With the NRL and AFL Grand Finals now out of the way, the A-League now apologetically starts marketing itself in Australia with the A-League Men's (ALM) competition kicking off this Friday.
Whilst the promotional side of things has got slightly better since the APL took control, the deep-rooted inferiority complex of the domestic game continues so there's little chance of attracting new followers; the majority of Aussies will be blissfully unaware of the big kick off and are far more interested in the AFL drafts. In fact, up until Saturday (more on that to come) the most screen time the A-League's had recently was when that young lad, wearing a Melbourne City hoodie, shouted abuse at Prince Andrew during the royal procession in Edinburgh last month.
Australia Cup
And whilst I was preparing this new thread, last season's thread was resurrected after Saturday's Australia Cup Final between Macarthur FC and Sydney Utd 58 FC made headlines around the world for all the wrong reasons. Having the domestic cup final played as a curtain raiser to the new season has certainly given it a new lease of life (it used to be hidden away on a midweek timeslot and only available to watch on Foxtel), the earlier rounds were packed full of excitement with three A-League clubs getting dumped on their arses by NPL clubs. A-League Champions Western Utd were the first to go (losing on penalties to Sydney Utd), then went Sydney FC (losing to Oakleigh Cannons). Brisbane Roar would have fancied their chances in the semi-finals at Sydney Utd, but having led 2-1, they too spectacularly imploded and lost 3-2.
So on to Saturday and the fairytale story of Sydney Utd 58 FC - the first non A-League side to make it to the national cup final, as they took on Macarthur FC. The narrative had been set and nothing was going to sway the host broadcaster, Channel 10, from saying anything different. But like all fairytales, there's a dark underside.
I'm not going to pretend that I know much about the various NPL clubs across the country, but watching the Sydney Utd - Brisbane Roar semi-final, you could easily see along the far side touchline, the throng of black-shirted Sydney Utd fans. Looking every bit as menacing and intimidating as those thugs behind the goal at the Hungarian national games, when Sydney Utd scored to level it at 2-2, the players gravitated to this area. It's clear these guys are part of the club's fanbase and not just some bunch of Johnny-come-latelies.
So with the majority of the 16,000 crowd at Saturday's final being Sydney Utd fans, it depressingly came as no surprise when the booing started for the Welcome to Country and the subsequent nazi salutes that have done the rounds on social media. Of course, Channel 10 didn't acknowledge any of this and continued with their narrative of how great the atmosphere was and how great it is that it was the second-best attended cup final. Not even the camera panning in on Football Australia chief, James Johnson, shaking his head and looking utterly exasperated was commented on.
As Ursus noted yesterday in last season's thread, these actions are nothing new. I remember Perth Glory striker Bobby Despotovski getting attacked after the game by Melbourne Knights fans in 2001, and it's kicked off at the Australian Open a few times between Croats & Serbs. You can guarantee they'll mostly be teenagers or in their early twenties and never been to Croatia or Serbia in their life.
As for the game itself, two penalties was enough to give Macarthur a 2-0 win and their first silverware after only being in existence for 2 years. New coach, Dwight Yorke, should quit now as it's never going to get any better than this.
Women's World Cup 2023
Enough of the negativity. It's a huge year for Australian football with the Women's World Cup now only 9 months away. The A-League Women's (ALW) competition now expands from 10 to 11 teams with the introduction of Western Utd and the season commences on November 18. It's not yet a full home and away season; that milestone happens next season when Central Coast Mariners return. About bloody time!
The World Cup has also seen many of the venues get a makeover as well as new training facilities getting built. Let's hope we don't squander it.
ALM Season
It's the new franchises who are scooping up the silverware. Western Utd won last season's Championship in only their third season in existence (but still haven't built their own stadium, despite the promises), and mentioned above, Macarthur are the new cup holders. So who are the favourites this year? Whilst Western Utd shocked us all last season, it's hard to see Melbourne City or Melbourne Victory not secure it this year. They have the biggest resources and settled squads.
With so little coverage over the close season, it's hard to know how all the teams are doing. Sydney FC fans are still raging that their best player for the past 7 seasons, Milos Ninkovic, has buggered off across the city to Western Sydney Wanderers. And their misery was further compounded when Jack Rodwell moved in the opposite direction. Charlie Austin has signed for Brisbane Roar, whilst Jason Cummings (aka The Cumdog), has been given a new lease of life at Central Coast Mariners and could even be going to the World Cup with the Socceroos. But it's such a shame to see another new Socceroo, Garang Kuol, leave for Newcastle Utd. Hopefully we'll still get to see a bit of him before the transfer window opens in January and he doesn't fall off the radar like his older brother, Alou Kuol, who moved to Stuttgart last year and hasn't really been heard of since.
So who will the dysfunctional clubs be? Perth Glory won their first ever wooden spoon last season, and just when they thought things couldn't get any worse after two covid-affected seasons, they discovered that their ground, HBF Park, won't be ready in time due to delays in getting it upgraded for the Women's World Cup. After a lot of negotiations where at one point it looked like they might be spending the majority of the season on the road (again!), they'll now play 10 of their 13 home games at NPL side Stirling Macedonia. As the State Government runs HBF Park, they've managed negotiate a fee with them to relocate and get temporary stands erected and floodlighting fixed at Macedonia Park to A-League standard. On the pitch, with the squad thankfully revamped from last season, who knows how they'll do this time, but they are the bookies favourite to finish bottom again.
Brisbane Roar may give the Glory a run for their money, with the playing side looking thin despite Charlie Austin up front. They're also involved in a dispute with player Corey Brown, who they've sacked, and the fans also deteste the Indonesian owners, the Bakrie Group, for their shambolic running of the club over the years.
