oh joy another Sydney and Melbourne team, cos their market is so under represented.
A-league Expansion - Derbies
Some media still can't help themselves. Could only be Fox Sport.
- Is this not true though? - besides from Rob Morrison indicating things should be easier now there
ismaybe an independent A-League, there has been nothing to indicate anything else has changed
Which is only three months away. And hopefully by then we've had some more convincing wins, are sitting mid table or higher, and crowds are flocking on the back of our improved performances.
All I got from that press conference is - we're doomed
All I got from that press conference is - we're doomed
Rob Morrison has suggested the previous roadblocks (metrics,etc) are no longer an issue. I thinks he's been pretty close to the action and I trust he knows what's happening and what the new management structure will mean for the Nix. Or am I just being overly optimistic?
Would they really be dumb enough to drop a kiwi team given the arrangement Australia made to FIFA and the loss of a market of 4 million people? I can also see a team in Melbourne folding in the not too distant future.
Really gutted for Canberra. In the MLS, a very similar competition, NY and LA only have a couple of teams each, even though both cities are massive and have football mad populations. The MLS is smart enough to spread their teams around and grow the game.
Would they really be dumb enough to drop a kiwi team given the arrangement Australia made to FIFA and the loss of a market of 4 million people? I can also see a team in Melbourne folding in the not too distant future.
Really gutted for Canberra. In the MLS, a very similar competition, NY and LA only have a couple of teams each, even though both cities are massive and have football mad populations. The MLS is smart enough to spread their teams around and grow the game.
Yeah the first derbies are going to be massive, the next few less so. Outside of derbies the attendance of all the Sydney and Melbourne teams (except the Victory) will suffer as they cannibalise the very limited support that pro football has in the large Australian cities. You get the feeling the FFA looks at the NRL in Sydney and AFL in Melbourne and thinks 'if they can do it why can't we' - but they forget that those competitions are the absolute pinnacle of their respective sports and the A-League is nowhere close to this.
Living in Melbourne; the Melbourne bid makes less and less sense the more I think about it. The stadium, when built, will be, what, 30 mins from the station? The public transport out that way is appalling. To make it worse, they're playing out of bloody Geelong for 3 years; somewhere that is known to get behind Geelong sporting teams, but will not back a 'Western Melbourne' team at all.
The Team 11 bid made far more sense. The South-East is fast expanding, and there is a large migrant population who come from football-first countries.
Anyway, in a year I probably won't care as we get unceremoniously turfed for Canberra. Everything in that presser pointed towards that.
Living in Melbourne; the Melbourne bid makes less and less sense the more I think about it. The stadium, when built, will be, what, 30 mins from the station? The public transport out that way is appalling. To make it worse, they're playing out of bloody Geelong for 3 years; somewhere that is known to get behind Geelong sporting teams, but will not back a 'Western Melbourne' team at all.
The Team 11 bid made far more sense. The South-East is fast expanding, and there is a large migrant population who come from football-first countries.
Anyway, in a year I probably won't care as we get unceremoniously turfed for Canberra. Everything in that presser pointed towards that.
So what you are saying is that you are a Nix supporter but not a football one.
Until the new board happens we are bound to the metrics we agreed to... nothing has changed. All they have done is repeat what was already stated.
When the new board is established we will then get a chance to renegotiate our participation in the league in a more favourable environment.
Living in Melbourne; the Melbourne bid makes less and less sense the more I think about it. The stadium, when built, will be, what, 30 mins from the station? The public transport out that way is appalling. To make it worse, they're playing out of bloody Geelong for 3 years; somewhere that is known to get behind Geelong sporting teams, but will not back a 'Western Melbourne' team at all.
The Team 11 bid made far more sense. The South-East is fast expanding, and there is a large migrant population who come from football-first countries.
Anyway, in a year I probably won't care as we get unceremoniously turfed for Canberra. Everything in that presser pointed towards that.
Lived in Melbourne for a few years, but away for too long to compare the merits of West Melbourne verus Team 11.
What I do remember about that Western Melbourne area (Laverton esp), is a large boring suburban swathe, without any professional sports teams locally to support. Maybe a football team will be popular just because it brings a bit of excitement/something nearby to attend on a weekend night. However playing out of Geelong for a few years (30-60 mins train from Western Melbourne??) does seem a bit odd.
