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A-League Expasion for 2010/11

Who should be admitted in the A-League for 2010/11???


  • Total voters
    22
Messages
1,014
This was my opinion on the The Kennel Forum on the 23rd Oct 2007.

Here's a Brief Low Down the Expanison Issue in the A-League

North Queensland: Have been bitching about a National League team since 2000 when the Canberra Cosmos left the League. Have the Facilities & the Sponsors ready but the Lack of Support for the Franchise is that Main Issue in a Franchise being Based in North Queensland

South Melbourne: In September of this Year, they Flagged the A-League as being one of the 2 Expansion Clubs in the A-League for 2009/2010. The only problem is the Lack of Finances & the Lack of Support for the Idea of another South Melbourne once again entering the Main Stream League once Again. Also the 1 City/1 Team policy is a definite kick in the teeth.

Western Sydney: Most prominently, are the Main Area of Focus for the A-League to base a Club in but have been filled with 2nd Thoughts especially the one about Sydney already having a Side in the A-League. Parramatta Power was a Good & Bad indication of why a Club should & shouldn't be based in the Western Area of Sydney as yes they can be successful on the Field but off the Field, it just can't work.

Wollongong: Have already been starting to really think about re-entering a Team into the Main Stream of Soccer in Australia. Have been a Success On & Off the Field when they were in the NSL & can definitely win a Premiership or 2 if they have the Right Team. The only problem is the Availability of another NSW Position in the A-League & Preparing for a Slump in the Home Crowds if the Team is doing badly.

Geelong: With the South Melbourne Hellas Team already Flagging their Intentions of being the 2nd Victorian Team in the A-League, the race is on for the 2nd Franchise of Victoria in the A-League. Geelong are actually the Favourites in the Race as they are outside Melbourne. Although they would need a New Stadium because Skilled Stadium is too wide for a Soccer Match. The Fans is another issue though usually a Victorian Team is usually well supported no matter how sh*t the Team is.

Gold Coast
: Likley despite it being in close Proximity between it's home turf and the Roar. A Gold Coast Franchise would be a completely new Venture to Main Stream Soccer in Australia & many see it would actually eventuate into a Successful Venture and it should have the Backing, Support & Definitely the Facility to support a Club from the Gold Coast Area.

Darwin: Highly unlikely as the Biggest Rectangular Stadium in rarwin is only a mere 8,000 Seats large & the Darwin Franchise would never eventuate into a WELL Supported & WELL Funded Side plus it would barely be able to attract anyone.

Canberra: The Last of the 8 Options, Obviously it is not favoured by many Sport Administrators in the FFA as they would not turn into a High Scoring Revenue Side and it's performance in the A-League could be a Worry. If it doesn't win well & Perform better than the Canberra City & Canberra Cosmos Franchises in the National Soccer League then Forget about it being a Good Idea to even think about letting a 3rd Canberra Club enter Main Stream Soccer again.

Two of the aforementioned bids went through but I'm confident that one of the next two teams possibly entering the next season(2010/11) will be a Victorian Team.
 

weasel

First Grade
Messages
5,872
I voted Western Sydney and South Melbourne, although I wouldn't mind seeing a team in Tassie either. This article doesn't give a lot of hope for the Wollongong bid to get up, and I'm just not sure about the Canberra bid quite yet. Basketball, football, cricket have all failed there in the past, and it's not like the Raiders fill the stadium regularly either. I don't think Canberra's worth gambling on until the A-League has really cemented itself.

Having two new teams in the Sydney and Melbourne markets may split the fan bases but 4 million divided by 2 is still a damn sight bigger than the three hundred thousand people Canberra and Wollongong both offer. Better stadiums too. And the chance to develop cross town rivalries. If the Melbourne side is going to be "South Melbourne" they'll have to ensure it doesn't identify too strongly with the VPL club and bring the race issue back into the league.

I would be willing to take a punt on a Tassie side just because they've been ignored by all other national competitions, bar cricket, so maybe if football went there the market would really embrace it. Although I know very little about the logistics of their bid (e.g. where they'll be based, if they'll need a stadium upgrade).
 

