Provisional Division II status the best possible scenario for NASL, USL

Games ending in ties remain one of the many things that confuse non-soccer watching Americans about the beautiful game. So, perhaps it is apropos that after weeks of deliberation, delays and discussion, the United States Soccer Federation announced that both the NASL and USL have been given provisional Division II status.

Certainly, there are challenges ahead for both league -- and the federation -- to implement the standards needed for full-time Division II status. But, what is clear is that this was the best option for U.S. Soccer, and that the federation deserves credit for making the decision that provides the best chance for both leagues moving forward.

In order to understand why this is a good decision, consider the alternate scenarios:

Scenario 1: NASL awarded sole Division II status

USL believes that it put in in an application clearly deserving of D-II status, and would have felt aggrieved if outright denied that.

“This work started a while ago, and the last few months have been very busy,” Jake Edwards, president of USL, told FourFourTwo USA. “The federation conducted the audits and we’ve been finding solutions which make sense.” Having gone through painstakingly putting together the application, Edwards feels the USL “meets league standards.”

U.S. Soccer requires each Division II team to have a stadium with a minimum 5,000-seat capacity. NASL teams meet this requirement, while some USL teams do not. James Poling of News Oklahoma reports that “at least four clubs” in USL do not meet the stadium requirements.

Another potential outcome of this scenario was the idea that USL may bring litigation against USSF. “We’ve never publicly said that,” Edwards said. And while USL would have been “disappointed” at not getting D-II status, Edwards denies litigation was likely.

Scenario 2: USL awarded sole Division II status

Beyond the USL perspective, U.S. requires 12 teams for a D2 league beyond its 6th season. NASL would not have met that criteria, having only eight teams as of now for its spring season; USL boasts 30 teams.

TARGETED ALLOCATION

While this scenario would have been beneficial to USL, it likely would have brought an end to the NASL.

According to sources, the futures of NY Cosmos, Jacksonville Armada and Fort Lauderdale Strikers hinge on NASL attaining Division II status. Additionally, sources suggest that had NASL been given D3 status, some of the stable NASL franchises such as Indy Eleven and Puerto Rico FC would have questioned their futures with the league.

Scenario 3: USL and NASL awarded co-Division III status

Based solely on U.S. Soccer requirements, this was the most pedantic solution. However, as an optic for American soccer, this would have been embarrassing for USSF to have a first division and third division, but no second division.

Additional questions about why U.S. Soccer did not address these issues earlier would continue to manifest. Both NASL sources as well as Edwards were frustrated by the delay in proceedings. “Several votes have been postponed over last year; until we got to the final deadline on Friday. The final presentation was made around 5 p.m., and we were notified around 7 p.m.”

It’s also important to note that if the future of NASL teams truly was contingent on attaining Division II status, even a scenario of dual third-division leagues would have ended the NASL.

Scenario 4: A combined NASL/USL D-II league

While FourFourTwo USA understands that this was discussed in earlier negotiations, given the complicated history of the leagues and franchises, it remains a non-viable option.

What it all means

Awarding both the NASL and USL second-division status has already proven to be a shrewd move by U.S. Soccer.

In a press release, NASL confirmed an 8-team league comprising of Indy Eleven, FC Edmonton, Puerto Rico FC, Miami FC, North Carolina FC, expansion San Francisco Deltas, Jacksonville Armada FC and incredibly, the New York Cosmos. On Saturday afternoon, the New York Cosmos – a team mired in financial difficulties and thought to have been no more as of the end of 2016 – confirmed that they would be active in the 2017 NASL season.

U.S. Soccer will expect the each league to meet requirements consistently in the future.

The next question is: Where does each league go from here? U.S. Soccer president, Sunil Gulati, said in a statement that “U.S. Soccer will create an internal working group that will work with each league to set a pathway to meet the full requirements for division two and allow for the larger goal of creating a sustainable future."

