you can blame the FFA on that. As a Victory fan, I still consider Sydney to be last years title winners and so do most purists. its the FFA that push the narrative of the GF winners. 

As for the casual fans not taking notice until the end of the season... are you suggesting we get rid of the finals so the casual fans don't follow the HAL at all? Or did i misinterpret you?

This in bold.
That is our Games pinnacle from its origins.
1st past the post are the REAL Champion and should be held in much higher regard and reported as such.
I do like finals having grown up here due to the Aussie afl/nrl/aru format/system but we followed which ok thats fine BUT lets get this corrected that first past the post after so many games is THE Champ, the other is Finals Champ thats it and not in higher regard.

Seriously what a wank over euro snobs and new dawners or whoever you are.
Were all Football supporters in the big picture be it Euro Clubs or AL or PL, to tell someone what they should be doing lol.....

Im suggesting casual fans would more likely go to a league game if there was no 'final series' which potentially might make them real fans or at least watch the sport a bit more....  - people dont realize this but attendance doesnt matter much it is TV viewers that brings the money into the sport u need people watching all season long not just during the play offs - 

Ill use an example right now the NBL 'finals' are on i have no idea that the NBL was going on until about 2 weeks ago because all the marketing is focused on the 'final series' instead of the actually competition. I as a non-NBL fan would probably go to the final series but if there was no final series i would probably check out a NBL game now and then but because im not a hard core NBL fan im less likely to watch during the regular season because there is no major stakes...

The whole idea of a finals play off is moronic if anything the team that wins the league should win the 'major champion' and the team that wins the play offs should be like a minor title or something like a cup comp kind of thing.

Stop thinking about the HAL and think about another sport you dont particularly care...When does the marketing for it occur? during the BBL it was a little during the season but all the media was focuses during the finals which is exactly what you dont want... you need people to check out the sport during the season even if it is just the big matches ie MVFC vs City  because thats how they join the club. Finals play offs is the more plastic shit and call me a eurosnob for it i dont really care that is my opinion and it wont change...

A few people made fun of me for making this discussion but three pages and a lot of good points made on both sides 

I get what you're saying, but I just don't agree with your logic. how do you know casual fans won't switch off altogether without the finals? plus the HAL finals are only for 3 weeks. I can't see how removing them would bring extra TV viewers for the regular season. perhaps if the fight for the premiers place was tight? but wouldn't that still be the case even if we had finals? I can tell you from my perspective that the league was a boring as batshit this time last year because Sydney were miles ahead. But there was a bit more invigoration once the finals started. 

Is this the Rib Eye you were referring to ;) 



Sometimes shit on a plate with a foreign name is still shit on a plate

Completely agree but would not like to see the finals not played. Sudden death football is an enjoyable spectacle.

More emphasis on the premiers is needed but a massive part of the problem is at grass roots level where no one really gives a shit about finishing top of the table.

The FFA and the state feds, the players, coaches and fans really need to start pumping up the achievement of the premiers because at the moment no one cares. All the talk towards the end of the season is whether your team will make the semi's or not.  And if those at the grass roots don't care how can we blame fans of the A-League for not giving a shit either?

Even at the big presentation after the GF (at least where I am) they never even mention, or present a trophy to the premiers.

I've said for years, if they must have finals, have 2 trophies and call the premiers the 'premiers' (or 'league champions') and the GF winners 'finals champion'.

Then punters can argue the relative merits of the teams to their hearts content.

Eventually you get used to the onions falling out of your bunnings snag and it appears quite normal

The most shocking thing about that video is that Celina is only 22, who in their right mind would give youngsters that sort of responsibility?!

You'd never see that in the HAL, over 30's only

There is no reason why a proper football league would have finals.
The sooner we get rid of them the better.

