10 - 4 (HT)

16 - 4 (50)

16 - 10 (60)

Qld 20 - 10 NSW (65)

Qld 20 - 14 NSW (67)

Qld 20 - 16 NSW (68)

LOL NSW is terribad. i expect a 3-0 series sweep for QLD.

probably a good thing i dont watch it any more :d

24 - 16 (73)

26 - 16 (74)

26 - 16 (FT)

Qld 2 -0 series win

X2 too many post 2005 newbies in here, they won't get what you are saying.

i'm not sure whats more amusing, you calling someone not very bright or that you think anyone actually takes you serious.

Without bagging/patronizing you and without reading all 10 pages, can you give me point form of what needs to change to bring you back to the game?

Can they be reasonable request, ones that wont be recless like rushed expansion.

Honest question

Why did this crap have to get moved to State League? Just lock it and let it die.

Funnily enough, I come to State League football to get away from this sort of rubbish.

Well because no mods are doing stuff in AF are they haha.

Hence why this thread is just pure spam.

-PB

Now they're both in SL, should unlock the Apology thread instead.


Has much more potential

Some people, take me seriously let me tell you right now.

Others, with closed minds, and of weak and sheepish character, don't because they are to scared of progress.

Those who are quiet, maintain the Status Quo and go for the safe haven, whilst the risk taker knows that the world is their oyster. You choose between stagnation, or innovation. I can't help you with your issue.

Hey teabags, here is a fact for you!

This is probably the best thread that has passed through this forum recently.

For someone who is a follower of the State Leagues, I would have thought that would have had more appreciation for the subject matter at hand.

Bitza,

I will reply to you because despite your slightly patronizing manner, you attempted to address me politely and asked a valid question.

I am not for rushed or reckless expansion which is unsustainable. Nor do I advocate for it.

I do however, support some very well measured expansion. To make a stab in the dark, I believe the HAL can easily sustain an extra 2 teams. It may be able to sustain an extra 4 teams but I will pull back from this if it scares people.

Now what are the advantages?

Well, I believe the key is to have more Derbies. That would result in more interest from the public, media and TV. That would increase FFA revenue.

How do the teams fund themselves?

Well, clubs will need to engage fund raising initiatives in the same manner as the existing clubs do now. Now we all know that some clubs are not breaking even or profitable. Well, if the FFA can negotiate a better TV Deal, franchise funding will increase by up to 75%.

For me, South Melbourne is a no brainer.

From my personal point of view, I would like to see Adelaide City and West Adelaide to embark on some kind of joint venture.

Someone said that this will dilute the supporter base. I believe that is the case to a certain extent. I predict that Adelaide United may lose 1000 to 2000 fans. It will survive and recover other fans very quickly.

I also believe that many soccer fans will buy memberships at both clubs, whilst the new venture will do very well from the NPL and State League grassroots.

The spin off are there, not just for the clubs, but Adelaide will now have 2 tenants at Hindmarsh. All of a sudden, calls for a stadium upgrade or even a new rectangular stadium have more weight.

Now obviously, I also believe there should be another team in Sydney and also Brisbane. Now this doesn't have to happen overnight. It can be done 2 teams at a time rather than 4 overnight.

End result, more Derbies and more TV money. Which means more funding for the clubs.

What we can't afford is stagnation. The HAL is at the moment stagnation. Having only 10 teams after 12 years is a pretty poor state of affairs.

By adding more teams like SMFC, soccer in this country could at last ne UNITED. At the moment, it isn't.

The A League is going alright.

My issue is how can we get people interested in the State Leagues? They run winter comps without competition from the A League, they have an ok sort of standard, but hardly anybody goes. I think there's a much greater potential audience than what we currently see.

These are just random thoughts, and I don't pretend to be an expert, so feel free to dispute them. But I think these issues should be up for discussion.

The fact that every club (here in Victoria at least) is ethnic based must surely constrain their growth. I'm actually of Croatian heritage myself, but I'd love to have a local club that's jut about football and doesn't have any national/political/ethnic background. (I saw some tweets from Pave Jusup who's on the Knight's board after drawing Cockburn City - apparently a Yugoslav club - in the FFA Cup, and I know it was in jest, but I just thought FMD, I wish this could just be about football and not reprising 20th Century Balkan politics FFS.)

Now I appreciate a club like South Melbourne is trying to broaden its supporter base and good luck to them. And I appreciate the history of many of these clubs and the important role they've played, not just in football but in providing migrants with a sense of community in a new country. But as important as their histories may be, what do they mean to second or third generation Australians who are integrated in Australian society? Given the attendances, not much it seems.

How do we on the one hand respect what these clubs have done, and on the other, update the concept of local football to be broader and more inclusive?

I want to see the game flourish, and at grass roots level, I can see local clubs growing with heaps of juniors. The international game is followed in a bigger way than ever before. And the A League, you would have to say has been a success even with some of it's challenges. Club football at the state level is where exactly? If we want promotion/relegation, surely the second tier needs to lift its appeal and be able to put up a better case?

I go to watch Bulleen Lions sometimes, and they seem like a pretty good club. Although they have Italian origins, it seems to feel like a regular club without making you feel you need to be Italian to follow them. Some of the Greek clubs seem to be like that too. But do we really need each of South Melbourne, Heidelberg, Northcote, Oakleigh, Port Melbourne and Bentleigh? I like Greeks, but that's going overboard. Melbourne Knights are so Croatian I'm just not confident they can ever grow their support to what it should be given their history.

I don't think ethnicity in club football is necessarily a problem - and I'm not trying to paint it as the source of all the game's problems. It's not. I just think it's a problem when the whole basis of club football is ethnic identity. For example, I'm not against South Melbourne in the A League one day. (But I don't think they are ready or would improve the league now.) Can clubs evolve with the times and develop greater connections with communities outside their ethnic group? Or should the governing bodies do more to reform the structure of the game at the state level? Am I wrong? If so feel free to educate me.

That Cockburn crap is utter shite. Yugo wars are over morons. Almost 30 years now ffs.