Edwards explicated on the immediate vision for the league: “In our application, there were few areas where we fell short of D-II status. A few stadiums are below capacity.” Edwards added that those owners have already presented plans to either expand stadia or upgrade to new venues. Additionally, Edwards expects to have three new teams and a “major broadcast deal”; previously reported to be an ESPN and Sirius XM FC deal.

Edwards also clarified that suggestions that MLS was blocking promotion of USL to D-II were wide of the mark. “They’ve been tremendous partners,” Edwards clarified adding that MLS reserve teams were, “fully committed to meeting D2 standards.”

The meaning of divisions themselves, in the absence of promotion-relegation may, at first, seem rather pointless. But, there are clear financial considerations to being in higher divisions. In a conversation with Brian Straus of Sports Illustrated, Edwards explained the importance of D-II status,

“You’re talking about perception and value for the clubs and the owners, an impact on franchise values, an impact on revenue streams, an impact on commercial activity and media activity—media rights, sponsorship value in the marketplace and marketing perception of second division or third. Those are real tangible benefits for teams and their validation of the fact that the team is making that investment and operating at that level.”

While USL and Edwards are buoyant about the promotion to D-II status, the future of NASL, while immediately secure, remains unclear. NASL did not respond to requests for an interview today.

But FourFourTwo USA understands that the exact hierarchical structure within NASL remains unclear. North Carolina FC owner Steve Malik, not commissioner Bill Peterson, was quoted in Friday’s press release. While that might be coincidental, it is important to note that Jeff Rueter of Fifty Five.One reported that NASL’s last round of negotiations were conducted without Mr. Peterson.

Additionally, while NASL named the New York Cosmos and Jacksonville as active teams for 2017, both teams have challenges to navigate to be ready in time for the anticipated spring kickoff. Concomitantly, Fort Lauderdale Strikers, not named as one of the eight active NASL teams, are close to new ownership -- widely reported to be the PSG Academy Florida. However, sources close to the club suggest the sale is yet to be finalized, and while it is expected, the ownership group is currently not interested in fielding a team in 2017.

NASL’s future is also heavily reliant on successful expansion franchises -- Atlanta, Detroit, and San Diego among the reported cities -- joining the league and bringing the number of teams to 12; as required by NASL.

The difference between basic and translational science is the former allows derivation of causation by using a reductionist perspective, whereas, the latter is a better representation of the complex interactions of the real world. Similarly, while supporters of one league, one agenda (Pro/Rel) or one club may have desired a simple, clear-cut decision from USSF, given the circumstances, that was not possible.

Yes, this decision is clearly a bandage; the word “provisional” suggests the instability of the situation. But, U.S. Soccer has ensured that, for now, teams won’t disband, players and staff won’t lose jobs and American soccer does not step backwards.

That’s no tie -- it’s a victory.

More features from FourFourTwo USA

http://www.fourfourtwo.com/us/features/provisional-division-ii-status-best-possible-scenario-nasl-usl

This is it, for Australia as well

The topic was given fresh impetus by Monday’s release of a report from Deloitte which contends that reworking the US soccer pyramid to introduce promotion and relegation could stimulate changes that would benefit the sport from top to bottom.

The report argues that it would increase attention, translating to higher attendance and broadcast viewing figures; force owners to work harder to improve their teams and infrastructure; battle-harden players in a way that would aid development all the way to national team level; bring the US in line with overseas leagues and lead to stronger structures and more investment from the grassroots up.

Winner of Official 442 Comment of the day Award -  10th April 2017

Support for relegation in MLS remains high but don't hold your breath
A report this week says 88% of US fans back ‘pro-rel’ but a lack of any clear plan – or willingness on behalf of owners – remains an obstacle

If pro-rel does take hold it would most likely be tested heavily in lower leagues first. Photograph: Jeffrey McWhorter/AP
Tom Dart
Tuesday 22 November 2016 21.00 AEDT Last modified on Tuesday 22 November 2016 21.02 AEDT

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In a more conventional soccer universe, Indy Eleven might be preparing for a 2017 season against the likes of the Los Angeles Galaxy and Seattle Sounders. In only their third campaign, the team from Indianapolis finished second in the second-tier North American Soccer League: runners-up in the standings to the New York Cosmos, who also beat them on penalties in the championship playoff.

