The Grand Stand: The Allstars Gimmick
The A-League Allstars take on Manchester United on Saturday week. The lead-up to the game, at least from an A-League point of view, has been shambolic in terms of player availability. But the suits at the FFA have learned and adjusted accordingly for future games. In saying that, fans have been vocal on their support of the game whilst others have been vocal in their displeasure of the game.
I for one am a fan of the fixture. I look forward to seeing many more A-League Allstars games in the fixtures in the years ahead. For now, it is a gimmick fixture but one that suits the Australian football climate. I believe it is the easier path in attracting the more highly regarded teams from Europe. The way the A-League is currently laid out, why would those European teams come to Australia for their preparations?
A-League fans have to remember that the season starts in October and ends in April. Compare that to Europe, where seasons start in August and end in May. Why would European clubs use Australian clubs as preparation? Look at it from their point of view: would A-League clubs be able to provide them with a level of intensity they require in their preparations for their upcoming season? Probably not. That’s not to say A-League clubs can’t compete with those clubs on the pitch. It’s more the fact of where European clubs and A-League clubs are in July in terms of preparation for their upcoming seasons.
I imagine that people will say, ‘but Liverpool is playing Melbourne Victory at the MCG.’ That’s true. But does Liverpool come here had the FFA not locked in Manchester United? I doubt it.
I believe the Allstars fixture provides a platform to bring the big teams to Australian shores. We know that a lot of European sides go on money-making pre-season tours. So what? That’s the nature of the industry these days. You find that once they get back to Europe they play a number of games against better opposition anyway.
Look at the MLS, they love an Allstars game. In recent seasons they’ve revamped their Allstars fixture and have been able to attract higher quality European sides (ok, mainly EPL sides but you get the idea). What helps the MLS in this regard is that their Allstars game happens to be smack bang in the middle of their season. Thus the Allstars game is able to provide an intensity level which A-League clubs can’t provide.
Australian fans need to accept the Allstars fixture for what it is: a gimmick fixture (for now) which seemingly attracts highly regarded European teams. There’s nothing wrong with this. It whets the appetite for the upcoming A-League season and puts a dream team together (of sorts) of the best A-League players to test Manchester United (in the inaugural Allstars game).
Until the A-League consists of a long enough season which runs from August to May (or at least until the end of April), having the Allstars game is an ideal way to attract the more highly regarded European teams.
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I think an AllStars concept was definitely a USA born idea, with games in the NBA and Baseball boasting the “All-Stars”. Nowadays everyone wants to see their code’s version of it, with the A-League being the latest.
At the end of the day, football is also a business, and its good business to travel to a country full of English and European descendants to play against their so called “All-Stars”. The money Man Utd and Liverpool will make from this trip should rake into the millions, as I bet most of the costs were paid by the FFA.
As an additional bonus, if the All-Stars were to magically score a goal against Man Utd, the coverage and respect for the league could also be lifted (but also damaged if they get smashed!). So its definitely good timing (especially now the World Cup bug is alive).