A-League: The Death Of Australian Soccer.

As screwed up as a football bat

The difference is chalk and cheese

Your probably wondering what the above statements are all about. The above statements are called cliches. You know what the biggest problem with cliches is? In most cases cliches are true. The above cliches have been used to describe the A-League in comparison with the Premier League.

To be fair the A-League is still in its infancy, but for a young league it sure is making it very difficult for itself. For starters, the league consists of only 8 teams. Are you joking? How can you create a viable league with only 8 teams. At the moment the Hyundai A league should be called the State of Origin because it definitely is not a league.

Back in the old days soccer in Australia was called the N.S.L. The LEAGUE consisted on average of 14 teams and at times had as many as 20 teams competing for National glory. You might ask what was the standard like back then? The NSL not only produced some of the biggest names in Australian soccer but it also was home to some of the biggest coaches in the world. The playing standard was far superior than today’s A-League. Don’t just take my word for it,

The Journalist: Les Murray

“There is no doubt in my mind that the old NSL had a higher playing level,” Murray said.

“When you consider the level of marketing and promotion surrounding today’s game the technical standard of our teams is abysmally low.”

“Teams like Marconi and Sydney United in the 1990s were far more entertaining.”

“Today’s clubs seem to be only interested in the money side of the game.”

“Matches are too frantic and hurly-burly with the emphasis placed on the theory that winning equals entertainment equals bums on seats, which is not the way to go. The technical side of the game is being ignored.”

“We certainly could do with some leadership in this regard from the FFA and the clubs themselves.”

The Player: Tom Pondeljak

“There is not much difference in standard between the two leagues,” Pondeljak said.

“The top two or three clubs in the old NSL had better players than the rest because they could afford it but the salary cap has made the current competition pretty even. Today with any match you just don’t know who’s going to win.”

“Today’s football is better packaged, is more professional and attracts bigger publicity.”

Can someone please explain to me how this is possible? The A-League has major sponsors, games are televised, bums are on seats and the event of crowd violence is minimal. The NSL had no major sponsors, one game a week was televised, bums were not in seats except for the derbies and even then stadiums had no seats and the likelihood of crowd violence was significant. How could the playing standard of the NSL be better than the A-League? Were the genetics better back then? I strongly doubt it.

For some the answer might be clear, but for those who have been consumed by the hype here it is in black and white.

The A league has no

• Promotion or Relegation. The A League is the only League not to have promotion or relegation in the world. Yes that’s right in the world. Are we the front runners in Soccer? Please don’t make me laugh. Why doesn’t Soccer Australia copy the Leagues and the structures in place overseas?
• No juniors, no youth team and no reserves. Are you taking the piss. The NSL clubs not only had reserve teams, youth teams but catered for every age group in their juniors. If it wasn’t for the NSL structure, we might never of heard of Mark Viduka (Melbourne Knights), Paul Okon (Marconi) Ned Zelic(Canberra Cosmos) and lets not forget Mark Bosnich and Harry Kewell.
• Passion. I’ve personally attended 2 Melbourne Victory games and that’s enough for me. Just because I live in Melbourne doesn’t mean I relate to or have to support the team. NSL provided an atmosphere that was electric, passionate and at times violent. Yes there was ethnic backgrounds and segregation but so do the rest of the leagues all over the world. There is no escaping the fact, that once upon a time being a soccer fan was a risky business. In England, Germany and Greece soccer hooliganism and riots would last for weeks. Have they cleaned up their act? Yes they have and the Premiership has become one of the best Leagues in the world. Football in these countries is now widely recognised as a family game. Has the A-League tried to readmit the old clubs? The owners of the League enforce that they do not want any Ethnic ties. Hello, are you living in Australia?
• Big name players or International stars. Australia is not the breeding grounds for has beens or Brazilians that cannot make the cut in their own country. Any player of value or skill will not look to play soccer in Australia. Simple as that. It’s entertaining when the media pump a new foreign player to have it only blow up in their face when they finally arrive and fail dramatically.
• Big name coaches or trainers. The NSL had the ability to lure Ferenc Puskas and Drago Sekularich on a shoe-string budget. In case you don’t know who these coaches are they were the greatest players in Europe when they graced the park. Name a coach in the current A-League that has this kind of reputation or class. Just name one. If you conger up names like Frank Farina and John Kosmina, don’t be offended when I laugh in your face.

