Go west in A-League expansion

I’ve been against the proposed Sutherland Shire A-League franchise since the idea was first floated several years ago.

I think it’s a mistake and having lived in the area for over 20 years and having been involved in the local football community, I’d say I’m well qualified to judge.

My concerns were detailed in a previous blog and it can be viewed here.

When trumpeting the need for a Shire franchise, supporters always look towards the junior participation numbers. Two of the local association clubs, Menai Hawks and Lilli Pilli FC were once the biggest in the Southern Hemisphere.

But times are changing. I played for the Menai Hawks when it boasted over 100 teams, that figure is now closer to 60, and dropping. The local primary school I attended is going through the same thing. There’s talk of shutting up shop, given the lack of enrolments.

The median house price in the Sutherland Shire is rising all the time, currently sitting above $1.1 million. It’s clear young families are not moving to the area like they once did.

So if not Sutherland, then where? Western Sydney is your answer. Young families are moving there in staggering amounts. 

I can hear the cries already, ‘But what about the Wanderers?’ - Don’t worry they’ll be fine, there’s a bigger enough slice of the pie for everyone.

For mine the region can sustain a second side, further west, towards Penrith. Simply put, business is booming and the trend out West is only upwards. So much so, that soon trips east will be a thing of the past. New commercial and economic opportunities will arrive.

The three fastest growing parts of Western Sydney are Camden, Campbelltown and Penrith. All far exceeding the national growth average, and will continue to do that for at least the next thirty years, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The area will only transform further with the duplication of Northern Road, continued development at Oran Park and Badgerys Creek airport.

The National Rugby League has Wests Tigers, Penrith Panthers, and Parramatta Eels in the region. All continue to post membership increases year on year. Even clubs like South Sydney have begun marketing to Sydney’s West, having looked at population data amongst its membership base, another sign of the population shift.

Western Sydney will soon resemble its own city, so why not give it its own derby. It has the numbers to support a second team, but understand this plan is one for the future. It’s a proactive move, much like the AFL’s push into the same market.

The AFL never implemented the Greater Western Sydney Giants so that they would see their reward in 2016, it was always with the long term in mind.

Look at the Giants marketing strategy – capture the kids and the parents will follow, and the Giants have done exactly that.
Who do they target? Why wear bright Orange? It’s all part of the plan.

Having previously worked for the club during their inception, I’ve witnessed this shift first hand. The numbers are not brilliant when compared to Collingwood, but one day they will be and the penny will drop for their critics. It was a move made with Generation Next firmly in mind, and it's one football should follow.

People will say Rugby League is king in the region, but football is well and truly in the fight. Western Sydney carried Parramatta Power, Sydney United and Marconi in the National Soccer League.

A tier below the A-League, Blacktown City FC, Sydney United 58 and Bonnyrigg dominate, and we can’t forget the Blacktown Spartans, Macarthur Rams, Marconi and others.

Penrith Nepean United’s once impressive crowds saw the Western Sydney Rovers A-League bid come to life.

A source recently told me that the Panthers Group had a role in that potential franchise, with financial support discussed, which isn’t widely known.

The Panthers name was even bandied around at one stage, before market research returned saying that such a move would alienate supporters who did not follow the Rugby League counterparts.

Don’t forget, the Panthers briefly flirted with a move to secure the Wanderers when they were privatised, until the FFA shut it down. They know the potential is there.

Could the group look to make a play with the round ball again perhaps?

There was talk of a brand new stadium for the area as part of the NSW Governments recent ‘Stadium plan’, with the funds ultimately scuppered through the bickering of ANZ Stadium and the SCG Trust.

Pressure is still being placed from stakeholders, such as the Penrith Panthers, to commit funds to a world class facility in the region. A second A-League franchise should force the hand.

The Rovers bid did the research and they had the numbers. Sure it was in a time before the Wanderers, but the numbers still make good reading. The bid team secured funds from a number of corporate partners in the region, which allowed them to gain approval from head office.

