Well I don't mind the concept but don't think Unite Round does the league any good. Stadiums basically empty. Disappointing Macarthur crowd too, they are from Sydney after all.
Think someone was saying it’s a makeup for the finals week in NSW thing crashing and burning.
Got a few folk to Sydney! As you say, no one from MacArthur…are their owners happy just burning money? Or waiting for another WC or miracle or something?
Well I don't mind the concept but don't think Unite Round does the league any good. Stadiums basically empty. Disappointing Macarthur crowd too, they are from Sydney after all.
Some entertaining games though.
It does the threadbare APL coffers a major good.
Through you could agrue the coffers are basically naked because of Townsend & co (Keepup debacle), the same guy who from memory tried to sign the GF over to the NSW Govt, hence the Unite Round.
Hopefully the kiwi resurgence will shake a few Aussie billionaires with a competitive streak out of the woodwork and embarrass them into firing up either an existing club or one of the new entrants.
Gotta be a Hunter Valley or Adelaide recreational wine label boss to complete the informal owners wine derby league?
Well I don't mind the concept but don't think Unite Round does the league any good. Stadiums basically empty. Disappointing Macarthur crowd too, they are from Sydney after all.
Some entertaining games though.
It does the threadbare APL coffers a major good.
Through you could agrue the coffers are basically naked because of Townsend & co (Keepup debacle), the same guy who from memory tried to sign the GF over to the NSW Govt, hence the Unite Round.
I think KeepUp was a reasonable shot to take, but was dicey even before the pandemic. FFA saddling the league with two teams with low engagement maybe worse though. And I think a lot of clubs were in debt after the pandemic and up for the NSW thing!
Aussie side of things definitely in need of a reboot. I’d start with the Big Blue, though the original Sydney derby is kicking too. Uffie’s doing a great job with the team. Get the fans back across the league.
WSW playing great football without a bunker mentality and kicking people as default. They got Kraev, of course they are!
I feel like it is slowly happening. Clubs are focusing on the basics, academies and that’s creating fans. They take local players and local people come to watch.
Hopefully then we’ve got a product and we can consolidate and up the broadcast deal.
A strongly engaged fan base is better than fleeting TV numbers that bounce around for advertisers I believe. Or I’ve kind of been told.
There’s no reason Auckland shouldn’t keep up good numbers for well into the foreseeable future. Gives the league something to hunt down.
The lack of Victory fans at the Unite Round was a big concern. 1:30pm kick off, you could fly in and fly out for the match yet there wasn't all that many. They used to be the biggest club in the competition but are a shadow of themselves.
Pearl Jam might have spiked the flight prices but it didn't stop Nix fans flying in from Melbourne.
Victory and WSW need to try and re-engage their lapsed fans. That would give the league a huge shot in the arm.
The lack of Victory fans at the Unite Round was a big concern. 1:30pm kick off, you could fly in and fly out for the match yet there wasn't all that many. They used to be the biggest club in the competition but are a shadow of themselves.
Pearl Jam might have spiked the flight prices but it didn't stop Nix fans flying in from Melbourne.
Victory and WSW need to try and re-engage their lapsed fans. That would give the league a huge shot in the arm.
Given how strongly sections of the VUC fanbase protested against APL's initial decision to take the GF to NSW - the inglorious crowd invasion for the Melbourne derby - they probably ain't big fans of the Unite Round.
I haven't seen a WSW game this season, but it does seem the RBB fan numbers are up a bit. Sounds like they are happy Stajčić is in charge, and Marko is gone.
Both clubs fan bases not happy about the police and Football Australia/APL cracking down on fan misbehaviour in recent years. That's definitely affected their hardcore support.
I imagine the lack of trophies also impacts whether or not people turn up or not. Sydney and Melbourne are pretty saturated from stuff like the AFL, NRL, NBL, BBL, and so on. There's a lot for them to compete with, and people can always just rock up at games with thousands if not tens of thousands more people for a bigger atmosphere and more trophies.
VUC fans for sure not only expect their team to win trophies, but also to win with style. And of late they have been struggling to do either, not forgetting they have had to cut player salary spending after some big financial losses.
Jets without a single Visa player in their match squad. Are they that low budget?
Aus/Kiwis Ingham and Bayliss both start
They only have one visa, Wellissol. Probably a combination of wanting to develop young players & not having that much cash spare.
I've said it plenty of times before, they could gamble on Ryan Feutz & Raphael Lea'i to see if they could step up. Doubt they would want anymore than the minimum wage.