The Hyundai A-League is the premier soccer competition in Australia. The league is currently run by the Australia governing body Football Federation Australia and was founded in 2004. Five years have passed and we still have only 8 teams in the league, I use the term league very loosely here. What worries me with the A-League is that it will not cater for all the juniors and the talent that will arise from our country. With a shortage of teams and no youth system in place, the A-League will inevitably fall victim to soccer politics. Soccer is a game based on politics and for those of you that think the best players are playing in the A-league, well then your ignorance is quite astounding. Soccer politics is a difficult topic to write about without stepping on toes. I will only make one statement concerning this issue,

Some of the best soccer players in Australia are not playing in the A-League and will probably never get the chance to. It’s a case of who you know rather than how good you really are.

The A-League in Australia is a joke. The league continues to make a mockery of the Australian public. I know what your thinking, “thats a bit harsh”. But even with my diplomatic hat on, the A league is a disgrace. The owners of the league are so infatuated with drawing crowds that it spends millions of dollars on marketing and advertising only to provide a boring and sometimes stale affair. Spend that kind of money on International coaches, training academies, youth facilities and provide a product that we as Australians will be proud to take ownership of.

You can put glitter on shit but it still stinks,

This cliche was used to describe the A-League. Is the source or the person validated to make such a comment. He is a journalist in the UK that has been writting about soccer for 40 years. I think he is over qualified if you ask me.

Australia is a country where scoring is key (AFL). Athletes, speed, action and goals is a must, but soccer does not make the grade. What people don’t realize is that soccer is all of that, if not more. The real supporters who understand the game and love the game have been weeded out. The ethnic filter has removed any chance of the world game developing in Australia.

The average Australian who only supports AFL or Rugby is too dumb to understand and comprehend the beauty of soccer. Soccer is the ultimate chess match, not some testosterone fuelled kamikaze event that relies on strength and mindless tactics that make even the Homo-erectus cavemen look like geniuses.

Being a dedicated follower of a soccer team involves alot of emotional and financial sacrifice. With the introduction of the A-League, it can also mean sacrificing your civil liberties.

To FFA Chairman Frank Lowry and FFA Chief Executive Ben Buckley, wake the #$%^ up. Model the competition on the Premier League, Serie A, La Liga, Bundesliga and the list can go on. If your going to hype up the league, make sure the product fits the advertising. Top notch European coaches would love to come and live in Australia. We have one of the best countries in the world. But for some reason all the good coaches are going to Asia for less money. Why? Could it be politics? The likes of John Kosmina and Frank Farina have been milking this gravy train since the NSL days. Invest in coaches and produce home grown talent. Make the A-League something that every child in Australia will strive for, but will also have the opportunity to participate in.

Off the top of my head I could select a team from the VSF that would easily compete against any team in the A-league. It would be interesting if Soccer Australia announced a cup tie involving all the clubs in Australia. But it will never run the risk of exposing itself to the public as a business. A business that is based purely on crowds and not the quality of soccer.

Imagine this for a minute, Wellington or Newcastle travelling to Bob Jane, Olympic Village, Connor Reserve and to Sunshine (Melbourne Knights) for a game. The crowd alone would beat these teams. These teams would crumble because they have never experienced the passion and the atmosphere of a true supporter. Not some corporate manufactured support base that I see in today’s soccer. Stop running soccer as a business and bring back the passion. Invest in the quality of Soccer and forget about the marketing till you have a product worth selling.

Will the A-league be responsible for the death of Soccer in Australia?

Never mind, at least it will be glamorous and well publicised.