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ozleicester

Soccer is different down under

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Posted

Well, we are closing in on the end of the "soccer" season down under and i thought you would be enthralled?.... interested....? entertained...?...no, ok well ive got 15 mins to fill so bugger it im posting anyway.

1) Football is called soccer by everyone, except the managing body who changed it to fooball a few years ago. They felt with a uniquely Australian game called football, Rugby League called football and Union called football, now was a good time to try to confuse the public further.

2) Australia is the hottest driest continent in the world, so we play soccer in the summer, Its ok though, if its too hot they move the kick off to evenings, so this year only half the games in perth were kicking off in 38+ degrees.

3) We only have one national league, so no matter how bad you are (see Melb VIctory) you cannot be relegated.

4) We have playoffs......... so, you can win every game of the season but, make a mistake or get a bed refs decision in the grand final, and you lose sucker!

Im sure there is much more, but my 10 mins have gone, lunch is due :)

Posted

Well, we are closing in on the end of the "soccer" season down under and i thought you would be enthralled?.... interested....? entertained...?...no, ok well ive got 15 mins to fill so bugger it im posting anyway.

1) Football is called soccer by everyone, except the managing body who changed it to fooball a few years ago. They felt with a uniquely Australian game called football, Rugby League called football and Union called football, now was a good time to try to confuse the public further.

2) Australia is the hottest driest continent in the world, so we play soccer in the summer, Its ok though, if its too hot they move the kick off to evenings, so this year only half the games in perth were kicking off in 38+ degrees.

3) We only have one national league, so no matter how bad you are (see Melb VIctory) you cannot be relegated.

4) We have playoffs......... so, you can win every game of the season but, make a mistake or get a bed refs decision in the grand final, and you lose sucker!

Im sure there is much more, but my 10 mins have gone, lunch is due :)

I must say I really, really hate number 4. The team that plays well throughout the season and wins the league, is an afterthought compared to the team that comes good late and/or gets lucky and wins the Grand Final. Bloody ridiculous. Especially when 6 teams make the playoffs and there's only ten in the league. (nine next season)

Of course, if Sydney win it this year having sneaked in yesterday by the skin of their teeth, I'll say it's a fantastic idea :)

Posted

Geez. One of the lesser posts.

1. Football is called soccer by those who don't love football.

2. L o l, ffs. Have you ever been to Melbourne? It's ****ing freezing here at the moment, has rained...and it's the first month of spring...

3. Melbourne Victory, biggest and most succesful club in the country.

4. The team that has finished top/second has won the A-League EVERY SINGLE SEASON. They (premiers/runners-up) get two chances, less games, 'home ground advantage' etc. Sure it would be great to have a competition like everywhere else in the world plus a cup competition but there are obvious reasons why we can't have this in Australia (size, sporting culture etc). Plus, you're from Perth and you've never experienced an A-League grand final so you wouldn't know how good they are to watch and win.

Posted

There has been talk of a cup competition hasn't there? Involving the A league teams and state league sides. That'd be one way to get Tiatto back into the competition :P

Posted

3) We only have one national league, so no matter how bad you are (see Melb VIctory) you cannot be relegated.

I thought you needed to have two(?) formal leagues to be recognised by FIFA?

Posted

There has been talk of a cup competition hasn't there? Involving the A league teams and state league sides. That'd be one way to get Tiatto back into the competition :P

There's been talk, yes, but will it happen? We can't even have a state cup competition let alone a national one. Heart and Victory agreed to be in last years state knock-out cup however pulled out at the 11th hour!

Posted

There's been talk, yes, but will it happen? We can't even have a state cup competition let alone a national one. Heart and Victory agreed to be in last years state knock-out cup however pulled out at the 11th hour!

Probably worried about Tiatto :)

I'd rather see a few more teams in the A League first, but there seems to be so much bitching and backstabbing going on I think that might take a while

Posted

Geez. One of the lesser posts.

1. Football is called soccer by those who don't love football.

2. L o l, ffs. Have you ever been to Melbourne? It's ****ing freezing here at the moment, has rained...and it's the first month of spring...

3. Melbourne Victory, biggest and most succesful club in the country.

4. The team that has finished top/second has won the A-League EVERY SINGLE SEASON. They (premiers/runners-up) get two chances, less games, 'home ground advantage' etc. Sure it would be great to have a competition like everywhere else in the world plus a cup competition but there are obvious reasons why we can't have this in Australia (size, sporting culture etc). Plus, you're from Perth and you've never experienced an A-League grand final so you wouldn't know how good they are to watch and win.

One of the great experiences 50,000 people top see the Fred and Archie show was amazing.

Posted

I used to love the Aussie football pools coupons in the summer months in the UK .

Team names like Nunawading Wollongong and Wagga Wagga all seemed so exotic

Posted

There's been talk, yes, but will it happen? We can't even have a state cup competition let alone a national one. Heart and Victory agreed to be in last years state knock-out cup however pulled out at the 11th hour!

Heart and Victory were pulled out by the FFA, not there choice.

