NRL in trouble, Football has arrived

[Goldfields_Titans]

Tigger? Are you there, or has he left the building? All quiet from this supertroll.

 

[docbrown]

I'll make a bold statement and suggest that the Premier League has a much bigger following in this country than the A-League.

And I don't see that changing at any point in the near future, not when people adopt English team for the glamour aspect. A-League just isn't on the same playing field.

 

[Skinner]

Not his best thread....

http://forums.leagueunlimited.com/showthread.php?t=166795

That was definitely his best effort. He's better than Moffo.

 

[BunniesMan]

I'll make a bold statement and suggest that the Premier League has a much bigger following in this country than the A-League. La Liga, Bundesliga, and Serie A probably do too. I know I watch every Manchester United game almost as religiously as I do the Dragons. I watch Sydney FC if nothing else is on.

Agreed. I watch every Arsenal game even if it means getting up at 6am. I've never seen an A-league game and have no interest to.

P.S. Manchester United sucks and won't win the league this year. Arsenal to get at least 3 trophies.

 

[Raiderdave]

For a start that game was played on neutral territory, midweek, with both clubs' sets of supporters having to endure immeasurable heartache over the past month. An A-League game would be the last thing on their minds. The fact that anyone at all showed up is a miracle. To use this game as a basis for your argument that the A-League is in turmoil, and therefore of no threat to League, is negligent.

Don't know if you watched any of last month's Asian Cup (you should have since you claim to follow the Socceroos) but our best player came from the A-League - Matt McKay. And guys like Marcos Flores, Archie Thompson, and Carlos Hernandez - are they all over the hill?

Don't forget that at a grassroots level, Soccer has the numbers on League. And it wasn't that long ago, post-Super League in fact, that League clubs were consistently drawing four figure crowds to games, and now look where we are - breaking attendance records year after year. Soccer in this country too went through a tumultuous Super League-type event with the disbanding of the NSL in 2004, so who's to say that in 10 years from now the A-League won't be averaging around the 17,000 that League does now?

The A-League may not be posing any threat to League at the moment but to dismiss any long-term threat outright is moronic.

they may
they may not ....

the NRL & AFL are in their own post codes compared to the other 2 football codes in Australia ... they are the only guys in town

and absolutely nothing has changed in 100 years
if the A league is averaging 17K a game in 2021

the NRL will be at 30K ... it is a better product & always will be
Australians know they are getting F grade rejects in the A League who were either never good enough .. or were but are past it
its a problem the NRL & AFL will never have.

 

[BDGS]

With the recent trend of A-league crowds going backwards, who's to say there will even be an A-League in 10 years.

 

[Dragon]

Only 19k to a Sunday night trial. We are f*cked

 

[CC_Roosters]

What has the charity shield got in the past?? My impression is 19K a decent effort for night trial and rain in the area.

I see craig foster has another article in the SMH, the usual line of football fans are so much more passionate, the world game blah blah blah. I have never seen him write anything of substance on the game itself only the usual superiority crap.

http://www.smh.com.au/sport/football/fans-love-for-the-game-like-no-other-20110212-1ar94.html

He is even more deluded with this line "But as the football fan culture grows and numbers swell, the FFA and stadiums around the country are struggling to understand and work with it"

3 consecutive years of tumbling attendances tell a different story me thinks.

 

[Von]

What a BS article by Foster!

The Australian soccer-chip-on-the-shoulder attitude continues....

 

[Dragon]

That article reeks of desperation

'Shout out to the cove blah blah blah' lmao what a wanker

 

[adamkungl]

You can have a 100,000 AFL crowd, double if you wish, or 80,000 at a Wallabies game and a football fan would wonder, where's the feeling, what sort of drama is this? Where are the banners and drums, the hardcore fan groups and the songs? To us, that is a spectacle, not an experience.

:lol: what a load of dribble

 

[CC_Roosters]

What a BS article by Foster!

The Australian soccer-chip-on-the-shoulder attitude continues....

I don't understand how football/soccer fans have developed this attitude here, the disrespect for other sports is disgusting. I have never seen breathtaking arrogance like Fosters from football journo's/pundits in the UK.

He certainly knows how to alienate the Australian sporting public, i'll give him that. And then he wonders why the majority doesn't care!:lol:

 

[adamkungl]

I don't understand how football/soccer fans have developed this attitude here, the disrespect for other sports is disgusting. I have never seen breathtaking arrogance like Fosters from football journo's/pundits in the UK.

He certainly knows how to alienate the Australian sporting public, i'll give him that. And then he wonders why the majority doesn't care!:lol:

With 4 football codes competing for attention, every sports fan gets on the defensive in different (and usually predictable) ways.

