The A-League Expansion Thread

It appears the axe is about to fall on everyone's fave second club:

The impending A-League execution of North Queensland Fury, after just two seasons in the competition, is almost certain to be rubber-stamped by Football Federation Australia at its next board meeting in Sydney on 15 February.


rest here:
http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/news/1043047/Fury-set-to-fold-

 

Sad stuff.

Haven't done any proper digging into the financial story but may be better for FFA to cut losses rather than keep bleeding. Huge gift to the rest of the league, player-wise.

 

Just stresses the importance that expansion has to be based on a financially sound platform. Slow and steady growth should be the goal.

 

Good, Nth QLD and football just doesnt work, it cuts out along trip for teams as well.
Time to focus on where teams will work, I say forget west Sydney, and bring in teams here-
first Wollongong Wolves.
Then Canberra Cosmos.
Then second NZ team based at Christchurch.
Last third victorian team at Geelong.

 

Forget West Sydney?? IF football in australia had a heartland(top players produced, large 2nd gen popn open to the game, large junior base etc) then Western Sydney would be it. WS also introduces another 'big' derby game that the FFA can actually market every season to the neutrals/non-football folks in the way RL does for SOO. West Sydney ASAP Please!
I like the idea of Canberra and Woolongong, but AFC had a conniption-fit about 1 NZ(OFC team in the HAL, MBH would just about have cardiac arrest if we tried for 2. I reckon wait for OFC to either die or be absorbed by AFC, then we could have up to 3 NZ teams(Auckland and CHCH to join Welly)
what about Tasmania United's bid. If AFL want to turn their back on a whole state, why not move in there ourselves?
Geelong, just no
They'd get no local media sponsorship attention unless they tried the failed Collingwood/Carlton/Parra model and linked with the Cats ARFC. Those models failed for a reason, so just no. the other cities mentioned above would take Australia/NZ to 16 team league, a perfect size IMHO(As long as all teams were on a solid financial base.

 

^^this.

 

West Sydney are a basketcase, look at what happened to the last bid, the people out there are brain dead bogans.
Screw the AFC, its our comp not theirs, if we want to let in another NZ team we can, why not just put a rule in saying any NZ team may play in the ALeague , just not qualify for the Asian championships until the OFC is merged into the AFC, what the freaking hell is so hard about that?
Tasmania United sounds good, I think there has to be a third team in Victoria somewhere, we cant have 4-5 teams in NSW and only 2 in Australias second most populated state, and seeing as they only have Geelong outside of Melbourne as any worthwhile sized city that will have to be it.

So a good comp in ten years time would be

Syd FC
Jets
Wolves
Mariners
Roar
GC United
Victory
Heart
Geelong
Adelaide
Perth
Canberra
Tasmania
Auckland
Phoenix
Christchurch

 

So much ridiculous in one post; it's making my head spin.

 

Whats so ridiculous about having NZ teams play in the ALeague, but not qualify for the Asian club championship if they finish in a qualifying position?

Please, try and think outside what they tell you for once, because they dont even think deep enough themselves.

 

Just one reason, and it's enough on its own: we don't want to piss off our confederation head twice as much as we already are.

 

Sometimes... even though I'd hate to think it... it's BigFoody sending trolls back over to the Football side of things whenever I read his/her/its posts.

Nobody can be that stupid and be serious at the same time.

 

Go back to sleep mate, thinking will hurt.

 

Whats so wrong with the solution I presented above, explain why its not feasible.

 

Geelong will never work as it is very much a one team town.

Tasmania also has very significant issues with a team.
For a non Aussie rules/cricket sport to succeed in a national competition in Tasmania they would need a Hobart team and Launceston team.

 

In the immediate future:

North Qld - Fury are probably gone and replacement is a long way away.

SE Qld - Tapped out with GCU and Roar

North NSW - nah

W Sydney - still a strategic imperative to FFA.

Illawarra - If they can get WIN done up they're a definite possibility

Canberra - Came close last time, should be a candidate again

Melbourne - Tapped out

Tasmania - North/South split + AFL mad + shrinking population = nope

Adelaide - One team town

Perth - ditto

NT - Growing population could see them on the radar in a few years.

Kiwiland - only comes into the picture if MBH leaves, possibly not even then.

This expansion period has had four teams in the frame of which Heart looks safe, GCU still fragile, Fury goners and Rovers stillborn.

There will be a lot more caution at FFA and their ownership priorites will probably switch to a broader, community-based model as the story of the last two years has been one of large investors failing to anticipate or wear the costs of running a club.

