Adelaide 2 v NQ Fury 0

This was a difficult match to stick with. I couldn't. Fury have already signalled that they have benched players for lack of motivation. And now they may have reached a terminal limit.

Perhaps it is restating the strategic case for the Fury?

1. Northern Australia is ignored by the major codes.

2. While Australia will never host a world cup, we will host the 2015 Asia Cup. More importantly, we qualify for the World Cup via Asia. If we do not have a a quality group of players who can cope with Asian heat and an area we can put on events that give us a geographic advantage, we will stop qualifying for the World Cup. A 1990s style performance by the Socceroos would surely be the end of growth prospects for the A-League.

It is very sad that the FFA seem to be able to muster so little strategic competitive advantage. And that they have so little understanding of strategic marketing and its importance to the future of soccer in Australia. I know that Westfield do massive market research analysis before commissioning new stores in new locations - they work out how they can be sustainable. Pity FFA have not done this basic work for the Fury.

Imagine if the $5m to $7m net loss over 2 years from the Fury had been spent on working out how a team could make money with crowds of 3,500 to 8,000 (as opposed to starting with a breakeven of 12,000).