A close competition they say is a good one. Most fans hate to see the same two or three teams dominating, that is unless you support those teams.
Sport is usually a great leveller. One team may dominate for a certain period of time, but as that group of players grows older unless the coach has that ruthless streak and is prepared to make changes when they are needed the team will soon start to fall away.
In the A-League Men’s competition the team that finishes top of the league table at the end of the season is crowned “Premier.” The top teams then enter a finals series to decide which team will be crowned “Champion;” the number of teams in the finals series has varied over the years according to the size of the League.
Since the competition started in 2005-06 only the Newcastle Jets of the teams that were part of that inaugural season has failed to win a Premiership, but they have won a Championship. Only Perth Glory of the original teams has failed to be crowned Champions.
For the traditionalists the team that finishes top of the League table are the teams that deserve the kudos, as traditionally they have shown consistency over a long season home and away. Sydney FC has won four Premierships and Melbourne Victory three, with Brisbane Roar, Central Coast Mariners and Adelaide United having won two each. Only two of the new teams to be introduced to the A League have so far claimed a Premiership, Western Sydney Wanderers and Melbourne City.
The Finals are an Australian way of life, and there are pros and cons with the format. One of the perennial questions raised is by having the finals does it lower a team’s ambition in the regular season?
While at the start of every season in every competition every team begins with the aim of winning the league. A few losses and some may shift their level of expectation.
In the AFL the media are quick to talk about teams “making the eight;” the top eight teams that make the finals. Often the focus on the teams vying for the seventh and eight position on the league ladder is greater than the teams vying to finish first.
In the A-League the top six teams currently play in the Finals series. Which means in a 12 team league if you finish mid-table you have a chance of being crowned Champion. All you have to do is win three consecutive games.
In a tight competition such games would have added interest. Final league positions could prove vital.
Unfortunately in the 2021-2022 season this doesn’t look to be the case. As many have bemoaned the A-League has dropped in terms of the quality on the pitch, and that has been reflected in the results. However, the disruption to the season due to Covid and the impact it has had on some teams ability to play at home has to be taken into account.
Looking at the League table as the season draws to a close it is clear that the top three teams are well ahead of the rest. Melbourne City currently sit top of the table, on 46 points, second are Western United on 38 points and third are Melbourne Victory on 31 points. The four teams below Victory are all four points or less behind them so could catch them.
Melbourne City the defending Champions are well ahead of the pack. They have scored 52 goals in 23 games. The next highest goal scorers are the Central Coast Mariners and Macarthur FC who have both scored 34 goals.
Melbourne City has only lost three games all season, the two teams lying in second and third and fourth have both lost four.
The fourth placed team Macarthur FC has won eight and lost seven. Sydney FC in fifth place has lost more than they have won, and sixth placed Adelaide United has lost the same amount as they have won.
You have to go back to season 2017-18 for the last time a team made the finals having lost more games than they won and that team was Brisbane Roar. In 2014-15 two teams qualified for the Finals having lost more games than they won, Melbourne City and Brisbane Roar again. In 2012-13 there were two teams again, in 2010-11 and 2009-10 there was one.
In six seasons out of 16 teams that have lost more than they won and have been rewarded with a finals berth. In the scheme of things that is not too often, but is it a good reflection on the competition?
The finals are supposed to be witnessing the best teams battling it out to be crowned Champions, do teams that have lost more than they have won deserve to be playing in the Finals?
Would the A-League at this point in time be better off reducing the number of teams contesting the Finals in order to increase the quality of the football on display, and avoid rewarding mediocrity?
The focus surely needs to shift to rewarding excellence? Would the top four teams playing off in a finals series be a better promotion for the game?
Having six teams in the finals series many teams do not aim to win the league and be crowned Premiers, their focus is purely on making the top six. Before the season is at the halfway mark the focus is solely on making the top six and the finals.
Some will try and argue that the same applies with the play-off format in some leagues around the world. However that is not so. The play offs are very much a second option, with all teams striving to finish in the top two or three and achieve automatic promotion. The play offs are a tough way to win promotion, with so much at stake they become high intensity games in which anything can happen.
You will admittedly see teams trying to make the top four or six depending on the country in the top European leagues in order to qualify for the European Champion’s League, but once again that is secondary to trying to finish top of the league. In Australia the reward for the top two teams is a place in the Asian Champions League, but as some club owners have admitted this is not so much a reward as an extra cost. It certainly does not carry the same prestige as the European competition.
Sadly the Asian Champions League has not captured the imagination of many of the fans in the participating nations. The reason for this is probably that most are ignorant as to the league competitions in other Asian countries and are unaware of the history of some of the teams.
Those places are not in jeopardy, and should still be the reward for a good performance over an A-League season, but is it right to give half the teams in the league the chance of being crowned Champions? Is it good for the game to see teams who have lost more games than they have won being rewarded with a place in the Finals?
With the competition struggling to attract viewers and fans the argument for a finals series between just the top four teams has to carry weight, as it would be a far better advertisement for the sport and the competition. The focus must be on quality, not quantity.
