Are you aware what would happen if the cap was removed, Crowd numbers would dwindle, scores more predictable, clubs less profitable, team numbers would reduce, talent coming through this would reduce, less qualification on an international stage as there is less talent, and Australia moves down the footballing ladder.

If any thing I believe this form of compitition is the best as it means that poor managing cannot be paper-machade over with more money.

As for CCM, well I'm a fan of em so I'm biased, but I see the CCM as a experiment of sorts, and it's been a resounding success, an area traditionally with no association with Football (I believe at the time of mariners inception CC was a RL heartland, 4th biggest participation numbers in the country), since then Football has grown, and been ahead of the curve on and off the pitch, whether it's the COE, the country's first ever football school, the youth scouting and develop structure, the diversification of their income streams, they have left alot of clubs in their dust.
Yes CCM have had a couple of lean years, but they'll be back bigger than ever.

BTW, I believe RL participation has also shrunk dramatically on the coast aswell, can't source it but I do remember reading it was now out of the top 10.

Great line.

i think the stigma of not being the best in the world will have alot to do with it.

lets be honest, we are pretty mediocre at best.

lets say all nations decided to be good at AFL or the NRL. would we still be the best in the world? not too sure

MCG your quote about it not being a top in comparo I'm guessing comes from your age demographic and those around you ? I'm asking for you quoted something else another time from the same age group.
Boring ? well in Oz its been branded as such long long ago due to the gayfl/nrl mantras that npo game is worth watching if there's no scoring.
IDGAF what people say from those other sports, ignorance.
As for others around me who are die hard long time players and supporters of many EPL Club and some of AL Clubs.
We all know what to expect - it is what it is.
I'm not fussed about the fair wethered casual supporter, they either turn up of not who cares.
Without going into long specifics good ol miron says it best, its an emotional link to those who love football.
I love it since I was 5yrs.
Still play, emotional with LFC, my grass roots Clubs, my NPL Clubs < both of these we attand games weekly - I followed the AL from the beginning to support FOOTBALL here and still a SFC member, I don't like our system it sucks bigtime but I hang in there for our game to finally have a proper P/R.
I said a while ago covid has been GOOD for AL, I've been dying for our up and comers getting game time instead of bench warmers, about bloody time and hope this keeps going and will inspire those below.

Again who cares what people think - you can lead the horse to water but you can't make em drink.

To old to care about the uncontrollable or pandering to the non believers.

It does however annoy me when the average non watching Joe automatically feels their opinion is wanted/matters or is valid in regards to the game....... imposing on my viewing enjoyment by reeling out soccer hate rhetoric from yesteryear!

Most other nations are not "the best in the world" either.
But that doesn't mean their game is in crisis and nobody wants to watch it.
Why are we so weird?

Not weird, just "unique" lol.

They don't have NRL, AFL & Cricket in various forms like here. Others have their turmoil in football but continue to stay as the numero ouno. 

So the million+ people (FFA numbers not mine) in this country that play, volunteer, spectate (whether that's local in person or overseas leagues on TV) or otherwise participate in soccer of some form don't support the A-league because of NRL and AFL and cricket??? How does that work? 

Thats nothing more than fear based worst case scenario speculation

Crowds have dwindled, attendances have dropped, clubs are less profitable, broadcasters arent bidding for our game, talent has dropped off, we are risking not qualifying even though Asia, we are poor in the ACL, football has moved down the ladder - and all of this was before COVID, and all with a salary cap

Its ridiculous to think that Australia doesnt have the money and interest in a national competitive league based on choices made by two codes when they became professional. If the cap was dropped some of the teams in the A League will be the biggest football clubs of any code in this country. Your prediction - less interest. Less profit. Less talent etc... Based on what?

You're kidding yourself if you think 12 teams the size of CCM is going to drive up interest, profit and talent. In fact spreading the best players across 12 clubs means even more diluted talent for the bigger clubs. Things are only going to get worse as we add more teams

Its more complicated for soccer in Australia. There are other more established codes here. Always been issues. Many play, volunteer and watch tv but are not too passionate about ALeague like you and me. Too much infighting, Aussies in the past had been put off by flares and foreign club names. It's always been a hectic and colourful history.
Unbundling (the bundle of cotton thread) should not be underestimated though. This could be the First and Only Restart to soccer in this country for all parties.
It happened in our lifetime in this country with all the politics, which is astonishing alone.
Adding new teams and implementing all the other principles that JJ mentioned is the way forward, even for some ex NSL teams to possibly get back to the top League.

