Australian football diehards are a special breed of human. Institutionalised in an abusive relationship of false hope and sudden betrayal, years of Pavlovian training appears to have rendered them fundamentally incapable of more than even sporadic optimism.



Any crisis, perceived or otherwise, is the tipping point that spells the end of the local game, and there is always a handy list of reasons for failure within arm’s reach.

You all know this person; some of you even are this person. He (and invariably it is a he) is the season card holder in front of you, who at the dawn of the A-League was animated most not by Dwight Yorke’s sublime volley, but by a misplaced Jacob Timpano backpass. Forget the silverware that Viteslav Lavicka brings, this is the guy who thrives for “season two Lavicka” where Sydney FC’s worst ever finish (and arguably football) descends into one interminably slow lateral pass from Stu Musialik to Terry McFlynn, back to Musialik, forever.

As his team languishes his eyes light up, he never misses kick-off. And if his wife stops coming after season two, at least he can still instruct his young son that an immaculate finish from Karol Kisel is fleeting, but riding a young player like Adam Biddle is permanent.

This wasn’t helped by the marketing gurus of yore who came up with the A-League catchphrase of “90 minutes, 90 emotions”. For those inveterate sufferers in the stands there was frustration, disappointment and a sense of bleak Soviet-era melancholy; but what were the other 87?

Fast-forward 11 years and while that mindset often still prevails, the basis for despair no longer exists.

For anyone who’s spent time watching an overseas league that isn’t the Premier League, La Liga or the Bundesliga, the fact is the A-League is a solid competition, especially for an emerging football nation such as Australia.

This year sees the most exciting finals run-in since season three, when Central Coast Mariners edged Newcastle Jets to the premier’s plate on goal difference. Not only are four teams locked in a title race, but a fifth team, Perth Glory – that was bottom just 15 rounds previously – is still a mathematical possibility for the plate, let alone a real contender for the championship.

As the interest around Leicester City’s remarkable run in the EPL demonstrates, fans love a surprise package. If monotonous domination spreads disinterest – think Celtic, think Bayern Munich – then remember that the A-League has had six premiers in 11 seasons, and might yet etch a seventh new name this season.

Anybody who watched Perth’s remarkable 6-3 win over then top Brisbane Roar; or Bruno Fornaroli’s individual masterclass against Sydney FC; or the wonder goals of the Melbourne derby has borne witness to some absolutely quality football.

Melbourne City’s Aaron Mooy and Bruno Fornaroli - two players who highlight just how far the A-League has come. Photograph: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

More than that, across the board the standard of play, of players, even perhaps coaching, has improved.

Compare your journeymen players of the early seasons; the hardened professional who eked out a living in Malaysia, Romania or fourth division England before garnering an A-League guernsey.

In Stefan Mauk, Jacob Melling or Brandon O’Neill we are seeing quality young Australian players finding a platform to strut their stuff; developing as they play alongside experienced former Socceroos – returning in increasing number to the domestic competition – and increasingly high quality foreign imports.

Yes, for every Bruno Fornaroli there’s a Federico Piovaccari that hasn’t necessarily worked out; but they’re both still exponentially better than the Brian Deanes and Neil Emblens of yesteryear.

The Socceroos squad for the forthcoming World Cup qualifiers boasts 15 players from a squad of 23 who currently or previously plied their trade in the A-League. And while the “golden generation” of Socceroos such as Harry Kewell or Mark Viduka developed their talent primarily overseas, to see A-League-produced players such as Mat Ryan, Mile Jedinak or Robbie Kruse performing in the best leagues in the world shows the collective progress.

Yes, finances and audiences – two perennial beating sticks for the A-League – remain areas of concern, but even these are far less dire than would be assumed from a cursory skim of contemporary media.

Club owners continue to support the league with deep-pocketed patrimony, but transfer fees do appear to be increasing substantially. Danny De Silva’s departure for a reported $1.8m to Roma is a far sight better than the $125,000 Sydney FC got in season two for David Carney; and while some talented prospects continue to escape below market rate, sell-on clauses such as the one in Mat Ryan’s initial transfer from Central Coast Mariners to Club Brugge continue to ensure million dollar returns on investment.

Melbourne City have reportedly turned down a $2m bid for Aaron Mooy, and with the financial rise of clubs in China and the Middle East player transfer fees could become a significant part of resolving the A-League financial puzzle.

And for all the talk of the league’s relative “stagnation” since the departure of Alessandro Del Piero, Shinji Ono and Emile Heskey, audiences remain pretty steady.

The marquee trio gave a necessary fillip of excitement and positive new coverage to a league still reeling from the fiascos of the Gold Coast United and North Queensland Fury days; remember those? A regular season average of 12,658 patrons came through the turnstiles that year, up dramatically from 10,819 the season before.

This season though is presently on track to match or even edge that with 12,359 on average making the trip to the stadium on match day.

For Sydney FC the statistics are even more remarkable – the “Bling FC” days of Yorke conjured a regular season average of 19,648 through the gates, before the 2010-11 horror season and the fading general lustre of the competition saw this decline to just 8,014. Alessandro Del Piero and the entry of the Western Sydney Wanderers saw numbers swell to 18,637, but for all their dismal football this year 17,275 have still been rocking up to watch Filip Holosko and friends.

It is not a question of wilfully wearing rose-tinted glasses or attempting to sweep under the carpet ongoing structural issues that challenge the long-term viability of the domestic league.

But instead of jumping up and down about the rebranding of the Caltex Socceroos, focus on perhaps how the national team didn’t have a major sponsor for several years (despite winning the Asian Cup), and now once again does.

Yes, Professional Footballers Australia and FFA have blotted the copybook with acrimonious public disputes and counterclaims, but don’t lose sight that in just over a decade the salary cap has increased from $1.5m to $2.6m with an enshrined minimum salary for players of $55,000.

And whilst that guy still dreams of watching a visit from the New Zealand Knights, in the rain, surrounded by less than 10,000 fans in dispirited clumps in the cavernous Sydney Football Stadium, turn your mind instead to the artistry of Diego Castro. Reflect on the fact that Thomas Broich and Marcelo Carrusca – two of the best the A-League has ever seen – now rarely steal the match day plaudits such is the rising quality of the players around them.

As the A-League finals approach and you prepare to sharpen your tweets, just take a deep breath. The A-League’s not perfect, but it’s getting better; and it’s certainly come a long way.