Has APL learned anything since the Unite Round?

Of course, the greatest irony of the Unite Round was the fact that the only match that created the kind of atmosphere that the APL can advertise did so in defiance of the game’s management.

I was in the stands at the Allianz Stadium on Saturday night and the atmosphere in the stadium was one of the best I have seen in years.

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The terrace at the end of Sydney Stadium was packed – unsurprisingly, given the Unite Round was being held at their own stadium – but there were also plenty of Wanderers fans, and two groups of fans staged a loud demonstration.

But it was the fans in sky blue who returned home happier after Sydney FC secured their fourth straight derby win with a 4-2 win over Western Sydney Wanderers.

With a crowd of 30,777 gathered at the derby gates – by far the largest attendance for either a men’s or women’s game – can we call the second edition of the Unite Round a success?

It depends on who you ask.

“It has been a turbulent situation with disruption to ticket sales, changes to venues for six Women’s Ninja League matches and a planned train strike, but we are very proud to welcome 50 per cent more fans from across Australia and New York. From Zealand to Sydney compared to our first ever Unite Round,” A-League commissioner Nick Garcia said in a press release after the weekend.

“We have worked with fans, clubs and our events partners to develop and enhance the fan experience, and the weekend saw Kogarah and Moor Park buzzing with mass events and fans celebrating the world game.”

I was in Moore Park on Saturday afternoon and didn’t see much evidence of this.

Vintage Gear Alley looked like a clear winner, with scores of fans stopping to browse hundreds of vintage jerseys from around the world, but just as many fans were passing by.

Perhaps they were all keen to get to Allianz Stadium for an early kick-off between Brisbane Roar and Adelaide United, where, if the Premier League had been paying attention, they might even have learned a lesson about why the Unite concept Round will never really work in football. .

That’s because a number of Sydney FC fans who had arrived early to take their place on the terrace soon turned their attention to baiting Brisbane Roar fans – no doubt in response to The Den’s leading anti-Sydney chants, at least at first Unite Round this year.

Isn’t this what football is supposed to be? Tribalism?

Not fan activations and children’s play areas?

If Nick Garcia has something significant to say, he might be able to answer any of the following questions.

Why were more than half the food and drink outlets at Allianz Stadium closed at an event sponsored by Destination NSW on Saturday night?

What discussions did the APL have with NSW Police, who apparently unilaterally ruled that no fan groups – not The Cove, not The Red and Black Bloc, not even Newcastle Jets fans – could march into the stadium as do they do this regularly?

Why did the Premier League schedule two Sydney Derbies within 36 days – one in the first round and the other in the fifth?

How should Newcastle Jets rebuild their fan base when their second home game of the season comes in Round 7 – and how will fans be compensated for having to travel to Sydney for the Formula 3 derby on Friday night?

Heck, if we’re going to play this game, we might as well ask what we’re all really thinking about.

What happened to private equity firm Silver Lake’s $140 million “investment”—and where are the proceeds?

Does Silver Lake have a clawback clause that could see it gain some form of outright ownership of the A-League as early as next season?

But if this is all too inconvenient, perhaps we can end things with something simple.

Has the APL learned anything about how to run a football league – rather than a content department or a tourism division – since that huge final fiasco?