Roar Rookie
Joined July 2022
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Lover of all codes, courts and seasons.
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With a place in the round of 16 confirmed, only a first-place decider with Uzbekistan remains between now and the knockouts. With knockout qualification,…
Wellington showed they can defend in the scoreless draw with Western Sydney, but with a squad of young players, can they attack?
The excitement around the Socceroos’ camp has been great. In fact, for many it’s the most exciting chapter for the national team since the…
When he arrived on the A-League scene, Jason Cummings' character was a breath of fresh of air from the bland, geeky footballer profiles fans…
Stubborn patriotism demands that we compare ourselves to the best of the world – often with humbling results. Of course, this was the primary…
Initially tasked as the senior interim manager, New Zealand Football (NZF) have assigned Darren Bazeley the responsibility of taking the All Whites’ to the…
"At a young age winning is not the most important thing… the important thing is to develop creative and skilled players with good confidence,"…
Finding favour ahead of the club captain in the starting line-up is no easy feat. Indeed, Jordan Bos, at 20 years of age, managed…
Michael ‘Pretty Boy’ Zerafa sits in the backdrop of an Australian boxing renaissance, refining his craft, and biding his time. Whilst other Aussie boxers…
The ‘welcome home’ matches against Ecuador are now complete. Over the course of two rather robust and occasionally heated games, Graham Arnold offered Socceroos…
The Matildas are the key to re-igniting Australian football fervour.
Regardless of club or country, all managers desire the same thing: a lethal No.9 capable of scoring in all conditions and on any occasion.…
There is a buzz in Macedonia Park. Perth’s season is slowly but surely gaining confidence and the results – however hard fought for –…
The January transfer window following a World Cup is seldom silent. It is a key month for clubs worldwide – and for players too.…
Mathew Ryan appears bound for new club. Links suggest a departure from F.C. Copenhagen is imminent. And yet, Ryan is familiar enough with the…
The dust has settled since the ‘Platinum Generation’s’ Qatar campaign. Socceroos fans are left to ponder the much-anticipated 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign and…
The latest A-League Men (ALM) club instalment should be a team managed by Josip Šimunić, assisted by Carl Valeri, and captained by Tom Rogic.…
Minus the final 10 minutes, Brisbane played well and deserved to win.
I can’t see Zimarino fulfilling his no.9 duties week-in-week-out. He scored a well deserved goal against SFC, but he’s not typically been employed in that role. I doubt they’ll particularly active this transfer window, but I suspect the club’s already canvassing the market for a STK.
We already knew he was a good player, but Henry Hore making an immediate impact would give RZ a bit of hope. He’s a smart player, holds the ball up well and is a clean distributor. He’ll give O’Shea and Jelacic a lot of support around the pitch.
As for SFC, it’s strange. We sing the praises of their defenders regularly – e.g., Matthews, Grant, JCP, etc, yet they leak a lot of goals. I recall a pretty intense debate on this site a few weeks ago where a lot of us were debating Talay’s approach and whether his backline was being hung out to dry to easily.
Brisbane Roar FINALLY earn first win with massive boilover, Reds pinch top spot from Auckland
There’s nothing you’ve said that any reasonable fan here would disagree with. However, if you’re suggesting 2018 and 2022 were strong or impressive campaigns, I think you would find yourself in the minority. We bundled multiple matches, regardless of whether rugby league or union exists or not.
WCQ Group C predictions: Do-or-die for Socceroos in vital window, can Saudis recover?
Failed to automatically qualify, dropped points to the likes of Thailand, China, Oman and Syria. Pretty much led to Ange’s resignation and almost took out Arnold as well.
WCQ Group C predictions: Do-or-die for Socceroos in vital window, can Saudis recover?
So hard to see how this pool pans out.
I’m not usually an optimist, but I take solace in the fact Australia have played terribly – some of the worst run of results we’ve had in years – yet we sit ahead of the pack bar Japan.
Touch wood, I can’t see Bahrain or China playing much better than they currently are. I think they are at their ceiling, or close to.
That leaves Saudi and Indonesia.
Indonesia might have just made a catastrophic error in changing managers. I don’t understand the need to change leaders when they’re well in the hunt and are coming off one of their greatest ever performances. If Football Australia made such a decision, there would be furore.
Saudi – clearly the biggest threat and will be hard to beat over there.
WCQ Group C predictions: Do-or-die for Socceroos in vital window, can Saudis recover?
100% with you Grem. For me, if you’re playing in China, India or UAE you forfeit selection.
Western United are putting the fun back in the A-League Men
Personally, I would take Segecic into camp. Huge potential, highly rated and probably a good chance for 2026. We also have a shortage of 10’s so it would be good to see whether he could fit in alongside McGree, Boyle, and Goodwin.
Western United are putting the fun back in the A-League Men
I was disappointed by Iredale’s move. Would’ve liked him to try and stick it out in Europe.
Western United are putting the fun back in the A-League Men
One of Ange’s strangest selection habits when he was AUS manager was constantly picking Robbie Kruse ahead of Mabil window after window. I never understood it.
