Climbing Everest and mentioning the Sherpa
Brisbane and Western Sydney played out an epic grand final, no football fan is disputing that, but during the match it got me thinking about how a squad of players gets the team to this stage, like a Sherpa up Everest. Sometimes squad players, like Sherpa’s are quickly forgotten even when teams reach their season Everest, and are crowned Champions.
A few seasons ago I wrote about how as a league we should have more substitutes on the bench, a short time later it happened. Sure I won’t take all the credit but someone at FFA HQ must have read my blog and thought “Hey this guys onto something”. Ok maybe I am slightly deluded with this line of thinking, but we now have our five subs (one keeper, and four outfield players).
From memory it was a cost issue limiting the amount of substitutes in our domestic competition, and vastly limiting the options our coaches have at their disposal on a weekly basis. We now have five, giving coaches the options to go for an attacking or defensive mindset. Injuries play their part at critical times during the season, as we saw on the weekend. Did the injury to Topor-Stanley cost the Wanderers the title? An answer we shall never now. If we dissected every injury during the season we could have an entirely different outcome. Engelaar and Flores come to mind immediately and the impact they could’ve had on their respective teams. Anyhow I am getting sidetracked.
The point I am trying to make (if you are still with me) is that due to the limited bench during the final Popovic made a judgement that now appears to be crucial, leaving Michael Beauchamp out of the selected XVI (That’s 16 for you kids who didn’t pay attention to roman numerals at school.) Some have attacked the move, some praised the decision, and others are neither here nor there. That’s the beauty of football.
The A-League has a very unique situation with their three week ‘Sudden death’ finals campaign. Leagues all over the globe play first past the post (yes, I know MLS have playoffs) and the league leader is crowned Champions. No need for tense moments during a finals series, more reward for a consistent effort throughout the season. This got me thinking, Australia loves the drama of a finals series, and we also love the grand final atmosphere (minus Jason Derulo). What could we do better to improve the finals system? This got me thinking about Tenzing Norgay and how he is forgotten through history, whilst we celebrate the achievements of Kiwi Edmund Hillary.
The finals are ‘sudden death’; lets open the floodgates and name the entire squad for each match, just like in the World Cup. Each coach has the ability to play any registered squad member during the finals series, providing they are part of the official A-League playing list. This could create as many as nine substitutes (injury dependant) and would only be available during the finals system. This would create drama for both coaches, and various tactical options for the coaching staff. Yes, it might create a further expense for the FFA paying for player’s flight (and Bunnings chairs) but I think it would add to the spectacle of the finals series.
History will always tell us Brisbane won the 2013/14 A-League Championship, and they were deserved winners. The inclusion of Beauchamp may have altered the result, it also may not have. Let’s remember how teams reached the finals stage of the competition and play each match as though it was the finals stage of a World Cup and have the entire squad on the sidelines, at the disposal of the coach.
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