Despite the similar name, the guest marquee role is not just another player spot for clubs to put outside the salary cap, according to the new FFA policy.

It doesn’t necessarily matter how good the player is. It doesn't necessarily matter how much money he wants. It doesn't necessarily matter how much he would improve his new side’s prospects, or how much he would be adored by his new club’s fans.

The bottom line is – would he draw a crowd away from home? Would rival fans and neutrals go to see him? And even more importantly – would NRL, AFL or rugby fans have heard of him and be tempted to go and see him?

The problem is though, you can count on a leper’s hand how many players there have been in the A-League that could fulfil that expectation

And if you think Alessandro Diamanti fits that criteria, you need to put down FIFA16 and meet a wider group of people. You are not the market. The FFA don't care what you think about this (among other things…) You are not the target market for guest marquee players.

You might know who Alessandro Diamanti is – but the truth is the wider population of Australia does not and will not care.  He would not draw a rival A-League fan, never mind a fan from a rival code.

That’s what the guest marquee role must do and a 33-year-old who played 30-odd times in the EPL and for a handful of minor Italian clubs is nowhere near that crowd-pulling potential.

He’d probably make a great regular marquee - but guest marquee? Yeah, nah. Totti? Yes. Diamanti. No.

The problem is though, you can count on a leper’s hand how many overseas players there have been in the A-League so far that could fulfil that expectation. Del Piero, obviously, Robbie Fowler, almost certainly, and Dwight Yorke for sure. And, erm, that’s about it. David Villa would have done if he had stayed long enough to brush his teeth in Australia. Juninho maybe if he hadn't been broken the whole time he was here.

Someone on Twitter asked who in the FFA had the football nous to make these kind of calls. That misses the point entirely. This is the kind of decision that should be made by consulting the cleaner, the lift mechanic or your Uber driver.

The decision-making progress goes like this:

“Hi, just going to 1 Oxford Street, thanks. By the way, have you ever heard of Ronaldinho? Oh you have? Yes, the Brazilian footballer with the funny teeth, yes, that’s him. If he played in the A-League would you go and see him in a match? No, he’s not very good now but he was once, that’s right. Yes, you would go? Ahh great. No, he probably will be craphouse, that’s right, but it's Ronaldinho – and wait until you see the guy he’s playing next to…he’s an Aussie and he's going to be huge. This’ll do here, thanks – I can just jump out at the lights. Cheers!”

The real problem though is the market for household names, that can compete with overseas names like ADP, Fowler and Yorke, is screwed. The ludicrously-funded Chinese Super League has brought in a new era of ridiculous money for ordinary players, combined with the targeted spending power (and attractive tax regime) the MLS offers in the US.

So while they get Andrea Pirlo and David Villa, we feel hard done by missing out on Diamanti.

And there’s the rub. The guest marquee role was dubbed the Tim Cahill Rule because it basically justified the Socceroo’s move to the A-League. For it to be seen as anything but an exception made literally for one player, the FFA have to be more proactive in finding a similar megastar for other clubs…and fast.

The reality though is that they’re unlikely to have much success. Sydney FC’s CEO Tony Pignata has already admitted even they can't afford to compete with the MLS and CSL. What hope for any of the other clubs outside of Melbourne City?

So while Diamanti fails to meet the KPIs set for a guest marquee, the reality is that he’s probably as good as the A-League can get unless the FFA really breaks the bank.

With a TV deal needing to be signed in the next 12 months, it’s in everyone’s interest they get out their cheque book and iPhones and start dialling some agents to make this happen.

While it's good that the FFA are not settling for mediocrity in their desire to sign someone, anyone, to join Cahill on guest marquee terms, they need to back up that ambition with actual action - assisted also, of course, by the clubs, who need to at least put worthwhile propositions in front of the FFA to test their resolve to grow the league this way.

But hey, at least the billionaire oil barons got the FFA to help pay for Tim Cahill next season, eh?