C’mon, you’re just an excitable theatregoer not a real football supporter.

It will be worded in such a way that it can cover all possibilities, i.e. final spot will go to the grand final winner, but if the grand final winner has already qualified by one of the other means, it will go to 2nd, and if 2nd has already qualified  (by winning the cup for example), it will then go to 3rd.
That sort of wording is pretty normal.
As for our grand final, from day one, the AFC has always recognised what we call the Premier, as the first team worthy of qualification, so in that respect, nothing has really changed from their perspective.
We all know why the FFA had a finals series, not just that, at one point six out of 10 teams made the finals!  It was ridiculous of course, but their objective was to keep fans of all clubs engaged in the season for as long as possible.
Having said that, if we could find a way to morph our "finals" into some sort of league cup, and stop calling the winner the Champions, then that would probably be a very good day for Australian football.

You call yourself a supporter, but never celebrated? You are no supporter.

given that the top 8 go in to Australia Cup (A-Cup) finals... they're just going to merge A-league finals and the A-Cup finals aren't they
 Oh FFS Why do I get the feeling that this is fuck us over?

This !
Some one   WAS  NOT    thinking 

And  by  the  way ,  WHERE  is    the  P.L.A. N   for   promotoin &relagation ??   The  SILENCE    from  fa   is  deafening !   At  least   have  a  plan , its  NOT   HARD    Just  Do.It !

Good. Finals are shit anyway and it means we are finally adhering to ACL rules.

Exactly. Any true fans of a sport know that sport is inherently unscripted and full of drama and unpredictability. Even in the most one sided matches there is always something to look forward to like individual player milestones or spectacular plays. Even fans of teams shit kicking at the bottom of the season have something to watch every week. I know when Australia plays in the world cup I'm not watching just to see if they can win it

This isnt about finals vs first past the post. The ACL literally has a finals, as does the world cup. Even the super league or whatever was looking to have a finals. Fans dont support a league based on its format, or go into convulsions when it looks different. Many sports fans enjoy many sports decided in many different ways

What this boils down to is the validity and integrity of a competition. If the A League is to have a finals then the whole point is to eliminate the weaker teams and pit the best performing teams against each other one last time to determine the season finishing order. Not "if we keep the 7th and 8th team active for as long as possible, lol, profit". If the FA can't back the finals then they should scrap them

This "one format for this set of fans and one format for the other" is just trying to manufacture support, like rigged draws and derbies galore. Doesnt work

This isn't even new?

They announced that ages ago. FFA Cup gets a spot so the grand final winner loses it.

That's my understanding.

Doesn't devalue the finals, it devalues the Asian Champions League.

but but but this is how we always have sports in Australia Reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

I agree with the FFA on this one. we are football, and we dont need to copy NRL/AFL Culture

Champion should always be rewarded to teams who are the most consistent in the league. Finals series always rewards mediocrity

To have first past the post then you must play every team equally home and away. Currently that is only 22 games per season, Cleary at least 10 games too few.

Hopefully this is what they are building towards.

Big fan of finals, but happy with the main national cup winner getting the ACL spot instead, alongside the top league placegetters. Winning a grand final is enough of an award in and of itself.

But the finals is just a League Cup played by only half the teams in the league. Totally pointless.

If that's your opinion, you're welcome to it. The crowds suggest that most other football fans feel differently. Ask any A-League fan what their five most memorable games were. I'd bet that the majority would be finals, definitely is for me. The look on the players' faces when they either win or lose a grand final would suggest that they don't see them as totally pointless either. I prefer having one last piece of silverware in our top league that is guaranteed to not be settled until the final whistle of the season. None of this takes away from the Premier's Plate or FFA Cup, in my view.

yeah this is why expansion must go on. 16-18 teams would be perfect

Of course it’s only my opinion, that’s what forums are for. I don’t think you can seriously take the look on players’ faces as proving the point of it all. As for crowds, the only game that gets anything like a large attendance is the grand final, the playoffs numbers are fairly ordinary.
If you must have a ‘finale’ to the season then a 1 versus 2 on a home and away basis should suffice but even that seems pointless.

Why do you think that is so?

Surely a game having heightened meaning for the players themselves counts for something?

But you’re guessing that it has ‘heightened meaning ‘ to the players. It could be just relief that the season is finally over.

The excitement that you are looking for can be achieved in a Cup Final,  so if the FFA Cup (or whatever name it is given) evolves the way Cup tournaments elsewhere do just get into it and you will get your ‘shiver down the spine ‘ moment.

Bit of a stretch in your interpretation there I reckon. The winners are clearly elated and the losers are in tears almost to a man in every occasion, I think the sample size is big enough at this point. I'm not going to go digging for videos though, but I'm quite confident in my claim that A-League players really like to win the grand final and really don't like losing it.


Sure I love the cup, but I like a knockout end for the league season too, and don't see any good reason why we can't have both, in addition to silverware for the first-part-the-post league winner.

The way they do it in England isn't the only way football can be played. My Colombian mate's team, Atletico Nacional, just finished top of the league but lost their first final, but unlike Australia they get nothing. He only learned that the league in England can be decided weeks before the end of the season after he moved to Australia, and when I told him that at the start of these dead rubber games in England the opposition teams stand in a guard of honour and clap for the champions he thought I was pulling his leg!

It’s a hellava lot more than just England that do it this way.

And a fair few that don't, especially in South America.

So   finals  in  a  league   is    REAL   football  culture?

League should be a spot, FFA Cup should be a spot. 

Grand final that half spot if we still get.

Do you have a breakdown worldwide?

My guess would be 90% first past the post.

Very key point.... How Afl and recently AL has been getting away with an unfair draw every year and not being brought up on anti-corruption or conspiracy to manipulate a sporting contest for financial benefit charge from CAS is baffling. Epecially considering how many gambling products are offered for both of these codes.... 

The CAS probably doesnt view the AFL as a real sport.

Have a look at the images from when Sydney won the premiership and championship, compare the players reactions. 

It is probably right to say that winning the premiership is a fairer reflection of who the best team for the season has been, as compared to the championship winners. However, it is clear that the players mentality is about winning the GF, that is the ultimate prize. It is also clear from crowd sizes, TV etc that the finals and GF are of higher relevance to the vast majority of fans compared to winning the premiership. Yes, there can be 'injustices' along the way by having the ultimate prize through a final series, but your claim of only celebrating premierships and not championships (if I take your word for it) puts you firmly within the minority opinion. And that is fine, but the game should recognise and adhere to the majority view on this issue. 

Absolutely correct.
As a Glory fan, I can remember all 6 GF appearances we've made (NSL included, obviously), who our opponents were, what the scoreline was and where I watched the match.

On the other hand, I was in the shed when we were crowned A-League premiers in 18/19 season. The Shed (and me) went ballistic at the end of the match when it was official that we'd won the title, but without looking it up, I couldn't tell you who we were playing in that match nor what the scoreline was.