Re more Sydney & Melb teams, people need to understand that these cities (based on current stats) are forecast to have their popns grow to around 7-9 million people over the next thirty years. That's about 20-30 times the size of Wellington!!
And a lot of that popn growth will be immigration from countries, where football is the number one sport.
To me the mistake with A League expansion in Victoria was bringing in Melbourne Heart (City), with no existing fan base. That should have been a long established club with an identity like South Melbourne.
Similar to how when the AFL went nationwide they initially bought in new "franchise" teams from WA & SA (West Coast Eagles & Adelaide Crows), aka Melbourne Victory. Then the AFL cleverly used long established local state Aussie rule teams (with long histories & existing fan bases), Port Adelaide (SA) & Freemantle (WA), as the basis of new AFL teams as they expanded their league later on.
The two AFL derbies (Crows v Port & Eagles v Freemantle) are now both huge in those states. The four sets of fans pretty rabid for their teams (sometimes too rabid).
"But Wellington Phoenix's future is now in serious doubt, with the real possibility it is about to lose its licence when it comes up for renewal next year.
Chief Executive David Gallop admitted the topic came up in the board meeting that decided the current expansion plans but Nikou said it would be disrespectful to go into more detail.
But letting Phoenix's licence go unrenewed opens the door for Canberra to pick up Phoenix's spot the following season to join at the same time as South-West Sydney to make the A-League a 12 team competition.
"Phoenix are part of the A-League and they know what they have to do to be in the A-League," warned Nikou."
Sydney C
Melbourne C
Be interesting to see what the crowds are like for these teams. Would below 10,000 be considered a failure?
"But Wellington Phoenix's future is now in serious doubt, with the real possibility it is about to lose its licence when it comes up for renewal next year.
Chief Executive David Gallop admitted the topic came up in the board meeting that decided the current expansion plans but Nikou said it would be disrespectful to go into more detail.
But letting Phoenix's licence go unrenewed opens the door for Canberra to pick up Phoenix's spot the following season to join at the same time as South-West Sydney to make the A-League a 12 team competition.
"Phoenix are part of the A-League and they know what they have to do to be in the A-League," warned Nikou."
Wasn't Nikou one of Lowy's buddies and part of the old guard? Probably bringing some of that thinking to the new job. Frankly, the sooner the new HAL independent management group takes over (March?) the sooner we can get away from bunnies like Nikou. And as for Gallop...
And FWIW, might be time for Piney to have another on-air chat with Rob to see if he thinks anything has changed since he last assured us of a brighter future.
City can't get 10,000 in Melbourne, so it will be interesting to see whether the geographic approach in Melbourne works the way it did for the Wanderers in Sydney. I'd have thought that SE Melbourne would have been a better bet, it's an area that's growing a lot, and has a lot of ethnic and migrant communities that would likely support a football team there.
"But Wellington Phoenix's future is now in serious doubt, with the real possibility it is about to lose its licence when it comes up for renewal next year.
Chief Executive David Gallop admitted the topic came up in the board meeting that decided the current expansion plans but Nikou said it would be disrespectful to go into more detail.
But letting Phoenix's licence go unrenewed opens the door for Canberra to pick up Phoenix's spot the following season to join at the same time as South-West Sydney to make the A-League a 12 team competition.
"Phoenix are part of the A-League and they know what they have to do to be in the A-League," warned Nikou."
Wasn't Nikou one of Lowy's buddies and part of the old guard? Probably bringing some of that thinking to the new job. Frankly, the sooner the new HAL independent management group takes over (March?) the sooner we can get away from bunnies like Nikou. And as for Gallop...
And FWIW, might be time for Piney to have another on-air chat with Rob to see if he thinks anything has changed since he last assured us of a brighter future.
Nikou's been with FFV and also was involved with Melbourne Victory in the early years. He's only been on the FFA Board for the last 2-3 years, not sure that I'd class him as part of the 'old guard'. If he does have some personal anti-Nix bias I'd guess he may be bringing it from FFV where there has been a selection of 'anti-NZ participation in the A-league' voices over the years.
City can't get 10,000 in Melbourne, so it will be interesting to see whether the geographic approach in Melbourne works the way it did for the Wanderers in Sydney. I'd have thought that SE Melbourne would have been a better bet, it's an area that's growing a lot, and has a lot of ethnic and migrant communities that would likely support a football team there.
But they're part of the CFG. $$$. Which means they're free to do as they please.
