No More Moore For Roar

Well the clusterfuck that has been 2009 at Brisbane Roar plumbed new depths on the final day of the year with the news that captain Craig Moore was the latest player to exit the club. Moorey was always heading out the door in January as he was looking for a loan move to keep him in the running for the World Cup. But things took a new twist today with player and club formally severing ties for good. The story is that Moore gave the club an ultimatum, either Ange Postecoglou went or he went. The club in their infinite wisdom chose Postecoglou. Let's face it, intelligent decision making hasn't been their strong point.

To say I'm pissed off about the situation is an understatement to say the least. Let's face it, the Roar just told a first choice Socceroo that they don't want him at the club. It isn't exactly the sort of direction you want to see a team heading in. But according to the club's CEO Peter "I'm a brainless fuckwit" McLennan the club is now heading in new and exciting direction. Fuck off dickhead, we're heading for the wooden spoon and that is all. Moore is now the third victim of the Ange Postecoglou revolution and I'm pretty sure that there is still more to come. With Moore and Miller gone and the January transfer window opening, it can only be a matter of days before Bob Malcolm heads through the exit door. But I also wonder about the future of Danny Tiatto. With retirement looming at the end of the season, and injuries hampering him, he may decide that it is just not worth it anymore and hang the boots up early.

If you believe the spin doctors at the Roar this is all about rebuilding the side. Personally I don't buy this at all. I reckon it is all about a broke football club axing the highest paid players in it's squad. The rebuilding will involve the club signing a bunch of inexperienced youngsters on low salaries.

With the Roar backing Postecoglou to the hilt you really have to worry about where the club is heading. Massively declining crowds and poor results have been the story of this season. But having a coach who players don't want to work with is a massive worry. The club now has just 20 permanently contracted players, seven of those are off contract at the end of the season and one will definitely retire. With three players already leaving because of an inability to work with Postecoglou there is every prospect that more could follow. Sooner or later you have to say that it's not about the attitude of the players but of an inability of the coach to manage his players.

For me I really am losing any interest in the Roar. I don't have an issue with the players, and to be honest we could lose every game of the season and I would be back again next time around. But what I have an issue with is the ownership and management at the club which continue to stumble from one disaster to the next. The major problem that continues to haunt the club is lack of operating capital and I see no indication that anyone at the club is actively doing anything to solve this problem. Rather they are content to cut every operating cost, including players, so that they can keep struggling along. The big losers meanwhile are us, the paying fans.

I'll be seeing out the remaining two home games. Let's face it I paid enough for my platinum tickets that I may as well get something out of them. But I will be donning mourning black instead of Roar orange as a protest. Beyond that I don't know. Major improvements are going to have to happen over the next couple of months for me to keep the faith and go around again for another year. But right now I can't see anything improving at the Brisbane Clusterfuck, I mean Roar.

I can only hope that come the end of the season and the time for the FFA to renew licences that they refuse to issue a new licence to the Roar. The people running this club just seem totally clueless. Brisbane as a city deserves better than the shit that is being thrown up by the current hierarchy of the Roar. While being an FFA run club isn't a great situation I can't help but feeling that anything is better than what is being done by Messrs Chris Bombolas, Gary Wilkins, Serge Baradel, Claude Baradel, Emmanuel Drivas, Emmanuel Kokoris, Peter McLennan and their little bitch Ange Postecoglou.

Responsibility, Ange's Favourite Word

Let's wind the clock back to October.

Frank Farina has just been sacked as Brisbane Roar coach and Ange Postecoglou is sitting in front of a Fox Sports TV camera doing an on-air audition for the vacant post at the Roar. In a bid to appeal to the club's desire to crack down on a perceived discipline problem Postecoglou announced that if he was the coach of the Roar he would take full responsibility for the player's onfield behaviour.

Fast forward to the end of December and the whole discipline thing has been and gone. But the Roar's problems haven't. Eleven games into his tenure as Roar coach Postecoglou must be wondering just why he uttered those words about taking full responsibility. For now he must surely put his hand up and admit that he is the one who is fully accountable for a team that has lost 45% of the games that it has played under him. He must also be held fully accountable for the club having it's worst ever goals per game ratio. He must also be held fully accountable for the fact that under him the club has just suffered it's worst ever defeat.

Eleven games into his tenure at the Roar it is quite clear that the Ange Postecoglou appointment is not working and accountability is the last thing that is on his mind. Postecoglou is far better at pointing the finger at the players and questioning their fitness, desire and ability. A poor workman as they say blames his tools. What Postecoglou seems to forget is that the very same Roar outfit that he now coaches is the same one, bar a few players that he has seen fit to run out of town, that many pundits considered a favourite to win the A-League. So just why are the results so poor?

The reality is painfully simple. Postecoglou lacks two important qualities. One is leadership and the other is coaching ability.

His attitude towards the playing staff may have won the backing of the club's owners and management but it has not cut it with the players, and as we know good judgement is hardly a strength of the powers that be at the Roar. Leadership qualities are hard to come by and it seems that Postecoglou was definitely at the back of the queue when they were being handed out. He seems to fail to understand that simply holding a position of power and telling people what to do is not enough. True leaders have the trust and respect of those under their command. They have that for a reason, because it has been earned. One of the nails seemingly in Farina's coffin was his his relationship with the players. He was considered too close to his players, but it was this relationship that allowed him to get the most out of them. Postecoglou is an outsider looking in, and it is killing the team.

As a coach Postecoglou has been found severely lacking, particularly on Saturday evening. While Gold Coast United were tearing apart the Roar the TV cameras regularly cut to Postecoglou seated on the sideline. His face told the entire story. He was a man with no answers, a deer in the headlights as a freight train raced straight for him. Apart from a few feeble substitutions he produced no answers to what was put in front of him. You could literally see the fear in his eyes as he watched his side capitulate. His face painted the picture of a man so far out of his depth that you could literally see him drowning right before your eyes.

To put all the blame on the players is a crock of shit. Three members of our squad have just been called up by Pim Verbeek for the Socceroos, and our squad includes a host of Young Socceroos as well. Injuries have been a problem for the club all season but Postecoglou has had far from the worst of that run and has seen more of our top players back on board than Farina did earlier in the season. His efforts have also been bolstered by the recruitment of additional back room staff. But the results just are not there.

