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A-League Expansion?

Lemon Squash

First Grade
Messages
7,982
I think a Southern Sydney/Wollongong team is pretty much a lock.

Then I think the other will come down to either Canberra or a Regional Vic team.

All are doomed to fail.
 

clarency

Juniors
Messages
1,217
Yeah I think what Brisbane needs more than anything is a smaller stadium. I can't say much about the viability of another club but they sure are trying for one.

SS or Wollongong would be considered a shoe-in by just about everyone, but the difference between the two is night and day. Wollongong has all the ingredients for what the A-League needs. Community connection, established history, new market share. All they need is the corporate backers and I believe they had one jump on board within the last 7 days.

SS is manufactured by investors with little community engagement and are attempting to claim the entire south Sydney plus nearly all of the Illawarra region. It's a joke of a bid and unfortunately it could be the one that gets in due to the money behind it. I hope it falls flat on its face.
 

Mong

Post Whore
Messages
55,681
Surely it’s wollongong or Canberra if they insist on stupidly expanding.
 

Suitman

Post Whore
Messages
54,917
Surely it’s wollongong or Canberra if they insist on stupidly expanding.

They would be the sensible and possibly more successful options.
But don't underestimate the power of Foxtel.
Mr Ahm Ah has already said they will fish where the fish are. That can only mean Melbourne, Brisbane or Sydney.

The Southern Expansion bid is a joke and clearly proves that the FFA have no idea about football culture if this bid gets the nod.
Football is based on passion. There is no way you can have a team playing out of 3 different home grounds, representing 3 completely different culturally diverse regions.
Wollongong deserve their own team. They'd be more successful then the Mariners and have a far richer football history. They don't want to be lumbered with a club representing two regions of Sydney, who they have absolutely no connection with.
Just watch. Gallop and Lowy will seriously f**k this expansion up. All for the $$$$.
 

theo

Juniors
Messages
92
Sydney FC will play the next three seasons at Kogarah Oval Saint George, and are not happy with a possible team from Saint George + Sutherland + Illawarra being included in the national competition.

Perhaps it's time to look at the telephone area code and see what defines a city.

I'd be happy if there was just one team per city fed from their own city competition.

Think about your local area and how the juniors operate from Under 6's to Under 18's. The players play for their suburb, some may represent their council area if chosen, some from council representation may represent their city, some from city representation may represent their state, some from their state representation may represent their country.

I like the geographical feeder model... feels good.

There's a logical progression without corporate corruption.

If you want to raise the reputation of the league then you must give equal support to all teams in the competition and treat them like your own kids.

Do the funders of the sport care about the sport, the league, or the club only?

I wouldn't care if there were no live matches on television or radio and only replays through the week.

Television and radio ratings are the sizzle but the meat is crowds at the ground.

In the future the population is said to grow and there may be more cities therefore more teams.

Different horses different courses and different strokes different folks.

Ideas. It's not a crime to think.
 

Lambretta

First Grade
Messages
8,679
I caught the tail end of the A-League Hour on Fox last night and apparently one of the bidders plans to play out of 3 home grounds in 3 different geographic locations. Mark Bosnich thought it one of the stupidest ideas he'd heard of.

And that comes from a man who gave up being paid lots of money to stand around watching a game being played in a different half of the field to shovel half of Columbia up his nose.

As an expert on stupid I would listen to him
 

Lambretta

First Grade
Messages
8,679
The Southern Sydney Expansion bid is just plain dumb. A Wollongong bid makes far more sense.

If they go with South Sydney all they will do is butcher Sydney FC. It will add nothing to the football landscape.

When Western Sydney came in, a genuine alternative was offered. Westies didn't really like Bling FC and wanted a place where they could throw flares and jump up and down facing the wrong way. Sydney FC weren't them and they weren't Sydney FC.

However the Shire IS the Cove. Bring in another club in the Shire and the outcomes are all bad.

You will diminish Sydney FC whilst attracting no one new. The Shire already has a club and they back it.

If the Shire sticks to the Sky Blue, the new club fails. Total wasted opportunity for genuine expansion.

Look at the Melbourne expansion. What did the Heart / City team offer as a point of difference? Same geographical area. Same demographic. Same stadiums played at. They turned up and said "support us because errrr umm, errrrr"
The public said "get f**ked, we have a team".

It took foreign ownership and a truck load of money and potential success to get a few thousand to rock up in sports mad Melbourne. Even now, almost a decade after they started they struggle to attract fans.

If they start a franchise in Sydney FC heartland it is dumb and can only be bad news for everyone
 

thorson1987

Coach
Messages
16,907
Wollongong and Ipswich off the table.

f**king morons excluding Wollongong. They will put another team in either Syd or Mel that will have f**k all support.
 

skeepe

Immortal
Messages
45,591
Wollongong and Ipswich off the table.

f**king morons excluding Wollongong. They will put another team in either Syd or Mel that will have f**k all support.

At least Canberra is still there and, by all reports, one of the favourites.

They can’t possibly think just adding Sydney 3 and Melbourne 3 is a great idea, can they?
 

jargan83

Coach
Messages
14,883
Watching Fox Sports news and it’s just been reported that South West Sydney will split games between Campbelltown and West Sydney Stadium.

Would this risk splitting the fan base of the existing Sydney sides, especially WSW?
 
Messages
14,795
Watching Fox Sports news and it’s just been reported that South West Sydney will split games between Campbelltown and West Sydney Stadium.

Would this risk splitting the fan base of the existing Sydney sides, especially WSW?

Sydney FC will lose bugger all fans out of this. The Wanderers will bust up pretty badly though I'd imagine.
 

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