Consolidated A-League expansion thread.

[imblindimdeafiwannabearef]

we all know that in time more teams will be introduced if all goes well. its just a hard thing to decide whether applying teams that alredi exist would be taken in (considering that it seems that the a-league doesnt want nationality-represented teams). what do u guys think will happen. it seems common sense that if there are alredi three teams from nsw that it would be fair to say they hav there quota of representation. i wouldnt reli know what would happen or how man teams would make a nice number for the league to have. what do guys think? also i would like to know if any of the old nsl teams are completely gone or have just played in their state league for the last few yrs, because i get the impression most ppl would push for those teams to represent in the league again at one point in time.

[LIVERBIRD]

This was raised last week with the 'next two a league' teams thread.

[dAn]

i dont think there will be more then 8 teams in the A-League for awhile.
they would have to change the Logo if there is more teams in it.

[bennido]

i dont think there will be more then 8 teams in the A-League for awhile.
they would have to change the Logo if there is more teams in it.

LOL ! They don't need to change it if more teams come in.
Can remain to signify the founding 8 clubs.
Btw, 8 is a lucky number you know ... :D

[Purple Nose]

i would like to see a team represent the sth east of melbourne with their ground based in the Dandenong cbd. This area is a football hotspot with many different nationalities that follow football as their first sport and have no interest in aussie rules.

[Davo-26]

it all depends on finances...

maybe there will be a div 1, div2 comp with 8 teams in each and the new teams will be


tassie
canberra
nth qld
geelong
wollongong
2nd syd team
2nd melb team
2nd bris team

interesting ehhhhh

it would suck if both melb teams were in div2 but if the teams suck they deserve to fall...

this will possibly happen in 5 yrs as they(melb syd bris) have a license for that time(to be the only team in their city)

[trelos]

i was talking with my mate adn we were thinking if they decided to hav a rallogation type system in the future they should have kept the NSL as 2nd division, after 5 yrs wen the A League clubs have developed and the league is ready for expansion, say promote 2 clubs from the NSL and ralogate the bottom club from the A League if u get me

[MDL]

i was talking with my mate adn we were thinking if they decided to hav a rallogation type system in the future they should have kept the NSL as 2nd division, after 5 yrs wen the A League clubs have developed and the league is ready for expansion, say promote 2 clubs from the NSL and ralogate the bottom club from the A League if u get me
Give it up Trelos, what if Sydney has a bad year, are you saying that they would relegate them & promote Melb knights....Ha Ha. Yeh right, get rid of a market of a city of 5 million people of all nationalities, for a team that appeals to 10,000 Croatians from St.Albans! Look support your clubs, enjoy them for what they are, social clubs.

[hellas7]

Give it up Trelos, what if Sydney has a bad year, are you saying that they would relegate them & promote Melb knights....Ha Ha. Yeh right, get rid of a market of a city of 5 million people of all nationalities, for a team that appeals to 10,000 Croatians from St.Albans! Look support your clubs, enjoy them for what they are, social clubs.

They wouldnt be all that appealing if they got relegated.

I would love to see "social clubs" as you put it and franchise clubs battling out in relegation/promotion battles, whilst it wont happen anytime soon, it would be good to see it in the future, otherwise things may become a bit stale later on.

[colmane't]

Id like 10 teams in the league but deffinately NO State League teams, maybe start one from Tassie?

[futuremelvicstar]

In 5 to 20 years i would like to see :8-12 teams
Melbourne Victory
Sydney Fc
Central Coast
Perth Glory
New Zealand Knights
Queensland Roar
Newcastle Jets
Adelaide United
Geelong*
Canberra*
Townsville*
Wollongong*
Cairns*
Hobart*
AND NO 2nD MELBOURNE TEAM,SYDNEY TEAM,BRISBANE TEAM ETC
mybe a couple of those teams(*)no more than 12 teams and we should keep the salary cap and also introduce a Transfer cap once we get some more money in the game so that the richest clubs don't dominate e.g Juve,Chelsea,Barca,Man utd,Ac,Inter milan, Liverpool, Real Madrid etc. Also reserves league needs to be set up thats at the top of the list.

