Home and Away? Call me old fashioned but this week I am really yearning for the good old days of Home and Away. Every second week I would love to drop on the door of my club and see them play on our pitch. Instead I am slowly turning mental in a thee week "Away" cycle as I try following my team on TV.
After our next game against Victory we finally get a home match vs. Sydney FC. Unfortunately it almost feels like everyone needs to find their voices again and the co-ordination of the home bay always seems a little out of sync after these long absences. Then straight away there are two more away games in a schedule that reads like this.
AWAY
AWAY
AWAY
HOME
AWAY
AWAY
Yes you read correctly that's one home game in six weeks. I am sure this is not an abnormality in the schedule and most other clubs have these horrid runs, so I ask you these questions.
1). Do you think you would enjoy your membership more if the schedule did closely follow a home and away system?
2). Do you think these long barren runs where your team may only play once at home in over a month hurt the chances of luring and keeping new fans?
Obviously for me it is a yes on both counts. I look at these sections of scheduling and wonder how any club is supposed to generate and keep the buzz going. The BIG PAYOFF for doing this though is the long run of home games your club will enjoy at some point. U
nited's for example starts directly after this run on December 1 where the club will play seven games.five at their home ground. one at Roars ground only 60mins away and one "away" trip to Newcastle.
No denying that it will be a great run of games but it is an extreme swing of the pendulum. We either have a fantastic run of games at the beginning of the season but are robbed at the end, or are denied at the beginning and blessed in a run to the finals. Either way I find it unstable and detrimental to any club trying to keep their team out in the public eye.
As for watching these away games on TV, I was suitably impressed with United's foray into North Queensland. I thought we handled the heat better then the locals and also put on a show in the final third including that ridiculous series of three back heels in what seemed like an endless number of passes and to top it all off was followed by a shot on goal. It was good to add another W into or ledger and gain ground the leaders who stumbled this week. It was also good to give the Fury fans someone to hate as the team and supporters desperately seek to find a team to have a derby with.
All in all a good weekend for the team, but I can't wait for them to come home.