City can't get 10,000 in Melbourne, so it will be interesting to see whether the geographic approach in Melbourne works the way it did for the Wanderers in Sydney. I'd have thought that SE Melbourne would have been a better bet, it's an area that's growing a lot, and has a lot of ethnic and migrant communities that would likely support a football team there.
Western Melbourne’s also growing a lot, plus you effectively have a 2nd smaller city of 180,000 an hour down the road at Geelong. I imagine after they’ve played their first few seasons at Kardinia Park they will look drag a few thousand Geelong locals, regularly back to their shiny new stadium for home games.
May not mean much but Melbourne’s 2nd airport (Avalon - domestic flights only?) is about half way between Western Melb and Geelong.
City can't get 10,000 in Melbourne, so it will be interesting to see whether the geographic approach in Melbourne works the way it did for the Wanderers in Sydney. I'd have thought that SE Melbourne would have been a better bet, it's an area that's growing a lot, and has a lot of ethnic and migrant communities that would likely support a football team there.
Put simply: it won't. They are playing out of Geelong, but aren't called Geelong, and only on a temporary basis - this will not go down well with locals.
Living in Melbourne; the Melbourne bid makes less and less sense the more I think about it. The stadium, when built, will be, what, 30 mins from the station? The public transport out that way is appalling. To make it worse, they're playing out of bloody Geelong for 3 years; somewhere that is known to get behind Geelong sporting teams, but will not back a 'Western Melbourne' team at all.
The Team 11 bid made far more sense. The South-East is fast expanding, and there is a large migrant population who come from football-first countries.
Anyway, in a year I probably won't care as we get unceremoniously turfed for Canberra. Everything in that presser pointed towards that.
So what you are saying is that you are a Nix supporter but not a football one.
Fudge off.
I go to most Victory games, but it's not the same thing as supporting a team from your home town.
Kiwi conundrum
Sticking with expansion, and many observers on this side of the ditch are assuming Wellington Phoenix will be punted from the A-League when their licence expires at the end of next season and replaced by another expansion team.
Welnix, the club's ownership group, is pinning their hopes of survival on the A-League's pending split away from FFA control. In the event they are granted a stay of execution, the Hairdryer understands they are exploring the possibility of playing more games at the Hutt Recreation Ground.
https://amp.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/brisbane-city-...
you wot
Kiwi conundrum
Sticking with expansion, and many observers on this side of the ditch are assuming Wellington Phoenix will be punted from the A-League when their licence expires at the end of next season and replaced by another expansion team.
Welnix, the club's ownership group, is pinning their hopes of survival on the A-League's pending split away from FFA control. In the event they are granted a stay of execution, the Hairdryer understands they are exploring the possibility of playing more games at the Hutt Recreation Ground.
https://amp.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/brisbane-city-...
you wot
From same article above...
'Nikou and Gallop looked at each other knowingly when they were asked about Wellington's future on Thursday, admitting it was raised during board deliberations on expansion. "Ultimately, it's a contract between FFA and Wellington. They know what they need to do to stay in the game," Nikou said.'
'Knowingly'...?
And if it's currently a contract between FFA and Wgton, that will only continue till the new independent A-League is in place then it's a new ball game with whatever rules the new organisation wants to draw up. With hopefully all teams being treated equally, not treating the Nix like lepers.
"But Wellington Phoenix's future is now in serious doubt, with the real possibility it is about to lose its licence when it comes up for renewal next year.
Chief Executive David Gallop admitted the topic came up in the board meeting that decided the current expansion plans but Nikou said it would be disrespectful to go into more detail.
But letting Phoenix's licence go unrenewed opens the door for Canberra to pick up Phoenix's spot the following season to join at the same time as South-West Sydney to make the A-League a 12 team competition.
"Phoenix are part of the A-League and they know what they have to do to be in the A-League," warned Nikou."
But if you are to bring in a 2nd division with pro/rel, why would you kick the Phoenix out? It makes no sense.
If sides like the Nix & Central Coast fail on the field they will just drop down to the A2 league. Let the laws of 'natural selection' take over.
The Nix have been proven to be a stable outfit off the field, so why get rid of them?
If you have a 2nd division with say then a total of 24 A League sides (12 in each division), there is of course an increased risk of more failures (Gold Coast, NQ Fury, NZ Knights) popping up. So again why get rid of an established stable outfit, admittedly with a smaller fan base than most A League sides.