Whilst the promotional side of things has got slightly better since the APL took control, the deep-rooted inferiority complex of the domestic game continues so there's little chance of attracting new followers; the majority of Aussies will be blissfully unaware of the big kick off and are far more interested in the AFL drafts. In fact, up until Saturday (more on that to come) the most screen time the A-League's had recently was when that young lad, wearing a Melbourne City hoodie, shouted abuse at Prince Andrew during the royal procession in Edinburgh last month.
Australia Cup
And whilst I was preparing this new thread, last season's thread was resurrected after Saturday's Australia Cup Final between Macarthur FC and Sydney Utd 58 FC made headlines around the world for all the wrong reasons. Having the domestic cup final played as a curtain raiser to the new season has certainly given it a new lease of life (it used to be hidden away on a midweek timeslot and only available to watch on Foxtel), the earlier rounds were packed full of excitement with three A-League clubs getting dumped on their arses by NPL clubs. A-League Champions Western Utd were the first to go (losing on penalties to Sydney Utd), then went Sydney FC (losing to Oakleigh Cannons). Brisbane Roar would have fancied their chances in the semi-finals at Sydney Utd, but having led 2-1, they too spectacularly imploded and lost 3-2.
So on to Saturday and the fairytale story of Sydney Utd 58 FC - the first non A-League side to make it to the national cup final, as they took on Macarthur FC. The narrative had been set and nothing was going to sway the host broadcaster, Channel 10, from saying anything different. But like all fairytales, there's a dark underside.
I'm not going to pretend that I know much about the various NPL clubs across the country, but watching the Sydney Utd - Brisbane Roar semi-final, you could easily see along the far side touchline, the throng of black-shirted Sydney Utd fans. Looking every bit as menacing and intimidating as those thugs behind the goal at the Hungarian national games, when Sydney Utd scored to level it at 2-2, the players gravitated to this area. It's clear these guys are part of the club's fanbase and not just some bunch of Johnny-come-latelies.
So with the majority of the 16,000 crowd at Saturday's final being Sydney Utd fans, it depressingly came as no surprise when the booing started for the Welcome to Country and the subsequent nazi salutes that have done the rounds on social media. Of course, Channel 10 didn't acknowledge any of this and continued with their narrative of how great the atmosphere was and how great it is that it was the second-best attended cup final. Not even the camera panning in on Football Australia chief, James Johnson, shaking his head and looking utterly exasperated was commented on.
As Ursus noted yesterday in last season's thread, these actions are nothing new. I remember Perth Glory striker Bobby Despotovski getting attacked after the game by Melbourne Knights fans in 2001, and it's kicked off at the Australian Open a few times between Croats & Serbs. You can guarantee they'll mostly be teenagers or in their early twenties and never been to Croatia or Serbia in their life.
As for the game itself, two penalties was enough to give Macarthur a 2-0 win and their first silverware after only being in existence for 2 years. New coach, Dwight Yorke, should quit now as it's never going to get any better than this.
Women's World Cup 2023
Enough of the negativity. It's a huge year for Australian football with the Women's World Cup now only 9 months away. The A-League Women's (ALW) competition now expands from 10 to 11 teams with the introduction of Western Utd and the season commences on November 18. It's not yet a full home and away season; that milestone happens next season when Central Coast Mariners return. About bloody time!
The World Cup has also seen many of the venues get a makeover as well as new training facilities getting built. Let's hope we don't squander it.
ALM Season
It's the new franchises who are scooping up the silverware. Western Utd won last season's Championship in only their third season in existence (but still haven't built their own stadium, despite the promises), and mentioned above, Macarthur are the new cup holders. So who are the favourites this year? Whilst Western Utd shocked us all last season, it's hard to see Melbourne City or Melbourne Victory not secure it this year. They have the biggest resources and settled squads.
With so little coverage over the close season, it's hard to know how all the teams are doing. Sydney FC fans are still raging that their best player for the past 7 seasons, Milos Ninkovic, has buggered off across the city to Western Sydney Wanderers. And their misery was further compounded when Jack Rodwell moved in the opposite direction. Charlie Austin has signed for Brisbane Roar, whilst Jason Cummings (aka The Cumdog), has been given a new lease of life at Central Coast Mariners and could even be going to the World Cup with the Socceroos. But it's such a shame to see another new Socceroo, Garang Kuol, leave for Newcastle Utd. Hopefully we'll still get to see a bit of him before the transfer window opens in January and he doesn't fall off the radar like his older brother, Alou Kuol, who moved to Stuttgart last year and hasn't really been heard of since.
So who will the dysfunctional clubs be? Perth Glory won their first ever wooden spoon last season, and just when they thought things couldn't get any worse after two covid-affected seasons, they discovered that their ground, HBF Park, won't be ready in time due to delays in getting it upgraded for the Women's World Cup. After a lot of negotiations where at one point it looked like they might be spending the majority of the season on the road (again!), they'll now play 10 of their 13 home games at NPL side Stirling Macedonia. As the State Government runs HBF Park, they've managed negotiate a fee with them to relocate and get temporary stands erected and floodlighting fixed at Macedonia Park to A-League standard. On the pitch, with the squad thankfully revamped from last season, who knows how they'll do this time, but they are the bookies favourite to finish bottom again.
Brisbane Roar may give the Glory a run for their money, with the playing side looking thin despite Charlie Austin up front. They're also involved in a dispute with player Corey Brown, who they've sacked, and the fans also deteste the Indonesian owners, the Bakrie Group, for their shambolic running of the club over the years.
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