WPM R20 vs Sydney FC| Sun 12th Mar | 3:00pm | Eden Park/Morningside Tavern

MetalLegNZ

Poor crowd - but I think the game got lost in the noise of the Breakers and super Rugby starting up again recently. 

Really need some good media coverage to get crowds in - hopefull we get a few wins on the trot and come the next Auckland game we are pushing for home finals to boost numbers.

Poor crowd relative to other games up there in the past sure, but still the best crowd of the round by some margin.

Nix stay winning.

Fenix

Bananas

The blue on blue was shark but being amgry at the Nix seems odd.

It wasn't unwatchable as they were very distinct versions of blue bit I woulda thought Sydney would have to wear an away strip.

As for greed with advertising and stuff, like the owners lose money hand over fist on the club.  I'd say greedy is the opposite take to the truth.

Ok , maybe not "greed", but the event/spectacle is being ruined by decisions based on finance.  If thats professionalism, then you can keep it, I will just watch my local club. I am a founder member, but im very close to giving it up

Are you really considering stopping being a season ticket holder because of a blue shirt?

I mean I get the sentiment of liking yellow and black more, I prefer it to, but that seems like an extreme reaction to a colour.

Not criticising if that's your jam, I just don't understand such an extreme reaction to a shirt colour.

RR

Btw, anyone know why transport wasn't free for this game? Got waived thru on the train to the game but had to tap on to leave Britomart.

Can you please not post things like this? Fans like Fenix are already close to taking their support elsewhere and this could be the sort of controversial financial news that pushes them over the edge.

Monto

MetalLegNZ

Poor crowd - but I think the game got lost in the noise of the Breakers and super Rugby starting up again recently. 

Really need some good media coverage to get crowds in - hopefull we get a few wins on the trot and come the next Auckland game we are pushing for home finals to boost numbers.

Poor crowd relative to other games up there in the past sure, but still the best crowd of the round by some margin.

Nix stay winning.

Agree, think the turnout got way too much hate, people have to realise that 10.4k looks bloody small in a giant stadium like Eden Park. 

Fenix

Bananas

The blue on blue was shark but being amgry at the Nix seems odd.

It wasn't unwatchable as they were very distinct versions of blue bit I woulda thought Sydney would have to wear an away strip.

As for greed with advertising and stuff, like the owners lose money hand over fist on the club.  I'd say greedy is the opposite take to the truth.

Ok , maybe not "greed", but the event/spectacle is being ruined by decisions based on finance.  If thats professionalism, then you can keep it, I will just watch my local club. I am a founder member, but im very close to giving it up

You're a foundation member but want to give it up and watch pub football because of the colour of the shirt? Seems a weird hill to die on.

YoungHeartHM

Only 65 minutes more of parking the bus everyone...🙃
We've got this!

Zawada, has been (and I hate to use a Western United player to illustrate my point here) a Prijovic type signing from last season.

We all know how that ended up.

Hopefully Zawada can help lead us to the same promised lands, because he is in superb form. Would absolutely not surprise me to see clubs come in with some hefty offers for his services in our off season.

It's utterly ridiculous that we keep ' parking the bus ' when leading by a goal or two, all you do is let the opposition camp in your half, constantly putting huge pressure on you - it was only through Sydney's incompetent finishing that we didn't lose... far too many of their shots flew over the top of our cross bar or went well wide because they either hurried their shots or lent back too much, instead of getting their body weight over the bloody ball to keep it down.

The Phoenix continue to stuff around at the back, so we're not getting that forward momentum we use to have where we looked really good moving upfield as a unit, involving a lot of short accurate passing with urgency, so made good ground because the opposition had less time to organize their defence... looks like the Phoenix will make the play-offs, but can't see us going any further than that unless we start playing in a far more positive manner overall.

adidasbloke

YoungHeartHM

Only 65 minutes more of parking the bus everyone...🙃
We've got this!

Zawada, has been (and I hate to use a Western United player to illustrate my point here) a Prijovic type signing from last season.

We all know how that ended up.