Red Bear

Referee
Messages
20,882
Should be wollongong
Have been interested since day one, working for a long time towards it, have a massive player and supporter base.
We wont get admitted tho because the western grandstand is apparently not up to standard. This is bullsh*t for a couple of reason.
Firstly, It's not even that bad, very good viewing spot if a little small
Secondly, the whole reason we wont get a new western grandstand is because there are only 6 dragons games a season and they cant justify building a new stand for 6 games, however it could be much more easily justified if we had an A-League side. Which we can get because we dont have a new Western grandstand.
 

cjs1822

Juniors
Messages
389
II'm just not sure about the Canberra bid quite yet. Basketball, football, cricket have all failed there in the past, and it's not like the Raiders fill the stadium regularly either. I don't think Canberra's worth gambling on until the A-League has really cemented itself.

So you're basing Canberra's bid on the failures of a basketball team? So what about sydney spirit then? they failed, does that mean western sydney shouldn't get a team?

The cosmos were a failure but the whole NSL was a failure, when the cosmos were in the comp, canberra hosted an international match against lowly opposition and only got 8K. Then in march when we hosted another international match we got 20K, this shows clearly the revolution of football in the capital and virtually cancels out the cosmos argument.

The C-, the C-, the cricket? Are you for real, have you seen the crowds at any domestic cricket match lately? You're having a laugh :lol:

And as for the raiders, if we are basing bids on rugbly league support, what about the eels or panthers crowds the eels are in financial crisis because they don't get decent crowds. And neither do penrith really. So on that western sydney shouldn't get a team. Anyway all of these team forementioned are of a different sport so you can't gauge how much support there will be for a canberra team based on them.

Also there are a lot of ethnics in canberra and where there are ethnics there are football supporters.
 

Misanthrope

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
47,624
I think Canberra are a logical choice. I'm then going to venture a little outside the options listed and say that I would rather see a Tasmanian side than a Wollongong one or a second Sydney/Melbourne team.

The area is criminally under-represented in professional sports, has a population that could support an A-League club, and would open up a market that is largely untapped.
 

griffo346

First Grade
Messages
7,932
im with people here saying we should tap into the tassie market tbh before AFL decide to set up a fulltime base
 
Messages
33,280
South Melbourne should first, IMO. Melbourne love their football more than Sydney so I don't think it will do the fanbase any harm like it will with Sydney FC. I don't think there should ever be a Western Sydney team.

Remove the Wellington Phoenix aswell. Oceania team playing in an Asian leauge, waste of space.

I am not sold on either Canberra or Wollongong.

I would be putting a team dead in the middle of Hobart, or whatever city in Tassie has the population. Even though the AFL have a team that send games down there all they really have have is a domestic cricket team, which nobody turns up to anyway, If they had a football team of their own I think it would be a hit. Problem is, it won't be a hit for too long if the AFL ever move a team there, which they probably would if the A-League does. That still leaves an extra spot, which, I suppose, would go to either Canberra or Wollongong.
 
Last edited:

cjs1822

Juniors
Messages
389
i think the solution to the sydney problem is to move Sydney FC to a more central location like an upgraded parramatta stadium.

that way an expansion spot isn't taken up and sydney get more support.

also if they are going well they could pack it out.
 
Messages
33,280
So you want to move Sydney FC to a more "central" location EVEN THOUGH they currently play at the most easily accesible stadium in all of NSW?
 
Messages
1,014
I always personally thought South Melbourne would one day re-enter the frame of Professional Soccer in this Nation and with a liscene for the A-League up fro grabs, i've always seen it as a chnace for them to take it. They are a huge Fanbase(bigger than Canberra or Darwin could ever muster up in 10 Seasons).
 
Messages
1,014
In my opinion, Tasmania is viable but barely. It's neither the geographic location nor the lack of people that is it's challenge... it's the corporate part. I doubt GUNS Limited would want to sponsor them or another other logging company in the forests of Tasmania.
 

