Football(Soccer) in Australia - the future?

[Jeffles]

Getting rid of the midweek games assists people who do not enjoy the idea of watching games on a school night. The NRL apreciates this and gives host clubs a premium in cash for hosting MNF.

AUR, your solution of uniting the tribes of old soccer and new football is nothing but a platitude.

The FFA's core brand is the Socceroos and Matildas. They have a good pattern of home friendlies and international tournaments that helps. The A League is growing but IMO suffers from a lack of exposure on FTA TV. Even though a growing number of people have Pay TV, a presence on FTA TV opens doors in this country. FFS, even the NBL and its tiny base had a boost from One HD. The converse is also true when you look at domestic cricket after Channel 9 stopped screening matches. It is a bit of a trade off though. You give up dollars to gain a bigger audience and use that to get dollars from other parties. It's harder work but it pays off. Is the FFA in a financial position to make that sacrifice? I don't think so.

[Boba Fett]

Getting rid of the midweek games assists people who do not enjoy the idea of watching games on a school night. The NRL apreciates this and gives host clubs a premium in cash for hosting MNF.

AUR, your solution of uniting the tribes of old soccer and new football is nothing but a platitude.

The FFA's core brand is the Socceroos and Matildas. They have a good pattern of home friendlies and international tournaments that helps. The A League is growing but IMO suffers from a lack of exposure on FTA TV. Even though a growing number of people have Pay TV, a presence on FTA TV opens doors in this country. FFS, even the NBL and its tiny base had a boost from One HD. The converse is also true when you look at domestic cricket after Channel 9 stopped screening matches. It is a bit of a trade off though. You give up dollars to gain a bigger audience and use that to get dollars from other parties. It's harder work but it pays off. Is the FFA in a financial position to make that sacrifice? I don't think so.

And has any FTA channel expressed any interest in televising the A-League? If not, the argument is a waste of time anyway. They should just accept that for the forseeable future, the A-League will be shown on Fox Sports, not FTA and get on with trying to make that arrangement work as well as it can.

[Jeffles]

An FTA network would be interested but they probably won't fork out too much cash. As I said, it's about taking the pay cut if you can take the risk.

AUR, your solution of uniting the tribes of old soccer and new football is nothing but a platitude.

Further to that, I think the answer to unifying the game could lie in the mooted FFA Cup. The FFA gets an extra spot in the Asian Champions League and clubs below the top tier get the chance to test themselves against the bigger guns in a meaningful competition, instead of being completely separated from the A Legue.

[Adelaide_United_Red]

Re-uniting the tribes has already begun, without the potentially unworkable FFA Cup.

There are a pletora of former Socceroos(what many would call Old Soccer) being appointed to the off field operations of HAL clubsand the new federations(new football)
joining Joe didulica(Heart) and
Ange Postecoglu(Roar), are:
Paul Trimboli(Roar)
Francis Awaratife(MV)
Mehmet Durakovic(MV)
Alex Tobin (TD - FNSW)

I feel that these old heads in the football community can do more for bridging the gap that a couple of games that 'may' happen in the future. If Old Soccer has heen acting like an ex-gf by sniping at new football from the sidelines, then it makes sense to invite them into the fold to pick their brains, especially if the new old guys are involved at any level with community engagement programs. Whether intended or not,it is amaster stroke IMO. After all the distinction between Old soccer and New football was just a throw-away line at a Frank Lowy(definitely a foot in both camps) presser at the launch of the HAL. From this point on, I'd much rather see no more references to Old Soccer, or New football, but just One Football.

[Jeffles]

That's hardly an example of uniting tribes. How many of the above actively resisted the A-League and called to maintain the NSL/NSL clubs?

The structure of soccer in Australia is very fragmented. The FFA looks after the Socceroos, the A-League is trying to be a separate beast, state associations run senior competitons and assist local associations in junior competition. Between state organised competition and the national beast there is a bit of disconnect. A united competition could help. It would give a bit more purpose to state league teams, offering them an incentive to get on a bigger stage.