Problem was it was pledged funds and not operating capital - numbers on a page and not necessarily in the bank.

A new franchise will be solely dependent on its own start-up capital and not the Football Federation Australia money and experience that made the Western Sydney Wanderers an instant success.

The rumours of a Sutherland franchise continue to bubble along, and they simply won’t go away. The ducks are almost all in a row.

Lyall Gorman, former Wanderers CEO, now leads the Cronulla Sharks, whilst Greg O’Rourke, formerly of the Sutherland Shire Football Association, heads the A-League.

It has to be said, both are football men that come with significant experience, but is the devil in the data, or its detail? Just because the numbers look good now, doesn’t mean they will look the same in twenty years time.

The numbers look better and better out West with every glance. Western Sydney is a safe bet.

Go West, or don’t go at all.

ADAM SANTAROSSA

Read more: The Sutherland Shire has no place in the A-League

How UEFA killed the Euro's

Every game of the European Championships was once must see.

They're not anymore.

Throwing the 'if it ain't broke don't fix it' mantra out the window, UEFA expanded the tournament to 24 teams for France 2016.

More teams equal more games, which equals more money - seemingly the justification for any decision made by a football governing body.

24 teams obviously doesn't divide as well into a Round of 16 or Quarter Finals, therefore this tournament has introduced a farcical situation where the best four third placed sides qualify for the second round.

The fact you can now qualify from third place has made the entire tournament rather dour. Games aren't necessarily must win anymore and sides often look content with a draw. 

This has been reflected in the amount of goals scored, with Euro 2016 seeing an average of 1.84 goals per game.

Euro 2012 saw an average of 2.45 – enough said.

Interest in the group stage wasn’t as high, with weaker groups and the odd mismatch.

It’s a stark contrast to previous tournaments.

At Euro 2012 Germany, Portugal and The Netherlands were in the same group, as were Spain, Italy and Croatia and France and England.

Euro 2008 was much the same The Netherlands, Italy and France were grouped together, along with France, England and Croatia at Euro2004.

Every game was a blockbuster, every game mattered and points were precious – it was why everyone loved the Euro’s.

But the biggest mistake made at Euro 2016 is how the Round of 16 opponents are decided.

Instead of the top four ranked group winners landing the four best third placed sides, the matches were predetermined. 

It means Italy who topped Group E with six points, and could have finished with a maximum nine, had they not made 11 changes against the Republic of Ireland, take on Spain, the runner up of Group D.

On the other hand Wales, the second lowest ranked group winner will play Northern Ireland, the lowest ranked third placed side.

How is that fair?

Instead the third place sides, Slovakia, Republic of Ireland, Portugal and Northern Ireland should have been made to play the top four group winners - France, Germany, Croatia and Italy. 

As mentioned above Italy made 11 changes for their game with the Republic of Ireland, given they had already secured top spot and couldn't alter their position in the group or chances of progression in the second round. 


That meant the Republic of Ireland were able to win against a weakened side, a chance every other team in the tournament didn't have. 

The Round of 16 also has delivered a horror draw for both organisers and fans.

Italy, Spain, Germany, France and England all sit in the same half of the draw.

The other side includes Switzerland, Poland, Hungary, Wales and Belgium.

We’re hardly going to get the marquee final we all hoped we would.

The Euro’s have lost their lustre and I don’t think it’s going to change anytime soon.

Euro2020 may be even more farcical with 24 teams again taking part, but the biggest issue around the next Euro’s is the fact is wont have a host nation.

Instead it will be held across thirteen European cities in thirteen different countries.

England’s Wembley Stadium will host the Semi Finals and Final, but the remainder will be played out in Copenhagen, Glasgow, Brussels, Budapest, Bilbao, Dublin, Amsterdam, Bucharest, St Petersburg, Rome, Munich and Baku – in Azerbaijan.

Co-hosting is not uncommon in recent times, but many issues come with it.

