Ray Gatt tweet - 'Timing of FFA board decision is staggering. 3 weeks into new season that has hardly gone off with a bang. Poor TV ratings, crouds stagnant.'
Prompted some interesting responses:
' FFA vision appears to be a 10 team league with five from NSW and five from Victoria.'
' We don't need this now. More to worry about surely...TV ratings for a start'
' The arbitrary nature of the FFA axe is very unsettling, it's no wonder crouds are a mess, fans don't know if their teams will be in. '
Yeah - AFC politics is unhelpful, but FFA clearly see creating more derby opportunities in Sydney and Melbourne as their way out of a minor crisis with dwindling crouds & TV ratings outside the Big Three.
However nothing is more sure that axing the Phoenix will make every non Sydney/Melbourne football owner(s) shudder, and it will do nothing to build up crouds again with those clubs either.
The Phoenix are still recovering from the Terry S ownership blow, as many fans lost confidence in the club.
If FFA want to return to the NSL days, then good luck to them. I lived over there for the last two years of NSL, and it was flippin horrible and in some cases, just plain animal.