Could bunk over at your opposite numbers place after the match though.

Canberra FC interested in joining national second division

March 13 2017 - 6:27PM
The FFA might have kiboshed Canberra's chances of having an A-League team, but Canberra FC are considering throwing their hat in the ring to be the ACT's B-League team.

Canberra FC's coach Marko Vrkic believes a national second division would provide the perfect pathway for ACT players to get to a professional career and his club has the ambition to play at the highest level possible.

Canberra FC coach Marko Vrkic says the club is interested in playing in a proposed national second division.
Canberra FC coach Marko Vrkic says the club is interested in playing in a proposed national second division. Photo: Richard Briggs
Fairfax Media on Sunday revealed National Premier League clubs from Australia's major cities were planning to form their own national second division as the FFA continues to drag their feet on the issue.

The FFA recently postponed any thought of expanding the A-League as well.

Canberra has long tried to get an A-League licence, but was turned down by the FFA.

FFA chief executive David Gallop has since quashed Canberra's chances of getting its own team in the medium-term future.

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Led by Melbourne clubs, an association has been set with clubs required to join if they want to attend a meeting in Melbourne on Monday to begin discussions about a second division.

Canberra FC were interested being part of the concept, but Vrkic said their participation would depend on the details.

They previously played in the NSW state league in the 80s and 90s.

"Canberra FC are always interested in something to lift football in Canberra up," he said.

"We have talent, but the talent doesn't have the opportunity to go up, especially in Canberra or Hobart. There is no A-League.

"It's great news that this has happened ... because we've got the facilities, we've got the club, we've got the stadium, supporters.

"It's always the ambition from the club to step up ... it's only the start. We are of course interested, but we'll see how much the costs are."



Vrkic revealed discussions had been going on in the background for a couple of years, dating back to the Asian Cup.

Canberra Stadium hosted seven games at the Asian Cup, including one quarter-final, and was voted the best surface in the prestigious tournament - which the Socceroos won for the first time.

Canberra FC played a pre-season trial against Sydney United at Deakin Stadium two weeks ago, where discussions were believed to be held again.

Vrkic said there could potentially be a conference system in the second division, split between the east and west coasts.

He said the FFA Cup, where Canberra Olympic made the semi-final last year only to go down to A-League team Sydney FC, had been a great start.

"Maybe a C or B-League, it depends on how many clubs go in it. It should be more interest for football because this FFA Cup, that is great, something great for football," Vrkic said.

"This is a long time it should be like that and it's given people interest in small clubs that can go on TV."

But he felt expanding the involvement of NPL clubs into a week-in, week-out competition was "the future".

Vrkic said it would help Australia land the World Cup, one of the biggest sporting events on the planet, if they had a promotion and relegation system as part of their domestic league.

"From local to go to A-League, that's the future. If somebody has a private investor, why not?" he said.

"That's what is normal in the whole world - promotion and relegation.

"If Australia wants the World Cup, FIFA said Australia should have relegation and promotion - B and C-Leagues."


http://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/canberra-fc-interested-in-joining-national-second-division-20170313-gux2lc.html

Ill agree with you to an extent there. There were a few teams that played silky technical football, and they did possess players that were more technically gifted than some that we see today. In saying that there are still some class players in the a-league, but i do agree with your point.

Im not saying that they shouldn't exist, not at all. I just don't think that theres a model that would work that could combine the two forces of the a-league and the state federations. Not in its current form anyway. There would have to be massive administrational changes, these would probably take years to agree on and implement. 

I don't think the corruption we see in the game today can be compared with the days of the NSL at all. One of the key reasons that league was dissolved was due to the level of corruption and administrational mismanagement.

Im not proposing a totalitarian system. Im actually for an independent a-league, so long as it is set up correctly. Yes, the FFA have been overly cautious with the a-league to date, but that will be forced to change in the near future due to the market pressures. I don't think the state federation model works, not on an administration level at least. There needs to be regulatory bodies that cover certain geographical boundaries, but thats all they should be, everything else should happen at a national level. That way you ensure a uniform development pathway, club development models, refereeing standards etc etc etc. The FFA is meant to do all of that now but due to the division in the federations and from federation to federation, meaningful progress isn't possible.

"Maybe a C or B-League, it depends on how many clubs go in it. It should be more interest for football because this FFA Cup, that is great, something great for football," Vrkic said.


It's possible that there is so much interest in getting into a national 2nd tier that even a 3rd division has to be considered.

Overly cautious? They dropped a cool 3.5 mill on Timmy and City crowds are still in the shitter. 

Give it a rest. They have been utterly incompetent. And we havent even touched on that TV deal that Gallop said was guranteed to be 100k. 

Don't forget we are yet to count the much vaunted FTA deal, international rights and partial digital rights.

You are proposing a totalitarian system with all due respect. 

the current model is at a point of stagnation. The NPL will add a lot of interest much in the same way the FFA Cup did. 

