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The Australian Championship 🇦🇺🏆

SMFC1959 said:
Cannot wait to see the ridiculous amount of money that will be spent by some clubs to reach the 2026 Australian Championship. Furthermore, some foundation clubs could spend even more to clinch the 2026 title.
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Fair play initially capped spending on player wages at 90 percent of revenue. That implies an open pyramid makes clubs spend even more than that

A league clubs spend around 50 percent for reference


Will be interesting to see if we start seeing a big boost in spending
 
Hellenic_blue&white said:
Whole ball.never looks like its over. Maybe with a different camera angle it would be different but its nor.. rule is very clear! Whole ball!
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The whole ball crossed the line, take your bias glasses off.

regardless, it wouldnt of changed the outcome of the game. South Dominated from start to finish.
 
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Glenardo said:
Maya again didn’t play well aswell. Also what’s he doing first couple of minutes risking a penalty, put your hands down in the box ffs, the brain snaps on this guy. Busek should have retained his position in the team in hindsight.

Akio I feel he was still carrying that ankle injury for the whole second half of the comp so probably didn’t end up showing what he’s capable of
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Mlinaric was the worst on the pitch, got torn a new arsehole.

His dirty tactics didnt work all game, and the South players were in his head.
 
SMFC1959 said:
That’s a good question. Will Football Australia open it up to new applications for additional foundation clubs?
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there was another EOI process for the 2026 process and beyond.

the only reason why there was only 8 foundation club is because the criteria was so high, and not everyone could cough up the $500k bond.

I'm sure there would be more "foundation clubs" if the criteria bar was lowered by the FA.

No doubt after this Championship campaign, clubs will decide whether they want to join or not. (Sutherland & Rockdale from Sydney would be interested)
 
Beretta said:
there was another EOI process for the 2026 process and beyond.

the only reason why there was only 8 foundation club is because the criteria was so high, and not everyone could cough up the $500k bond.

I'm sure there would be more "foundation clubs" if the criteria bar was lowered by the FA.

No doubt after this Championship campaign, clubs will decide whether they want to join or not. (Sutherland & Rockdale from Sydney would be interested)
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Again, signing up for a national league is a different prospect to signing up to automatic qualification for this champions league format
 
Glenardo said:
APIA under performed in this comp imo given the players at their disposal
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They were just unlucky I think. Tsenkis has a style which has served him well the past few years and brought him success but I wouldn't call it good to watch if I'm being honest. Parisi wants his teams to play football and not go the physical. South Melbourne watched the Marconi/Wollongong game carefully I suspect and they did very similar to Marconi as the Wolves did.
 
erogenouszone said:
They were just unlucky I think. Tsenkis has a style which has served him well the past few years and brought him success but I wouldn't call it good to watch if I'm being honest. Parisi wants his teams to play football and not go the physical. South Melbourne watched the Marconi/Wollongong game carefully I suspect and they did very similar to Marconi as the Wolves did.
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If they’d won that penalty shoot out they’d likely have gotten past Moreton and been in the final to be fair
 
erogenouszone said:
I still think playing the final at a smaller venue devalues the competition
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Glenardo said:
I get that there was no perfect option available, but it’s not just the size, its also the level of the facility it took place at
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This highlights the lack of boutique facilities in Melbourne. You have AAMI Park (27K capacity), Lakeside Stadium (10-12K capacity), and then that's it unless you look at Olympic Village (Heidelberg), BT Connor Reserve (Preston), and Knights Stadium (Melbourne Knights). Oakleigh's ground will only hold no more than 5K capacity after the recent redevelopment.

In an ideal world, the final would have been held at Lakeside Stadium. Unfortunately, both Lakeside Stadium and AAMI park were unavailable.
 
Glenardo said:
I get that there was no perfect option available, but it’s not just the size, its also the level of the facility it took place at
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Olympic Village is a tired facility that requires substantial investment. The grandstand was built decades ago. It lacks proper amenities, and the rain created muddy areas in front of the main grandstand.

The pitch is very good, but it is a facility that requires a new grandstand and better public amenities. Then it could be seen as an alternative to Lakeside Stadium for these types of events.
 
SMFC1959 said:
This highlights the lack of boutique facilities in Melbourne. You have AAMI Park (27K capacity), Lakeside Stadium (10-12K capacity), and then that's it unless you look at Olympic Village (Heidelberg), BT Connor Reserve (Preston), and Knights Stadium (Melbourne Knights). Oakleigh's ground will only hold no more than 5K capacity after the recent redevelopment.

In an ideal world, the final would have been held at Lakeside Stadium. Unfortunately, both Lakeside Stadium and AAMI park were unavailable.
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Yea lakeside would have been ideal tbh. AAMI is good but too big. The Marconi club would have been a good venue, but unfair. Plus as I’ve said, I think it’s a better home venue than lakeside but lakeside is more suited to hosting “events” coz it’s more central and more modern. Apparently the other Sydney venues that were being thrown around were parramatta which os a similar situation to AAMI park. And kogarah which I think wouldn’t have been good. Leichhardt might have been decent due to the number of Italians in the area and proximity to the city centre re travelling support. A final at the Marconi club would have been good and a better mix of fans re how strong Hellas travelling support is but you can’t deny it was good scenes down there on the weekend. As I say, I know it meant a lot to Hellas fans and im happy for you, well deserved after the last 20 years
 
SMFC1959 said:
Olympic Village is a tired facility that requires substantial investment. The grandstand was built decades ago. It lacks proper amenities, and the rain created muddy areas in front of the main grandstand.

The pitch is very good, but it is a facility that requires a new grandstand and better public amenities. Then it could be seen as an alternative to Lakeside Stadium for these types of events.
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Went there recently for the Alexander v Preston game, it’s better than before but it’s really just had a lick of paint and the removal of the running track. Mind you if you offered the village to Olympic as a home ground, I’m sure they’d take it over the options they’ve currently got
 
Glenardo said:
I don’t even care about soccer anyway, it’s just a dumb game
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Hey mate, a belated congratulations anyway... You had your "final" against APIA and this was just bridge too far... Your boys gave their all and respected the shirt... See you next year, with some added spice to the rivalry now.
 
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