There seems to be a lot of consternation at the prospect of the A-League expanding to 9 teams for seasons four with the addition of Gold Coast Galaxy. People are saying "bye" like it’s a dirty word and something to be avoided at all costs — even at the cost of destroying the momentum the potential new team has build up already.

I’m of the opinion that the bye could work out well in the case of friendly matches against overseas opposition. Looking back to last season, Sydney played LA Galaxy on a Tuesday night after playing Queensland Roar on the previous Sunday evening. Hardly an ideal situation and one that could be improved by teams having a few spare weekends up their sleeves.

Setting aside the issue of the bye, it is important that all the work done by the Gold Coast consortium isn’t wasted by delaying their entry into the league over an issue as trivial as having an odd number of teams in the competition. The extra side will also allow the league to extend to 27 rounds — each side playing each other three times, with three byes — which would, to some extent, alleviate the concerns voiced by players that the current season is far too short.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 11th, 2008 at 13:16 and is filed under Football, Sports.