Having played Prem levels for yonks and now in my vet years O35/O45 1's now mucking about with mates in lower Div the Minor Prem gets promoted so I don't get the mind set making the semi's more important to them for its about winning.
Sure those in the minor placings its all they have left and it is fun but no way is it above being Premier.
In the Association Comp I play end of the Finals the Premier is always mentioned and presented with their medals.
I suppose thats the new dawn mentality, I started when there was NO Finals but for Cup and other sideline comps.

The blame is entirely on the Governance, sheep follow.

Nope, the most shocking thing about that video is how shit the penalty attempt was and how you found a way to defend it.  You are proof positive of why the FFA should never waste a penny trying to convert you or your cohert into fans.  It doesn't matter what the OS leagues dish up, you will happily chow down on it and hold it up as being perfect "Rib Eye".  Regardless of what the HAL does, it will forever be a Bunnings snag in your myopic view.   Thankfully there are enough people that have matured to the level where they can enjoy both for what they are and not suffer the debilitating cultural cringe you appear to suffer from. 

Personally if I wanted to demonstrate highly paid players making mistakes I would have used Fernando Torres's greatest misses when he was at Chelsea as there were some really zingers there. Or perhaps when Troisi missed an open goal against Sydney last season would have worked and even maybe Kewell's penalty miss, but hey they're not as compelling as a 22 YO taking a penalty in the 2nd division (a situation we cant experience in Aus and probably never will).

Perhaps the snag example wasn't quite for HAL fanboys like you, perhaps McDonalds is more apt, cheap & nasty with new plastic franchisees popping up to service "growth areas. When you dont know better, Macca's is great, but as you mature the finer things (like steak) appeal more, which is why HAL TV and attendances are dropping, Fox wants to hand the broadcast deal back and pretty much every franchisee on the verge of bankruptcy.

Yep, got to admit it, you really got me & I 100% agree, FFA should stop wasting money bringing chewbacca and his merry band of ewoks to matches as until they start focusing on football not metrics, they will never convert me into one of the 0.0000001% of the football world who think Euro leagues are shit & HAL is the bestest league everer.

Who said Euro leagues are shit and HAL is the bestest league everer?  You comprehension skills are quite low aren't they?  This, along with your cultural cringe, and trying to equate which league you support with discerning taste is more of a reflection of you and your insecurity.  

Yes, Aussies love "Finals", and the HAL finals usually get good crowds and viewing figures. I'm still not sure who these "casual fans" are.

Oops, looks like it was you

It appears your comprehension skills still need some work.  Stop eating and do more reading.  That line was in relation to the fact that you think watching a foreign league and continually shitting on the HAL somehow makes you a connoisseur of football.  It doesn't. It just makes you are a bitter and simplistic person that gets perverse pleasure out of denigrating the HAL.  

Which European clubs are we talking about..?  Because I think you'll find that supporters of those clubs would think of them as considerably more than a business...  The only clubs you're Euro comment would stand up against would be the Red Bull teams, which are set up pretty much as franchises, which hardly proves your point.

A-League finals are here to stay.  No administration will say no to a 50,000+ grand final gate.  Accept it.  It ain't changing.  Ever.

In AFL and NRL, MAKING the finals is what keeps the regular season interesting.  But they don't have a micky-mouse league of 9 local teams plus one overseas where 6 make the finals.   The league doesn't have enough teams.  Its a different scenario of there were 14 teams and 8 miss out.

The EPL clubs that Euro snobs follow aren't "clubs".  They are businesses that scout, buy and employee players and managers from all over the world, providing a product in exchange for money.  Only a tiny number of players or managers have any real connection to the "clubs" beyond their next pay cheque.  When that ends, the connection ends.  Its curious that fans somehow develop a connection to these large corporate entities.

People that switch off would never be football fans in the 1st place - once again i dont give a shit about the NBL but i might switch on for the final but i dont mind the NBA if there was no finals i might hit up an NBL game 

on top of this the forum is about Eurosnobs and im just telling you the reason why they dont support the HAL weather you agree with it or not that is up to you 

the HAL doesnt have the $$$/talent pool to even be 1/4 of the quality of top European leagues - so the fans that dont follow the league because the quality isnt there probably wont be converted anytime soon, thus that is something it cannot control in the short term/medium term.

