Points or Finals to Decide the Champions?

[werner]

Posted this question on the RA forum a while back.

What is better?

Get in order with the rest of the world, and award the title to the team with the most points after a full season, or go with the Aussie tradition of playing a finals series?

No brainer for me, this current set up of a Premiers plate, plus a Champions trophy, who is in fact, the real Champion when not won by the same team?

The points system works beautifully in every other country, and the title ALWAYS goes to the one that was clearly the best for that season. Grand Finals can be won by any team on any given day, so not a fair reflection on the season?

The razzamatazz of Grand Final day could be replaced with the final of a replica competition of a FA Cup or similar in this country. How or why a competition could work, well that's another matter.

What's your preference?

[Futbol_Crazy21]

I see want you mean but usually its the top 2 teams in the grand final.

Who knows maybe when the ffa cup gets up and running they may scrap the finals series, although it does feel good to win a grand final

[Agostinho]

Even though we lost, the Grand Final in 2009 was the best game I've ever been to. The Pre-Game, the march, the match, the post match function... the lot.

Wouldn't want to lose that.

And if we didn't have a finals series, the season would pretty much be already over now. How dire do you think the crowds would be in Townsville, Gold Coast, Newcastle, Sydney for the next 2 months? The game isn't significant enough in this country to expect that people will go to matches when there is nothing on the line.

[shinAUFC]

IMO the FFA need to dress the premiership up as the top trophy a team in australia can win,

DEF keep the finals, they are such a spectacle and are the only time we generally see a euro like atmosphere.

But try distance the finals from being a part of the regular season, Sure keep the top 6 teams in the finals but dress it up as a different entity.

and FFA cup earlier in the season.

That way we get the premiership being the flagship trophy and 2 cups over the course of the season .

[flavze]

i think the current system is pretty good, the old school football die hards rate the premiership more highly whilst alot of the newer ones and general public rate the chamionship as the highest honour. I reckon it suits everyone each to their own.

Just should only be top 4 finals.

[Stuckey]

I'd be happy if they keep it the same and include the FFA cup too. Maybe just make a bigger deal of Premier. That should definately stay as an ACL spot!

[double07]

I'd be happy if they keep it the same and include the FFA cup too. Maybe just make a bigger deal of Premier. That should definately stay as an ACL spot!

Yeah I agree, Ithink this is the only way to go for now.

Maybe if the FFA cup really takes off then you could play the finals near/after the end of the league. But for now it should stay as is.

[Agostinho]

Yeah it does bug me that the premier is often forgotten. I harp on about it a bit, but I FUCKING HATE when the media refer to it as the 'minor' premiership. It's your Andy Harpers, your Robbie Slaters etc that do it and they should know better.

[shinAUFC]

I think your andy harpers trimbolis and slaters are fairly gagged in what they can say on Fox,

you can tell some of them hold back on foxsports fc which is a shame because the fans are smarter then that

[sevengoals]

It's the Australian way, fair enough.

And it gives you something to play for the entire season.

[King_Billy]

I like the system the way it is. Would like there to be more emphasis on the premiership though (having said that it seems the premiership has been becoming more important and talked about each season). Second ACL spot NEEDS to go to the team who finishes second in the league instead of the GF runner up though (in the event of one team winning both).

[Old Gregg]

The system is fine. But ffs stop calling it the 'minor premiership' - didn't the FFA make a point of naming them the 'premiership' and 'championship'? So why are boneheaded commentators etc still ignoring the importance of finishing top of the league?

[Steelinho]

I would be happy if they changed it so the actual champions were the premiers at the end of the regular season, and if they renamed the Hyundai A-League Finals Series to something along the lines of, 'Hyundai A-League Cup.' Same rules for entry, short cup competition, but not associated as having actually won the whole season just because you won a few games at the end of the year in a knockout competition.

The two titles should be equally important, if anything.

[shinAUFC]

I would be happy if they changed it so the actual champions were the premiers at the end of the regular season, and if they renamed the Hyundai A-League Finals Series to something along the lines of, 'Hyundai A-League Cup.' Same rules for entry, short cup competition, but not associated as having actually won the whole season just because you won a few games at the end of the year in a knockout competition.

The two titles should be equally important, if anything.

Yeah there is no reason why they cant dress it up like this

A-league Premiership
Hyundai Cup
FFA Cup

that would send a clear message

[General Ashnak]

The Champion is decided in a meaningless cup competition at the end of the season during which the Premier and 1st ACL spot is decided. The teams not able to finish as Premier then vie for the title of Champion of the Toilet Seat and the 2nd ACL spot. I am happy for things to stay this way as long as the Premier is never referred to as minor.