The impacts of travel between countries, inadequate rest time and issues for fans will no doubt once again be on the agenda in 2020.

The Round of 16 kicks off tomorrow and maybe Euro2016 will have a late twist that glosses over the issues the tournament has had so far.

It would want to be something special, because up to now, the Euro’s have been painfully underwhelming. 

ADAM SANTAROSSA

Leicester helps us love again

There's no greater story in sport than that of Leicester City. 

A team that should have been relegated last season, but now lifts the Premier League.

A team that no one believed in, even when they led the league at Christmas or with just a handful of games to go.


It couldn't happen. Surely, reality would kick in soon. But the reality is- Leicester are champions!

I've watched every minute of their title bid since January, my father and I staying up through the early hours of the morning in Australia, cheering them on.

Now, that might sound strange given I'm a 29-year old man, but it's something I haven't been able to do for a while.

It's only a short term arrangement, and there probably won't be another season where we watch the important moments together. But it was a cool thing to experience together, a reminder of years gone by.

Now, usually I despise those who jump on the bandwagon of teams that become successful, such as Chelsea and Manchester City, but this was different.

We still have our own teams that we support, but you couldn’t help but cheer Leicester on.

Leicester has shown that hard work, unity and belief can prevail over millions.

It’s a lesson football badly needed.

It gives belief to supporters like me that maybe my teams can one day be successful again.

I support AC Milan and Leeds United. Both were once great, now they are a shell of their former selves.

Big spending has seen these two clubs plummet.

AC Milan were the kings of Europe. When I was young and first handed a Milan kit on a family holiday in Italy, their side was star studded. Van Basten, Gullit, Rijkaard, Baresi were just some of the names.

Through the 90’s they were formidable, winning the European Cup multiple times. In 1994 they beat Barcelona 4-0, in 2003 they beat Juventus on penalties. In 2005 they fell to Liverpool after leading 3-0, but got redemption in 2007 against the English side.

Maldini, Weah, Baggio, Boban, Pirlo, Crespo, Ibrahimovic, Ronaldinho, Robinho, Shevchenko, Seedorf, Vieri – it makes good reading.

From there, it’s been a steady decline. They haven’t featured in the Champions League for the past two campaigns and wont again next year.

In 2015 they reported a loss of 91.4 million euro for the previous financial year, in a season that saw the club finish 10th. 

My other side is Leeds United. It’s the side my father supported and I declared loyalty to at a young age, helped by the fact that they had a heavy Australian contingent, including Harry Kewell and Mark Viduka.

In 2001 Leeds were in the semi-finals of the Champions League. They saw off Barcelona, AC Milan (awkward), Real Madrid, Lazio and Deportivo on the way. 

Three years later they’d be relegated from the Premier League, ironically, Leicester City were one of the teams joining them in going down. 

Two years after that, Leeds would be sent down a further tier to League One, after losing 10 points for going into administration.

It would take them three seasons to climb back up to The Championship, where they’ve remained ever since.

The club no longer owns its stadium, Elland Road, its training base, or its Academy. At one point it was haemorrhaging $100,000 a week.

The debts have diminished in size year on year, but so too has the activity in the transfer market. 

The best players are routinely sold, the transfer fee generally not used to find a replacement either.

But what will warm the hearts is the fact Leicester City were in a similar position only a few seasons ago.

The club reported $52.5 million losses for the three seasons before they rejoined the Premier League in 2014.

Chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha wrote off the clubs debts of $103 million, swapping the huge liabilities for shares in the club.

They were debt-free for the first time in two decades, and set about rebuilding the club with smart investment.

They found Jamie Vardy in non-league football for $1 million. Ngolo Kante was more extravagant, costing $4.6 million.

Riyad Mahrez cost just $400,000 and last week was crowned the Premier League’s Player of the Season.

In total Leicester spent just shy of $50 million this season, whilst Manchester United spent three times as much. Juan Mata, a substitute in Sunday's clash between the two sides, cost more than Leicester’s squad combined.

