A-League thread

[mightytiges]

Will take the 2-0 win away in Adelaide despite them having twice as many scoring shots. Only 4 pts behind Sydney now  .

[🏅Dooks]

Australia day game vs Sydney shaping up as a cracker

[dwaino]

Only if we win the next two. Winning 2-0 while not playing well is the sign of a good team but Brisbane and Perth will be bigger tests. Despite the talk that we are the only threat to Sydney I still don't think we have been that great, we have only done what we have needed to do and that has been all. Troisi hitting form is great though, just need Bes to fire up.

[tony_montana]

Adelaide would have to be the best cellar dweller ever. They have continued to play good football but just cant bury their chances - Guardiola is no good as a goal scorer, does everything else really well but whats the point if you cant bury good chances.

Sydney and Victory 2 horse race. Think City have the squad quality to win it overall if they can get back on track but thats looking more and more unlikely

[dwaino]

Everyone besides Sydney probably can only hope on the championship at this point, I think Sydney are too far ahead and can cruise to the premiers plate. Sure Victory are in striking distance and Sydney will probably lose and draw a few but so will we. Victory and Sydney though would be the only two teams going into the transfer window without a hole on the list that needs addressing.

[dwaino]

Just as a preface to not come across so bias I don't think Bes's pen was there. He had a little contact in the box but I don't think there is a case he had definitive possession of the ball. I thought we were extremely lucky to get the call but I didn't feel too bad for it at the time as we were playing like we were taking the pee.

Now I can get on to his red. Wtf. If the linesman has the power to make such a massive call then maybe they should be absolutely certain without not even the slightest of doubt what they saw. Bes hardly touched Devere, if he did it was negligible and the linesman got sucked into Devere's reaction and missed the incident. Should never suit up for another professional game ever again. Luckily it didn't affect the result.

As for Troisi and Rojas, if this had a squirting emoticon I would be spamming the poo out of it.

[mightytiges]

The refereeing last night was a farce. Not just the obvious ones such as the soft penalty to us and the red card against Berisha (btw Devere post-game said it was an accident and Aloisi didn't think it was a red card either). Both the ref and linesmen continually made wrong calls on throw-ins and corners (Broxham was laughing when he knew he had conceded a corner yet the linesman flagged for a goal kick). The 10-15 mins after the red card, the ref had totally lost control of the game. Thankfully, the match was a cracker that even inept refereeing couldn't spoil it.

On the game itself, we were all over them and showed our class up front in the first 30 minutes to go 3-0 up. Then we became complacent and gifted two goals thanks to schoolboy defending  to allow them back into the game by half-time. Thanks to the red card, the last half an hour was numbers behind the ball and defend. Credit to the boys for digging deep and holding the Roar out to deservedly collect all 3 points .

[dwaino]

Sydney FC v WSW awesome crowd. This derby poos on the Melbourne one as both teams have large supporter bases where as ours is always just one sided.

[🏅Dooks]

Sydney FC v WSW awesome crowd. This derby poos on the Melbourne one as both teams have large supporter bases where as ours is always just one sided.

Awesome atmosphere. Best 0-0 domestic contest ive watched.

BuT...Youd think its a better derby  but look at membership numbers. Maybe they are just more passionate on the day

[one-eyed]

Great call by FFA Match Review Panel - common sense prevails. Besart Berisha free to play this week.

https://twitter.com/MattyHeraldSun/status/820504421935104000

[Diocletian]

YELLOW & BLACK!!!

[🏅Dooks]

Geez Victory didnt look like they turned up to play.

[dwaino]

They didn't. Kev has been playing the same squad week in, week out and they're spent. Meanwhile have guys like Georgievski, Beister and Austin starting on the bench fresh and eager. That game was the perfect chance to rotate the squad a bit before going into the big game next week. Probably too late now but Kev is going to have to do something.

[one-eyed]

Channel 10 and Fox Sports edge closer to a partnership for A-League TV rights

Dominic Bossi
Fairfax media
20 January 2017

A-League clubs aren't expecting a significant increase to the value of the competition's television rights as Channel 10 and Fox Sports edge closer to broadcast rights partnership.

Should neither Channel Nine nor Channel Seven purchase the free-to-air component of the A-League television rights from Football Federation Australia, Fox Sports will ensure the competition reaches a free-to-air audience by screening games on Channel 10.

Fairfax Media understands the two broadcasters are close to reaching an agreement for a joint long-term partnership to televise the A-League. The proposal will see the high-profile Saturday-night fixtures televised live on Channel 10 or its affiliated digital channels in tandem with Fox Sports, who will retain their exclusive live broadcasting rights for the remaining timeslots.

"Negotiations continue with interest from all parties on the free-to-air deal," an FFA spokesperson said.

The free-to-air broadcaster for the next six seasons will not likely be known until April, once the television rights for the Big Bash League cricket are sold. Channel Nine are expected to make an aggressive bid to purchase the rights.

Sources suggest a deal between Fox and Channel 10 is regarded by the FFA as a good fit for the A-League. The network's popularity with younger demographics is regarded as a strong selling point given Australian football's strongest growth market in the 16-39 age group.

Should the partnership come to fruition, it will involve some further payment from 10 but the overall cash windfall is unlikely to rise much beyond the $57.6 million annual cheque the FFA will receive from Fox for the next six years. It would not be a popular move among the 10 A-League clubs, who have already expressed their disenchantment over the first financial instalment of the new TV deal that came in at a lower value than expectations.

It's understood the clubs are displeased with the ongoing uncertainty over their annual grants as part of the new broadcast deal, with some calling for a significant increase from $2.6 million to $6 million next season – providing them with the overwhelming majority of the broadcast fees. The FFA are also yet to sell the international broadcast rights for the A-League.

While the financial windfall will likely remain uncertain for another three months, A-League clubs can begin budgeting playing rosters for next season with the near-certainty of the salary cap. Clubs have been informed of a proposed salary cap of $2.928 million, an increase of more than 12 per cent of the current figure.

Should the overall value of the TV deal increase with the sales of the international and free-to-air rights, any increase to the 2017-18 season's salary cap will be minimal.

Clubs will be able to enter the transfer market with increased confidence of signing high-profile players with the FFA set to confirm a major increase of the A-League Marquee Player Fund. The money set aside to financially assist clubs pursuing big-name players will triple next season, rising to $3 million which can be accessed by any club looking to sign a player who raises the profile of the competition. A fund of $1 million was introduced this season, about half of which was used to help Melbourne City sign Tim Cahill.

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/sport/soccer/channel-10-and-fox-sports-edge-closer-to-a-partnership-for-aleague-tv-rights-20170119-gtuw1h.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

[one-eyed]

That's now 3 losses in a row  . Similar pattern to the game as our Perth loss. Once again we started well but over the course of the game we failed to take our many chances and ultimately pay the price as the opposition take there's  . Add copping another red card too.