Hopefully Zawada can help lead us to the same promised lands, because he is in superb form. Would absolutely not surprise me to see clubs come in with some hefty offers for his services in our off season.

It's utterly ridiculous that we keep ' parking the bus ' when leading by a goal or two, all you do is let the opposition camp in your half, constantly putting huge pressure on you - it was only through Sydney's incompetent finishing that we didn't lose... far too many of their shots flew over the top of our cross bar or went well wide because they either hurried their shots or lent back too much, instead of getting their body weight over the bloody ball to keep it down.

The Phoenix continue to stuff around at the back, so we're not getting that forward momentum we use to have where we looked really good moving upfield as a unit, involving a lot of short accurate passing with urgency, so made good ground because the opposition had less time to organize their defence... looks like the Phoenix will make the play-offs, but can't see us going any further than that unless we start playing in a far more positive manner overall.

Yeah we definitely haven't been at our best since Lewis has been injured with moving the ball quickly so hopefully when he's back that'll help the team a lot.

Ryan

Fenix

Bananas

The blue on blue was shark but being amgry at the Nix seems odd.

It wasn't unwatchable as they were very distinct versions of blue bit I woulda thought Sydney would have to wear an away strip.

As for greed with advertising and stuff, like the owners lose money hand over fist on the club.  I'd say greedy is the opposite take to the truth.

Ok , maybe not "greed", but the event/spectacle is being ruined by decisions based on finance.  If thats professionalism, then you can keep it, I will just watch my local club. I am a founder member, but im very close to giving it up

You're a foundation member but want to give it up and watch pub football because of the colour of the shirt? Seems a weird hill to die on.

Fully understand his frustration with the shirts bugs the shark out of me. Get why they do it but it seems at times as if those running the Phoenix just dont get football fans.
There wouldnt be many clubs who would voluntarily give up the wearing of their home shirt at home.Certainily dosnt make me look favorably at either Spark or Oppo for forcing the change on the Phoenix.
Have heard the disappointment firsthand when a family has spent money on the "home"kit   only to find when they attend the game they arnt wearing it.

I know from my somewhat  'neutral' friends that the nix are dire to watch this season even though they are winning games because they snag a goal then shut up shop/play badly most weeks. This probably has a surprising impact on the crowd attendance.

Nommag

I know from my somewhat  'neutral' friends that the nix are dire to watch this season even though they are winning games because they snag a goal then shut up shop/play badly most weeks. This probably has a surprising impact on the crowd attendance.

I doubt that, winning brings in crowds, especially for casuals. If someone who follows the phoenix sparingly sees they're near the top of the table winning games they'd be encouraged to check it out but if they were near the bottom losing games but they were 'unlucky and playing exciting football' i don't think people would bother. I still think amongst a lot of casual fans still look at the Phoenix as a team that isn't that good somewhat like the Warriors. 

Nommag

I know from my somewhat  'neutral' friends that the nix are dire to watch this season even though they are winning games because they snag a goal then shut up shop/play badly most weeks. This probably has a surprising impact on the crowd attendance.

I definitely feel this, the wins feel less like wins when we play like that. It feels almost like you've been cheated out of being entertained and are instead forced to endure the game.

I definitely feel it's something the management need to consider next season because it really does matter to the casual viewer. If us die hards aren't finding it enjoyable then there's no way other will.

Something needs to be sorted because there seems to be an apathy that's spreading across the leagues supporters, it needs to be fun again.

lthomas20

Monto

MetalLegNZ

Poor crowd - but I think the game got lost in the noise of the Breakers and super Rugby starting up again recently. 

Really need some good media coverage to get crowds in - hopefull we get a few wins on the trot and come the next Auckland game we are pushing for home finals to boost numbers.

Poor crowd relative to other games up there in the past sure, but still the best crowd of the round by some margin.

Nix stay winning.

Agree, think the turnout got way too much hate, people have to realise that 10.4k looks bloody small in a giant stadium like Eden Park. 

The Auckland NPC Rugby Team would love a crowd of that size.

