply nonsense.

You suggesting Auckland as a viable candidate at this stage is even more laughable. It needs to be areas with established clubs and supporter bases. As you say, Wollongong is a no brainer, South Melbourne arguably another, Adelaide city another as well. There's three already. Geelong as a fourth and all of a sudden we have a proper league.

Western Sydney had a geographical difference to Sydney FC. Melbourne Heart didn't.

South Melbourne is going for fans who mainly all have a Melbourne side. If they joined Melbourne city would die off as city group wouldn't want to bother with them. They'd be lucky to average 8k in a few years without them let alone with them.

Auckland for what it's worth has a massive English expat support that could easily be channeled into a Perth Glory type club. Once the city gets a stadium sorted they'd be the easiest market to get right. 1m people with a large British expat community craving a professional side to get behind.

Wollongong is the only easy one on the radar. Hopefully someone with deep pockets funds a Tasmanian side that would also be easy with very little competition for professional sport down there.

Anything but south Melbourne. The league can't afford a 4th club to fall over within the first 15-20 years and that's would likey happen to City without the CFG

 

[jd2010]

He completely reinvigorated Australian football.

He did. But he also did a few dodgy things for self benefit that is bringing the game back down.

Have a listen to the world game podcast and if what they say is true he isn't the white knight he appears to be

 

[SM]

Western Sydney had a geographical difference to Sydney FC. Melbourne Heart didn't.

South Melbourne is going for fans who mainly all have a Melbourne side. If they joined Melbourne city would die off as city group wouldn't want to bother with them. They'd be lucky to average 8k in a few years without them let alone with them.

Auckland for what it's worth has a massive English expat support that could easily be channeled into a Perth Glory type club. Once the city gets a stadium sorted they'd be the easiest market to get right. 1m people with a large British expat community craving a professional side to get behind.

Wollongong is the only easy one on the radar. Hopefully someone with deep pockets funds a Tasmanian side that would also be easy with very little competition for professional sport down there.

Anything but south Melbourne. The league can't afford a 4th club to fall over within the first 15-20 years and that's would likey happen to City without the CFG

Melbourne has a huge sporting population, no team would die in Melbourne. City are getting a decent following especially kids with the winning culture they're developing.

Plenty of South fans don't have an a league side who would start watching.

Wellington need to move into a boutique first and then maybe we could build to a NZ derby.

A lot of clubs will die if we don't foster more interest in the game which will only come with more clubs and more national engagement.

 

[jd2010]

Melbourne has a huge sporting population, no team would die in Melbourne. City are getting a decent following especially kids with the winning culture they're developing.

Plenty of South fans don't have an a league side who would start watching.

Wellington need to move into a boutique first and then maybe we could build to a NZ derby.

A lot of clubs will die if we don't foster more interest in the game which will only come with more clubs and more national engagement.

City are on track for their worst crowd averages since they were the Heart despite being the best they've ever been on the field. Pains me to say it a little because I don't like MV but I can't see how they'll ever work.

South probably would be able to get 15-20k but close to half would already be a league fans. 7-10k stripped off one of the other two Melbourne clubs isn't a good idea. MV can afford to lose 3-5k of Greek support but I don't think MC can.

Wellington aren't getting another stadium any time soon. Its not the big stadium that's the problem more that football NZ do them absolutely no favours at all. 10-12k in the national stadium isn't a great look but it's still enough to be viable. Problem is they are getting half that because the club is a shambles on field year after year.

 

[jod23]

Saw some pic on Facebook listing the stats of the calendar year. Most goals, assists, chances created, dribbles, plus a few other stats i can't remember and it was all Messi.

Bizarre how they've given it to Ronaldo??

 

[Bojan KantKick]

Saw some pic on Facebook listing the stats of the calendar year. Most goals, assists, chances created, dribbles, plus a few other stats i can't remember and it was all Messi.

Bizarre how they've given it to Ronaldo??

you need to bitch the champions league to win the ballon d'or

 

[Jatz]

Melbourne has a huge sporting population, no team would die in Melbourne. City are getting a decent following especially kids with the winning culture they're developing.

Plenty of South fans don't have an a league side who would start watching.

Wellington need to move into a boutique first and then maybe we could build to a NZ derby.

A lot of clubs will die if we don't foster more interest in the game which will only come with more clubs and more national engagement.

There’s absolutely zero chance the FFA are putting a second team in NZ. They don’t even want the one they’ve got there.

I do find your idea of expanding to 14-16 teams interesting. The league is already struggling, I can’t see how expanding it helps at all. Sydney don’t need a 3rd side (the hills district comment was interesting - you say it’s about to boom, where are you expecting them to play?), a south Melbourne side would take away from the already dwindling crowds in Melbourne (albeit they would make the best case for expansion). Canberra would be my first pick. Align it with the women’s side.