[Adelaide_United_Red]

The structure of Australian Rules in Australia is very fragmented. The AFL looks after Victoria, the AFL is trying to be a separate beast, state associations(SANFL/WAFL) run senior competitons and assist local associations in junior competition. Between state organised competition and the national beast there is a bit of disconnect. A united competition could help. It would give a bit more purpose to state league teams, offering them an incentive to get on a bigger stage.

just sayin;)

FWIW I only 'picked on' Aussie rules because I know next to nothing about the structure of the Natnl Rugby League or Rugby Unions in Ausralia.

[Nines]

You want constructive suggestions on how to improve Australian soccer ?

1. Concentrate on soccer and forget what the AFL are doing .

2. Concentrate on soccer and forget what the AFL are doing

[Jeffles]

AUR, fragmented as the AFL may be, they by and large integrate well, as they do in other codes. This a problem that the FFA needs to resolve.

I also the state of soccer in Australia has been grossly misrepresented. Loads of kids play it, the Socceroos draw a lot of interest and other levels of the game (womens, youth) get publicity and results that would leave equivalent sports for dead. I think a big part of the image problem is that some within the game view the last two FIFA World Cups as the rule rather than the exception.

The main problem is the A League. Historically, it's the strongest national club competition they've had but through the prism of this competitive market it looks weaker than it is.

[yob]

Football is in part a victim of its own maturity. We're not afraid to voice our opinions and criticise. Contrast that with aussie rules which, well, is. Would I change it? No, because I'd rather be dead than red.

[Adelaide_United_Red]

Football is in part a victim of its own maturity. We're not afraid to voice our opinions and criticise. Contrast that with aussie rules which, well, is. Would I change it? No, because I'd rather be dead than red.

Makes quite a difference in perspective considering one of the most often used criticisms against football, besides the always tedious "its boring" and "there's just not enough goals/scoring" comes my favourite from the land of the free and home of the ...to really insult something in America, one must somehow link that thing to socialism and/or communism, hence therant that Soccer is for pinko's and commies:( infact a simple earch for soccer and communism brings:
http://blog.american.com/2010/06/soccer ... ist-sport/

The world is crazy for soccer, but most Americans don’t give a hoot about the sport. Why? Many years ago, my former White House colleague Bill McGurn pointed out to me the real reason soccer hasn’t caught on in the good old U.S.A. It’s simple, really: Soccer is a socialist sport.

Think about it. Soccer is the only sport in the world where you cannot use the one tool that distinguishes man from beast: opposable thumbs. “No hands” is a rule only a European statist could love. (In fact, with the web of high taxes and regulations that tie the hands of European entrepreneurs, “no hands” kind of describes their economic theories as well.)

And they still manage to get a reference in about soccer hooligans:( God and I thought the game had an image problem in our country:( The yanks have outdone themselves in getting MLS up from post WC94 gimmick to sustainable league in this short period..I wonder if the FFA have the brains to learn from USSF/MLS's mistakes rather than wastying money making the same mistakes down here?:(

[Simmo79]

I'm so over this thin-skinned sh*t

[Adelaide_United_Red]

I'm so over this thin-skinned sh*t

Well if you're after a laugh and on Twitter(facebook for ADHD) search for #KewellALeagueDemands..some absolute comedy gems in there, proves some football fans can still laugh:)
My faves so far:D
1. andrew_54 Andrew L "@TheKazama1984: "All other players to have the name "Not Kewell" printed on the back of their jerseys"
2. brettacollett Brett Collett "If there's a tied vote in the House of Reps, the Speaker cedes the tie-breaking vote to HarryKewell. "
3. alistairjhogg Alistair Hogg "Australia's currency to be re-named the "Kewell". Harry's A-League deal reportedly valued at 1 million Kewells a year "
4. alistairjhogg Alistair Hogg "All existing A-League apparel contracts to be nullified. Politix to design and manufacture team kits"

[yob]

I'm so over this thin-skinned sh*t

[yob]

[quote="mark520"]I love the forum, it is really informative and so nice to be able to share problems with other likeminded people.
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You couldn't possibly be real.

[Adelaide_United_Red]

I love the forum, it is really informative and so nice to be able to share problems with other likeminded people.
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You couldn't possibly be real.

m Well its not me:)
I like this forum because it keeps me grounded. If you only talk in the same circles, with people that hold similar beliefs to you, no-one ever challenges your thought process. I learn a lot about other sports on here and about how my favourite sport of football is viewed by ordinary everyday sports fans. Oh and I get to see Stadium P0rn:)