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This has always been a problem and always will be.
Australia doesn't have a domestic competition that delivers billions of dollars in revenue to be able to buy the best players around the world. The A-League won't get to be one in our lifetimes.
Whether its another A-League club or a foreign club, you are only going to keep these talented players for a short period before they leave for better money, fame and fortune.
Their most fruitful years are short and there is not much of a career path in professional football once you retire - so for their own and their family's sake they will go after the better money - as long as they are good enough and someone is prepared to buy them.
However, on the plus side, this is creating tremendous opportunities for our talented younger players - the youth league has given them the technical training and the stepping stone into the A-Leageu and beyond.
The kids who play the game see this and stick it out to try and get into the youth leagues and so on, instead of dropping out at 14 or 15 like they used to.
These emerging players are the future of the A-League and on what is being produced the A-League would have a bright future because they are entertaining to watch too.
Ironic then that A-League crowds are dropping as the standard and entertainment of the A-League rises.
We need the A-League to be strong and profitable to keep those footballing opportunities open, if not for anything else.
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