Leicester’s financial return and unbelievable success gives hope for supporters like me. Our club may rise again.

The Foxes have inspired us all and there are feel good stories everywhere you look. From Vardy to Ranieri to those fans who never would have ever dreamed of this day.

Supporters have been used to going into Premier League seasons, hoping for survival, a mid table finish or perhaps a decent cup run. 

Now fans can dream about taking it to the best, and perhaps ‘doing a Leicester’.

Leicester City has shown money isn’t everything.

Desire, commitment, unity, togetherness – are items you cannot buy.

Thank you Leicester.

You’ve shown why football is the greatest sport in the world.

We can all believe again.

ADAM SANTAROSSA

10 years on: The night that changed Australian football

November 16, 2005.

What a night! It is one I will never forget for as long as I live.

I was one of the lucky few to be inside ANZ Stadium that evening and it remains my greatest sporting moment.

I’ve been lucky enough to witness some special sporting events. I’ve been to World Cups, NRL and AFL Finals, I’ve witnessed English Premier League games, Asian Cup finals, big Boxing and UFC fights, but frankly nothing comes close.

In 2005 I was just 18 years of age, only a few months out of high school and working part-time at Target whilst taking the first steps in my media career.

Tickets to the match took a fair chunk out of my minimal wages, but looking back now, they are priceless. Even being part of the ‘football family’, I could only manage to secure seats most commonly known as ‘nosebleed’, in fact, they were literally three rows from the highest point of ANZ Stadium.

The seats were so bad my father, with whom I’ve experienced all my previous Socceroo heartache decided not to attend, he said he would watch from home.

I asked him as I was writing this article whether he regrets that decision. He tells me he doesn’t, but I say secretly it’s one he has regretted ever since.

Instead I attended the game with two of my best mates, and it is a memory we will have for life.

I took a piece of my father with me to the game, as I was wearing his old Socceroo jersey, you know that finger painting design from the early 1980’s that is considered the worst of all-time!

As soon as we found our seats, you could tell this night was going to be very different. The crowd was in full voice already and we were still a fair way from kick-off.

‘Ole, Ole, Ole, Ole....Aussie, Aussie” rang around the stadium.

This was a different crowd than I’d ever experienced before at a Socceroo match, and trust me I’d been to a few before 2005.

My first memory of World Cup heartbreak was 1993. I was still very young, but I remember the buzz around Maradona and Argentina coming to the SFS.

We were heroic home and away, but just fell short after a gallant performance in the return leg in Buenos Aries.

Iran 1997. That’s another night I will never forget. We we’re off to France 98 and then we weren’t. We were so dominant in that first half hour; it could have been 5-0. It would end 2-2

Kharim Bagheri and Khodadad Azizi. The two Iranian goal scorers. It’s a trivia question I will know the answer to for life.

I remember 2001 at the MCG. Paul Agostino winning a penalty and Kevin Muscat making it 1-0.

A week later, I was late for school, watching Uruguay do us 3-0 in Montevideo.

But something about 2005 was different.

The evidence of that was during the national anthem, where the Australian crowd booed the Uruguayan anthem.

Some said booing the anthem was wrong and unsporting. I loved it.

Now, booing the opposing nations anthem happens a lot in football, in fact the Uruguayan fans did exactly the same to the Australian anthem in the first leg in Montevideo.

Oh, and they even spat at the Socceroos at the airport and tormented the players at the hotel by tooting their horns and letting off sirens as they slept.

Booing the anthem was a substantial shift by an Australian crowd. We were no longer going to sit back and take it. It showed we were up for the fight as well, and I’m sure the players got a kick out of it too.

The most memorable aspect of the game was of course the fact Harry Kewell was left on the bench by Guus Hiddink. Kewell would of course enter the game for Tony Popovic after about 30 minutes, and given Kewell’s pass/miss kick set up Mark Bresciano for the opening goal, it is seen as a master stroke.

