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Other fans say the league’s commitment to mid-week games and Sunday evening games last season - admittedly, the former was partly due to the vast number of games which had to be rescheduled due to COVID - significantly drained their appetite to watch games. There have been complaints of over-policing active support for years from nearly every fan base, with heavy-handed security having been accused of overreacting to passionate shows of support. Credit: Will Russell /Getty Imagesįootball Australia must also take on board feedback around the matchday experience and scheduling, which have not helped matters. Camera Icon Perth Glory’s Callum Timmins celebrates after scoring against Melbourne City in an A-League match. If players are not being asked to channel their creative tendencies on a regular basis, how can they be expected to thrive when they go to overseas clubs, or play international football?Ī cursory glance at Australian clubs’ record in the AFC Champions League since Western Sydney Wanderers’ fairytale victory in 2014 reveals just how far behind the eight-ball the A-League Men’s is in comparison to the domestic leagues of rival countries. The dip in standard of the A-League Men’s has been noticeable over the past decade, but the lack of quality teams has been further exacerbated over the past couple of years, and I do not think you can simply blame the pandemic. It is a system replicated by most A-League Men’s teams, with most coaches opting for a defensive-first approach revolving heavily around beating teams with quick transitions between defence and attack. Graham Arnold’s team produced a dour brand of football for all of the pre-game ‘Aussie DNA’ rhetoric, the Socceroos have, for a long time, seemed content to let their opponents dictate possession, while offering next to nothing in the way of chance creation. The Peru game mirrored the dour play-off win against UAE, which was a reflection of the outmatched performances against Saudi Arabia and Japan in the group stage section of qualifying, which were all too similar to the disappointing efforts against Oman and Chine which cost Australia dearly. They were a penalty shootout away from not qualifying for the World Cup, after an uninspiring performance against a similarly insipid Peru. The manner in which qualification was achieved left a lot to be desired. Camera Icon Goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne celebrates Australia’s World Cup qualification.

Yes, qualification brings money, eyeballs and relevancy, but the game’s stakeholders cannot rely on a sugar rush every four years - there must be something sustainable which brings people together on a yearly basis. Reaching the World Cup must not be seen simply as the bandaid which fixes the myriad of problems with the game at local level.

But for the game’s powerbrokers, this has to be a wake-up call, because the Socceroos were scarily close to missing out on the World Cup, and with the sport fading further from relevancy in Australia, missing the World Cup would have been a bitter blow to the health of the game.