No loss for the national second tier. Melbourne Knights simply wanted subsidies.

Hard to know but one things for sure; it's a pivotal decision in their clubs long and decorated history one way or the other...

Knights have had a few issues for a while and there is almost certainly far more to what they're saying. However, given the process and all the work that has gone into developing the league. We gotta keep in mind this has been a work in progress since 2017. From what I've seen, their crowds have dropped off for a while and this season they've struggled a bit on field. Almost certain that they haven't got the cash and their new board is desperate to save face. The league absolutely needs more then 8 teams and I reckon they have secured extra teams. 10-12 was always the go for starting off. Instinct tells me there's probably gonna be some franchises given the lack of any clubs giving press releases on the matter. To my knowledge, this has been the only one published this year. Also, given that any of the state federations haven't said anything for a while, hopefully that means that things haven't devolved into an 8 team 'champions league' model. A league format is fundamentally needed and given how much the project has already been pushed back and that it is finally going ahead next year. There must be something locked in that isn't public knowledge at present.

I'm sure fans have proposed this idea, but given the Jets struggles in the AL, thoughts on them applying for an NST licence? Might be easier to find an investor with less cost involved to participate in NST vs AL.

I hope it's they're own problems and I want to see the NSD go ahead, no doubt. But with Newcastle ownership troubles and Canberras situation I do wonder if the NSD is viable if the Aleague itself is somewhat struggling. Auckland coming in though is a big bright spot.

Considering money is the reason why MK weren't accepted in the first place is fairly indicative that its their primary complaint. The way the NSD appears to be forming is very similar to Major League Rugby in the USA. Small size. Financial sustainability number 1. If MK want to expand their appeal perhaps they could distance themselves from their FarRight Croatian connections... they are primarily concerned with the best interests of the game, right?

Maybe the club owners don’t want seeing where their money is coming from?

I think a sustainable league is the right way to go. Let it walk on its legs and find a path than trying to justify existence to investors. It sounds awfully like a national league soft reboot. Coming in as an old aleague fan from around about the start of covid I heard back in the day, some aleague clubs have until 2037 a guarantee to be in the aleague. It was to attract the financial backing being asked for. So promotion / relegation may be pretty far off even if the aleague still exists. Because the clubs will need to be able to survive the drop and know what they need to look like operationally in these periods in the 2nd div I believe the second division will work out better than people expect to be honest.

This may sound horribly racist, but I'm against having "ethnic" clubs in the A-League, but I'm fine with them being in an alternate "ethnic clubs" national league. I'm serious! You'd only have clubs in the league that have Greek, Croatian, Italian etc heritage. That way, you'd keep one league (A-League) for clubs based on city/area and the other based on ethnic heritage. That way, you'd have games based on ethnic rivalry which should create more interest in the ethnic league. Sooo, essentially you'd have TWO national leagues. You could even have playoffs at the end of the season (both leagues would be run concurrently) between the two leagues to decide the national champion. Obviously, the ethnic league would be the weaker of the two as you'd expect, but it would give them a seat at the national league table which clubs like South Melb and APIA crave.

Why are you deleting my comments?

of course they cant afford it, Melbourne Victory cant stay a float, the biggest team in the league. How do they think a team that plays in a factory complex in Sunshine, can afford to stay a float. THEY DO NOT care about it being sustainable, FA just want money, dont kind yourself here mate.

National second division will be a disaster imo. Besides, how can you call it “national” it is just more east coast. Sounds like one club has worked it out. The A League loses money hand over fist so what makes anyone think that a second tier would be a financial success?

Fuck it! I thought I was about to be a knights fan like I was before the a league started. Fuck the Melbourne based a league teams! Ignore me I just woke up in a bad mood, it was either a rant about this or immigrant's lololol