[jonk]

Melbourne Victory
Sydney Fc
Central Coast
Perth Glory
New Zealand Knights
Queensland Roar
Newcastle Jets
Adelaide United
Geelong - Won't happen. That would be an incredibly resistant market.
Canberra doesnt have anything to do in summer
Townsville - Would work. They had incredible support for the Cowboys during year after year of doldrums.
Wollongong - Have supported a team previously.
Cairns -Don't think it would work.
Hobart - Yep!

Ok here's mine for new teams in addition to those mentioned

- South east Melbourne doesn't have a stadium unfortunately. Doubt the govt would build one either, they dont seem to dig suburban sport.
- Western Sydney
- A 2nd NZ team. Wellington, and Auckland. NZ needs a big rivalry. If that goes well, a South island team. There's definitely room - Super 14s is such a short comp.
- Someone raised Darwin Cubs eariler this week but that's a military dominated city, don't know if the military would go in for something like that. I also wonder if the Aboriginal community would come. If not, that's Darwins two big minorities wiped out.
- Gold Coast might be able to?

If the league is happy to take on little shit clubs (which would result in powerhouse clubs at the top in the guise of the current teams) then maybe it could work using the places quoted above.

I can not believe that someone once thought Gippsland would be a good place to base a professional team.

[Victory2006]

What's with all the bumping recently? :confused:

[rusty]

8 is good enough.

[Jewboy]

surprised nobody mentioned gold coast. fastest growing city in oz. also theyll have their own new rectangular stadium soon. but what about the name queensland roar does that take away from the possibility of there being a club so close to brisbane.

i dont see why they couldnt, considering roar has had big crowds and also sydney has clubs which are in close proximity.

[Jony]

surprised nobody mentioned gold coast


- Gold Coast might be able to?


;)

[Ady#1]

piss the knights off once and for all.

TFC - TASSIE

MVFC - MELB

GFC - GEEL

SFC - SYD

NC JETS - NCAST

CMFC - CENTRAL C

QRFC - QLD

NQLD FC - QLD

NTFC - NT

FREO FC - WA

AUFC - ADEL

2ND ADEL TEAM.

[dechamp]

I know the New Zealand Knights were a long way back in the first season but i think New Zealand need a second team, probably a team on the south island. I think a local derby would help them alot rather than just trans-Tasman rivals. I think the league should only go to ten strong teams rather than having 12 or 14 average teams. That would mean i reckon their would be one spot for either a team from Canberra, Tasmania, Gold Coast, North Queensland or Northern Territory. I know football (soccer) isn't big in the Northern Territory but i reckon the Aborigines could be awsome players at football but so far they haven't got into it. I wouldn't want to see a second side in Melbourne simply because i want the Victory to be a powerhouse of football and a second side might damage that.

[futuremelvicstar]

I know the New Zealand Knights were a long way back in the first season but i think New Zealand need a second team, probably a team on the south island. I think a local derby would help them alot rather than just trans-Tasman rivals. I think the league should only go to ten strong teams rather than having 12 or 14 average teams. That would mean i reckon their would be one spot for either a team from Canberra, Tasmania, Gold Coast, North Queensland or Northern Territory. I know football (soccer) isn't big in the Northern Territory but i reckon the Aborigines could be awsome players at football but so far they haven't got into it. I wouldn't want to see a second side in Melbourne simply because i want the Victory to be a powerhouse of football and a second side might damage that.
Agreed
To add to that i think 10 teams would be fine I think if we go to 10 in 7 years after the T.V deal is worth more money so A-league teams don't get less money and then 12 teams in 10 to 15 years i would prefer to stay at 12 Max 14.One of those teams should be Townsville it would have a good chance of being a succesful A-league team. Tassie don't know about them will see how we go with the pre-season crowds see if any come down , Gold Coast would be ok but don't know about 3 Queensland teams. One of the best ideas a 2nd New Zealand team proberbly the best idea for a new A-league team.

[atlas]

With that tournament recently held in Nth Qld where Melbourne Victory played, does anyone know what kind of crowd figures there were for the matches?

[lane-ends]

8 teams is too few..not enough fixtures/match time, especially if you dont make final 4..so two leagues of 8 would still not give enough fixtures..one larger league is required, once we have enough talent and attendance to fill the grounds

Players need to go OS just to get enough match practice

[Liam]

I think about 1-4K...

Oh really? I heard between 1-7k.

[WestHam_Aussie]

They should introduce relegation and promotion when the league gets more popular.

