I SEE that 35,000 is now described as a “disappointing” crowd for Saturday’s Melbourne derby. I suppose in comparison to previous encounters at Etihad, that’s a fair assumption, though it also points to the progress the A-League has made, that we are now unhappy with such a figure.

But the real story? How so many STILL turn up, given the lack of oxygen the competition has at the moment. In Melbourne’s biggest paper, the derby was relegated to a quarter-page of coverage on the day of the game, some twelve pages inside the sports section - hell, even cycling got a double page spread ahead of the A-League.

Now, we can complain all we like about the paucity of coverage (and in fairness, the fixture got a fair run in the preceding days), but the fact remains, football has to fight for its space in a hostile market - and the other sports are playing a smart game.

They’ve long since acknowledged football’s upward trajectory, and have resolved to try and capture some of that summer space.

Victory celebrate after they defeated Melbourne City. Source: Getty Images

Women’s AFL, the Big Bash League, the Auckland Nines, the Rugby Tens - all have ploughed big bucks into gaining traction, during their respective sports off-seasons (cricket being the exception).

Add tennis, golf (and apparently cycling) into the mix, and there’s little mystery as to why the A-League is gasping for air, especially when the fixtures are scheduled to coincide, which, incidentally, is no accident either.

We can’t blame the other sports - they are perfectly entitled to promote their events, just as we do with the FFA Cup and high-profile international club friendlies (and Socceroos games) during the winter seasons.

But what is football offering up in return? The honest answer is - with the exception of the big games such as derbies - not enough.

Aside of Tim Cahill, the league is short on star quality, not helped by the stringent rules which prevented the likes of Alessandro Diamanti, Eduardo, and, reportedly, Goran Pandev, from plying their trade in Australia. 12 months ago, Melbourne City hit a roadblock when they tried to bring Frank Lampard into the country.

What other sport says “no” to top international players?

Frank Lampard. Source: AFP

Yet even the stars we DO possess are hardly household names. The public profile of Bruno Fornaroli, Besart Berisha, Thomas Broich, Marco Rojas? Virtually nil.

The clubs themselves have become strangers to even their own fans in recent weeks - some by design, some by necessity. Newcastle went to Coffs Harbour (fairly successfully), Wellington traipsed off to New Plymouth, while the Mariners took another game to Canberra.

Western Sydney Wanderers, who are desperately trying to make Spotless Stadium feel like home, haven’t actually played there since November 25.

While there’s nothing wrong with taking the occasional game to new markets, the constant shifting of grounds not only alienates regular fans, but some of the alternative venues are hardly ideal, and don’t really help sell the league’s strong points.

Roy Krishna holds off the challenge of Robert Cornthwaite in New Plymouth, New Zealand. Source: Getty Images

For example, the Wanderers may not have had any other option but to play at ANZ Stadium on January 1, but 12,000 in an 80,000 capacity stadium (against Perth), effectively killed off any atmosphere, and didn’t exactly drive ticket sales.

Ditto the Mariners on Sunday, who asked their fans to travel for over four hours on a stinking hot day, to sit out in the open and watch a battle between 9th and 10th. I’m aware there was a financial incentive - but the W-League Finals game was disrupted in the process of trying to accommodate this switch too.

If the Mariners were that keen on playing in the ACT, wouldn’t the 5,000 crowd have looked far better at Canberra United’s home patch of McKellar Park, rather than GIO Stadium? McKellar has staged live TV broadcasts before, and even has what is described as “moderate” corporate facilities. How big does the buffet for businessmen actually need to be?

The ticket prices for Sunday’s double-header ranged from $37 for an adult, to $17 for a junior - although there were concessions around those charges. Twenty four hours earlier, the Women’s AFL comp threw open its doors for free at a suburban venue in Melbourne, which, as a consequence, was jam-packed. The local media - always happy to promote their favoured code - needed little further encouragement.

The point to all this, is football appears to have been caught asleep at the wheel, leaving the game to try and sell itself on its own merits, rather than find an effective strategy. Listen to insiders, and you’ll hear that FFA and the clubs are at loggerheads over exactly WHO should be promoting the league. Into this vacuum have stepped the other sports - who are only too happy to put on a cheap & cheerful version of their main game, with good incentives to attend, and media backing to promote it.

At the crux of the argument is, as usual, money.

With FFA still controlling much of the games commercial revenues, it’s understandable clubs such as the Mariners need to maximise their returns - plus, the marketing budgets of the clubs (and FFA) remain miniscule in comparison to other sports.

Additionally, the 10-team format of the A-League means Saturday’s derby was (including the FFA Cup semi), the fourth such fixture of the season. Little wonder the struggle to find new angles, with which to sell the game through the media.

The new TV deal may unlock some extra capital, but in the meantime, clubs (and FFA) could perhaps be a little more creative. For mine (for example), any child 16 or under that produces a valid playing membership (the cost of which can be prohibitive in itself), should be allowed free entry to any A-League game, providing they are accompanied by a paying adult.

Nicolas Martinez (R). Source: AAP

Secondly, if the likes of Bobo, Holosko, Bozanic, Finkler and Martinez truly are “marquee” players, as their status suggests, then why aren’t they front and centre of targeted marketing campaigns? Isn’t that one of the reasons for their extra wages?

An alternative would be to just exempt all foreign signings from the salary cap - focus on the playing quality, and forget about the theory of off-field appeal. I couldn’t care less if this “skews” the league towards the bigger clubs - someone, or something, has to promote the competition. No disrespect intended, but the players mentioned above just aren’t cutting it in the “off-field appeal” category anyway.

Thirdly, fans need a much better match day experience. Smaller stadiums to create atmosphere, preferably ones containing a roof, to protect them from the summer sun, or on occasion, the rain. Playing surfaces need to be pristine too. If the players can’t play, then the clubs shouldn’t pay. Simple.

35,000 then, put into context, is still pretty good - yet the warning signs are there. The game’s decision-makers are fiddling while Rome burns.

While they squabble about the new FFA assembly (an issue which should have been properly debated & resolved, prior to the last elections in 2015), and dither about releasing criteria for the expansion of the league, the other sports are making inroads into the football season, through simple, yet effective strategies.

We could do with some of the same from our own leaders.