Australian national football team Manager Ange Postecoglou "has declared that it was time for the A-League to become bold and expand beyond 10 teams," according to David Davutovic of the HERALD SUN. The calls come after "a stellar start to the A-League season," with a combined 105,068 attending the Sydney and Melbourne derbies with an average Fox Sports TV audience of 137,000. Football Federation Australia CEO David Gallop "has also put expansion back on the agenda recently, after the governing body spent years preaching consolidation." Postecoglou: "Having nine Australian teams is not enough and I’d hate to think a boy who wants to be a professional footballer, maybe a Socceroo, doesn’t realize that dream because of a lack of opportunity" (HERALD SUN, 10/16). The AAP reported Postecoglou advocated "the introduction of a national second division." Citing the "positive effect" of the FFA Cup on state league football, Postecoglou believes there is "merit in the idea of bringing together the top clubs from the various National Premier Leagues in one competition" and giving more opportunities to players and coaches. The goal would be for promotion to and relegation from the top tier -- "but until that becomes feasible, he reckons a new division would serve a purpose in giving second-tier clubs an incentive to grow" and bridging the gap between the A-League and the National Premier Leagues. He said, "The divide between what we're seeing in the A-League and in the NPL will become wider and wider unless we can provide a link between the two, because I see the A-League clubs becoming more and more professional. A really strong second-tier competition can surely help." Australia "is one of only two major footballing nations," along with the U.S., without promotion and relegation in their top-flight domestic leagues (AAP, 10/17).
AREAS OF CONCERN: In Sydney, Ray Gatt reported A-League coaches "have been urged to ensure time wasting and diving are eradicated from the league." A-League Head Greg O’Rourke emailed all coaches and football department managers on Friday, asking them to help continue the momentum by "doing your bit to ensure we eradicate incidents of simulation and time wasting." The email "did not point the finger at any player or club but suggested there were areas of concern that came out of the opening week’s matches." O'Rourke wrote, "There was a number of obvious incidents across round one where time wasting was taken to the edges of reasonable (and arguably beyond) and also some incidents where players via replay video reviews were simulating either injury or foul play. This is not good for our brand in Australia or New Zealand" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 10/18).
NOT ACCEPTABLE: Gatt reported in a separate piece Gallop believes "the tide is turning" and that fans in Australia are beginning to realize that flares "are not acceptable at any level of the sport in this country." For the second week in succession, FFA has been forced to "issue a show cause notice after a Melbourne Victory fan ignited a flare" during Saturday night’s derby between Victory and Melbourne City. While Gallop said that the code "must stay serious about flares, he acknowledged fans are sick of the situation." Gallop: "The encouraging sign is that the fans are not tolerating this behavior. You saw the other night that Victory fans quickly identified the perpetrator (who was handed over to police) and there was wholesale booing when the flare was let off" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 10/18).