Talay has said the team has been working with sports psychiatrists on how they can work with the expectation they have on them by being a top team, and that he doesn't want to shut up shop but he's forced to do it because the team loses control of the game.

Don't think it's intentional and seems like they're trying to sort it out.

2 things:
1. They should not of signed such an agreement, my solution is a sensible one.
2. Give me a break, how much does a strip cost (if at all to the club)

theprof

Napier Phoenix

Probably a petty position to take but there is no excuse for the number of times we don’t wear our stripey. This BS about sponsors is simply that BS, just as simple to change the sponsors name on the front of the shirt to meet any “obligations”. Away strips should be for that purpose and the odd special occasion with a commemorative shirt or something. 

As Domey has said already, to have both sponsors on both kits would mean spending money on four kits rather than two, so twice the cost. 

Monto

Nommag

I know from my somewhat  'neutral' friends that the nix are dire to watch this season even though they are winning games because they snag a goal then shut up shop/play badly most weeks. This probably has a surprising impact on the crowd attendance.

I definitely feel this, the wins feel less like wins when we play like that. It feels almost like you've been cheated out of being entertained and are instead forced to endure the game.

I definitely feel it's something the management need to consider next season because it really does matter to the casual viewer. If us die hards aren't finding it enjoyable then there's no way other will.

Something needs to be sorted because there seems to be an apathy that's spreading across the leagues supporters, it needs to be fun again.

Holy crap, if this is accurate that's some terrible turnouts:

https://www.austadiums.com/sport/comp/a-league/results

This is not a great outlook for the league at all.

Bananas

Monto

Nommag

I know from my somewhat  'neutral' friends that the nix are dire to watch this season even though they are winning games because they snag a goal then shut up shop/play badly most weeks. This probably has a surprising impact on the crowd attendance.

I definitely feel this, the wins feel less like wins when we play like that. It feels almost like you've been cheated out of being entertained and are instead forced to endure the game.

I definitely feel it's something the management need to consider next season because it really does matter to the casual viewer. If us die hards aren't finding it enjoyable then there's no way other will.

Something needs to be sorted because there seems to be an apathy that's spreading across the leagues supporters, it needs to be fun again.

Holy crap, if this is accurate that's some terrible turnouts:

https://www.austadiums.com/sport/comp/a-league/results

This is not a great outlook for the league at all.

You can blame the APL (the governing body behind the A-League) who completely ruined all of Australia's footballing momentum after the World Cup by pissing off the diehards and selling the Grand Final to Sydney. And also lying about the reason why. That's the major reason why there are shark crowds league-wide. Also blame soulless clubs Western United who no one cares about, Brisbane for having toxic owners, and Macarthur for having both.
 
The only team who is consistently getting great crowds is Adelaide, and why wouldn't they show up at the moment? Exciting football, newly upgraded Hindmarsh Stadium (regarded as one of the best rectangular stadiums in Australia) and local youth dominating their side. Let's compare with us for a second:

I really don't think our games are that dire to watch. As mentioned, we need results, and I'll be in full support of getting them anyway we can. At our most fluent, attacking football, we're one of the best teams to watch, but again, it's high risk with our frail nature at the moment, so a narrow victory with a clean sheet is good enough for me, considering we would be SECOND if we hadn't given up all those points. Literally all of you won't care about how we play when it comes to finals.

Stadium-wise: we know the deal. Less money coming in in Welly = selling off home games to other NZ cities (and wearing different kits to include different sponsors) so don't blame the owners for wanting the club to survive. We desperately need our own boutique stadium to stop hemmorhaging money, and we would've had our own stadium years ago, if locals didn't complain. Again, not the club's fault.

Local talent? We're very much on par with Adelaide on that, so nothing else needs to be said.

In closing: We're doing fine by WINNING GAMES. You don't get any style points in football, so deal with it. Up the fudgeing Nix 🖤💛

Crowds were down before the apl decision.

Bananas

Monto

Nommag

I know from my somewhat  'neutral' friends that the nix are dire to watch this season even though they are winning games because they snag a goal then shut up shop/play badly most weeks. This probably has a surprising impact on the crowd attendance.

