Just get out of the way...

I don't care how long it takes.  I just want to know there is a plan.  I didn't think that was too hard a task but... 

2034, still 10 teams and no promotion and relegation or most likely the league has already folded due to boredom. 

The problem with delaying a 2nd division and pro/rel is that the longer this goes on the harder it gets to implement. Can you imagine in 2034 on the back of 2-3 more tv deals how impossible it will be to bridge the gap between the A-league and a 2nd tier. When 20134 rolls around they will just turn around and say "Oops sorry, it can't be done now, its just too expensive." The FFA unfortunately is taking a very short term view of football and the direction we should be heading into. In the short term the implementation of a 2nd division and pro/rel would be difficult but over the long term having a vibrant football pyramid would be amazing. It would put the sport at a whole new level and would in fact grow the sport to unprecedented levels. 

I do think by 2023 another 2 teams could join the comp making it 14 teams, and after that  if a 2nd tier is added, make it the top 2 teams (either of a particular year or an average over a few seasons) which get promotion to the top tier. That would likely be a 16 team league by 2026 or so, which by then the stakeholders may have decided that P&R can start early (maybe wishful thinking).

i think what is most concerning though is that those calling for an independent A-League may not get exactly what they want, and it may become the highway to owners agendas only. That could well see them utilising a strategy that safe guards their positions as long as possible.

There are so many agendas at play it is hard to keep up, as they all have pros and cons.

I'm no nuovo dawner,,,,, but it seriously does feel like a slap in the face.

Seriously, fuck this shit!  While many friends have understandably dropped off and not renew their memberships or go to games at all, I have still stuck around and supported the A-League. But enough of this shit already.

If the whole league folded and Victory had to play in the NPL, it probably be more fun and interesting to watch to be honest.

Absolutely. Agree 100%. Needs to happen within 5 years or it will be too late.

I agree with newton circus.
The a league is boring! I have been a season ticket holder at Sydney ten years and even I find it boring. I still go to the games because I love the club too much but I completely understand why the part time fans don’t give a rats arse about the game.
Play the same teams three times, same old boring players every single year.

The NPL is more interesting than this i

Same.  Followed it religiously, was a member at the Roar and all that.  Couldn't give a rats arse now.  My kids, who were rusted on A-Leaguers in no small part due to my influence, have drifted back off to the Euro leagues.

Just realised the USA has 40 teams in an East West conference system as a second division. I'm not going to bother searching but I wonder whether they're looking at a 3 tier system with promotion and relegation?

Their franchise system might not really like that idea but they need to move away from the other North American sports. 

areHannovare going to be relegated to the 2nd division and I'm looking forward to it. New opponents definitely bring some novelty into it. The A League is getting increasingly stale. 

Wrong thread

HAL won't last that long lol

-PB

The MLS is still a closed competition though, with the only chance of being promoted occurring via gaining a license.

The US is a larger country, which helps it achieve greater scale. A number of those clubs you will also find are essentially the MLS clubs 2nd Team. 

I really want to see us grow, but I also see the limitations of money. If stronger competitions like the NRL and AFL struggle to sustain clubs without significant subsidies via broadcasting deals, we have a big fight on our hands.

The reality for football in this country is that at best we need to be a development league, without any delusions of grandeur. Things like less stringent stadium requirements (reducing overheads for clubs) and removing the salary cap and let clubs do what they see fit to do. That way clubs can develop the best strategy to either push for results or develop players without limitations in place. 

FFS, does anyone want to follow a closed shop anymore? We are not the US where they have weird affinities for franchises. I fthis is true it's disastrous.

The funny thing is if everyone worked together they could probably start a new league.

Likely could, but they all seem to think there’s somehow going to be a pot full of money sitting there for it to happen.

It would appear that broadcaster appetite is already low for the top tier, let alone a 2nd tier. That’s where the greatest share of the money has to come from to hey this off the ground.

I do fear for the sport in the next decade as there are so many pressing decisions that seem to be delayed or are poorly handled. 

