An A-League Farce

Dismayed A-League boss Archie Fraser has told Gold Coast United chief Clive Palmer his controversial decision to cap crowds at Skilled Park to under 5000 is "not in the best interests of the club."

United, who are averaging just 5651 after five home games - with an A-League season low of 4209 against Wellington in round nine – will save $100,000 per match under the downsizing scheme.

But the ploy has divided the few supporters who shell out the competition’s highest prices to watch the expansion club.

And it has caused consternation at Football Federation Australia headquarters where chairman Frank Lowy has been called in to try and persuade fellow billionaire Palmer to ditch a plot hatched in reaction to a ground rental which jumps from $40,000 to $140,000 each time the gate is in excess of 5000.

I thought that the A-League might suffer from poor performances from certain clubs and a widening in the gap between the top clubs and the bottom clubs on the pitch.

This hasn't been the case. While the table looks similar to what one might have expected, results have been unpredictable and the table is fairly tight.

However, Gold Coast United's decision to cap crowds to 5,000 in a stadium that holds in excess of 27000 is a huge threat to the credibility of the sport in Australia.

Football has grown in leaps and bounds since the inception of the A-League, our 2006 World Cup campaign and our move from Oceania to Asia, but its a critical juncture for football at the moment.

With the World Cup just around the corner and interest in the code about to spike, the last thing football in this country needs is a flood of stories about farcical crowd caps and and backroom wars between A-League officials and club owners.

Perhaps this is a sign the FFA rushed into expanding the A-League. Hopefully this incident will force it to go over plans to expand the competition again next season with extreme attention to detail to avoid similar situations.

I have every confidence that football in this country is on an inevitable rise, but that doesn't mean it doesn't need nurturing and care.