We pick the 12 teams we'd like to see in a National Second Division

[@zaco21_]

My Australian 2nd Division Teams (B-League): Adelaide City West Adelaide Hellas FC Perth SC Floreat Athena FC Darwin Olympic FC Brisbane Strikers Brisbane City FC Lions FC Brisbane Maitland SC Marconi Stallions Sydney United FC APIA Leichhardt Canberra Olympic FC Melbourne Knights Sth Melbourne FC South Hobart SC

[@m63t36]

Great content again, really well done, have you thought about live streaming you watching some A-League games as a lot of other big youtubers do, I think that would be great

[@TwelveDeck]

9:46. Killer point. 👏👏

[@jackdevstheworld]

Good to see every video I watch mentions how Wollongong should be in the a-league, me living in Wollongong and us not having a team has literally killed my passion for the a-league, and I’m literally the og admin of a-league memes

[@stevenholliday3859]

I would start with 16 teams: Lions FC Brisbane Strikers Gold Coast Knights Sydney Olympic Sydney United Marconi Wollongong Wolves Canberra Croatia South Melbourne Melbourne Knights Heidleberg South Hobart Adelaide City West Adelaide Perth SC Hellenic

[@TwelveDeck]

10:10. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think what the guy in blue is suggesting is that the A-League should be for "franchise" teams and the NSD should be strictly for "ethnic" clubs. If so, it's what I've been advocating for ages. With that sort of structure, you could have lots of natural ethnic club rivalries- eg Greek v North Macedonian, and keep "city" derbies like Sydney v Western Sydney for the A-League. Why even think of the NSD as a second division? Why not give both the current A-League and the "ethnic" clubs league conference names- say, the "Australia" and "Continental" conferences of the A-League? You could have play-offs at the end of the season between the two conferences to determine the national champions and spots in Asia. You'd expect the "Australia" conferenceto be the stronger of the two, but it would allow so-called "ethnic" clubs places at the national league table and chances at conference, national league and Asian glory.

[@cameronogg9597]

I think we need to move away from the continued creation of new teams that lack community connection or souls. I think each NPL league is full of wonderful teams full of history, and we need to invest in them for the future. Because thats where these younger players are actually coming from! No more expansion teams!!

[@BDub2024]

Agreed. There should only be 10 teams in the premier league and only expand if and when it is absolutely necessary. Otherwise the product just keeps getting weakened. Sadly that hasn't eventuated.

[@ScibFilms2]

im from melbourne, and even i am saying that the 2 leagues presented by these 2 guys, is too over the top.. South melbourne and Melbourne Knights should be the only 2 in peoples minds. then you have Gold Coast United and Brisbane Strikers. with Lions fc as a MAYBE !.. you put 3 in NSW with Syd Olympic, Sydney united and Marconi with the Edgeworth team being a maybe.. you need 2 from Adelaide. Adelaide City & West Adelaide, then 2 from Perth. Perth SC & Sorrento. then 1 more from canberra, Tasmania and NT

[@kristianodefelice468]

Glad you included both PerthSC and Bayswater City. Both the biggest clubs here in Western Australia and both have great support and foundations. I know the travel costs may be a lot, but a team from NZ wouldnt be too bad in future, given they have the appropriate funding and all that

[@lukebilby4409]

Should create a "champions league" style group stage for teams to play in this season for teams to qualify. They have to meet the criteria expected before they can make this one off playoff, but you would have arguably the best teams then qualifying to this nd2, with those who just missed out the first cabs should one of these teams have to pull out or they want to expand it

[@FeminismDebunked]

South Melbourne is the 2nd biggest team in Victoria.

[@devilsgulchracing6332]

I would have “franchise teams” for small markets. This eliminates division in fan bases , for example in Tasmania South Hobart would struggle to gain extra supporters because of having heated history against the other clubs. Also it would be the right place to bring in a Tasmanian and Northern Territory teams. Smaller stadium sizes and able to bring the games around there home state / territory with less regulation on where they have to play. I would also prefer to have two conferences of 8. North Eastern conference NT NQLD SQLD SYDNEY SYDNEY NSW NPL REGIONAL NSW ACT South western conference TAS PERTH WA SA Adelaide Ballarat/ Bendigo Melbourne Melbourne (With WU becoming a Wyndham Geelong united) If New Zealand teams are relegated they will go to the south western conference. If NZ wants a second A League team there are to enter the pyramid in the NPL Tasmania and to play majority of there NPL season in Tasmania. If promoted to they will unlock more nz games while still playing games in Tasmania. Tasmania selected due to the amount of clubs in there pyramid. Also the TAS NPL is also currently doesn’t have normal promotion relegation.

[@J_ZD]

Great vid as always. The 12 I would go with are Perth SC West Adelaide Adelaide City South Melbourne Melbourne Knights South Hobart Sydney United Sydney Olympic Marconi Stallions Wollongong Wolves Canberra Olympic Brisbane Strikers

[@pantherlaird]

I know it's unlikely but would love to see South Adelaide play in the NSD.

[@baussie2623]

Good content 👍

[@mattwalther8378]

Speaking of pro v semi-pro for the NSD, are there currently any clubs outside of the A league fielding fully professional or near enough players?