[atlas]

They should introduce relegation and promotion when the league gets more popular.

Oce the J-League became established in Japan, this was introduced and appears to have worked well.

[El Zilcho]

Consider this:

- Nearly 7,000 people turned out in Launceston to watch what was essentially a practise match between two teams that have no connection to the state.

- Less than 1,000 showed up in Aukland to watch their nation's only team, which has been vastly improved over the close season, draw 1-1 with one of last seasons finals contenders.

So....would it be viable to have a team based in Tasmania, whether it be based in Hobart or Launceston, or was this just a one-off turn out for curiosities sake? Surely if the state had their own team, crowds of well over 10K would not be out of the question for regular season matches...

There would of course be issues that would need to be overcome, namely attracting players to Tasmania and the poor local competition to draw players from (no offence Tasmanians!).

What do you guys think?

[Gunner4Eva]

I think it's a shit-load better than New Zealand, and think it would be great to see it happen.

Thr possible problems you mentioned are important ones, but I'm sure they'd be able to overcome it. I'm sure any player playing in the VPL or in the state leagues in NSW, SA, Queensland etc would rather play for an A-League team rather than whatever team they're playing for, even if it's New Zealand or Tasmania.

So in the end, it'd be up to them to scout the leagues.

[Melbourne Boys]

Its Australian

Its Better

Fuck off NZ... nothing but a blight on the league

[bigvtommy]

NZ has way too much competition with rugby and rugby league dominating the sporting landscape over there. Tasmania has no teams in any of the major sporting leagues, the FFA must take advantage of this. The sooner the NZK are moved there the better.

[TP]

would still rate NQ higher than tasmania. very divided state between north and south. ie south refuse to follow AFL and north refuse to follow cricket.

[LS 11]

Well its a one-off for Tassie, and just another praccy match for NZ

Still a satisfying crowd for a praccy match and a good indicator for future expansion

[cigar69]

Close up with Paul Nevin
Thursday, 13 July, 2006 - 1:28PM


And that will be just reward for the Knights fans?

I think if we start to perform, we'll get between 10 and 15 thousand at our home games. The passion is there but the New Zealand public are very demanding of their sporting teams which is right. But once we start getting positive results and put on a good product, people will come and watch and will be delighted to get on board with a winning side.

[Carlton life member]

I'm happy to give NZ another year.

They admitted themselves that they recruited wrongly last year. They've tried to fix that, and go out more seriously. If they start to play better, we'll see how much support they can really get.

But a Tassie team is an interesting idea anyway (as is a NQLD one). Re the divided state - it may be that a football (soccer) team could be something they could agree on and unite behind. Outside their entrenched prejudices and loyalties. It's happened before.

[El Zilcho]

Re the divided state - it may be that a football (soccer) team could be something they could agree on and unite behind. Outside their entrenched prejudices and loyalties.

Isnt that the Queensland Roar?

[Liam]

I would keep the Knights (or perhaps relocate them to the South Island?), and add that Tassie team and either a team from Canberra or Townsville.

[Ustra]

Don't have to get rid of NZ to add Tas. Would be better for getting the sport going in Australia to expand the league to 10 teams. Would love to see one from NT in time but don't think they have the population/supporters to sustain it.

[Carlton life member]

Isnt that the Queensland Roar?

I meant to unite Tassie, not QLD
soemone else had suggested a north QLD team, and I was just saying I can see a place for a Tassie team anyway, not instead of NZ or north QLD

I don't know a lot about QLD

[LS 11]

NZK have at least 2-3 MORE years to get their sh1t together

[shoot goal]

Well why not a healthy NZ team and a new franchise in Tassy if it can be supported?

[El Zilcho]

Dont get me wrong, i wasnt suggesting that the Knights should be removed and Tasmania brought in as a replacement. I just meant that a Tasmanian team would appear more viable in terms of support than a NZ team.

[geordie_matt]

any team will have a good crowd if they give away 3000 tickets like yesterday.... still a good crowd and they gotright in to it which was good

[Liam]

Alot of VPL teams would look more viable judging by NZK's crowd this week...Its only a practise match and Newcastle arnt exactly drawcards. I still think New Zealands very viable, its just a matter of convincing them that they have a team that can compete with their tasman rivals.