With average attendances of about 8,500, the club is hoping to get approval for an 18,500-seat stadium. In a couple of years it is not hard to imagine Indy boasting a major-league quality team in a major league-quality stadium, with only one thing missing: Major League Soccer. In American sport, improvement does not mean that the only way is up.

“We’ve always said we want to play at the highest level possible,” said Tom Dunmore, Indy’s senior vice-president of marketing and operations. “We want to have the best standard on and off the pitch. We’re obviously part of a system where you can’t earn that through merit on the field so we’re working to grow the NASL. That’s our focus.”

A place in MLS is not won through sporting success but is a strategic outcome based on lobbying, location and spending power; the result of a cold-eyed business plan, rather than prowess in the penalty area. When New York added a second team to join the Red Bulls it was not the Cosmos, NASL champions in three of the past four years - but New York City FC, a new entity built by the billionaire backers of Manchester City.


Do Keane and Gerrard's departures spell the end of LA Galaxy's Galácticos era?
Read more
Whether soccer in the US wants or needs promotion and relegation is a debate that pulses as one of the pressure points of operating a global sport in North America, where some fans envy the dramas elsewhere but major leagues have heavily centralised structures, clubs are franchises and professional soccer’s rulers have an aversion to risk informed by memories of the old NASL’s rise and fall in the 1970s and 80s.

The topic was given fresh impetus by Monday’s release of a report from Deloitte which contends that reworking the US soccer pyramid to introduce promotion and relegation could stimulate changes that would benefit the sport from top to bottom.

The report argues that it would increase attention, translating to higher attendance and broadcast viewing figures; force owners to work harder to improve their teams and infrastructure; battle-harden players in a way that would aid development all the way to national team level; bring the US in line with overseas leagues and lead to stronger structures and more investment from the grassroots up.

The study – commissioned by Silva International Investments, whose head, Riccardo Silva, co-owns the NASL’s Miami FC – includes a survey of US fans which found that 88% believe that “pro-rel” would boost American club soccer.

“I do think that for the game to realise its full potential in the US, promotion and relegation feels like part of the solution,” said Dan Jones of Deloitte’s Sports Business Group. “We very deliberately haven’t put a timeline on it because there’s a lot of practical detail to be worked out as to how you would actually go about implementing it.”

That would include stabilising and organising the lower leagues and creating a compensation package palatable to MLS clubs who endure relegation, as well as figuring out how to handle the increasing number of lower-league teams affiliated to MLS sides.

But with expansion fees now in excess of $100m, providing a key revenue generator for a league that last year claimed to be losing money, it is hard to imagine MLS would give away spaces for free. And the commissioner, Don Garber, dismissed the concept as recently as this month.

“Charleston Battery has won four USL championships so I suppose in one way if you look at it we could have been promoted four times,” said Andrew Bell, whose own career trajectory is a testament to American social mobility: he started off as a taxi driver after emigrating to South Carolina from England, joined the team in 1999 as a play-by-play announcer and was named president in 2008.

The Battery, of the third-level United Soccer League, have one of the best stadiums in the lower echelons and last year beat Houston Dynamo of MLS in a pre-season friendly. Bell knows the pain of relegation and the joy of promotion: he is a boyhood fan of Reading FC. But he does not think the US is ready for it.

“I think there’s a realism that it’s really not going to happen any time soon, in my opinion. Maybe I’m wrong but I just can’t see how we could change the system where that could be possible,” he said. “We’ve been playing since 1993, MLS has been playing since 1996, it’s really not that long. So maybe in the future – it’s going to be the long-term future – there’s a chance that it could change and we could see that. But I don’t think we’re really at that mature level yet.”

