Robbie Fowler seems to be getting up a full head of goal-scoring steam and Shane Smeltz is continuing to smash them in like he was getting paid for it, which he is, not to mention having a pretty good chance of super sharp shooting New Zealand all the way to the world cup finals if he can help his National team overcome Bahrain in the play-off, but the real story in the A-league is the A-League itself.
Having moved to Australia just in time to get a season pass to the inaugural season I was treated to a deep lying Dwight Yorke dictating the play for Sydney as they romped to the title under world-cup winner Pierre Littbarski’s management, as the rest of the league struggled to find marquee players of note or a tactical system as rigidly enforced.
With the loss of Yorke, who returned to Sunderland, there were the odd interlopers, Juninho and Romario to name two, but the league was struggling under the fact that in such a small competition it seemed like pretty much any one could lose to anyone on their day and it was hard to imagine any huge talents coming in to the game. Mark Bosnich coming out of retirement to stand between the sticks for the Mariner was notable, but mainly for the schadenfraude prospects.
Partly this is because the salary cap system controls club finances and introduces an upper limit on the skills importable, and partly because the standard, throughout, was simply not that high. This season that’s changed. Things have, without a doubt, got better and it’s looking like now, anyone could beat anyone else and, increasingly, through beautiful goals.
The New Zealand Knights in their time were lamentably bad but Wellington Phoenix most certainly give a good account of themselves and New Zealand. The two new teams have invigorated the league by introducing more competition for the top places, more quality plays in the league and a playing schedule that’s less repetitive.
Admittedly, there’s been a few coups like Fowler and Jason Culina bringing their skills to the league, but more that that, the general level has improved considerably. Last year we saw a youth league and a woman’s league playing concurrent to the A-league with players from the former now breaking through to the first teams.
This means that within two seasons we’ve gone from a situation of players being sourced either from regional clubs (a big leap up) or from overseas to the nurturing of in house talent which can, of course, be custom trained to the necessities of the A-league, which remains a physical league.
So yes, the crowds are down a bit, but once the oval ball seasons are out of the way I’d expect that to change. More to the point, the A-league is beginning to make it in to the public consciousness as the media pick up on it and start running with it further and further up the news agenda. Last weekend’s clash between the Fury and Sydney was widely billed as Aloisi vs God and God, of course, won in the end, but the fact that an A-League match could produce such a headline, or such hyperbole, is a sign of how far it’s come.
Next season will see two new teams with one, based in Western Sydney, touted as being the jewel in the A-league crown even though the complicated bidding process saw a Lucas Neill backed bid fall apart following the murderer of a notorious business man. With no name, players or backroom staff yet in place, the new conglomerate creating this franchise will none-the-less be well placed to bring in some good names to what is one of Australia’s football heartlands if this season, and this league, continue to improve at this pace.
Written by Adoni Patrikios
Tags: A-League, Adelaide United, australian football, Brisbane roar, Central Coast Mariners, dwight yorke, football, gold coast united, hyundai a-league, john aloisi, Melbourne Victory, new zealand knights, Newcastle Jets, North Queensland Fury, Perth Glory, robbie fowler, shane smeltz, soccer, Sydney FC, Wellington Phoenix
This entry was posted on Saturday, September 19th, 2009 and is filed under Australia A-League & Socceroos. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