Soccer fans, due to the sheer indifference of everyone else towards the sport, take the pathetic attitude of "we're better because it's the WORLD game...AFL and rugby are pissant tiny sports..."

 

[Dragon]

Dont get me wrong i watched the Manchester derby last night and im not even a soccer fan. That game was intense with one of the best goals ive ever seen. I think its fair to say a good game of soccer is easily on par with a good game of league, but the A-League simply doesn't have the talent.

Foster and co know this so they talk it up deluxe, and sometimes we (borderline football fans) listen, only to be let down. I honestly feel betrayed every time i tune in to watch the A-League.. i read the articles, the commentators have me salivating and then i can stand about 10 minutes of intercepted passes and im channel surfing

 

[Constraint]

Dont get me wrong i watched the Manchester derby last night and im not even a soccer fan. That game was intense with one of the best goals ive ever seen. I think its fair to say a good game of soccer is easily on par with a good game of league, but the A-League simply doesn't have the talent.

Foster and co know this so they talk it up deluxe, and sometimes we (borderline football fans) listen, only to be let down. I honestly feel betrayed every time i tune in to watch the A-League.. i read the articles, the commentators have me salivating and then i can stand about 10 minutes of intercepted passes and im channel surfing

Pretty much nailed it. When we have anywhere near the quality and intensity in our club-level games as Europe etc possesses, then perhaps this article might make a little more sense. At present, I'd really rather sit at home cutting small pieces out of my beard than attend, much less watch on tv, an entire game of "A-league".

 

[Brutus]

Don't forget that at a grassroots level, Soccer has the numbers on League.

The very limp nature of soccer will always ensure this.

My young son plays soccer despite having no interest whatsoever in watching the game.

RL is a hardcore contact sport.

 

[Brutus]

I live on the Central Coast, I have been a member of the Central Coast Mariners since day one though I can't say the Mariners are taking over the Coast and killing off rugby league. The team is marketed heavily on the Coast, I will give you that, though our weekly crowd averages don't suggest the WHOLE of the Central Coast is as passionate as some.

But their crowds are sh*t.

If a RL team got crowds like that on the CC they would die in the arse.

The Mariners are actually a winning Aye League team and their crowds are still ordinary. Imagine if they were perennial cellar dwellers.

Taking over the CC :lol:

 

[Everlovin' Antichrist]

Foster is an idiot. He alienates potential fans every time he starts typing.

Soccer would do well to get him deported.

 

[Lossy]

But their crowds are sh*t.

If a RL team got crowds like that on the CC they would die in the arse.

The Mariners are actually a winning Aye League team and their crowds are still ordinary. Imagine if they were perennial cellar dwellers.

Taking over the CC :lol:

It's relative I suppose, but say you're right. Take a look at the below.

CCM home averages:
2010/11 = 7,713 (15 games)
2009/10 = 7,430 (13)
2008/09 = 10,465 (11)
2007/08 = 12,741 (10)
2006/07 = 9,828 (11)
2005/06 = 7,899 (10)

League matches at Bluetongue:
2010 = 13,628 (5 games)
2009 = 11,330 (5)
2008 = 11,520 (4)
2007 = 16,021 (5)
2006 = 18,124 (1)
2005 = 15,165 (3)

Football is hardly part of Aussie societal fabric and the CC masses are apparently league-starved and will turn out in droves - the Bears thread says so, so let's work with that - especially given football is the only other show in town.

Will CCM numbers drop further as people flock to a Bears reboot? Will more league games at Bluetongue result in a drop in averages after an initial spike? How many fans will abandon other clubs for a CC team, and would that put a ditched team on the block?

Lots of fun questions that probably can't be answered right now, but most could have a stab at this:

What average does a CC RL team have to get to not 'die in the arse'? And what CCM average will result in their demise?

 

[Goddo]

Stadia in Australia are set up to accommodate other games of static support, and are yet to understand the importance of tifos or giant banners supporting a team or player, of standing sections where hardcore fans can congregate to work in unison, of drums and horns to impact the game, and the fans' need to express their passion without overbearing security guards trained only in managing sedate crowds in other, less passionate games.
Passion is equated with trouble by non-football people who misunderstand it, but it is the very elixir of life, and too little of it exists in our over-regulated society.
Tribalism is a vital part of football, gives the game its great derbies and divisions, and expresses itself through passion that can be found nowhere else but a football match.

He has officially lost it.... has he ever watched St George play at Jubilee oval? Or the Bulldogs? He is mad