I definitely feel this, the wins feel less like wins when we play like that. It feels almost like you've been cheated out of being entertained and are instead forced to endure the game.

I definitely feel it's something the management need to consider next season because it really does matter to the casual viewer. If us die hards aren't finding it enjoyable then there's no way other will.

Something needs to be sorted because there seems to be an apathy that's spreading across the leagues supporters, it needs to be fun again.

Holy crap, if this is accurate that's some terrible turnouts:

https://www.austadiums.com/sport/comp/a-league/results

This is not a great outlook for the league at all.

The A-League is no in a healthy place my friend. It need some serious revitalization if it wants to survive the next ten years.

Napier Phoenix

2 things:
1. They should not of signed such an agreement, my solution is a sensible one.
2. Give me a break, how much does a strip cost (if at all to the club)

theprof

Napier Phoenix

Probably a petty position to take but there is no excuse for the number of times we don’t wear our stripey. This BS about sponsors is simply that BS, just as simple to change the sponsors name on the front of the shirt to meet any “obligations”. Away strips should be for that purpose and the odd special occasion with a commemorative shirt or something. 

As Domey has said already, to have both sponsors on both kits would mean spending money on four kits rather than two, so twice the cost. 

Club signed two shirt sponsors which probably meant more money than just one. Why would they spend that additional income on another two sets of kit? That seems wasteful. Both Oppo and Spark would have wanted their brand exposed in NZ as often as possible. The only way you or I can change it would be by stumping up with the cash for next season, get your name on the yellow and black shirt and demand it's worn at every home game.

"You can blame the APL (the governing body behind the A-League) who completely ruined all of Australia's footballing momentum after the World Cup by pissing off the diehards and selling the Grand Final to Sydney."

Remember when everyone was talking about how horrible the old FFA were, and the sooner the A-League was being run by the clubs themselves, the better? LOL and LMAO. Be careful what you wish for.

Well from a nix fans perspective there's no longer a threat of us being kicked out...

WhoStoleMySock

Bananas

Monto

Nommag

I know from my somewhat  'neutral' friends that the nix are dire to watch this season even though they are winning games because they snag a goal then shut up shop/play badly most weeks. This probably has a surprising impact on the crowd attendance.

I definitely feel this, the wins feel less like wins when we play like that. It feels almost like you've been cheated out of being entertained and are instead forced to endure the game.

I definitely feel it's something the management need to consider next season because it really does matter to the casual viewer. If us die hards aren't finding it enjoyable then there's no way other will.

Something needs to be sorted because there seems to be an apathy that's spreading across the leagues supporters, it needs to be fun again.

Holy crap, if this is accurate that's some terrible turnouts:

https://www.austadiums.com/sport/comp/a-league/results

This is not a great outlook for the league at all.

You can blame the APL (the governing body behind the A-League) who completely ruined all of Australia's footballing momentum after the World Cup by pissing off the diehards and selling the Grand Final to Sydney. And also lying about the reason why. That's the major reason why there are shark crowds league-wide. Also blame soulless clubs Western United who no one cares about, Brisbane for having toxic owners, and Macarthur for having both.
 
The only team who is consistently getting great crowds is Adelaide, and why wouldn't they show up at the moment? Exciting football, newly upgraded Hindmarsh Stadium (regarded as one of the best rectangular stadiums in Australia) and local youth dominating their side. Let's compare with us for a second:

I really don't think our games are that dire to watch. As mentioned, we need results, and I'll be in full support of getting them anyway we can. At our most fluent, attacking football, we're one of the best teams to watch, but again, it's high risk with our frail nature at the moment, so a narrow victory with a clean sheet is good enough for me, considering we would be SECOND if we hadn't given up all those points. Literally all of you won't care about how we play when it comes to finals.

Stadium-wise: we know the deal. Less money coming in in Welly = selling off home games to other NZ cities (and wearing different kits to include different sponsors) so don't blame the owners for wanting the club to survive. We desperately need our own boutique stadium to stop hemmorhaging money, and we would've had our own stadium years ago, if locals didn't complain. Again, not the club's fault.

