A-League becalmed by dead rubbers when fans deserve a ripper relegation battle
If relegation/promotion was possible in the A-League then fans would be relishing some brutal dogfights – instead we’re becalmed by dead rubbers writes Emma Kemp.
Football
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There’s never been a stronger case for promotion and relegation in Australia than the current state of the A-League table.
One-third the way into the season, three points separate the bottom six.
The bottom five have one win apiece after seven rounds and three of the four grand finalists from the past two seasons are languishing outside finals reckoning, with Perth Glory (seventh, six points), Newcastle Jets (ninth, five points) and Melbourne Victory (10th, five points) all on the brink.
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If there was a relegation battle, one of the most brutal dogfights would have already begun.
Except that there isn’t, and won’t be for the foreseeable future.
Dead rubbers are not exciting and playing for pride is never as fulfilling when you’re not staring down the barrel of a season in the second-tier wilderness.
Football Federation Australia chairman Chris Nikou made waves in March when he said promotion/relegation was “unlikely until 2034”, when the licences of every A-League club bar Wellington Phoenix are due to expire.
Players’ union boss John Didulica is on the record arguing “there's no point discussing pro-rel until you've got 14 to 16 teams in the A-League followed by a robust second tier of at least 12 teams”, but does believe a fully professional second tier is achievable by 2021.
Former Sydney Olympic vice-president Graham Athanaseris believes national teams and player pathways are suffering as a result of a closed-off A-League.
“I think the game needed a reform because the NSL was pretty much broke, but I think they went too far one way and not the other way and discarded the grassroots clubs,” Athanaseris said.
La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga, all the major football countries have promotion and relegation. It’s only Australia that decided to discard the grassroots and just focus on the A-League.
“Look at what the A-League has become today. The purists of the sport, people who have been around since the foundation of all these clubs, are crying out for it.”