More clubs does not equal more national engagement. We’ve had the north QLD side, the Gold Coast side etc. and that’s not worked in the slightest. Increasing the amount of sides does not help the CCM/Newcastle caliber of team. Just makes different fixtures that people won’t go to.

 

[SM]

There’s absolutely zero chance the FFA are putting a second team in NZ. They don’t even want the one they’ve got there.

I do find your idea of expanding to 14-16 teams interesting. The league is already struggling, I can’t see how expanding it helps at all. Sydney don’t need a 3rd side (the hills district comment was interesting - you say it’s about to boom, where are you expecting them to play?), a south Melbourne side would take away from the already dwindling crowds in Melbourne (albeit they would make the best case for expansion). Canberra would be my first pick. Align it with the women’s side.

More clubs does not equal more national engagement. We’ve had the north QLD side, the Gold Coast side etc. and that’s not worked in the slightest. Increasing the amount of sides does not help the CCM/Newcastle caliber of team. Just makes different fixtures that people won’t go to.

You don't think a Wollongong team is a no brainer?

Gold Coast is a graveyard for any sporting comp let alone a nascent football competition.

This notion that less teams somehow equals bigger crowds is just stupid. Why don't we just reduce the league to 4 teams then?

I was suggesting the Hills District as a booming population area that doesn't have a sporting team, not another in South Sydney where Sydney FC have most of their supporters as JD was suggesting.

The most common complaint I hear from supporters in the league is that playing each other three times is boring, and that 10 teams makes it too easy to make Finals. The league needs to get to 14/16 teams as soon as it can to gain legitimacy and actually have a proper league format, both in terms of fixtures and finals. When WSW came in, 15-20,000 fans came out of nowhere, and Sydney FC's crowds virtually doubled as well. There was no fracturing or splintering of their supporter base, nor was there of Victory when City came in. To suggest that we have a finite pool of football fans in Australia who all already have an A-League team who wouldn't be swept up by a new club is ludicrous.

 

[Jatz]

You don't think a Wollongong team is a no brainer?

Gold Coast is a graveyard for any sporting comp let alone a nascent football competition.

This notion that less teams somehow equals bigger crowds is just stupid. Why don't we just reduce the league to 4 teams then?

I was suggesting the Hills District as a booming population area that doesn't have a sporting team, not another in South Sydney where Sydney FC have most of their supporters as JD was suggesting.

The most common complaint I hear from supporters in the league is that playing each other three times is boring, and that 10 teams makes it too easy to make Finals. The league needs to get to 14/16 teams as soon as it can to gain legitimacy and actually have a proper league format, both in terms of fixtures and finals. When WSW came in, 15-20,000 fans came out of nowhere, and Sydney FC's crowds virtually doubled as well. There was no fracturing or splintering of their supporter base, nor was there of Victory when City came in. To suggest that we have a finite pool of football fans in Australia who all already have an A-League team who wouldn't be swept up by a new club is ludicrous.

Wollongong perhaps. They’d still only get mediocre crowds but that’s to be expected of any expansion side that comes in really.

Less teams definitely does not equal bigger crowds. But that also doesn’t mean we should expand for the sake of expansion. Bringing in more sides just equals more mediocrity at the moment. Unless someone is screaming out for a side (ala Western Sydney), it shouldn’t be looked at imo.

I know Cronulla are vying for a team down south. I just don’t see how it works. As for the hills district, that certainly wouldn’t work. No infrastructure in the area, nor do they have the stadium to play in.

That might be the most common complaint but doesn’t justify expanding for the sake of entertainment. The solution to that is simple. Play each other twice, home and away, and make it a top 4.

WSW only worked because there was such a huge population that wasn’t covered by Sydney FC. The same cannot be said for Melbourne City, which is why it has always struggled to be relevant in this league.

 

[SM]

Wollongong perhaps. They’d still only get mediocre crowds but that’s to be expected of any expansion side that comes in really.

Less teams definitely does not equal bigger crowds. But that also doesn’t mean we should expand for the sake of expansion. Bringing in more sides just equals more mediocrity at the moment. Unless someone is screaming out for a side (ala Western Sydney), it shouldn’t be looked at imo.

I know Cronulla are vying for a team down south. I just don’t see how it works. As for the hills district, that certainly wouldn’t work. No infrastructure in the area, nor do they have the stadium to play in.

That might be the most common complaint but doesn’t justify expanding for the sake of entertainment. The solution to that is simple. Play each other twice, home and away, and make it a top 4.

WSW only worked because there was such a huge population that wasn’t covered by Sydney FC. The same cannot be said for Melbourne City, which is why it has always struggled to be relevant in this league.