Hiddink was arguably the biggest difference in the Socceroos of 2005. He gave them belief and we stood taller with the Dutchman behind us. John O’Neill’s time in football was relatively short, but his move to land Hiddink is probably the single biggest coup in Australian football history.

Thinking back now and trying to reflect on moments in the game, much of the 90 minutes is a blur of nervous energy. Uruguay having won the first leg 1-0 only needed a goal and they’d go through, and I remember Alvaro Recoba going really close with a long range chip. Other than that most of the game was watched through my hands.

The penalty shootout remains vivid though and those saves of Mark Schwarzer’s are some of the best you will ever see.

I remember my Dad telling me stories of Jimmy Mackay’s goal that got the Socceroos to the 1974 World Cup and I imagine telling my own children one day of Schwarzer’s heroics.

We were nearly there.

Only for Mark Viduka to spray his penalty wide. VIDUKA!! Our captain on the night and one of our greatest ever exports.  

But Schwarzer would save the day again, and what a save! 

We obviously all know that John Aloisi would put Australia into its first World Cup finals in 32 years, burying his penalty with aplomb.

He’s probably thankful Viduka missed the penalty in a way, as with all due respect, he’d probably not quite be as iconic as he is now, and I’m sure ‘that penalty’ has brought in the odd endorsement or two.

In the stadium, the moment that Aloisi’s penalty hit the back of the net, it was delirium. I remember jumping all over my mates, hugging a random stranger next to me and signing ‘Land Down Under’ several times.

That night would see us go on a magical ride with the Socceroos throughout the 2006 World Cup which would show us more memorable moments, and feats we’ve yet to see repeated in South Africa 2010 or Brazil 2014.  

But that moment in 2005 is special for a bigger reason.

I’ve been a football fan all my life. I was born into a love of the game, passed down by my father. I was in Italy for the 1990 World Cup and remember cheering on Italy all the way to the final in 1994. My idol as a kid was Roberto Baggio (don’t mention the penalty).

Sure, I always cheered on Australia, but moments of cheer were few and far between. Even when we’d beat the likes of Fiji, New Caledonia and American Samoa.

I’d followed the NSL, as a Marconi supporter, and witnessed Grand Finals with less than 10,000 people. I saw some great times, but there were a lot of the bad times as well.

I often wonder where the game would be now had we not suffered the heartache of 1997 and gone to the World Cup in France. 

I was told a story recently where the Socceroos apparently had to break in to St George Stadium in Sydney to train before the 1997 World Cup qualifiers, as Soccer Australia couldn’t afford to lease a ground. The precinct was in that bad a condition that the bus driver refused to drop the players at the main gate, forcing them to walk. 

Seeing the rise of football since ‘that night’ in 2005, we’ve come a long way.

The A-League has its issues, but it’s still early days. The Socceroos are on the way up again and junior participation continues to rise, particularly through the women’s game.

One night ten years ago changed everything.

It is a night that will be with me forever, the night Australia finally opened their hearts to football. 

Why the A-League has no place in the Sutherland Shire

It's a junior nursery, but for how long?

It’s the story that I hoped would simply go away, but now it’s starting to scare me, with Tim Cahill and Cronulla Sharks chairman Lyall Gorman giving the proposal their backing .

The idea that a third Sydney A-League side should be placed in the Sutherland Shire is farcical.

Being someone that’s lived in the area most of my life, with my family a part of the Menai Hawks and having had an involvement with the Sutherland Sharks in the NSW Premier League, I speak from considerable expertise.

Plus, this idea isn’t exactly a new one.

Sydney Olympic became the ‘Olympic Sharks’ for two seasons in the old National Soccer League, playing their home games out of Shark Park and moving their youth teams to Bates Drive at Kirrawee.

The Olympic Sharks even won the NSL title in the 2001-02 season, and were Minor Premiers in 2002-03, only to lose in the Grand Final. The Olympic Sharks were as successful as can be on-field, but still, no one in the Shire seemed to care too much.