I mean don’t worry about the legal entity status of a bloody club and just enjoy football on tv in prime time. Jesus. 

All this is based off your opinion. If you want to see what happens when finances aren't regulated have a look at the dying days of the NSL, club turn over was next level.

This is the best lot of imports to play on these shores as a collective quantity so there must be appeal toward the A League atm.
The young talent is like a production line.. the League is travelling as good as it can for now.
It is a reset season and there are systems not in place like a naming sponsor, if the Apl goes about it that way, or whatever way.
Crowds are not allowed to full capacities as well due to you know what.

Yeah I get what you meant but who do I watch? What team? Mine isnt allowed entry into the competition therefore is NOT on primetime.... why would I bother? 

Your giving conflicting answers mate. So are Aussies not  interested in A league because they hate wogs and flares or because they prefer NRL and footy? Are you saying they just dont like the sport itself or is it the Aleague that is on the nose? If 1mill+ are engaging in some way with soccer elsewhere  I would assume the latter.

Not conflicting at all. The A League has been abit on the nose through its history. Alot of the reasons that you have come up with are hard to argue against.
It has not built up a high enough profile at the same time over the years as compared to the established codes in Australia.
The FA and APL are tasked with trying to change the perceptions and stereotypes that football is wogball. They can do this through marketing and more exposure of their content. 
For one, as much as me and you understand flares, the mainstream here find them revolting and insightful and that will never change on the macro scale.
What works overseas doesn't always work over here. For one they are illegal. No argument there.  
Other codes through their players often find themselves embroiled in hot water with various issues but not being wogball, they are easily forgiven generally overall. A player misbehaves or a fan at a match does something wrong in the A League and it is wogball. 
Andy Harper is great to listen to about his study and findings about the roots of football and its journey in Australia.  
As 1 mil+ are involved in soccer, it is not equating into enough interest in the A League. The code is not the finished article as we know. 
Hopefully with this reset that has recently occured, it is the one chance that football has to eventually change perceptions and start to make a dent within the Australian sporting landscape. I find that the product has subtly improved already.   

The key argumemt from me though is that the 1 mil+ ( if that is even a real figure or even if it is less) who are involved in soccer dont need to be sold on the sport, they already like it in some form or another so NRL and AFL opinions do NOT (or should not) affect how these people see the game. Let me put it another way as I'd like your opinion on this and anyone else who wants to chime in, lets pretend the 1 mil+ that already like soccer  in this country are the last people left in Australia..... this covid thing gets out of control and by some devine soccer God providence the only people left in Australia are those who either play the game, are involved in a club or are spectators of local and or international soccer (just a hypothetical scenario, no need for anyone to rush out and buy loo paper) .. That is 1 million people who like the sport and only 50k at best are watching the Aleague...... Market to them first and even a 15% increase is another 150K of supporters. Those 1mill+ are not being "serviced" why? That is the golden question. Federations overseas have national populations less than 1 million yet manage to run multiple divisions and a healthy soccer system, not to mention countries like Iceland who make World Cups with a population smaller than Geelong.... 
Other sports are NOT to blame mate nor is the attitude of bogan Australia, these are just excuses, we have a huge support base the FFA is just useless..... 