At some point in time the club has to admit that the reason for our malaise is the man in charge and not the players on the pitch. Can the coach make that much difference you ask? Well think back to season two of the A-League. Nick Theodorakopoulos presided over a disastrous start to their campaign that saw them winless after seven games. His sacking enabled Gary Van Egmond to take over and the Jets immediately turned around their form finishing third and losing the preliminary final. They went on to win the league next season. Sacking Theodorakopoulos was the best move that Newcastle ever made and it rescued a disastrous season. The Roar need to take heed.

For those that think I may be exaggerating the problem, then here are some stats for you. The following table shows the comparative records of our coaches over the years. These include pre-season cup games as well, and for good measure I have also singled out Farina's record just for his portion of this season to allow better comparison to Postecoglou.

Coach	Win %	Draw %	Loss %	For Avg	Against Avg
Farina	42	29	29	1.39	1.21
Farina season 5	33	33	33	1.56	1.56
Postecoglou	36	18	45	1.36	1.55
Bleiberg	31	38	31	1.26	0.98

It doesn't make pretty reading for Postecoglou, particularly his loss record. An inability to solve the defensive issues and a falling goals per game tally give further evidence to the fact that something is not working.

There are plenty who seem happy to give him the benefit of the doubt and allow him an off-season in which to rebuild the squad in his own image. This sort of sentiment is all well and good, but smacks of nativity. It is no secret that the Roar are strapped for cash and that fact will make rebuilding a squad extremely difficult. It would be far more cost effective to remove an ineffective coach and replace him with someone capable of working with the squad that we currently have and not against it.

But that is the crux of the problem. The Roar board and management seem to want this situation and appear to have made it Postecoglou's remit to sort out the players. The conspiracy theorist in me suggests that this is far more about finding a way to reduce the wage bill rather than build a title winning side. Remember Frank Farina's comments on leaving that a rift existed between the players and the board.

I also find the performances of the Roar's youth team another indicator that the coaching situation is not working. When Farina was in charge at the Roar the youth team won one, draw two and lost two, scoring eight goals and conceding 9. Not great, but okay for a young side. Since Postecoglou has come in the youth team has won one, drawn one and lost eight, scoring fifteen goals and conceding 26. It is an atrocious record and one that points to a general malaise that is affecting both sides.

But just pure stats don't tell the whole story. Look at our goal keeping situation. We get rid of our number one keeper and replace him with Griffin McMaster who for me still hasn't convinced that he is a genuine number one. His efforts on Saturday were feeble at best and his distribution is regularly woeful. Surely he must realise at some stage that hoofing the ball out to Oar and Henrique is just going to see it coming straight back at us as neither is going to win anything in the air. His back up now is Matt Ham and given that he was in goal as the youth team conceded five on Sunday I don't hold any high hopes that he is going to be an option that we can call on. We have also lost our only truly creative player and are now trying to rely on kids to fulfil the role. On the back of a couple of wins Postecoglou beat his chest proudly about how we were looking at the future of the Roar. On the back of a pair of 1:5 losses is he still so willing to take that stance?

Another point of major concern seems to be the fitness of our players. When Farina was around there seemed to be a school of thought that the players were not being worked hard enough. Since Postecoglou has taken over it seems to me that the players look to be physically flagging a lot more in matches. We seem to get over run by sides in the second half and players who have normally looked physically good are regularly bent over at breaks with their hands on their knees. I've got a sneaking suspicion that Postecoglou is physically flogging the players in training in the manner that you do at the start of pre-season as you attempt to build up fitness. If this is the case then we have a major problem because that sort of preparation is totally wrong for match day as it will leave the players flat, heavy legged and with little endurance. Does this sound at all like a side that we know?

Nothing about where we are going points to a positive move forward. The buck has to stop with the man at the top of the coaching department and that is Ange Postecoglou.

There is no way that you can gild the lily at the moment. The Roar's A-League side is going backwards and their youth team is also going backwards. Postecoglou has already chalked up two of the five worst losses in the club's history, including the worst ever. Sooner or later the question has to be asked whether the man is really up for the job. With six games remaining in this season the jury for my mind is well and truly out.

56 Points At New Year

While the Brisbane Roar have been doing an excellent job of killing over recent months my first football passion, Leeds United, are sitting comfortably at the other end of the spectrum. Seemingly gone are the days of crises and Leeds now appear a settled club that are going about the job of climbing back up the divisions. The arrival of new manager Simon Grayson has seemingly been the final piece in a jig saw that will hopefully see Leeds climb out of League One and back to the Championship.

After missing out in the promotion playoffs in the last two seasons it appears that the 2009-2010 season may be the one that sees Leeds escape the third tier of English football. The season opened with victory over Exeter City, a win that triggered a run of form that saw the club rocket to the top the league and stay their. Leeds won their first six games and were unbeaten for twelve games until losing to Millwall, their only loss so far this season. Another ten matches unbeaten see Leeds finishing the year on top of the ladder with a massive tally of 56 points. With a tally in the low 90's usually enough to top the league Leeds total has set them up nicely for the second half of the season.

Grayson has assembled a very good squad at Elland Road and continues to have the prolific Jermain Beckford heading his strikeforce. While exciting young midfielder Fabian Delph was sold to Aston Villa at the start of the season his departure has not left a whole in the squad with Grayson ensuring that there is enough quality in the midfield to cover for him. Leeds continues to have an Aussie flavour with fringe Socceroo Patrick Kisnorbo joining in the off-season and becoming an ever present figure at the heart of Leeds' strong defence. Also coming to the fore later in the season has been Neill Kilkenny who took some time to re-establish himself in the side but has become a regular starter again over recent months.

Undoubtedly the highlight of the first half of the season was Leeds' Carling Cup encounter with Liverpool. Leeds played Liverpool off the park that day, but just could not convert any of their chances. As these things always go, Liverpool grabbed a lucky win when David Ngog converted one of their few chances. Leeds may have been out of the Carling Cup but there was no doubt that they had proved to themselves that they could compete with teams at a much higher level.

Leeds will kick off 2010 in exciting fashion with an FA Cup clash against their old rival Manchester United at Old Trafford. It will be a massive day for Leeds fans and you never know the lads might just spring an upset. From their they continue their League One campaign and also will continue to compete in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy.

