So the A-League has been improving ...

What do you think is the major factor?

Better players?

Better coaching?

Better marquees?

I feel like the Nix from season 1 would have been bottom of the table all year if you'd transported them to this season ...

I'm definitely enjoying watching it more. It's better quality, but still a really tight competition. I think everything has improved a bit, expect maybe the officials.

think the key is organisation. the best sides are the ones with a coach who can implement a strong structure and have the team knowing all their roles.

as the league has goner on, its not always the teams with the best players that win - rather the teams thatare the most organised, tactically and structurally

yeah, but they've always been bad, haven't they?

Think they get worse.  Pretty sure they have directly impacted more results than any other season.

Having said that the leagues unwillingness to take actions on displays like Sydney's at the weekend aren't helping the situation.

And the cock up with Geronimo too....

It's interesting how I keep hearing things like 'the league has moved on' and so forth..

I actually think this season hasn't been that much better than the last one.

One thing I've noticed is that for many different reasons (esp. injury but not only) - many of the league's best players have performed at an underwhelming rate so far and some have been given their marching orders.

Think of the likes of:

-Broich

-Smetlz

-Ifill

-Mehmet (never rated him hugely but he was much better last year)

-Flores (still think he isn't half as good as he was for Adelaide)

The league has lost some quality players and of all the new imports only those have made a significant impact in my view:

- Del Piero

- Aaron Mooy

- Ono

- Ferreira & Carrusca (the latter to a less degree)

The jury is still out on Heskey and Stein.

Anyway, in conclusion I'm not so sure the A-League has improved that dramatically in the last year or two. But I believe it is at a good level now - and is able to obviously attract foreign talent and it should just consolidate and then slowly expand to 12-14 teams.

Good argument

Some of the Australian players have improved. I expected a bit more from Bozanic but this year has just simmered. Ruben Zadkovich and Dario Vidosich have played well and while I don't like Ryan 'Don't call me David Bowie' Griffiths, even he seems to be playing ok. Archie has kinda reinvented himself a little. Pedi Bojic is not being a complete headcase. Its interesting seeing a similar cast of characters at the Roar with a different coach and tanking it which only grows Ange's legend (and I was sure he was heading for the ass at the start of the season)

I think if anything, it does highlight the recruitment of imports because no one is really raving about the ones outside of the usual's. Get 3-4 class imports and that will really change the way your team shapes up. When I think about the Phoenix, we've got a dud in Totori, a squad man in Smith who is a bitsa player, Sanchez is hot and cold but doesn't make others around him better, Ifill is a good footballer and makes others better but he is not fit and aging/injured and then Stein whom is quality but can't get a run or used correctly.

I think in this league, to get somewhere up the ladder, the recruitment of imports is paramount and in a lot of respects, that's the key to improvement. The league is healthy in respect of settled franchises I guess (save Newcastle but I think there is more smoke than fire in that) but then it would not be a sports league without 1 idiot owner who can't run a team to save himself.

Match officials are terrible and I mentioned this a few weeks ago. When the experienced ones are used, there are generally less cock ups but it seems this year is the year of the rookie and they seem to be getting too many shots at fucking it up.

Generally, I think other games are a better watch that the Phoenix ones but thats just my opinion.

me too, unfortunately.