Define mediocre? 7k to a mid-week FFA Cup game certainly isn't mediocre.

Who's talking expansion for the sake of it except Jd? I'm suggesting expansion into areas crying out for a team or a second team.

Again, the Hills District was an example of a huge population centre with no sporting team at the moment, not a location of the next expansion club.

Then let's do that and see if the crowds come back. What do you reckon will happen?

Absolutely that's why it worked mate, why do you think I'm proposing expansion into areas with large population bases not currently covered by teams, or are single team markets that would thrive with a derby game?

 

[Jatz]

Define mediocre? 7k to a mid-week FFA Cup game certainly isn't mediocre.

Who's talking expansion for the sake of it except Jd? I'm suggesting expansion into areas crying out for a team or a second team.

Again, the Hills District was an example of a huge population centre with no sporting team at the moment, not a location of the next expansion club.

Then let's do that and see if the crowds come back. What do you reckon will happen?

Absolutely that's why it worked mate, why do you think I'm proposing expansion into areas with large population bases not currently covered by teams, or are single team markets that would thrive with a derby game?

7k to a midweek game is a one off. Sustaining that over a season is completely different.

But there really aren’t any teams crying out for a team/second team. WSW were but as I said, that was geographically motivated as Sydney FC was mostly just east Sydney. Melbourne definitely didn’t need a 2nd team, the Heart were just manufacture to drum up a rivalry. What other market is screaming for a team the same way the Wanderers were?

Crowds would increase if they moved to that system. They never would though, they’d lose revenue by dropping a 1/3rd or their season. It would make for a more intense/interesting league though.

 

[SM]

7k to a midweek game is a one off. Sustaining that over a season is completely different.

But there really aren’t any teams crying out for a team/second team. WSW were but as I said, that was geographically motivated as Sydney FC was mostly just east Sydney. Melbourne definitely didn’t need a 2nd team, the Heart were just manufacture to drum up a rivalry. What other market is screaming for a team the same way the Wanderers were?

Crowds would increase if they moved to that system. They never would though, they’d lose revenue by dropping a 1/3rd or their season. It would make for a more intense/interesting league though.

Right. So you're assuming.

Sydney FC is actually mainly the Inner West and South lol, there's barely anyone in the East who support them.

They'd gain revenue by adding more teams, meaning more fixtures, meaning more TV rights, more Derbies meaning higher attendances, more teams meaning more pathways for young players to get into teams as well as more marquee spots to attract players.

Or hey let's go backwards to 8 teams and reduce the fixtures and basically hand back a bunch of money to Foxtel because that's the way to progress the game.

 

[Jatz]

Right. So you're assuming.

Sydney FC is actually mainly the Inner West and South lol, there's barely anyone in the East who support them.

They'd gain revenue by adding more teams, meaning more fixtures, meaning more TV rights, more Derbies meaning higher attendances, more teams meaning more pathways for young players to get into teams as well as more marquee spots to attract players.

Or hey let's go backwards to 8 teams and reduce the fixtures and basically hand back a bunch of money to Foxtel because that's the way to progress the game.

And you’re not? You’re assuming that Wollongong could average that over a season, no?

Sure. But the West is a huge area that could be utilised. There’s no where else currently that’s demanding a team like that did.

There wouldn’t be more fixtures. The league can’t afford to go longner than it does. It starts to get into footy season and loses relevance. As for more derbies equaling higher crowds, the F3 derby is a perfect example of why that’s not a good idea.

I don’t want to see less teams. I also don’t want to see more yet. The A League has a big problem and throwing more teams at it doesn’t fix it.

 

[SM]

And you’re not? You’re assuming that Wollongong could average that over a season, no?

Sure. But the West is a huge area that could be utilised. There’s no where else currently that’s demanding a team like that did.

There wouldn’t be more fixtures. The league can’t afford to go longner than it does. It starts to get into footy season and loses relevance. As for more derbies equaling higher crowds, the F3 derby is a perfect example of why that’s not a good idea.

I don’t want to see less teams. I also don’t want to see more yet. The A League has a big problem and throwing more teams at it doesn’t fix it.

I'm pointing to evidence that they can turn out a strong crowd for a midweek fixture. 11,000 also turned up to an A-League game between Sydney and CCM there.

I'm not sure what you're missing, but you do realise more teams means more games each week? 14 teams = 26 rounds of 7 games = 182 games compared to 27 rounds of 5 games = 135 games.

What do you think is the solution to the big problem then mate?

 

[Gosha]

Lol f***

 

[ADL9798]

Interesting stat - lesson learned from last season? As of NYE 16/17 we were the only side giving Chelsea a shake for the title, then we crashed in January after a horror run of injuries over the Christmas/New Year period.