[El Zilcho]

any team will have a good crowd if they give away 3000 tickets like yesterday.... still a good crowd and they gotright in to it which was good

Ah, didnt know they were giving the tickets away for free. That puts a slightly different complexion on things...

[magpie]

fuck tasmania, if they cant even be bothered painting over the AFL lines for what was supposed to be a "major event" then they stick football up their arse and stick to AFL.

[hellas7]

To be fair to the kiwis you cant expect ppl to turn up and watch a team with only 1 win over a season.

Lets say that was sydney fc with just 1 win last yr, they would be getting the same crowds as new zealand as would most other teams for that matter.

They will get support if they do well, problem is no new zealand team has ever done well whether its the old kingz or now the knights, always been failures on the park and people stay away.

[LS 11]

Good point

[Noogie]

You have to put the tassie games crowd in perspective. i think a big reason why they got such a good crowd was from the hype the world cup has generated, saying that they may get behind their own team and support them, but they wouldnt be getting crash hot crowds, exspecially if they wernt doing well on the field.

and BTW NZ crowds will pick up if they are competetive this year, and they have not had the hype from the world cup that australian clubs will enjoy, so give them a chance

[Popos]

They will get support if they do well
They'll do well?

[Bacardi 8]

Tasmania has no teams in any of the major sporting leagues, the FFA must take advantage of this. The sooner the NZK are moved there the better.
Well said but not about moving the NZK but about making a tasmanian team the more teams the better, and with a crowd like 7thousand not a bad effort & slowly it will build up to more crowds :)

[melci]

good piont. i think a tasmanian team should be included in the a league aswell as a new zeland team. but the ffa should threaten new zeland about being taken out of the a league if there corwds didnt improve.

[BigV]

Is their a rivalry between the north island and south island? That might help a bit.
And pretty encouraging signs from tassie. Give them their own team to support and I think they'll do fine.
Maybe a north Queensland team....that will take us to 11 teams.
Anyway one step at a time.

[Clint]

Aside from cricket, does Tasmania actually have a team playing in a nationwide domestic sporting competition? I seriously think an A-League team could work out of Tassie... The crowd got right into it yesterday and I did not hear one 'soccer is boring' comment. There's probably little else to do on a nice Sunday afternoon in Launceston.... I think it could be worth a shot. I wouldn't underestimate people coming from Hobart and other parts of Tassie either.

[rhinoceros]

They are rugby and basketball, arent they.

But I have doubts on long term viability of tassie. Can't wait till a 2nd division comes about.

[Victory2006]

NZ = Liability. I'd replace them with a Tasmanian team any day of the week!

[Rob]

Consider this:

- Nearly 7,000 people turned out in Launceston to watch what was essentially a practise match between two teams that have no connection to the state.

- Less than 1,000 showed up in Aukland to watch their nation's only team, which has been vastly improved over the close season, draw 1-1 with one of last seasons finals contenders.

So....would it be viable to have a team based in Tasmania, whether it be based in Hobart or Launceston, or was this just a one-off turn out for curiosities sake? Surely if the state had their own team, crowds of well over 10K would not be out of the question for regular season matches...

There would of course be issues that would need to be overcome, namely attracting players to Tasmania and the poor local competition to draw players from (no offence Tasmanians!).

What do you guys think?

It was a one off + the flogged shyteloads of tickets.

Both a sheepshagging & convict team is going to struggle.

[dechamp]

New Zealand Knights could turn into a massive team if they put the effort in. They are the only team in their country which means they could easily bring in big crowds but its just a matter of getting a talented list together.

Tasmania is one of a few areas that could possibly have an A-League team in the future. They don't have any teams play in any national competitions in any other sport so the market is there.

Personally i would like to see a team from the Northern Territory for the same reason. Even though it isn't as populated they only play AFL at the moment but if they could get into football im sure we would find alot of talent from up there.

[futuremelvicstar]

I'd have another NZ team,Tassie team,North Queensland and one more max 12 for me.The next two teams i think should be a tassie team and a north queensland team to give NZ time to get there act together.

[futuremelvicstar]

New Zealand Knights could turn into a massive team if they put the effort in. They are the only team in their country which means they could easily bring in big crowds but its just a matter of getting a talented list together.

