New A-League clubs Gold Coast United and North Queensland Fury are attracting better crowds away from home. Both clubs have struggled to attract their own fans to their home stadiums - Skilled Park and Dairy Farmers Stadium respectively - but fans of other clubs have come out to see them whenever they have been in town.

Current league leaders United average just 5,542 at home but get 10,877 at away games whilst the Fury who are on the bottom of the table, get 7,104 at home and 10,927 away.

There are clear cut reasons why this is the case for both clubs.

United boast the best attack in the league and play an exciting brand of football with Socceroos star Jason Culina and league leading scorer Shane Smeltz leading the way whilst the Fury are led by former Liverpool superstar Robbie Fowler.

Obviously fans from the other clubs are keener to see these types of players than the homegrown crowds which poses a slight problem for Football Federation Australia who may need to rethink bringing in more franchises to the league.

With most clubs losing money each week and attendances continuing to drop, the FFA cannot afford to keep the A-League growing at such a rate if the key performance indicators are going to go against them.

With the 2018-2022 World Cup bid now in full swing, something needs to be done to ensure the domestic league is at full strength because without it, sport's biggest tournament will not get a look-in down under.