Sure it was a repackaged Sydney Olympic, and that could have been the issue, but my father and I still went and watched, despite being Marconi fans, unfortunately not too many of the other locals got on board.

Now the region does have the largest junior participation, and back in the day, the Menai Hawks and Lilli Pilli regularly battled it out for the honours of being the biggest junior club in the southern hemisphere.

But the demographic of the area is changing.


Families are being priced out and those that grew up in the area, such as myself, can’t afford to hang around the area, and even those who pay the lofty house prices, a day at the A-League may just be a stretch too far when the weekly budget is calculated.

Why do we need to expand to a third team in Sydney?


Sydney FC are only just finding some solid ground after a few lean years before the arrival of Del Piero and whilst the Wanderers have made a stunning start to life, we cannot get too complacent, with the Western Sydney market only expected to become more competitive.


Why not have both Sydney teams averaging 25,000 a week? Why introduce a third team which will only take fans away from the existing franchises.

The Newcastle Jets are in disarray, with the Hunter Sports Group seemingly running the franchise into the ground and the Central Coast Mariners are experiencing similar economic issues.

How about ensuring the solidity of the existing franchises before we start adding anymore?

We saw what happened with Gold Coast United and North Queensland Fury, which the league has only really recovered from in the shape of the Wanderers.

Let’s get all the current A-League sides to an economically sustainable level. I know many have a ‘dream’ of Australia having a second-tier and therefore promotion and relegation, but I don’t think people understand how far away that day actually is.

Just having 10 A-League teams competing is a task for Football Federation Australia, both economically and logistically, especially when sharing infrastructure and stadiums with other sports.

If we built our own stadiums and academies then great, but it’s been hard enough for A-League clubs to break even, let alone look too far ahead.

That’s not to say that there aren’t realistic options to expand to when the times is right.

I'd be looking towards Canberra and Tasmania as possible expansion targets.

The ACT are crying out for football and whilst it was tried previously with the Canberra Cosmos, recent attendances to significant football matches in the region , such as the FFA Cup and Socceroos highlight the potential.

Locals haven’t really warmed to the GWS GIANTS attempts at embracing the place and the Canberra Raiders aren’t exactly setting the world on fire at the moment and I wouldn’t expect them to return to their glory days anytime soon.

Canberra United has built a solid foundation through the W-League and Canberra Stadium and the AIS facilities provide a solid base to build an A-League club from.

Tasmania has long been a dream of mine. The argument is always that it is not 'commercially viable', but I don’t know how that argument has weight when you have teams in Newcastle and Gosford.

The Apple Isle is crying out for national sport and they have shown their appetite in supporting the AFL games taken to the state in recent times.

No other sport will bite the bullet in the region, and football showed what can be achieved through initiative with the Wanderers.

But expose the game to a new market, rather than diluting one to provide for another.

I’ve regularly attended Sydney FC games, catching the train from the Sutherland Shire into Central Station and making the walk up to the Sydney Football Stadium.


The trains are regularly filled with Sydney FC fans and almost every football person I come across in the area calls themselves a Sky Blue.


There’s talk of bringing the South Coast into the proposed side, but again, we’ve seen the challenges that the Wollongong Wolves faced and the continued economic challenges facing the ‘rebirth’ South Coast Wolves.


The Cronulla Sharks have long been a financial basket case, which hasn’t been helped by recent events. Commercially the region isn’t strong and the Sharks are regularly chasing sponsors, a sign that the area isn’t exactly the gold mine many believe it to be.

Whilst David Gallop hasn’t explicitly come out and said he supports a move to the Sutherland Shire, the media coverage and discussion continues to grow.

I just hope someone from head office actually looks at the bigger picture and doesn’t expect that the success of the Wanderers can be replicated in any market they choose.

As someone who has lived, played and followed football in the area for most of my life, I believe bringing an A-League team to the region would only undo a lot of the positives steps the A-League has made in recent times.