[@ALeagueCouchCritics]

B: I’d imagine there’s be a number of ex A-League players in the NPL being paid quite well or close to a full time wage, but there’s certainly no fully pro clubs.

[@da45ep]

Eureka Golddiggers Byron Bay Gypsys Nimbin Headers Broome Backpackers FC Uluru United (UU) Mt Druitt Durrymunchers Esk Eskimos Wagga Wagga United Queenstown Snowmen FC Logan Methlabs FC Hobart Wharfies Darwin Dolebludgers

[@ALeagueCouchCritics]

I feel like Port Pirie has been robbed here

[@da45ep]

we can make room for the pirates in the first expansion@@ALeagueCouchCritics

[@tedkara3126]

Brad's pick

[@BDub2024]

A massive blunder. There simply isn't the crowd support for second and third tier teams. If A League teams get 10,000 then an NPL team from the same city would struggle to get 2,000 at a game. There won't be sufficient corporate money or sponsorship. Then the costs associated with travelling and accommodation would be massive, Every second week flying interstate and staying for a couple of days.

[@nickycrea6075]

yeah some of the teams that made the short list are questionable BUT then you have teams like South Melbourne. Their supporter base is bigger then half the A-league teams combined. teams like the jets have been struggling for years MacArthur's a failure, western united has failed to gain much support, promotion relegation may get rid of some miss managed teams and bring in well managed teams who deserve to be there.

[@BDub2024]

@@nickycrea6075 Didn't South Melbourne go up to Sydney in the 80s? Or was that the AFL?

[@nickycrea6075]

@@BDub2024 shows how much you know about this sport.

[@BDub2024]

@@nickycrea6075 That was a joke. But I'm not from Victoria or NSW, so why would I know about ethnic based teams pre A League. I think people in Melb and Syd live in a bubble and think their cities are on the minds of those outside the areas. They aren't. If I questioned you about the big Perth teams in the state league, you wouldn't have a clue I bet. At least I've heard of South Melbourne and Marconi. My view is that when Heart was formed it needed to be in a clear area (e.g. south east corridor). It then would have given room for traditional suburban teams based in inner city to step up in the future. Pointless having 3 teams coexisting near each other for a city as big as Melb. They would be able to compete better against AFL if they had teams in the fringes where the new Australians live.

[@BDub2024]

@@nickycrea6075 There are too many teams in Melb and Syd currently. A league need to invest in football in other States and grow the game. Considering that the crowds aren't massive and costs lower than AFL teams, there was a massive opportunity to grow the game in N Territory, N Qld and Tassie. I know there isn't the money in A League, that the AFL has, but you'd get the govt chipping in.

[@thegraveyardshift8521]

What, you have Bentleigh Greens over South Melbourne or Melbourne Knights ???? hahah that's laugable

[@ALeagueCouchCritics]

This video was filmed in 2021, at which stage south hadn't won the league since 2016 and Knights even before that. Bentleogh were consistently up there in the few years prior.

[@thegraveyardshift8521]

@@ALeagueCouchCritics Yeah but to chose a team based on results only is a massive oversight, surely fan base and general club strength/finances need to be looked at. That;s why PReston has been given a go becvause their club is attracting crowds and in a strong position

[@ALeagueCouchCritics]

If you want a true pyramid, performance is all that matters.

[@ourresidentcockney8776]

Nah, sod off Sogg with "Bentleigh". Have you ever seen Kingston Heath before? It isn't viable if you want future growth. It is astounding that they were able to host Perth. Such a crap venue to go to NPL wise.

[@randomfm5983]

I have a Pro-Rel database for FM21 with a second div, if you want to check it out: steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2368634951

[@BDub2024]

Relegation is a stupid idea. If a city only has one team, then it could potentially have no team in the A League, which would be a massive backward step. Overnight you'd lose a huge amount of sponsorship, media interest and crowd support. Already, the clubs are privately owned, not member owned... There is a large turnover of players during and between seasons. All this leads to the relationship between fans and clubs being precarious. This has the potential to weaken the passion and dillute interest.

[@FeminismDebunked]

South Melbourne the 2nd biggest team in Victoria.

[@ALeagueCouchCritics]

Who's the biggest?

[@nickycrea6075]

3rd, victory the biggest, city 2nd, western 4th... but if south join, they definitely will take supporters from victory.

[@FeminismDebunked]

​@@nickycrea6075 If South Melbourne were to join they would not take any supporters from Victory. SMFC have never supporrted the victory and never will. SMFC are very similar to Port Adeliade when the Crows won the AFL License over PAFC literally no PAFA Fan supported the Crows. When PAFC joined the AFL the Crows attendances did not fall.

[@FeminismDebunked]

@@nickycrea6075 NO WAY South fans have never supported Victory. South joining would have zero effect on the Victory. In fact, it would help them as it would create a HUGE derby rivalry.

[@nickycrea6075]

@@FeminismDebunked I mean maybe some may have supported victory cause South weren't there but your right I have never supported victory or city, I'll watch them IF they're on but south Melbourne is my team. the greatest derby rivalry IMO is still south v knights.

[@chrism4816]

They should lean fully into the meme and call it the National Soccer League.