Socceroo Mabil released from Swiss club as Melbourne Victory's Geria gets set to depart A-League
Laughton goal of the season.
Wellington… wow.
'Frustrating as hell': Melbourne City win as injury toll worsens, Western steal win with stoppage-time stunner
Call me a conspiracy theorist, but the fact they haven’t drawn each other in a pool since 2010 seems like a crazy coincidence noting everything you’ve just laid out. Would love to see the Saudis play in Tehran, or Iran in Jeddah.
How the Gulf War helped foster the rise of one of Asia's greatest rivalries between Saudi Arabia and Iraq
Great win, absolutely.
But I wonder if the result speaks less of the Wanderers and more of the Phoenix, who have been pretty poor for several weeks now.
Granted the Nix don’t have the same squad as last season, but they’re a shadow of their former selves at the moment. Really weak at the back, no one to support Kosta up front and their youth look like they’re going to need a bit more time to get up to speed.
After Staj schooled Chiefy by a big margin, the Wanderers might finally have something to believe in
Chiefy needs to find a circuit breaker. Nix are a solid team and should make the finals, but they’re playing poorly and it’s clear there are too many passengers in the team. If Kosta was taken out of that squad, they would be lucky to even get close to hitting the scoreboard.
Wanderers rise to sixth after ten-minute blitz cruels sluggish Phoenix
Good summary Mike. It was certainly the match of the round for me, followed by AU vs SFC.
Both Victory and City should be right up there at the end of the season.
One of the best Melbourne derbies in recent memory was just what the A-League needed
Waz your quips the last fortnight have truly made me chuckle.
Wanderers rise to sixth after ten-minute blitz cruels sluggish Phoenix
Very intense game right to the end. City did well to hold onto a draw, I thought Victory looked really sharp (especially in the second half).
Victory fight back to earn derby draw after Kisnorbo's sudden departure
I like the look of Herrington, he was a bright spot last week.
Glory and Roar deserve plenty of criticism - but should the real heat be on misfiring contenders?
Definitely a fair question. I understand their Champions League duties would be taking a toll on the playing group, but I still expected slightly better from SFC so far. I suspect it’s a blip and they’ll play finals regardless – their squad has too much quality to miss out on the six.
Glory and Roar deserve plenty of criticism - but should the real heat be on misfiring contenders?
I could almost take that prediction seriously NM, except for the fact Perth exist.
Kisnorbo has left Melbourne Victory in the lurch and good luck to him. There's just no place for loyalty in football any more
Very true, and the appointment of either by a club touted as a contender might not sit well with MVFC fans.
Kisnorbo has left Melbourne Victory in the lurch and good luck to him. There's just no place for loyalty in football any more
Rumour has it that Harry Kewell or Besart Berisha is in the pipeline. Would love to see either involved in our league again.
Kisnorbo has left Melbourne Victory in the lurch and good luck to him. There's just no place for loyalty in football any more
The problem is DB, as someone who works in media (albeit a newspaper), I know for a fact mastheads and broadcasters are guided by viewing KPIs when it comes to coverage. For example, here in the Northern Territory, we get thousands of onlines reads per Aussie Rules story. A local football (soccer) story of the same word count might grab a few hundred.
It’s true that media can set the agenda, but if the news you’re publishing is already getting a healthy response, why would you change it to satisfy a smaller readership?
It’s why I feel very strongly about this silent army of football fans taking matters into their own hands and watch the A League in their hundreds of thousands, thereby forcing the media to jump on that market. If there was a higher demand for A League content, the media would follow. That demand doesn’t currently exist.
At what point do we admit the City Football Group offer the A-Leagues very little?
I think there would be an initial uproar, but the pessimist in me says no, the average Australian wouldn’t blink. What I do know is if the A League folds, it won’t be replaced for a very, very long time.
At what point do we admit the City Football Group offer the A-Leagues very little?
I’ve said this many times before – Melbourne City got their target market wrong from the get-go. Rather than connecting with a defined area of Melbourne early, they merely expected Hearts fans + cashed-up soccer families to pour in.
The most meagre A-League matches I’ve attended have always been City’s. Thin crowds and poor atmosphere because the club is clearly targeting rich, nuclear families who are often new to the game.
There will come a day where Western United, who are trying to stamp their authority in west Melbourne and beyond, will consistently pull better crowds than City. At least they’re attempting to connect with a community and give them a sense of ownership.
At what point do we admit the City Football Group offer the A-Leagues very little?
I take your point, but I would have to disagree re: Nix and Bulls. Macarthur winning the Aus Cup should have reminded everyone they’re a solid team. Robbie Thompson was wrong for picking Nix bottom of the table. They’ll be playing finals again.
Archie nemesis: Goodwin on fire as unbeaten Adelaide pile on four goals to stun champions
A fun exercise is to discuss where Ryan played his best football. For me, it was Brighton, Brugge and AZ.
Ryan focusing on more playing time by taking road leading out of Roma for French direction