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The Future of "Finals" Football


jw1739
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An old chestnut this one, but IMO worth thinking about again. IMO we should extend the regular season and number of matches played and ditch so-called "Finals"" now that the AFC has clearly indicated that from now on it will be the Premiers and the Australia (FFA) Cup Winners who will progress to ACF competitions. IMO it's pretty piss-weak and adds a level of mediocrity to our league for clubs to feel that they have achieved something by "making Finals." If we want an extra competition, sure, but make it a League Cup or similar involving all the clubs rather than just a handful at the end of the season.

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can certainly see what you are saying, and frankly the team who goes first passed the post in the league should be champs

i think you are right that maybe the FFA Cup / Australia Cup could always be discussed as the natural end to the season.  you could have the final finish off the season, with the semis and quarters nicely wedged in there so people align the "finals" like feel of the Cup with the league.  of course as per my point about the Aussie market (paragraph below), would that take the Aussie media away from the aleague (more than the Aussie media already shits on the aleague)

the big question for is what market(s) are we trying to sell our game / product to? us die hard football fans might hate what the finals series represents, but if that's how we get the broader Aussie audience then we have to give the finals some credence. 

the champions league, the world cup, etc., all end their comps as knockouts.  add to the champions league that most National FA's have a Cup that bookends the end of a domestic (and by consequence Continental) season.  having a season ending final (or final series) is not that far removed IMO from the rest of the world.

crucify if you must too, in a non covid impact world / season / environment the finals series is a money spinner.  and don't get me wrong i hate that we get slugged bullshit prices during finals despite the fact we buy memberships that help week in week out regardless if our club plays like shite or wins the league. 

perhaps i'm just trying to see both the pros and cons of ditching finals

 

edit:

for the record, i'm a massive fan of the aleague growing to either 14 team comp (that naturally fits a 26 league season) or to 16 teams (with 30 games) followed up with a second division with 10-12 teams.  would easily enable a stronger national reserves / under 20s comp as it could run longer and be separated nicely from a logistics / costs point of view (north south, etc).  

at that point a cup system could out way the need for finals (particularly as we would have relegation / promotion playoffs too).  not sure how easily funded that would be in the current economic conditions given covid.

Edited by mattyh001
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18 hours ago, mattyh001 said:

edit:

for the record, i'm a massive fan of the aleague growing to either 14 team comp (that naturally fits a 26 league season) or to 16 teams (with 30 games) followed up with a second division with 10-12 teams.  would easily enable a stronger national reserves / under 20s comp as it could run longer and be separated nicely from a logistics / costs point of view (north south, etc).  

at that point a cup system could out way the need for finals (particularly as we would have relegation / promotion playoffs too).  not sure how easily funded that would be in the current economic conditions given covid.

You make a lot of good points.

I'm changing my view about the so-called "Second Division."

First, I think we have to be quite clear as to what the intention is in creating it before we do so. Why do we need it? Is it just a national second division that sits between the A-League and the NPL, and is it linked to either or both of the A-League and the present State-based NPL with promotion/relegation etc?

If there really are say 10-12/16/20 clubs outside the A-League that can survive financially in a second division and with grounds and facilities suitable for the A-League and ACL if they ever reach those competitions, then why not take the top 8 of those right now (2 from NSW, 2 from Vic, 1 from each of Qld, SA and WA and one from the ACT, and expand the A-League to 20 clubs, and 38 matches per season? If there are not 8 such clubs then how many are there and add those to the A-League to make 14 or 16 or 18 as you suggest. IMO if there are not at least 8 clubs then a second division is not viable anyway, so forget about it and stop wasting time going over it all time and time again.

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8 hours ago, jw1739 said:

You make a lot of good points.

I'm changing my view about the so-called "Second Division."

First, I think we have to be quite clear as to what the intention is in creating it before we do so. Why do we need it? Is it just a national second division that sits between the A-League and the NPL, and is it linked to either or both of the A-League and the present State-based NPL with promotion/relegation etc?

If there really are say 10-12/16/20 clubs outside the A-League that can survive financially in a second division and with grounds and facilities suitable for the A-League and ACL if they ever reach those competitions, then why not take the top 8 of those right now (2 from NSW, 2 from Vic, 1 from each of Qld, SA and WA and one from the ACT, and expand the A-League to 20 clubs, and 38 matches per season? If there are not 8 such clubs then how many are there and add those to the A-League to make 14 or 16 or 18 as you suggest. IMO if there are not at least 8 clubs then a second division is not viable anyway, so forget about it and stop wasting time going over it all time and time again.

Good point on stadium. For the match between City and Wellington, I was surprised that no one got injured from teh state of the pitch.

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