With MLS on a solid footing and out of its teenage years, though, some believe that continued progress requires dramatic change, rather than a cautious ethos that has fostered incremental growth.

“There is an incredible market for pro soccer in the US. It is presently reined in by an uncompromising major league system that served its purpose well during the initial phase but 20 years later needs to evolve as it is now holding the growth back,” said Jerome de Bontin, the former general manager of the Red Bulls, by email. “Soccer fans like the European-style pure merit system. US TV audiences of European leagues are there to demonstrate that the US fans like the competitiveness of those leagues. The US soccer fan is not different from the European one. He or she aspires to the same quality and competitiveness of games. The MLS playoff attendance and TV ratings demonstrate that currently there is very little interest in the playoff system that’s in place, which by the way, MLS has changed many times over the past twenty years, without ever finding a formula that works.”

If MLS does ever adopt pro-rel, it would likely only happen once the concept has proven successful in the lower echelons. A test case is the United Premier Soccer League, an amateur competition in California, Arizona, Colorado, Nevada and Idaho with about 50 teams. It will debut pro-rel internally in 2017.

“We have some very good teams that have potential to be higher-level teams in the future,” said the UPSL commissioner, Yan Skwara. Promotion will be based on a combination of on-field performance and off-field minimum standards, such as venue size.

If it is popular, teams might one day transit between tiers, Skwara said, with a goal “to connect the dots not only with just the clubs but with the leagues. The system here is very fragmented and there are a handful of leagues and now it’s to the point where it’s a little bit confusing … Maybe it can help bring it all together in the future and maybe not, maybe everybody kind of stays their own course.”

Had the governing body, the United States Soccer Federation, taken a firmer grip of the structure long ago, Skwara said, a more clearly-defined structure that would have better facilitated pro-rel might exist. “You have the wild wild west as far as leagues go. You have a bunch of businesses that are set up to own and operate soccer leagues,” he said.

“There’s nothing wrong with that but that’s just the reality, that you have business opportunities to own and operate a league. If you want to go and set up a league tomorrow you can do that, it’s not that difficult. That’s not the case in England or Germany or Poland, where the federation pretty much controls everything.”

Ultimately, of course, money will talk. Jones, of Deloitte, questions the notion that American dealmakers fear volatility. “One of the points that some people have made to me is, ‘well, US investors would not go for a system with the risk of relegation’. You look at it, and the fact that US investors invested in Derby County, Bologna, and Swansea, and Crystal Palace. So that doesn’t say to me that US investors are unwilling to invest in a soccer system that carries the risk of relegation,” he said.

“It somehow just feels very in line with the American way of doing things that there would be that opportunity: that if you’re willing to commit time and money and talent and ambition into doing something, you could push that on as far as those factors will take you rather than hitting a false sort of glass ceiling quite early.”

https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2016/nov/22/mls-promotion-relegation-pro-rel-soccer

Bristol Rovers, relegated out of the Football League & screwed over by a Supermarket Chain.

Now 2 consecutive promotions later, aiming for Division 1

Interview with Passionate new owner, who used to follow Chelsea in the Championship.

...............Qadi has been enjoying football ever since his father took him to see Chelsea in the Second Division in the 1980s. Hooked from day one, he was soon travelling the country watching David Speedie, Pat Nevin and Kerry Dixon, and tells some terrific stories about that era and beyond, including the afternoon he eluded Roman Abramovich’s bodyguards to have his photograph taken with the Russian.......................  