In conclusion I think we'll see a 12 team league by 2013-14, the additions are likely to be Western Sydney and Canberra or Illawarra, but there will probably be very little movement after that.

 

Your wrong about Tasmania, its population is EXPAAANNNDING!
Also WIN is getting fixed up soon

 

No, it's growth rate is slowing, and the ABS projections have it dropping over the period 2018-21.

 

The Tasmanian population is stagnant.

It is also heavily an Aussie rules state.

Also there is no major stadium in Hobart that will be suitable as Bellerive will be used for cricket during the A-League season.

 

They just need to rewire the universe so that there's neat little 17,000 seater that exists simultaneously in Hobart and Launceston.

 

Tasmania IS an Aussie Rules State, but they are being ignored by the AFL. If a competent and well funded bid was put forward by Tasmania, football would be crazy to reject it solely on the basis of their sporting history being Aussie Rules based. I agree, the North/South issue would have to be addressed as part of their submission.
In order, I think the FFA's priorities are and should be:
Solidify the base of the remaining 10 clubs and the league in general. It has become all too easy for the soccer-knockers out there in the forth estate to stick the boot into the leasgue and by extension the sport as a whole! A Strong A-League needs to be a part of the fabric of the sport of football in Australia, we can't just rely on the Socceroos to be a rainmaker and friend-maker every four years(what happens if we don't qualify - happened to England and Holland in recent times, could certainly happen to us)
ANY expansion must be handled with due diligence this time!, if the green light is given, I think they'll look at in order:
West Sydney
Canberra
Woolongong
Rest - give it time to bed down
Tasmania
IF at any stage OFC dies or is absorbed by AFC, then Auckland an/or Christchurch could be considered. We don't want to go around p*ssing off MBH. He is one of the most powerful figures in football theses days( after all, Qatar got the World Cup!) and I reckon he's odds on to become Sepp(tic) Bladder's replacement as head of FIFA.

 

FFA have f***ed up expansion wise.

Already we had NZK fold within the first few seasons only picking up a few results their way. NQF are looking to fold within days and GCU are looking shakey and only staying in the competition from a cashed up owner. Melbourne Heart havent had any major problems and the Phoenix have been going at their pace well helping kiwi football greatly.

So if 3 of 4 expansion teams are surviving isn't that saying the A-league is growing to rapid or STUPIDly to support these teams coming in. Especially since one of these teams were dragged in as a replacement from an already foundation team folding.

FFA need to slow down, build on what they already have and then expand when the demands are there. Don't fall under the pressure of other competitions abroad growing and expanding and just focus on their own league.

Tasmania sadly will have to wait a while (To solve the North/South issue maybe allocate even amounts of games north and south??). And geelong wont get a team in my lifetime (and im not old at all!). Western Sydney will be first in line for the next expansion spot but hopefully FFA wont make the mistake and do it too soon. It wont be next season they come in and it wont be the next. Canberra and Wollongong i feel have been the most patient to gain a side in the competition, Wollongong in my opinion wont get one in front of Canberra and W/Sydney however. Also these teams will be snubbed by FFA until after the FFA attempt to include a W/Sydney team again.

NT will not gain a side in the competition.... period. Their weather all year round in above 30 degrees and in the summer when the game is held is terrential rain. Plus the travel factor. Im certain teams from Melbourne, Wellington, NSW, even Adelaide are sick of all the travel they do already.

My opinion for next season.. Shorten the length of the season so each team only plays each other twice (home and away) but play a few more games judged by geographic location (obviously a Melbourne Derby, SE Qld Derby, Sydney vs CCM vs New Jets etc)

 

This is what we need to do-

First cut Fury, its too far away and the locals only like the rugbys.
Then cut Gold coast, the locals there obviously dont care about going to watch football, they have one of the best stadiums, their team seems to always be top 4 and they still cant get crowds even near 10,000, time to go.
Bring in teams from Wollongong and Canberra first, let it settle for two years, then bring in west Sydney team and one from Hobart.
Then after two more years 1 more NZ team from Christchurch, then leave it at that.

New teams come on from somewhere like in 30- 40 years, when population has grown alot more.

 

Division 2 is what Australia desperately needs. A place where the costs of running a club are lower than in top flight so the ones like Fury or two Tasmanian teams or a Geelong team may exist and grow up slowly from the very bottom. Oh, and since it is not a first tier, you may add some NZ teams with no risk of causing MBH butthurt.

This is how football was developed in Japan; this is how it is de facto happening in America. Learn from the others' experience is what FFA needs.