Crowds and Marquee signings and A-League tipping point

Dwight Yorke did.

But do Marquees add to A-League crowds?

And the answer surely is no.


Juninho a World Cup winner? I don't think he added to the gate, not significantly.

John Aloisi, the Aussie World Cup hero, made his home debut in front of 11,000.

Now I know 11,000 is a good crowd for football in Australia and for a wee coastal area.

But it makes you wonder what the crowd would have been if Aloisi wasn't signed, the Mariners had been doing a Perth, it was pelting rain, or they were playing New Zealand, or all four!

And so you wonder what difference these players make to crowds and performances.

Aloisi, Kevin Muscat, Danny Tiatto, Craig Moore, Stan Lazaridis, Paul Agostino, Ljubo Milicevic, Archie Thompson, Nathan Burns, Ahmed Elrich, Simon Colosimo, Ante Covic, Mark Bridge, Tony Popovic are some of the many who are here or haven't gone yet.

Nick Rizzo, David Zdrillic, Hayden Foxe, Michael Ferrante, Jamie McMaster, Scott Tunbridge, and many others made a name of sorts overseas but haven't been able to walk back into Aussie A-League football and make a real impact.

Who would have thought it?

The quality of player that is on the park. And I have deliberately left out the overseas guys like Juninho, Cassio, Diego, Daniel, Felipe, Reinaldo and Bridges.

Now imagine if we were back to the old days. Few of these players, if any, would be here.

So the crowds are stable. Perhaps worryingly so.

Juninho made not a scrap of difference to the crowds in Sydney. If he did what would have happened if he hadn't been signed.

Did Aloisi impact on the Mariners crowd?

He would surely have had plenty of media coverage in the Gosford area but few extra bums on seats for the Victory game

So if you sign a star and Aloisi and Juninho must rank as star names, don't expect an increase in crowds. That is the message surely.

The next level in stardom, is perhaps the real stars. Harry Kewell or maybe Ronaldo(the Brazilian one.)And this will not happen in my lifetime.

Unless Ronaldo comes when he's looking for a Jardel or Romario type gig.

Increasing crowds is going to be a lot harder than just signing a Juninho or Aloisi.

Both have been good value so far on the pitch. Both are keen and look willing to make an impact.

Both have.

Brian Deane (Perth) Super Mario and others have not worked. If you aren't playing you haven't worked in my book.

We need the marquees. It's clear it's hard to get the right one. But when you look at the individual quality and history of some of the players on the A-League each weekend and the struggle to increase crowds quickly, then perhaps the A-league is in for a rocky few years.

They tell me Sydney fans want to see a winning side.

Well what would be their crowd if they were doing a Perth?

This A-league is at a tipping point I suspect.

When will we turn the TV on and not hear a Commentator discussing how yesterday's weather or the APEC meeting must have affected the crowd?

When that day comes the crowds are here to stay and we will know it.

Until then don't expect the marquee to fill the seats. Not if Aloisi's home coming and Juninho's games are the guide.