Local talent? We're very much on par with Adelaide on that, so nothing else needs to be said.

In closing: We're doing fine by WINNING GAMES. You don't get any style points in football, so deal with it. Up the fudgeing Nix 🖤💛

The team could also have been a couple places lower if the opposition had taken advantage of the many scoring chances the Phoenix have given up. Relying on the opposition to miss chances is a fairly fraught business and had the teams scored the goals they'd expected to the Phoenix would probably be out of the top six. There is quite a bit of luck that the team is as high as it is. Of course you can argue if something lasts this long it might not just be luck; Zawada at one end and Sail at the other have been integral, but one's leaving next season and I've been burnt too many times to think the other won't leave the season after.

Football - sport in general - is an entertainment business. Generally winning in any sport entails playing well and attacking, which is why winning teams get good crowds, but the second half on Sunday was a bit drab as have games before have been. I had to pay for my brother's ticket, so it cost me $60 all up, which isn't disastrous for us as we live at home, but I can definitely see why others who have more costs would justify the price not being worth the experience. It just didn't have the same feel as that game back in 18/19 where they got 24k with Sarpreet, Krishna and Cacace. Add in the Breakers finals' series match, which got 10k, running almost the same time and the crowd number is not too surprising. I was worried it would be less honestly.

Also I think the local players is a factor and I certainly the don't think we are par with Adelaide in that respect. As of last week, every other A League team had given between 11,048 (CCM - Roux cuts a big chunk out, even though he is Australian) and 12,359 (WUN) outfield minutes to players who could represent the country. The Phoenix had given just 6,715 minutes to local outfield players across 19 matches - 61% of the minutes of the next lowest. The last five matches have seen only three outfield New Zealanders starting, the furthest forward of whom is a much-maligned defensive midfielder in Rufer. If you look at youth as being U22 (Olympic eligible) then those last five matches have only seen 120 out of 4,950 minutes (2%) given to local youth players. Attacking players are always the ones who excite and local players amplify that. Maybe that doesn't bother others that much, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit disappointed when I saw the lineup just before I left home on Sunday.

WhoStoleMySock

Bananas

Monto

Nommag

I know from my somewhat  'neutral' friends that the nix are dire to watch this season even though they are winning games because they snag a goal then shut up shop/play badly most weeks. This probably has a surprising impact on the crowd attendance.

I definitely feel this, the wins feel less like wins when we play like that. It feels almost like you've been cheated out of being entertained and are instead forced to endure the game.

I definitely feel it's something the management need to consider next season because it really does matter to the casual viewer. If us die hards aren't finding it enjoyable then there's no way other will.

Something needs to be sorted because there seems to be an apathy that's spreading across the leagues supporters, it needs to be fun again.

Holy crap, if this is accurate that's some terrible turnouts:

https://www.austadiums.com/sport/comp/a-league/results

This is not a great outlook for the league at all.

You can blame the APL (the governing body behind the A-League) who completely ruined all of Australia's footballing momentum after the World Cup by pissing off the diehards and selling the Grand Final to Sydney. And also lying about the reason why. That's the major reason why there are shark crowds league-wide. Also blame soulless clubs Western United who no one cares about, Brisbane for having toxic owners, and Macarthur for having both.
 
The only team who is consistently getting great crowds is Adelaide, and why wouldn't they show up at the moment? Exciting football, newly upgraded Hindmarsh Stadium (regarded as one of the best rectangular stadiums in Australia) and local youth dominating their side. Let's compare with us for a second:

I really don't think our games are that dire to watch. As mentioned, we need results, and I'll be in full support of getting them anyway we can. At our most fluent, attacking football, we're one of the best teams to watch, but again, it's high risk with our frail nature at the moment, so a narrow victory with a clean sheet is good enough for me, considering we would be SECOND if we hadn't given up all those points. Literally all of you won't care about how we play when it comes to finals.

