LFCMariners
Well-Known Member
This was an idea I had today, and goes as such:
The A-League schedule is revamped to be a true "home and away" season, where every team plays one another twice, home and away. This way, no team has the advantage of playing a poor team at home twice, compared to another side which has to play a difficult team away from home on two occasions.
There would be some rounds lost, but in place we have the FFA Cup kick-off, interspersed throughout the back-half of the season, with possibly split rounds to accomodate the Cup, like happens in England. Like the European model, the last round of the competition is played simualtaneously. Imagine a scenario like 2007-08, where Sydney, the Roar, the Scum and us were all vying for the league? It would be like having 3-4 Grand Finals at the same time! Sure, there may be seasons where the League was decided before the final round, but more often than not it would come down to the final round, and the League could promote the hell out of it, and instead of the Grand Final where only 2 sides are vying for glory, several teams could all be gunning for the title with packed stadiums watching not just their team play, but anxiously waiting on the other results.
The A-League is much bigger geographically than the European leagues, but this problem could be sorted by ensuring Perth and Wellington never both play at home in the final round. So one year, Wellington could kick off at home at 8pm on a Saturday evening, while Adelaide kicks off at 2pm. Or conversley, Perth kicks off at 3pm while Sydney hosts a final round game at 7pm.
In place of the finals series, the FFA Cup final cold be held a fortnight after the last round, giving the League winners plenty of time to celebrate and then re-focus should they also find themselves in the FFA Cup Final.
Thoughts? I am actually keen to forward this concept to the FFA, as I know I am not the only person who follows the A-League, across all clubs, who likes the idea of a true League season. It makes sense, considering our goal is to produce players who will go overseas and play in this very competition format. Why not prepare them for it while they are here?
The A-League schedule is revamped to be a true "home and away" season, where every team plays one another twice, home and away. This way, no team has the advantage of playing a poor team at home twice, compared to another side which has to play a difficult team away from home on two occasions.
There would be some rounds lost, but in place we have the FFA Cup kick-off, interspersed throughout the back-half of the season, with possibly split rounds to accomodate the Cup, like happens in England. Like the European model, the last round of the competition is played simualtaneously. Imagine a scenario like 2007-08, where Sydney, the Roar, the Scum and us were all vying for the league? It would be like having 3-4 Grand Finals at the same time! Sure, there may be seasons where the League was decided before the final round, but more often than not it would come down to the final round, and the League could promote the hell out of it, and instead of the Grand Final where only 2 sides are vying for glory, several teams could all be gunning for the title with packed stadiums watching not just their team play, but anxiously waiting on the other results.
The A-League is much bigger geographically than the European leagues, but this problem could be sorted by ensuring Perth and Wellington never both play at home in the final round. So one year, Wellington could kick off at home at 8pm on a Saturday evening, while Adelaide kicks off at 2pm. Or conversley, Perth kicks off at 3pm while Sydney hosts a final round game at 7pm.
In place of the finals series, the FFA Cup final cold be held a fortnight after the last round, giving the League winners plenty of time to celebrate and then re-focus should they also find themselves in the FFA Cup Final.
Thoughts? I am actually keen to forward this concept to the FFA, as I know I am not the only person who follows the A-League, across all clubs, who likes the idea of a true League season. It makes sense, considering our goal is to produce players who will go overseas and play in this very competition format. Why not prepare them for it while they are here?