Plenty of top European leagues, have sides with smaller fan bases battling away, whilst in the league below bigger clubs struggle to get promoted. Bournemouth meet Leeds.
And yes would be good for Rob Morrison or David Dome to have another fireside radio chat to Piney. Get on the front foot, to stop the anxiety levels rising again. The casual fan will definitely be deterred from coming to Westpac, no matter how the season if going, if the rumour mill is that the Nix licence is doomed.
Kiwi conundrum
Sticking with expansion, and many observers on this side of the ditch are assuming Wellington Phoenix will be punted from the A-League when their licence expires at the end of next season and replaced by another expansion team.
Welnix, the club's ownership group, is pinning their hopes of survival on the A-League's pending split away from FFA control. In the event they are granted a stay of execution, the Hairdryer understands they are exploring the possibility of playing more games at the Hutt Recreation Ground.
https://amp.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/brisbane-city-...
you wot
From same article above...
'Nikou and Gallop looked at each other knowingly when they were asked about Wellington's future on Thursday, admitting it was raised during board deliberations on expansion. "Ultimately, it's a contract between FFA and Wellington. They know what they need to do to stay in the game," Nikou said.'
'Knowingly'...?
And if it's currently a contract between FFA and Wgton, that will only continue till the new independent A-League is in place then it's a new ball game with whatever rules the new organisation wants to draw up. With hopefully all teams being treated equally, not treating the Nix like lepers.
That is assuming that FFA will no longer hold any power over governance matters which I believe is a frivolous hope at this point.
"But Wellington Phoenix's future is now in serious doubt, with the real possibility it is about to lose its licence when it comes up for renewal next year.
Chief Executive David Gallop admitted the topic came up in the board meeting that decided the current expansion plans but Nikou said it would be disrespectful to go into more detail.
But letting Phoenix's licence go unrenewed opens the door for Canberra to pick up Phoenix's spot the following season to join at the same time as South-West Sydney to make the A-League a 12 team competition.
"Phoenix are part of the A-League and they know what they have to do to be in the A-League," warned Nikou."
But if you are to bring in a 2nd division with pro/rel, why would you kick the Phoenix out? It makes no sense.
If sides like the Nix & Central Coast fail on the field they will just drop down to the A2 league. Let the laws of 'natural selection' take over.
The Nix have been proven to be a stable outfit off the field, so why get rid of them?
If you have a 2nd division with say then a total of 24 A League sides (12 in each division), there is of course an increased risk of more failures (Gold Coast, NQ Fury, NZ Knights) popping up. So again why get rid of an established stable outfit, admittedly with a smaller fan base than most A League sides.
Plenty of top European leagues, have sides with smaller fan bases battling away, whilst in the league below bigger clubs struggle to get promoted. Bournemouth meet Leeds.
And yes would be good for Rob Morrison or David Dome to have another fireside radio chat to Piney. Get on the front foot, to stop the anxiety levels rising again. The casual fan will definitely be deterred from coming to Westpac, no matter how the season if going, if the rumour mill is that the Nix licence is doomed.
There are lots of reasons why they want to get rid of us -
Seen as taking the place of a potential Aussie team and utilising Fox Sports money they could use for Canberra and the like
Poor atmosphere at games, cavernous stadium, small crowds, small tv numbers
Don't get much extra from Sky etc. to justify it
Cause headaches with AFC
I don't think it does us any favours to stick our fingers in our ears and ignore the problems we have.
For sure the Phoenix, and it's fans can't ignore that the metrics have to improve.
However equally it would be naive of the FFA, if they think that say expanding to 24-30 A League teams over 2 divisions, doesn't mean any of the new clubs would be immune to failure aka GC, Fury or Knights. Having clubs that fail after a few seasons is a very bad look for football overall.
So again why get rid of a fairly stable club?
If the FFA don't want the Nix in the A1 League, just pay off some refs to make sure they get relegated down the lower profile A2 League which will probably be full of teams with smallish crowds, limited TV pulling power etc!!
It would help if Sky Sports would pay a bit more for the TV rights they get. $250k they get A-League/W-League/ACL/FFA Cup what a deal.
Yeah but Sky and the Boofheads would feel threatened if the Nix starterted to perform and warrent a bigger fee paid.
Despite months of planning, expanded A-League schedule likely to mimic an AFL-style uneven draw
The accession of one extra team next season means the A-League faces the prospect of an AFL-style draw, with teams playing each other an unequal number of times in 2019-20.