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/oct/31/his-bodyguard-looked-like-he-wanted-to-kill-me-abramovichs-german-ambush

New Zealand Rugby receptive to ideas about how to improve provincial competition

HAMISH BIDWELLLast updated 18:01, October 28 2016

• 61

.......................
Another regular criticism of the competition is that the two tiers mean half the teams begin without a hope of winning the title. Winning the second division - or championship - still earns you a trophy of course, but the reality is you're still only the eighth best province in the country.Besides, NZR are quite fond of the additional intrigue that things such as promotion-relegation provide."In reality we see a lot of excitement and intensity in the championship playoffs as well. One of the good things about the current model is teams eight to 14, most of them are still in the hunt with one or two weeks to go to be in the playoffs and to play for a championship," said Lancaster.The way the whole season is structured, two tiers also enables NZR to get things done and dusted in the 10 weeks they have available to them, he added."The current model has a lot of pros and it's a well thought out model and it works for a lot of people. But there's no perfect model and there are some real constraints that sit around the competition, in terms of the number of weeks, when it starts, when it has to finish."I don't think anyone's at the point of saying the current model doesn't work. But there's enough people saying let's have a look at it and check if there is an alternative that might be worth exploring and we're open to that."It's the business side of things that is driving talk about format changes."What we're hearing from some of the provincial unions is that commercially there are some concerning trends, so we're open to that and it's timely at the end of a competition that we start that process," said Lancaster.NZR are already working with the unions to ensure they all make a buck, but it's not easy. Empty stadiums don't just look bad, they cost people money.And if it were simply a dollars and cents issue, then perhaps a more concerted effort might be made to spruce provincial footy up. But while it continues to provide quality players for Super and international rugby, NZR will remain reasonably content."It is a good competition. I don't think anyone would say from a rugby perspective it doesn't work. It does," Lancaster said."It produces high-quality match-ups week-in and week-out and it is a good product...it is a really fundamental part of our player pathway and competition framework and nobody is questioning the value of the competition, that's for sure."But "it has to work commercially" and there's the rub.That's why NZR remain prepared to entertain ideas about what could be done to enhance what exists now."Will it change? I don't know. But we have an open mind," said Lancaster.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/provincial/85852060/new-zealand-rugby-receptive-to-ideas-about-how-to-improve-provincial-competition

Lack of relegation will be key in sale of Glasgow and Edinburgh, SRU believes

Crowd violence mars Million Pound Game

"EFL sides also decided not to allow Celtic, Rangers or Premier League B teams into any new professional structure."

LEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEL

-PB

ROADMAP FOR INDIAN FOOTBALL: AIFF MUST RUN THE RULE BY FIFA FOR CLOSED LEAGUE
Rahul Bali
04:49INDIASHARE
0 AIFF Media
The Indian FA needs to seek approval from the world governing body for football with regards to conducting a closed league…

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) general secretary, Dato Windsor advised the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) officials that they need to seek a special permission from FIFA in order to have a top division league with no avenue of promotion and relegation.

It was mentioned that the likes of USA, Australia and Philippines have been given special permission by FIFA to conduct a closed league.

India would need to follow suit in order to ensure that the Indian Super League (ISL), which is slated to be the country’s premier football league in 2017, would continue to enjoy the luxury of having no relegation or promotion.

Gianni Infantino on Roadmap for Indian football: I’m sure compromises will be found

Windsor also mentioned that the ISL clubs will have to fulfil the club licensing criterion, which includes the financial norms, and that having six foreign players in the starting eleven of the top division league wouldn’t be a cause for concern.

http://m.goal.com/s/en-india/news/136/india/2016/09/29/27995512/roadmap-for-indian-football-aiff-must-run-the-rule-by-fifa?utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com.au%2F

So you need permission from FIFA. You can't just have no pro rel and say the US doesn't do it we don't do it either as some seem to think.

we dont need stories like darmstaadt.

we have franchises. history is for chumps.