Leeds have flattered to deceive us before with their promotion campaigns but this season is looking like it might be the real thing. Here's hoping that all pans out well and the 2010 portion of the season goes as well as the 2009 portion.

Obviously Once Wasn't Bad Enough

Apparently Brisbane Roar decided that subjecting their fans to one humiliating 1:5 loss to Gold Coast United just wasn't quite enough of a kick in the bollocks. So the youth team went out in sympathy and got themselves flogged by an identical scoreline.

Isn't it just awesome sitting back and wallowing in the abject ineptitude of it all.

The Boxing Day Massacre

Well December 26 2009 is a day that is going to go down in some infamy for Brisbane Roar. It will represent the worst ever defeat by the club in it's short A-League history, and it will also mark one of the worst capitulations of any football club anywhere.

A 1:5 loss to Gold Coast United has put the skids on any talk of a Roar resurgence and a run to the finals. The performance of the Roar, particularly in a the second half where we conceded four goals, was total and utter fucking shite. Worse still was the fact that we took an early lead and then failed to go on with it.

There is probably a lot more I could say about the game but I can't be fucked. Suffice to say this performance was shit and reflected just how fucked up the current set up at the club is. We are a sham at the moment and until we get some new owners who have a clue it isn't going to change. The club's administration is shit and the coach that they have installed is shit. I'm pretty sure we can kiss any sort of A-League success goodbye until we see changes and unfortunately I don't think that there are going to be any soon. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Bombolas out, McLennan out, Postecoglou out.

Kudos though to all those fans who trekked down to the coast and made their attendance look good. I'm just glad I didn't waste an afternoon travelling with you to watch this fucking shit.

Not good enough Roar. Get your fucking shit in a can.

Pim Calls On Moore, Oar And McKay

Brisbane Roar trio Craig Moore, Tommy Oar and Matt McKay all received an early christmas present on Tuesday when Pim Verbeek named them in the Socceroos squad to Kuwait on January 6. Unable to call on the majority of his European based stars due to the match not being played on a FIFA date, Verbeek has had to piece together a squad of mainly fringe European players and A-League players. With that in mind Craig Moore was always a shoe in for this squad, but it has been an excellent achievement for his two Roar team mates to make the squad. Tommy Oar has shot to stardom in the local game since he returned from the Youth World Cup and his performances on the left wing for the Roar have obviously caught Pim's attention. Matt McKay's inclusion will be a massive relief for the hard working midfielder who has endured thigh and knee injuries this season.

The entire squad is

• Alex Brosque (Sydney FC)
• Jacob Burns (Perth Glory)
• Nick Carle (Crystal Palace)
• Simon Colosimo (Sydney FC)
• Jason Culina (Gold Coast United)
• Bruce Djite (Genclerbirligi)
• Eugene Galekovic (Adelaide United)
• Scott Jamieson (Adelaide United)
• Mile Jedinak (Antalyaspor)
• Matthew Kemp (Melbourne Victory)
• Shane Lowry (Plymouth Argyle)
• Matt McKay (Brisbane Roar)
• Craig Moore (Brisbane Roar)
• Tommy Oar (Brisbane Roar)
• Nikita Rukavytsya (FC Twente Enschede)
• Matthew Spiranovic (FC Nurnberg)
• Mile Sterjovski (Perth Glory)
• Archie Thompson (Melbourne Victory)
• Matt Thompson (Newcastle Jets)
• Tando Velaphi (Perth Glory)
• Dario Vidosic (FC Nurnberg)
• Danny Vukovic (Central Coast Mariners)
• Luke Wilkshire (Dinamo Moscow)

It is an interesting squad that Verbeek has put together. For some of the players this would appear to be last chance saloon, while for others it is a chance to further push their claims. There are some surprising omissions and selections and I think in some ways that Pim has made certain choices with an eye to the final Asian Cup qualifier when he will most likely not have any of his big European players. Let's have a look through the squad.

In terms of goalkeepers Pim really had his hands tied with most of his best options unable to be selected due to their club commitments. The big exception was Michael Petkovic who plays in Turkey, a league that is in recess over Christmas. I expected Pim to call him up for this game, but he has instead opted for three A-League keepers in his squad. I guess this is a case of looking ahead to the next game and he has seemingly gone with the players he will call up for that game also. Eugene Galekovic would have to be the front runner out of this trio to start the match against Kuwait. The big surprise for me was Tando Velaphi getting a call up. He has had a few interesting moments for Perth this season but obviously Pim is looking beyond that and sees plenty in the kid.

Our defensive line will contain first choice Socceroos Craig Moore and Luke Wilkshire which will be a big bonus and I expect Moore will get the captain's armband as well. Wilkshire has really grown as a player since Guus Hiddink gave him his break going into the last World Cup and is now an ever present in our sides as well as one of our most reliable players. It will be interesting to see just who gets the job of partnering Moore in the heart of our defence. My pick is Matthew Spiranovic but he has been stuck in the reserves this season at Nurnberg, to the point of now looking for a loan move to improve his World Cup hopes. The player who I think will push Spiranovic for the starting spot is Shane Lowry who Pim recently lured away from the Irish. Lowry is an Aston Villa product but is currently on loan at Championship side Plymouth Argyle where he is getting plenty of regular football. Lowry though may be deployed at left back as he is also capable of playing that role. That leaves the A-League players filling the bench roles.

Assuming Pim opts for his typical 4-2-3-1 formation he will need a pair of holding midfielders. You would expect that Jason Culina will be one of those and the other is likely to be the inform Mile Jedinak who is having a very good season in Turkey since joining Antalyaspor on loan. He has played seventeen times scoring five goals and is certainly pressing his claims for South Africa. Jacob Burns and Matt McKay will most likely start on the bench.

The attacking trio that will play behind the lone striker will probably see Dario Vidosic, Nick Carle and Mile Sterjovski getting the starting spots. But Alex Brosque and Tommy Oar have certainly been playing well in the A-League and could sneak in if they impress in camp. For my mind the player who really has to impress here is Nick Carle who for my mind has far too many people pushing his barrow for the performances we see from him. Technically better than most Australians Carle though is lauded with the creative tag which his performances don't fully support. If he starts it will be interesting to see how he goes.