Well at least Remo has tried putting out the fire but knowing him since Spirit days he's just playing politics knowing what Nikou has quoted is a time bomb.
I agree with some posts, FFS, I was one of the few young/er NSL supporters who thought, ok give this a go.
I'm still heavily invested in PL but have had SFC membership for a longlong time and got my 3 kids into it, as well as back and forth to PL games to date etcetcetc.....were a football family/players.
I've never liked the franchise system and sucked it up but this has near on tipped me on the edge, YD is up the shit, Socceroos ?, FFA this and that run by over paid people who really don't get where this game needs to go but show me the money.
Yes you need money but at least take the game in the direction how majority (99.9%) of the Football world does ,obviously not in my lifetime.
I suppose the game needs us flagging AL supporters even more now but you know what ? its a waste of my time now tbh.
I'll be sorry to let a team down, SFC, for I'm a team man but once this season is done I'm done by the look of it.
I'll enjoy more time going to PL games, P/R !  just as much as I love my LFC, yep the family are Eurosnobs as well :)

People need to stop referring to the MLS.  It's a closed league, no P&R, new clubs pay huge license fees to join the top tier.

If you haven't worked it out yet, that's precisely what the FFA wants to do:  sell licenses until there's no one left to buy a license.

Be thankful if P&R comes in 15 years.

....the FFA can't make any statements about the future of the A-league...they will not be involved . Current franchises will also mean nothing once the owners take over. So how can Nikou even make a statement like that ...was he pissed ?

Yes, I noticed a lot of MLS 2 sides in that league. At least compared to other codes there's a massive worldwide pool of players. I agree on the removal of some limitations. 

A League as it is won't last until 2024, let alone 2034.

FFA don't realize that there won't be anything to build with in 15 years time.

That's the plan

USL does ok

Yup, first round is good, but the season is basically over by Xmas cause it's pretty obvious who the top six are , so we all have BBQ's waiting for the finals

@GDeathe

I think a Div 2 can prosper without pro/rel initially.

Others are quite vocal that pro/rel and Div 2 are inter-dependent.

USL drew an average of 5k compared to nearly 22k for MLS which is telling, if we followed the same ratio then our Div 2 would average something like 2,500/game.

Nikou can make a statement like that because he speaks on behalf of the clubs, what the clubs want, Nikou does.

Know how you feel Muz.  Seriously thinking of giving the A League a miss next season and going along to Brisbane Lions .... a club with fantastic facilities, free on site parking, can even watch from the sports bar.  Might even be able to drag the wife and friends along for game, meal and drinks.

But surely Division 2 without P/R is simply Division 1 of a stand-alone competition?

Just, by contrast, the J.League had:
- Gone from a 10 team league in its inauguration to a 16 team competition in 3 seasons [2 new clubs added per season for the first 3 years]. 
- After it's first 6 seasons, popularity for the league declined. JFA announced 100-year vision and created a 10 team second division [made up of 9 semi-pro clubs and 1 J.League club] including 2 pro/rel slots introduced 
- The J2 now has 22 clubs in its division 
- The J3 has 15 teams + 3 U23 sides in its division and was created 20 years after the J.Leagues inaugural season
- The JFL is the 4th tier of Japanese football, the highest level of amateur football and was created 21 years after the inaugural J.League season and is the final piece in the Japanese football pyramid. 

If we are to use the above test-case as a benchmark for the A-league:
- In 2009 the A-league should have expanded from an 8 team competition to a 16 team competition [Adding two new teams per season from 2005-2009]. This could have coincided with the popularity of the game after the success of the Socceroos in Germany '06.  
- The decline of the Socceroos after the 2010 WC failure would have translated to a slow/steady decline of A-league popularity, which would have commenced the announcement of a restructure by the FFA in 2011 for an independent A-league as well as the implementation of a 10 team second division with 2 pro/rel slots. 
- From 2012-2019 the focus for the new independent A-league body would have been solidifying the second division and adding two new teams to make it a 12 team comp.
- The discussions that would be happening in the game now, looking forward, would be around when/how a 3rd tier can be installed to continue building a formidable professional football pyramid that aligns with the worlds best practices. 

It's clear to see that the 2034 pro/rel discussion is completely out of step with best practices in Asia and will only lead to the further degradation of Australian football.