THE REMARKABLE STORY OF BUNDESLIGA MINNOWS DARMSTADT

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2016/09/24/efl-plans-a-league-three-with-expansion-to-106-league-clubs/

Was he watching a different CCM to everyone else? Uskok, Bray and Stella all entered the A-League for the first time last season from the NPLV while Buhagiar came up from NPL NSW2. All in all, the average age was under 25 - how many more younger players did he want CCM to field?

Schroen isn't a very good eg as he hasn't had senior a league experience, he isn't a recycled player.

Anyhow I think this rant probably has more to do with Taylor himself, he has won 2 premiers plates, 2 championships and the dockerty cup in the last 3 seasons, and yet he is no closer to ever coaching at the highest level, he probably feels the only way he could coach at that level is if he got promoted with south, as far as the 10 current franchises go he is unfortunately well off the radar. The fact he doesn't have any fox sports connections drops him further down the pecking order.

Let's face it we all know how it works these days,

Sometimes, journalists make up quotes and put them in articles. (I know it's happened to me). IF Chris Taylor was quoted correctly (and it's a big IF, seeing as it's a quote in the Herald Sun), then he is speaking absolute rubbish. He's arguing that A-League teams don't give young players a chance, well he obviously didn't see the Mariners last year!. If he wants young players to get a chance, then he probably won't want promotion/relegation, as when a team is trying to avoid relegation, the last thing a manager will do is play young inexperienced players in preference to older experienced players.  The quote also suggests "There's players in my team that could play in the A League," "The A-League for me is an environment that's set up where they recycle teams and most of it's the players and the coaches. Then he suggests Marcus Schroen should get picked up. Hang on a minute, Schroen has had previous A-League experience as a youth player at City (when they were Heart), so he's essentially contradicting himself. 
The quote is however right in suggesting older guys who cloud be average journeymen players will be more likely to be promoted if promotion/relegation was brought in. "Then look at the other side of the coin where you have someone like Milos (Lujic, South Melbourne's Golden Boot winner) who earns a good wage with us and a good wage in his job ... are you going to take him to the A-League and offer him $55,000 (as a first contract)?"

The simple truth is promotion/relegation does nothing to bring on young players and is more likely to stifle the use and development of young players.

What promotion/relegation does do is allow for development of lower level clubs in terms of off-field matters such as finances/crowd support, but please Mr Taylor don't try to make false arguments that it helps the development of young players when it plainly does exactly the opposite.

I think the NPL clubs should aim to start a ''National NPL/NPL First Division''. Take the premier of each NPL plus the next best 2-4  out of the runner ups. 10 or 12 teams and each year after the initial season the State League premiers play off in a 14 round H/A ''NPL Championship'' to decide who goes up in Pro/Rel.

In no way do I mean a breakaway to the FFA but just take it out of the FFAs hands. Keep it semi pro but Chase some sponsorship/apply to the FFA for funding just to cover the travel costs. Using this years NPLs as an example you could potentially have Sydney United, Edgeworth, Bentleigh, Perth, Adelaide City, Brisbane Strikers, Devonport City, Canberra Olympic with the ikes of Heidelberg, Blacktown City, Gold Coast City fighting it out for the last couple spots. Then the next year you can bet your money other clubs are gonna want a piece of that so you'll end up with the likes of South Melbourne/Green Gully/FNQ/Wollongong/West Adelaide etc doing everything they can to first win their state NPL and then the "Championship" to gain promtion. If it makes enough noise it might even force the FFAs han in making it an "Official" Second Division 

South Melbourne's NPL Victoria championship winning coach Chris Taylor has blasted the A-League for being a timid competition too keen on recycling failed players and criticised the FFA for continuing to ignore the need for promotion and relegation to liven up competition.

Taylor's views will win little support at the FFA's Sydney headquarters and may be dismissed by some as just the envious claims of a coach who has never had a chance at the top level.

But his criticisms are starting to gain wider traction with the soccer public, many of whom have grown frustrated by a league which has the same ten teams year in and year out.Increasing numbers of fans believe the lack of promotion and relegation means there is no penalty for failure on the pitch – nor any reward for ambitious clubs who succeed at lower levels and are keen to test themselves at a higher level.