Up front it will be interesting to see if Pim goes with a target man or not. If he does then I would expect that Bruce Djite will get the gig. If he doesn't then it's an open race. Brosque could grab this spot or Archie Thompson who must be seeing these last two games as his final chance to stay in the running for a chance to go to South Africa. Verbeek though may go with a different option and choose the fleet footed Nikita Rukavytsya who is currently in the reserves at Twente.

This should be an interesting game and Pim's starting line up will give us a lot of information as to who he really has in mind in terms of being an option for his World Cup squad. It will also be interesting to see how he utilises the A-League players with an eye to the final qualifying match. It's going to be a match that we have to get something out of with Kuwait sitting on joint top of the table with us.

Time For FFA To Make The Big Welly Call

There has been consternation from members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for some time now regarding a New Zealand team playing in the A-League. The situation of a team from another country playing in a league is not that uncommon, e.g. Cardiff City and Swansea City in the Coca-Cola Championship in England, or Toronto FC in the MLS. However what adds a major twist here in the A-League is that New Zealand is part of another confederation, and this adds all the complexity that is causing grief amongst members of the AFC.

No doubt they are heavily concerned by the concept of a team from another confederation qualifying for and possibly winning the Asian Champions League (ACL). As such they have draw up new guidelines that they want the A-League to follow in regards to the Wellington Phoenix. Effectively they want the Phoenix to be an Australian team based in New Zealand and that includes having New Zealand players treated as visa players. Should the A-League not comply then our involvement in the ACL could be compromised.

The FFA has been stalling on making a decision on the future of the Phoenix for some time now. I think they have been hoping that FIFA would step in and solve the problem for them. They haven't and it won't go away by itself, so the FFA has to man up and make a call on the Phoenix. But just what is the right decision?

At the end of the day the inclusion of a team from another confederation is just a totally stupid idea. While it works in competitions like the NRL where there are no regional tournaments like the ACL it simply does not work in soccer. We cannot expect the rest of Asia to accept the involvement of a team from Oceania on their football landscape simply because we used to be in that confederation and feel we owe something back to them.

The first solution I see is for the FFA to take back the Wellington licence and relocate them to a new market in Australia. The obvious choice would be Canberra who were so badly screwed over by the FFA's decision to allocate the twelfth licence to the Sydney Rovers outfit. With the inclusion of the new Melbourne Heart franchise next season was going to be an eleven team competition with a bye each round. If we gave the Canberra franchise an extra year to get ready we would have ten teams again next season meaning no silly byes, and then Canberra and Sydney Rovers could join the following season as part of a twelve team competition. There are not a lot of Australians at the Phoenix anyway so reabsorbing them into the A-League for next season would be pretty easy.

The next solution that I see is for New Zealand to do an Australia and lobby for entry to the AFC. This would completely solve all the problems. However I'm not too sure how open the AFC would be to this, as this is still some opposition to Australia being part of the AFC.

An alternative to the second solution would be for FIFA to merge the AFC and OFC confederations creating an Asian Pacific confederation. Again this solves the problem totally and does not mean any changes to the A-League. But again I'm not sure if anyone at either FIFA, AFC or OFC would really want this.

It seems that the underlying issue people have with kicking the Phoenix out of the A-League is down to sentiment and what it would mean for New Zealand football. To be honest, at the end of the day do we really care? We have given them a big helping hand over the last five years with their involvement in the A-League, particularly after the NZ Knights were such a massive flop in the early days. They have benefited massively and it would seem to have helped them reach the World Cup finals next year. But surely the time has come for them to cut the umbilical. Use the momentum of the World Cup to set up a professional league in New Zealand like the A-League. At the end of the day it will give far more benefit to New Zealand football than having one team playing in the A-League.

The entire OFC confederation also needs to start looking at the future. There have been calls from some quarters for the A-League to include an Oceania side. Again why? Why does Australia have to keep supporting this other confederation and put it's involvement in Asia at risk? It is ludicrous. The OFC should get it's shit in a can and create an Oceania league. Alongside some New Zealand teams you could have the likes of:

• Papua New Guinea
• Fiji
• Tahiti
• New Caledonia
• Solomons Islands
• Samoa
• Tonga
• Vanuatu

There is certainly enough scope there to do it, if they can find the money.

Whatever the situation the OFC nations need to accept that they cannot keep being involved in the Australian domestic scene. I know that this is a harsh view point but at the end of the day we are part of Asia now and by involving teams from other confederations we are putting our own standing at risk. Australia needs to move on as an Asian football nation and New Zealand and the other Oceanic nations need to find the best solution for them, whatever that may be.

McKay Picks Mariners Pocket For Win

A last gasp goal from Matt McKay saw Brisbane Roar grab a vital away win in Gosford today. A fast start from the Roar saw them race to a two goal lead which they failed to hold onto. The day was saved though by Mckay's late winner.

For what might possibly be the first time this season the Roar went into the match with an unchanged side after beating the North Queensland Fury midweek. Ten minutes into the match it looked like they were picking up from where they left off on Wednesday night as well. Tommy Oar was picked out by an Adam Sarota switch and cut inside his marker before firing home a right footed shot. That lead looked a bit susceptible as the Mariners butchered a number of attacking opportunities to leave the Roar holding onto their lead but not in the most convincing fashion. However a brilliant curling shot from Sergio Van Dijk lit up Bluetongue Stadium as the Dutch marksman doubled the lead for the Roar after 21 minutes. The match was starting to look like it was the Roar's for the taking until Craig Moore blotted his copy book with a mishit back pass that was pounced on by Nicky Travis to pull a vital goal back for the Mariners.

Coming out for the second half a goal down the Mariners stepped up the play in typical Mariners fashion. Their physical aggressive approach gave the Roar a torrid time in the second half and more and more the match was beginning to sway in their favour. Despite some valiant defending from the Roar, with Michael Zullo starring at left back, they conceded an equaliser after 77 minutes when Dylan Macallister was able to head home a ball after it was not cleared. The Roar went chasing a win after that and piled the pressure on the Mariners with substitute Mitch Nichols getting into some good positions but failing to make his chances count. But just as the clock was counting down the minutes of extra time the Roar snatched a late winner with Matt McKay's late run into the box founding a loose ball from a free kick.

