Friday, February 04, 2011

Heart 1 v CCM 1 - and Roar win league

5 comments:

Neil said...

Only blighted by the fact that the FFA gave you another $1.5m handout whilst they let the Fury rot. It is all well and good to win the premiership but if you are not financially viable off the pitch it means nothing.

john said...

Interesting viewpoint Neil

Victory were bailed out in the first season.

The A-League model, as I have commented over the years, is unsustainable.

However, your focus is on the economics. Whereas I think the focus should be to have all teams having either:

1. exactly the same money for players and club profit. As is the case for Gridiron - there is an analysis on this from The Economist in 2005.

or

2. A centralised body that works out overall budgets and player arrangements for the maximum benefit of the development of the league. This is the case for the AFL. As a result, the AFL is running rings around all other sports in Australia - including in the securing of grants. What is means is that Brisbane AFL team had favourable treatment and won the flag for 3 seasons. While established and popular Victorian teams were starved of success.

In the A-League's case, the inefficient mix of centralised and decentralised control has meant that established markets - ie Victoria - have had a financial advantage over markets with untapped potential - ie Brisbane. For example, it costs Brisbane a preium to use Suncorp and therefore the owners have put their money into this rather than players that will tap the market potential.

This season the Brisbane club has let 2 players go without covering to minimise its costs.

What is amazing is that it has found a way to win the league without an Australian marquee, without an international marquee, without a coach marquee, without filling its foreign quota and without a full squad.

The $1.5m from the FFA (there was also money last year) should be viewed as the central body trying to ensure that:

1. The Qld presence of its sport has credibility and is viable for next season.

2. An attempt to cover the premium paid for Suncorp. You may know that the AFL is considering action against the owners of Etihad because they belief that Victory has been unfairly favoured by their stadium deal.

Without FFA bailouts, Victory (post season 1) could be the only team in the A-League.

john said...

I may have misinterpreted your view Neil

Perhaps you are saying Brisbane should have paid $1.5m less on players. Perhaps fielded their youth team all year? And that you see no value, overall for the A-League, for the FFA to facilitate an average cost team being coached in a way that always them to go undefeated for 23 matches.

wayne said...

Touche John, oh and by the way congratulations on the premiership John. Roar have for years tried to play attractive football, and if not for their inabilty to convert pretty buildups in the earlier years, or(ironically)Tiatto having that brain snap and changing what was the last game of the season that CCM won.

Great style,great to watch, and ticks all the boxes. Everyone has to step up to compete with it, making the game better, and more remarkable, to watch. Just like Victory's season in V2.

After more than 400 posts mate, you get the cigar. Enjoy.

john said...

cool thanks Wayne

Go CCM. Without you we may have forgot (a couple of times) that other teams have real fans