As to corruption in the NSL. I can't see how the old clubs of the NSL were somehow more corrupt than the current A League. I mean look around at what we have today. i see a lot of turmoil with teams not being able to survive or pay their bills, not because they are bad business models mind you, but because of Stadium Rents and FFA suffocation and not being able to capitalize their IP. There seems to be a lot of corruption today eating at the game, but on top of that, there seems to be a lot of FFA corruption too which is currently at odds with FIFA and AFC as well. The standard of refereeing has been third world to the point that anyone would be completely justified in thinking the entire system is corrupt whereby the referees are having a huge say on results and even how certain teams fare.

They have their backs to the wall, and the FFA seems to be dynastic in its approach. We never had that in the old days, and some of the NSL clubs were just as viable as the A League teams of today. Perth Glory for instance was getting bigger crowds than it is today. SMFC were a club and team to behold, love them or hate them. Heck, SMFC would be more viable than half the current A League teams and you can throw in Brisbane in that group too. But they are kept out which is a major travesty and quite criminal and unfair on them and to other teams too as it sends the wrong messages. 

The FFA only have themselves to blame because of what are we seeing. We are just seeing a bunch of clubs saying they are fed up. Fed up with inaction, no direction or vision and fed up that they are denied a pathway. 

What we have today will lead to eventual collapse if there is no reform. Boredom and stagnation (silent killer) will never do the A League any good in the long run. The A league needs the NPL otherwise it will die just like the NSL did. We need a Pyramid from top to bottom. We need to be inclusive and the A league needs to embrace the NPL as much as the NPL Clubs will need to embrace the FFA and A League clubs otherwise we will not have good results if we are not united (and we are not united). There are strong divisions in our game, and that is holding the game back. 

This thing about having 20K all seater stadiums is got to stop too. A 10K boutique with 10K fans week in week out would be just fine. 

The biggest thing is that there needs to be true relegation from the 2nd tier back to the npl or whatever the 3rd tier will be. And there needs to be a fair system of promotion (not biased towards Victoria/nsw) to the 2nd tier, like a playoff with all the npl champions.

Happy for 1+1 to and from the Aleague. 

Also what we need is transfer fees. Why don't we have those again?

To ensure developing players and selling them on for profit isn't an option.

There is currently such a merry-go-round of players through out the A-League, what exactly would transfer fees achieve?

Of course, if you want to buy a player from overseas, transfer fees still apply.

2nd division clubs would be able to develop players and be able to sell them to a-league clubs rather than just lose them every year for nothing. 

Theres no need to relegate from the a-league. But the 2nd division needs to be based on the football, whoever loses needs to go regardless of criteria. 

Crazy isn't it. 

Ummm. It would give incentive to npl clubs to develop players maybe? 

Youre not trying very hard.

Will there be a grand final?

Well every level of football in this country for basically forever has had one so I'm going with yes.

Old Soccer meets New Football

ASL

Australian Soccer League

blue text

So its a corruption pissing contest then? Safe to say frank wins by a country mile.

And the key reasons we find ourselves in this current shit storm civil war, with everyone revolting, are "corruption and administrational mismanagement". But continue. Its funny to watch you squirm.

There should be a return to NPL clubs, but transfer fees are not the answer.  Another system needs to be devised (to operate between the top tier and lower tirr clubs).

Let me explain why transfer fees are not the answer (within Australia).

A-League clubs look for the best young talent to sign up to their youth teams already.

A few escape the net, and are already signed with local clubs, perhaps for one, two maybe three years.

A young player who originally escaped the net gets identified at a later date. He might have 6 months left on his contract, he might have 18 months left.

Either way, there is absolutely nothing the NPL can do to demand a high transfer - the kid walks for free in either six months or 18 months, and unless he is the hottest talent in the history of the universe, as if any A-League club will bother paying a large transfer fee (e.g. if overseas clubs are expressing interest, then the A-League club is most probably going to lose the battle in any auction anyway).

Rather - a system should be agreed within the domestic football family to work out how a small return can find its way back to the original club (noting it's not guaranteed that that young talent has spent most of his life at such a club in any event).

On top of that, any system we can work out ourselves which puts player agents on the outer is always going to be preferable.

National premier league Australia sounds alright but when you add a third division then what? National premier league Australia division 2. Doesn't work well.

I think npl1, then npl2 etc then nplv etc is the way to go.

Wow what a load of shit. You sound alot like the resident sophist Gyfox. Words words everywhere but not a drop to think.

What an idiot. 

If a player is good enough to be bought they can ask for a fee. Young players will also pick clubs where they can get game time. If many players have aspirations to go overseas to play it is going to be easier for some when they get a chance to play in a 2nd division. Clubs buy players from second divisions all the time. 

Capped at 7k. Anything to keep the little man down. 

What I mean is A-League clubs will be bypassed. 

i agree.

I was responding to your last sentence, "Clubs buy players from second divisions all the time." (Forgot to highlight it).