Posted

I must say I really, really hate number 4. The team that plays well throughout the season and wins the league, is an afterthought compared to the team that comes good late and/or gets lucky and wins the Grand Final. Bloody ridiculous. Especially when 6 teams make the playoffs and there's only ten in the league. (nine next season)

Of course, if Sydney win it this year having sneaked in yesterday by the skin of their teeth, I'll say it's a fantastic idea :)

I kind of understand it in Rugby, I only really got it this year though, because of the World cup and the 6 nations good teams spend large parts of the season without their best players, meaning that they are put at a massively unfair disadvantage by having good players, with the play offs at the end of the season it gives the best teams the chance to put out their best 15s and fight for the title, otherwise titles can be directly affected by matches effectively involving 2 reserve teams. Obviously injuries at the wrong time to key players can be crucial but that is always the case.

Is there any reason for it in the A-league? Or is it just a money spinner?

Posted

I must say I really, really hate number 4. The team that plays well throughout the season and wins the league, is an afterthought compared to the team that comes good late and/or gets lucky and wins the Grand Final. Bloody ridiculous. Especially when 6 teams make the playoffs and there's only ten in the league. (nine next season)

Of course, if Sydney win it this year having sneaked in yesterday by the skin of their teeth, I'll say it's a fantastic idea :)

The A-League plays an unbalanced schedule, with one team playing half of the teams twice at home and once away, and the other half once at home and twice away. As such, I don't think it's entirely fair to decide a league champion just based upon the regular season results, and don't find a playoff system with seeding based on regular season results such a bad thing.

Posted

You drive on the left side of the road.

You spell favourite with a u and spell realise with an 's', not a 'z'.

You have the Union Jack on your flag

Yet you STILL call it soccer. Fvck off

Posted

Heart and Victory were pulled out by the FFA, not there choice.

I know, that's my point.

I kind of understand it in Rugby, I only really got it this year though, because of the World cup and the 6 nations good teams spend large parts of the season without their best players, meaning that they are put at a massively unfair disadvantage by having good players, with the play offs at the end of the season it gives the best teams the chance to put out their best 15s and fight for the title, otherwise titles can be directly affected by matches effectively involving 2 reserve teams. Obviously injuries at the wrong time to key players can be crucial but that is always the case.

Is there any reason for it in the A-league? Or is it just a money spinner?

It's 100% because of our sporting culture. All we know is 'finals footy', 'getting to the granny' etc. It's a part of how this country see's sporting events ending. Maybe in the future when 'soccer' is truly ingrained into the Australian sporting landscape and we get a cup competition, will we see things change.

Posted

I know, that's my point.

It's 100% because of our sporting culture. All we know is 'finals footy', 'getting to the granny' etc. It's a part of how this country see's sporting events ending. Maybe in the future when 'soccer' is truly ingrained into the Australian sporting landscape and we get a cup competition, will we see things change.

When, more like if and a big if with crowds on the declining and 2 clubs folding in 2 years and Sydney Rovers not getting off the ground. I fear the game will never properly establish it's self in this country.

Posted

I think the main problem is we started too late.

The current champions were formed in 2004 and all the teams were formed fairly recently (Formed during the money dominated time for football)

Posted

I kind of understand it in Rugby, I only really got it this year though, because of the World cup and the 6 nations good teams spend large parts of the season without their best players, meaning that they are put at a massively unfair disadvantage by having good players, with the play offs at the end of the season it gives the best teams the chance to put out their best 15s and fight for the title, otherwise titles can be directly affected by matches effectively involving 2 reserve teams. Obviously injuries at the wrong time to key players can be crucial but that is always the case.

Is there any reason for it in the A-league? Or is it just a money spinner?

Pretty sure it's a money spinner. Brisbane got 50,000 for last years grand final, Melbourne 44,000 the year before that. Average crowds overall last year were about 10,000.

It seems to be the done thing over here as AFL and Rugby League have grand finals. The Aussies I work with swear by it, and think it generates more interest and rewards the team that can cope with big game pressure.

As Jordan pointed out, the A League season is unbalanced as each team plays each other three times, meaning you might cop a tricky away fixture twice. And the finals are seeded, so that the team finishing 6th should face a more difficult path to the final. This year that's Sydney, who have been crap all season but have recently found a bit of form, so they could end up with their name on the trophy

Posted

You drive on the left side of the road.

You spell favourite with a u and spell realise with an 's', not a 'z'.

You have the Union Jack on your flag

Yet you STILL call it soccer. Fvck off

To be fair most of the Australian media now call it football. It's just the general population that need converting.

Posted

Pretty sure it's a money spinner. Brisbane got 50,000 for last years grand final, Melbourne 44,000 the year before that. Average crowds overall last year were about 10,000.

It seems to be the done thing over here as AFL and Rugby League have grand finals. The Aussies I work with swear by it, and think it generates more interest and rewards the team that can cope with big game pressure.

As Jordan pointed out, the A League season is unbalanced as each team plays each other three times, meaning you might cop a tricky away fixture twice. And the finals are seeded, so that the team finishing 6th should face a more difficult path to the final. This year that's Sydney, who have been crap all season but have recently found a bit of form, so they could end up with their name on the trophy

It's part of the culture to have a grand final, a definete finish so to speak. The financial win fall also plays a part.

The unbalance is from the fact, that no one rocks up to midweek games so they avoid them. A perfect way to avoid them is shorten the season.

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