Tasmania is one of a few areas that could possibly have an A-League team in the future. They don't have any teams play in any national competitions in any other sport so the market is there.

Personally i would like to see a team from the Northern Territory for the same reason. Even though it isn't as populated they only play AFL at the moment but if they could get into football im sure we would find alot of talent from up there.
Not a bad idea but what venue? A while back on the FFA website didn't they say something about a new venue being built in darwin anyone know more about it.

[s3tTz]

Not a bad idea but what venue? A while back on the FFA website didn't they say something about a new venue being built in darwin anyone know more about it.
I think it was only a 1,000-seater venue. Nothing special.

[gweeds]

I know it's a bit off-field. But I thought that the Mariners was a mistake. Why a team in Gosford?

I would shift them to South/Western Sydney, which has been a source of football players and where the AFL will try to set up a team in the future.

[acmilan_victory]

I know it's a bit off-field. But I thought that the Mariners was a mistake. Why a team in Gosford?

I would shift them to South/Western Sydney, which has been a source of football players and where the AFL will try to set up a team in the future.
They were attracted to the fact that Gosford didnt have a local team in any Australian domestic sporting competition. I think the Mariners can grow, they had a shocking time with the weather on game days last season.

[forzamariners]

I would shift them to South/Western Sydney, which has been a source of football players and where the AFL will try to set up a team in the future.

Why fix what isnt broken

[Scoops- MUFC RULZ]

I know it's a bit off-field. But I thought that the Mariners was a mistake. Why a team in Gosford?

I would shift them to South/Western Sydney, which has been a source of football players and where the AFL will try to set up a team in the future.

I think if you saw the way the community got behind them last year you would change your mind.

[HawkGunner]

problem with tassie, and the major reason they dont have a team in a major comp in australia is where to locate the team. a few years ago, i was in a pub talking to the bar tender bout why they havent really tried to lobby for a team in the afl. he said the one thing that is holding the state back in getting a team in any comp is the location of where the team will be. apparently there is alot of division between people in nth tassie i.e (launceston and devenport) and the people in the south (i.e hobart). he also said that there is no real infustructure to build any new stadiums. im not sure if that rivalry is still there, but sounds like unless a team is setup in both nth and sth tassie there could b a while before we see a team down there. a real shame in my book

[victorythe1]

http://www.theage.com.au/news/soccer/tough-path-for-australias-cup-bid/2006/07/26/1153816254900.html?page=2

With the new A-League season set to kick off next month, the FFA has resisted the temptation to expand the A-League after its inaugural season, but O'Neill flagged plans to introduce clubs from smaller regional cities in the next three years. "Canberra certainly is on that list, as is Wollongong and Townsville," he said.

---
cmon ffa i cant see why another victorian team could be introduce into the a-league.i would rather see another victorian team in the a-league then a other melbourne or syd team. John O'Neill said Canberra, Wollongong and Townsville why cant you put geelong up there i back geelong as the next victorian team in the a-league.

[M470]

In the future I would love to see another Victorian team........But not just yet let's get this team off the ground first in this city before we start another team up........Give it 3 - 5 years......Hopefully by then the A-League has expanded from 8 teams to at least 10 -12 teams........... :)

[Blinkey Bill]

Been done to death, happy with 'One' Victorian team at this stage. Geelong are light-years off being able to sustain an A-League team, they're an 'AFL' town (in every sense of the word), that barely managed to sustain an AFL team just a few short years back.

Western Sydney and Canberra probably the next most likely cities to have an A-League Club, around 4 years from now. There is enough weak clubs in the comp now without further diluting support...

Canberra may 'just' be big enough. Western Sydney or Gold Coast are fast growing, lots of migrants who follow football will move to these areas and Rugby League is a much poorer competitor to AFL.....

[jonk]

Expect two new teams in next years comp. FFA will be doing everything they can to make this happen.

*Edit*

Man this Geelong thing just won't die!!!

Do people seriously expect in 1 in every 15 people in Geelong to go to a sport

NONE OF THEM EVEN CARE ABOUT

Melbourne is a much more cultured city yet we have trouble getting recognition here so how the heck are we going to get Geelong

[Blinkey Bill]

Expect two new teams in next years comp.


I'd bet my the house there won't be.

What's the FFA going to prop up Perth, CCM and....NZ ? (as they are of course struggling big time) and now another two clubs? :o :o :o :o :o :o :o

A dose of reality with your Cornflakes wouldn't go astray...