This was an amazingly up and down match. Initially it looked like the Roar were going to run away with this game, but after Craig Moore's mistake the Mariners ran us down and looked like they might get the win. But we rode it out and grabbed a late winner for a pretty well deserved three points.

Michael Zullo's performance at left back was excellent and could have been very timely with Pim Verbeek in the stands. There has been plenty of talk about Tommy Oar getting a call up for the next Socceroos squad and it was interesting to see that Verbeek watched this match with Young Socceroos coach Jan Versleijen. This could indicate that he definitely had his eye on Oar.

On the injury front we once more failed to escape a match unscathed with Luke Devere limping out of the match just before the break with an ankle injury. It was a tough match for Devere who was kicked from pillar to post by Matt Simon who I doubt will have done his hopes of a national team call up any good with this performance.

Earlier in the day the Roar youth team lost a seven goal thriller to the Mariners. Luke Brattan, Ken Dougall and Stefan Vrbesic all grabbed goals in the 3:4 loss.

Roar Ladies Lose Final

Sydney FC produced a powerful second half performance to overhaul and beat Brisbane Roar in the final of today's W-League grand final. Backed by a strong tail wind Sydney produced three goals in a twelve minute onslaught that saw them wrap up the championship. That burst of goals over came a first half lead to the Roar who also picked up a late consolation goal.

The Roar the better side for much of the first half with Sydney reduced to playing on the counter attack and it was no surprise when Lana Harch gave the Roar the lead after just fifteen minutes. Last season's player of the year was played through by a headed pass from Jo Burgess and and smashed an excellent shot past Nicola Deiter from the edge of the box. The Roar continued their dominance for the remainder of the half but struggled to produce clear cut chances. At the break it was Roar by the solitary goal to Harch, but the match looked far from over.

The second half saw Sydney take the game to the Roar more and with a strong tail wind they were able to produce more effective counter attacks. After mounting more and more pressure on the Roar, Sydney finally found an equaliser after 66 minutes when Linda O'Neill came forward from the left back position to pounce on a loose ball and smash it home through a see of legs. Sydney lifted on the back of the equaliser and Roar coach Jeff Hopkins took off his goal scorer Harch for Courtney Beutel six minutes later. Within a minute though the Roar found themselves a goal down after a Sydney counter attack saw Sarah Walsh fire the ball past Casey Dumont. The Roar went agonisingly close just minutes later when a Lauren Colthorpe header hit the crossbar and bounced down on the wrong side of the line. With the ball clearly not bouncing the Roar's way Sydney found themselves a third goal when Danish import Julie Rhydal put a pinpoint shot into the top corner leaving Dumont grasping at thin air. With what was a seemingly insurmountable task in front of them the challenge got bigger for the Roar with Beutel stretchered off with an ankle injury and it began to look like Sydney would be taking home the silverware. Deep into injury time Tameka Butt won and converted a penalty to add a bit of respectability to the scoreline, but Sydney had the win that mattered.

So Sydney FC have repeated the Roar's feat of last season by winning the premiership and championship double. The performance in the second half of the grand final was just too powerful for our girls who just didn't seem like there was any luck going their way today. It was however another very good grand final and capped another pretty good season for the W-League. On the back of this I hope that the FFA lengthens next season so that each team plays each other at least twice. The W-League has been a great addition to the sporting landscape here in Australia but once again it is over all too soon.

Booze And Atheism Win The Day

So God came to Suncorp Stadium on Wednesday night, but it turned out to be no religious experience. Those of us that choose not to believe in omnipotent beings had the final laugh and Robbie Fowler's North Queensland Fury suffered a two goal loss to the Brisbane Roar. To top of the experience it seems that the Roar play much better football when I drink large amounts of alcohol. On the walk from the office to Suncorp Stadium I decided that given the current form it was probably best if I treated the night as an excuse to down a few ales. With a two goal half time lead in place I decided that there was no point risking a second half collapse and hit the bar at the break for some refills.

Anyway sanity finally prevailed tonight and Ange realised that 3-5-2 was folly and finally returned the Roar to it's most effective 4-3-3 formation. Interestingly as a few of us had discussed at Saturday's game he went with Zullo at left back and Oar at left wing. The side was also bolstered by the reunion of McKay and Murducco in midfield for the first time this season while the return of Ivan Franjic at at right back meant a night free of Andrew 'Fudge' Packer.

Initially Roar fans could have been forgiven for thinking it was going to be another case of close but no cigar with a number of close calls. But after twenty minutes Sergio Van Dijk showed his class in the six yard box with a good finish from an Henrique cross. With the lead in place the Roar were looking pretty good and three minutes from the break Van Dijk doubled the lead when he finished a move that he started by picking out Zullo on the left flank who played in McKay whose ball across the face of goal picked out Van Dijk at the far post. Two nil up was a great start to the match and the Roar played the match out well to keep the scoreline intact.

So finally a good win at home again and three ever so precious points. For the first time in weeks the side looked really good and it was clear that we were finally playing the right system with the right players. The mobility and passing was back and we finally saw a bit more creativity again. Van Dijk as so often is the case looked ordinary before pulling out some clinical finishing proving once more that if we give him the right service he is absolutely lethal.

But the win was not the big news of the night as that was left to the crowd figure. For only the second time this season we topped the magic 10,000 mark as 11,530 patrons turned up for the match. While a profit wasn't made it was a desperately needed boost in crowd numbers. One that no doubt came on the back of attraction of seeing Robbie Fowler play.

By the looks of things we came through the match without any new injury concerns which is a massive bonus and Reinaldo is reportedly on the cusp of returning to the side. We head to the Central Coast this weekend and a result down there would be another massive fillip for us as we try to sneak a spot in the top six.

W-League Set For Huge Climax

Next week sees the grand final of the second season of the Westfield W-League. Promoters of the league will have breathed a huge sigh of relief this afternoon as the two semi-finals reached the conclusion. The league's top two sides, Sydney FC and defending champions Brisbane Roar won through to the final event.

