As it turns out I, along with the 10,000 other fans at Coopers Stadium yesterday, was one of the lucky ones.
Not because we saw another big-time display from fringe Socceroo Craig Goodwin, who chalked up another goal and an assist, or a match-sealing stunner from 18-year-old Bernardo Oliveira, son of former great Cassio, one of the many talents emerging at Adelaide United.
And it certainly wasn’t for enduring an afternoon exposed to the elements on a typically autumnal day in the South Australian capital, albeit at one of Australia’s best football venues.
No, our luck was that we we actually got to see Kusini Yengi’s goal just after the hour mark that put Adelaide United 2-0 ahead and on track for a showdown with Premiers Melbourne City for a place in this season’s Grand Final.
It wasn’t a stunner, nor was it controversial – well, not for anything that happened on the pitch anyway – but it was well constructed and came with a typically brash celebration from the 23-year-old local boy who doesn’t mind playing the role of showman.
It was a goal that reminded us of everything the A-League Men’s should be; one of our country’s best talents serving it up on a plate for an emerging talent who grew up dreaming of playing for his local club. This is the heart of football the world over.
Not that those watching from the comfort of their lounge rooms actually saw it, however, because those who couldn’t make it to Coopers Stadium and wanted to sample some A-League Men’s finals drama were instead treated to a commercial for a fast food chain, crudely inserted into the broadcast while live play continued.
Fast food over football, it seems a perfect metaphor for where the A-Leagues is currently at. The irony of it coming just hours after Macarthur FC announced former Manchester United star Dwight Yorke, who has no coaching experience whatsoever, as their new coach surely isn’t lost on anyone.
Nor is the irony of the official A-League Men’s account tweeting video of the goal with the tag line that you can “catch all the action LIVE on 10BOLD”. All the action, that is, besides the goal itself.
Understandably, the reaction on the always lively #sokkahtwitter, was swift and fierce.
“If I were trying to make myself the home of football and boost ratings that have been flagging, I would simply not alienate my core audience by inserting ad breaks into games. Definitely not ones that caused them to miss a goal in finals,” tweeted Joey Lynch.
Meanwhile, Samantha Lewis tweeted: “my brothers in christ @Channel10AU @10FootballAU please learn what picture-in-picture ads are, I cannot tell you how close this league’s core fanbase is to walking away and these kinds of anti-football decisions are accelerating it.”
For their part, Network 10 tried to pass the incident off as a simple mistake – “human error” they called it. But the insincere 16-word tweet did little to quell the fury.
As inconvenient and untimely as it was, football fans may have forgiven them had they, with the approval of the Australian Professional Leagues, not been sacrificing the football to force ads into games all season long via enforced drinks breaks, which forced an embarrassing backflip when the practice was repeatedly called out mid-season, most vocally by Socceroo-in-waiting Jason Cummings.
Or if they had a streaming service in Paramount+ that was functional and fit for purpose. Or had they delivered on the promise to take football coverage in Australia to new heights.
But instead of rasing the bar and taking the A-Leagues to a bigger and broader audience they’ve plumbed new depths and alienated what few hardcores are still left.
Meanwhile, almost 24 hours on and there’s still complete silence from the APL. No acknowledgement, no apology to fans, no commitment to engage with the broadcaster to ensure such a scenario doesn’t happen again in the future.
Their silence is deafening and breaking the spirits of the few A-League diehards that are remaining. And make no mistake, that number is dwindling by the day.
Contrast the dysfunction of yesterday in Adelaide with the scenes we saw at Celtic Park over the weekend as Ange Postecoglou and his Celtic team enjoyed their coronation on a gloriously sunny Glasgow afternoon in front of the sort of atmosphere Postecoglou has craved his entire life.
It wasn’t just the atmosphere of those inside the stadium – the sort of scenes we see year in, year out in countries that understand football – but the entire atmosphere he’s experienced in Scotland since arriving as a relative unknown in the country almost 12 months ago. A country that lives and breathes football; one where the game is sewn deep into its soul.
This is what Postecoglou wanted for Australia. No doubt he still does. But as the game here headed in the opposite direction, Ange had to look elsewhere for his football gratification.
“I’m passionate about football, I love it, but I happened to live in a country where they didn’t share that…I’ve been craving this my whole life, this is where I want to be and this is what I want to be a part of.”
Football before everything else. That’s the lesson here as yet another defining off-season for the A-Leagues approaches.
But who at Network 10 or APL listening?
Photo: Adelaide United FC