The 1 mil+ (whether it is or not), which are probably the commited and rusted on supporters, even they are sick to death of the federations constantly in conflict with the FFA up till now 'perhaps.'
I believe the masses have been affected by constant negativity in Australia when it comes to soccer. State and Local governments favouring the other codes being prevalent for one. Also, Frank excluding teams with rich history has played a major role. The idea of de-wogafying the new A League 16-17 years ago was so the conflicting monocultures and bad practices like flares would cease. Its not the anglo Australian way and I understand that. WIth the new A League Frank's vision excluded alot of passionate supporters way back then and still today. 
The winter sport turned into a Fox summer sport, played often in 35+ degree heat, what!!! and the comp not being aligned with the rest of football in the lower tiers either.
As for the wavering supporters, many have disappeared. They enjoy other sports and easily go away because football cannot find traction...till now hopefully. This comes down to marketing and advertising which is non-existent. These supporters would come back.
I became a rusted on supporter a while back. My early days were spent playing and following another sport, all the while keeping a slight interest in football. To me somehow, football became my no.1 sport and would of focussed on playing that if I had it over again. My interest grew through the success stories of the International team. 
I would go for Sydney Olympic if they were in the A League. If there was a team nonetheless exclusive to Southern Sydney in the A League, I would probably support them. Sydney fc cannot cover the City, North/West and the South of Sydney all at once, not for me. I don't follow a team in the top flight, although, I am enthused by the A League and want it to thrive for all the right reasons. If the comp can be mentioned in the same breathe as the Eredivisie, Swedish, Croatian, South Korean and other similar leagues, well thats a major win for me.
I hope it can Now happen sooner rather than later.
Look at the populations of Iceland. Uruguay and Croatia, yet they have very strong football comps. The A League can be like this. The Enemy of Football in Australia has firstly been itself, no question!
After around 6-8 years of the initial A League, second division should of started to happen. By now, pro/rel may have been ready to be integrated.
The A League should be at 14 or maybe 16 teams by now. Perception is also very important. The Afl has 18 teams, the Nrl have 16 teams and would love to be at 18 teams. The A League is only Now at 12 teams. The more teams, the healthier and more successful the sporting code looks.
The NRL, known as something else then, had a 12 team comp back in 1981, when in 1982 Canberra and lllawarra were admitted. In those days, Johnny Warren would do a segment on soccer on a program called Sportsworld on channel 7, main host was League hard man Rex 'the Moose' Mossop.
The A League could be perceived as 30-40 years behind today compared to where they should be, that's the perception that I mentioned. If the A League grows further, the culture will eventually get stronger I believe football will be passed down to younger fans as well. 
The NBL is not a competitor to the football codes so they are not judged on their few teams that they operate with and successfully in their own right. 
I can't stress how important the 'Unbundling' was man. Now the comp needs to rocket to 16 teams in my view. If I could I would add four teams over the next two seasons as a matter of urgency and let them find their way, on the job, like most occupations, Japan and MLS style.

Your view point is so much recycled and "copy and paste" from a previous era that you think the flaws of the game that I pointed out above are my opinion

Secondly you think taking a single maximum figure and applying it to player salaries only is going to stop clubs from going broke. If the salary cap is about financial regulation then why is it the same for the big clubs as it is for the small clubs? Why have we seen A League clubs go broke, several might I add, despite a salary cap?

Also you throw in the classic NSL line. You do realise that the NSL was a semi professional league with no major TV deal or commercial backing?

Every single flaw you have pointed out in removing the salary cap is a fact of the current game. You dont know what it does. You just know our code will die without one

But you would support the Roar if there was a second division, where the promise to rebuild bigger and better was at hand.

I really hope you are right in throwing your faith behind this "unbundling" mate as to me it is just a business decision to allow the professional clubs to have greater control of the "product". Like any business they will fight tooth and nail to protect their market and in my mind this is counterproductive towards developing the football ecosystem I want to see in this country.  You want both Japan and MLS style but they are two different things bud. Japan has a 100 year plan on how to develop all of football in their country - National men's, women's AND youth teams to be the best, for there to be 4 divisions of professional clubs and for their "soccer identity" to be the "Asian Brazil". The focus is on the sport of soccer not the economics of it. MLS just wants to keep expanding into different markets until saturation point has been reached and they have sucked every potential investor dollar that they can possible get. Success for them is how much money the owners make and how much merchandising they can do ....  Sorry to me this just doesn't appeal at all.

Also the vast majority of ex NSL teams are still alive and well 16 years later... Sure some have seriously contracted in both support and economies, but they still exist.

Yes. Otherwise I would have to use an alt account on here.

I would consider my opinion of the aleague itself at that point meaningless - until we won our way back up.

To be honest, if we were relegated I would actually be more inclined to keep an eye on the aleague as an unoffiliated supporter. It is if we are kicked out for some reason that the aleague would be dead to me.

Wasn't the Phillips Soccer League and Coca-Cola Soccer League shown on channel 10. I think Eddie Everywhere may have also been involved.  

The key word was "major"

Soccer Australia had a TV deal and I think it was $1mil in total for 7 years

Sincerely hope this never happens to you mate, it is an absolutely horrid feeling being ostracized for no reason. I agree with your post 100% as I have mentioned before, if there was even a remote chance South could be promoted I would also "keep an eye out" for the Aleague.

That was a long time ago in an era of inflation and at least was on a major channel. What would that be in 2005 when the first season of the A-League got $750000 on subscription TV? Realistically that NSL TV deal had better access and was better value than the first A-League deal. 

not weird at all. 

we just want and demand the best and we refused to accept that our league isn't the best in our region.

We aussies will not settle for second best. its who we are

LOL..!