Taylor, who has won two of the last three NPL titles with South, believes there are many players operating at NPL level who could do a job in the A-League if only they were given a chance.But, he says, too often coaches simply rely on the same old faces, or sign ageing foreigners on big contracts rather than give fresh blood a chance.

"There's players in my team that could play in the A League," he said after masterminding South's 3-2 grand final win over Oakleigh on Sunday night.

"The A-League for me is an environment that's set up where they recycle teams and most of it's the players and the coaches. That's the way I believe it is. If a player's had five or six clubs and still gets picked up at the end ...

"There are players like Marcus (grand final best on ground Marcus Schroen) that deserve the opportunity at A-League level, younger players, fresher players, who have something else to offer."Maybe I upset people by saying it, but that's what I truly believe. We have players who just need to be given the opportunity.

"Then look at the other side of the coin where you have someone like Milos (Lujic, South Melbourne's Golden Boot winner) who earns a good wage with us and a good wage in his job ... are you going to take him to the A-League and offer him $55,000 (as a first contract)?"

The A League needs to have a look at how they are set up when you are giving someone like [Alessandro] Del Piero $2 million for a season and the boy playing next to him is getting $45,000".Taylor was particularly critical of A-League teams who brought out older players from overseas and showed little adventure in playing youngsters"Where are we blooding the young kids? It's difficult.

You have got your bottom clubs that know they are not going to get relegated. They are bottom of the league all year, they know they won't get relegated, why not blood some young kids and give them the opportunity?

"Someone like (Melbourne Victory coach Kevin) Muscat, at least he brings one or two young kids in the squad. You look at teams like Newcastle and Central Coast still recycling players even though they are bottom of the league."Maybe I shouldn't be saying things, but there are players out there, in the Victorian Premier League and no doubt in NSW that deserve to be given the opportunity. We need to promote our leagues – I think the VPL is a showcase.

"How good would it have been if the winner of today's game was to play in the A-League next year and Central Coast, who haven't won a game for two years, get relegated. That's the way it should be. That's the way it is everywhere else in the world."

http://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/south-melbourne-boss-chris-taylor-blasts-aleague-failure-to-blood-youngsters-20160912-gre2pj.html

Thanks Mate, i've posted in the other thread.

Hey Mark, this is the P&R thread

I think you're looking for the Expansion thread

My ideal A-League. 