HOWEVER there are a number of things it can do to make it less mickey mouse and more of a serious competition and removing finals (or changing it), salary cap and other stupid shit might help 

I have a lot of friends who like European football but have probably not been to a HAL game since the early seasons where the league was terrible - if they are over i have the game on they might watch a bit of it but for the seasons ive mentioned in previous comments the league isnt taken to seriously and personally i dont blame them....

Winning the league counts for f*** all, no one cares about the asian cup even the rest of asia.... everyone loves the Socceroos but the general consensuses is that the HAL has f***d the socceroos by its poor development which is kinda of true.... Stop hating on people for hating the league and dont hate on me for being honest i support the league but i see were people are coming from and most of the issues stem from the deeper issue the FFA are incompetent white guys filling there pockets  

The FFA has been promising to "expand the A League" and "add promotion and relegation" in "just five more years" ever since 2007.

12 years later and we are being told "just five more years, now is not the time".

I've given up on the A League because I'm just so bored by it. I'm not going to spend money and waste my time on something that I am forcing myself to watch and partake in. Life is too short for that.

Oh, so history counts for nothing regards a successful Euro Club.......yep commercialism has changed things very much I agree But those corporate entities have a bucket full of history/culture as you well know.
Countless local devoted employees etcetc wake up.
Corporate entities is Franchise's no ? and as mentioned like the RB one that cleared/erased that previous clubs history.

Our history got tossed out as well by Lowy, no matter what those opposed say the ol NSL clubs are our heart and soul left in limbo........
Countless of those supporters turned their backs on AL and who could blame them, if they were treated better many more could have supported both but only a small % do.
If FFA handled them better their crowds could have been even better and to this day.
Its funny all these threads about so many issues with our football.
Its like pre AL all over again, funny that isn't it and I so wish it wasn't so.

You know nothing 

He's 100% right. Many of the world big clubs are nothing more than corporate monoliths or billionaire's play toys. 

I agree with both points Clubs like MU, Liverpool, Ajax, Celtic FCB etc etc have real history and though money is the driver now that all have a story they all have history where they were just regular clubs like MVFC are now.... 

The HAL did a lot of damage to the old fans of the NSL some of it rightfully so but it certainly wasnt handled well - i still talk to fans of the old NSL that basically wont support the HAL due to the way they were treating and once again i cant blame them...

All i know is that if football doesnt unite soon it will not last because its only in its 14th season and interest is falls dramatically 

Nothing like some bloke from Suburban Melbourne who's never been or has any relation to Liverpool calling himself a diehard Red and paying $100 to go to a friendly at the MCG and boo the local team.

There are plenty of reasons to not be that interested in the A-League but these tools fucking baffle me.

A Football club is so closely intertwined with its local community. Unless you are part of that community and have lived it for yourself, you just come off as a massive imposter for latching onto their club. 

Can’t remember claiming to be a connoisseur of football, but I do know that when Peppa pig continually hands you your arse in the tv ratings, what you are producing isn’t worth consuming.

 HAL does a pretty good job of denigrating itself, no need for me to help it, but you keep telling yourself the HAL is ripper bonza mate, unfortunately for you the reality of crowd and tv numbers don’t lie

2 things need to happen before we're can get rid of the finals system. 

1. Pro/Rel has to happen,  but there are numerous things that have to happen for this to occur. If we got rid of the final without p & r then not only the fight at the bottom of the table won't matter,  what we see time and again Is that the top 3 are always so far ahead of the rest that 7 teams games will have no impact or interest. 

2. The FFA Cup needs to be lifted and made more important, ACL spot (im certain there are more requirements for this) and i think a permanent home for the final would be fantastic but not achievable in the near future. If we lose the finals we lose a big piece of knockout football that people are actually watching in numbers. We all know the FFA Cup should replace that but until it's raised to a higher level,  that's not going to happen.