Sydney did it with relative ease by beating last year's grand finalist Canberra United 3:0. The win came despite losing defender Alesha Clifford to a straight red card just thirteen minutes into the game when she pulled down a goal bound Ashleigh Sykes. Despite their numerical advantage Canberra were not able to capitalise and goals to Sarah Walsh, Leena Khamis and Heather Garriock put Sydney through to their maiden grand final.

The Roar did it much tougher with a hard fought win over Central Coast Mariners. The match was a really even tussle with both sides struggling to gain the upper hand. It was shaping up as one of those matches that would be won by either a moment of sheer brilliance or lost by a monumental blunder. In fact it was a blend of the two that saw the match turn when a Karla Reuter free kick dipped over the Mariners' Jill Loyden for the match winning goal. It would have been a bitter pill for Loyden who was otherwise outstanding in the match. However within ten minutes of taking the lead the Roar were reduced to just ten players when Sasha McDonnell stupidly picked up her second yellow card. Thankfully the Roar girls were able to hold out the Mariners and book a place in their second consecutive grand final.

So next Saturday Sydney will take on Brisbane in the grand final in what should hopefully be a top contest. It should be good game and hopefully the Roar girls can do us all a favour and pick up what will be the club's only piece of silverware for the season.

All Aboard For Ange's Football Revolution

Last night at Suncorp Stadium we witnessed the Ange Postecoglou football revolution in full flight. We've all heard his bold statements over recent weeks about playing attacking football, making Suncorp a fortress and how the players need to shape up or ship out. Having viewed the fruits of Ange's labour over recent weeks I can safely say that it is time for Ange to fuck the hell off.

Last night's match was shit and was fittingly matched by the result, a 0:1 loss. In the final third the Roar players lacked the bottle to take the responsibility to score onto their own shoulders and the number of woeful choices taken by our players highlighted the monumental blunder that Postecoglou committed by allowing Charlie Miller to walk away from the club. His skill, composure, vision and passing were all sadly missed in a team that largely lacked any cohesion in the final third.

Postecoglou continues to persist with his idiotic back three and it was this formation that allowed Matthew Leckie the space to attack into and set up Adelaide's match winning goal which was headed home by Fabian Barbiero. The use of Henrique as a striker rather than an out and out winger is killing the little Brazilian's game and all too often he was taking the ball with his back to goal or trying to fight for balls in the air. The continued use of the woefully inept Andrew Packer defies any logic as 99% of what he did turned into a steaming pile of excrement. The performance was topped off by a shocker by Mitch Nichols who is clearly struggling with the pressure of filling the void left by Charlie Miller.

The only highlights in the game were the performances of Craig Moore who was outstanding and David Dodd who put in a good showing. In fact we noticed last night that the Den actually have a David Dodd song now. Who would have thought. The only other highlight was the return of the much missed Massimo Murdocca and the little midfielder almost grabbed the Roar an equaliser with a shot from outside the box that forced Eugene Galekovic to produce an outstanding save.

At the end of the day though we lost at home again, and we did it in front of yet another record low crowd. Our new low is now just 5801, proving that the heady days of mid-teen attendances are now just a dim, dark memory. It's a sign of just how bad things are at the Roar. There was clearly a lot of bad feeling amongst the fans over recent events and there were plenty of cries of 'bring back Charlie' and 'bring back Frank'. The fans are not sold on Postecoglou as a coach and justifiably so given recent performances. Under his leadership the club has slid down the table and two players have sought releases from the club with rumours that more will follow. The players are clearly confused about their roles and and struggling to make Postecoglou's system work.

When Postecoglou took over the Roar the team was in sixth place and hanging on to a place in the finals despite a horror injury toll. He needed to do a number of things. One was work to get players back to fitness as quickly as possible, this has happened but ongoing injuries have kept occurring. Regardless, he has had better depth available to him than Farina did. Secondly he needed to ensure that the playing group was settled and motivated despite the changes that have occurred around them. Sadly this has not happened and he has displayed zero man management skills with his heavy handed approach to the players, a situation the is now robbing the club of some of it's most talented players. Thirdly he needed to address the Roar's problems at the back where too many easy goals were being conceded. Maybe there are slightly less goals going in now but the reality is that the problem itself has not gone away. Finally he had to address the old problem of the Roar not scoring enough. We can safely say that no headway has been made in this area and the problem has been merely exacerbated by the forcing out of the club of Miller.

The reality is that Postecoglou is failing dismally in his role as coach of the Roar. He took over a club that was in sixth place and has pushed them down to ninth. We win less, draw less and lose more under him. We have seen our goals per game average drop and the only statistic that has improved is goals conceded. But considering we are losing more often, does that really matter?

Where we go from here, I just don't know. We should get some players back in the next week or so with Tommy Oar, Matt McKay, Reinaldo and Ivan Franjic almost ready to join Massimo Murdocca on the comeback trail. But even with those players coming in I'm not sure the team will be able to lift. The team just has that look about them that you see when a club is totally broken. I've seen it before with the likes of Leeds United and Newcastle United in the EPL.

On Wednesday night the North Queensland Fury take on the Roar at Suncorp Stadium and with Robbie Fowler visiting this should have been an excellent chance for a big crowd. But after last night's crowd I can't see it being much bigger, and I certainly can't see the match result being any better.

Hope This Isn't The Way Ahead

Brisbane Roar scrambled to a 1:1 draw with Perth Glory at Members Equity Stadium this afternoon. While it may have been a point won on the road it will have done little to encourage Roar fans that the club is on any sort of upward swing. Postecoglou's tactics saw the Roar sitting deep in defence as they conceded possession and field position to their opponents. As such it was more down to disappointing attack from the Glory than stellar defending from the Roar that the honours were shared in this match.

Once again the Roar chose to play a 3-5-2 formation and were largely raped down the flanks for the entirety of the game as a result. Perth time and time again made their inroads in behind the wide midfielders and it was only by good fortune that they did not make better weather of the advantage that they were gaining in these areas. The Roar were showing no signs of wanting to play proactive football and sat deeper and deeper as Perth attacked them. The pressure on the Roar was compounded by their insistence on hoofing the ball clear and immediately turning over possession again so that they could come under fire once more. Griffin Mcmaster was forced to make a couple of saves to keep us in the match and only good fortune saw us level at the break.