Football Federation Australia admitted that a variety of options are on the table when it builds next year’s fixture list to incorporate the Western Melbourne consortium granted entry for next season.
Having each team play each other home and away, including a bye for one team each round, would create a season of just 22 rounds plus finals, while A-League bosses have already ruled out keeping to the current model of three encounters each as too unwieldy with 11 teams.
The answer is likely to lie somewhere in between, with A-League boss Greg O’Rourke admitting there is no firm idea yet of what shape the season will take, despite the months of work undertaken on expansion.
The options under consideration are 23, 25, 27, 29 and 31 rounds — though to complicate matters, Fox Sports has already indicated it is unwilling to agree to an increase of the current total of 140 games. The number of games will change again the season after when Macarthur South West United enter the competition.
“From a draw point of view there's now five options (for 2019-20),” said O’Rourke. “The first thing is obviously there'll be a bye. So there'll still be the same amount of matches each weekend which will be the five A-League matches with the 11th team having the bye.
“Do we just start with a full home-and-away plus finals series which effectively is around 22 rounds? Or do we go all the way up? One of the advantages of this staged approach is that now we can enter full consultation about that sixth match around the timeslot and day etc with the existing A-League clubs, the PFA and also our board.”
The prospect of some teams playing each other twice and other — more glamorous — fixtures being played a third time is likely to sit uneasily with many football fans, but O’Rourke defended what he said was a necessary “transitional step” on the way to a 14-team competition with a normal home and away season.
"It's not a perfect outcome by any means, but if you move to ultimately one of our goals which is to go to 14 teams, then you have a much more balanced, full home-and-away potential,” O’Rourke said.
“It's not unique (to have an unbalanced draw) and there are many sports around the world including some here in Australia which do not have full home-and-away.
“We believe it's a transitional step so we'll go home and away plus some other metric to make up what we decided is the end of the round as we transition ultimately hopefully to a 14-team competition.”
The thought of an uneven draw is rather unappealing & goes against the grain of football competitions.
So FFA wanted teams from Sydney and Melbourne but don't want extra games.
So FFA wanted teams from Sydney and Melbourne but don't want extra games.
Hopefully they do home & away and then split the table for a final round of games, so you don't get a team winning cuz they played the weaker sides more than the second placed side.
We need Wellington
After a week in which Football Federation Australia announced the A-League’s two newest teams, Wellington Phoenix reminded everyone just why they deserve to stay.
The Kiwi club are in danger of losing their place in the competition at the end of next season should they fail to fulfil certain expectations set in 2016.
To some, their downfall is inevitable, but perhaps their efforts for the 2018-19 campaign should warrant further consideration.
Last season’s ninth-placed finish forced the club to make several changes in the off-season, including the appointment of new coach Mark Rudan as well as the signing of star imports Steven Taylor and Mandi.
Long-neglected by A-League clubs in favour of foreign and familiar, Rudan’s arrival represented the Phoenix’s faith in the NPL level and the caliber of its coaches.
And with the Nix sixth through eight games this season – fresh from Saturday’s 2-0 win over Central Coast Mariners – a return to the finals could woo FFA officials to revise preconceived plans for a license revoke.
To the uninitiated, Wellington’s presence in the A-League is not uncommon in world football, with Wales’ Cardiff and Swansea City both involved in the English Football Leagues for identical reasons.In fact, Wellington’s presence, in the eyes of Melbourne Victory’s Kosta Barbarouses, presents “opportunities” to players struggling to crack the A-League’s glass ceiling.
Simply put: the A-League cannot afford to continue cutting teams as soon as one arises, particularly in Melbourne and Sydney.
Unlike Gold Coast and North Queensland, the Nix have been involved in Australian football for 12 years and, aside from an A-League Championship, are no different to Saturday’s fellow crowd-stricken opponents.
There appears to be a change brewing across the Tasman and it’s imperative the FFA sit up and take notice of it, otherwise their “staggered” approach to expansion will remain stagnate.
Sauce
We need Wellington
After a week in which Football Federation Australia announced the A-League’s two newest teams, Wellington Phoenix reminded everyone just why they deserve to stay.
The Kiwi club are in danger of losing their place in the competition at the end of next season should they fail to fulfil certain expectations set in 2016.
