A-League to extend...but when to start?

The A-League will extend to 10 teams this year with 27 games locked in. So each team plays each other three times.

With the finals extending to include 6 teams that means we should have an extra two months of football as we inch towards a professional football season of reasonable length.

But when to start?

If we discount the Super 14 season as any real threat, given there are only four teams and only three directly up against A-League teams..plus Super 14 interest seems to me, anyway, to be stagnant if not waning.

It's a case of League and AFL always going to be the major problem for us to get media attention and healthy crowds.

We have a few options:

1. We either start late July and end late Feb, so basically tack a month on either end of the season

This would put us up against the AFL and League seasons. They won't be happy and will use there vast resources to block any coverage of our game.

2. We start mid-August..maybe a week or two earlier bu push into March for the finals. Neither League or AFL has started and by then there is only one game, a Semi or a Final in the last couple of weeks.

As we saw this year the hype of the AFL and League seasons could swamp the A-League final in the media although if they final can't make some media breakthrough then nothing ever will. So maybe this is the best option.

3. The third alternative is to remain as we are, but increase or introduce 6 midweek games. Would the Australia public support this...in great numbers?
Not if Fox determine every game must start at 8pm.

Thursday nights have been a flop in the past...and Monday night football may be good but if that means we simply spread the games over four days on a weekend we aren't solving the problem of the extra games.

My preferred option:

1.Start August 1t. That would increase the season by say three games at the beginning and by then half the AFL and League teams are out of the hunt anyway:)

Extend the season into March...increase the season by three games at the end of the current season

3. Introduce two mid week rounds, including an extra one around Xmas/New Year.

And of course be mindful of what happens when we go to 12 teams. 36 games and a real football season!