The A-League are still the new kids on the block, with popular support within almost every major city growing each year. But with the inclusion of the Melbourne Heart and the Sydney Rovers over this year and next, the competition is beginning to stretch itself almost beyond recovery.

Now this may seem to many to be a very rash comment about the current state of Australian soccer, but when looking at the games, the A-League seems to be already struggling to stay a float.

With Adelaide United, North Queensland Fury, Newcastle Jets and others still in need of regular hands outs from the FFA, the inclusion of two new teams can only make it harder for the league to sustain itself.

The last thing that the competition needs is for teams to disappear and be replaced, like the old days of the NBL, leaving the supporters left behind unable to connect with the sport at a domestic level, preferring to give their attention to the likes of the LA Lakers and the Boston Celtics.

Granted, it was always going to be difficult for the A-League to compete against the major football codes in the country, but wasn't that the reason for placing the season over summer, to save it the hassle of competing with the likes of the AFL and the NRL (in Queensland and New South Wales)?

Yet, even with good media support the crowds still appear to be difficult to come by, with even the oldest teams i.e. Brisbane Roar and the Central Coast Mariners struggling to jump over the 10,000 mark on a weekly basis. Even table-topping Perth Glory struggled before they became powerful this season.

Now many of you may say that the league can survive the introduction of Heart and Rovers due to the fact that they're in the two largest cities in the country, perhaps. After all, many teams within the two cities have been able to co-exist for years in the AFL and the NRL, but unlike these two competitions the A-League is still relatively new, and its future is still uncertain.

But from last glance the A-League doesn't seem to have noticed their own situation, appearing just as eager to hand out licenses to franchise bids such as Canberra United, Wollongong, Tasmania United and Geelong City.

This is the sort of format that the league could not sustain, with the season stretching too long and funds thinning. With the introduction of the Heart and Rovers the league needs to sit back and pause, work on the competition as it is and find some form of stability through the teams.

Without this it's impossible to see the league surviving. I think it might be time that the men with the power over the league perhaps need to take a step back and look at the A-League as it is before they attempt to turn it into what they want it to look like.

Because from where a lot of people stand, the league appears to be following the NBL down the road to disaster.