Melbourne is a much more cultured city yet we have trouble getting recognition here so how the heck are we going to get Geelong

Melbourne is Australia's second most populated and wealthy city and we are battling to sustain one team. Yeah, let's have 10, make it 15, actually why not 20 clubs in the A-League.

Why because they'd go broke in no time! There is simply not enough week-in, week-out fans, coporate dollars, etc, to go around. Quite frankly, I can never see the A-League bigger that 10, maybe 12 clubs (a long way, away) at the most.

Many clubs are still losing stacks of money, most clubs outside of Melb and Syd if they have a poor run their crowds drop to 5 or 6 k (for NZ make that an even thou). Then there is lack of quality players, media exposure, etc...
Yet, people are happy to talk up clubs in 'poorer' football areas being admitted :o :o :o than where some of the current marginal clubs already are.

The A-League will get bigger, but it will grow slowly/steadily. The A-League and World Cup are two very different things in the market place. People hoping blindly for Australia's own EPL in three years time are going to be dissapointed....

[jonk]

Blinkey Bill, how's about this for a dose of reality -

$150,000,000 over 7 years.

[jonk]

The FFA is subsidising clubs this year to the tune of $1.4million which would nearly have covered CCM's whole operating budget.

*edit*

Wollongong have already supported a team before so that's no worries.

And Townsville is quite possibly the most fanatical sport town in Australia if you measure support against population

[Blinkey Bill]

The FFA is subsidising clubs this year to the tune of $1.4million which would nearly have covered CCM's whole operating budget.


Their shoe-string budget will increase and what's going to cover their wages budget of 1.6 mill when 6 thousand are turning up mid-year in the rain. CCM had a good year on the field last year, what happens if they have a poor one?

Newcastle lost 3 million dollars! sure the TV money will help bridge the gap and all that. But a softly, softly appoach is still very much in order.

You don't want a boom/bust senario like the NBL in the late 80's early 90's, where it lost all credibility by admitting and having teams go broke just as quickly. The whole Perth situation has opened our eyes that even relatively strong clubs in the new league, can go down hill pretty quickly if not run properly...

[Victory2006]

No, good move. We need to galvanise support for this team for a while yet, and only when the support for MVFC is good enough, should we be sticking in a new side. Even then, it's risky, because there's no guarantee that there will be enough supporters for it, unless it's a regional side like Geelong, or Gippsland, or Bendigo, etc.

[T.S.R]

Bring another Victorian team in (not SMFC) for sure. But not for at least 10 years. AT LEAST! ;)

[~LUFC~]

yeh i agree, no other new victorian teams for at least ten years. There just isn't the supporter base, and i still think that no place outside of melbourne will be able to sustain an a-league team either. and for those who think the foxtel deal will be a savior, if they split that evenly among the a-league clubs that would be 2.7 mil each a year. you add two teams and it already drops 600K each per club. Then you gotta take out the cost for the next seven years of the 8 national teams (o'neill aluded to this in the abc media conferance thing thread.) Plus you got FFA cost aswell, clubs are not gunna be able to survive off this tv deal. It was only the first season, shit, lets wait 5 years when we see if crowd and operating levels are positive before trying something new.

[Dasher39]

This is how I see it in terms of new clubs and when they can be expected.

Short Term (present to 5 years time)
Townsville
Canberra
Wollongong

Medium Term (5 to 15 years time)
Tasmania
Gold Coast

Long Term (15 years +)
Geelong
Darwin

In that time the FFA may explore the possibility of a second team in both Melbourne and Sydney, but personally I am against the idea.

[~LUFC~]

Why expand though? i mean obviously they will want to eventually, but theres requirement that a sporting league needs so many clubs. Frankly im happy with eight at the moment, it seems a perfect size for spreading the amount of good players we have. Expanding is just going to send it quickly towards a nsl like standard. Theres no point just looking to the biggest regions and saying teams should go there, geelong already has a team in the most popular national competition, is their enought fans that will have 10K plus crowds each week? or will everyone stick to there 150 yr old club? The only change i would think be a good idea in the future is if New Zealand dies that they put in a different aussie team. Let the sport build into a mainstream-esq type of popularity before trying to shove more teams down everyones throat.

