The A-League - how big can it get?

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I tend to agree with sticking local - Wollongong, Tassie and even North Queensland Fury should all be considered for expansion IMO.

I can only guess that for the owners who want to expand into Asia, there is potentially lucrative financial gains to be had which is their motivator. I'm assuming that A League clubs all get a slice of the TV money per season (similar to most other codes)? If having Singapore and Hong Kong leads to a big spike in the value of the TV rights, I can definitely see where they are coming from - especially IIRC, most clubs/owners/investors won't see a return on their initial investments to help get the league up and running.
 

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No room for another Melbourne team yet, Wollongong for mine.
 
If we do another Melbourne team it would have to be South Melbourne IMO. Victory has a monopoly and we've seen that Heart/City have really struggled to attract fans with no point of difference other than being 'not Melbourne Victory', whereas SMFC already have an existing fanbase and culture that differentiates themselves from MV and City.
 
Can't wait for the Singapore Lions XII2. The 750-strong average attendance will really lift the spirit of the league. And if there's one thing big Asian sponsors love it's Singaporean football. Just ask the S-League clubs who are laughing all the way to the bank to file for bankruptcy.

In all seriousness the whole idea makes a mockery of the league and would do irreparable damage in the long run when the club inevitably folds half way through their second season. It will reflect very poorly on the A-league all over Asia.
 
The first version of Perth Glory, Perth Kangaroos, played in a singapore league along with a team from Darwin. The league lasted one season and the Kangaroos didn't drop points once.
 
The first version of Perth Glory, Perth Kangaroos, played in a singapore league along with a team from Darwin. The league lasted one season and the Kangaroos didn't drop points once.

The Australian clubs finished 1st and 2nd IIRC.

Singapore/Malaysia/Hong kong/Indonesia don't have anywhere near enough local footballing talent to match Australian teams in a league competition.
 

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Just on the idea of Melbourne getting a third side, interesting piece in today's Herald Sun raising the idea of a 'Victoria United' (essentially Vic Country) A League Club.

From the article:
"Logically this team would be based at Geelong’s Simonds Stadium, which attracted nearly 22,000 for the Victory-Perth A-League clash on January 2 and is crying out for summer content.

But rather than isolating itself as “Geelong’s team”, why not become “Victoria’s team” and play a game a year at Ballarat’s Morshead Park — which hosted City’s FFA Cup clash with Sydney FC last year — in Albury-Wodonga — where Heart played the Glory in early 2014 — in Morwell — where the Gippsland Falcons used to play — and Bendigo."

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/f...-the-whole-state/story-fni2wcjl-1227267001536


Geelong could potentially support its own team you'd think but I think trying to brand the club as a club for country Victorians could be an interesting point of difference to Victory and possibly allow for more fans and corporate support.

The other major benefit is it would help the code have more of a presence in those regional Victorian areas and help strengthen existing ties/bring more people and juniors to the game.
 
North QLD already failed, why would it be a success now?

Apparently there is still quite a market despite the FFA abandoning the Fury a few years back. Someone else might be able to provide a better background but I think the Fury

Northern Fury (the rebranded club) currently play in the (QLD) National Premier League and still get something like 3,000 odd fans to watch their games I believe which isn't a huge drop off from the 5k I think they averaged in their second (and final) season.

Obviously they are still a way off being given a license but they are doing a good job of keeping a presence in the FNQ region and IF the FFA want to expand into QLD again (as many believe the market could easily support a second club), then the Fury already have the foundations in place to build on (compared to a new franchise that would need to be built from the ground up).

It's similar to the reasons some have suggested that both South Melbourne and Auckland City (established clubs) could potentially be viable expansion franchises.
 
Needs to improve its standard before focusing on how big it can get IMO.

While obviously having more teams means the talent pool is spread out more; you could also mount a strong argument to suggest that increasing the number of clubs could improve the standard of the competition (which it has progressively been doing most seasons).

Increasing the number of teams ultimately increases the reputation and stature of the league, which likely would lead to better players and coaches wanting to ply their trade here - which may in turn improve the standard of play.

Further to that, more (assuming they are financially viable and can stand without the FFA propping them up) teams will ensure the FFA can negotiate a stronger TV deal as well as better commercial and sponsorship arrangements, where (hopefully) the money can go back to the clubs to improve facilities/increase support staff/retain better players from looking abroad with more competitive wages as well as flowing through to things like grassroots & junior football and other programs like refereeing (which is something we sorely need to improve on).

You'd also expect that by having more teams, it forces clubs to continue to try and find ways to be more innovative (not just in the playing sense) and competitive than the rest to try and find that edge over rivals.

Too much circlejerk to realise this.

Not sure the point you're trying to make honestly. Who is 'circle jerking' here?

What is wrong with having an interest and wanting to see the game continue to grow and expand domestically?

It's not like anyone posting in here is making outlandish suggestions for the sake of expansion. The areas/existing clubs that have been floated as possible new additions to the league all have their own merits/reasons.
 
He's a eurosnob brah. Getting people under that banner to turn off pay tv and discard their epl/la liga replica tops as well as getting them off their fa arses is the final frontier.


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The worst kind of football fan to talk to about the A-League.
 
Honestly, I just can't fathom the concept of being a 'eurosnob' - seems absolutely ridiculous. If you love the Euro leagues (or even just the sport in general), why would you not want to see the game improve and flourish locally?

Yes the standard and stature of the A League may likely never get close to those of the best leagues in the world but why should that be an issue or something to look down upon for some?

At the end of the day, aren't we all meant to be fans of the sport?
 

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The A-League - how big can it get?

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