Stadium-wise: we know the deal. Less money coming in in Welly = selling off home games to other NZ cities (and wearing different kits to include different sponsors) so don't blame the owners for wanting the club to survive. We desperately need our own boutique stadium to stop hemmorhaging money, and we would've had our own stadium years ago, if locals didn't complain. Again, not the club's fault.

Local talent? We're very much on par with Adelaide on that, so nothing else needs to be said.

In closing: We're doing fine by WINNING GAMES. You don't get any style points in football, so deal with it. Up the fudgeing Nix 🖤💛

We are not on par with Adelaide no way lol

If you look at the Oz forums, low attendance is across the A-League issue, not just us. Honestly: I think people decide first they can't be bothered going, and then look for rationalisations. You can tell this by people who used to say that they wouldn't go because we lost all the time, then it became "they're not winning pretty enough". Am I hallucinating where people use to cry that the Nix "couldn't grind out ugly wins"?

Ah the good old days when we were just begging for an ugly win. I think Talay has always wanted to play an attractive/attacking style of footy, but he is also aware that for whatever reason the lads back off after going up a goal, so he has to be prepared to park the bus. Dirty wins against teams above us are all good as far as I'm concerned. If it means finishing in the top 4 then I'm all for it. If so called fans want it to be pretty then they should look at how many teams play attractive free flowing footy and still lose.

One of the strong things about this Talay team is that even in poor form, we don't actually go that long without winning. There's a grittyness and closeness you get in every game that means we don't go on long bad runs like other sides have. Barring Melbourne City, we are the best teams across this season and last at avoiding long/multiple losing/winless streaks. 

For comparison, our worst winless runs within this season and last is 4 games winless twice, and 3 games winless once. In that same time:

All the results with appalling attendance can be laid at the FFA’s door because every result with 2000 fans or less involves MacArthur or Western United. 

The rushed process to get them in has made it difficult for other clubs. They quite clearly didn’t have a fan base ready to go. They’ve sucked up a lot of money and resources that could have entertained places where the fans had been turning up and cemented those clubs.

I think when it comes down to it, in Uffie’s previous years we’ve been blessed with some really flashy, exciting players (e.g. Dávila, Piscopo, Cacace, Sandoval, McCowatt, Devlin, Steinmann, even Hooper and Hemed) and we had an absolute rock at the back with Stevie T.

That meant that our wins were flashier and more attractive, and we still looked like we were playing good football in defeat.

Now though, we’ve got more of a scrappy, determined squad. Rather than playing with flair, we play with hard work and determination. The likes of Zawada, Kraev, Ball, Rufer, Wootton etc aren’t as exciting as Hemed, Dávila, Piscopo and Devlin, but they get the job done.

I think we’re just as good as we’ve been in previous years, but we grind out results instead of playing flashy football.

It’s not as good to watch and can look like we’re really struggling at times, but I think when it comes to finals football, being able to grind out ugly wins through sheer determination will stand us in better stead.

martinb

All the results with appalling attendance can be laid at the FFA’s door because every result with 2000 fans or less involves MacArthur or Western United. 

The rushed process to get them in has made it difficult for other clubs. They quite clearly didn’t have a fan base ready to go. They’ve sucked up a lot of money and resources that could have entertained places where the fans had been turning up and cemented those clubs.

In particular, the folks behind the Canberra bid (at that time) were particularly cut up about missing out, and you have to sympathise with them as they did an enormous amount of work. Somewhat similar was the Wollongong Wolves experience, but Canberra was particularly galling.

Well if it's not the style of play that's keeping crowds away then what is it? Because the only other option is that people just no longer care about the league in general.

Now I do think this probably is the real issue but I'm choosing to believe that it's something more minor because otherwise the league is in deep trouble that it probably won't be able to get out of.

For sure though, low crowds are not a phoenix issue, it's an A-League issue. Aside from Adelaide everone is struggling. I do think that a weak Sydney, Victory and WSW is a bad thing for the comp as a whole, those teams generate a lot more interest than other teams combined.