[House]

Alot must change for me to be completly won over to think one team one state is the best move for the league.

Unfortunatly with one team you have no options to either support them or not. If you dont like what's on offer one may decide to not support the competition at all.

Look at Fremantle and West Coast. If there was just one team everyone would have to support West Coast. Where does that leave followers of the game that dont support the eagles? It leaves them in the outer not interested in the competition.

That is a possibility in the a-leagues current form.

For example i am not happy with the management and coaching staff of Victory. If an alternative was available i may support them.

[shoot goal]

not for a long long while....

[Davo-26]

i heard an interview with lowy in germany (i think it was on sbs after the cup final) where he said 12 teams would be a good number for the a-league eventually.......

i would think vic country would get a place out of the 4 possible spots available.........

my other 3 would be tasmania, canberra and nth qld

[MVFC_082]

In 5 years, i would consider another Victorian club. Not before.

[calgary]

I definately would not support another team in Melbourne. I think splitting support into 2 or more teams in a city could be disastarous. A team in one of the big country regional areas may be a possibility but not for many years yet I wouldn't think.

[Victory MP]

not in melbourne, way too soon to have a second team in melbourne, even in the next five years... certainly beleive that canberra and Gold Coast who as of next year have a boutique rectangular stadium are the next two areas to expand the league. Tasmania certainly should also be looked at. that whole state will jump on any sort of national representation it can get...just look at the central coast towards the end of last year

[Melbourne Boys]

In the future I would love to see another Victorian team........But not just yet let's get this team off the ground first in this city before we start another team up........Give it 3 - 5 years......Hopefully by then the A-League has expanded from 8 teams to at least 10 -12 teams........... :)

Agree

Wait another 3-5 yrs before intorducing another in Melb

Imagion the local derby

[Rob]

South Melbourne should be in league in 3 years

[robcrow]

One team one city is the right thing for the australian game......but the a league needs to expand in the future, but as some here have been saying i think it should be a slow process. i think that the expansion needs to lag 2-3 years behind expansion in total league revenue, after things like a youth leauge or reserve leagues, the increase in squard and increase in salary cap are sorted. I am very proud of the A league and i have never been more patriotic about a league before, not even the NSL or AFL. I want this league to become one of the premier leagues in Asia if not the best. And victory to be a force in the Asian Champions league year in year out...to do that the league needs to develop a youth talent development system, increase the squards and the salary cap slowly. This can only be done slowly as the revenue for the league from corporate sponsorship and television rights increases. So i think expansion is a long term thing which will have to lag behind the expansion of revenue of the league.

In saying that, the ideal number of teams in the league is 12. i think geelong is the best alternative for expansion in victoria. it is now one of the biggest cities in australia and the area is growing fast and diversifying. i think the team would be called surf coast or some all encompassing name that includes all regional areas around geelong. it would add to the game in victoria and it would be great for victory...it would double the amount of interest from the media in the game in victoria and help victory indirectly. i do think if this to be viable it is a long way away...but i think the FFA should start grass roots programs and set up infrastructure in geelong now....so that it is ready in say 7 to 10 years time....i look forward to road trips down to geelong and a local derby at victory's new stadium with the only other victorian team.

and as a side note....the League expansion is also a must because the FFA has been promised 4 spots into the asian champions league from 2009, and it would be ridiculous if the top four teams from a compitition of eight are allowed into the champions league....thus i think the FFA will rush an expansion of an extra two teams into the A league sooner rather than later....they will probably look for franchises that are already mostly established like woolllongong and develop the game in new areas like geeloong in later expansions.

[victorythe1]

South Melbourne should be in league in 3 years

sth melbourne in the a-league the hell no!!

[semja_]

South Melbourne is fine as long as they behave nicely in the A-League

Being from Geelong i think that our town is capable of supporting a team. The biggest issue is the stadium though absolutely no-where to play except for Skilled Stadium

It is AFL obsessed though ill admit that, but surely theres room for 2 teams, one playing in winter and one playing in summer

[dave30]

victorian yes
melbourne no

[T.S.R]

Look at Fremantle and West Coast. If there was just one team everyone would have to support West Coast. Where does that leave followers of the game that dont support the eagles? It leaves them in the outer not interested in the competition..
That's pretty much the way I felt during the dark days of the NSL!