To some, their downfall is inevitable, but perhaps their efforts for the 2018-19 campaign should warrant further consideration.
Last season’s ninth-placed finish forced the club to make several changes in the off-season, including the appointment of new coach Mark Rudan as well as the signing of star imports Steven Taylor and Mandi.
Long-neglected by A-League clubs in favour of foreign and familiar, Rudan’s arrival represented the Phoenix’s faith in the NPL level and the caliber of its coaches.
And with the Nix sixth through eight games this season – fresh from Saturday’s 2-0 win over Central Coast Mariners – a return to the finals could woo FFA officials to revise preconceived plans for a license revoke.
To the uninitiated, Wellington’s presence in the A-League is not uncommon in world football, with Wales’ Cardiff and Swansea City both involved in the English Football Leagues for identical reasons.
In fact, Wellington’s presence, in the eyes of Melbourne Victory’s Kosta Barbarouses, presents “opportunities” to players struggling to crack the A-League’s glass ceiling.
Simply put: the A-League cannot afford to continue cutting teams as soon as one arises, particularly in Melbourne and Sydney.
Unlike Gold Coast and North Queensland, the Nix have been involved in Australian football for 12 years and, aside from an A-League Championship, are no different to Saturday’s fellow crowd-stricken opponents.
There appears to be a change brewing across the Tasman and it’s imperative the FFA sit up and take notice of it, otherwise their “staggered” approach to expansion will remain stagnate.
More wins will lead to improved media buzz (like this article) which will lead to bigger crowds and more excitement around us as a competitive football team -- which will make it much harder for anyone to dump us out of the A-League. Go you good Nix!
So about as much of a cluster fudge as expected then
Just shows you the value of a few wins and decent performances from a well coached team. You can even detect the first faint stirrings of a change of heart from the Fox Sports pundits, eg, Kosmina making the point that if the Nix are being forced to prove their viability why aren't the Mariners?
Not that their opinions are going to matter ultimately but it helps to have as much goodwill as possible.
We took a look at some of the #metrics behind the #ALeagueexpansion decision. (Long read). https://t.co/N0FfFA9cDS pic.twitter.com/Aensem9QnE
— Football Today (@FTdotnews) December 19, 2018
We took a look at some of the #metrics behind the #ALeagueexpansion decision. (Long read). https://t.co/N0FfFA9cDS pic.twitter.com/Aensem9QnE
— Football Today (@FTdotnews) December 19, 2018
We need Wellington
After a week in which Football Federation Australia announced the A-League’s two newest teams, Wellington Phoenix reminded everyone just why they deserve to stay.
The Kiwi club are in danger of losing their place in the competition at the end of next season should they fail to fulfil certain expectations set in 2016.
To some, their downfall is inevitable, but perhaps their efforts for the 2018-19 campaign should warrant further consideration.
Last season’s ninth-placed finish forced the club to make several changes in the off-season, including the appointment of new coach Mark Rudan as well as the signing of star imports Steven Taylor and Mandi.
Long-neglected by A-League clubs in favour of foreign and familiar, Rudan’s arrival represented the Phoenix’s faith in the NPL level and the caliber of its coaches.
And with the Nix sixth through eight games this season – fresh from Saturday’s 2-0 win over Central Coast Mariners – a return to the finals could woo FFA officials to revise preconceived plans for a license revoke.
To the uninitiated, Wellington’s presence in the A-League is not uncommon in world football, with Wales’ Cardiff and Swansea City both involved in the English Football Leagues for identical reasons.
In fact, Wellington’s presence, in the eyes of Melbourne Victory’s Kosta Barbarouses, presents “opportunities” to players struggling to crack the A-League’s glass ceiling.
Simply put: the A-League cannot afford to continue cutting teams as soon as one arises, particularly in Melbourne and Sydney.
Unlike Gold Coast and North Queensland, the Nix have been involved in Australian football for 12 years and, aside from an A-League Championship, are no different to Saturday’s fellow crowd-stricken opponents.
There appears to be a change brewing across the Tasman and it’s imperative the FFA sit up and take notice of it, otherwise their “staggered” approach to expansion will remain stagnate.
More wins will lead to improved media buzz (like this article) which will lead to bigger crowds and more excitement around us as a competitive football team -- which will make it much harder for anyone to dump us out of the A-League. Go you good Nix!
Absolutely, this has been obvious for ages. We have been a crap team only better than another very crap team over the past 5 seasons.