EXCLUSIVE: Former A-League coach Nick Theodorakopoulos has made an impassioned plea for continued A-League expansion to include a second tier A-League which would lead to relegation and promotion battles.
Theodorakopoulos, speaking from Greece, said the A-League is missing the pressure brought on by relegation dogfights and promotion pushes seen in other countries.
He argued that pressure was important to prepare Australian players mentally for the rigours of bigger leagues, particularly in Europe.
And he added that if the A-League continues to expand, lower-table clubs could, by the second half of the season, be out of finals contention. This, he said, could be disastrous for fans, players and TV viewers.
"The pressure is increasing on coaches in the A-League, from supporters and the media," he said. "The only difference is there is no pressure from promotion and relegation. And that may take time to come.
"Fox Sports would absolutely love having relegation battles in the A-League. There'd be nothing worse over the next few years having six games on the weekend, and three of them meaning very little. It doesn't matter how much you pump it up.
"You could have play-offs - possibly the bottom two of A1 versus the top two of A2. Imagine the TV ratings for that? How big would that be? It would be mind-boggling."
Theodorakopoulos implored A-League bosses to see for themselves the edge promotion and relegation battles provide in other football countries.
In his vision, A-League club owners will receive money when promoted, and club owners will lose money when they're relegated.
It's about injecting pressure at all levels of the game in order to improve our stocks as a football nation, he believes.
The AFC has already said that the one factor keeping the number of A-League clubs able to qualify for the ACL (currently two) is that there is no relegation in the A-League.
It would also give the A-League a clear point of difference between it and the other three football codes and finally bring fans the experience of a thrilling battle for survival as experienced by supporters elsehere in the world
"We must have a second division," Theodorakopoulos stressed. "And I know there are people who say it can't work but we made the A-League work, so let's get our heads together.
"Let's find a way, let's find enough money, and let's find enough exposure, to be able to satisfy all the minimum requirements.
"The same way we did the sums for the A-League, we've got to do that again for this next stage of expansion and have a major think-tank. It's the only way it will really set our country on fire."
The former Newcastle Jets coach, and NSL grand final winner with Wollongong Wolves, added that expansion clubs should be chosen from new franchises, not existing clubs.
"They'll start their own history, just like the A-League," he said. "You can't go to the past, we've made the big step forward, you've just got to keep going."
But, controversially, Theodorakopoulos says the players for new clubs should come from the axeing of the National Youth League, after the AFC's 3+1 rule cut a swathe through Aussie playing ranks.
He believes the moves would allow all A2 clubs to immediately inherit a core of quality NYL players to choose from, and take some pressure off scouring lists for a squad of 23 players.
And Theodorakopoulos said such a move would benefit younger players. By playing more pressure games like promotion and relegation battles while also matching their wits against more experienced pros, this will further enhance their ability to step up to bigger football nations particularly those in Europe.
He added: "These young boys, playing against youth will not enhance the athlete, playing against older, more experienced players will and they'll have professional senior coaches to look after them.
"If you're a youth team player right now earning $8000 a year, in an A2 club you could earn $50-60,000 a year and be training full-time.
"If we're going to continually make the World Cup, we need to build into our local game pressure football to help further develop our players."
Theodorakopoulos, speaking from Greece, said the A-League is missing the pressure brought on by relegation dogfights and promotion pushes seen in other countries.
He argued that pressure was important to prepare Australian players mentally for the rigours of bigger leagues, particularly in Europe.
And he added that if the A-League continues to expand, lower-table clubs could, by the second half of the season, be out of finals contention. This, he said, could be disastrous for fans, players and TV viewers.
"The pressure is increasing on coaches in the A-League, from supporters and the media," he said. "The only difference is there is no pressure from promotion and relegation. And that may take time to come.
"Fox Sports would absolutely love having relegation battles in the A-League. There'd be nothing worse over the next few years having six games on the weekend, and three of them meaning very little. It doesn't matter how much you pump it up.
"You could have play-offs - possibly the bottom two of A1 versus the top two of A2. Imagine the TV ratings for that? How big would that be? It would be mind-boggling."
Theodorakopoulos implored A-League bosses to see for themselves the edge promotion and relegation battles provide in other football countries.
In his vision, A-League club owners will receive money when promoted, and club owners will lose money when they're relegated.
It's about injecting pressure at all levels of the game in order to improve our stocks as a football nation, he believes.
The AFC has already said that the one factor keeping the number of A-League clubs able to qualify for the ACL (currently two) is that there is no relegation in the A-League.
It would also give the A-League a clear point of difference between it and the other three football codes and finally bring fans the experience of a thrilling battle for survival as experienced by supporters elsehere in the world
"We must have a second division," Theodorakopoulos stressed. "And I know there are people who say it can't work but we made the A-League work, so let's get our heads together.
"Let's find a way, let's find enough money, and let's find enough exposure, to be able to satisfy all the minimum requirements.
"The same way we did the sums for the A-League, we've got to do that again for this next stage of expansion and have a major think-tank. It's the only way it will really set our country on fire."
The former Newcastle Jets coach, and NSL grand final winner with Wollongong Wolves, added that expansion clubs should be chosen from new franchises, not existing clubs.
"They'll start their own history, just like the A-League," he said. "You can't go to the past, we've made the big step forward, you've just got to keep going."
But, controversially, Theodorakopoulos says the players for new clubs should come from the axeing of the National Youth League, after the AFC's 3+1 rule cut a swathe through Aussie playing ranks.
He believes the moves would allow all A2 clubs to immediately inherit a core of quality NYL players to choose from, and take some pressure off scouring lists for a squad of 23 players.
And Theodorakopoulos said such a move would benefit younger players. By playing more pressure games like promotion and relegation battles while also matching their wits against more experienced pros, this will further enhance their ability to step up to bigger football nations particularly those in Europe.
He added: "These young boys, playing against youth will not enhance the athlete, playing against older, more experienced players will and they'll have professional senior coaches to look after them.
"If you're a youth team player right now earning $8000 a year, in an A2 club you could earn $50-60,000 a year and be training full-time.
"If we're going to continually make the World Cup, we need to build into our local game pressure football to help further develop our players."
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