Veart says the same thing: https://www.perthnow.com.au/sport/a...nts-an-expanded-and-fairer-a-league-c-4619387
On Veart's comment about not playing everyone the same amount of times being unfair. If we decided the Champion by who finished on top of the ladder he would have a point. However all you need do is finish in the top half of the league during the regular season to have a chance of being Champion if you are good enough. This compensates for the unbalanced competition.
I agree, with your point about the champion, being decided if you're good enough, but I also like the idea of more games, and and even number of games against all teams.
I think any expansion also needs to take into account how promotion/relegation would be incorporated. I'm also not sure where the market threshold is for fully professional teams in Australia. Is it 20 or maybe more. I think we need to have at least 20 before we can have promotion/relegation as a right between two 10 team leagues. Any team wanting admission to the second tier from the state leagues would also need to meet professional standards as well as getting there on performance. It will be interesting to see how they go about that and get the competing interests on board with a proposal.
The unbalanced competition thing is stupid. You have a playoff system so the best teams go head to head for the title, so there is nothing fairer than that. However, some variety in competition is nice. I hated the days when MLS was at 10 teams, because it was the same thing over and over, and 12 teams was only a little better. I have my doubts as to how many teams Australia can support, but hopefully it's more than the Scottish league.
Welp, if there was any argument for pro-rel and the inclusion of ethnic clubs in the A-League, this weekend’s Australia Cup final set that idea back 50 years. What should’ve been an eventful moment ie first NPL team in the Australia Cup final and large attendance, was instead muddied by Nazi salutes, booing the welcome to country and nationalistic chants. Great stuff, Sydney United 58
Very disappointing and a reminder of why we didn't allow overtly ethnic based clubs in the A League. It attracts some nationalistic groups who see it as a way of continuing overseas disputes within Australia. It's a shame because the majority of the supporters of these clubs are just football fans with a common background.
Melbourne A-League derby abandoned as fans storm pitch and keeper attacked | A-League Men | The Guardian
then exploded when Glover picked another off the ground and threw it back into the stand housing Victory’s active support. You see when you're a pro you shouldn't make things like this. After all you're not alone on a field trying to defend yourself.
ok, am I only one here who is going to mention the new Auckland team (and someone else the new Canberra team) coming into the A League soon? here it goes. I was asked why this Auckland franchise is not the same Auckland City Football Club that plays in the CWC almost every year since it's inception. Then new Auckland franchise has the US billionaire Bill Foley to bankroll it. The 78-year-old owns a number of sporting club around the world. e.g. English Premier League side Bournemouth. They are going to play at Mt Smart Stadium in Albany until a planned Waterfront Stadium in the city is going to be built. So why carry the baggage of the past into this? It's his playground. NZ is easier to conduct business than Australia. Best to keep them team separate; Auckland City FC can be a lower feeding club as the rest of NZ will be as such anyway. Although small, there are 433 football clubs in NZ. As I mention years ago, due to the NZ population compared to Australian population and the number of teams in A league, there should be three fully professional teams in the A league from NZ. So, I would not be surprised that a team from Christchurch will happen. As the population increase, this could change also. However, with the three major regional leagues, the local talent pool is automatically developed to feed into the A League Franchises. Auckland team awarded A-Leagues licence backed by US billionaire Bill Foley - ABC News Auckland team and Bill Foley's record - Homepage - AKLFootball24 Bill Foley's bold new vision - Auckland A-League franchise owner Bill Foley reveals bold vision for success during launch - NZ Herald (basically, he is 78 years old, and he wants to have fun spending his money with his own creative build to the club from scratch.)