THE old saying goes that there is only one thing in life worse than being talked about — and that’s not being talked about.

So by that measure, the Hyundai A-League Grand Final was a resounding success; even if most of the post-game chatter was about VAR and Roy O’Donovan’s dangerous challenge on Lawrence Thomas.

Yet the tone of the conversation was depressingly familiar — a tirade of relentless negativity.

In fairness, sports fans around the world like a good moan, it is certainly not unique to football. There is also nothing wrong with debate — football has suffered in many ways here through the lack of it down the years.

Lawrence Thomas of the Victory is bandaged up Source: Getty Images

But the problem is this tidal wave of complaint nearly always ends at the same point — as a justification as to why either the game here will never take off, or why people refuse to pay to go and watch it.

All of which is nonsense. The A-League may not be the English Premier League or La Liga, but which of the other 200-odd domestic competitions are? The A-League is a highly competitive environment, which produces regular moments of brilliance, be it Berisha’s “bicicleta” or McGree’s scorpion kick.

23 of the 32 Australian players in the preliminary World Cup squad either started their careers in the A-League, or passed through it at some point, and the Grand Final went live to well over a hundred countries around the world — not too shabby for a 13 year-old competition.

Even though Saturday’s game degenerated into a war of attrition (particularly in the second half), there was still plenty to admire about Melbourne Victory’s tenacity, organisation and discipline. That people refuse to recognise it, and talk instead of how “boring” or “second rate” the game was, speaks volumes as to the A-League’s biggest problem.

Riley McGree of the Jets scores a second-half goal from a 'scorpion' kick Source: AAP

Emotional disconnection — that lack of investment in the outcome, which leads many to mistake tension for tedium.

There are plenty of football fans in Australia — the issue is, not enough of them have committed to following either the league, or a club. Hence, the tribalism that comes as second nature to most fans around the world, doesn’t exist in big enough numbers here — yet. I have lost count of the number of people who I talk to who love football, but simply “don’t watch the A-League.”

Is there a solution?

If there is, it is probably multifaceted. Connecting with the huge playing base is the obvious answer, but the “conversion” of players into fans is not as easy as it seems — especially as many play for different reasons. Fitness, friends, family and fun being the main four. My wife and I play a little social tennis — I like the game, it’s good for fitness, and fun to play. But is that connection likely to make me purchase tickets for the Australian Open? Hardly.

Similarly, marquee players and better marketing (FFA have confirmed these will be two areas of investment next season) will help, but neither is a long-term panacea.

Yet something said at a Sydney FC business lunch last week struck a chord.

Besart Berisha of the Victory bicycle kicks in a goal Source: AAP

My Fox Sports colleague, Adam Peacock, hosted a fascinating chat on the fast-changing media landscape in Australia — one of his guests was Michael Miller, the Executive Chairman of News Corp Australasia.

Miller remarked that to succeed, all sports needed to find their points of difference, in order to sell to a crowded market place. He is absolutely right.

Football as we all know, has its points of difference in spades — yet do we capitalise on them?

The unique atmosphere football crowds provide is one huge selling point, but in the rush to appease the mainstream (which by and large, still erroneously believes it is a game full of hooligans), we have all but killed off the active fan groups. That must change as a matter of urgency.

In a similar vein, the move to boutique stadiums (which help create the atmosphere we crave), can’t come quickly enough. While governments press on with their plans to build monstrously-sized stadiums, we as a game should be partnering with more proportionately-sized venues, for the intimacy that provides the best possible spectacle off the pitch. You can add ticket prices and scheduling to that category too.

Melbourne Victory players celebrate winning the 2018 A-League Grand Final Source: News Corp Australia

The global appeal of football is also a huge plus point (especially in an increasingly multicultural landscape), but do we make the most of our foreign stars? Do we tap into the migrant communities who have football in their blood? Do we embrace Asia — our future,

economically, culturally and politically — and it’s Champions League? Not even close.

Finally, while some people roll their eyes at talk of second division’s and promotion and relegation, it is this crucial point of difference the game simply must plan for. Who cares if Rugby League or Aussie Rules don’t have it? This is our game, not theirs, and it would provide more meaningful games. Australia has geographical challenges in that regard, it is true, but so too, do China and Russia. We are not unique, despite the narrative.

In my opinion, we have spent too long trying to pander to the demographic which has little interest in our game — by doing so, we have watered down our core product; the very things that make football special, and made millions of us fall in love with it. It’s one of the reasons VAR doesn’t wash — the review systems may work in other sports, but it’s simply not made for football. Ditto the salary cap, designed expressly for other forms of football.

Screengrab showing three Victory players offside during the A League Grand Final Source: Supplied

We will never stop some from complaining about the so-called “quality” of the matches — that’s an in-built cultural cringe (there are plenty of poor games in Europe too), but it is also in part borne out of watching something that is clearly football, but has been sanitised to something less recognisable.

Football fans just want a competition they can engage with, on terms they are familiar with, with clubs and players they can identify with. We should never be embarrassed by our points of difference — we should celebrate, and promote them.

Let’s fix it, and fulfil the vast potential the game has here in Australia — because as Saturday proved, the fans are there. In truth, we’ve barely scratched the surface.