The other factor seems to be the TV deal, the quality of the product is shark to be frank. P+ hasn't delivered a good service at all and the only games that actually look good any more are those filmed by Sky.

low crowds arent even just an aleague thing, look at all the competitions at the moment, Super rugby crowds have been low for years as well, NPC crowds have been terrible. The NBL still attracts good crowds but then their venues are small compared to the stadia for football and rugby. Cricket crowds have been aweful. Affordability is a massive issue for everyone.

Yep, I blame it on covid disrupting peoples lives and giving them other priorities and habbits.

The Yellow and Black shirt is about identity. You just can't sell that out for blue, grey, white or whatever color is trendy that year. Just have two sets of shirts for each sponsor to expose them according to contract.

Wait, scratch my Maths in my previous post. 

We'd be clear at the top of the table if we hadn't given up so many points, it was about 15+ points, wasn't it? 

So it depends what people want, a home final because of the wins we grinded out late in the season, or an away final/missing out on finals because we played with flair?

" Well if it's not the style of play that's keeping crowds away then what is it? Because the only other option is that people just no longer care about the league in general. "

That's precisely what the Oz forums would say it is. Too many "plastic franchises" and they're drooling at the new National Second Division in the hopes that it will replace the A-League altogether (and get rid of the hated Nix into the bargain - look, I didn't say these were nice people)

But I would agree with those who say that many people just got out of the habit of leaving the house during COVID.

Doloras

" Well if it's not the style of play that's keeping crowds away then what is it? Because the only other option is that people just no longer care about the league in general. "

That's precisely what the Oz forums would say it is. Too many "plastic franchises" and they're drooling at the new National Second Division in the hopes that it will replace the A-League altogether (and get rid of the hated Nix into the bargain - look, I didn't say these were nice people)

But I would agree with those who say that many people just got out of the habit of leaving the house during COVID.

I can't really blame aussies for not wanting us in their league, I get it. I'm just glad that we are though.

But it can't just be that we're out of the habit of going out. AFL crowds have come back, NRL crowds are back and the NBL is doing just fine. There's There's fundamental problem with the A-League that needs sorting out. 

We're also smack in the middle of a cost of living crisis and going to the football is very much a luxury for many people when they may have to re-prioritise.

theprof

low crowds arent even just an aleague thing, look at all the competitions at the moment, Super rugby crowds have been low for years as well, NPC crowds have been terrible. The NBL still attracts good crowds but then their venues are small compared to the stadia for football and rugby. Cricket crowds have been aweful. Affordability is a massive issue for everyone.

Union possibly isn't the best example though, super rugby has been a basket case for a while but tbh, the canes average around 14k I believe. NPC has been thoroughly killed by NZ rugby due to mismanagement and apathy. 

The best examples to my mind are all the aus comps that seem to be doing roughly as well as they were pre covid.

from what I've seen, many NRL clubs are getting healthy crowds, even the struggling clubs like Wests Tigers & Dragons, NBL is breaking crowd records left right and centre, there will be over 89,000 for the Pies Geelong game on Friday at the G in the AFL and even Hawthorn Bombers looks like a healthy crowd will come (two struggling sides).. Meanwhile, the A League struggles to get past 10,000 expect the Sydney or Melbourne derby... It's defs an issue with A League.. Its comparable with big bash, but that's usually in the middle of the Christmas and New year periods when people are away and going to sport is not on many people's radars.. A League is in a crowd crisis, let’s not deny this.  NBL hit the big reset button on their competition not long after we did, and after an initial tough decade or so they're going from strength to strength at the moment. Their teams have genuine identities, even their expansion teams (admittedly, some of them carried over from the previous comp which was all but eliminated as an option in the a-league).

You wanna see what the A-League COULD have been? There it is, a massive attendance mid season for a game everyone said was on it's last legs 10 years ago. And better still, the standard is VERY good, which is something that always seems to be on the backburner for our league.

theprof

low crowds arent even just an aleague thing, look at all the competitions at the moment, Super rugby crowds have been low for years as well, NPC crowds have been terrible. The NBL still attracts good crowds but then their venues are small compared to the stadia for football and rugby. Cricket crowds have been aweful. Affordability is a massive issue for everyone.

 And we put prices up significantly.