[futuremelvicstar]

This is how I see it in terms of new clubs and when they can be expected.

Short Term (present to 5 years time)
Townsville
Canberra
Wollongong

Medium Term (5 to 15 years time)
Tasmania
Gold Coast

Long Term (15 years +)
Geelong
Darwin

In that time the FFA may explore the possibility of a second team in both Melbourne and Sydney, but personally I am against the idea.
You legend i agree with everything you say there i special agree with no second melbourne or Sydney team but another Victorian team like Geelong i am up for.
Short Term (present to 5 years time)
Townsville
Canberra
Wollongong
These clubs i think will be able to come into the A-league in the Next 5 years because of all these things that will be happening.
NO.1 - Asian Champions league
NO.2 - Hopefully A-league clubs doing well in Chapions League which then gets us more sponsers which means more money.
NO.3 - Shirt sponser money from socceroos.
NO.4 - Hopefully Qualifying for the 2010 world cup
NO.5 - Hopefully Asian Cup chapions- More sponsers again.
NO.6 - More kids playing football.
All these things will add up and bring the $ so i think we could definatly fit 2 or 3 of those teams in but we have to do well in competions first.

[rhinoceros]

They'd have a tough time since MV is well established. But I think it would be good.

They need to find a way to find opposing supporters. Perhaps South Melbourne, but probably not. Too many links with inept NSL.

[rhinoceros]

I dont get why towsnville ahead of Gold coast.

[dave30]

I dont get why towsnville ahead of Gold coast.
true and the gold coast NRL club is going to do up carara(sp?)

[TP]

a border team like albury/wodonga might be OK. they have their own league up there yes?

[dechamp]

I reckon in either season 4 or 5 the FFA should extend the A-League to 10 clubs. Despite the fact there are lots places that could handle a team i wouldn't really look at more than 10 teams for quite some time because more teams mean the talent needs to spread even more and that could lead to average players getting places on squad lists. Not to mention im sure the clubs will want the squad sizes to increase at some stage in order to play reserve games. 10 teams will mean all sides are even with talent throughout their squads as well as 27 games (play every team 3 times).

[Popos]

a border team like albury/wodonga might be OK. they have their own league up there yes?
It would be better than Geelong cause there's absolutely nothing out there and all the towns around could get behind it but it's still pretty smalltime and they don't have any proper facilities.

[hellasboy]

Look im going to say this and im sure many of the boys from this forum would agree.

Melbourne Victory v South Melbourne - Melbourne derby. $30000

Great atmosphere, full of goals, non stop chanting and flares galour.




P.S No fights, i know all you boys don't like us ETHNIC animals.

[Dj_link]

In particullar to the issue of two teams in the same city that could happen to us or the scum they should wait till the point were the crowds are almost or are actually selling out every game and that you almost have to be a member to go to any home games let that run for a year or two to check its sustainability and only then release a second team in or near that city for example Geelong would only be good if we can ensure that we do not lose fans that cannot be replaced by other fans that struggled to get into games due to the crowd size. Say a team was introduced and we lost even 10% of the crowd and then we couldn't fill those seats that would be 2000 people gone in the new stadium thats lots of $ gone. Don't get me wrong though i would love to go to a home town or home state Derby match really brings the best out in players and the fans cheer louder, especially once the history starts to build

[Victory4sure]

Hell I would love another team in Melbourne and I hope it is SMFC. The rivalry is already immense and yet we've never played a match against each other, a team from Geelong just wouldn't cut it.
I love to hate teams, I hate Sydney, I hate Adelaide and I hate South Melbourne (no offence intended) I don't hate Geelong.

Unfortunately Melbourne is to the A League what Sydney Swans are to the AFL........A one team town :(

[Arvo_Delite]

Lets not worry about expansions of teams in this competition yet. We have a competition that is only 1 year old, made the world cup for the first time in 32 years. What we need to do is develop more at the grassroots level, ensure the game is played in schools, both primary and secondary. We also need to develop something like a National Youth league, say at the U21 level then these players can get recruited to clubs, no draft. Expand the club lists to 23, make sure all clubs have a keeper under the age of 20 so we develop keepers in this country. Ensure we still have another 3 U20 players on each list.

The future is almost here, we just need to ensure we have the depth for coming Asian Cups and World Cups.