• A 16 team competition, with a simple home and away format. This gives a 30 week season, with 8 matches per week.
• Prize money awarded to all teams at $3000 per point. (therefore incentive in every match)
• Stretch the season out by 4 weeks to allow for international breaks.
• Season starts 1st weekend of September. We will still get much less media coverage than other codes, but hey, so what, we already have minimal coverage, and it wont be worse than now. This gives us a 4 week period where we overlap with AFL/NRL finals, but by the time we get to last week of September we’ve built some momentum, and we have fewer matches to compete against each week. We can avoid a clash with the actual grand finals. Make sure we schedule a big Victory match in Melbourne the night before the AFL grand final and a big Wanderers match in Sydney the night before the NRL grand final. This allows people travelling to those cities for AFL/NRL to also potentially go to a football match.
• Make sure the NPL National finals series finishes last week of August so there is no overlap
• A-League season finishes on 2nd last week of April.
• Top 2 teams qualify for ACL and also seeded into round of 16 in FFA Cup.
• Teams 15-16 fail to qualify for FFA Cup. (gives a similar incentive to relegation)
• Benefits of the above– every game is financially important to clubs so they must try to get max points, and less chance of teams fielding a sub-par team. We have 240 matches so lots more content for t.v broadcasts over current 135 matches. Derbies in 80% of rounds. Also introduces a relegation type battle at the bottom for fans to see which teams fail to qualify for the cup.
• As for the new A-League teams; I’d bring in a Melbourne team (South Melbourne), a Sydney team (Sydney United), an Adelaide team (Adelaide City), a Brisbane team (Brisbane Strikers), a new Perth franchise, and a new Auckland franchise. This would have a league with 8 locations (northern NSW is one location and NZ is one location). This would give every team a ‘derby’ match, with locations of Melbourne and Sydney having 6 derbies each city per year, and 2 derbies in each of the other 6 locations. This means a total of 24 derbies across a 30 round season.
• My criteria for entry into A-League:
  Club pays $5 million licence fee to FFA. (weeds out pretenders, makes sure new clubs have something to lose,  and with 6 new teams brings in $30 mil which after say 3 years, can be split b/w FFA and current clubs).
  Club stadium is within 50 kilometres of existing A-League club stadium (exception for NZ where Auckland may be considered a derby)
  Club has at least 3000 membership base.
  Club has stadium of at least 12 k capacity with adequate lighting for tv night matches.
  Club has at least proven $5 million in cash reserves set aside for running of team, directors of new club to sign personal guarantee that funds are available.
• FFA commit to eventually (Say within 10 yrs) allowing A-League to be run by an A-league independent commission, separate from FFA.
• FFA CUP
• Round of 32 becomes round of 28 - Which is 22 member federation clubs and 6 A- League clubs
• The 12 A league teams that finish 3-14 in the league play against each other (3v14, 4v15 etc) and the 6 winners qualify for the FFA cup round of 28
• 14 winners in round of 28 go to round of 16 where top 2 A-League teams are already qualified.
• Benefits- we lose 2 games from round of 32, but get 6 all A-League games to qualify for Round of 28, so an increase of 4 games overall for TV schedule, and all 4 are A-League team only games ( which could lift ratings).

 

He can ask Tim about Lamborghinis and shit

This is why the comp will evetually be stuck at 12 (possibly 14 teams imo). 

12 teams is 33 games
14 teams is 39 games (which may be considered too many with finals) or 26 games. 

It seems likely the next expansion will be in Sydney and Melbourne tv regions.

That is 18 derbies (3x3) + (3x3). Why would the FFA expand to Canberra or even Brisbane or Perth meaning teams only meet each other twice? You lose 6 derbies in the biggest markets. 

The model is stupid and now FFA have painted themsleves into a corner because the tv wont give up these games lightly. 

P&R is not possible under the current structure of the HAL.  Indeed I cant think of a structure that guarantees a team in each of the state capitals (a broadcaster would not contemplate a competition without teams from both Sydney and Melbourne).  If we went to a structure like the german one where the revenue a team raises enables them to have "Big" clubs.  In a short space of time there would only be teams from the bigger cities as the additional financial muscle that ensures teams from the big cities are always there will crush the regional teams and even potentially smaller states and multiple big city teams will take over in the long run.  You may say but AU won the HAL last year with one of the smaller spends, (relatively).  My answer is that ensuring the big cities always are there means basically no cap for them (again relatively) and applying the same rules to any team from a big city you end up with only big city teams.  If you cap the number of big city teams, thats the end of P&R on merit (because if the winner of the second tier is another big city team they cant go up) and you will have a two speed competition.

Farken well done lol.

-PB

leeeel Crowley in the pic.

-PB

What a load of hog wash. The site is totally NPL pro. P&R may come, one day if at all but is decades away at best and they don't like it.

Evolution won't come unless the top tier is strong. Thinning out the pay packet will set the code back and lower the standards coincidentally just right for the lower little clubs that have failed before at the expense of the real evolution that is transpiring right now.

Having a facticious sugar daddy doesn't solve the problems.

Promotion-relegation necessary for Australia’s footballing evolution

NPL VICTORIA

by Mark Gojszyk  August 20, 2016 10:48 am0

But if there's money in it ?

Yeah nah fuck off