The second half looked a bit rosier for the Roar when just six minutes in Luke Devere grabbed his first A-League goal after sliding in to top home a header from Josh McCloughan at a corner. But things began to turn a little south for the visitors with first Tommy Oar and then Devere replaced with injuries. Regardless the Roar were doing a good job of keeping the pressure on Perth with David Dodd and Adam Sarota putting in strong performances in the centre of the park. However as the half wore on Perth began to get more and more out of the play and twelve minutes to play they finally capitalised on one of their raids in a wide area. Substitute Todd Howarth whipped in a cross which Adriano Pellegrino headed down for Jamie Harnwell to strike home. Both sides had late chances to snatch all three of the points but were not able to complete the job.

Tactically this was a massively disappointing game from the Roar. This 3-5-2 formation that Postecoglou is using now, and seems to intend to use going forward, is a joke. Perth really exploited us out wide unlike Wellington last week and as a result out wide men get dragged well back leaving Van Dijk totally isolated up front. Defensively we sat so deep it was embarrassing and this left us unable to do anything other than try to hang on grimly as Perth attempted to pummel us. If this is the future of football at the Roar then we may as well pack up and move to Perry Park because nobody will want to come out and watch this shit.

Again injuries have raised their head and concerns over Oar and Devere can now be added to those of McKay, Reinaldo, Franjic and Tiatto. Luckilly Michael Zullo made a positive return from injury and Luke Brattan was handed an A-League debut.

Next weekend we host the totally out of form Adelaide United. I certainly hope we put in a more positive performances than what we saw this evening.

Roar Ladies Finish Third

In a season where everything around Brisbane Roar has turned to shit even the club's powerhouse W-League team could not avoid the curse that surrounds the club. Despite dominating the early part of the W-League's short season the ladies lost their way over the final rounds and relinquished any chance of defending their premiership with a loss to Perth in the penultimate round. Going into yesterday's final round the girls could only hope to finish as high as second and when Sydney dispatched the Mariners a 6:0 win by the Roar over Newcastle became a moot point. It was a great result from the girls over the struggling Jets, who amassed just two points all season to prop up the bottom of the table, and hopefully sends them into the finals series chock full of confidence again.

Roar captain, Clare Polkinghorne, got the ladies off to a flying start scoring after just two minutes. The match was put beyond doubt over the course of the next hour as Tameka Butt grabbed a hat trick with girls in the 19th, 26th and 66th minutes. The rout was completed by late goals from Joanne Burgess and Lana Harch.

In the other matches Sydney beat the Mariners 1:0, Canberra beat Adelaide 3:0 to grab a finals berth from Melbourne who threw their chance away with a 0:2 loss to Perth.

Next weekend sees the finals series begin and with it the Roar's chance to defend their Championship title. Saturday sees Sydney host Canberra United at Toyota Stadium, while Sunday will see the Mariners host the Roar at Bluetongue Stadium. Both semi-finals will be telecast on the ABC.

Hopefully the Roar will knock off the Mariners and set up a grand final appearance against Sydney which should make for an interesting contest.

Miller Time Is Over

The Brisbane Roar chalked up yet another what the fuck moment yesterday with the news that they had released Charlie Miller. I have to admit I was pretty disappointed with the news but it seems Ange Postecoglou has started looking towards next season and with Miller deemed surplus to requirements the Scot decided it was better to move on.

What amazes me is the manner in which this matter has been handled. Here we were just a couple of days out from yet another crucial game that could see us push our claims for a spot in the top six. We had already heard that Matt McKay, Reinaldo, Ivan Franjic and Danny Tiatto would all be missing through injury but this was tempered slightly be the inclusion of a fit again Michael Zullo and Henrique who was returning from suspension. Then two days out from the match we go and release our one truly creative player. Seriously what the fuck is going on at this club? I have no idea how the players must be feeling and I'm not holding high hopes for a result in Perth now.

What really amazes is why we would release Miller. I know there have been plenty of fitness issues but I can't see how you could not want this guy in your side. The A-League is screaming out for truly creative players and Miller is one of a rare breed in that respect. His passing and vision is superb and he was usually at the heart of the Roar's best attacking play. Just look at last weekend. The first goal came about when he switched the ball out to Tommy Oar on the left allowing the winger the time and space to measure his cross. Our second goal came from him making a run down the right flank to give Luke Devere an option to pass to and then he beautifully weighted a through ball for Reinaldo to score from. With A-League clubs screaming out for players who offer genuine creativity it is mind boggling that the Roar would go out of their way to release a player of genuine quality such as Miller.

The Miller release is just another episode in the procession of poor decisions that have haunted the Roar this season. The new regime of Bombolas and McLennan have turned this club into a joke. They have presided over dismal crowds, massive injury crises, poor onfield form, coach sackings, rumoured player payment issues and major unrest amongst fans. It's been a disgrace and it seems they are using Postecoglou to pursue their agenda amongst members of the playing staff. The fact that the coach is beginning to dismantle the squad mid-season does not auger well for any hope of a good finish to the season.

Personally I'm fed up with the direction the club is currently heading in. With the people who are currently running the club I think we can safely expect to see us consigned to the lower reaches of the league ladder for a good few years now.

As for Charlie, well I hope he finds a new club quickly. I'm not sure whether it will be in the A-League or not, perhaps he will be heading back to Scotland. But as I type this I am watching the Gold Coast game and they have just shown Charlie Miller sitting alongside Clive Palmer. Perhaps he'll be signing on there. It would be a pity, but not exactly a surprise. If so I hope that one comes back and bites Ange on the arse.

Whatever you choose to do, thanks for the memories Charlie. My fave was that volley against Perth last year.

World Cup Draw 2010

Well Australia's draw for the World Cup is now a known quantity. There has been a lot of speculation of late about who we might get and now we know for sure that we will be playing Germany, Serbia and Ghana. There have been some pretty mixed reactions to our group and unsurprisingly the standard doom and gloom crowd have been saying it's all too hard for Australia. Realistically it is not actually too bad a group and one that presents us with a good challenge. A target will not have changed and we will want to make it through to the round of sixteen. We will need to play well but it is certainly something that is well within our capabilities. The best thing is that if we finish second in our group, then we are likely to meet England in the round of sixteen. Our matches will played in Durban (Germany), Rustenburg (Ghana) and Nelspruit (Serbia).