Misanthrope

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
47,624
I always personally thought South Melbourne would one day re-enter the frame of Professional Soccer in this Nation and with a liscene for the A-League up fro grabs, i've always seen it as a chnace for them to take it. They are a huge Fanbase(bigger than Canberra or Darwin could ever muster up in 10 Seasons).

The FFA gave the Melbourne Heart consortium exclusive negotiating rights for Melbourne, so that somewhat diminishes South Melbourne's already slim chances of participation.
 
Messages
1,014
The FFA gave the Melbourne Heart consortium exclusive negotiating rights for Melbourne, so that somewhat diminishes South Melbourne's already slim chances of participation.

Didn't know that one and abit surprised. Well, if that leaves South Melbourne out, that pretty much pushes Wollongong and Canberra back in. I just don't see Canberra as a viable option to be honest.
 

weasel

First Grade
Messages
5,872
http://www.theage.com.au/news/sport...-on-heart-light/2009/04/23/1240079798340.html

Victory blow: Mirabella turns on Heart light

Dan Silkstone
April 24, 2009

MELBOURNE Victory has lost its first supporter to the city's new A-League franchise. And, boy he is a big one.
Millionaire businessman Joe Mirabella told The Age yesterday he would withdraw his sponsorship of the Victory as soon as possible in order to buy a stake in the new franchise, provisionally named Melbourne Heart.
"I will be part of Melbourne Heart. I am a director of Melbourne Heart," he said. "It's exciting, it's good for Melbourne and it is good for football because Melbourne can sustain two teams."
The 46-year-old has been a backer of the Victory since the club's inception. His loss means that the Victory — which opposed the addition of a second Melbourne team — has lost two of its four largest sponsors in recent months. The club is still trying to find a replacement for major sponsor Samsung, after the electronics giant announced in January it would not renew its arrangement.
Mirabella will be a director of the new franchise as well as a part-owner. He is still negotiating the size of his stake but said he would buy at least a 10 per cent share of the club, which is controlled by majority shareholder Peter Sidwell.
The new entity will have eight major backers, Mirabella said, but will be based upon the idea of a "people's club" with strong links to grass-roots soccer and community groups. He said Sidwell's ideas for a second team's identity had appealed to him immediately.
"The idea is to have a team for the whole Melbourne public," he said. "I believe there is still a lot of people out there that have not gone to any A-League game, football people who will come out once the new team comes out."
Supporters may even be able to buy a small ownership stake in the club in a move that would be a first for any A-League franchise. The club's name is also to be chosen by its earliest supporters, with several options likely to be offered up for a popular vote. Melbourne City has been suggested as a popular front-runner.
Born in Ascot Vale, Mirabella has helped build the lighting business founded by his father in 1960 into a nationwide juggernaut. His wealth is estimated at $45 million by FourFourTwo magazine, which ranked the Victorian 20th in its annual soccer rich-list last year.
A talented junior player, Mirabella rose to prominence in the soccer community through the Brunswick Juventus club.
But when Brunswick was dropped from the old NSL in the mid-1990s, he vowed to walk away from the sport.
The creation of the A-League has won him back, the businessman having been a regular at Victory games since the new league's birth. "Melbourne Victory, you have to congratulate them for what they've done," he said. "They've won two premierships and done a lot for the Victorian public … but there's a lot of people out there that have been waiting for something different."
Mirabella added: "I love to see football growing in this nation. My dream is for Australia to win the World Cup at home in 2022."
The Victory are negotiating with several potential major sponsors but any deal is still some way off. Chief executive Geoff Miles wished Mirabella well yesterday. "It's obviously disappointing to lose Mirabella as a sponsor, but also to lose Joe as a part of our club," he said.
_________________________________________________________________________

Well seems it won't be their real name anyway, Mr Bush.

Btw, it's a bit of a worry that our best and biggest team can't keep their sponsor.

And Mirabella's move, call him fickle, call him greedy, just don't call him in the morning. Well, I s'pose the cynic could find some financial motive in this move, but I reckon he could be switching allegiances just so he can help the game get stronger. The Victory are successful and well-supported, so time to move on to something that needs him more. What a saint he is.
 

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