Hot Squeeze Highlights The Great Soccer-afl Divide
I RECENTLY reported that finally there appeared to be some good news for the struggling soccer A-League, with news that Harry Kewell was set to play in the national league.
The mail from excellent soccer sources was that Kewell and his management had come to terms with the Melbourne Victory and that he would be presented with his Victory shirt at the big-time friendly match against Scottish giants Celtic at AAMI Stadium on Wednesday night.
For a sports lover in this town the thought was mouth-watering. the best soccer stadium in the country filled to capacity with Celtic fans, renowned as some of the most passionate and best-behaved in the world; at the other end the Melbourne Victory supporters, the best and most passionate in Australia, flushed with joy that they would get to see one of our greats playing for them every week.
For once it looked as if local soccer was scoring a well-deserved goal.
But not for the first time in soccer’s chequered history in this country, the goal turned into an own one.
Kewell’s Paris-based manager Bernie Mandic was playing everyone on a break.
Depending on who you spoke to he had confirmed his deal with Melbourne Victory, Sydney FC and Newcastle — and that was only in Australia.
There still is hope for Kewell signing, but the Kewell/Mandic hard-ball terms mean the love of a prodigal son returning has changed to "is this just another over-the-hill, albeit an Aussie this time, coming back to fleece the soccer public one last time?"
Is Kewell more of the same seduction of the bright lights of big-time soccer that saw Australia dive in the FIFA shark pool and honestly think that $60 million and a nice video would be enough to win the hosting rights to the World Cup?
Should we again go showbiz with Kewell or use the money that his manager was trying to rip out of the Football Federation of Australia to promote a gang of youngsters for the future?
Is the A-League trying to compete as an international league or should it be a genuine feeding competition for the Socceroos and the big international leagues?
The bottom line is, as ACCC boss and former AFL Commissioner Graeme Samuel would say, "if you squeeze too hard you’ll end up with the pip".
And team Kewell has certainly given that to local soccer fans. No one begrudges anyone negotiating the best outcome for themselves and their family. But killing the goose that lays the golden egg is a term quite appropriate at the moment.
In the AFL, Andrew Demetriou’s mid-season break came at an opportune time in the collective-bargaining negotiations with the players. A circuit-breaker was required as the ambitions of the players’ pay demands seemed to be getting beyond the realities of the game.
There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that the players deserve a pay rise. what must be remembered is that the players are negotiating with Demetriou, the man who made his sporting administration name by, you guessed it, running the Players’ Association.
And who will be one of his most trusted advisers and negotiators? bill Kelty, former head of the ACTU.
You know, the bill Kelty who worked out the accord between the Hawke government and the trade unions in the 1980s. It’s a fair bet that these two aren’t looking to screw the players.
The clubs have sacrificed for the growth of the game since 1985, when they handed over powers and trademarks to the independent AFL Commission for the good of the game.
It has been a resounding success – except if you are a Fitzroy supporter. it should never be forgotten that we lost an entire club in the great leap forward.
The players in their negotiations need to take heed of Harry Kewell and Bernie Mandic. the public will always be in love with the players but just as they come and go the clubs remain. in their claims for more money the players must find the balance between a financial result today while leaving a bit in the tin for tomorrow.
The clubs have done that repeatedly, first by giving up all their rights, and in recent times by allowing the players to be paid in advance (the Demetriou players’ deal) which put the AFL into debt to finance the players and the clubs into stress.
Next the clubs again put the kybosh on themselves by voting for the AFL to create a future fund. the $80 million sitting in an AFL bank account would go a long way to making life a lot easier for the clubs, but instead it is there for the greater good.
Similarly the clubs allowed the AFL to use the lion’s share of the money from the sale of Waverley Park to reinvest and set up the building of Etihad Stadium.
Ironically it is the tying together of all these deals that is the crux of the debate with the players and the league. if the players get all the money they are asking for there will be nothing for the future fund.
The AFL is on record as saying the future fund may be used to buy out early the ownership of Etihad.
The revenue streams from this would help fund the next pay rise the players will need in five years’ time.
The magic of AFL is that everyone does really well from a game that is really an anomaly. still trying to become a national game, far less an international one, we exist for the good of the game and all that love it.
CLUBS are run by boards that accept no money. All proceeds go back into the club. the members are the controlling voters. the ticket prices are unbelievably cheap. Players are well-paid without being obscenely recompensed.
Yes they deserve more, in fact, as much as the game can give. But no more.
Sooner or later the greed and corruption in soccer will bring it undone. the same will happen only quicker in AFL if one side squeezes too hard.
After a well-deserved break Demetriou should come back and close the deal quickly with the players.
Having taken a deep breath the players need to remain much-loved figures or watch the temperature in the room turn quickly.
It does. Ask Harry.
Soccer lives on a screw-you basis. AFL survives on goodwill.
<a href="http://www.heraldsun.com.au/opinion/squeeze-highlights-the-great-soccer-afl-divide/story-e6frfhqf-1226091436811tag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://www.heraldsun.com.au/opinion/squeeze-highlights-the-great-soccer-afl-divide/story-e6frfhqf-1226091436811Sat, 09 Jul 2011 14:06:21 GMT 00:00″>Squeeze highlights the great soccer-AFL divide
Related posts:
- Discover Hot Video Squeeze Templates – 56 High Converting Professional Designs.
- Nothing Found For Soccer Soccer-bet-aquilanis-agentdenieslinktomilan < Link><guid
- Nothing Found For Soccer Soccer-bet-lennon-signsforanotheryear < Link><guid
- Discover A Great Goal … So Sorry About It
- Nothing Found For Soccer Soccer-scores-ancelotti-predicts-%e2%80%98fantastic-future%e2%80%99-for-torres < Link><guid
Comments are closed.