The groups themselves are as follows

Group A

South Africa

Mexico

Uruguay

France

Group B

Argentina

Nigeria

Korea Republic

Greece

Group C

England

Algeria

USA

Slovenia

Group D

Germany

Australia

Serbia

Ghana

Group E

Netherlands

Denmark

Japan

Cameroon

Group F

Italy

Paraguay

New Zealand

Slovakia

Group G

Brazil

Korea DPR

Cote d'Ivoire

Portugal

Group H

Spain

Switzerland

Honduras

Chile

So now that Australia's opponents for the World Cup are known, Pim Verbeek can finalise his preparations for the tournament. You would have to expect that we will be playing some friendlies against European and African opponents to prepare for the tournament. There have already been whispers that maybe Guus Hiddink's Russia could be on the cards.

So there we go. 187 days to go until the World Cup begins. Let the preparations begin.

Not Exactly Good Advice

Those who watched Tuesday night's edition of Fox Sports FC will have seen the show's panel talking about the Roar's Tommy Oar. The young winger has been one of the stars of the A-League over the last couple of months and the panel had plenty of good things to say about him. But what worried me was the way Nick Theo (I can't be bothered trying to spell the rest of his name) suggested that not only did Tommy Oar need to get overseas as quickly as possible but that he should be called up for the national team. These comments follow Frank Farina's claims recently that Oar should be taken to the World Cup. Personally I think both are well off the mark and are the type of advice that shouldn't be handed out to young players.

For starters Oar is still very young. He turns 18 in a week or so, he still lives with his family on the Gold Coast and doesn't even drive yet. As Dario Vidosic found out, leaving home and having to fend for yourself in a foreign country is a lot harder than he thought. The best thing that Tommy Oar can do is spend the next couple of years establishing himself as a true star of the A-League, play well for the Young Socceroos and most importantly learn a few life skills. Let's face it, the list of young players to graduate from the A-League to European football is not exactly a series of success stories.

Dean Bouzanis had a short stint on loan with Sydney FC after being picked up for Liverpool. He is yet to play a senior game at Liverpool and is currently on loan at English League Two outfit Accrington Stanley. He has played youth internationals for both Greece and Australia and while he is coming along well he is still quite some way from breaking into Liverpool's senior team let alone our national team.

Oliver Bozanic had a stint with the Central Coast Mariners before moving to England with Reading FC. He is another who is yet to debut for his English club and has most recently spent his time out on loan with the likes of Woking, Cheltenham Town and Aldershot Town.

Nathan Burns was a major success in the A-League with Adelaide United before making the move to Greece with AEK Athens. Since then he has struggled for match time and has made just five appearances. He is currently on loan with second tier outfit Kerkyra FC. Prior to moving to Europe Burns made two appearances for the Socceroos but has not been on Pim Verbeek's radar since.

Bruce Djite rose to prominence alongside Nathan Burns in the Adelaide United side that went to the final of the Asian Champions League. Since then he has made the move to Turkey with Gencerlibirligi. Initially things went well for Djite but this season he has drifted out of the reckoning with his club and is now reportedly looking for a move.

James Holland established himself as a first team regular with the Newcastle Jets, winning an A-League Championship. Along the way he broke into the Socceroos making a handful of appearances. Since then though he has moved to Holland with AZ Alkmaar where he has struggled to get into the senior team. He has now seemingly dropped out of the reckoning for a spot in the centre of midfield with the Socceroos.

Mark Milligan's star rose rapidly with Sydney FC to the point where he was taken to the 2006 World Cup by Guus Hiddink. Since then he broke into the Socceroos at the Asian Cup and looked to be moving ahead with his career. However an unsuccessful attempt to move to Europe after leaving Sydney saw him clubless and out of the national team picture. He ultimately made a return to the A-League with Newcastle before heading to China with Shanghai Shenhua. Despite reportedly doing quite well there it is unclear where his future lies.

Nikita Rukavytsya came onto the A-League scene with Perth Glory and was a rising star of the league when he picked up stumps and headed to the Netherlands with FC Twente. Since then he has struggled to break into the senior team with just a couple of cameos off the bench and a couple of cup appearances angainst unfancied rivals to his credit.

Dario Vidosic burst onto the scene with Brisbane Roar in the second season of the A-League. At season's end he moved to Bundesliga FC Nurnberg. Since then he has endured a couple of tough years before finally starting to establish himself at the end of last season as they pushed for promotion back to the top flight of German football. He is currently a regular coming off the bench for Nurnberg and has now become a regular squad member for Pim Verbeek.

On top of this you have players like David Williams who played briefly for the Roar in season one before heading over to Denmark with Brondby. He was in and out of the side over there and is currently back in Australia on loan to North Queensland Fury . It is unsure where his future lies.

As you can see the move to Europe is not necessarily a fast track to success. Most of the guys we have seen move from the A-League to Europe are still trying to break into their respective first teams let alone establish themselves. You have to wonder then if it is worth giving up the regular first team football of the A-League for reserve team football in Europe.

I remember reading an article about Dario Vidosic after he had been in Germany for a while. He admitted that he had been somewhat underprepared for the move and had lacked some of the basic life skills like being able to cook. In deed he apparently had to get his Nurnberg team mate Michael Beauchamp to give him a few tips in the kitchen. It's things like this that people seem to overlook when considering if young players should head overseas.

For Tommy Oar I think he should take note of how tough it has been for those who have gone before him. At his age there is still a lot he can learn in Australia, particularly when he is playing with the likes of Craig Moore. He also is benefitting from playing regularly with the Young Socceroos and will no doubt be a first choice player as they build for the next Youth World Cup. This week Oar praised his involvement with the Young Socceroos as being crucial to his recent hot form. It's an interesting comment when you consider the number of times that we have heard the so-called experts say that some of these kids would be better off skipping Young Socceroos fixtures to play in the A-League.

Realistically I'm hoping that Oar decides to stick with the A-League for a couple of more years, preferably through the next Youth World Cup. Along the way he needs to make sure that he picks up the necessary life skills he needs to support himself when he does move overseas. Next season would be a good time for him to move out of home and start fending for himself up here in Brisbane. Learning to do things like paying bills, cooking, cleaning managing his time. Then he will be better placed for a European move.