Indian Super League 2016: Aaron Hughes - ISL needs more teams before relegation is introduced
Hughes: The way the ISL sets up, its more of a tournament than a league.
ISL
Sumedh Bilgi
28-Oct-2016 04:31:59
The former Newcastle United centre-back mentioned that the players plying their trade in the Australian league are of a good standard and most importantly, are fit…
Kerala Blasters’ marquee signing Aaron Hughes believes that while they are similarities between Australia’s A-League and the Indian Super League (ISL), the former is of a higher standard due to the players plying their trade.
Hughes was in action for Melbourne City last season where he managed only six appearances and nicked a goal for the A-League side.
“I think the A-League has been going a little bit longer so I guess with anything with more experience, you iron out little problems that creep up but that’s only natural. But they are both competitive leagues. The level there in Australia is good, the standard of players is good and they’re fit lads. There isn’t a lot between the teams and hence the margins between winning and losing are very small which is similar to here.
“I don’t think there’s a lot between the teams here. Obviously with the conditions it makes it tough here. So yes, there are similarities but with since the A-League just a little older they have the edge,” he told Goal.
Australia is one of the few countries where there isn’t a provision for relegation. The ISL currently is a competition approved by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and doesn’t have the official status, which the I-League enjoys. As per the proposed roadmap for Indian football, the ISL, after the addition of tttwo-to-three more teams, would become the country’s premier league but there would be no promotion or relegation for a few years.
Hughes was asked to comment if the introduction of relegation would aid in improving the competition as an entity.
“I think you probably need more teams for that. The way the ISL sets up, it’s more of a tournament than a league. There are only eight teams here and hence not a lot of games
“So I think as the league grows and more teams get at it and obviously with TV there’s a lot of money that goes into it, it begins to attract players and the level of the local players will go up and consequently it will be a ‘snow ball effect’. As this top league grows, teams in the lower leagues will also get better,” he explained.
N.S. Madhavan N.S. Madhavan – @NSMlive Spin off of #AFCCupFinal is that d franchisee circus called ISL will change. Real clubs will come in. Indians have tasted football! 11:22 AM - 5 Nov 2016
In an incident which further exposes the priorities of the ISL,players from Kerala Blasters were made to stop in Mumbai for a photoshoot thereby delaying them from joining their team and potentially making them miss the match against FC Goa.
An exception could have been made in this case.
It is now clear that the league is more interested in marketing the game rather than improving the game.
The best tool for marketing the game is to improve the game.
FC Goa's Casinos plan to monetize the game has backfired spectacularly.
For ISL 3 the prices of tickets were raised and also free seating introduced.
The fans have boycotted this mainly because of the Casino owners who have given a bad name to Goa with the package of Sex , Drugs and Alcohol which comes along with the gamblers.The rivers are also being polluted by the off shore casinos.
The poor performance of the team also did not help.
FC Goa are now giving offer on purchase of tickets and also cash back offers.
It must be noted that in ISL-2, FC Goa were one of the first football clubs in India to introduce numbered seating, wherein a spectator knew where his/her seat would be.
This ensured no duplication and over selling of tickets.
With free seating, one does not know where the seat will be, its a gamble as they say in the casinos.
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Indian Super League 2016: Aaron Hughes - ISL needs more teams before relegation is introduced
Hughes: The way the ISL sets up, its more of a tournament than a league.
Sumedh Bilgi
The former Newcastle United centre-back mentioned that the players plying their trade in the Australian league are of a good standard and most importantly, are fit…
Kerala Blasters’ marquee signing Aaron Hughes believes that while they are similarities between Australia’s A-League and the Indian Super League (ISL), the former is of a higher standard due to the players plying their trade.
Hughes was in action for Melbourne City last season where he managed only six appearances and nicked a goal for the A-League side.
“I think the A-League has been going a little bit longer so I guess with anything with more experience, you iron out little problems that creep up but that’s only natural. But they are both competitive leagues. The level there in Australia is good, the standard of players is good and they’re fit lads. There isn’t a lot between the teams and hence the margins between winning and losing are very small which is similar to here.
“I don’t think there’s a lot between the teams here. Obviously with the conditions it makes it tough here. So yes, there are similarities but with since the A-League just a little older they have the edge,” he told Goal.
Australia is one of the few countries where there isn’t a provision for relegation. The ISL currently is a competition approved by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and doesn’t have the official status, which the I-League enjoys. As per the proposed roadmap for Indian football, the ISL, after the addition of tttwo-to-three more teams, would become the country’s premier league but there would be no promotion or relegation for a few years.
Hughes was asked to comment if the introduction of relegation would aid in improving the competition as an entity.
“I think you probably need more teams for that. The way the ISL sets up, it’s more of a tournament than a league. There are only eight teams here and hence not a lot of games
“So I think as the league grows and more teams get at it and obviously with TV there’s a lot of money that goes into it, it begins to attract players and the level of the local players will go up and consequently it will be a ‘snow ball effect’. As this top league grows, teams in the lower leagues will also get better,” he explained.
N.S. Madhavan – @NSMlive
Spin off of #AFCCupFinal is that d franchisee circus called ISL will change. Real clubs will come in. Indians have tasted football!
11:22 AM - 5 Nov 2016