(Ryan Withers is a BPL Citizen Journalist)

Over its relatively short history the A-League has faced many challenges, and after the events of the last few days it has become increasingly clear these are far from over.

With the sensational sacking/resignation of Miron Bleiberg from Gold Coast United and the subsequent public stoush between the club's owner, Clive Palmer, and the FFA, the A-League is in crisis once again, with one of its most recent expansion franchises looking in ruins.

Low crowds and a lack of local interest in the team seemed to be only the start for United's downward spiral. Now, nearing the end of the 2011/12 season, sitting dead last and without a manager, questions have to be asked about its future.

However, while all this turmoil is raging across the New South Wales border, A-League bosses have begun discussions about the addition of another club - Western Sydney. Revealed by The Australian newspaper, it now appears that the powers that be are in fierce talks to revive the much maligned franchise.

But the A-League's justification for a team in the west are less than would be expected.

After a failed attempt at getting the Sydney Rovers off the ground, the A-League seems more concerned than ever that they have missed the boat in harnessing the population of Sydney's western suburbs, fearing the NRL and now AFL presence will diminish any chance they had in that area.

Like most things in sport, the A-League's desire to hasten the development of a franchise in the west is for one very obvious reason. Broadcast rights. Next year the country's professional soccer league goes up to renew its rights deal in the hope of not only being granted a greater deal, but just possibly finding themselves a part-time home on free to air television. With two sides in Melbourne and two in Sydney, the A-League could entice the networks they want and call for the money they so desperately require.

But then there's Gold Coast, the A-League's ever-present thorn in their side. With their 10th team verging on total collapse and losing even more of the precious little public support they had to begin with, bringing in a new franchise should be the last thing on Lyall Gorman's mind.

Wanting a Sydney derby is exciting, anyone can see that. To have a Victory/Heart clash Sydney style on the Harbour sounds a delight. But as much as the idea sounds like pure gold, it isn't. Sure, the Melbourne derby brings in sell-out crowds every single time, but before that Melbourne Victory were doing that themselves, averaging crowds over 20,000 before little brother made his appearance. Sydney FC do not have the same success, even when they're the only ticket in town - and as the Victory have discovered, a second team can often mean the weakening of the first.

Western Sydney has a strong soccer history, but is it enough?

The A-League has done amazing things with the time it's had, but also some very bad things. The rivalries of the cities have only grown, and most supporter bases have built up strongly, with the Melbourne derby the pinnacle of the A-League's forward thinking vision.

The New Zealand Knights floundered through its short history while its replacement, Wellington Phoenix is doing better on the park, is still struggling to gain the national support it needs to survive. The North Queensland Fury came into the competition with Gold Coast, but without the luxury of daddy Palmer's piggy bank the Fury fell into the nothingness of the A-League's waste bin. Will Gold Coast United be following soon?

It's time for the A-League to press the stop button on the production line and deal with some malfunctioning products, but then again, that has never been the A-League's way of thinking. Always with one eye on the future and the other blind to the present. It's time for a change.